Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Is this right?
[Rabbit Cocktail]
A cocktail bar with a glowing rabbit-shaped LED sign hanging in front.
"Hah. Is this really the right move?"
I feel the tension rising from my toes all the way to my brain.
"Hee-ju-ya. Do you have your ID?"
"Ah. Here it is."
"Min-seo, did you bring yours too?"
"Yes!"
I could understand it if it were just Da-young, since I've had a drink with her once before.
But Eun Hee-ju. Gil Min-seo.
These two women. Can I handle them?
"I... I'm going to get drunk."
"Oppa! If I happen to get drunk, please take care of me!"
Seeing how excited they are, I can't bring myself to tell them to turn back after coming all this way.
[Hee-ju. Is she excited?]
'Yeah. She's very excited.'
[From what I can see, she looks the same as usual.]
No.
Looking at the corners of her mouth, which are slightly turned up. I don't know the exact reason, but I can see that she's quite excited.
[Oh my. Now that you mention it, I think you're right.]
[That's amazing, Master.]
It's the basics of being a manager.
Did you think I only cast them as some kind of joke to get into their pants?
"Nah. What could possibly happen? Let's go in, girls."
"Okay."
I walked inside with my three chirping chicks.
It was a luxurious place, the kind a wealthy doctor would recommend.
Great lighting.
Great interior.
And since they say you can see the stage of the person they call Madonna from time to time.
Honestly, there was no better place to have a drink.
Furthermore, there were small partitions, so it seemed like there was no need to worry about other people's gazes.
The only thing I was worried about was the state of my wallet. Ahem.
"I'll take Set 3, please."
"Yes. Understood."
The waiter was taking the order, but when he saw the girls sitting next to me, he flinched and his eyes went wide.
"Ah."
Seeing that, I realized it for the first time in a while.
Having lived in this industry for so long, the standard of my eyes had been calibrated to 'celebrities'.
No.
Even putting that aside, Eun Hee-ju's beauty was steadily increasing.
Lee Da-young and Gil Min-seo, who had been shining from the start.
None of the three were beauties you could easily see anywhere.
"I guess you guys really are pretty."
"Yes, Team Leader Manager-nim."
"Who would be happy about that? Seriously, I'm dumbfounded."
"Kyaa. I'm so happy! Oppa!"
Each of them had different charms.
The airheaded-cute, Eun Hee-ju.
The prickly but passionate and meticulous, Lee Da-young.
The energetic toy poodle, Gil Min-seo.
'It would be perfect if I could just add one mature, eldest sister type to act as the anchor.'
Then, from there, they could practice together through living in a dormitory.
Prepare the music.
Prepare the choreography.
Practice and practice again. Practice and practice, and if they could just somehow manage to debut, there was no way these kids wouldn't make it big.
Of course. There would be a mountain of work for me to do in that process.
But to think of reaching the top of this industry without even that much effort would be arrogance itself, even if Novel were with me.
Because reaching the top of the entertainment industry means eventually being recognized by the whole world.
'Ugh. Let's not think about things that haven't happened yet.'
It's giving me a headache.
I haven't even gathered all the members yet. What music, what group name. Damn it. Thinking about it too early just makes things messy.
"Your drinks are here."
"Waaa!"
The waiter had changed.
Every time they brought food and drinks, the waiter changed.
And their behavior was the same.
They all glanced at our girls once, set the food down as slowly as possible, and then retreated.
"Ah. If you need anything, please call me anytime."
"Ah! Thank you."
Still, the staff training itself seemed to be good.
They didn't show any rude behavior like asking for phone numbers right there.
As long as they just watched from a distance, I could overlook it.
"Hee-ju-ya. What did I tell you?"
"You told me not to give my phone number to anyone. That's why I didn't give it to Da-young eonni or Min-seo eonni."
"Oh. It would've been fine to give it to those two, though."
An unexpected answer came back.
"No... It's fine."
