feelings. ㅤ ( idol producer )

seven.

ㅤ
seven.
ㅤ

ㅤi knocked on the door of the practice room before entering. a few seconds later, i opened it. i expected to find the two groups in front of the room's mirror, rehearsing the song. however, they were all sitting, some leaning on each other's legs, while watching a tv in front of them. the most surprising thing was not that, because they could have been watching the video of the performance they had to learn. but, instead, on the tv there was a peppa pig chapter and the trainees were very attentive to it.

ㅤsuddenly they all looked away from the screen and fixed their gaze on me. i greeted them smiling, still surprised by what i was seeing.

ㅤ"why are you watching peppa pig?" i asked, approaching them.

ㅤ"they think it will help them to be more cute. they are not able to do lovely expressions and in this performance they have to do them" a staff member answered me while laughing. i couldn't help but do it too.

ㅤ"guys" xukun spoke. "mentor xinyue is here, so let's get to work" he stood up and everyone imitated him. then they lined up in front of me and waited for me to speak.

ㅤ"mmh..." i whispered, more to myself than to the others. i was looking at their faces as i read their names remembering their auditions. to my surprise i remembered the vast majority of them. "there's a great level here" i smiled, especially looking at the guys on team A. when my gaze crossed xukun, i could see a smile on his face.

ㅤ"thank you, mentor" they all said in unison.

ㅤ"you don't have to thank me" i downplayed it. "by the way, only xinyue. you can skip the mentor thing" i repeated again. "i don't know how many times i've said that already" i laughed, looking at the staff with the cameras. they would probably edit my parts later, making a compilation of all the moments when i said to call me just xinyue. "anyway, let's start with the rehearsal" i said, holding my folder tightly. "today cheng xiao can't be with us, so it'll just be me. if you don't mind it obviously" i joked, intending to make the uncomfortable atmosphere between us fade away. "so who wants to start?" i asked them, looking at the two teams.

ㅤthey both looked at each other and in the end ziyi came forward. "we'll start" i nodded and sat on the floor in front of the mirror while they prepared to start dancing.

ㅤi put on the locks of hair that were falling down my face behind my ear as i watched the boys' movements very carefully. they had a high grade so i thought i would have to be a little more strict. besides, bu fan had already told me that they were incredible and i had higher expectations after that.

ㅤmost of the parts, the beginning and the chorus especially, were quite intimidating and i would even dare to say sexy. xukun's look was totally transformed. however, once the cute part of the song came, everything was ruined. they danced very well, but their expressions were not enough.

ㅤthe guys finished and i applauded them. overall, it was amazing.

ㅤ"it's very good" i told them honestly, and they thanked me. i took the pencil i had in my folder and started moving it around nervously. the bad part of the  feedback was coming. "but i think you have to keep watching peppa pig" u said, in a humorous way. everybody started laughing. "you really nail the cool part of the song. your moves are strong and decisive and your expression speaks for itself. however, even if you do the steps perfectly in the cute part, you're not going to convey anything. i'm sure you've been told a thousand times that it's the expression what matters most when you're on stage" they quickly nodded. "work on it. you can ask zhengting for help" i joked again. "i have to point out that your lovely expression is very captivating" i said, looking at him and smiling. he was instantly embarrassed. "on the whole it's very good" i added later, looking at each and every one of them. "you have surprised me"