I spent over 20 hours practicing alone with Kim Taejin—more than enough.
And it made sense.
For Roy, just succeeding in the choreography of the Dance Break A Part was a miracle in itself.
That part was packed with all kinds of high-level moves, strung together for a nonstop 30 seconds.
During that time, the rest of the team wasn’t just standing still on stage either.
‘The other team members are moving nonstop too.’
With Roy at the center as the main character, the others spread out like backup dancers across the stage, performing moves that didn’t stand out.
Roy, feeling frustrated, started to run his hand through his hair, but remembered the state of his hair and quietly lowered his hand.
Next, he turned to look at Kim Taejin, who was patting the other team members’ shoulders and offering words of encouragement.
‘I have to do my best, as far as I can go.’
If I went on stage with my current dance level, it was obvious I’d just embarrass myself and have to step down. Roy wasn’t the only one feeling anxious.
The other team members kept glancing at Roy. Even during the rehearsal, Roy hadn’t shown much.
They must know, too.
Roy’s current skill was far below the ace of the other team.
“Kim Taejin sunbaenim.”
At Roy’s call, Kim Taejin turned around and smiled brightly at him.
Even though he was smiling, every time Roy met his gaze, he felt a strange psychological pressure.
Like a defenseless child standing before a wild beast.
“Do you…… Trust me?”
He didn’t know how to earn such unwavering trust.
But even now, right before the stage began, Kim Taejin hadn’t suggested changing the team’s ace.
Honestly, Min Junyoung was far more skilled than Roy right now.
Roy knew Min Junyoung had been sneaking in practice for the Dance Break A Part.
Understanding his anxiety, Roy had silently cheered him on to practice even harder.
“Of course. I believe in my judgment. Roy, you’ll definitely pull off the dance break way better than the other team’s aces.”
‘……What the.’
Unlike the clearly counted practice hours, trust was such an abstract thing that Roy thought he’d achieve it naturally just by showing his best.
But apparently, the condition for completion was hearing such clear words.
“……Yes. I think I can do it.”
Roy looked down at his body, feeling a strange sensation.
He was eager to experience the effect of his dance grade rising to S-class.
“Standby, please!”
The previous team’s performance ended, and now it was Roy’s team’s turn to go up.
Roy took a deep, excited breath and stepped onto the stairs leading to the stage.
It was time to showcase the results of all his practice.
***
“You were seriously amazing!”
It was the first time Roy had seen Min Junyoung so excited. But it wasn’t just Min Junyoung.
The other team members were all giving Roy a big thumbs up.
“See? I knew I had good judgment, right?”
Kim Taejin looked pleased, too.
Roy curled his trembling fingertips into a fist.
The more he got on stage, the more his nerves piled up instead of fading away.
‘……That was the best.’
Especially since today’s performance was the first time Roy had shown his S-class dance grade.
Roy had watched countless Hunter Idol performances until now.
Every time, the data would pile up in his head, but when it came to moving his own body, the result was always disappointing, and he’d feel a strange sense of frustration whenever he danced.
But today, there was no time for frustration—his whole body was tingling from start to finish.
‘I thought I couldn’t do it.’
The dance break part he’d been worried about became the moment his senses reached their peak.
Even the scattered stage lights in the air felt like they were dancing with him.
After the performance, the cheers from the live audience rang in his ears.
With his level up, his stamina had increased too.
Even after performing a nonstop, intense choreography, he wasn’t out of breath, but his heart was pounding loudly in his chest.
“I think we’ll get good results. Good job, everyone.”
Roy bowed his head in gratitude to Kim Taejin, who was giving words of encouragement.
Thanks to him, Roy had managed to raise his dance grade to S-class in such a short time.
With the third Ranking Ceremony approaching, it felt like he’d grown wings.
Kim Taejin reached out and lightly ruffled Roy’s hair.
Since he was older, it seemed he felt Roy was like a younger brother.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay for the results. I tried to adjust my schedule, but it just didn’t work out.”
Kim Taejin said his goodbyes.
Not just him—the other Highcycle members were also getting ready to leave the island after finishing their stage.
“Goodbye.”
Kim Taejin shook hands and gave a light hug to each team member before walking away.
***
“Everyone, this way please.”
After that, they followed the staff’s directions to the place where the results would be announced.
This time, each team was given a separate space.
Inside the room were chairs lined up in a row and a suitably-sized Stand-type Monitor.
On the monitor, the team that went on stage after Roy’s team was performing.
“At least we got through without any mistakes.”
At the words of the youngest team member, everyone patted each other’s shoulders as if to say, “Good job.”
“Beeep—.” (I kind of want to try going on stage myself.)
“Foor?” (How? What kind of dancing do you think you could do in that body?)
[Maybe we should debut together later? Once all the other Spirit Kings are summoned, we could form a five-member group!]
