I Was Trying To Debut My Baby, But I Ended Up Debuting Instead

Chapter 18

She looked like an adult. Even more so than in the 20-year-old version of her seen in the SNS profile picture before the world changed.

Could she have seen the future? Living in a world where dreams and reality were reversed, it didn’t seem surprising to have a prophetic dream. It didn’t feel like something that would be shocking.

‘If I assume that’s the future, what mistake did I make?’

The image of Na Yeonwoo crying, as if blaming herself, still lingered before Hyesung’s eyes.

‘Ha, damn. This is so unsettling. The status window doesn’t give any proper answers either.’

No matter how many times she asked about the dream, the answer was always the same.

[It may or may not be a prophetic dream.]

There was no definite information to be found, leaving her feeling uneasy.

* * *

By the time Hyesung and her group returned to the dorm, it was past 7 AM. The dorm hallway was bustling with the sounds of trainees getting ready to go downstairs after waking up.

“Hyesung, can you have breakfast?”

“Yes. I’d rather die than not eat.”

“Alright, let’s get ready and head down quickly.”

Hyesung’s condition had improved significantly after a brief rest with an IV drip. Maybe that’s why she piled her tray high with food.

As Hyesung carried her tray to the table, trainees from Class F flocked around her.

“Hey! You went to the hospital? Are you feeling better now?”

“I told you to go earlier, but you didn’t listen and went late!”

“Hyesung! Rurika was worried about you too.”

“I’m fine now, guys. Sorry for making you worry. By the way, where’s Yeonwoo?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Na Yeonwoo came running from the cafeteria entrance.

“Hyesung unnie!”

“Yeonwoo! Don’t run, you might get hurt!”

Despite the warning, Na Yeonwoo ran straight to Hyesung and hugged her tightly.

“Unnie, are you feeling better? If I knew you were going to the hospital, I would have gone with you.”

“No, you must be tired too. And the older girls from our room went with me.”

“It was Youngwon unnie who dragged her there when she insisted on not going.”

Lee Joo-ha spoke as if recounting a heroic tale.

“She was stubborn like my grandma, saying she’d get better if she just slept, so I dragged her there.”

“Haha, right. Grandmas can be pretty stubborn like that.”

Although the intention was different, being treated like a grandma made Hyesung feel self-conscious about her age.

‘Grandma… It’s not that bad.’

After finishing their lively breakfast, Hyesung returned to the practice room.

It was 8:30 AM. Less than two hours remained before the re-evaluation video shoot.

She heard that Class F had stayed to practice until 5 AM after Hyesung had returned.

Rurika, who still hadn’t recovered from her enteritis, was an exception. It was unfortunate that Rurika, who had only managed porridge for breakfast, seemed to be excluded from the re-evaluation, appearing more downcast than before.

‘It’s not her fault she’s sick…’

Feeling pity for Rurika, Hyesung began her final practice before the re-evaluation.

Using bit by bit yesterday, she had achieved 100% proficiency in both song and dance.

[Temporary Skill Application Target: Na Yeonwoo]

[Song Chance! (Proficiency 74.8%)]

[Dance Chance! (Proficiency 89.9%)]

‘Yeonwoo’s singing is a bit precarious.’

An average of 80% proficiency was needed to expect an ace grade. She considered using Rewind more for Yeonwoo since there was still some time, but decided against it because her body wasn’t fully recovered.

‘But with dance proficiency close to 90%, she should be in the top 5, and the teachers will judge accordingly.’

An hour before the re-evaluation video shoot, the practice room door burst open. A staff member shouted urgently at the trainees.

“Guys! Sorry, but the re-evaluation method has changed. There will be no video shoot; it will be a public evaluation like the class evaluations.”

“What???”

“It changed suddenly?”

“How can they do this!”

‘Another change in the situation.’

While Hyesung accepted it calmly, the trainees were visibly agitated.

Though other classes might have felt the same, Class F, already labeled as a lower class, had more to worry about being evaluated again in front of everyone.

‘Class F is worried about being harshly criticized and stuck in F, while the ace class is worried about dropping down. These two classes will feel the most pressure.’

“Instead, it will only be up to the first verse! Just up to the first verse. Prepare and gather at the second auditorium by 10.”

* * *

When they arrived at the second auditorium, the staff were busy preparing for the shoot, checking the camera setup.

‘It’s smaller than I thought. You can see everything the kids are doing up close.’

It felt more like an audiovisual room than an auditorium.

There was a small stage inside with a low platform, and in front of it, there were about 150 fixed seats on a sloped floor. The front row was the trainers’ evaluation seats.

“Everyone, sit according to your class.”

Following the staff’s instructions, all the trainees took their seats. Shortly after, Seol Hanna and the trainers appeared.

“You all heard that the evaluation method has changed, right? The teachers will explain why now.”

Seol Hanna spoke to the tense trainees.

“Guys, sorry for the sudden change. Well, watching and evaluating 100 videos took longer than we expected. We need to quickly decide on the center and start practicing for the first public stage.”

“Since the teachers already have a rough idea of your skills from the classes, we thought it would be better to see each of you perform one verse face-to-face. Is that okay?”

“Yes…”

They all answered weakly. It seemed they were not okay, especially Class F.

