Yoon-jung searched ‘Whole Lotta Love Dance’ on the YouTube search bar for reference material. However, no one had ever danced to the original song before. Only a few danced to a remixed version, but none started from the beginning.

“Aaaaagh!”

“P-President Kang! Yoon-jung is acting weird! I’m scared…”

Jin-ah and the other members demanded an explanation from me with horrified expressions, and I readily told them the whole story. As I did, their mouths slowly dropped open.

“Wow… This is really…”

“President Kang, no matter what the situation was, that’s just…”

“What the heck! Why did you do that, dude?”

Shock, horror, fear.

They all looked pitifully at the room where Yoon-jung was suffering. It was as if they were watching a comrade being dragged to their doom.

“Yoon-jung will do just fine.”

“…”

“…”

“…I can’t watch this!”

The world went on. Yoon-jung practically lived in the practice room and put her streaming on hold. ‘Whole Lotta Love’ played non-stop in the practice room, causing the other members to temporarily stop their own practices.

Posts in the communities started demanding the reason for Yoon-jung’s extended absence, but Yoon-jung had no time to pay attention to them.

Yoon-jung and I also decided it was better not to mention anything until the video was released. This kind of tactic worked better when it was done in a short burst instead of being dragged out.

Then, finally, it was the day of the showdown. There was a certain madness in Yoon-jung’s eyes as she looked up at the Aligator’s Toe Dance signage.

“Yoon-jung, are you okay?” I asked, feeling a little worried.

“Yes. I’m fine. It’s not like I’m actually going to die. Let’s go.”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s all or nothing now,” she said and walked in confidently.

For some reason, she seemed especially fired up today. Her hair was tightly tied back, and she was wearing a crop top with wide-legged pants – her battle gear.

As a dance academy, ALTO also housed many students. They stared and whispered amongst one another as we walked through the corridor.

This couldn’t have been their first collab, but the atmosphere still felt different. It was probably a result from the previous comparisons between Yoon-jung and ALTO. It seemed like everyone knew something was going to happen today.

‘She’ll be okay, right?’

I glanced at Yoon-jung’s expression and saw her fully focused with no sign of hesitation. As expected of a future dance star. This all-or-nothing mindset wasn’t bad at all.

The two of us entered the biggest practice room and were greeted by Ah-young, ALTO’s members, and their students.

“Hello! My name is Yoon-jung Hwang from Blue Sherbet!” Yoon-jung greeted.

A moment of silence passed. Then, the atmosphere started to become unusual. Despite being compared to their teacher, the students were busy admiring Yoon-jung instead of being wary.

“…Is she even human?”

“She looks amazing in person!”

“Wow…”

Even the core members of ALTO, who were supposed to be her rivals, approached her with words of encouragement and admiration.

“Are you prepared? The song must have been really difficult.”

“You’ll do well. We watched your video and loved it.”

“I think you’ll do great. No pressure, and just do your best.”

Yoon-jung was taken aback by their eyes burning with passion. Her expression screamed ‘Huh? Huh?’ at the unexpected situation. It was the opposite of what she was expecting. I felt the same way.

“…What’s going on? Why is it so welcoming here?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Choreographer Ah-young asked back, looking genuinely puzzled.

“I mean, did you know this is supposed to be a showdown? I thought it would be more like a test of skill or just more competitive but this… This is outside of my expectations,” I responded.

“Oh! Initially, everyone did feel that way. But President Kang, you said you could beat 777 Dance Studio,” Ah-young said, smiling brightly. Her eyes were fired up.

So, that’s what it was: a rivalry against 777 Dance and the ambition to beat them. It seemed that the carrot I dangled in front of them was too tempting. Rather than setting themselves against us, they were more inclined to join hands with us.

“If we can catch up to their national popularity, we’ll do anything. All our team members feel the same.”

“You don’t get along with 777?” I asked.

Ah-young leaned in closer, her eyes wide.

“No! They’re our goal! We’re huge fans!”

“Oh… I see.”

Her passionate denial made me think we might have gotten into a physical fight if our relationship was any closer. 

After that chaos settled, Yoon-jung’s expression had changed considerably. Though, I wasn’t sure if it was due to the motivation from ALTO members or if it was because she was being cheered on by everyone.

“Hooo-! Hooo-!” Yoon-jung breathed out long, heavy puffs. Her eyes were shining with excitement.

It was debatable whether her previous all-or-nothing mindset was better or if the dangerous state she was in now was better, but it was too late for second-guessing. So, I decided to just let her be.

“Let’s get started then, shall we?”

Ah-young went first. She stood in the middle of the spacious practice room, straight at attention. By this time, the surrounding area was packed with students. On the inside, students were looking on from their spots on the floor. 

Students who were stuck outside were pressed against the windows, hoping to get a glance at what was happening inside. According to one of the ALTO’s members, students from other class times had also shown up.

“Go, Ms. Ah-young!”

“Ms. Ah-young, you’re so pretty!”

