Mindless Fact Bombing
The distinct personalities jumped out at me exactly as I’d read in the documents Lee Hana handed over.
“Wow! You’re so handsome, Producer-nim! I’m Kim Eunha. Please take good care of me, yep!”
Eunha greeted me with bright energy. Her black ponytail bounced cheerfully in time with her movements.
Beside her, the glamorous blonde beauty Rhea Hayes chimed in with her clumsy Korean.
“Wow! Beautiful boy! Handsome producer-nim, welcome!”
In contrast, the girl with the short brown bob standing next to them narrowed her eyes.
“...The overall producer? Some parachute who rolled in from nowhere… I mean, new producer-nim? I’ve never seen your face before.”
Luminix’s main rapper, Yu Seoa. She glared at me, slanting her cat-like eyes upward as far as they would go. Her small frame radiated pure wariness, like a kitten with its fur puffed out.
I smiled leisurely and stepped into the elevator.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Yujiho. Everyone’s already working hard this early, huh?”
As I greeted them, I leaned slightly toward Harin and lowered my voice.
“Harin, did you sleep well last night?”
At the sound of my voice her shoulders jerked hard. She shuffled backward until her back was pressed flat against the elevator wall.
“Y-yes?! Yes! I slept… I slept very well…!”
Harin couldn’t meet my eyes, her gaze darting everywhere else. A blue hologram window appeared above her head.
It really went up.
The connection we’d shared in the dream. The shameless things I’d done under the excuse of directing. If her stats rose because of it, wasn’t that a good thing?
Noon in the practice room.
I sat on the sofa with my legs crossed, clipboard and pen in hand for appearances.
“We already did the greetings earlier, so let’s get straight to the point.”
I tapped the clipboard lightly with the end of my pen.
“We’re starting with a basics check. Come out one by one and show me dance, singing, or rap using a song you’re confident in. Give it everything you’ve got.”
The moment I finished speaking, Seoa immediately objected.
“It’s been less than a week since our monthly evaluation. All the data is already in the company system. Why do we have to do this again?”
“Data is just pieces of paper. I’m the type who can’t feel satisfied until I see it with my own eyes.”
Seoa crossed her arms and whipped her head to the side.
“I’ll go first!”
Eunha raised her hand confidently and stepped forward.
A fast-tempo beat flowed from the speakers. The instant the music started, Eunha’s eyes changed completely.
Her long legs and solid core produced clean, refreshing lines of dance. The way her black ponytail swung in perfect sync with the rhythm was flawless. It was a performance that proved her A+ Expression was no decoration.
But the moment she began to sing, the problems showed.
Her breathing grew unsteady from the intense choreography, and her pitch slipped slightly. Her volume was simply too weak; her voice kept getting buried under the accompaniment.
I drew meaningless circles on the clipboard while evaluating her in my head.
Dance is top-tier, but the vocals are weak. Exactly C+ level singing.
Next was Rhea’s turn.
“Music cue!”
Rhea winked and stepped to the center of the practice room. Her blonde hair sparkled under the lights. Her voluptuous chest and curved hips drew every eye even when she was simply standing still.
Visual S. Among active idols, her appearance stood out unmistakably.
The music began and Rhea started moving her hips, attempting the choreography.
Her dancing is average compared to the other members…
The moment she opened her mouth to sing, I nearly dropped the pen I was holding. Her diction was almost nonexistent and she was half a beat behind the rhythm the entire time.
Face and body are her only weapons…
I clicked my tongue inwardly and noted down Rhea’s evaluation.
And finally.
“Next. Yu Seoa.”
She’s the rapper, so she gets a separate rap stat?
Seoa reluctantly walked to the front of the mirror. Despite her small frame, her proportions were excellent and she gave off the provocative aura typical of rappers.
A powerful hip-hop beat poured from the speakers. Seoa tilted her head at an angle and began to rap. Her cat-like eyes stared straight at me.
The tone of the first line wasn’t bad. It was high and sharp, the kind of voice that pierced the ear.
But the moment the choreography mixed in, the flaw became painfully obvious. Her lung capacity was lacking. The slightest big movement caused her breath to run out and her pronunciation to blur.
It was a clear weakness even without the status window.
“That’s enough.”
I hit the remote and cut the music. Seoa stopped rapping, breathing hard, and glared at me.
