Entertainment Stocks

Gyeonggi Province, Paju.

"Alright. One, two, three! One, two, three!"

The contestants of Dream Girls were living together in a training camp. It wasn't just about eating and sleeping under the same roof.

What am I even doing here?

Practice.

Sora moved her body in time with the trainer's clapping. After three days, she had adapted to a degree. But there were things she simply could not get used to.

"Trainee Number Seven!"

"Yes?"

"Did someone drag you here? Did you come against your will?"

"……."

Aiming to become an idol. The trainer was scolding her for her attitude in practice.

I did come against my will, though…….

She was trying hard in her own way. Once she had committed to participating, there was no backing out. Just the slightest hint of half-heartedness — and those sharp, piercing eyes saw right through even that.

"I'm sorry. I'll work harder."

"I mean work harder than that. Desperately."

"Ah, yes."

"At Sora's age, you have to assume there are no more chances left. If you fall back here, it's not a cliff edge — it's a freefall."

"My age?"

Trainer Yoon Ji-seong — known to the contestants as Yoon-ssaem — was a Spartan. At the same time, she treated every single contestant with genuine care, which made her popular.

What's wrong with my age.

It was just a burden. Over the past few days of camp, she had heard things and experienced things she never had in her entire life. That didn't mean they were wrong. It didn't mean they were misguided, either. Sora understood what Yoon-ssaem was saying.

"Ugh, them again."

"Practice just got interrupted."

"They never even learned the basics — what have they been doing all this time?"

The contestants of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dream Girls. It was fair to say that ordinary civilians like herself essentially didn't exist here.

I was studying, you bastards.

Most of them were aspiring singers or actors. One contestant had been preparing since she was eleven. It had been their goal since childhood. And so their obsession with this program was enormous.

"Alright, alright, quiet!"

"Yeees~!"

"We're picking practice back up. From the top — one, two, three! One, two, three!"

An idol had to debut before twenty. At the absolute latest, the decision had to be made in the early twenties. These contestants had already set their dreams aside once. They had poured in effort well past the usual age, and nothing had come of it. Then a lifeline had been dropped into that situation. That lifeline was Dream Girls.

A single chance to reverse their entire lives.

That's why she told us to do it desperately.

Yoon-ssaem understood both the trainees' feelings and their reality. If they failed to produce results, every effort they had made would vanish into foam. It wouldn't end with simply failing to achieve a dream. They would be cast out into society with no career to show for it. Sora understood those circumstances of the idol industry — but.

"Good work, everyone."

"Thank you for your hard work!"

None of it had anything to do with her. If they told her to pack her bags and leave right now, she was confident she could do it in three minutes.

What the hell am I supposed to do about this!

It was because of her senior. Coming here, being forced to listen to all of this — all of it was his fault.

"She's got nothing but a stupidly huge chest."

"That's why she moves like a clumsy bear with those things hanging off her."

"Seriously! Seriously!"

You bitches would kill to have these yourselves.

The second Yoon-ssaem left, the backbiting started. Loud enough that she was clearly meant to hear it. Of course, Sora knew. The past three days had not been spent meaninglessly.

"Next training session is vocals. As soon as break is over, we move — so don't let your bodies go slack."

"Yes, Manager oppa~!"

"Oppa, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Haha, trainees aren't allowed to date anyway."

"Kyaa~!"

Manager Jeon Tae-hyun. A man who looked to be in his late twenties. The way he looked at her was not ordinary.

"Sora, you should go too."

"Yes."

"You're doing well, Sora. It's only been a few days — don't get impatient."

"Understood."

It wasn't that he was looking at her romantically. If it had been that simple, things would have been easier.

Thinking about it now.

The fact that an ordinary civilian like her had even passed the audition was strange from the start. She was lacking in every respect.

Music is really meant to be enjoyed, you know.

Once it becomes a job, people tend to forget that.

There comes a moment when you realize that those who try can never beat those who enjoy it.

Answers she had given off the cuff.

You don't seem to have received professional training.

Your voice is so good.

I want to bring you to our company and teach you everything from one to ten!

A song she had sung however it came out. All of it had been rated highly — by celebrities she had only ever seen on TV.

It's not like I actually sang that well…….

There had been moments when she felt a little proud. It would have been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lie to say she wasn't happy receiving praise from famous people. But living in the camp had made her realize something. Everyone here was far better than her.

"Make It Louder~!"

They had been training since childhood, so of course. There was no comparison with an ordinary person like her.

