Chapter 10
Production team: What did you think about the other trainees’ song selections?
[Ryu Bo-ra: I think everyone chose well.]
[Juhong: No, everyone except me is a genius. How did they come up with their choices so quickly? Everyone must have planned it out without me, right?]
[Kim Geum: …Not easy.]
Production team: Who do you think chose the best song?
[Kim Ryeo-yu: Baek-young unnie? She seemed to know her charm precisely. That unnie is annoyingly good.]
[Jo Hee-on: Everyone did well, but… probably…]
[Kyunga: Cheong.]
[Suin: Yoon Cheong trainee.]
[Seo Baek-young: Cheong.]
[Juhong: No, I was really surprised. Does that unnie have an IQ of 200? How did she come up with that idea?]
Production team: Why do you think Yoon Cheong trainee made the best choice?
[Yu-hyun: I only thought about our currently active seniors.]
Production team: What kind of seniors are Purple Apple? Why didn’t you think of them?
[Jo Hee-on: Well, strictly speaking, Purple Apple isn’t from our agency. So we didn’t think of them.]
[Seo Baek-young: I never imagined anyone would think to cover our agency CEO…]
That was it.
The “Purple Apple” Cheong chose wasn’t actually part of Colors.
To be precise, “Hong Yeonseo,” the CEO of Colors, was a member of Purple Apple.
CEO Hong, like many entertainment company bosses, was a former idol.
The production team had debated whether to accept this, but in the end, they did.
Why?
“Isn’t it fun? It’ll probably create some buzz.”
PD Oh’s one comment made it pass.
[Ryu Bo-ra: And it’s not something everyone could come up with. It takes confidence to choose a legendary senior. I liked seeing that confidence.]
[Juhong: It’s a song from 25 years ago! Incredible.]
[Kim Ryeo-yu: Is it that impressive? Honestly, everyone probably thought about it. They just didn’t choose it.]
Production team: So, Ryeo-yu trainee, you considered it?
[Kim Ryeo-yu: I did think about it. But I like White Noise seniors.]
[Juseon: If we had more time, everyone would’ve thought of it. But the time limit was too tight, so they couldn’t.]
Production team: …What do you say to that?
[Kim Geum: Another trainee said that? That if they had more time, they would have thought of it?]
[Kim Geum: (laughing)]
[Kim Geum: That’s like the egg of Columbus.]
[Kim Geum: Well… they should’ve thought of it earlier. Credit where credit is due. Cheong unnie made a good choice, in my opinion.]
[Juhong: I didn’t see it before, but that unnie is a dark horse! Her original song last time too!]
***
Production team: Why did you choose Purple Apple’s song?
[Cheong: Oh, I…]
Subtitle: Yoon Cheong trainee’s shocking answer is…?
[Cheong: First of all, I highly respect Purple Apple seniors.]
[Cheong: (shy smile)]
[Cheong: And, how should I put it? The moment I heard the word ‘mentor’, they came to mind.]
Production team: Why?
[Cheong: If I’m going to have a mentor… wouldn’t the best senior be the best choice? Especially if it’s the CEO…]
Subtitle: Burning ambition…!
[Cheong: Oh, I’m just kidding. I just respect our CEO a lot. But, well, would she really come as a mentor? She’s a very busy person. I don’t have high expectations.]
Subtitle: Yoon Cheong trainee provoking the pride of the production team
[Cheong: For me, just covering the song is an honor. I don’t expect to actually have the CEO as my mentor!]
Of course, I hoped for it.
Hong Yeonseo, known as CEO Hong, was a unique person.
First of all, she was fundamentally an attention seeker.
She loved being in the spotlight. Not just because she was a former entertainment industry worker… she was just naturally like that.
She pretended to be cool and serious, but to me, she was just an attention addict.
She probably wanted to be on broadcast again since she hasn’t done it much recently. She must be itching for it.
Since coming out of this was not a good look.
I threw out a bait like this, giving them a reason to come out.
There was a reason I targeted Hong Yeonseo by interpreting the rules in my favor.
“Cheong, your idea earlier was good.”
Kim Ryeo-yu.
It was because of her.
I glanced at the camera. The red light was on, and it was recording.
She was talking to me because we were in front of the camera.
“Oh, thanks. You picked a great song too.”
She was a relative of Director Kim, one of the judges.
