5, 6, 7, 8!" Koki yelled, trying his best to lead the practice. Despite the team's excitement after watching the choreography video, the gap in their skill levels was painfully obvious. All Koki could do was offer individual guidance as everyone struggled in their own way.
Jibeom sat on the side, quietly observing. Dennis, who had picked up the choreography surprisingly fast thanks to his prior skills, was helping Koki teach. "Wave your body like this—not too stiff," Koki instructed. Kiryu tried to follow but ended up wobbly, while Taeyang was giving it his all and making decent progress.
After a while, Koki clapped his hands. "Alright, let's take a breather and work on the vocal and rap sections instead."
The group gathered together. Koki and Kiryu nailed their parts effortlessly, but everyone else still needed work. Gijoong, desperate to prove himself, kept pushing his notes too hard. Athukorn struggled with pronunciation, often slurring his words. The first practice session was essentially a mess.
With only a week until the performance and just two days until the evaluation, Jibeom couldn't help but feel worried.
They called it a night after dinner and headed back to the dorm. When Jibeom and Taeyang entered their room, Grisha was already fast asleep while Ryunwoo was getting ready for bed, quietly reciting his rap lyrics under his breath. They chatted briefly before turning off the lights and climbing into their beds.
Sometime later, Jibeom was woken by the faint sound of movement. He opened his eyes just in time to see Taeyang sneaking out the door in a poor attempt at being quiet. Curious, Jibeom followed him all the way to the training rooms.
He was surprised by how driven Taeyang looked—completely different from his usual goofy self. As Jibeom approached the practice room door, he noticed someone in the adjacent room.
It was a short boy with strikingly pretty features, a deep voice, and bright aqua-blue hair. He was writing lyrics while playing a beat from his laptop. When he noticed Jibeom, he looked up with sharp, captivating eyes.
"Hello? Did I wake you?" the boy asked.
Jibeom shook his head politely. "No, I was just about to go practice…"
The boy hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you listen to this for a minute?"
Jibeom shrugged and sat down. The boy played the rap he had recorded over the beat he'd produced. Jibeom was genuinely amazed by the young-looking trainee's skill—his tone, flow, and delivery were all outstanding.
When the track ended, the boy watched him with a worried expression. Jibeom smiled warmly. "It's amazing."
The boy's face lit up with a bright smile. "Thank you," he said quickly. "You can go now if you want."
Before leaving, Jibeom turned back. "What's your name?"
The boy glanced back at his laptop. "Lykan."
Jibeom pulled up the boy's stats out of curiosity and was stunned.
[Stats]
Jung Rijun
Height: 174 cm
Age: 17
Vocals: C
Rap: S-
Dance: B+
Visual: A
Stage Presence: A
Trait: "Producer By Heart" (S)
Can reshape any song to his liking as long as he enters the "zone."
Jibeom was floored. This trainee was ridiculously overpowered. He only vaguely remembered seeing him once at the very beginning of filming before getting distracted by one of Ryunwoo's absurd conversations—this time about whether the chicken or the egg came first.
He stared a little too long. The boy eventually looked up again. "Do you need anything, hyung?"
Jibeom quickly shook his head. "No, sorry." He finally left, still reeling from the discovery that this was the boy that was currently ranked number one and he met him so casually.
He made his way to the practice room where Taeyang was working. Before he could join him, Nari appeared with a new quest.
"Help raise Taeyang's Dance stat to C before the next evaluation."
Jibeom's face twisted in disbelief. Raising someone else's stat in just three days? It had taken him forever to improve his own mediocre stats. But then he saw the reward: +2 stat points, 1 common draw.
His motivation skyrocketed.
He stepped into the room. Taeyang had already learned the entire choreography and was dancing it decently, though he was still a bit stiff and occasionally missed the beat.
Jibeom checked his stats and was pleasantly surprised.
Lee Taeyang
Height: 176 cm
Age: 19
Vocals: D+
Dance: C-
Rap: C
Visual: A
Stage Presence: A
All of his skill stats had already improved by one level since the last mission. He was progressing incredibly fast just from regular practice.
Taeyang noticed him and smiled. "Jibeom hyung?"
Jibeom stepped forward. "Want to practice together?"
Taeyang nodded enthusiastically. The two spent the next hour or two drilling the choreography. They both improved significantly, and Taeyang even taught Jibeom a few facial expressions to make his performance more dynamic. They practiced until 3 a.m. before finally calling it a night.
On their way back, Jibeom glanced into the other practice room. Lykan was still there, completely absorbed in his work. He never looked up, never blinked—just clicking rapidly, making small adjustments, and reacting to the music only he could hear through his headphones.
The next morning, they woke up to Ryunwoo, as usual, already heading out bright and early. Jibeom and Taeyang got ready, then woke Grisha, whose long black hair was a complete mess. His usual straight, intimidating expression made both of them chuckle.
When they arrived at the practice room, everyone was already working with surprising diligence. The choreography was starting to come together, though it was still a bit clunky. Koki led the dance practice effectively, offering sharp but encouraging feedback whenever someone messed up.
After a long session, they finally sat down for a much-needed break and took the time to actually get to know one another.
Koki approached Jibeom and Taeyang with a small smile. "You guys are improving a lot. Good job."
It was the first time Koki had spoken directly to Jibeom. He felt a bit surprised but quickly replied, "Thanks. You too."
Koki returned to his leadership role, continuing to give precise feedback. "Kiryu, your body rolls are still too stiff, but your timing has gotten much faster. You're improving really quickly. Gijoong, keep helping Athukorn with pronunciation. Dennis, don't rush through your rap so much—but you're much more on beat now."
Jibeom was impressed by how well Koki analyzed everyone's progress and actively helped the team instead of focusing only on himself—something he had rarely seen in the survival shows from his past life.
Everyone listened carefully and adjusted accordingly. The only one who seemed to be struggling to improve was Hyungjun. He was undeniably handsome with a nice vocal tone, but he couldn't quite put everything together. His tall, lanky frame also made his dance lines look slightly off. He sat quietly, looking down with a sad expression. Dennis and Koki immediately went over to reassure and comfort him, offering extra guidance.
Seeing how hard everyone was working, Jibeom decided to step up as well. While Dennis handled most of the dance corrections, Jibeom helped Koki teach vocals to the members who needed it.
For the first time, the team moved together like a well-oiled machine. They pushed through the rest of the day and decided to keep practicing late into the night, determined to improve as much as possible before tomorrow's evaluation.
End of Chapter 8