𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 24

[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]

During the midterm evaluation, the judges first talked about our collectively high rankings.

"Oh~ and you guys even finished the demo song! This team is the only one who finished making an arrangement," one of them mentioned as she shifted through some papers.

We were riding on coattails we didn't want. Beside me, Moondae hyung had a slight frown on his face.

 We worked hard the past three days to make the key lower, added in a rap for Yonjoon and I, and created the choreography. Cha Eugene and I made the dance together, while Kim Raebin and Kim Yonjoon created the rap verses.

Practices went day and night. And when it would finish around 3 AM, I couldn't even talk to my night group. Our dorm room wasn't facing the mountain, and if I tried to sneak out, Kim Raebin would wake up because he's a light sleeper.

So, my entire life was taken over by practicing.

But those practices only amounted to lukewarm reactions.

The judges exchanged glances and eventually grabbed the microphones one by one.

"Hmm, to be frank, your performance isn't that bad. But...how should I put this? It's just not very attractive. Lowering the key made it less exciting," the vocalist critiqued.

"The choreography isn't bad, either," the next judge deemed. "It's witty. But with a cheer squad concept, why does it look so gloomy? For starters, you should adjust the level of difficulty because, at this rate, those two dancing newbies are going to drop dead."

He glanced at Moondae hyung and the child actor with narrowed eyes.

"The rap also seems out of place..."

The judges began talking amongst themselves about what could possibly be wrong, but the popular female idol picked up the mic.

"Who was in charge of the rearrangement?"

I closed my eyes to not give it away.

"Was it you, Raebin?"

When I reopened them, everyone except Moondae hyung was looking at the wine-haired boy.

Our leader replied, "No, we all did it together after discussing it."

"That's true, but Raebin was in charge of the actual rearrangement."

Kim Yohoon threw him under the bus. Moondae hyung's pupils began to shake. Should I say something?

But Moondae hyung parted his lips first, adding, "...Yes, Raebin is great at playing instruments and knows how to work with composing programs. And since he's capable of those things, he was able to discuss the song in detail with our producer. But the basic idea of the rearrangement was made with a team effort."

"He's right," Chungwoo hyungnim summarized, "we promise to work on the issues you mentioned and come up with a solution together. We'll be sure to repay your kind remarks with the best performance."

The judges seemed satisfied with these answers.

"Are you sure you can do this?" the idol judge asked. "You'll have to rearrange again from the top."

Everyone shouted a loud, "Yes!"

Other judges mentioned keeping the rearrangement moderate because our current wasn't terrible.

When we were ready to leave the evaluation room, the original vocalist of the song began talking.

"On your stage...I couldn't feel the power of <Burning Like the Sun>."