TDOCD Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Young-Ju 

​The red lighting, the intense gaze, the impactful entrance—Young-ju's start was remarkably good.

While Flora's stage had maintained a cold, restrained feeling, Young-ju's performance burned with passionate energy.

The concept resembled a musical that seamlessly blended various themes.

Though she had to perform the lengthy group segment solo rather than in pairs, the stage never felt lacking—at least not at the beginning, impressive for a trainee still developing her craft.

I can tell just by looking in your eyes

In your heart, I have no fear

The camera zoomed in on Young-ju's face as she appeared with more vitality than the previous performers.

While U&Da had demonstrated expertise and Flora had showcased visuals perfectly matched to their song, Young-ju radiated desperate passion.

Her choreography flowed smoothly, her live singing clear and strong without any noticeable issues.

It seemed she was on track for glowing reviews if she maintained this momentum.

But then...

"Oh no..."

The judges, who had been watching intently, let out collective sighs.

Young-ju, who had been performing flawlessly, began to falter midway through her solo segment.

Her breathing became increasingly rough, and soon her live vocals started to shake.

As her singing wavered, her expressions naturally became unstable as well.

"Ah, that's a shame."

"Still, it's understandable. It is quite long part to sing alone. She must have been nervous too."

She wasn't a seasoned performer but a trainee.

Even for a skilled trainee, carrying such a long section alone would never be easy.

In fact, she had done remarkably well for a solo performance.

However, it was inevitable that this slight faltering would disrupt the audience's immersion.

"She performed beautifully during practice," Lee Si-a remarked firmly while noting deduction points on her scoring sheet. "She must have gotten too tense and overexerted herself."

Though Si-a understood the desperate effort behind the performance, disappointment remained disappointment.

After all, FloU&I had chosen this type of arrangement themselves. Failing to execute it perfectly warranted point deductions.

"Still, the production was excellent. The way they highlighted each group with individual spotlights was definitely entertaining..."

The judges' discussion, which had momentarily scattered due to Young-ju's wavering, suddenly halted.

The red lighting gradually transitioned to normal bright illumination.

Simultaneously, the scattered members began gathering around Young-ju.

The judges' attention returned to the stage.

Somehow Ryu Ji-ye was now standing in the center of an inverted triangle formation.

As the slowly approaching camera zoomed in on Ji-ye's face, she smiled gently and tilted her head slightly.

Then the group dance began.

"Wow..."

Sohae let out a soft laugh and set aside the evaluation documents she'd been holding.

Ryu Ji-ye was really something.

The focus that had momentarily dimmed snapped back as soon as she took center position.

You'll forget who you are

Just take my hand

Into endless happiness

With a fast-paced, trendy melody, their choreography flowed clean and precise, as if bringing perfect order to their previously diverse stage.

Though each group had showcased completely different dance styles earlier—styles that seemed impossible to blend—they now moved as one unified body in perfect synchronization during the group performance.

How many exhausting hours must they have practiced to achieve such coordination in just one week?

The judges, unaware that FloU&I had rehearsed late into every night, watched their performance with growing fascination.

And finally...

You'll forget who you are too

Let's go into endless happiness

The stage concluded with Ji-ye's whisper-like finale.

The stage lights went dark before brightening again.

A moment of silence fell.

The FloU&I members held their positions briefly before standing up in a line.

"Thank you!" they called out in unison, still catching their breath.

There was no response.

Though applause wasn't strictly necessary, the silence felt strange after such a performance. The previous acts hadn't been met with such stillness.

'Was something wrong?'

The performance had seemed to go well despite the small hiccup.

Just as Ji-ye's expression hardened slightly with confusion, Lee Si-a was the first to reach for her microphone.

"I really enjoyed watching that," she began. "Though I observed it during practice, this team truly shines in live performances. This was your best performance yet."

'Ah, what a relief.'

She had been worried about the slight wavering during Young-ju's solo part near the end.

However, the earlier silence apparently wasn't because of that.

"The content of the performance speaks for itself, and especially when each group performed, your facial expressions matching the mood of the song were exquisite."

It was a performance that made Lee Si-a wonder if even debuted artists could execute something this polished.

The constantly changing expressions and gestures that matched the song kept viewers' eyes glued to them even during sections without choreography.

"As a dance trainer who's been in charge of your development, I naturally intended to focus primarily on the technical aspects of your dancing."

The dancing was certainly good.

The dancing was certainly exceptional. Each pair and solo dance had been executed flawlessly, elevating the unique musical-like composition of the stage.

"But this time, my attention wasn't on the dancing but on all of you as performers. This means the stage was incredibly entertaining to watch."

Before even discussing the quality of the dance or singing, the stage was engaging and naturally immersive.

Lee Si-a paused briefly and looked over the members standing before her.

Their earlier confidence had faded, and they had returned to being nervous young performers awaiting evaluation.

Seeing them like this reminded her of their training camp days, bringing a genuine smile to her face.

"It was worth all those nights practicing with ice packs, wasn't it?" she asked warmly.

The members' eyes widened before their faces lit up with joy as they responded in unison:

"Yes!"

"They practiced every night with ice packs?" one of the other judges asked.

"Yes, they were always exhausted. Whenever I pointed something out, they'd practice all night to perfect it," Lee Si-a explained, then grinned. "Seeing that level of dedication, I can't help but praise them."

Though she typically valued results over process, this situation felt different.

The members had practiced with such intensity and determination during the training camp.

"Thank you..." the members responded, voices thick with emotion.

Nothing made them happier than receiving praise and acknowledgment from Lee Si-a—the person who had observed FloU&I most closely during that difficult week and had been their harshest critic.

"You really worked hard. I look forward to seeing FloU&I's continued growth," Si-a concluded with a bright smile, understanding the depth of their feelings.

Next, Sohae picked up her microphone.

"Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it too. I was probably the most captivated among all the judges. That's how engaging your performance was."

"Thank you," they responded in unison.

"I have many observations to share. First, I loved how you divided into groups and fully utilized each section."

If executed poorly, this approach could have been worse than not attempting it at all.

However, their showmanship displayed a composure rarely seen in trainees, paired with bold choreographic choices.

"Though you're one team, you created distinct themes for each group that clearly showcased the concept and atmosphere of your actual groups—U&DA, Flora, and I Met You."

She wanted to elaborate further but kept her comments concise. They hadn't merely performed according to each group's concept—they had executed it with exceptional flair.

U&DA's signature mature and sultry atmosphere never felt stale despite featuring minimal choreography. Flora truly revealed new dimensions of both members.

Sohae had never realized that Ji-ye could perform such bold, intense dancing, or that Ra-eun could command such powerful stage presence.

This revelation was especially surprising considering they had seemed relatively less confident in their dancing compared to Flora's main dancers./////