June knew that the dancers were watching him with hawk eyes. So, in the end, although he hadn't fully memorized the choreography, he told Gun that he would be able to do it.
His pride was on the line, and this was a great opportunity to show them that idols weren't just pretty faces.
"I'll play it now," Gun said, still a bit hesitant.
June gave him an okay sign before standing in the middle of the room, his eyes focused on the large mirror and not anything else.
Jay finally stopped ogling the dance crew leaders and switched his gaze to June. He also looked forward to June dancing to the song since he rarely danced in a sexy manner now that he was in EVE.
As the music filled the room, June didn't hesitate to move. He had memorized the first part pretty well, so he moved with fluidity and grace. Every step, every turn, was executed with a sensual yet sharp precision that surprised the onlookers. His movements were unmistakably idol-like, but at the same time, they were executed very professionally.
"He's good," Bad Lee said with a smirk on her face.
"Of course, he's good," Gun muttered. "He's my student, after all."
"Didn't you shit on the kid for like half of the show, though?" Christine asked.
Gun pursed his lips and looked down at the ground in shame.
Despite not having memorized every detail, June's improvisation filled in the gaps. He added his own unique flair to the choreography, which was actually a great choice since it fit the song better than the original one.
Jay was enamored by June's performance. He had seen June dance plenty of times in the practice room, but now, he seemed like a different person! In fact, he didn't look out of place from these professional dancers.
"Goodness. He can dance this well when he has only learned the dance for less than ten minutes?"
"I think he's even better than me."
"You're swallowing your words pretty quickly, aren't you?"
"And what's with his face? It's unfair for him to have a face like that and still dance so well!
His face, showing concentration, was definitely a cheat code. It amplified the impact of each movement and made the dance appear even more attractive.
As the music ended, June's face contorted back to his blank stare, almost like he didn't just dance so sexily mere seconds ago.
"Was that good?" he asked, breaking the silence in the practice room.
Gun snapped out of his thoughts and enthusiastically nodded.
"Fantastic! That was perfect. You could dance just as it is in the video, and we wouldn't have any problems," Gun assured him.
June smiled, feeling fulfilled that he was complimented on his dancing.
[Congratulations! You have accumulated 100 hard-work points for your dance aspect]
[Dance: +1]
[Current Grade: SS]
[Full Stats:
- Vocals: X
- Dance: SS
- Visual: S-
- Rap: A+
- Leadership: A+
- Music Production: S-
- Acting: B-
- Stage Presence: A+]
June smirked once he saw his full stats. Now that it was all on display, he couldn't help but admire how far he had come. It seemed like yesterday when he didn't even have any B-grades, yet now most of his skills were at the S-tier.
He still didn't know what 'X' truly meant, but as long as his vocal skills didn't regress, then he decided not to think too hard about it.
"Are you guys ready to film?" Gun asked after a couple of minutes.
The dancers nodded and went to their positions, readying themselves for the video.
"Let's try and finish this within one take, okay?" Gun said. The dancers all hummed in agreement.
June, feeling a bit awkward standing in the center with the professional dancers, whipped out his mask from inside his pocket to put it on.
However, Gun quickly stopped him.
"No! Don't do that," Gun said. "We need your face on the screen."
"Why?" June asked. "It won't affect my dancing in any way."
"I know," Gun smiled. "I was just thinking of making you the thumbnail. We'll gain more views that way."
The people around him, especially the female dancers, enthusiastically agreed, so June felt like he had no choice but to dance bare-faced.
"Did this guy go to the make-up salon without me?" Jay asked himself as he stared at June's face. It appeared like he had very subtle make-up done! But then again, June woke up late today, so he definitely wouldn't have the time. Did that mean that he was just naturally ethereal-looking?
Jay sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, the world is really unfair. I'll make sure to be effortlessly handsome in my next life, too."
The song finally started, and all of the dancers got into character. They were determined to finish the filming in just one take, and they delivered.
Now, they were watching the recorded take to see if there were any mistakes or parts they needed to go over. However, as they watched through the video, they couldn't really concentrate on anyone else except for June.
His movements were the most captivating since he didn't have a partner, and at that moment, he made the professional dancers look like backup dancers!
"I think it's good," Gun said with a proud smile. In fact, he just stared at June, too. The fact that June did well meant that the video was also going to go well.
"Wait, can you play that again? I wasn't paying attention," Dookie asked, quite shy to admit that he was also looking at June all throughout the monitoring phase.
"Nah, it's all good," Gun said, closing the laptop screen and turning to the dancers with a grateful smile.
"I know all of you are busy since the show is still ongoing, so you guys may go. I'll go ahead and bring this to the editing team so they can upload it by next week!"
With that, Gun left the practice room. June sighed in relief since it meant that he was finally going to rest. He went to where Jay was sitting and drank some water.
June raised his eyebrows in inquiry since his manager suddenly had a different, almost loving look in his eyes.
He gave June a thumbs up and said, "You're the best."
June shook his head and urged Jay to take him home when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder.
He looked around and saw two male dance crew leaders—the two who were badmouthing idols just a while ago—looking at him with bashful expressions.
"I got here first," the other said.
"Nuh-uh, I was planning on asking him since the beginning," another said.
"Umm, hi. Do you need anything?" June asked.
"I was wondering," the first person trailed off. "Would you like to be a part of our team for this particular mission in Street Dance Fight? We need to have a special guest, and you're the perfect fit for our team."
"Or our team," the second man quickly said.
Jay excitedly bounced by his side. Even though June's schedule was filled, he could make some time if it meant he got to be on Street Fight Dance.
However, much to their surprise, June shook his head.
"I apologize," he said. "My schedule is packed at the moment, and I don't think I can take your offer."
"I can make time—"
"Besides," June smirked, cutting Jay off. "You're definitely going to be eliminated if you choose an idol as your special guest, right?"
