Monthly Evaluation (3)
Honey Enter did have some male staff members, of course, but the number of women overwhelmingly dominated. And among them, there were more ex-trainees from their trainee days who hadn't made it to debut and instead got hired on as company staff than you'd expect.
Pretty female staff everywhere.
Having frequented the agency since I was young, I knew the ins and outs of this industry well. They say it's way more efficient to hire dropouts from trainee life rather than bringing in total outsiders. Those kids have a fire in their belly that's hard to beat.
That said, these ex-trainees who suddenly go from a rigidly controlled life to the freedoms of regular society sometimes caused a bit of trouble. Gaining weight from letting loose now that no one's cracking the whip was their personal business—no big deal. But every single one of them, without fail, got way too eager about dating and ended up stirring up drama.
"Hi."
A shy female staff member greeted me. Her face was familiar.
"What are you doing here at this hour?"
"I got hired on as staff."
"You quit being a trainee?"
"Yeah."
"Tsk—such a shame. I thought you'd make it big; you're super pretty. Heard you were an amazing dancer too."
One new thing I'd learned since coming here: complimenting a woman's looks worked way better in this world than back on Earth. She blushed furiously, beaming as she thanked me profusely.
"I'm nothing special."
But she was special—plenty pretty, with that pure, cute pink-and-white bunny vibe.
"Oh yeah, you dyed your hair?"
"Yep, not a trainee anymore. Tried it for a change of pace. Does it look weird?"
"The pink really stands out, but it suits you."
There wasn't a hard rule against trainees dyeing their hair, but most stuck to black anyway. Info I'd picked up from Jua noona, but yeah—most trainees went wild with rebellion the second they left the company. For Jua noona, that rebellion was me; for this girl, it was dyeing her hair.
"Phew, good. I was worried you'd say it looked off."
"Who cares what others think? If you're happy with it, that's what matters."
"What are you two doing right now?"
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing shout cut through the air.
"Eek! Mommy!"
I'd stepped out during morning class for a quick bathroom break, so the target was probably me. But Ahyeon, who hadn't fully shaken off her trainee habits, flinched in terror, huddling up. She was already on the petite, cute side, and seeing her jump like that brought out my dad smile without thinking.
And someone was eyeing that smile with extreme displeasure.
"Rose sensei."
"Isn't this class time?"
"S-s-s-sorry!!"
"You're staff now, so why apologize? That wasn't aimed at you."
"Oh right! I'm not a trainee anymore, huh? Hehe."
She's adorable.
Watching Ahyeon grin bashfully was too cute, and Rose sensei exploded again.
"Jin Haesol, you think this is time to smirk? Get back to class already! Got nothing better to do?"
"No, ma'am. On my way."
Just a few days ago, she'd been moaning and whimpering under me, but now she was all stern, not a crack to slip a needle through. Still, I kept my cool, relaxed vibe.
Ahyeon didn't seem to notice, but I knew exactly why she was being so prickly.
It wasn't my sharp instincts that clued me in—it was the status window. I checked it to figure out her mood since I needed to seduce her for coin farming at the company, and jackpot.
Chatting with Ahyeon had perfectly ignited her jealousy.
If I play on that jealousy, I can really fan the flames.
Great idea. I shot Ahyeon a quick wink, then headed into the practice room for class. Rose sensei inevitably caught the whole thing.
Huff huff—her breathing got rougher.
Jealous like that, yet she said all that stuff back then.
What a fun woman.
Ragged breaths.
Squeak—squeak—the sound of sneakers scraping the floor was starting to feel comforting.
Thump~♪♬ Thump~♬♩♪
The music blasting from the speakers pounded my heart as hard as my gasps. The 3:41 track felt like an eternity.
Feet barely touched the ground.
With so much riding on the monthly evaluation, the kids had gone all out—flashy moves packed with technique. And the one suffering for it was me, the newbie.
This is killing me!
I wanted to quit. Stop, catch my breath, and the world would feel beautiful again.
But that was just a thought. My feet flashed through steps, arms swung with power—no hesitation.
Thud-thud! Thud-thud-!
