72 - Upki Girl

< Revenge Match > The reason Eunbit couldn’t dance was, as Luju diagnosed, because "she doesn't know how to use her body and her center of gravity is in her upper body." This implies she is stiff, meaning her body cannot keep up with what she thinks in her head. Whether it's for sports or dance, the center of gravity must be in the lower body to create stable movements. — Similar to how shorter soccer players excel at dribbling due to a lower center of gravity. However, in Eunbit's case, her peculiar upper body-centric gravity makes her appear to float and seem unstable while dancing. A prime example is her dancing on the upbeat alone when she should be following the downbeat. Of course, with effort and practice, one can overcome these issues to some extent and learn the moves, but capturing the essence and feel of the dance takes a long time. "My center of gravity is in my upper body probably because of my large chest. Clearly, God is fair. If I could dance well on top of everything else, I'd be an overpowered character." Eunbit consoled herself with such mental victories, smiling in solitude, but I think dance has nothing to do with the size of one's bust. Isn’t Yona, who has a larger chest, dancing perfectly fine? And though it's a bit inappropriate to say this to a kid, in terms of visible bust size, it's Alia who ranks first. Ah, and don't forget our own. Talent. Its true meaning might well be "time." The saying "the 10,000-hour rule" suggests that anyone can become an expert with time investment. However, prodigies possess an innate ability and sense that condenses those 10,000 hours into a mere 1/10th or 1/100th of the time. Just like how someone got into the school I got into after three tries with their first college entrance exam, or even entered a better place early. Even setting aside Eunbit, who clearly lacks dance talent, Alia surpassed what Sewon, who is considered to have some talent, mastered after nearly a month of practice in mere seconds. "Oh, I think I can dance a bit." Even though she should be embarrassed by the praise showered upon her, Alia acted arrogantly as if it were natural. "Have you really never danced before?" Luju asked with interest, to which Alia shrugged her shoulders in a foreign gesture. "I did a little ballet, but this is my first time doing this kind of dance." "Oh, so you did ballet? No wonder." "I learned from the principal dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet from when I was four to five. Want me to show you?" "Do you remember what you learned at that age?" "Sure. I remember." Her expression, her tone, her demeanor. Her boastfulness was apparent in every aspect of her being. Yet, rather than being off-putting, it came across as adorably childlike. "Mr. Gwok?" "Huh?" "Play 'Swan Lake'." Eyes glanced at Yona. "Please, play it, Mr. Gwok." "'Swan Lake'? Ah, Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake'." "Act 2, Scene. Pierre Monteux's orchestra version." "What? Uh, hold on... Pierre what? Can you pronounce it a bit slower?" "Ugh. Pi-er-re Mon-teux. Like 'monkey'. 'Mont', like a monkey; 'teux' like in 'teuk' for home... Ahem, Mr. Gwok, who is not dumb, is kind." Darn it. I really should take up conversation lessons again. I logged on to the music site, searching for the version she mentioned. "Ready?" "Hold on. Let me take off my shoes..." She took off her socks, getting into position barefoot. "Okay, go." At her signal, I pressed play. The familiar melody of 'Swan Lake' that I recognized started flowing out. Beep~ Bibibibi~ Bibi~ Bibi~ Bibibibi~ Dodododo, even within the confines of her jeans, Alia extended her legs seamlessly, turning and jumping, flaunting her superiority as if to rub it in our faces. She even executed facial expressions as if she were the real star on stage. Yes, fine, you're indeed impressive. The person who seemed most impressed was trainer Luju. Throughout Alia's dance, she intermittently typed notes into her phone, likely taking note of things worth referencing for Upkick Girl's choreography. After Alia's ballet demonstration ended, Luju gathered the kids to discuss their upcoming schedule. "Hmm... looking at it now, all five of you have different skill levels. And we don't have as much time as other trainees, right?" "Yes." "So from now on, we'll split into Group A and Group B. Group A will be Yona and Alia, and Group B will be the other three." The scheduled choreography practice for all was two hours. Until now, even Yona, although a dance novice with Numbers 1 and 2, had spent the time learning basics one hour and cover dances for the other hour together. For Yona, who had spent the last several years repeating these basic moves thousands and tens of thousands of times, it was akin to making a high schooler do basic addition and subtraction again. However, after Alia’s appearance, Luju deemed her instantly ready for full deployment. Consequently, she separated the newbies from the advanced group intending to cultivate Yona and Alia as the dance front-runners of Upkick Girl. The two would skip basics and use that time to learn solo dances and choreography creation. ★★ Today's Upkick Girl Schedule ★★ — Morning choreography