By Zephyria I hate to admit it, but the two of them were close to perfect. The movements that matched perfectly like partners who had been working together for years gave the viewers a refreshing catharsis.
The reaction from the audience was also good.
Ki Jae-eon went without saying, and Kim Ju-won was also flawless even though
Above all, Ahn Seo-myeong, who had practiced the ‘same role’, knew that fact best. Kim Ju-won was different in the parts that he kept stumbling over. All of his movements were as natural as flowing water. Feet that accurately pointed to where they should go, unwavering fingertips, and eyes that only looked at one woman.
Kim Ju-won had already become Yanggeum himself, who was in love with Hee-eo-na.
‘He’s good.’
Ahn Seo-myeong stared at Kim Ju-won and acknowledged his skills. No, to be honest, it was respect. Kim Ju-won, who created a flawless Yanggeum, was indeed worthy of being the successor of the main office.
Yes, a man who is more meticulous than anyone else when it comes to his own work.
Dung-!
When the big drum rang once more, cheers poured out along with loud applause throughout the training ground. Everyone gave a thumbs up, saying it was the best. If this dance had been shown at the Shinollim Festival, it might have received even more cheers.
‘Next is me.’
Ahn Seo-myeong took a long breath.
He almost lost his spirit for a moment, but he slapped his cheeks and cut off his hesitation. There’s no use in worrying before you even start. If you’ve prepared, you just have to show it.
So there’s no need to be discouraged just because the other person did well.
Ahn Seo-myeong turned his ankles and relaxed the strength in his wrists. I just have to do well. The tension in his chest loosens like a loosely tied knot.
“Hoo.”
Soon, his mind became clear.
I just have to prove my effort.
Soon after, his name was called.
As soon as the call was over, he ran into Kim Ju-won, who was coming down. He could have said a word of congratulations, but the two passed each other as if they hadn’t seen each other. They didn’t even step on each other’s shadows.
It’s not like a childish war of nerves.
Rather, it was respect to avoid disturbing each other’s concentration.
But no matter how much they pretended not to be conscious, they were clearly wary of each other.
Ahn Seo-myeong tried to straighten his back and lifted his chin slightly before taking a stance.
His gaze was slanted downwards, but his heart was facing forward.
Only for one person, my Hee-eo-na.
“Are you nervous?”
But perhaps it was obvious that he was too stiff, Ki Jae-eon, who had his head turned to the other side, asked in a low voice.
He looked calm and composed, as if he hadn’t just finished dancing. Clean and neat breathing. Monstrous concentration and stamina. Ahn Seo-myeong clicked his tongue inwardly and glanced at him.
Before he could swallow his surprise, a faint smile tickled his ear. It was probably a consideration to ease the tension of the other person.
“It’s okay.”
“……”
“You’ll do well.”
Ahn Seo-myeong suddenly had the ugly thought, ‘Did he cheer for Kim Ju-won Hyung like this too? Or is he asking because it’s me?’
But he didn’t want to look bad in front of the person he liked… so, out of childishness, he unknowingly blurted out, “Not really.”
Well, he soon realized that this attitude was even worse.
Ahn Seo-myeong frowned slightly and blamed himself.
‘Being stubborn with someone who’s worried about you. Idiot.’
He cursed himself and bit his lip. Chewing, chewing. He mumbled his lips a few times, then lowered his long eyelashes slightly and changed his words.
“Actually, yes.”
Strength goes into the hands he’s holding.
“I think I’m nervous.”
At the same time as that confession, the drum rang.
Dung-!
“Still, I have no intention of losing.”
People don’t see.
All senses and nerves are focused solely on Ki Jae-eon.
Forget everything else for a moment.
Don’t be nervous, don’t worry.
Everything has an end anyway.
‘If you want to create good results, focus on what you need to do right now. That’s what Grandma said. Selection and concentration.’
It’s just five minutes.
‘It’s okay.’
I can do it, I practiced.
‘Think calmly.’
How to become a Yanggeum that suits Hee-eona, played by Ki Jae-eon.
If I were the real Yanggeum, what would I be feeling at this moment?
Using my own strengths that Kim Ju-won doesn’t have…
I swallow and take my first step.
Screech-!
An unpleasant friction sound echoed loudly from below. Perhaps because I put too much force into it, the sole of my shoe unexpectedly slid!
I sensed that I had entered half a beat faster than the rhythm because of it. Ah, damn it! I felt like my heart had been thrown somewhere on the floor. A chilling sensation swept across my back, signaling that I was screwed.
