After watching the first episode of Singer, JunHo wanted to watch The Masked Singer. We watched two episodes because it's rare for JunHo to express his preferences to the group. We danced to the music and sang in unison, sometimes in harmony, sometimes completely out of sync. Then, much like at a party, everyone started chatting in groups. We discovered that Lovro was a huge fan of telenovelas and reality TV. He and Isidora started recounting all the telenovelas and reality shows they had watched since childhood. JunHo and Cat were talking about the latest anime they had started watching together. They discussed their impressions of the work and made guesses about what would happen next. It was mostly Cat, getting excited half in Japanese and half in English. Meanwhile, JiHo and I were half-listening to the show while pointing out everything that could go wrong on stage. JiHo was obsessed with Murphy's Law, perhaps because absurd things often happened to her, too. Then she started telling me about an incident she had heard of, and it quickly turned into an intense discussion about crimes committed against celebrities by their fans. Every now and then, Lovro and Isidora would join the conversation and then dive back into their novelas.
We stayed together until midnight, then everyone returned to their dorms, exhausted. The next morning, JiHo and I went through our usual routine: waking up, praying (or meditating in her case), working out together, and getting ready. We then joined the others in the cafeteria to eat. The small group of three we were at the beginning, Cat, Isi, and I, now counted three more members: JiHo, JunHo, and Lovro.
_By the way, Nam twins, which of you is the eldest? Lovro suddenly asked.
_Huh? JiHo Nuna is the big sister. JunHo said.
He seemed truly surprised by the question, as if it were obvious to us that she was the older sister. I had noticed because I'd heard JunHo call JiHo "Nuna" several times. Nuna means "older sister" in Korean. But for those who have no knowledge of the language, it's probably hard to believe that a tall, sturdy guy like JunHo is the little brother.
_What!!! Isi and Lovro exclaimed in unison.
_What's happening? Cat asked me in Thai.
I explained the situation to him in Thai while the conversation continued.
_JunHo is the baby of our family.
_Incredible. Lovro continued. What were you eating as a kid? He asked, laughing.
_The food my mother made. JunHo said, looking lost.
_It's the constitution of the men in my family. All our older brothers have this physique.
_It sounds like you're a family of martial artists or something. Isidora joked.
_Almost. All the men in our family are in the military or some type of national defense department. Our family has defended and protected South Korea for generations. JiHo said with pride.
You could feel the pride she felt for her family's history.
_Wow!! Amazing! Cat shouted.
_And with that, your parents agreed to let you become an idol? Lovro asked JunHo, curious.
I turned toward JunHo, just as curious as Lovro. I saw him playing with his fingers, looking shy.
_He didn't tell them he was participating in the show. He lied and said he was training in a physical conditioning program. JiHo sighed.
_And your parents didn't check if this program existed? I asked, surprised.
_They were too busy, and our Hyungs confirmed his alibi, so they didn't ask too many questions. JiHo continued.
_Incredible, JunHo! I wouldn't have thought you had that in you. I teased him.
_What are you going to do when they see you on television? Lovro asked.
_And you, JiHo, what was your excuse? Isidora asked.
JiHo laughed lightly, a bit surprised by the question.
_I'm the only girl in my family, so I have more freedom than my brothers. Besides, I've been doing underground rap battles since I was 14. They've been used to the fact that I'd be in this industry for a while now. She smiled.
_It's just that you're Appa's favorite. JunHo pouted.
_That too, obviously. JiHo smiled.
I gave a summary of everything happening to Cat so he wouldn't miss anything. Once he understood the situation, he turned to JunHo, fist raised, to give him a message of encouragement in Japanese.
_Good luck, JunHo!!
Following those words of encouragement, we finished our breakfast noisily, without dwelling too much on the disparity between the siblings' conditions. They seemed to have lived totally different childhoods. Discussions about various topics popped up around the table. We learned, for instance, that Lovro has been doing ballet and contemporary dance since childhood. He was even recruited by very prestigious dance troupes. While he was trying to decide between the Chunky Move Company and the Royal Ballet in London, his younger sister, a K-pop fan, signed him up for Stardom without his knowledge. He figured he could participate to make her happy before joining the dance troupe of his choice. He is literally a professional classical dancer. I can't believe JunHo won against him, both are so talented. It would be great to debut with them. I had previously watched videos of his performances and was captivated by his body movements.
