HANEUL and his teammates walked to the waiting room where groups would stay after performing to check the points the live audience gave them. Inside were two couches, and a screen mounted on the wall facing them. Baek Eunwoo's team was already seated on the left couch, so Haneul's group moved to the right one after exchanging quick nods with the other team.
As they sat down, Haneul glanced across the room. Aside from Eunwoo, who looked as composed as ever, the rest of the opposing team seemed tense. One was bouncing his knee, another chewing his lower lip. Their nervous energy was almost palpable.
Not that he could blame them. Even he was on edge, despite their group doing great. There was something nerve-wracking about the audience you just performed to give points to your performance, like reducing all your effort to a set of numbers.
But this was a competition, ranking performances with numbers was just how things worked.
