03. Regressor (3)
"....I did the arrangement myself."
"Didn't you say that your field of position is dance?"
"Yes, my main position is dance...but I also learned a little bit about composition and arrangement."
"Really? I think you modified the choreography. What else can you do?"
"I can sing, but I prefer rap."
I answered Team Leader Lee Ki-ho's question calmly. Team Leader Lee Ki-ho and I were both smiling, but there was tension between us.
After the breathtaking question relay, there was silence for a moment.
'Looking at the questions, it seems like I'll definitely pass.'
During that time, I studied and practiced Yoo Young's voice, style, and dance line meticulously.
What's more, I wrote the lyrics, composed, and arranged the song. It's ridiculous to say it's clumsy. There's no one who can understand and use the song as well as I can.
"....."
As I was quietly observing the situation, the judges brought up a new topic.
"Um, then do you know the song
Of course I know what it is. It was in the lineup of additional requested songs I expected.
Before I could answer, one of the judges continued talking. The pleasure of having my prediction come true ran up my spine.
"Want to sing it?"
"Yes, I will try."
I bowed my head without pulling out the weight. Soon after, the solo MR of an idol-turned-rapper rang out in the audition room. I opened my mouth between the low notes.
-A pounding sensation. Cold Light
-Drive on a starry night
-Blow away the frustration
-Is the silence on the road knocking on me?
A husky voice flowed out, unlike the appearance. A singing rap with a little gesture scratched the ears.
-Laughter lingered beside me
-Quickening footsteps. Going towards you
-Run with me. Got me in the, RUSH
-Umm Umm
The deep house genre EDM and the voice were smoothly connected.
The awkward humming reminded me of my lack of vocalization, but the sound was incredibly precise.
-Under the moonlight, past the streetlights, walk freely.
At this moment, I finished the last lyric cleanly without a single mistake. The judges exchanged glances and whispered. Fortunately, the atmosphere wasn't too bad.
While standing there trying hard to control the expression, one of the judges looked at Yoo Young and said dryly.
"Thank you for your hard work. There will be a third round of judging, so please wait in the waiting room."
***
After leaving the audition room and standing still, a staff member who would guide me to the waiting room approached me shortly after. I followed him silently.
In the long hallway leading to the waiting room, there were photos of artists affiliated with Lime Entertainment, including the group Planet that I was in.
'Are the photos arranged in order of the members' positions?'
My face was firmly stuck on the main rapper's seat. It's been so long since I became Yoo Young, but I already feel awkward seeing myself hanging on the building.
"Planet seniors are really cool and great, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
I answered without thinking, then came to my senses and looked around. The person who spoke to me was Nine (real name Koo Young-soo), the leader of 'TER', an idol group affiliated with Lime Entertainment for 5 years.
When did he come next to me again? I almost frowned and stared at him. For some reason, Nine's behavior was different than usual.
...... Why didn't he say hello?
"Ah."
Chewing over the question, I suddenly remembered that I was Yoo Young.
"Hello."
"Haha, hello."
As soon as I realized the situation, I bowed deeply.
Nine waved his hand, but my back was covered in cold sweat as I watched him. I was glad I didn't say my thoughts out loud.
'I almost f*cked up.'
If I don't do it consciously, I end up acting out of habit. Especially since the group 'Ter' that Nine is in is one of the idols I produced, it's become a habit to be greeted first.
I didn't really need to act like Yoo Young, but I have to be careful because my status as Han A-won and my current status are very different.
Think about it: if a young kid asks a senior 'Why aren't you greeting me?', they'll be burried underneath that day. Since it's a job where rumors spread quickly, I have to be even more careful.
"It seems like this is the first time I've seen you, are you a new trainee? Or maybe an employee?"
"...I'm an aspiring singer. I'm on my way...sir to see the third round of judging after participating at the audition site...sir."
[He keeps on forgetting to speak formally]
I tried my best to keep my wits about me since my words kept getting shorter, and continued the conversation. Fortunately, Nine didn't seem to notice anything unusual.
You must be busy with your schedule, so what are you doing here? Hurry up and get through. I muttered to myself as if it was a spell, and only then did he start walking.
"I see. Then I'll go. Fighting."
"Yes, fighting....sir. Go ahead....sir."
It was fortunate that I met Nine just now. Even though the aspirant was standing there dumbfounded, he didn't show any irritation.
'When I was Han A-won, I thought it was all about image management, but he really has a good personality.'
I've been watching him for ten years. When I return to Han A-won's body later, I'll have to treat Nine better.
"Whew......."
As I let out a deep sigh, the guide staff member who was walking ahead of me suddenly came back in a hurry. It seemed like he had just noticed that I was gone.
"Applicant number 27? Where have you been?!"
".... I stopped without realizing it. I'm sorry."
The staff member dragged me into the waiting room. I wondered if he should go this far, but I followed him silently because I knew my sin.
"You have to stay here!"
"Yes."
I sat in the waiting room and stared into space, following the staff member's warning. I suddenly felt tired.
Since I only slept for three hours a day and spent the rest of the time practicing, my body couldn't hold out.
'If I pass out, what will I do with my stamina? Self.'
What kind of stamina is this for a child? Even his position is dancing.
Click. I was dozing off when I heard the door opening. As I straightened my posture, Team Leader Lee Ki-ho smiled as if he was sorry for waking me up.
"I'm sorry~ I must have made you wait too long. Just go into the next room, look at the camera, and stand as instructed."
I stood facing the camera as instructed by Team Leader Lee Ki-ho. Normal auditions end with one video, but Lime Entertainment also filmed only appearances.
