Chapter 22 of 100

Chapter 22: Pyrrhic Victory

14 min read3,470 words

Qingtan Elementary School is the only primary school in Qingtan-dong, gathering students from Qingtan-dong and its surroundings. The school is quite large, with three four-story teaching buildings, a two-story large cafeteria, and a plastic track on the playground...

At this moment, in Class 5-1 of Building A, a math class was in session. The students were all paying close attention, but in the last row of the fourth column, one student was sleeping soundly on the desk. The math teacher seemed oblivious to this, continuing the lesson as if this student didn't exist.

This sleeping student was none other than Li Yunzai.

Li Yunzai had been studying and living at this school for a month. In the monthly exam in September, he secured a top-three position in the grade. Generally, even the top student in the grade wouldn't attract the attention of the entire grade or school, but Li Yunzai was an exception.

If a student could sleep for half the day and still maintain top grades, such a "supernatural" phenomenon couldn't help but draw attention. Over time, Li Yunzai's reputation as the "Sleeping God" gradually spread. Given his top grades, the teachers could only turn a blind eye and let him be.

However, it was no wonder Li Yunzai was like this. Due to his classes, he had to compress his evening time. To strive for a spot in Class B and aim for Class A, Li Yunzai put in a lot of effort. While other trainees practiced dancing for four hours at night, he practiced for five.

Every evening, from 6 PM to 7 PM, he trained in vocals, from 7 PM to 8 PM in instruments, and from 8 PM to 1 AM, he trained in dance on his own. Every night, Li Yunzai was the last person to leave the company, aside from the security guards. In the farthest room of the underground practice room, a cluster of light could always be seen seeping through the door. By the time Li Yunzai fell into a deep sleep, it was usually past 2:30 AM.

The next day, Li Yunzai would usually sleep until 8:30 AM, then spend half an hour getting to school, and sleep until 1 PM. After eating a bread and ramen, he would start his formal classes. However, during class, he didn't listen to the teacher but borrowed classmates' notes to study on his own for two hours.

In a sense, Li Yunzai was an anomaly at Qingtan Elementary School. He was often late and slept in class, but the time he spent studying diligently during the day never exceeded two hours. Yet, it was precisely these two hours of self-study that kept him at the top, always ranking in the top three in the grade.

To call him a bad student would be unfair, given his solid grades. Being late and sleeping in class wasn't a major disciplinary issue. To call him a genius wouldn't be accurate either, as he still needed two hours of self-study each day. After some deliberation, all the teachers labeled him as a "strange talent."

Within a month, the name "Strange Talent Li Yunzai" became well-known at Qingtan Elementary School. Although life was monotonous, it was fulfilling. Thus, October arrived.

...

The heat and irritability gradually subsided. The entire summer seemed to leave nothing behind except cracked earth and withered trees.

In the blink of an eye, Li Yunzai had been at S.M. Company for two and a half months, learning basic skills for two and a half months. The teachers hadn't taught him anything else, and he hadn't learned anything else. However, starting from October 1st, Li Yunzai began to learn real dance moves, not just basic skills.

At 10:30 PM on October 2nd, all the trainees had finished their training and gone home, leaving the empty basement to Li Yunzai alone.

In a corner, Li Yunzai repeatedly performed the same shaking movement. His body radiated heat, and sweat continuously dripped, soaking his T-shirt. It was undeniable that over the past two and a half months, Li Yunzai had lost a lot of weight, but the fat had been replaced by "essence."

Ten steps away, a plastic bowl was placed on the ground, filled with liquid. Although this was a cruel and perverse way to measure whether trainees were slacking off, it was undeniably effective.

Just as Li Yunzai was training intensely, Teacher Han walked into the practice room. He had been observing Li Yunzai for over a month. He had seen many diligent trainees, but never a 10-year-old who trained so rigorously and meticulously. He was also aware that some trainees would spit into the bowl to pass off as sweat, but he usually turned a blind eye unless it was absolutely necessary. However, Li Yunzai always completed his tasks to the fullest, which made Teacher Han curious.

During his observation, Teacher Han quickly noticed Li Yunzai's stubbornness. He always practiced an extra hour compared to others, and the ones he surpassed were all four to five years older. This alone made Teacher Han look at him differently. Today, he decided to teach Li Yunzai something new.

"Teacher... You haven't gone home yet!" Li Yunzai greeted Teacher Han, but didn't stop his movements.

Teacher Han smiled faintly and said, "Stop for a moment!" Li Yunzai stopped, looking at him in surprise.

"I'm very satisfied with your training. Your basic movements are excellent, so today I've decided to teach you the first dance step!"

Hearing this, Li Yunzai was initially stunned, then jumped up in excitement. He had been waiting for two and a half months, persistently training, and now he would finally learn real skills.

"Alright, don't get too excited. What I'm going to teach you is a bit challenging, unlike the simple stretching and shaking exercises."

Today, I'll teach you the first dance step: Breaking. Let me explain what Breaking is.

Breaking is a type of dance step in street dance, a part of Hip-Hop culture. Some people spend their entire lives studying this dance, creating new steps, and reaching the pinnacle of performance, providing an unparalleled visual impact.

As a representative dance in Hip-Hop culture, Breaking consists of several different styles: TopRock, UpRock, Footwork, Powermoves, and Freeze. Breaking originated in the Bronx, New York, where many DJs held music parties in the streets, creating a trend. Gradually, more people started dancing during the instrumental breaks in party music. A prominent DJ named Kool Herc invented a way to extend the instrumental breaks by combining two records, thus creating the BreakBeat music style. Those who danced during these breaks were called BreakBoys, or BBoys, and the dance they performed was called BBoying, which later became known as Breaking.

