On my way to stardom

10. Dinner Thief's identity

Both Taehyung Sunbae and I changed into new outfits. He is wearing a school uniform but the top two buttons are left undone. God, I've never seen school uniforms looking that good on anyone.

I also have a uniform-like outfit. The red checkered pleated skirt matches with the tie. A ribbon with the same pattern is used to tie my hair up into a half pony-tail.

'This scene is where Shannon sees Taehyung-ssi who is the most popular boy at school. She then falls down and Taehyung-ssi gives her a helping hand...' Director nim gives a brief introduction to the scene and then he lets us improvise.

'Ok! Good take. Thank you, Taehyung-ssi, we are done for the day!'

Taehyung Sunbae is so professional when filming, it's as if he puts on a whole other persona when the director screams 'action'. I wonder if he has ever been in any films or tv series. He'd be really amazing playing a role, I'm sure.

'Shannon, you did so well just now! The first time I shot a music video I couldn't stop smiling but our concept was rebellious,' Jimin Sunbae comes over.

'Thank you very much, Jimin Sunbaenim! It actually was all Taehyung Sunbaenim. I'm just following his lead.'

'You're too nice, Shannon. The song is amazing itself. I couldn't control my head voice when I first debuted and you're already doing such a great job at it. Way to go!' Taehyung Sunbae says.

'I actually got a lot of help from a vocal teacher,' I look over to see Dinner Thief is still seated in the same spot. 'He's right over there!'

Both Taehyung and Jimin Sunbae turn around to see who I'm referring to, and they both start laughing. Whether at me or at Dinner Thief, I'm not too sure.

Seeing how confused I am, they start explaining.

'You mean that emo guy in the huge-ass hoodie? That's Jungkook,' Taehyung Sunbae says.

'Ya, Jungkook-ah, come over here!' Jimin Sunbae says.

He slowly walks over with both hands in his pocket. His bucket hat is covering most of his face.

'Annyeonghaseyo, Jungkook Sunbaenim, I am Shannon. We met at the Namjoon Sunbaenim's studio?' I say.

'Oh, yeah, I remember,' he replies.

Is that it?

'Ya, Jungkookie, why are you so cool towards your hoobae? You're not like that in front of Yeonjun and others, what's wrong?' Jimin Sunbae asks.

'It's okay, Sunbaenim. I should probably get going, Danny is waiting for me at the dance studio,' I say before the atmosphere gets too awkward.

'Okay, we'll definitely call you! Make sure you pick up your phone!' Taehyung Sunbae says.

----------------

Bang PD has decided to pay a visit to the dance studio today to see how I'm progressing.

'Not bad, Shannon. But I want to change a few things...' Bang PD says.

He basically wants to change the choreography for the chorus.

All my hard work in the past week has gone to waste!

Danny says, 'it's fine, Shannon. Bang PD is this picky because he wants the best for his artists. We can still change choreography till the day of debut, so be ready for his impromptu visits!'

I nod. If the choreographer is still so optimistic, I shouldn't even be let down for a single second. 'Yes, sir! I'm ready.'

----------

Danny left after I've got down the newest version of the choreography, leaving me alone to practice.

When I first heard that trainees practice for 10 hours a day, I was in complete shock. Now, I fully understand 10 hours a day is truly not enough, perfection can never be reached.

Bang PD nim wants less jumping in the chorus so my vocals can rely less on the backing track while performing live. A dance break is also added because Mr. Park just confirmed that one of the music shows is giving my debut stage extra time! I'm both excited and nervous about it because I have never danced a full choreography in front of an audience, but I've worked so hard for this so I really ought to stop worrying about it.

I don't know how many hours have passed and my confidence is slowly building up as I master the dance so I decided to take a water break.

'OH MY GOD!'

Dinner Thief is sitting in the far corner of the practice room, both his eyes are fixed on me. How does he catch me off guard every time? I swear his shoes are sound-absorbing or something!

'Annyeonghaseyo, Jungkook Sunbae,' I managed to pull myself together.

He stands up and starts walking towards me. He hands me an energy drink and says, 'don't worry, this one is low in sugar. Jimin hyung drank this when he was on a diet.'

I receive it with both hands. I really don't know what else to say.

'How long have you been...'

'Long enough,' he finishes my sentence for me. 'Bang Sihyuk PD nim changed the choreo again, huh?'

Wait, how does he know this is not the first version of the dance? 'Yes, that's right, Sunbaenim.'

'To be honest, your moves are really stiff.'

Ouch.

'I see that you're really struggling with the body rolls, it's a really important move in transitioning between verses. Here's what I'd do...' Jungkook Sunbaenim demonstrates a body roll that is literally smoother than waves by the beach.

He then continues to do a few more body rolls and stops, 'why are you staring? You should follow me.'

I haven't even noticed I was standing there like a piece of wood. I get into the same position as him quickly and start to imagine myself as sea waves.

I'm still stiff as a board.

He finally can't stifle his laugh as he sees my awkward moves. He bends down to laugh even more which made his bucket hat fall from his head, revealing his brown-colored hair just slightly darker than mine.

'I'm so sorry, Jungkook Sunbaenim. I've never danced before...'

He finally stops laughing and waves his hands, 'no, don't be sorry. You just reminded me of RM and Jin hyungs when we first debuted.'

I let out a sigh, 'it's hard to imagine someone as bad as me.'

He says, 'oh no, they were even worse. Don't worry! You're doing a great job knowing you've literally been scouted half a month ago. You must be really stressed out.'

'I am slowly getting used to all this now. I just couldn't let go of the only shot I've got to...' I suddenly realised that I am revealing a bit more than I'd like to.

Jungkook Sunbae also notices my sudden pause, 'to what?'

'Oh, it's nothing. Jungkook Sunbaenim, I shouldn't keep you here for too long. You must also have a busy schedule as well, you should head home for some rest now. Thank you for the lesson,' I say.

He looks taken aback for a second because his usual straight face is back on again. He picks up his bucket hat and says, 'you also need rest. The last thing you need before debut is to overwork yourself, but I understand.'

Before he walks out of the room, he says, 'your hair looks really nice. See you around.'