Then Da-young and Min-seo quickly spoke up too.
"I don't need her phone number either, you know?"
"Hehe. That's right. If anything happens, we can just contact Oppa, right?"
"Hmm. I guess that's true."
I nodded and looked at the snacks and cocktails in front of me.
They were pretty cocktails that women would love.
The pretty colors were mixed in various hues, and at a glance, they looked like soft drinks, but.
"Don't just gulp them down because they taste good. These kinds of cocktails go down smooth, so you tend to get drunk faster."
"Yes!"
Ppiyak-ppiyak.
They answer well.
'Yeah. What could possibly go wrong? How many people in the world actually cause trouble because they're drunk?'
The time it took for this thought to change was less than an hour.
*
I thought I had been as careful as possible, sipping just one drink and trying to take care of the kids, but.
I don't know if the alcohol content of the cocktails here was higher than I thought.
Or if the kids just had a low tolerance for alcohol.
"Team Leader Manager-nim. I'm going to succeed."
"Okay, okay."
Thud, thud, thud-.
They had only had two cocktails, but Eun Hee-ju kept headbutting my shoulder with her small head as if she were trying to break it.
"Haa-eung. Master. My mouth was too foul today. Please punish me quickly."
"Please! I was wrong. What's wrong with her!"
Lee Da-young.
This girl had even had drinks with me before. Why is she acting like this when she didn't then?
Please! I was wrong!
"Hehehe. Let's kiss. Kiss, chu! Hehehehe!"
Even Gil Min-seo, who had turned into a skinship monster.
If there hadn't been partitions.
Or if the music hadn't been playing quite loudly for a cocktail bar, this incredible scene would have been seen by other people.
"From now on, alcohol is strictly forbidden for you guys."
"Yes, we will."
Thud, thud, thud-.
Eun Hee-ju, who never forgets to headbutt while answering. Why does she like headbutting me so much?
When I should be the one doing the headbutting.
[Maybe she wants to be the one doing it.]
What kind of nonsense is that.
"Ha-ang. Master. Punishing me here is too embarrassing. Heuk."
"Stop it! No dirty talk!"
"Master? Oh my. I'm jealous. Let's kiss. Kiss, chu!"
I thought about leaving right away because I couldn't take it, but.
Seeing me get up, the waiter spoke cautiously.
"Ah. It would be a shame to leave now. Madonna's performance is coming up soon. Usually, everyone comes to this shop to see that performance."
"No. Madonna isn't the important thing right now."
It would be a bigger problem if the dark history of the kids who need to debut was seen by someone.
But.......
-We will now have a performance by Madonna, Ms. Seong Se-ri.
[Seong Se-ri, SS]
Of all times. Now.
And I didn't know I would find the last piece of the puzzle here, of all places.
"......."
She is relaxed yet overwhelming.
Even though there are quite a few people gathered here at the cocktail bar.
It's as if being on stage is nothing to her.
-♬♪♬♪
Her fingers dance freely on the piano keys.
I know it's not a very difficult score.
But putting that aside, she's skillful.
Not only does she have the seasoned ability to command the stage, but she also has the talent to back it up.
"Hello. My name is Seong Se-ri. Chu! Shall we all have a fun time together with everyone who came here today?"
From singing to dancing.
'She's already a complete idol.'
To put it bluntly, she already possessed all the virtues an idol should have, to the point where she could be put on a debut stage right away.
A little. She might need to lose some weight.
But that's by celebrity standards.
By the standards of ordinary people, she is already slim enough.
"Now. Shall we go into the next song?"
Songs from girl groups that hit #1 on the latest Strawberry Music Chart, which anyone in the entertainment industry would be familiar with, come out.
Seong Se-ri performs the choreography of the highlights perfectly, almost like a real idol.
It's at a level where you could consider it her own small concert.
Everyone is mesmerized by her charm.
Including me.
Thud-.
"Ouch."
"Again."
"Hmm?"
"No. It's nothing."
