Chapter 11 - Thinking of It as Fate
“Manager-nim, are you all done?”
After the audition was over.
As Baek Hyeon-woo was walking down the hallway, Seo Na-eun came up and spoke to him.
“I heard you participated in the judging for today's audition.”
“I wasn't judging, I was just observing.”
Baek Hyeon-woo answered, shaking his head.
“Because the role of a judge is for the higher-ups.”
“Ah, I suppose so.”
“Come to think of it... you've also auditioned before, right, Na-eun-ssi?”
“Yes, that's right.”
In the past, Haram Entertainment had also held an audition like today's.
Hearing that they were gathering people with trainee experience to create a girl group, applicants flocked from all over.
Seo Na-eun was one of them, and in the end, she passed the audition and debuted as a member of Newstarz.
“Actually, I almost failed. But the CEO took a liking to me, so I was lucky and passed.”
“That's unexpected. With your level of skill, Na-eun-ssi, it should be a given that you'd pass any audition.”
“Th-That's not true.”
Seo Na-eun said, waving her hands in denial.
“Each company has a type they prefer... and each person in charge has their own different tastes.”
“I suppose that's true too.”
As Baek Hyeon-woo was nodding, Seo Na-eun asked carefully.
“Come to think of it... Manager-nim, what type of idol do you like?”
“Pardon?”
“You must have a type you like.”
Seo Na-eun asked again, looking up at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“What type do you like? The innocent type? The sexy type? Or girl crush?”
“Well. I...”
“Or do you like the aegyo and cute type?”
“……”
Seo Na-eun's voice was unexpectedly serious, so Baek Hyeon-woo contemplated for a moment how he should answer.
But in the end, he decided to answer honestly.
“I don't really know. To be honest, I don't really know what's what.”
“Really?”
“To tell you the truth, I originally had no particular interest in idols.”
He felt slightly sorry.
Revealing 'I usually wasn't interested in idols' in front of an idol was a somewhat awkward thing to do.
“I thought most young men had at least one girl group they liked…”
“No, that's not necessarily the case.”
“Ah, by any chance...”
Seo Na-eun asked cautiously, trying to read Baek Hyeon-woo's expression.
“Was it that you had a very pretty girlfriend, so you had no reason to have your eyes wander to idols...?”
“That's not it.”
“It's okay to tell me the truth. You're handsome, Manager-nim, so it would make sense if you had a girlfriend who's just as pretty...”
“I'm telling you that's not it.”
Baek Hyeon-woo denied it, shaking his head.
“I was so busy studying physical therapy that I didn't have time to date.”
“I-Is that really true?”
“It's true. And I don't have a girlfriend right now either.”
“Ah… I-I see.”
In that moment, Seo Na-eun's Mental Condition on the status window rose by about 10%.
Why on earth?
“Ah, since we're on the topic, there's something I'd like to ask you too, Na-eun-ssi.”
“A-Are you curious about the type I like? I...”
“That's not it.”
Baek Hyeon-woo interrupted Seo Na-eun and asked his question.
“What do you think of a dark and blunt type of idol?”
“You like the dark and blunt type?!”
Seo Na-eun's eyes widened.
“I guess I should talk less from now on...”
“I think you're misunderstanding something, that's not what I'm talking about.”
In front of Seo Na-eun, who was muttering with a serious expression, Baek Hyeon-woo slowly explained.
“Actually, there was a dark and blunt type of applicant at today's audition.”
“Ah, was there?”
“Her vocal talent was outstanding, and her dance skills were also high-level. But the fact that her personality seemed too dark was what bothered me.”
“Um…”
Seo Na-eun was lost in thought.
“It's certainly difficult for a person like that to debut as an idol. Because idols shouldn't have a dark image.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it's the same even if they're in charge of the innocent concept or the girl crush concept.”
Saying that, Seo Na-eun made a bitter expression.
“No matter how great their skills are, becoming an idol will be difficult.”
* * *
The meeting room where the audition judges were gathered.
Among the judges, the first one to speak was the CEO, Baek Yeon-ah.
“Yoo Jeong-ah, what do you think?”
Honestly, among the people who participated in today's audition, the only one worth discussing was Yoo Jeong-ah.
“Both her singing and dancing seemed to be the best among today's contestants.”
After having her sing 'Small Waiting', they also checked Yoo Jeong-ah's dance skills.
Surprisingly, Yoo Jeong-ah's dancing was also excellent.
It seemed she had worked hard at DP Entertainment.
“Honestly, her singing and dancing were high-level.”
“The rest of the kids were all so-so, but that Yoo Jeong-ah kid was good.”
The other judges also agreed with Baek Yeon-ah's opinion.
In fact, there couldn't be any other opinion on this matter.
Because from an objective point of view, it was a fact that Yoo Jeong-ah's singing and dancing were outstanding.
However...
“Still.”
The thin man dressed in a gray suit said in a cold voice.
“She has no charm.”
“……!”
No charm.
At that cold assessment, Baek Yeon-ah's eyes widened.
“D-Director Choi, what are you talking about?”
Director Choi Tae-hyung.
He was a director-level manager who had recently joined Haram Entertainment.
He was a veteran who was hastily brought in to replace his predecessor, who had screwed up a project and run away a while ago, and he has many connections in broadcasting and the media.
“It's just as I said. She has no charm as an idol.”
