Chapter 36

# Chapter 036

Jang Hayang was so engrossed in dancing that she didn't hear Jo Ara's shouts.

Jo Ara grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around.

Only then did Jang Hayang come to her senses.

Amid the loud music reverberating through the practice room, Jo Ara shouted even louder.

"How can you dance while holding your breath?!"

There was one aspect of Jang Hayang's dance that Jo Ara alone highly praised.

It looked well-organized.

Jang Hayang continued her dance lines without showing any signs of breathlessness, maintaining a clean and neat form.

In that aspect, she seemed to have a good sense.

"Is it not supposed to be like that...?"

It was a ridiculous misconception.

Jang Hayang wasn't naturally talented; she was forcing herself to hold her breath to create a neat dance.

Now, it was clear why her breathing was as rough as a beast's when she finished dancing.

Because she was holding her breath as much as possible while dancing!

"Of course not!"

"I thought this way looked better... That's why..."

There are people who do this.

Dance is a performing art.

Imagine a dancer on stage, panting and showing signs of fatigue.

The audience would also feel tired and uncomfortable.

So, some dancers restrain their breathing while dancing and only take deep breaths after the performance is over.

To complete a perfect piece of work.

But is Jang Hayang a skilled dancer?

No.

If she does this, she will faint and collapse on the floor.

"Have you been doing this all along?"

"Yes. I didn't know it was wrong. I won't do it anymore."

"Breathing... ha..."

Jo Ara sighed.

She had confidently said she would teach Jang Hayang, yet she couldn't even point out this one thing.

Baek Minjeong, Jo Ara's teacher, would have immediately noticed upon seeing Jang Hayang.

But Jo Ara had only complained about Jang Hayang's lack of stamina.

She couldn't help but blame herself.

"Breathing is a part that needs to be refined separately."

People with a good sense of rhythm can do it well even without being taught, but Jang Hayang clearly couldn't.

If she knew how to distribute her breath properly, she wouldn't have been holding her breath.

"I'll look at your breathing before your movements."

"Okay. Thanks. And sorry. I'm not keeping up well, am I?"

Sorry.

This wasn't a statement blaming her own inexperience.

She felt guilty for the time Jo Ara was spending on her, and that's why she felt a sense of guilt.

"I'll work harder."

To avoid taking up four more hours of Jo Ara's time.

Jo Ara read the underlying meaning in Jang Hayang's words.

'This girl...'

Even when facing a wall, she doesn't blame her own abilities.

She doesn't blame the person teaching her.

The only negative emotion Jang Hayang had was guilt towards Jo Ara.

How can such a person exist?

"Hey, hey."

Jo Ara hugged Jang Hayang as if to comfort her.

"It's because I'm not teaching you well."

"No. Thanks to Ara, I've come this far. If not, I wouldn't even have memorized the dance. I'm sorry."

She's really an angel...

* * *

"Are you going to run all the way home...?"

"Yep!"

When everyone looked at her in disbelief, Jang Hayang added more details.

"I've been receiving training, and I realized my problem. I, I don't have stamina."

Not only Seong Pil but also Jo Ara agreed with this.

Jang Hayang seemed like someone who had never exercised in her life.

Of course, her poor stamina wasn't solely due to a lack of exercise.

She walked as much as possible and avoided public transportation, yet having no stamina didn't make sense.

It was simply because Jang Hayang wasn't eating properly.

"I'll exercise on my way home. Two birds with one stone, right? Killing two birds with one stone?"

"It's dangerous at night."

"Come on, where's the danger in Korea? I'll only walk on main roads."

The distance from the company to Jang Hayang's home was quite close.

If the traffic lights were timed well, it would take about 50 minutes to walk, and 20 minutes by car.

Sometimes it could take as little as 15 minutes.

It might be an appropriate distance for jogging to improve stamina.

"Are you really okay with this?"

"Really, I'm fine."

"Contact me if you fall."

"Why would I fall?"

"Right. You've been working hard lately. There will definitely be good results. But you should rest when you need to."

Jang Hayang smiled at Seong Pil's encouragement.