Kim Ryeo-yu disclosed from the start that she was a relative of Director Kim.
To completely prevent any controversies later on.
Anyway, the debut team would be decided by votes, and she claimed that she was confident enough as Kim Ryeo-yu, not just as Director Kim’s relative.
Interestingly, she was popular precisely because of that attitude.
They said her confident demeanor was charming.
…She was certainly a rare character.
“This time we couldn’t do the solo mission together, but let’s do well together next time.”
Kim Ryeo-yu extended her hand to me.
“Sounds good.”
And I took her hand.
In front of the camera, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
“Are you going to practice now?”
“Yeah. I need to try singing alone in the vocal room.”
“Let’s go together. I’ll practice in the room next to yours.”
“…Okay, let’s do that.”
If it wasn’t for the camera, I would have refused immediately.
I had no choice.
…But why was she acting so friendly towards me?
I walked side by side with Kim Ryeo-yu to the vocal room.
To keep Director Kim in check, CEO Hong had to step up.
One thing I learned from my time in the entertainment industry:
You need to align with the right people.
If you’re going to align, it should be with the strongest one.
The one who would be the last to fall.
***
D-3.
Three days before the mission evaluation—
The much-anticipated interim check day.
And the day we met our mentors for the first time.
In “Make a New Color,” mentors played a significant role.
Since the mentors were usually senior members from the same agency, the agency encouraged active mentoring.
From small advice on vocals and dance to creating concepts together.
So, the mentors’ presence was very important.
Naturally, everyone was nervous.
“Alright, everyone.”
Once all the trainees had gathered, PD Oh began.
“First, only three judges will watch your performances directly. The mentors will receive the videos.”
Of course. All twelve mentors couldn’t come.
I nodded.
“Any questions?”
As soon as PD Oh finished speaking, a hand shot up.
Ah, it was…
“Yes, trainee Yeon Juhong?”
“When can we know who our mentors are?”
Yeon Juhong.
A trainee with mixed evaluations among the other trainees.
Someone says,
‘Hmm, isn’t she a bit ambiguous…? She’s not the best in terms of skills, nor does she stand out visually compared to others.’
Some evaluated her like this.
Someone else might say,
‘She might find it hard to debut.’
But then again—
‘But once she debuts, she’ll probably be the most popular.’
In the end, this was the conclusion they came to.
And I agreed.
Because.
“Oh, you will find out after the interim evaluations are all finished. You’ll meet the mentors with your evaluation results and videos.”
In fact, Yeon Juhong did debut and was incredibly popular.
More than anyone here.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
Of course, she didn’t debut with Steel Blue.
“Now, let’s start the draw for the interim evaluation order. Trainee Kim Ryeo-yu! Come out, pick one, and return to your seat.”
Starting with Kim Ryeo-yu, the trainees came out one by one to draw their order.
I also drew my lot around the middle.
Let’s see, my order was…
12th.
Last.
Nice. It was definitely good to be last if you wanted to leave a strong impression.
…Although it also depended on how they edited the footage.
The other trainees also seemed fairly satisfied with their order.
Except for the one who got 1st—Yeon Juhong.
“I’m screwed…”
Yeon Juhong was grabbing her hair in despair.
Why was she so devastated?
Was she not confident in her skills?
Well, in the early days of her debut, her live performances were a bit shaky.
She was a character that grew over time.
And it was precisely because she showed such noticeable growth that she became popular.
People liked a hardworking genius.
And although Yeon Juhong might not have been a genius, she was certainly a diligent talent.
She practiced harder than anyone and significantly improved her skills.
“Ahhhh…”
She didn’t look like she would be that intense.
…She didn’t even seem like it when she talked.
It was hard to believe this was the same fierce Yeon Juhong.
I had encountered Yeon Juhong a few times during her activities.
Whether on variety shows or on stage, she exuded an incredible determination, and I thought she was impressive.
…But it seemed she had a bit of a clumsy side before debut.
“Judges will be entering now!”
With just a word from the staff, a long desk was placed in front of the practice room.
Four chairs were also set up.
It wasn’t long before the judges entered.
It was the first time we were meeting them since the filming started.
All the judges had an imposing presence, but the most striking was, of course, that person.
Director and producer of the agency, Kim Mokyung.
Kim Ryeo-yu’s relative and the current powerhouse in Colors.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
And the person I would have to take down someday.