Chapter 100

"Ah…. it's not coming together."

The squeak, squeak of rubber soles that had been keeping a steady rhythm stopped.

In the empty practice room, Wonho — who'd been working on choreo alone — uncharacteristically pulled off his headphones in frustration and hung them around his neck.

"I feel like I need to hit some kind of accent here…."

The hand sweeping his hair back was rough — the move wouldn't come out the way he wanted. He was drenched enough that the sweat was stinging his eyes, but there was no time to drop down and rest.

"……"

No, honestly — it wasn't so much a time issue as a mental one.

Wonho's movements stopped. In the terrifyingly still space, only the sound of his own breathing carried.

Once the silence settled, darkness came in, as if it had been waiting.

'Can I do this?'

Lately, Wonho was a little scared.

What was scary — what was really scary — was looking down at his own feet.

'Can I… actually do this?'

Kim Wonho was someone who knew his own limits well.

No — the truth was, he hadn't. He'd found out after coming to Miro.

That the world was wide, and that shining people were everywhere.

And, sadly, that his own light wasn't especially bright.

But at some point Wonho had noticed he'd climbed higher steps than he'd figured he could. Because the second he thought 'this might be about as far as I go,' someone would be right there pushing at his back to go up more.

—Hyungnim, hey. Why'd you have me do it? The choreo, this time.

Wonho still hadn't forgotten what Hajin had said to him then.

—Because it looked like you could pull it off.

—I watched all your practice videos. You looked like you had it in you.

—Me, I don't bet on things that won't hit.

"…ah. No time for this."

Wonho's eyes went to the other self inside the mirror.

Kim Wonho, standing there in the big mirror like an idiot.

Kim Wonho.

Ordinary Kim Wonho.

Kim Wonho, who until he'd met Hajin had never once stepped out of the general class.

Physically weaker than Doha.

Plainer-looking next to Siwoo.

Voice not as pretty as Eunchan's.

Not overflowing with talent like Yugeon.

And nowhere near Hajin's confidence in being all-around good at everything.

Just Kim Wonho.

Wonho knew the word hidden inside the question that kept torturing him.

Can I… really be as good as those guys?

Standing on the same team as people he'd looked up to and putting on a stage with his own choreo — it was something to be proud of and something too heavy at once. At times, the version of himself that had thoughts like that felt like a stranger.

The reality he'd been working hard to look away from was rolling in on him now like a wave.

"Huh? What. You were in here?"

"…ah. Yeah, working on choreo."

"Ahh."

The one who broke the still practice room's silence was Yugeon, dressed comfortably. Coming in with a notebook and his phone, Yugeon caught sight of Wonho in front of the mirror and, without thinking much of it, wandered in and parked himself in one corner.

"Rap practice?"

"Yeah. Cool if I hang here for a bit? If I go to a private room, Doha-hyung's gonna catch me again. Ugh."

"Doha-hyung? Why?"

"Dunno, that hyung's kinda scary. I just wanna practice in peace but he keeps staring. And keeps flagging stuff."

Sounded like he'd bailed out mid-1-on-1 lesson with Doha.

Yugeon, on the receiving end, seemed to think Doha's method was way too tight and had complaints, but Wonho saw it a little differently.

"That's because you haven't gotten actual feedback from that hyung yet."

"Huh? Yah, he's been on me about every last thing, from pronunciation to head angle."

"…still, he's not telling you to quit."

Doha was clearer with feedback than anyone. When he could see a spot someone could sharpen, he didn't spare his advice; and for anyone he saw no shot for, he was the type to tell them cleanly, drop it.

'Me, he told my breath crumples and to give it up.'

According to Hajin, Doha — 'like a college professor spotting a promising undergrad' — had held Yugeon captive the whole evening pushing hip-hop track recommendations on him. He didn't know the details, but it sounded like Doha had spotted rapper potential in Yugeon.

"Doha-hyung making you keep doing stuff means he thinks you've got the goods."

"No, goods my ass. This is my first time in my life trying rap. I haven't even memorized the lyrics yet and he's on about rhymes this and flow that. I don't even know what any of that is."

"Take advantage while someone's letting you. Not everyone even gets the chance."