Eun Hee-ju, who shook her head slightly, no longer headbutted my shoulder.
She just looked at Seong Se-ri with eyes that seemed to hold a lot of things.
Seeing that, I gently stroked Eun Hee-ju's hair and said.
"That unni is the last piece."
"......!"
Eun Hee-ju's eyes, which had been quiet, widened.
I chuckled.
By the way, how should I make a connection with Seong Se-ri?
"I'm sorry. It's only natural, but no matter how much you ask, I can't arrange a personal meeting with Madonna."
"Yeah. I suppose so."
I asked the waiter, but.
As expected, it's as expected, right?
I was scratching my head wondering what to do, when the skinship monster Gil Min-seo, who hadn't fully sobered up yet, asked with a silly smile.
"Then. Is it okay for us to dance there too?"
"Yes? Oh. Just a moment."
If it had been someone else's request, they would have naturally said no.
But since our girls' beauty was so exceptional, the waiter inquired with the owner at the counter, just in case.
A moment later, after some back-and-forth, an OK sign was given.
"Can you do it?"
"Yes!"
"To be honest, I think this kind of opportunity is really good."
It's not a lie.
It's a bit of an impromptu development.
But apart from the fact that these kids' talent is outstanding, they had zero experience.
Performing in front of people who have nothing to do with the company, unlike performing in front of people at the company, carries a different weight.
"If I followed my heart, since they haven't debuted yet and haven't been trainees for long, I'd just want them to go have fun. But on the other hand, I want them to show what they can do already."
At my words, Eun Hee-ju was the first to stand up.
"Since Team Leader Manager-nim asked us to show you, we will."
"Ugh. I need to succeed quickly so I can do the acting I want. So I guess I have to do it."
"I'll do my best, Oppa."
As the three of them went up on stage.
All the customers applauded the girls' beauty first.
Clap, clap, clap-.
I also applauded cautiously.
The song that played was, like Seong Se-ri's, a dance song by a girl group that had once hit #1 on the Strawberry Chart.
It was also a song the kids had practiced at least 100 times in the practice room.
Even though the stage started immediately without a proper self-introduction, I think the kids didn't panic and showed exactly what they had practiced.
It was definitely lip-syncing.
But they moved their lips so passionately that it didn't feel out of place.
Eye contact with the people.
The energy put into dancing and the breathing between each other.
'They're good.'
They were so good that it was hard to believe they were just new trainees.
Especially Eun Hee-ju.
"......."
I was worried about what would happen if she just stood there expressionless on stage.
But her facial expressions were incredibly diverse.
Every time her palm swept across her face, her expression changed as if she were a different person, and the level of a professional was already visible.
"Waaa! They're good!"
Clap, clap, clap-.
When the stage ended, applause poured out as a matter of course.
The same went for Seong Se-ri.
The kids, who were already drenched in sweat, were blinking their eyes as if they still couldn't believe it.
And.
"Hey, you there. The smallest one with the bob cut. You're pretty good at mimicking, aren't you?"
A word to Eun Hee-ju.
"And you in the middle. You overthink things too much. There's a bit of fear mixed into the parts where you should just dive in without thinking. You keep hesitating. You're a beat late. And you lack flexibility to begin with. Finally, you there, the puppy-face."
Lee Da-young looked like she had been hit in the bullseye.
"Yes. Me? Me?"
"Yes, puppy. It's good that you're bright, but you're too bright. It would be one thing if it were a solo stage, but if you're the only one getting that excited while on stage as a group, the harmony with the others is a mess. It's an act that drags everyone down, including yourself. Calm down a bit."
Seong Se-ri, who said exactly what the trainer had pointed out today, chuckled.
"You guys. Whose trainees are you?"
That was the moment.
When Lee Da-young and Gil Min-seo were overwhelmed by Seong Se-ri and left speechless, Eun Hee-ju answered nonchalantly.
"If you have a drink with us, we'll tell you."