SCT-Novel Chapter 151: Gocheok (6)
Chapter 151: Gocheok (6)
The song ‘GreenBee’ echoed through the wide practice room. A dozen or so members of GN Entertainment’s in-house choreography team had gathered in one place. For reference, the four lead dancers in the team were standing in for Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung. The several people in the back could be considered backup dancers.Anyway.
-Swish.
As ‘GreenBee’ spread.
-♬♪
The choreography team began to move gradually. The start looked like the gathered dancers were blooming open, like flowers blossoming. With the dark-toned intro of ‘GreenBee’, their hands and feet moved slowly and softly.
Then, the dancer representing Do-kyung stepped forward.
As the dancer mimicked rapping, the people in the back formed circles and dispersed repeatedly, heating up the atmosphere. Naturally, detailed choreography was embedded throughout. When the rap ended and the clap sound effect and keyboard were introduced, the dancer representing Do-kyung naturally moved to the back, and the dancer representing Rojun stepped forward.
Everyone stomped the floor hard a couple of times, then spread out and gathered back in.
It wasn’t intense.
Rather, it was clean and smooth.
Instead of choppy movements, the choreography was filled with smooth waves. However, the dancers’ eye movements and each hand and foot gesture exuded a wild charm. Meanwhile, Kang Rojun and the members of ‘Vanguard’ didn’t take their eyes off the choreography for even a second.
“……”
“……”
Everyone was highly focused, but especially Kang-min, whose specialty was choreography, wore a deep expression. While Kang Rojun seriously appreciated the choreography.
‘The song I composed and wrote has turned into choreography, how fascinating.’
He was experiencing a slight chill.
‘It turned out really well, didn’t it?’
Kang Rojun judged that the choreography was a perfect match. He liked how there were a lot of restrained movements. Sticky yet sprinkled with powerful motions in key parts. It was exactly the choreography Rojun had imagined when he created ‘GreenBee’.
The choreography for ‘GreenBee’ finished its first verse and moved into the second.
The second verse also maintained the overall structure of flowers blooming and wilting, soft waves, and restrained movements, but the motions became slightly larger. The intensity deepened, so to speak. The members watching each made their own evaluations in their minds. Si-hoo was captivated by the choreography.
‘Sticky and flavorful, I want to try it quickly.’
Kang-min inserted himself into the movements in his mind.
‘Should I try to emphasize the restrained feel even more?’
Do-kyung, who was responsible for the intro choreography, kept revisiting the concept of ‘GreenBee’.
‘Fantasy, dreamlike, dark but intense. What expression would be best? Maybe I should just go with my natural personality.’
Just as all the members of ‘Vanguard’ had fallen deep into the choreography, the in-house choreography team’s movements stopped. The demonstration of ‘GreenBee’ choreography had ended. However, the team repeated the choreography once more, then after catching their breath for a few minutes, gathered again in the center of the practice room.
This time, it was Si-hoo’s composed piece, ‘Windveil’.
The in-house choreography team members had their hands in their pockets, turned their backs, faced forward, looked at the sky, etc., each taking their own preferred posture. Then the music started.
-♬♪
The intro began with an intense drum solo. Then, one dancer stepped forward and danced powerfully. It was the dancer representing Kang-min. The others stayed in their positions. Then, just as some dancers’ bodies began to tremble and the sound effect of breaking hit.
-Swish.
They naturally matched the same movements as the dancer representing Kang-min. The choreography of ‘Windveil’ was completely different from ‘GreenBee’. It was truly explosive and passionate, with large and energetic movements overall. Rather than softness, the choreography was filled with sharp, choppy motions and was rough. In a way, it could be considered the most idol-like choreography.
The choreography of ‘Windveil’ was also repeated a couple of times.
After catching their breath again, the choreography team began the last piece, ‘Flying Bell’. Among the debut songs of ‘Vanguard’, it was the most energetic. Therefore, the mood of the song and choreography was bright, cheerful, and full of smiles.
-♬♪
From small motions like high-fiving each other or chatting among the dancers, to mostly connected movements. ‘Flying Bell’ could be described as cute. The completed choreographies of ‘Vanguard’ were not only high in quality, but also had strong addictive point choreographies that could be called killing parts.
Anyway.