The word ‘I’m doomed’ rose to the tip of my tongue.
The end as soon as it starts!
Not because of anything else, but because of a mistake due to nervousness?
‘I can’t even make excuses for this. It’s just a lack of effort.’
Just as self-hatred and despair were spreading,
“……!”
Ki Jae-eon’s hand silently grabbed my shoulder. My steps crossed haphazardly, and my body, which had lost its balance, was immediately straightened. Before I could even come to my senses, my body rotated smoothly. To the faltering rhythm, a new beat was transferred. The mismatched beat, the moment it touched him, was smoothly corrected as if it had always been that way.
…A miracle had occurred.
“Can’t concentrate?”
The gentle whisper that burrowed into my ear made the audience’s murmur disappear like fog. All I could hear was Ki Jae-eon’s voice.
“My young husband.”
The light blue silk fabric fluttered, and a faint smile tickled my ear.
Following his gaze, black, glass-like eyes were shining brightly.
“Seems to be shy.”
At the same time, long, white fingers gently brushed my back, subtly indicating the timing to move.
“……”
“Ugh.”
Every time he poked me slightly, as if saying, ‘Now,’ Ahn Seo-myeong felt a slight chill on his skin.
“Calm your breathing.”
The sound of the drum grew longer.
Or perhaps it was the sound of my own heart.
“Straighten your back.”
Before the words were even finished, my body moved first. As I followed his lead, my toes accurately touched where they were supposed to, as if remembering the place. It felt like I had found the path I had lost again.
“Slowly……”
White, slender fingers brushed from my back to my side, reaching my lower abdomen. The electrifying touch made my head spin.
‘…I can only see hyung.’
Heat rose.
“Slowly, don’t rush.”
Ahn Seo-myeong moved as if responding to that signal. He didn’t even know what he was doing. He was just desperately chasing after Ki Jae-eon with a dazed mind. The more our fingers intertwined, the more our steps crossed, the more our bodies moved apart and closer… hot breaths escaped through the gaps in my lips. Haa, ha. Before he knew it, his white cheeks were flushed red.
“Yanggeum, look at me……”
At the low whisper, strength filled his lower abdomen. If this wasn’t a stage, he would have squeezed his thighs tightly and hunched over long ago.
And his change was conveyed to those sitting in the audience as well. Even to them, it was different from the orthodox Yanggeum that Kim Ju-won had shown.
Kim Ju-won’s Yanggeum, who was Hee-eona’s support.
Unlike him, who interpreted it as a stable love, the Yanggeum that Ahn Seo-myeong played was truly full of flaws. He was the pathetic man himself, floundering in his first love.
But he seemed more honest than anyone else.
Hee-eona. Awkward gestures to reach her and an immature expression, not knowing what to do with his first love.
It was a young figure compared to Kim Ju-won’s Yanggeum, who knew the fear of love and instead took a step back to become a reliable support.
However, the boys of the same age were making slightly embarrassed expressions, as if they could relate to something.
“Hey… that.”
“Don’t say it.”
“It reminds me of my first love.”
“Seo-myeong’s acting is damn good.”
But the children didn’t know.
That it was a performance that couldn’t help but be clumsy because it wasn’t acting.
Anyway, it was around the time that the long five minutes had passed. Ki Jae-eon, with a bright expression, looked down at Ahn Seo-myeong amidst the pouring cheers.
“Seo, Seo-myeong-ah?”
Our little groom was strange.
His ears were red to the tips, and he gave Ki Jae-eon an intense gaze as if glaring at him, then hurriedly turned around and went down. His steps were very fast, and he was frantically busy.
“Haa, huh!”
Ahn Seo-myeong ran to the bathroom in the annex like a madman. His hands, losing their composure, missed the bathroom doorknob several times. Ah, please, come on! He roughly opened the door with a vein popping out of his neck, unlike usual, and hurriedly began to take off his pants. Disordered breathing, a flushed face, and groans leaking out as he moaned.
‘Straighten your back.’
Ki Jae-eon.
‘Slowly……’
Ki Jae-eon.
‘Yanggeum, look at me……’
“Ugh!”
The hand that had been moving busily below finally squeezed out his essence. A slightly unpleasant sense of liberation wrapped around his whole body.
“Haa, haa!”
Bang! Ahn Seo-myeong, who had banged his head against the wall, looked down at his hand, which had become quite dirty, with a face that seemed about to explode.
“……Beast.”
The sound of banging his head against the wall echoed for quite a long time in the quiet bathroom.