"Manager, take breaks while working. Don't collapse."

Jang Hayang waved until Seong Pil's car disappeared from view.

Soon, she slowly jogged across the street and disappeared.

A few minutes later, after dropping off all the children, Seong Pil returned to the company, finished the remaining tasks, and went home.

A short while later, Jang Hayang, who had been hiding around the corner, revealed herself.

"Is this the password?"

Beep, beep, beep, beep, click.

Jang Hayang went up to the second floor of the company.

The practice room door was locked, but she knew where the key was kept.

She brought the key, opened the practice room door, and went in.

Jang Hayang turned on the lights and started stretching.

'If I say I'm staying to practice, Manager Park won't be able to go home.'

Seong Pil would wait for Jang Hayang's supplementary practice to end and then drive her home.

He had been doing this for the past few weeks.

Jang Hayang continued her supplementary practice until past midnight. She wanted to practice until dawn.

But because of Seong Pil, she had no choice but to finish in two or three hours and go home.

'I'm sorry...'

She didn't want her practice to reduce Seong Pil's sleep.

Jang Hayang enjoyed the silence that had settled over the company for a moment, then turned on the music and immersed herself in practice.

As she wished, she continued until dawn.

* * *

Vocal practice room.

Baek Seolhwa and Jang Hayang looked at each other.

Or rather, Jang Hayang was looking down.

"Hayang."

The restrained anger in Baek Seolhwa's voice was palpable.

"Why are you doing this?"

Jang Hayang couldn't keep up with Baek Seolhwa's teachings.

If that was all, she wouldn't have been scolded.

Even with a little time to memorize and repeat, Jang Hayang couldn't manage it.

This wasn't just a lack of ability; it was a lack of effort.

Baek Seolhwa had held back for a few days before finally deciding to scold Jang Hayang.

"Didn't you say you acted before?"

"Yes..."

"When you first learned acting, you memorized theories like Stanislavski's, right? No matter how difficult, you memorized, acquired, repeated, and mastered them to make them your own. It's not just about acting. So why do you think singing is different?"

Vocals are a skill.

They also have an academic foundation.

There's a big difference between just singing and singing with knowledge.

What Baek Seolhwa required was 'knowledge,' but Jang Hayang didn't seem to focus on that.

When asked to explain what a resonance point is, what it is, and how to find it, Jang Hayang gave vague answers and admitted she didn't know.

If she had made an effort to read and memorize the printouts Baek Seolhwa gave her, she should have been able to answer.

"Do I have to beg you to do this? Please, can you do this for me?"

"No..."

"You came here to be an idol. Idols are singers. There are many good singers in Korea. Too many. You want to make a living by singing among them, right?"

"Yes..."

"Then why are you like this? Why don't you do what I tell you to do, memorize what I tell you to memorize, and do what I tell you to do?"

Jang Hayang didn't make excuses.

She didn't say she read the printouts Baek Seolhwa gave her every day, tried to memorize them, or practiced tirelessly during supplementary practice time.

She just bowed her head without saying anything.

Since the results weren't showing, her efforts were meaningless.

Her silence was taken as an admission by Baek Seolhwa.

"Hayang."

Baek Seolhwa scolded her systematically.

She didn't blame Jang Hayang as a person but focused on her actions.

"The final exam is coming up soon. Don't you want to join the company?"

"I want to stay."

"Then you need to work harder."

"...Yes."

Baek Seolhwa's anger was unprecedented.

Rika had been secretly watching this historic scene.

"Let's stop for today. Go out."

"Yes..."

Jang Hayang left the practice room with a dejected step.

Baek Seolhwa wasn't at ease even after scolding her.

Of course, scolding someone isn't enjoyable. But what Baek Seolhwa was worried about was different.

'Can someone like Hayang join our company?'

She somehow managed to fill the practice hours, but the results weren't showing.

If the results weren't good, the cause was obvious.

'She didn't put in the effort.'

It was a simple truth.

If you put in effort and practice, your skills should naturally improve.

It was impossible not to think that Jang Hayang lacked the basic concept of 'effort.'