“Huff- Huff-”
Just as the in-house choreography team was catching their breath, having completed the routine, Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had reviewed all the choreography, spoke to the members of ‘Vanguard’.
“Mm- from today, vocal practice is still important, but we’re going to focus more on choreography practice, so just keep that in mind. For reference, the choreography videos have been sent to your phones.”
After that, each member began their individual practice. A trainer was assigned to each of them, and at this stage, the priority was to grasp the overall choreography rather than focusing on detailed movements. So, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung followed the choreography step by step in a small practice room.
“Just try dancing it as you saw it.”
“Understood!”
As everyone knew, Kang Rojun separated from the group. The GN Entertainment in-house choreography team members looked slightly worried as they watched Rojun quietly disappear.
“He’s really training by himself?”
“Is he going to be okay?? There are plenty of people who can’t pull it off even with a trainer… and there’s not much time left, right?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just persuade him to take a trainer?”
Their concern wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Even professional dancers who made a living off of dance had to practice relentlessly to master the choreography. So the idea that someone would train alone without any help didn’t make sense to them.
“I heard the rumors… but if he fails to master it on his own, that’s a disaster.”
On the other hand, Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had seen at least a bit of Kang Rojun, shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“The contract is the contract anyway, we’ll just have to wait and see. But I don’t think it’ll be a major issue.”
“Huh??”
“The members who should be the most worried don’t seem concerned at all, do they?”
Indeed, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung showed no signs of unease or dissatisfaction regarding Kang Rojun. One member of the in-house choreography team, who couldn’t take it anymore, asked the eldest hyung, Si-hoo.
“Is it really okay, for everyone??”
Si-hoo, scratching his baby-permed hair, gave an awkward smile as if it was hard to explain.
“Yes. Because it’s Rojun.”
Meanwhile.
The internet was flooded with ‘Vanguard’. The news about their ‘debut show-con’ and Gocheok Dome teaser that exploded yesterday was just too powerful.
《[Star Issue] ‘Vanguard’ to hold debut showcase + concert at ‘Gocheok Dome’?》
《Debuting on the ‘dream stage’? ‘Vanguard’, a ‘next-level’ rookie team makes a ‘next-level’ announcement!》
《‘Vanguard’ does it differently! Hosting a ‘show-con’ at the 20,000-seat ‘Gocheok Dome’! / Photo》
The video uploaded on Vanguard’s YouTube channel that dropped the debut show-con bomb had already,
-Vanguard TALK EP.3｜Vanguard
-Views: 5,988,266
Surpassed 5 million views in just one day. The comments were flooded with Korean and Japanese. With the teaser having already spread across online communities, the media naturally didn’t sit still.
《‘Trending’ Vanguard: Can their Gocheok Dome showcase sell out all seats?》
《News of ‘Gocheok Dome’ show-con stirs up Vanguard’s official fan club ‘Guards’ / Photo》
With the added support of GN Entertainment’s PR and marketing team, it was demonstrating massive firepower.
《[Issue Talk] A debut at ‘Gocheok Dome’? No idol has done this before, is ‘Vanguard’ writing legends from the start?》
Of course, there were also plenty of articles viewing Vanguard’s Gocheok Dome debut show-con negatively.
《‘Vanguard’ Gocheok Dome debut: A mega-hit if it succeeds, a total failure if it flops》
Can they really fill 20,000 seats? Isn’t Gocheok Dome too much for a debut? Isn’t a concert too soon with no experience? And so on. This wasn’t just the media, the public sentiment was similar. For every 100 people full of anticipation, about 20 were criticizing it.
However, GN Entertainment had already anticipated this and didn’t slow down their media play, and many people who had connections with Kang Rojun or ‘Vanguard’ also came across the articles.
Like PD Jung Soo-ryeong.
“Wow- Gocheok Dome. I’m nervous just hearing about it?? I want to go, but will I be able to?”
Or the ‘Produce That 100!’ writer and PD Woo Han-suk.
“Feels like just yesterday they were nervous about doing a mini concert, now suddenly Gocheok Dome?? The scale is insane.”
“PD-nim! Don’t you really want to go??!”
“You got fast fingers?”
“……No, I’m slow.”
“The media’s going crazy about whether they’ll sell out 20,000 seats or not, but I think the tickets will sell out the moment they open. Try to get in if you can.”