After the meal, we all headed to the dance or vocal training rooms to practice. Around 3:00 PM, the candidates were gathered in the main hall. They announced the groups we would be in for the first week of Phase 3. We were divided into 17 groups of 5 candidates. Each coach would supervise 3 teams, except for JYP and Kany, who would supervise 4 teams each. I found myself in Team 7. We were three girls and two boys. It was the first time I had talked with them: Mame, a 19-year-old Senegalese, Amanda, an 18-year-old American, SeoJoon, 18, South Korean, and LingLing, a 19-year-old Chinese girl. The coach for our team was Kyle. He shared the choreography video we must practice starting tomorrow and gave us the song to perform: Fancy by Twice. The coach's choreography was completely different from the original, but it also worked very well for the song. I think they did that to challenge the team members to learn a new choreo in just a few days. It's really going to be hell.
The rest of the day, I spent in the dance studio with Cat to start practicing. Dancing is my weak point. Not that I'm bad, otherwise, I wouldn't have made it this far in the competition, but I need more time to memorize the choreo than the song. The song comes easily to me because I have an auditory memory, so I start with the dance. Cat, for his part, said he had no problem with either, so he decided to start with the dance with me. The others all went to vocals first. JiHo, because she wanted to practice her rap to articulate well, Lovro and Isidora, because of the language barrier. Their two groups' songs are K-pop songs, and they need time to articulate Korean properly. And JunHo, it was a matter of shyness. Despite being an incredible singer, he really needs a lot of time to prepare. Every now and then, they sent us updates on the group chat we created on Instagram.
The rest of the evening was just filled with training. Cat and I practiced two completely different choreographies side-by-side. He was dancing to the song Abracadabra by Felizz, a T-pop group. At the start of the practice, we still talked a lot to point out each other's mistakes in the choreographies. But as time passed, we made fewer errors. After a while, we stopped talking and each just focused on the performance. With the music coming from our headphones, we danced in silence with all our might. Little by little, I felt disconnected from reality, almost "in the zone."
Adrenaline flowed rapidly through me. Blood boiled in my veins, and I danced as if possessed. Cat and I danced as if we were a duo, a sort of tango where our bodies never touched. There was no physical contact, no signal, no communication, and it wasn't the same dance steps or the same music. But strangely, the steps complemented each other perfectly. By a coincidence I cannot understand, it was as if the two choreographies were made to be complementary.
... One two three, one two three, one two three. Left right, left right. A move to the right. Spin around. A hip movement here. Slowly, then faster. Moving closer. Moving back. Head snapped to the left. Straighten up. Hip movement. One two three, one two three, one two three. Left right, left right, left right...
At midnight, as if we had rehearsed it hundreds of times, our two performances ended at the exact same moment. Facing each other in that empty room, I felt as though a bond had just been created between us. Unfortunately, people will never see this performance.
_ Phi, did you feel that? Oh my God, I felt like I was on stage!!! Cat exclaimed, his face dripping with sweat.
_Me too. It's such a shame the others aren't here to see it. Do you think the coaches created these two choreographies this way on purpose?
_No idea. He shrugged. All I know is that you are officially my soulmate. We have to debut together. I don't know why you worry about your dancing. You were incredible!!
_Thank you. I laughed. You were fantastic yourself. We should do a duo one of these days.
I handed him a towel and a bottle of water to hydrate. I think we're done for today.
_I was just worried because I'm generally very slow at learning choreography. Not that I'm not good at dancing. My brain just takes time to connect all the movements into a choreography, that's all.
_Hum, I see. So it's amazing that you learned everything in one night.
_I just learned the general movements, I still need time to polish them. I explained.
_And there's a difference between dancing by yourself and dancing in a group. With the formation changes and all that, it's going to be tight. He sighed.
_This phase is going to be hell.
_Exactly.
He suddenly looked like an old man with his little worried face. It's good to see his serious side from time to time. But now isn't the time to mope, it's time to get some rest.
_Don't worry. As long as we remember that we aren't dancing alone on stage, everything will be fine.
He nodded, clenching his fists, very serious. His blue eyes shone like sapphires. I can already imagine the nicknames his fans will have for him. Not that he doesn't have enough nicknames now. After Phase 1, many of his fans started calling him "Cutie Pie" and "Little Prince" on social media. I gathered our things and we headed toward our dorms. When we reached the area where we had to part ways, I gave him back his things and we separated. Once in the girls' dorm, I took a shower and collapsed onto my bed, exhausted. The week ahead promises to be grueling.
___
References:
_The Masked Singer: An American musical reality TV show that has aired since January 2, 2019.
_Chunky Move Company: An Australian contemporary dance company created in 1995 by dancer and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek.
_The Royal Ballet: A British classical ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England.
_ Song Fancy by Twice
_ Song Abracadabra by Felizz
_ Inspiration partially drawn from BTS songs (방탄소년단) MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 'Interlude : Shadow' and 소우주 Mikrokosmos.
Thank you for reading and have a good day.