No matter how much Seong Pil had brought her in, Baek Seolhwa was becoming increasingly wary of Jang Hayang.

"Huh."

Baek Seolhwa sighed for the first time in a long while.

Creak, the door opened slightly.

"Unni, I'm sorry. I'll work harder."

Jang Hayang apologized again. Baek Seolhwa quickly put on an angry face and nodded indifferently.

Rika, who had been watching from outside the door, quickly disappeared down the hallway to avoid being caught.

* * *

Seong Pil went to the acting academy Jang Hayang used to attend.

He met with the instructor who had taught her and listened to what they had to say.

"Oh, so Hayang quit."

From the instructor's perspective, Seong Pil was no different from a thief who had taken away a student. However, he didn't seem to care much.

"Should I apologize?"

"Academies are places people attend if they need to and don't if they don't. Honestly, I think it's fortunate that Hayang went in a different direction."

"Did she lack talent for acting?"

"It wasn't just a lack of talent. I often wondered if she was ignoring me or if she was just stupid. But when I saw her practice, she seemed to put in effort..."

The instructor said this.

Jang Hayang was slow in memorizing scripts, understanding acting theories, and correcting pointed-out issues.

"To put it simply, she just seemed to have a bad head."

"..."

"Oh, sorry. I heard she became a trainee at your company. But is she good at dancing or singing? Maybe she just lacked talent for acting."

She's not good at dancing or singing either.

When Seong Pil didn't respond, the instructor had a 'I knew it' expression.

"Her appearance is perfect for an actor. I recommended her a few times, but it just didn't work out. Still, she's a good kid, and she has good social skills. It would be better if she went into a different field."

Seong Pil came here to hear such words.

He had been worried about Jang Hayang's slow learning speed.

Although he got the answer he wanted, he didn't feel good about it.

It felt like his heart was being dragged to the ground.

From leaving the academy to heading back to the company, Seong Pil felt nothing but gloom.

"Manager Park, Manager Park!"

As soon as he entered the academy, Rika called out to Seong Pil as if she had been waiting.

Rika took Seong Pil to a corner and spoke as if it were a secret.

"I saw Seolha Unni get angry for the first time!"

Starting from there, Rika vividly described the situation that had just happened.

Her expressive skills were so good that it made one wonder if she should be the one acting.

'Rika said she was preparing to be an actor. If Rika is this good, then Hayang...'

When the story ended, Rika made a sad face.

"Does Hayang Unni not like our company?"

"..."

Yes, that would be the normal thought.

Logically, not being able to keep up with hours of practice doesn't make sense.

People would think, 'Is she not interested?' 'Does she not want to do it?'

"How can we make Unni like our company? I like Unni."

Seong Pil patted Rika's shoulder, meaning 'don't worry.'

"Why would Hayang not like it?"

"But why..."

"I'll ask her."

Seong Pil decided to have a conversation with Jang Hayang.

Jang Hayang, who was suddenly dragged away from practice, looked bewildered.

"Hayang."

"Yes!"

Jang Hayang answered energetically.

Despite having been scolded just now, she didn't look like someone who had been scolded.

Seong Pil brought up what he had been thinking about while listening to Rika's story.

"Is it hard?"

"What? No, it's not hard."

That's impossible.

People are not robots.

When they hit a wall, they naturally feel frustrated.

How many frustrations and despair has Jang Hayang experienced so far?

It's not easy for a human to say 'it's fine' and move on every time.

"It's okay to say it's hard if it is."

"It's not hard."

"..."

"And even if it is hard, I won't say it. I'm not the only one who's struggling. If I show that I'm struggling, everyone will..."

"You can show it to me."

"Can I show it to Manager?"

Jang Hayang playfully pretended to pull down the shoulder of her clothes.

When Seong Pil remained expressionless, Jang Hayang stopped.

"Do I look like I'm struggling?"

"...Hayang. You can quit if you want."

Until now, Jang Hayang had only been smiling faintly.

"Y-Yes? Yes? Yes? E-Yes?"

Her always-upturned eyes and corners of her mouth slowly drooped.