Whoa, her voice is huge.

They were in vocal training. The voice of her fellow contestant Jang Min-seo filled the practice room. She was the leader of the group that picked on Sora. Even with her head full of unpleasant feelings—

"The part I pointed out last time has stabilized."

"Thank you!"

"But you still have a long way to go. The main rounds will include trainees from the Big Three agencies, so the comparison will be real."

"……I know, sunbae-nim."

A vocal ability she had no choice but to acknowledge. And even that, the trainer handled as if dealing with a child.

Because they're famous celebrities.

It was a program run by a broadcasting network, after all. Celebrities of that caliber were personally coaching them.

"Next, Yoon Sora."

"Yes!"

"Sora, your voice is good, but you don't know how to project it. You've never properly learned vocal technique, have you?"

"Ah, no……."

Special treatment, just for her. So far she had received no real criticism and felt no real pressure.

I understand the jealousy, too.

A civilian who had rolled in out of nowhere was getting more recognition than they were. It wasn't unreasonable for them to feel that way. She just wasn't good. The gap was so large that they were being nice about it — that was the conclusion she had reached. But.

"Open your mouth wide and try singing."

"My mouth?"

"Drop your jaw. That naturally opens the vocal cords inside."

Since she was doing this anyway, she didn't want to half-ass it. Being cursed out by Min-seo's group also bothered her.

Ah! Ah! Ah~! Like this?

It was clearly effective. The explanation was simple and easy enough that even a complete beginner like her could grasp it. Coaching from a top-tier industry celebrity. Sora decided to give it a real try — with confidence. Even if the snide remarks came.

"I want coaching too."

"It's always just her."

"Because she doesn't even know the basics……."

Whispered voices. She could hear all of them, but she forced herself to ignore it. She thought only of producing sound.

"Make It Louder~~!!"

It rang out louder than usual. Deep and clear — so much so that it felt like it belonged to someone else entirely.

"Oh……."

"She suddenly got good."

"Insane. The trainer's coaching."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Even a complete outsider like Sora could tell. She was producing a good voice right now.

So this is what it feels like to really sing.

An idol. She felt like she understood, just a little, why they endured such brutal training.

The broadcast.

Season 3 was airing this year. Dream Girls had a rock-solid concrete fandom.

It wasn't necessarily a good thing. Among dedicated viewers, there was one ironclad rule. Fight. Pick your favorite contestant and wage proxy wars against each other.

That was why it mattered. Which contestant's fan you became. Belonging to a strong fandom made fan activities easier. And it didn't end there. The Dream Girls system was brutal. No matter how strong your fandom was, if your contestant got eliminated, it was all for nothing.

Striking looks. Praise from the judges. And a figure that made it impossible not to look. Sora — a civilian contestant on Season 3 of Dream Girls — was becoming a hot topic online. At the same time, there were reactions pointing out her limits.

Make It Louder~~!!

The first evaluation had been about assessing raw talent. Visuals, physique, vocal volume, and so on. The trainers would then bring those qualities into bloom. But in reality, time was tight.

Episode 2 put those fans' worries to rest. Season 3 of Dream Girls was airing to great success.

"Retail investors are piling in hard."

"Trading volume is climbing too……."

"I think we can start disposing soon!"

Exactly what the institutions had wanted. They had been accumulating for a full year leading up to this very moment. That was how you moved big money. Slowly, without being tossed around by day-to-day volatility.

Build the tower with care and effort.

Then dump it on the retail investors. The simple structure by which the world's money — the stock market itself — kept turning.

Deputy Manager Lee Tae-hak of Yuseong Investment Securities could finally smile. The past six months had been anything but calm. A cold wave had hit the KOSPI. What if entertainment stocks had crashed? An entire year of work would have gone up in smoke. Not just the bonus — he could have lost his job.

He no longer had to hold back. The moment to finally dispose of the entertainment stocks had arrived — and then.

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"Buying pressure is stronger than expected……."

"Retail must have latched on."

"It feels a little unnatural to call it retail."

Stack up the short positions and dismantle it piece by piece. Being able to feast on both sides was the institutional advantage.

Retail…… no, it's not.

Lee Tae-hak, who had been about to do exactly that, had no choice but to be flustered. The stock's movement was outside the range of his projections. Meaning something was happening. Someone might be buying with a purpose.

"JPG and the pharmacy stocks are flat — why only 3M?"

"Could it be that?"

"Maybe 3M scouted a contestant."

"What?!"

There was no such thing as an investor without greed.