"Put the bangs back~ Look straight at the camera."
I naturally made eye contact with the camera and waited for the filming to end. I was worried because I wasn't used to Yoo Young's face... but judging from Team Leader Lee Ki-ho's expression, it didn't seem too bad.
"It's done. Was it hard? Get some rest at home, and I'll contact you when the results come out.."
"Thank you. Please take care of me."
I sighed as I bowed before Team Leader Lee Ki-ho left the room.
It's also a job to start over as a trainee. How did Yoo Young always regress and repeat? Fortunately, there aren't any problems with the system or characteristics so far.
"Oh, I'm going to die."
Let's just keep going like this. Just like this.
I muttered with a fervent wish.
***
The day after the audition, I went to Lime Entertainment's office after receiving the acceptance letter, and Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, who I had met at the audition, greeted me. I sat in the meeting room of the new talent development headquarters and sipped the coffee he had made for me.
"Welcome. Wasn't it hard to come?"
"Yes. It was fine."
"We're going to sign the contract now, but your parents didn't come with you?"
"Oh, my parents aren't here."
The silence fell for a moment. I shrugged my shoulders as if it was nothing, and Team Leader Lee Ki-ho smiled and handed me a pen.
"...Um, sorry. It should have been written in the documents, but I forgot."
"It's fine."
"The dorms are optional unless you're a debut group member, so you can just let me know if you commute, and there's a separate cafeteria. The rest is all stated in the contract, so read it carefully~ Ask if you have any questions."
I slowly received the contract and read it. The contract terms were better than I thought. I didn't really have any questions.
'Oh, that's right.'
I picked up the pen and was about to sign without hesitation, but stopped. Then, instead of my usual signature, I wrote the two letters 'Yoo Young'.
Should I make a new autograph? The previous one is familiar and comfortable.
When I handed over the signed contract, Team Leader Lee Ki-ho accepted it and asked.
"Then you can come to work right away tomorrow. What about the dorms?"
"I have a house, so I'll commute separately."
"Okay. You can use your phone freely, but please clean up all your SNS before you go to work. If you get caught, you'll be kicked out, so be careful. Oh, I'm asking just in case, but is there any school violence or anything like that?"
"No. I dropped out of school."
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho nodded and brushed it off lightly. The company recommends that you graduate from high school if possible, but there's no way to undo something you've already dropped out of.
After all, there are a lot of kids who drop out to become idols.
"Then since we're going to eat from the same pot, can I talk casually?"
"Take it easy."
"Wow~ it's nice that it's cool."
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, who had been organizing documents, stood up. He kept checking his wristwatch, so it seemed like he was quite busy.
He quickly said the precautions as if he was trying to finish in a short amount of time.
"I usually go out for castings, so I'll assign a trainee manager to you. I'll give you the number later, so if anything comes up, you can contact them."
"Okay."
"The classes are divided into A and B based on skill level, but the debut group is separate. Of course, the debut group isn't confirmed yet, so the class could change later~"
"Which class am I in?"
"Class A. There's a text message with the class schedule and behavioral rules for class, right? We basically have a point system, so all of your usual behaviors count towards your monthly evaluation score. Remember that."
You must breathe when talking.
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, who had been talking nonstop, nodded his head. It seemed like a gesture asking if I had any questions. Since I didn't really have anything I was curious about, I didn't say anything else.
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, who had been staring at me like that, said in a puzzled tone.
"You're more calm than I thought."
"Huh?"
"All the kids who become trainees are happy. You, what should I say, feel like you did something that was obvious."
"....."
I shut my mouth at the precise point.
Was my behavior that obvious? When I think about it, I think I definitely didn't feel anything, but it's hard to make a fuss about something like this... It's harder to debut and become a first-team member than to pass an audition.
"Relax~ You're quite looking forward to it."
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho laughed heartily and patted my back. He wasn't the type of person who could change the subject of conversation jokingly for the first time in a few days.
I recalled the rumor about Team Leader Lee Ki-ho that I had heard before. What was it? He worked as a manager at his previous company, but he quit because of some weird guys and got high blood pressure. He was good at handling things, and he was good at driving and talking, so everyone kept telling him not to quit.
I remembered that even after he got a job at Lime, the management team strongly refused to let him go, and the HR team was disappointed.
'It's definitely a waste to put him on the casting team.'
He's good at observation and seems to be good at sneaking peeks without making people feel bad. Whether I feel bad or not, I'm just a trainee right now, so there's nothing I can do about it.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Haha, yeah. As a bonus, Class A is sensitive right now, so be careful~"
"Sensitive?"
"Yeah. It's probably because it's the debut evaluation period, so everyone's on edge."
I heard that some agencies have trainees who are quite harmonious, but Lime doesn't seem to be one of them.
'If you act sensitively or have a bad personality, wouldn't it be harder to debut? Those who cause discord will be hard to manage, so they'll be eliminated.'
It's hard to debut with people who can't control their emotions. It's because there's a high chance that there will be discord rumors if you mess up the group chemistry or whatever.
'Fans are really good at picking up on subtle moods.'
I'll make them do some image-making before debuting, but it's a bit much to bring a bomb to a group that we have to do together for n years. If they act well in front of the camera at the level of actors, then maybe.
Is it that the company doesn't care, or is the psychological pressure on the kids that much?
Judging from the nuance that Team Leader Lee Ki-ho mentioned, it seems like the latter is 3 times more likely.......
"But it won't be a big problem~"
"...... Yes, I'll be careful."
I suddenly became anxious because of that one word. Could this be a flag?
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