Things were getting fired up. Yoon-jung was sitting next to me, staring intently at Ah-young.

“I’m starting it!”

The sound of music mixed with the cheers of the students. It started with the famous guitar riff, and Ah-young nodded her head to the rhythm.

– You need coolin’, baby, I’m not foolin’.

When the singing part came in, she moved – smooth yet sharp. 

“Popping!?” Yoon-jung’s eyes widened.

Ah-young’s body moved in a way that seemed to snap and bounce with precision. In South Korea, it was sometimes referred to as ‘robot dancing.’ It often included exaggerated moves, but Ah-young’s popping was meticulously detailed.

“Woooh!”

“Yeahh!”

The surprise didn’t stop there. 

Next was dubstep dancing. Ah-young went through popping, animation, and wave dancing to match the vocals of the song.

Cheers from the students and ALTO members grew louder. Who would have expected this? In reality, though, dance often has a lot of overlapping elements.

Popping elements were incorporated into other dance styles like boogaloo, animation, robot, waving, tutting, and gliding. What was known as dubstep dance was actually just popping to dubstep music. K-pop dance pulled in styles from jazz, sports dance, popping, locking, and waacking.

(T/N: K-pop dance literally translated to “Broadcast Dance.” It’s a type of dance that is popular in South Korea. Although it was originally for dances that appeared on TV broadcasts, it’s now most commonly associated with K-pop music.)

Even though popping wasn’t Ah-young’s main specialty, her skills were impressive enough to make a lasting impression when paired with Robert Plant’s singing.

‘She came well-prepared.’

Who knew she would be so thorough in her preparations? Even if this ended up being a mutually beneficial situation, being compared to an unknown idol must have hurt her pride. 

‘This could get dangerous.’

Even if we got the attention, losing too badly could be worse than not doing anything at all. I believed in Yoon-jung, but this was unfamiliar territory. If she didn’t leave a strong enough impression on the students, the cheers would be much less enthusiastic, and it would show clearly in the video.

“Yoon-jung, are you sure you’re okay?”

Yoon-jung smiled, as if she knew what I was worried about.

“I’m fine. If she had only done K-pop dancing, it would have been riskier… but since she prepared popping, I think I can manage.”

She meant that since popping wasn’t Ah-young’s main specialty, it might be more manageable. There was some logic to that, but we couldn’t take Ah-young’s dancing lightly. The students and ALTO members seemed genuinely impressed.

But what could we do now? All I could do was believe in Yoon-jung until the very end.

“Do your best. No pressure.”

“Yes, sir!”

After Ah-young’s performance ended, Yoon-jung stood up. Her excitement was evident as she took Ah-young’s spot on the dance floor.

“Good luck! Just relax and do your best!” Someone shouted.

“Don’t be nervous. You got this!” Another voice chimed.

Words of encouragement poured in before the music started, probably because they didn’t expect her to match Ah-young’s performance.

There was a hint of pride for Ah-young and a concern that the contest might be too one-sided. But that soon started to change.

“…What happened?”

“Is she upset?”

Yoon-jung’s expression had turned slightly fierce. Her expression was a strange mix between excitement and anger.

“I’m going to start it, okay..?”

“Yes, please.”

In the uncertain atmosphere, the music began, and Yoon-jung glared intensely at the camera. It started with the opening guitar riff. Yoon-jung stomped her left foot forward powerfully and then did the same with her right foot. 

Bam! Bam! Boom!

“Huh…?”

“No way?”

– You need coolin’.

“Wooaahhh!”

“No way. Is she krumping!?”

In the moment when ‘You need coolin’ played, she swung her arm powerfully. The ALTO members, now certain it was krumping, cheered louder than they had for Ah-young. Even the students erupted in applause.

That was krumping for you. It was an extremely dynamic and intense dance style that excited the audience. Compared to old-school popping, krumping was a new-school dance that was hugely popular worldwide.

Although it included movements similar to popping, krumping lacked the restraint of popping. It was a flow completely opposite to what Ah-young had shown, and that made this even more enjoyable for the audience.

“Wow! That’s crazy!”

“Yooooo!”

Her chest popped, using large and intense movements, and her thunderous stomps shook the floor. 

Boom! Boom!

She scrunched her expression fiercely, as if growling, and shook her head. Though it was challenging to krump through the entire song, she mixed in waving and K-pop dancing to complement her krumping.

The cheers grew louder, and Ah-young chuckled, shaking her head.

“I never imagined she’d krump.”

– I’m gonna give you my love. I’m gonna give you my love.

Yoon-jung stomped – BOOM! – and shook her upper body roughly, then threw her fist toward the sky and transitioned into wave and animation dance.

She was literally tearing up the stage.

Seeing Yoon-jung’s explosive energy and the audience’s ecstatic reaction, I realized that my worries were unfounded.

“I guess she was a dance start for a reason.”

The top dance star in South Korea. A YouTube star with 10 million subscribers. A dancer respected by the best in the world.

Who would I believe in, if not her?

—

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