Breaking involves various quick steps, high-difficulty inverted poses, and mind-boggling body rotations. Experts can perform Breaking with incredible skill. If you want to master Breaking, you need a strong physique, but you're still young, so we'll focus on that later.

Today, I'll teach you a simple step, a basic inverted pose. For beginners, you can learn from a teacher, but once you enter the realm of Breaking, you need to create your own steps. That's the true essence of Breaking."

With that, Teacher Han turned on the music. Instantly, the strong beats filled the practice room. Before Li Yunzai could react, Teacher Han's feet were already moving rapidly, exuding the aura of a dancer.

Although the step was simple—just opening and closing his hands, crossing and uncrossing his feet, and spinning in place—under Teacher Han's demonstration, it looked fluid and effortless, a combination of skill and presence.

"Remember, as a street dance, you need to exude an aura. Street dance is about freedom. Many dancers compete in street battles, and to outshine your opponent, you need not only skill but also presence to overwhelm them."

Li Yunzai mimicked the steps, and after some time of shaking practice, he could move his body with a sense of rhythm, making his movements look natural. On the first try, Teacher Han saw Li Yunzai's movements in the mirror and smiled, thinking that the basic training had paid off.

"Good, but try to widen the angle of your hand movements and make them more fluid. Street dance doesn't have fixed movements. If your hand movements are graceful, they will complement your leg movements, making the overall performance more beautiful. Arm movements are also crucial!"

"Get a camera and record your practice. Don't be afraid of looking bad; continuous improvement is the key!"

...

At 1:30 AM, Li Yunzai was practicing the dance move in front of the mirror. Thanks to his solid basic training, after two hours of practice, his movements had improved significantly.

Ten minutes later, Li Yunzai collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted. After seven hours of intense training, he had drained all his energy and could barely move a finger.

Twenty minutes later, Li Yunzai finally got up, walking unsteadily out of the room.

At the same time, in the Myth dormitory.

"Brother... Yunzai has been training too hard lately. I'm worried he can't handle it! He's only ten, and this heavy training is too much for him!" Kim Dongwan looked at the clock, which read 2:10 AM, and Li Yunzai still hadn't returned to the dorm.

In the past, after returning to the dorm at 1:30 AM, Li Yunzai would be fast asleep. But since September, he had been coming back later than them, which made the six of them worry about his health.

After a few seconds of thought, Moon Hee-joon said, "Let's talk to Yunzai when he gets back!"

"Hey, he's back... he's here, he's here!" Lee Seung-ho, who was looking out the window, shouted to the others.

Ten minutes later, Li Yunzai climbed up to the seventh floor, opened the door, and walked in, completely drained.

"Hey... Hee-joon, Dongwan, why are you still up?" Li Yunzai asked, surprised to see everyone still awake.

"How was today's training, Yunzai?" Kim Dongwan asked, sitting on the sofa and resting his chin on his hand.

Mentioning the training, Li Yunzai's tired expression vanished, and he said excitedly, "Today, the teacher taught me Breaking. It's much more interesting than the basics... I practiced for an extra half-hour before coming back!"

Kim Dongwan and the others exchanged glances, sharing a bitter smile. Indeed, now he was obsessed with Breaking and practiced for an extra half-hour. If he learned mechanical dance, reggae, and jazz in the future, he might practice all night.

Li Yunzai took a large bottle of mineral water from the fridge, poured a glass, and drank it, sighing, "I'm so thirsty..."

Moon Hee-joon said, "Yunzai, your hard work is commendable, but you can't overdo it. Don't think the other trainees are as diligent as you. You're still young, and your energy is limited. Your bones haven't fully developed, so you can't push yourself too hard, or you'll hurt yourself!"

"Brother, I rest all day and only train for seven to eight hours at night. You're exaggerating!" Li Yunzai felt warm inside from their concern, but he thought he was training less than during the summer, only seven hours a day, so he couldn't possibly hurt himself. He didn't take Moon Hee-joon's words to heart.

"Can you handle this inverted lifestyle... Sometimes, don't push yourself too hard, or you'll end up hurting yourself..." Lee Min-woo couldn't help but add, "At your age, you need 8-9 hours of sleep. Look at how little you sleep at night. It's already 2:10 AM!"

Li Yunzai shrugged, clearly not taking their warnings seriously.

"It's fine. I know my body best. If I reach my limit, I'll rest... Besides, isn't it good to push your limits? You have to keep pushing to improve!"

The six of them exchanged glances, feeling helpless. At their age, they weren't as studious as Li Yunzai...

Suddenly, Kim Dongwan had an idea and said, "Yunzai, if you come back by 11 PM every day, how about we each give you a half-hour of individual training... You've done well with the basics, and it's time to learn mechanical dance, reggae, jazz, and Breaking. We can teach you some advanced moves! Your brother Min-woo, brother Seung-ho, and brother Hee-joon are all street dance experts!"

Hearing this, Li Yunzai's eyes lit up. This was a great opportunity... It was very appealing.

Now that Li Yunzai had started learning Breaking, he was hooked. The graceful movements fascinated him, and he was eager to learn more advanced steps. With Kim Dongwan offering to introduce him to Lee Min-woo, Shin Hye-sung, and Moon Hee-joon, it was exactly what he wanted.

"Alright, let's do it! Ha... Dongwan, you better keep your word! I'm going to take a shower!" Li Yunzai ran into the bathroom like a gust of wind.

"Hey... This kid seems to be really into dancing..." Kim Dongwan sighed.

"I hope his health can keep up... I'm really worried he'll collapse one day!" Lee Min-woo also sighed.

Li Yunzai was in a period of intense learning, or perhaps a feverish phase, focusing only on learning and neglecting his physical limits. The saying "balance work and rest" isn't without reason. If Li Yunzai continued training at this pace, he would end up with a Pyrrhic victory...

---