While Roy was performing, Ber and Aqua had watched the stage from below with the staff, and had now returned to Roy.
Roy, sitting with Ber and Aqua bickering on each shoulder, patted both their heads equally and stared intently at the screen.
Finally, the last team’s performance ended.
***
“And the long-awaited first place team is……!”
At the spot where a sound effect would be added in the broadcast, Lee Jian dramatically cut off, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the camera.
It was the moment when everyone waiting for the results with their team members on stage held their breath.
“Congratulations! It’s Team 6!”
Roy blinked slowly.
He was uncertain whether he’d really heard what he thought he’d heard.
“No way! Our team got first place!”
“Everyone, huh, we really worked so hard……!”
“Thank you, thank you.”
The team members were already so excited that they’d all gotten up from their seats.
Even the usually reserved Kangchul had tears welling up in his eyes.
Lee Chulhun, who didn’t get a Button and thus couldn’t perform on stage, took out his frustration on Kangchul.
‘Why did you take the Button? The last one should’ve been left for me!’
‘Ha.’
Even after practice ended, Roy couldn’t rest in the dorm; he had to listen to Lee Chulhun’s complaints.
As memories of everything that had happened so far flashed through his mind, his broad chest heaved with rough breaths.
“Did we really…… get first place?”
Then Kangchul spotted Roy, who was speaking in a dazed voice.
Even though Roy had shone brighter than anyone else on stage today, it still didn’t feel real to him.
Kangchul actually thought Roy had contributed the most to the team’s first-place win.
Up until rehearsal, Roy had looked shaky, but on the real stage, he’d shown his true skills as if it were a lie.
‘Hwang Roy…… His skills have improved at a scary rate.’
It really made him feel like this was what people meant by “genius.”
He could understand why Lee Chulhun hated Roy so much.
The people he disliked all had talents Lee Chulhun could never attain, no matter how hard he tried.
“It’s all thanks to Roy hyung!”
“Let’s toss Roy in the air!”
Kangchul wasn’t the only one who heard Roy’s muttering.
The team members who’d been hugging each other and celebrating rushed over to Roy.
“Uh, uh……?”
Before Roy knew it, he was being lifted toward the ceiling. Even though he was an adult male, the team members had no trouble at all lifting him up.
Like tossing a doll, the team members worked together to throw him high into the air and catch him, making Roy burst out in bright laughter.
It felt like all the sleepless nights and hard work were finally being rewarded.
***
“Only 30 people left now. At first, this place felt so crowded, but now……”
Kim Chan let out a deep sigh as he looked around at the now-empty space.
The set was the same size, but there were far fewer people now.
“Probably half will be gone after the next Ranking Ceremony.”
Han Jihoo spoke in a somber voice.
Still, the look in his eyes as he glanced around at those gathered was filled with more hope for the future than worry.
“Let’s all make it through next time, too.”
Han Jihoo held out his right hand.
Lee Doha put his hand on top, and Kim Chan quietly added his as well.
Lee Hajun, still comforting the crying Kim Jaemin, pulled his hand into the pile, and Roy placed his hand on top last.
“Let’s do this—fighting!”
Even though it was a cliché cheer, stacking hands and sharing their determination made it feel like everything would work out.
“Hic, I really must be a zombie……”
Kim Jaemin, who survived by barely scraping into 30th place, rubbed his eyes hard with the back of his hand.
He meant to stop the tears, but only managed to smear them all over his hand.
“Hey, there’s a saying, you know. The one who survives to the end is the winner.”
Lee Hajun put his arm around Kim Jaemin’s shoulders and comforted him. Kim Jaemin nodded, as if agreeing with the words.
“Time really flies.”
Roy looked around the hall, where friends were gathered in small groups, savoring the afterglow of the Ranking Ceremony.
His team had scored first place in the team ranking with Highcycle this time, but except for Roy, Kangchul, and Min Junyoung, the others unfortunately didn’t make it into the top 30.
“I’ll go say goodbye.”
“Yeah. See you all at the dorm later.”
It was the same for everyone else.
With so many eliminated in this Ranking Ceremony, there was hardly any case where all the members who’d gone on stage together survived.
“Good job.”
Roy, standing before those crying in sorrow, couldn’t find the right words and ended up saying something cliché.
He felt frustrated at his lack of eloquence, wishing he could offer better comfort.
“No, it’s fine……. Still, I’m glad we got first place this time……”
The team’s youngest member shook his head, sniffling with a reddened nose.
“Please, make it into the final members for our sake too.”
At the words of another team member who was holding back tears, Roy wrinkled his nose.
He felt like he might cry too.
Kiiiiiii—
Just as he was saying his final goodbyes to the team members who would now leave the island, a strange yet familiar noise rang in his ears.