HANEUL and his mother followed the staff, who led them to another room not far from the waiting room. Inside the room, they found two individuals seated at a table. One was a man with glasses who seemed familiar and appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, and the other was a well-dressed woman with a professional demeanor.
The man greeted them warmly. "Kang Haneul-ssi and Haneul-ssi's mother? Please take a seat."
Haneul and his mother slightly bowed their heads as greeting and then took their seats across from the two people. Haneul glanced at the man who greeted them. He had been trying to figure out why the man looked familiar. Then he remembered seeing him at the judges' table during the audition.
He recalled that the PD of Boys Odyssey was a man named Kim Chulsoo. Seeing only one man in the room, he deduced that this must be the PD, which would also answer why he was at the audition. While the woman was likely the lawyer.
Remembering the PD of Boys Odyssey's reputation for intense evil editing and xenophobia, Haneul found it hard to connect those traits with the man sitting before him. This PD looked more like a serious professional dedicated to his job. However, Haneul reminded himself not to judge a book by its cover. So, he remained cautious and attentive.
"My name is Song Kyungho and I will be the PD for this survival program," the man introduced himself. "This is Attorney Sung. She will handle the legal aspects of the contract you will sign today."
Haneul barely registered the rest of the man's words after he introduced himself. His mind fixated on the name: Song Kyungho. That wasn't the name of the PD supposedly in charge of Boys Odyssey.
Would this person be replaced then? But with the shooting set to start soon, would they really change the person in charge at the last minute? Haneul had no idea how things worked in a survival program like Boys Odyssey, but surely, they couldn't just switch the person in charge as easily as changing clothes.
Wouldn't that mean the events involving Boys Odyssey in this world were marginally different from those in his original world? But if that was the case, why would Yeomra say that the two worlds were inherently the same, with just a 'tiny' difference?
He then thought back to seeing Jung Taeyang earlier. In his surprise, when their eyes met, he had forgotten to question why Jung Taeyang was there. Based on his earlier guess—that Jung Taeyang's family had prevented him from joining Boys Odyssey, which explained his absence from the show's official broadcast—he shouldn't be here now.
There was no way a chaebol family would let Jung Taeyang sign a contract if they didn't intend for him to join the program. It would be too troublesome and could lead to legal issues, something they would surely want to avoid.
So, why was Jung Taeyang here right now?
This brought him back to the original question of whether the 'tiny' difference in this world actually involved Boys Odyssey. If that was the case, what was so special about this idol survival program that it deviated from his original world?
Surely, it couldn't be because Haneul saved his family, right? That and this seemed like two entirely separate points that wouldn't intersect no matter what. There was no way the so-called butterfly effect would apply here.
"Haneul-ah?"
His mother's voice snapped Haneul out of his thoughts. "Yes?"
"PD Song is asking if you have any questions." His mother looked worriedly at him. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, yes." Haneul looked at PD Song. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to zone out."
"It's fine," Song Kyungho said.
Zoning out was better than the other having second thoughts about participating in the program. With his experience as a PD, Kyungho believed that Kang Haneul would be a big hit among the viewers.
Objectively, if one just looked at Kang Haneul, they might not think he had the most beautiful face. It was just moderately handsome, if he was being honest. But Kang Haneul had that something extra—charisma, star quality, whatever you wanted to call it. It's something a person couldn't magically acquire, no matter how much plastic surgery they tried to have.
Kyungho had seen many idols and actors in the industry, all exceptionally good-looking. But he could honestly say that, in terms of star factor, Kang Haneul would be in the top 10. This was already a high compliment, considering the other hadn't debuted yet and hadn't received the so-called 'idol makeover.'
Yes, he believed that Kang Haneul had a high chance of debuting. He not only had the star factor, but also the talent to back it up.
Initially, Kyungho didn't expect much when he first saw Kang Haneul during the audition. Although he was struck by his appearance, it didn't really influence his initial opinion. After all, he was there to look for talent, not just a pretty face. But when Haneul started singing, Kyungho knew he had a star in the making right in front of him.
Even if the other turned out to be the worst dancer in the world, as long as he worked hard and showed a good personality to the viewers, his chance of debuting would be very high. Of course, that was assuming he didn't get involved in any controversies along the way.
Anyway, the important thing now was to make sure Kang Haneul wouldn't back out.
"Here are the copies of the contract. Please review them and let us know if you have any concerns," Kyungho said, pushing two copies of the contract in front of Kang Haneul and his mother.