A single sentence from the company transfers Lin Qiyue straight from the film and television department to the trainee department. He joins the company's fifth-generation idol group as a "parachuted-in trainee" and enters an unfamiliar world.
First, he has to get along with a group of peers:
A decisive, detail-oriented leader
A competitive rap perfectionist
An impatient dance ace
A straight-laced fitness enthusiast
An impulsive challenger
A haughty little genius with a high range
But the real challenge is the work itself. The camera presence he developed from acting becomes a hindrance in the dance studio. He keeps instinctively staring in one direction to find the "camera," making his movements fall out of sync with the beat. Singing is even worse. He gets out of breath after just a few lines and can't seem to catch his breath. Whenever the group reaches the high notes, he has to quietly lower the key. Even more frustrating, the internet is full of doubts. Longtime fans hold up signs saying "No parachuted-in trainees," and the comments are full of people telling him to "stop riding on idols' coattails." Some even call him a "background prop" and say he'll be "eliminated in the first round." During that time, he often stays alone in the practice room after everyone else has left, staring blankly at himself in the mirror, growing less and less sure of himself.
But he has no intention of giving up. Every day, he breaks dance videos down into ten-second segments and practices them over and over in slow motion. His knees and waist are covered in medicated patches, and even sitting down takes care. When his throat gets hoarse from singing practice, he sucks on throat lozenges and follows breathing exercises on his phone, practicing diaphragmatic breathing while running up and down the stairs. He also takes the chance to ask the leader for advice whenever they are organizing notes, asking how to bring the emotional expression he learned from acting into his stage movements.
*The timeline of this story may need revision. Updates are tentative.
*A slice-of-life story about growing up.
*The CP pairings are a big mix. Feel free to nominate pairings you'd like to see.
*I'm bad at writing blurbs.
*Slow updates.
Theme: Become a light