“No, but she sings so well...”
“She does sing well.”
Choi Tae-hyung nodded.
“But is what we're selling songs?”
“What?”
“No. What we're selling are idols.”
At Choi Tae-hyung's remark, the other judges made expressions of realization.
“You all felt it during the interview, right? Her expression is too stiff, and the way she talks is no fun at all. She lacks the charm to be loved by the public as an idol.”
“Hmm...”
At first, they had all tried to send Yoo Jeong-ah out without even seeing her sing or dance.
It meant that no one had felt any charming aspects from her as an idol.
“Look at Black D, who debuted from DP Entertainment early this year. There isn't a single kid among them who sings better than Yoo Jeong-ah. But they all possess a bubbly charm. That's why they were able to debut.”
“……”
“DP Entertainment aren't fools either. They didn't debut her because it seemed they wouldn't be able to sell her as a girl group member at all.”
DP Entertainment is a large agency that has reigned over the idol industry with thoroughly calculated marketing.
That same DP Entertainment had judged that business wouldn't work with Yoo Jeong-ah.
“Director Choi, but still, she sings so well...”
“Then are you going to debut her as a solo female artist instead of in a girl group? In this day and age?”
Debuting as a solo female artist these days is the same as walking a thorny path barefoot.
It's not that you can't find the names of solo female artists on the charts, but most of them are former idols who debuted as a solo artist after being in a girl group.
“If it were a few years ago, there was the method of having her appear on an audition program... but now there are no suitable programs to go on, so we can't use that strategy. No matter how well she sings, she can't gain popularity if there's no way to expose her to the public.”
“……”
“Of course, it's a problem that can be solved by spending a lot of money on marketing. But if she's not active as an idol, it's difficult to recoup those costs.”
Choi Tae-hyung glanced at CEO Baek Yeon-ah, who had her mouth shut.
“Let's say, for the sake of argument, that we pick up Yoo Jeong-ah as a member of Haram Entertainment's next girl group. But what about the other members?”
“The other members?”
“Members with a level of skill that can match Yoo Jeong-ah... can we find them?”
“Ah…!”
“Imagine gathering a bunch of mediocre kids and making a group with Yoo Jeong-ah. The balance will be a complete mess.”
Everyone made dark expressions as they recalled the below-standard contestants who appeared at the audition today.
A large agency with numerous trainees might be able to discover or foster members with a level of skill like Yoo Jeong-ah's.
But for a small to medium-sized company like Haram Entertainment, it was a difficult proposition.
“If the gap between the members is too severe, the group's balance will collapse. It's actually better to form a group with mediocre kids.”
“Director Choi, that's not necessarily the case, is it? There are cases where a 'one-top' member carries the entire group...”
“Such success stories do exist. But there are more failure stories.”
Choi Tae-hyung quickly glanced around and asked.
“Isn't this something that you all at Haram Entertainment know better?”
“……!”
No one could say anything.
Just as Choi Tae-hyung said, Haram Entertainment had experienced a great failure with this problem in the past.
Worse, the aftereffects were still ongoing.
“If only to prevent such a thing from happening again, we must not create a one-man team where only one specific member is exceptional.”
“Hmm...”
The working-level staff all nodded their heads.
In the end, the atmosphere became one of just failing Yoo Jeong-ah.
“But it is a shame.”
At that moment, Team Leader Park Yeong-ho said with a bitter expression.
“Her will to become an idol is also very strong... and it seems she truly worked her blood and sweat out for 3 years.”
“It can't be helped.”
Director Choi Tae-hyung said in a cold voice.
“There's no choice but to think of it as fate and accept it.”
* * *
A park near Haram Entertainment.
Yoo Jeong-ah was sitting blankly on a bench there.
The convenience store triangle kimbap she had bought to eat for dinner was still unwrapped and had grown cold.
‘It's probably not going to work out.’
Yoo Jeong-ah's mind was completely filled with thoughts of the audition.
The audition was already over, but she kept thinking about it.
‘I was too stiff from beginning to end.’
Even when she was a trainee at DP Entertainment, she was always criticized for being too stiff.
That her expression or atmosphere was too rigid.
She had continuously tried to fix it, but there hadn't been much result.
‘At this rate, the result will be the same.’
Fortunately, it seemed her singing and dancing had received a good evaluation.
But it probably wouldn't be enough to make up for the points she lost in the interview.
Therefore, it was highly likely that the same judgment as DP Entertainment's would be passed down.
That she lacked charm as an idol.
‘No matter how hard I try, it feels like I'm just treading water.’
Yoo Jeong-ah looked up at the sky.
Looking at the sky that was gradually growing dark, Yoo Jeong-ah was overcome with the feeling of wanting to cry.
All this time, she had continuously worked hard for her dream of becoming an idol.
For 3 years, without ever looking elsewhere, she had thought only of becoming an idol.
But... it seems it's just not meant to be.
‘Is this my fate?’
Should I just think of it as fate and accept it?
Should I give up on everything?
As Yoo Jeong-ah was thinking that, her eyes welling up with tears all alone.
Suddenly, a voice came from beside her.
“Yoo Jeong-ah-ssi.”
The young man who had been sitting at the end of the audition hall today.
The person who had given an opportunity to Yoo Jeong-ah, who was almost kicked out without being able to sing a single song, was watching her.