The Expelled Trainee
Someone who once wanted to become an idol.
Someone who never achieved that dream, and now lived life as a composer instead.
Someone who could finally do what she wanted without worrying about money.
"Serin, for the ending section, think you can push the key up step by step? About one or two keys higher."
"Ah... let me try!"
"Alright, let's take it from the top."
"Okay!"
Would she take my offer?
I hoped she would.
But even if she turned me down, I wouldn't be too disappointed. I'd already built this connection — at the very least, she'd let me hear her best songs first.
"Hey, May."
"What?"
"You're just... I mean... you're so hip!"
"Huh..?"
"Insanely hip! You're seriously cool!"
"M-me..?"
"Yeah!! So when did you start trainee life??"
"I started when I was eight..."
"Whaaaat~~~?! So how many years was that??"
"Exactly ten. Until I was seventeen. The other girls debuted, and I got cut, so I came to America. My parents happened to be immigrating around the same time."
"Oh no.... That must've been devastating...."
"I was disappointed, yeah... but I got another shot, so."
May looked at me and smiled, and Min-ju immediately narrowed her eyes into slits and glared daggers at me.
"What? Why?"
"You let May in the second you met her..! Why won't you let me in?!"
"The debut prep window is one year. So I need someone who's already ready, like May."
"Then what about Serin?!"
"Yoo Serin... well, she sings well and she's really pretty."
"I'm pretty too, you know?!"
"Who said you weren't? But you're sitting out here, and Yoo Serin's in there."
"That's...!"
"You freeze up even in a setting like this and can't show what you're capable of. You really think you'd pull it off on a stage full of audiences and cameras?"
"......"
With nothing left to fire back, Min-ju clamped her mouth shut.
Honestly, though, it was a shame. Before recording started, the three of them standing together had looked ridiculously good. Aside from May's skin tone standing out just a little.
Either way — Yoo Serin, the undisputed center face; May, radiating pure girl-crush energy; and Min-ju, cute and pretty on top of that.
Amazingly, the three of them already looked a lot like the protagonists of K-Sler. Almost as if they'd been modeled after them.
"Then what if I earn recognition from the composer and the director?"
"Huh??"
"If I get their approval, will you make me an idol too?!"
"......"
She really wanted to be an idol.
At eighteen, that was the age my grandmother had passed away.
Had I ever wanted anything that passionately when I was her age?
No.
I'd just lived hard without any real goal. Lived hard just to survive.
Back then, what I'd needed more than anything was someone who believed in me and cheered me on.
Was Min-ju the same? Did she need someone who believed in her and rooted for her, the way I once had?
"Alright. If you earn recognition from the composer and the director, I'll put you in. As a trainee, of course. Not a confirmed debut."
"For real?! That's a real promise!!"
"Yeah. Promise."
"Kyaaah~!!!"
"Min-ju, keep it down, would you?"
"Ah... sorry...."
She ended up getting scolded by Lee J, who was mid-session — but even then, Min-ju couldn't hide her joy. She clenched both fists tight and celebrated as hard as she could without making a sound.
But could she actually pull it off? Today and tomorrow were all she had.
"What?? The recording won't be done by tomorrow??"
"Of course not. How do you finish a recording in two days?"
"Ah... we're heading back to Korea soon, though?"
"I'm going too?"
"What??"
"You invited me to come along. We can finish the rest of the recording in Korea."
"Then..."
"I'll take your offer, CEO. I want to go to Korea and really give this a proper shot. After I wrap up everything I need to do here, of course."
Done.
Lee J had accepted my proposal. I'd recruited an outstanding composer and one outstanding member. That alone made this trip to America a success.
"You have a studio, right?"
"Ah.... Not yet..."
"You're trying to produce an idol group without a studio..? What about a practice room??"
"Don't have that either..."
"Then dance trainers? Vocal coaches?"
"Those too..."
"You're a scam artist."
"I am not a scam artist! I'll get it all ready soon!"
"And 'soon' is exactly when?"
"That... I'll have everything prepared before you arrive in Korea."
"You mean that?"
"Probably?"
"......"
I couldn't give a firm answer. Nothing had been decided yet. Which meant I had to hurry.
"President Hong, start by preparing the office relocation. And we'll need practice rooms, training rooms, plus a studio and recording booth for the composer."
"So you've decided to go through with it?"
"Yes. As fast as possible, please. I'll send you a number for everything the studio and recording booth need — just ask that person. And once the office move is done, get ready so we can hold open auditions right away. Ah! And prepare a list of the staff we'll need to run an idol agency."
