## Chapter 1357 – ##14.5_Idol Rhapsody (3)
##107
1.
The preparations for Witches’ debut were progressing very quickly.
The label partner in charge of the music provided the song in just a week.
Every artist has a ‘secret weapon’ hidden away.
They bet that ‘secret weapon’ on Witches’ debut, which was sure to draw attention and focus.
What people expected from Witches wasn’t the all-around charm of a veteran idol.
CEO Oh knew it was unreasonable to expect that from an idol group trained in three months.
After all, in the idol scene, a song was just an advertisement to promote the idol, wasn’t it?
“Everyone sings better than I thought? We didn’t even have to touch it that much.”
However, the engineer who had been working through the night on mixing and mastering said, sounding bewildered.
It was true that the result was decent, considering they had started from scratch with no prior experience.
Thus, the recording and mixing of the album were completed in a flash.
Meanwhile, the PR team was constantly working, teaser tidbits were being thrown out, and they were gradually teaching choreography that wasn’t even fully completed. It was like climbing a tree while building the ladder on the spot.
It was something only TO Entertainment, packed with know-how, could do.
On the other hand, the choreography was the most carefully worked on aspect.
Since the performances would be lip-synced anyway, Witches’ ability to pull off the choreography was crucial to their success.
Therefore, CEO Oh asked the most trusted choreography trainer for special training.
The choreography for the single album ‘City of Witch’ was created by combining the cutest and most cheerful movements possible.
It was much easier than dynamic and powerful dances.
They minimized the group dance parts that were difficult to synchronize and structured it so that each member’s individual parts would be connected in a relay dance style.
This reduced the number of moves to memorize.
Even so, dance is an art.
If a beginner with no foundation tried to follow it, there would inevitably be awkward parts.
“Is this good enough?”
Then, how should one interpret this small, cute pink witch who perfectly copied the choreography after seeing it just once for 10 seconds?
“Have you ever danced before?”
“I have been to a ball a few times… but that was over a hundred years ago.”
“….Then, would you try following the rest?”
The trainer showed a cute and bubbly dance.
Eloa’s part was to put her hands on her waist and extend her legs with a ‘thump-thump’ motion.
Finally, she wiggled her waist and finished by raising her palms like rabbit ears.
It was made up of simple movements that were more suitable for a challenge or a reel than an idol choreography, but even so, it was impossible to follow it perfectly in one go…
“L-like this, perhaps?”
The trainer couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
The dignified witch, who had been smiling shyly, had perfectly executed the movements as if she had copied and pasted them.
“For me, it feels too… how should I say it… like I’m trying too hard to be cute….”
“No… Bravo, it’s perfect.”
That’s right.
Eloa was a master of martial arts who could precisely control her limbs down to the millimeter.
On top of that, she had insane dynamic vision that allowed her to see through an opponent’s movements by observing the movement of their muscles and ligaments.
If she thought of it as following a slightly swaying sword dance, she could copy a 15-second dance move after seeing it just once.
“I’ll try too. Like this? Like this? How is it?”
The next person after Eloa was Dorothy.
Frankly, Dorothy the witch had very large breasts.
Even though she had minimized the shaking with a sports bra, the impression of ‘large’ couldn’t be erased.
Breasts that large didn’t suit actresses or idols.
They looked bulky and sluggish on camera, and they drew attention solely to their sexual appeal.
Even though the trainer was well aware of this fact, she couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Honestly, the choreography is less polished than Eloa’s.”
“Really?”
“But your facial expressions are very good.”
“Right?”
Although Dorothy was so sly, the moment she started dancing, she transformed into a dreamy girl with rich expressions.
There was an innocence that made it impossible not to stare, even for someone of the same gender.
Considering that there were still more than two months left, Dorothy was the most complete idol here.
“Next, is it… Elder Sua…?”
“You don’t need to call me ‘Elder’.”
CEO Oh had learned the expression ‘Elder Sua’ from Assemblyman Kim Jun-beop, and this expression was passed down to the trainer.
Also, since the trainer was Korean, she couldn’t help but feel particularly reverent towards Ms. Sua, from whom she had heard and seen the most news.
However, for Sua, who had been traumatized by the harsh Korean internet comments and had been bedridden, it was like a switch that triggered her trauma.
“I will try.”
Sua’s part consisted of cute steps and movements that were meant to be scary, like a cat pouncing.
“……”
After finishing the movements, Sua covered her face and quietly crouched down without even listening to the evaluation.
It wasn’t just because she thought the movements were childish.
It was because she clearly hadn’t done as well as the previous two.
In fact, she missed most of the movements, slurred them, and was off-beat.
“It’s okay. You did really well for your first time.”
However, the trainer nodded.
Yes.