“Why did you cut it? I wasn’t even halfway done.”
“Because there’s no need to hear more.”
I tossed the clipboard onto the table and stood up.
“The moment the choreography starts, your breathing becomes extremely unstable. You feel it too, don’t you?”
“T-that’s…”
“Your voice is cracking all over the place. Add even a little dance and it completely disappears.”
Seoa’s face flushed bright red. For someone as proud as her, having her flaws pointed out so bluntly in front of the other members had to be humiliating.
She took one step closer.
“Who doesn’t know that? I’m practicing to fix it.”
“Does practicing fix it if the direction is wrong?”
“This is ridiculous. What does a parachute producer like you even know? Why are you acting like you can order us around?”
A heavy silence fell over the practice room once the music stopped.
“S-Seoa…!”
Harin hurried over and grabbed Seoa’s arm. I raised a hand to stop her.
Since it’s our first meeting, maybe I should set the tone properly.
I rose from the sofa and faced Seoa directly.
“Yeah, I’m a parachute.”
Seoa’s eyes widened.
“But what I’m more curious about is how someone like you is still in the debut lineup.”
“...Excuse me?”
“Do you think your looks stand out next to Rhea? Eunha owns the dance, Harin carries the vocals. What’s your position here? Rap? With that short breath of yours, how exactly are you going to handle a stage?”
Seoa’s lips trembled.
“I get that you were street-cast because you have a decent face, but this isn’t a spot you can survive on looks alone.”
Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, yet she refused to look away.
Mental D+. She acts like a fierce little cat on the outside, but inside she’s completely fragile, like a cream-filled cookie.
“At the next monthly evaluation, if you haven’t fixed it, start packing your bags. I won’t take a rookie who ruins the stage with me.”
Harin hung her head. Eunha and Rhea could only glance around nervously.
I scanned the members once, then clapped my hands lightly.
“Until the end of this week, continue with the schedule you’ve been following. Starting next week, we’ll follow the new schedule I’ve prepared.”
“Y-yes.”
Everyone except Seoa answered after reading the room.
“And Harin, I need to talk to you for a moment.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, I understand.”
Leaving Seoa staring holes into the floor behind us, I walked out of the practice room without hesitation.
Harin followed, fidgeting with her fingers, and spoke first.
“Um, Producer-nim… Seoa isn’t usually this sharp. She’s just a little sensitive lately because of the debut pressure…”
“I didn’t call you here to talk about Seoa.”
I cut her off cleanly and leaned against the wall.
“I called you here to talk about you.”
I gave Harin a quick once-over.
“Your movements are much smoother than yesterday. All that unnecessary tension is mostly gone too.”
Her face turned scarlet in an instant. Her eyes lost their focus, wandering helplessly.
I tapped the clipboard lightly, keeping my tone indifferent.
“I have my own special correction method for loosening up movements that stiff, you know?”
Harin’s head snapped up.
“I was planning to start private lessons today, but after watching you dance earlier, it looks like you don’t need them anymore. In that case, there’s no reason for me to step in…”
Harin grabbed the sleeve of my jacket.
“N-no, that’s not it…!”
I looked down at her hand clutching my sleeve.
“Ah! I didn’t mean it like that…”
Harin quickly let go and answered.
“I-I’m still lacking. On my own… there’s a limit.”
Harin swallowed hard.
“I want to receive that correction! Please!”
She’s completely hooked.
“Really? Well, if you want it that badly, I suppose I can help.”
***
The place I headed to with Harin was the Private Room where I had first met Lee Hana.
When I held the card key to the lock, the heavy door opened. A wide, windowless, completely sealed space. The faint scent of the diffuser Lee Hana had set up lingered in the softly lit room.
“Stand in front of the full-length mirror over there.”
I shrugged off my jacket, tossed it onto the sofa, and moved right behind Harin.
Just the two of us in the vast underground room. The speed of Harin’s chest rising and falling gradually quickened.
“Relax.”
I whispered low beside her ear, over her shoulder.
“This is training you asked for, right? There’s no need to be nervous.”
In the mirror, Harin’s face was flushed deep red. Without resisting, she only bit her lower lip lightly and drew in a breath.
Below the pure-white crop top, her waist lay completely defenseless. I reached my hand toward it.