Damn — a sharp little thing he'd tucked away inside came out of his mouth on its own.

The second the words dropped, he checked Yugeon's face, but Yugeon didn't seem particularly bothered. If anything, he just went huh, is that so?, rolled his eyes around a couple of times, and then flopped down flat onto the practice-room floor.

"Ah, whatever. It'll work out somehow. What'd you do?"

"…I said I was working on choreo."

"Right, right. How far'd you get? Show me once."

Notebook tossed aside entirely, Yugeon kept pestering him. He'd apparently dyed his hair again sometime — his straight blue-black hair was mussed and messy. In the mischievous smile and the eyes looking up at Wonho, there wasn't a complicated thought in sight.

Somehow, that simplicity was a bit of a comfort to Wonho.

"Then…. just what I've got so far."

Wonho turned off the Bluetooth linked to his headphones and played the track through his phone. It was a rough sketch Doha had thrown together overnight, saying to get a feel for it for now.

"……"

Squeak, squeak.

The sound of shoe soles rang out through the practice room again. Realizing Yugeon was watching him, something put a little more force into Wonho's movements.

"Haa, whew…. how is it?"

Wonho stopped after completing the first-verse chorus and another four bars or so. There were quite a few finely broken-down moves in there, and he was slightly out of breath.

When Wonho caught his breath and turned his head to Yugeon, Yugeon was sitting up straight as if he'd never been lying down. And when Wonho asked for his read, Yugeon got up without a beat of hesitation and stood next to him.

"Not bad? I've been thinking this since last time — you really build good choreo."

"Y-you think?"

"Yeah. Has that flavor that makes you want to learn it, I guess."

"…thanks, I guess."

"But in the verse, what if we switched this move up? Doha-hyung, Siwoo-hyung — no way either of them keeps up with steps this hard."

The moves Wonho had put together over hours, Yugeon copied cleanly after seeing them once. On top of that, he'd throw out even better ideas.

That side of Yugeon left Wonho with an unavoidable sense of defeat, and at the same time delivered the catharsis of watching feelings that had only been drifting hazily through his head take clear, real shape.

"And this part…. I feel like something more constrained could actually work?"

"Ah, right? That's why I was going back and forth on redoing it. But this is the part where Eunchan's on center."

"Change the formation? Just push Ju Eunchan out to the side, all the way."

Yugeon's ideas were far more instinctive, far more sensory. Rather than working them out in his head, he'd take whatever bubbled up and channel it through instinct. You could tell Lee Yugeon himself didn't even know he was doing it — and past a certain point in their conversation, Wonho realized that even jealousy was a luxury he couldn't afford.

'Kids like this are the ones who debut, and survive in places where the whole roster's kids like this, right?'

At that thought, he couldn't even summon the will to compete anymore.

Through this show, only seven were going to debut.

Wonho ran through the people who fit that picture, one at a time, in his head. Then he tried to picture himself fitting in among them — but it didn't quite come together.

"Ah, this is fun. Yeah, using my body's easier for me. Dance is way more fun."

"…you — you really have no thoughts about debuting?"

"I told you, none. If you debut, I'll buy an album."

"You think I can debut?"

"Yeah. You dance well. Sing better than me. Good at choreo, and you've got a good personality. Even Kang Hajin-hyung and Jung Siwoo-hyung look super comfortable around you, don't they? I'd say you're debut-worthy. My little sibling likes you too."

Yugeon flashed his signature wide, easy grin. There was real sincerity in what he was saying. With no calculation, no inferiority, no anxiety, no worry anywhere in it, that line somehow put Wonho at ease.

"If you're not going to practice rap, want to work on the choreo with me? Doing it alone, the structure's kinda hard to lock."

"Me? Deal. Sounds fun."

Maybe I could shine like you too?

Deliberately looking away from the darkness still lingering in one corner of his heart, Wonho smiled back at Yugeon.

---

Amid the anticipation and interest of a lot of people, the airdate for Miro Maze episode 3 approached.