This was normal.
This was the usual level of a beginner dancing for the first time.
“There are still two months left to practice, so you’ll get better gradually.”
“Yes…”
The last in line was a witch with a very cold expression.
“Hmm, is it my turn?”
Her tone was also arrogant and overbearing, so the trainer found her the most difficult.
Luelle, who stepped forward bravely, began to dance with a confident expression.
Luelle’s part was full of cool and refreshing movements, befitting a queen of the sea.
It was like a dance you might see at a beach party at a resort, with a bit of detail and cuteness added.
After finishing the short demonstration, Luelle raised her chin and asked.
“How was it?”
“Uh, um… uh….”
The trainer was greatly shocked.
How could she ask that as if she had done so well?
“Since the movements you demonstrated were so clumsy, I have revised them in my own way.”
The trainer found a clue in Luelle’s use of the word ‘revised’.
“Ah, I see. Did you perhaps revise it with voguing in mind?”
For some reason, Ms. Dorothy was covering her mouth and chuckling, but the trainer asked seriously.
Voguing dance was a genre that imitated the poses of fashion models and was named after the magazine Vogue.
It emphasized certain poses and moved acrobatically, so to a non-expert, it might look like ‘mercury poisoning seizures?’ It was a minor genre.
Perhaps voguing was a mainstream culture in the witch society.
Voguing originated in the LGBT community, and she had heard somewhere that there were many homosexuals among witches.
“Hmm? What is that?”
“Ah, never mind….”
It wasn’t.
Well, voguing was a dance, after all.
If the trainer, an expert in this field, had seen it, she would have recognized it.
It was just that her judgment had been temporarily clouded by an extra-dimensional dance that was too dangerous for humans to understand.
There were two months left until the deadline.
The complacency that she had thought was enough disappeared like a candle flame, and a bright red warning light flashed above her head.
It was an emergency.
2.
It had already been a week since Luelle, greatly shocked by the trainer’s poignant criticism, had devoted herself to training.
“Ughhh….”
Luelle sprawled out on the floor, her white t-shirt soaked, and complained.
“Why! Why am I the only one who can’t do it! Even Ms. Sua has become so skilled!”
Luelle had been working day and night.
Her pride wouldn’t allow her to be the only one who was lacking.
Even after everyone had returned to the dorm, she remained in the practice room and practiced alone. The amount of sweat she had shed during that time was more than the amount Luelle would have shed in 10 years.
However, all that effort had only revealed that she was an incredibly terrible dancer.
Unlike other witches, Luelle had lived alone inside a submarine, and she had thought that she would continue to live that way. Therefore, she had not received any kind of gifted education in dance.
“Luelle, don’t rush too much. There is still plenty of time left.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty. I’ll teach you, so why don’t you try it slowly?”
Sua, who was timidly dancing a slightly improved dance in the distance, and Dorothy, who had already become proficient in the choreography, comforted Luelle.
“……”
The trainer watched them with a sigh.
The wall of talent was cruel.
No, honestly, that was a talent in itself.
Not just anyone could dance a perfectly normal choreography like a Cthulhu summoning ritual.
But at this rate, they wouldn’t be able to make it in time for their debut.
Even if it was a relay dance, it wasn’t like the other members would just stand there while one person was dancing, was it?
Luelle was hindering everyone’s practice.
Knowing this, Luelle quietly spoke up.
“No… I cannot cause harm to the team… It is time to give up… I shall… retire.”
It was a very gloomy voice, but from the trainer’s point of view, it was welcome news.
It seemed better to either recruit a new member to replace Luelle or debut as a trio than to keep carrying her along.
However, the trainer couldn’t bring herself to let her go so easily.
The trainer, who was guiding her from the side, knew best how sincere Luelle was.
It was then.
-Knock knock
“Hello.”
Suddenly, a man came in with his hands full of chicken and pizza.
At first, the trainer was furious.
This project was being carried out in strict secrecy.
They were putting all their efforts into security to maximize the event’s impact.
But to send a delivery person all the way to the practice room, what was wrong with them?
“You can’t come in here…!! Get out right now… uh?”
The trainer froze for a moment, dumbfounded.
If the witches were so beautiful that they were even awe-inspiring to the trainer, whose standards were very high, then the man was so handsome that he was awe-inspiring.
A calm gaze that felt both composed and strong.
“Um, who…?”
“Ah, I heard that Luelle was feeling a bit down….”
“Shiwoo!!!! What brings you here!!!!”
Luelle, who had been slumped over just a moment ago, ran and hugged Shiwoo.
The trainer was caught in a habitual dilemma, wondering whether she should point out the trainees’ dating in front of her.
It was Shiwoo’s visit to the practice room for Luelle, who was feeling down.