Ziiing~~
Endure the agony, endure... and suddenly, the music ends.
That rush of pride hitting as I realized I'd survived the song. Everything has a beginning and an end.
"Huff... huff...!"
I was panting so hard, my heart might spill out if I opened my mouth.
At least I wasn't alone in this misery.
"Aigoo, I'm dying."
"Ughhh~ I'm dead."
"Jinhyeong... you seriously not ditching those extra parts? Huff huff... fuck, this is brutal."
"......"
I just shut up and melted into the floor. Talking took energy they had; breathing alone exhausted me.
The fuss died down eventually, and the kids vented their anxieties.
"Feels like it was forever away, but monthly eval's just days out now."
"Haven't pushed this hard in forever."
"Everyone's dead serious, no messing around, so I feel the pressure too—kinda forces me into it."
"Can't sleep lately. Finally doze off, then nightmare and wake up."
"What nightmare?"
"Getting kicked out."
"What kinda dumb dream? Must suck."
"Horrible."
Fear of that dream coming true hung heavy. With monthly eval looming, the practice room had no dreams or hope left—just nightmares and stress.
"Jin Haesol, come out a sec."
"...Me?"
Didn't wanna move.
"Just a minute."
"Ugh."
Rose sensei's curt, businesslike summons forced me up anyway. Why was she calling me, though? Not even the manager—couldn't figure her angle.
"What's up?"
"After monthly eval, we'll ramp up debut prep. You've got the shortest trainee time, so lots of gaps—we'll do makeup classes."
"Just singing?"
"Singing's not your only weak spot. But time's tight, so focus on dance and vocals—intense."
"Class schedule?"
Per Rose sensei, my mornings would swap to dance and vocal only. Acting, manners, languages—all replaced. Real grind to boost my skills.
"Gym too, swapped for proper workouts. Gotta look good onstage."
"Mind if I ask something?"
"Shoot."
I bit at her words and fired away.
"Why's Rose sensei telling me instead of the manager?"
"...Manager's busy, asked me to relay."
"Ah~ so you got roped in 'cause manager's swamped."
Knowing Rose sensei's rep at Honey Enter, I saw right through the lie. I grinned slyly, and her face flushed.
Teasing was fun, but push too hard and it'd backfire, so I pulled back.
"Got it. Thanks for passing it on."
"...Here's your new schedule."
"Thanks!"
Bowed and headed back to the practice room. Tempted to glance back and see what Rose sensei was thinking, but nah—better to stay cool for the unnecessarily cool woman.
The schedule was packed. Other classes let you zone out a bit, but dance and vocals demanded full focus. A whole week of that? Body and mind might not hold up.
"Gonna be brutal. Ha."
But once supplemental classes kicked in, that flipped 180. I'd only thought of one thing, not two.
Supplemental was me solo. Meaning 1:1 vocals with Rose sensei.
"This okay? Won't get yelled at again?"
I'd deliberately called Ahyeon to the vocal practice room.
"It's fine, just a sec—no issue. Wait here, I'll grab it."
"Okay!"
I knew Ahyeon always skipped breakfast from oversleeping—perfect bait. I'd bought extra sandwiches today. Told her about supplemental, so no suspicion on the food.
Goal: lure the hungry Ahyeon, feed her.
"Thanks! Digging in."
"Eyeballs outside. Eat here—quick."
"Guess so? Hehe."
Blissfully unaware she'd been played, Ahyeon beamed. Slight guilt pang, but hey, tasty food—even.
"How's staff life?"
"Weird at first. Like, why am I here with them? Self-loathing, depressed, sad. Still kinda am. Just days ago sweating all day; now it's zoning out and taking calls."
"You held it together without crying."
"I did cry. Couldn't not. Now I get why the noonas didn't push company jobs."
Watching dream-chasers up close as a dream-quitter? Torture.
"Not quitting, right?"
"Nah, obviously not. Nothing else out there for me."
"You're young—study again?"
"No way. Suck at school. Even starting now, college next year? Impossible."
We were chatting amiably when—
Bang!
The door flew open. Rose sensei stormed into the practice room.