"You're not acquiring an existing company?"
"No. I'd rather use that money to pay generous salaries and recruit people with real skill. And Art Company will be split into an actors division and a singers division."
"Understood. Then would it be alright if we topped up our own headcount while we're at it?"
"Sure. Hire as many as you need. U-I will cover the funding. Oh, and we'll need two houses for dorms. Somewhere close to the new office would be ideal."
Lee J said she'd stay in America for about a month to finish recording the songs she'd written for K-Sler before coming over.
And I couldn't bring May to Korea right away either. She still had school, and she needed her parents' permission. She said she'd handle that herself, of course — but I'd still need to prepare a second trip to America to bring her back.
Until then, my plan was to return to Korea and thoroughly build out the foundations of an idol agency.
I just hadn't expected to get a call like this on the day of departure.
"Make sure you lock Serin down. A kid who sings like that without any formal training? That's what you call a genius. And from the school festival footage, it looks like she can dance decently too. Ah, and Min-ju has real talent as well. She'd be a shame to let slip away."
"Did Min-ju put you up to that?"
"Mm.... That last part, yeah. But I also mean it. I've watched kids like that for a long time. Min-ju definitely has talent."
"......"
"Hmm~ mm... hmm....."
I stared straight at Min-ju, who was humming under her breath and pretending nothing was going on while still on the call. She kept sneaking glances at me, jumping every time our eyes met — and finally confessed that yes, she'd asked for that favor.
Not that I hadn't already heard the whole thing from Lee J.
Still. If Lee J — someone who'd spent over ten years as a trainee — said she had talent, maybe she really did.
The day after we got back to Seoul, I heard such good news that I hopped in the car immediately.
The new Art Company office building.
A deposit of eight hundred million won and a monthly rent of sixty million. Not one of the Big Four agencies, but a fairly well-known idol company had used it as their headquarters.
Two basement levels through five floors above ground. A total floor area of roughly fifteen thousand square feet.
Honestly, I wasn't sure we'd fill a building this big — but the B1 and B2 levels already had practice rooms, and the second floor already had studios and recording booths. That was the single biggest reason I'd chosen this place. Touch it up a little, stock the equipment we needed, and we could start using it today.
On top of that, it was within a three-minute walk of Seongsu Station. The staff would love it.
"We really got lucky."
"We really did."
Originally, a reasonably well-known agency had used this building as their HQ. Then they'd relocated to another area and put it on the market. Another agency had signed a contract — only for it to fall through out of nowhere, which is how it landed in our lap.
"Talk to the composer about how the studios and recording booths should be set up, then build a few more with the same configuration. We're turning the entire second floor into studio and recording space anyway."
"Got it."
"And what's the plan for the remaining floors?"
"Third floor for the singers division, fourth for the actors division, fifth as the U-I office. Ah, and remodel some of the basement practice rooms so the actors can use them too."
"The actors?"
"Yeah. Install cameras and mics so they can review their own performances on screen right away. I think it'll help."
"That's a great idea."
This way Iseul would be coming into the office every day. She'd be thrilled when she heard.
Though commuting together might get a little awkward...
Ah. Living together was the bigger problem. Once filming started, her manager would be coming by the house to pick her up...
"President, have you found the dorms yet?"
"Not yet."
"Then please find one more. And I need to head back to America again soon, so I'd like to meet the interview candidates as quickly as possible. Think that's doable?"
"I'll lock in times within the week."
"Thank you. Dumping work on you like a brand-new hire right before your retirement..."
"Not at all. This is me giving my company one last push so it can thrive. Don't give it a second thought. I'm doing this because I want to."
"Then how about sticking around a few more years?"
"I'm rather busy, so I'll take my leave."
"P-President!! How is he that fast...!!"
He definitely wasn't running, and yet he vanished from sight in an instant, like a racewalker.
Anyway, thanks to President Hong Mincheol, a business I'd started just because I vaguely wanted to become someone people recognized was finally taking real shape.
I'd have to make sure his severance package was generous.
Bzzzt!!! Bzzzt!!!
Iseul?
I pulled out the phone going haywire in my pocket. But it wasn't Iseul — it was Lee Chan.
"What's going on?"
"Hyung! We've got a huge problem!"
"A huge problem? Something happen at home??"
"Not our house..! Min-ju's house!"
"Min-ju??"
"Yeah! She suddenly said she was going to be an idol and quit her cram school, so they kicked her out!!"
"......"
"Hyung! Are you listening?!"
Lee Min-ju... what the hell was I supposed to do with this kid....