The Destis were thoroughly excited that they'd finally get to see new stages. And as previews, sneak peeks, and articles about episode 3 started rolling out, not just Destis but a wider crowd began waiting for it.

handle: @Boss_rin name: Guam Boss ? why is unnie coming out of there handle: @NEWS_STAR name: Entertainment Beat verified: true "OST Queen Sarin Makes Surprise Return"…. Special Appearance on Ntv's 'Miro Maze' m.nst.co.kr/.... engagement: shares 548 · quotes 2,001 · hearts 712 title: [Info/News] Fourth of the sunbaes showing up on the survival] - 〈Upia's Cheong Hansol Steps In as 'Miro Maze' Special Mentor…. Backing His Juniors〉 article dropped seems he came out cuz they're doing a mission with our song - holy molyyyy gotta watch - side note. seo taeil actually...did 'the' intro didn't he... > it's hansol so def yeah if he doesn't hansol sulks for a week > doing 'proud-genius-main-vocal cheong hansol' in front of way-junior trainees? that'd be legendary cringe-gushing for real handle: @NTW_budzz name: Enderway verified: true [Yeonwoo] hi everyoneeee. came bearing gifts~???? [photo] [photo] engagement: shares 17k · quotes 1,301 · hearts 32k handle: @blue_lotusx name: Blue Lotus our yeonu came out to cheer on the hoobaes seems like ㅠㅠ so proud of you my baby lotus-fox ㅠㅠㅠㅠ handle: @bb_bb_bb_b name: Choi Yeon-kko???? choi yeonwoo button up no leave it button up no undo more no button up rip the whole thing off ㅠㅠㅠㅠ handle: @tlqkfrytn name: prof pls stop assignments???? ?? what's wrong with this unnie handle: @malang2 name: Squishy Bear???? leave her be choi yeonwoo's on TuMi today his outfit's insane that's why handle: @tlqkfrytn name: prof pls stop assignments???? oh that's today? what's choi yeonwoo wearing???? handle: @malang2 name: Squishy Bear???? white shirt + goated glasses handle: @tlqkfrytn name: prof pls stop assignments???? oh ok

Sunbae idol guest appearances — the standard playbook for agency survivals. On top of that, Sarin's on-air comeback after having gone quiet for two years since giving birth.

Given how much buzz Themis's 'Ria' had generated with her appearance in episode 2, the number of viewers keeping an eye on this episode 3 kept climbing.

The Destis were thrilled by the buzz and the attention, but also on their guard — worried that hate posts about the trainees might come rolling in like they had with episode 2.

title: [guys please report this post] - m.penn.cate.com/talk/40091... 〈Seo Taehyun Cut From Enderway's Debut Line-up….〉 seriously wasn't gonna drag pann posts here but I saw this and got so mad I'm postingㅠㅠ if you all see this just go in once and report it since last time they've been building this whole thing about Seo Taehyun getting dropped from Enderway and now that they hear he's doing an Enderway song they're trying to slap the pitiful-reject frame on him again... - report done! - reported here, hate-boards have been running hot lately, we're gonna need to report periodically - is it true Seo Taehyun joined the agency as an Enderway debut member? asking cuz I feel like I should fact-check properly when I comment defending him ㅇㅇ > no no, his signing timing overlaps a little so people say that, but he actually joined AFTER the debut line-up was already confirmed, someone put together a timeline before handle: @kang_HD name: Kangha-D while we wait for the broadcast let's purify the search terms together come in and only look at the pretty stuff ♥ kang hajin i love you kang hajin handsome kang hajin leader kang hajin puppy kang hajin dance kang hajin vocals … title: [ah but tho, I'm kinda worried about the song picks] - not worried about the kids....I know their skills ㅠㅜ but Sarin-nim's songs are notoriously hard to cover in the first place ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜ and sunbae idol songs, if anything since they're literally direct hoobaes people are prob gonna hold them to stricter standards...and thinking about the trolls piling on again, dreadingㅠㅠ - me, the sunbaes' songs eh...they'd have to do them eventually anyway but Sarin's songs...yeah, kinda a worry - stage hasn't even dropped yet, let's not start with worries like these

And so, with the Destis' and the viewers' anticipation and worries all thrown together, the fateful episode 3 of Miro Maze finally aired.