practice. Alia, thriving like a fish in water, soared impressively. An insurmountable dancing genius. She effortlessly followed any choreography she saw just once, remarkably fascinating. — Meeting a personal trainer at a fitness center in Cheongdam-dong after lunch. Trainer 'John Yoon', slightly taken aback but confidently assured that Nuguhong would lose 30kg within two months if compliant. Frequently emphasized "if you follow it properly" like a catchphrase during the whole conversation. Eunbit was greatly surprised by her exact weight and height revealed during the body composition analysis. Nonetheless, she mentally triumphed that she thought her chest gained weight recently. However, weight loss is unnecessary. She, alongside Yona, would focus on maintaining their current state and achieving beautiful silhouettes. Sewon would concentrate more on strength training to build a toned physique. Alia was advised to lose 2kg but fiercely rejected the suggestion, questioning who had the audacity to order her around like that, belittling John Yoon, a top domestic trainer. John Yoon was flustered a second time when Alia confronted him following the introduction of Yongsun. Later, Yona took Alia aside for a stern lecture, after which she calmed down. — Meetings with skincare shops, hair salons, and plastic surgery clinics for selection. Road manager Lee Jang-woo received a harsh tongue-lashing from Alia. The reason: he failed to bring along her preferred bottled water. She lamented about wanting to ride with Mr. Hong instead, until Sewon scolded her harshly for whining. Yongsun visited an ENT clinic in front of the office. The diagnosis was that obesity was likely causing a narrowed airway. Purchased anti-snoring spray, medication, and bands. — Returned to the practice room for vocal training. Eunbit and Sewon practiced for the “K-NoahXSiwoo” concert in the Hapjeong rehearsal room. I handled the driving. Took pictures with K-Noah and Siwoo. K-Noah complimented my looks. Alia confessed she was a terrible singer, just barely escaping the pitch-deaf level, still falling below the average person's standard. Given her vocal potential of 50, it was a foretold disaster. Our Yongsun, however, showed not just rap skills but promise in singing as well, with a pleasing voice. — End of day. After returning to the dorm, everyone had their first meal according to their managed diet plan. Yonghong, having only a shake sprinkled with nuts for dinner, felt crestfallen. Eunbit and Sewon decided to sleep separately on the first floor due to their concert tomorrow with K-NoahXSiwoo. Yongsun, attempting a late-night raid on the first-floor fridge, got caught by Sewon, who arose for a bathroom visit. After drinking a glass of water and returning to the basement, Yongsun fell into a loud snoring mode out of apparent spite. It rendered the anti-snoring spray entirely ineffective. Roommates Numbers 3 and 5, who slept with him in the basement, escaped to the first floor. Just another day, like yesterday. Alia crawled into Eunbit's bed and they ended up cuddling each other to sleep, a scene too cute to describe. Writing a real-person fanfic with them as protagonists would probably be really popular. The “BitLiyah” couple is so cute and precious. ♡ *** The first-day concert of K-Noah and Siwoo’s duo performance “Soulful Duo” held at Suwon’s indoor gymnasium. Eunbit and Sewon participated as guest performers, alongside ‘Golbaengi Youth’, Siwoo’s duet partner, singing two songs during the opening stage. During the two days of practice at the rehearsal room, I got on friendly terms with Noah and Siwoo, partly due to the meal truck that Alia sponsored out of her own pocket. Being debut peers of 16 years, they praised our agency’s support, stating it was their first time having a meal truck during rehearsals. Notably, Noah showed a great deal of interest in Eunbit and Sewon when he learned they were preparing to debut in a girl group, encouraging further contact before their debut, pledging to promote them as well. Given Noah’s fame for songwriting and composing, both for his albums and idol songs, I plan to commission him for a title track when entering album production. “Opening stage Team 1 will be going up in five minutes.” A staff member handed the microphones, signaling them to be on standby. Eunbit and Sewon, who had been rehearsing their lyrics, began jittering nervously as they stomped their feet. “Oh, what to do, what to do. Unnie, I'm nervous.” “Me too, I’m nervous.” Though inherently suited for the stage, the pressure of performing live before five thousand spectators was inevitably heavier than that felt during TV recordings. If Noah and Siwoo had been there, they could have lightened the mood with their characteristic dad jokes, but with two more performances from guest teams slotted after ours, they hadn’t yet shown up. Golbaengi Youth, the eldest among the duet participants, tried to boost morale with clasped hands and whispers of determination, but Eunbit and Sewon couldn’t shake off the jitters, their hands trembling incessantly. “Ugh, so nervous.” “Oh, I feel like I’ll forget the lyrics. Should I write them on my palm?” I was capturing every bit of this on video. After