“Let’s quickly finish the re-evaluation and start stage practice, alright?”

Even though a few extra hours of practice wouldn’t significantly improve the trainees’ skills for the M Space stage shoot, Hyesung thought it wouldn’t hurt to proceed quickly.

“Class F first, come out in groups of five and wait.”

It seemed like they were being considerate to prevent more pressure by seeing higher-class performances first, but Class F trainees looked like they had been struck by lightning.

The evaluation proceeded uneventfully. Among the first five called, three moved up one grade, and the other two did not escape from F.

Lim Yae-in, who couldn’t overcome her vocal issues, moved up one grade to Beginner, and two others moved up three grades to the Middle class.

As Hyesung expected, about one-third of the trainees did not escape from F, and only the last six remained.

“Next, trainee Na Yeonwoo, please come forward.”

“Yes.”

‘My baby, fighting!’

Hyesung silently cheered for Na Yeonwoo as she watched her back from the stage corner.

“…Thank you.”

Na Yeonwoo performed without any mistakes, showcasing her full potential. Her dance was especially powerful and clean, even more so than during practice.

‘Our Yeonwoo did so well. She’s definitely set for the ace grade.’

Hyesung finally felt relieved.

“Alright. Yeonwoo, well done. One moment.”

The trainers began discussing quietly.

“Her dance is nearly perfect. Seeing her now, sending her to F seems too harsh.”

“At that time, she didn’t sing at all, so we had no choice but to send her to F. Now she’s showing her real skills, and it’s only right to move her up.”

“Yeonwoo’s lines are beautiful. Her long arms and legs make the same movements look better.”

“She dances so effortlessly, doesn’t she? She has the perfect idol look with a good visual.”

The dance trainers and Minty seemed determined to move Yeonwoo up to the ace class.

“But her voice is a bit soft. Although her singing has improved a lot, she just needs a bit more confidence.”

“Even so, she should move to ace.”

“Isn’t Middle a better fit? Her singing lacks a lot of strength.”

R&B singer and vocal trainer S-One remarked, but Yoo Jung-ah immediately countered.

“No, it’s ace. Her position is dance, and she’s improved her vocals this much, which shows how much she’s practiced.”

“That’s true, but.”

“No, listen. I saw her yesterday morning, unable to even make a sound. She deserves to be in ace, honestly.”

“Alright, send her to ace then.”

Thus, Na Yeonwoo was finally placed in the ace class.

The hall buzzed with the first high grade coming from Class F. The existing ace class trainees looked tense.

‘Oh? This should get some screen time. Well done, my princess! If it’s poorly edited or glossed over, I’m going to kill Kim Youngmin.’

Hyesung, forgetting that her turn was next, slapped Na Yeonwoo’s butt as she returned to her seat, congratulating her.

“Hyesung. It’s good to congratulate her, but you should worry about yourself now.”

Jade remarked, glancing at Hyesung, who was causing a fuss in her seat.

“Hyesung, come forward.”

“Yes.”

“Yeonwoo moved up to ace, but anyone would think you did.”

Hyesung sheepishly smiled and stood on the tape marking her position on the floor.

“Let’s see.”

Hyesung took her starting position, one she had repeated over 4,000 times.

‘Now I don’t need to make mistakes on purpose. Just don’t be shocked and fall over, everyone.’

Bam- bam. Bam bam bam.

The intro, which she had heard countless times, started playing.

Hyesung lifted her head in time with the beat. Her gaze had already changed. This was no longer the clumsy Hyesung of before.

Jade’s eyebrow raised, wondering about the confident look in Hyesung’s eyes.

Hyesung continued with the choreography. There was no sign of a mistake. Each joint angle was as precise as if measured with a protractor. It was as if the choreographer’s demonstration video had been perfectly replicated.

[I will take all your heart

I have decided that the person who will shine the most is me]

Despite performing a vigorous dance routine while singing live, her pitch didn’t waver. She provided a sense of stability that left listeners without an ounce of worry.

It felt like an AR track, not an MR, had been mistakenly played.

“……!”

Not only were the dance trainers who had always scolded Hyesung shocked, but everyone in the room was.

Especially the cameraman right in front of Hyesung rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong.

‘I should have danced a little worse. I won’t be able to perform like this during the first competition.’

[…Tonight I will seize this chance]

Hyesung completed her final pose perfectly.

“Yoon Hyesung!”

Kang Min Gook stood up abruptly.

“Did you sell your soul to the devil?”

“This isn’t just improvement, it’s a completely different person. Hyesung, what’s going on? Have you been deliberately dancing poorly in front of us?”

“…No, I just worked like crazy, and at some point, I got this good. And the class president… Yeonwoo…”

She didn’t want all the attention on her. If it overshadowed Na Yeonwoo moving up to ace, it would be problematic.

Hyesung quickly added, worried she might steal all the spotlight meant for Na Yeonwoo.

“Yeonwoo has been helping me tirelessly since day one.”

‘Make sure to edit this together, Youngmin. Show that Na Yeonwoo turned a klutz into a decent dancer. If not, I’ll kill Kim Youngmin.’

From where the trainees were seated, murmurs about how Na Yeonwoo had transformed Yoon Hyesung into a competent dancer could be heard.