PRODUCE 101 | c.s + j.wy

V

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Kim Yeonwoo, and this is Choi Hwanghee. We're going to be your vocal coaches for today and the next two months.
Today, we're going to do just a very easy practice. I need to get to know every one of you, so I can decide how to structure the next lessons.
Each one will sing a song he feels comfortable with, okay? Just relax for today."

The twenty boys were sat on the ground, listening carefully to their teacher.

Wooyoung was starting to feel the pressure about it. He didn't feel good nor confident at anything concerning singing and the fact of doing it in front of all these people he didn't know made him feel even more nervous.
Yeonjun, the others and he have been training together for more than a year, so they all know about the weaknesses of each one. Instead, now they were in a little room, surrounded by people they didn't know anything about.
The first guy next to him could turn out like the new Whitney Houston and destroy every other human being effortless in front of the class.

"First is... Kim Hongjoong. Who's that?"

Hongjoong felt the light touch of the guy next to him, who was Seonghwa, pressing a little against his shoulder. The shorter had a panicked expression in his eyes but managed to get up and walk towards the stand microphones line there was in front of the guys. Right beside them, there was a computer, some big speakers and some strange and full of buttons console Wooyoung couldn't properly see from his place.

"Your labels sent us the instrumentals you usually practice with, so you should already know the songs properly, right?"

Hongjoong was standing alone and nervously holding the mic in his right hand, the shaking of his wrist could be noticed even at a distance.
The music started soon after. The short guy closed his eyes to focus more and started to sing into that slow and romantic reggae rhythm that Wooyoung could recognise as I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. His voice came out really gentle. You could definitely tell he was flustered at the moment, but as the music went he felt even more and more confident. He opened his eyes and continued to look at an empty spot in the room.

"Good job, Hongjoong! See? Wasn't that hard, was it?
I can read here you're also a rapper... Would you mind do a rap performance as well?"

The coach and his assistant had some paper sheets next to them, supposed to have a list of the guys' names and their attitude and skills. And, of course, the names of the songs they were going to sing.

"Yes, I also rap. Do you want a rap of mine or a freestyle?"

Some woah left the crowd.
Freestyle? Oh, he should be very good at it. I can barely rap on the grocery list. This was Wooyoung's thought, but the general looks into people's eyes let him think it was a shared opinion.

"An old rap would be fine. You will have all the competition to show your skills. For now, we're just trying to figure you out."

Hongjoong nodded and told his preference about what rap to sing in the following moments.
This time, his attitude was totally different. He looked way more confident, he stared at the audience's eyes directly and also pump his head on the music. You could definitely see this was his thing.

Wooyoung was so impressed, his open mouth spoke for his thoughts. Seonghwa, next to him, had a little smirk on his lips. He had known Hongjoong for years since they came from the same agency, and he looked so proud of his friend. They must be really close.

Hongjoong ran back to his spot next to Seonghwa, after finishing his second performance. The color of his cheeks was very similar to a whole apple basket and it faded up to the tip of his ears.
Wooyoung and Seonghwa greeted him patting on his head, complimenting him by little whispers.

"I didn't imagine you were so good, you little one."

"Hey, I'm older than you!"

"Next is Choi Jongho." The teacher's voice brought them back to reality and to a religious silence.

A short dark-haired guy got up and followed Hongjoong's path towards the microphones. He looked more worried about the audience than about the performance itself. Or, at least, that's what Wooyoung read through the look on his face.
The music started again, revealing a more calm and kind of classical korean song that everyone knew. As soon as the boy opened his mouth, another set of voices and whispers covered the room, but after some seconds they all came back silent. It was like no one wanted to ruin such a melodic and ethereal voice. It felt like an out-of-body experience to all of them.

Wooyoung almost cried at his performance. He didn't look bothered by the countless number of tricks he was making with his voice, like it was the easiest and most natural thing on Earth. His face nothing but relaxed, eyes closed and the free fingers tingling the air at the rhythm of the music or the words he was saying.

He ended with a high note, and again, Wooyoung had to hold himself not to burst into tears. This time, it wasn't because of how emotional the performance had been, but because he felt so miserable at singing compared to this guy he didn't even face before that moment. What am I supposed to do now, after him? I can't do this.

As the music stopped, a loud applause followed the sudden silence, make the short guy melt into a cute and shy gummy smile he covered with his free hand.

"Good job, Jongho.
Next is Jung Wooyoung."

Wooyoung froze in his place. Please, tell me there's another Jung Wooyoung. But nope, it was definitely him.
It felt like the air froze together with all his muscles. He got up and slowly walked all the way to the stands, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He never felt judged as in that moment, and his performance hadn't even started. Worries, fears and anxieties were crowding his mind: the guys were just staring the same way they did with every single person before Wooyoung but he couldn't feel at easy anyway.

"You're singing Thinking out loud by Ed Sheeran, right?"

"Y-yes" Don't you dare stuttering, you idiot.

Closing his eyes, Wooyoung tried to recollect his emotions and push them back into their safe spots in his mind, held his breath and start to concentrate as the music started.

He didn't do a bad performance, after all. His voice did crack in some spots but wasn't worse than other people before and after him.
His eyes remained shut during all the time. Despite his effort, he didn't manage to push worries away and that's why he couldn't focus properly on singing.

A sudden burn into his whole face brought him back to reality as soon as the song finished.

"Thank you, Wooyoung."

With his cheeks way more red than normal, he basically ran back to his place. He felt his eyes watering all at once. Please, at least wait the end of the lesson. Please.

"Good job, Wooyoung!" Seonghwa tried to compliment him, but just got a fake grin in response.

"Singing is not my thing at all." the shorter just added, then shifted his eyes back to the "stage".

Seonghwa gave Yeonjun a questioning look, and the other just tried to explain with eyes that the more they'd avoid that topic, the best it'd be for Wooyoung. He still couldn't hold his bad feelings towards his singing.
Seonghwa nodded in response.

"Now it's time for... Choi San."