receiving hair and makeup at the salon and donning the perfectly tailored outfits, they looked better on screen than ever. “Are you nervous even after all that practice?” I teased, watching from a safe distance. They retorted in exasperated tones. “It wasn’t as bad before, but hearing it’s starting soon makes me suddenly tense.” “Don’t film me.” Sewon, waving her hands, obscured the lens. I anchored my phone on the table momentarily and prodded them. “Heh, during rehearsal, you said you weren’t that nervous and just wanted to enjoy the stage. What’s this now? Will you be able to debut like this?” “Geez.” “You’re adding fuel to the fire. I should just bite your arm off.” “Aish… come here. I’ll give you a hug.” “Ugh, why did Manager Gwok become so sleazy? I don’t feel like doing it now.” “Really? Then I’ll just hug Sewon.” Sewon jumped right into my arms as if she’d been waiting. I patted her back playfully, encouraging her. “Just perform like you practiced.” “Phew, yes…” Eunbit also joined in, pulling me into a hug from behind, squishing me. “Think of it as a live stream and have fun up there.” “Ugh… I should.” “NoDoo team, please come to the stage and get ready!” “Let’s go, let’s go.” “Phew, see you after.” “Don’t run off anywhere, stay here.” “Where would I run off to? I’ll watch from the front.” Following Golbaengi Youth, Eunbit and Sewon took to the stage. I stood next to the camera meant for capturing the front stage view to monitor their performance. Since audience seating was still in process, it was a bit noisy, but as soon as the NoDoo team took the stage and the lights dimmed, the crowd grew silent. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 were likely watching from somewhere in the auditorium. Per Eom’s words, attending performances was part of their training, so everyone showed up. With the sharp sound of "Tsk, tsk, hey-aye" ringing out, the performance commenced with K-Noah’s hit song and the chosen track for the NoDoo final stage, "Separation Syndrome." It was the original version, not the gospel-arranged version. — The days feel longer than usual. Even if I try to find things to do all day... As the first lines of their a cappella harmonizing began, the stage lights flickered on, and the audience, upon recognizing their faces on the stadium screen, erupted in cheers. No true fan of Noah and Siwoo would fail to recognize them. — Sorry, I'm too lazy. I procrastinate and keep postponing, and now I live holding onto you. These guys. Turns out all their whining was just an act. Despite all their anxious whining earlier, on stage, they were natural-born entertainers. Instead of forgetting their lyrics, they captivated both themselves and the audience, fulfilling their roles as opening performers impeccably. The second song, a piece by Siwoo, was executed with skill exceeding their practice sessions, delivered flawlessly. After descending from the stage, a notification from the information interface popped up, indicating that their stage presence and crisis management stats had improved. This confirmed that these abilities enhanced through official stage performances. *** “The crowd was going wild with praise for how well you two sang.” “Seriously, you guys were so cool... I was proud to be on the same team.” “Oh~ Yongsun speaks like that too now?” During the dinner conversation, the highlight was inevitably the two's guest performances. Guest appearances, like theirs, often forgo a fee in favor of gifts. Eunbit and Sewon received brand-new smartphones worth about a million won from Noah and Siwoo. For Eunbit, who had been using an older model I gave her, it was a fitting gift, and Sewon planned to replace her mom's phone with hers. In addition to the smartphones, they also received roll cakes and homemade cookies from Noah's fan club, which sparked an incident. ―Yongsun’s Diet― Breakfast: Brown rice, a piece of boiled tofu, unseasoned seaweed and mushrooms Lunch: Chicken breast salad Dinner: Nut-topped shake Yongsun, having resolved her dinner with the shake for two consecutive days, attempted to stealthily grab some homemade cookies from the kitchen while the others were watching TV in the living room but was caught red-handed. “Look, look. I knew the atmosphere was off. Manager! Yongsun is sneaking snacks!” The discoverer this time was Sewon, who didn’t accidentally witness the crime like during the fridge raid at dawn, but instead seemed to have sniffed something suspicious and followed him. By the time I arrived in the kitchen upon hearing Sewon’s report, the atmosphere had already turned serious. With the cookie jar set between them, Sewon and Yongsun were tensely facing off. “Don’t eat it, you can’t.” “Let go.” “I said don’t eat it...” “I said let go...” “Say ‘oink oink’ and I’ll let go.” “What...?” Sewon, who had been effectively subdued by physical force, was hinting at impending revenge. Already in a sensitive state from hunger, now thwarted in his second attempt at a food raid, Yongsun. The second revenge match between the same-age members began. “Eunbit, get the popcorn ready.” “Aren’t you going to stop them?” “Leave them be. It’s natural for animals to sort out their hierarchy like this.” < Revenge Match > End