Entertainment companies were abuzz with chatter. Amid it all, the ones talking most about ‘Vanguard’ were, of course, idols themselves.
“Whoa- they’re debuting at Gocheok Dome??”
“We haven’t even done that yet… I’m jealous.”
“But isn’t doing a showcase at Gocheok Dome kind of overkill?”
“They’re calling it a show-con because it includes a concert too.”
“That’s what I’m saying is over the top. Who has a concert right when they debut?”
“To be honest- I kinda hope they flop a little?”
Male idols, female idols, it didn’t matter, they were all obsessively talking about ‘Vanguard’. Some purely admired them or expressed amazement, but others spoke frankly out of envy and jealousy. And it was understandable, debuting at the Gocheok Dome?
The level of attention-grabbing was unimaginable.
In a way, the image of ‘Vanguard’ as something ‘unparalleled’ had firmly taken root in the entertainment industry.
At that time.
-[Hello, this is GN Entertainment. Thank you for the interest shown in ‘Vanguard’! As previously announced, Vanguard’s show-con will be held at ‘Gocheok Dome’, and the ticket reservation page will open shortly……]
GN Entertainment released an official statement.
At the same time.
Kang Rojun entered an empty practice room, carrying his phone, laptop, tablet, and more.
“Phew-”
Letting out a small breath, Rojun checked his reflection in the mirror, then connected his phone to the laptop. He immediately began playing the completed choreography videos.
First up was ‘GreenBee’.
“……”
For now, he sat down and absorbed the choreography performed by the in-house team. Earlier, he had been filled with fascination; now, his eyes brimmed with ambition. After watching the videos for dozens of minutes.
-Swish.
He stood and began to move slowly. His eyes were closed. Eye focus and facial expressions could come later. For now, he would only think about the choreography moves. The ‘GreenBee’ choreography that had been copied into his mind passed through his thoughts, and though he was still lacking, Rojun forced himself to perform the moves.
10 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour.
Repeated practice continued.
‘Copying the routine has definitely gotten faster.’
Instinct? Reflexes? Whatever it was, Kang Rojun’s choreography skill had improved. Well, his ‘Dance’ stat had already surpassed 70, so it was expected. The images forming in his mind transferred directly to his body. After about two hours, Kang Rojun opened his eyes. He danced while watching himself reflected in the mirror.
“This is fun.”
Though he was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, Rojun felt good. His pounding heart felt like it was cheering him on. Immersed in practice, he even skipped meals. His body moved as desired and himself reflected in the mirror had taken shape.
‘Still a bit lacking.’
But there was frustration too. He was simply mimicking the video sent by the choreography team, it didn’t feel like he was surpassing them. He felt like… a guy who just had decent dance lines. That was all.
“Still, compared to when I had zero rhythm, this is insane.”
With a crooked smile, Kang Rojun continued practicing. He transitioned from ‘GreenBee’ to the ‘Windveil’ choreography in the afternoon. After taking a quick meal break, he started on ‘Flying Bell’ only around nightfall.
Having spent the entire day immersed in choreography, by around 9 PM.
“Ugh.”
He collapsed in the center of the practice room, sprawled out. The gray short-sleeve shirt he wore clung to him with squelching sounds from sweat. Kang Rojun stared at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes. The day’s choreography movements naturally replayed in his mind.
‘I’ve got the feel for it now.’
Muttering to himself, Rojun picked up the phone lying nearby. He opened the ‘AI Simulation’ app. He tapped the ‘AI Automation’ button. Familiar prompts appeared, and Rojun carefully typed out the instructions he wanted the ‘AI Automation’ to follow. The text was long, but to summarize, it was simple.
Perfectly master the choreography for ‘GreenBee’, ‘Windveil’, and ‘Flying Bell’.
-[AI analysis in progress……analysis complete!]
Soon, three sharp jolts of pain ran through Rojun’s wrist.
-[Applying……application complete!]
He had used around 70 Coins for the three routines, but Kang Rojun didn’t mind. He didn’t have time to worry about that. Because right now, something that hadn’t existed before was exploding in his brain and entire body.
With that, Kang Rojun stood in front of the mirror again and began dancing.
-♬♪
This time, he didn’t need to watch the choreography team’s video.
*****
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