Chapter 56
After a brief hesitation, Ha Jiho put on a determined expression.
“I… will remain on Producer Eden’s team.”
Eden smiled brightly, as though he had expected that answer all along.
Se-rang was a little disappointed, but she quickly accepted it.
The chemistry between Eden and Jiho was not bad, and objectively speaking, Eden was a capable producer. From Jiho’s perspective, there was no reason to take the risk of transferring to another team.
Since Se-rang had never openly made any effort to recruit Jiho either, the result was even more natural.
Then who would take second place?
Se-rang calmly looked toward where the trainees were sitting.
I hope all three of them rank well.
When working as a producer, the hardest thing to predict was the public’s heart.
Unless someone was an overwhelmingly exceptional talent—the kind of person who might appear only once in a generation—no producer could ever be certain of a trainee’s future.
An idol becoming successful did not depend solely on appearance or talent.
Didn’t people say that stars were bestowed by heaven?
An idol who had never attracted attention could become wildly popular after one tiny incident snowballed like a storm, while there were countless cases of trainees who had been considered aces before debut but turned out to be surprisingly unpopular afterward.
That was how popularity worked.
That was how the public’s heart worked.
It was unknowable.
All a producer could do was everything within a producer’s power, while an idol did the very best an idol could do.
“We will now announce the trainee who placed second in <Cast the Future>’s First Overall Popularity Vote.”
From this point onward, Se-rang had reason to hope.
She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut.
Please.
“Trainee Seo Dowon!”
?!
“Congratulations, trainee Seo Dowon. You have achieved the remarkable result of placing second in the First Overall Popularity Vote.”
Seriously?
Se-rang barely maintained her poker face as she suppressed the urge to shout with joy.
Our kid came in second…!
Because it was Seo Dowon of all people, Se-rang’s feelings were especially strong.
If Taeha had placed second, she would not have been nearly as surprised or overwhelmed. Jung Taeha had been an idol who gained explosive popularity even in her previous life, so he was a proven talent.
But what about Seo Dowon?
Seo Dowon had been a trainee who never even managed to debut in her previous life.
Even in this life, Dowon had been a trainee everyone worried about, to the point that his being cast had been called a miracle.
Se-rang struggled to hide the corners of her lips stretching upward.
My god.
The lottery ticket I picked turned out to be an unscratched second-prize winner…!
Se-rang celebrated Dowon’s second-place finish with more joy than anyone else.
With a dazed expression, Dowon took the microphone and stepped onto the platform.
Earlier, Ha Jiho’s bewildered expression had clearly been an act for the broadcast, but this was different.
Seo Dowon genuinely looked as though he could not believe he had placed second.
He was trembling so badly that he could not even open his mouth, merely staring at the camera.
No, Dowon.
This is live….
His innocent side could certainly become a selling point, but if he overdid it, people would say he was unprofessional.
Se-rang widened her eyes and stared at Dowon.
Then she silently mouthed the words at him.
Get. A. Grip.
Fortunately, Dowon understood the message Se-rang was sending him and pulled himself together.
“Uh, um…. First of all, to all the fans and viewers who gave an inadequate trainee like me such an undeserved opportunity… Ah, no. Such an undeserved ranking… thank you… thank you so much.”
Dowon rambled a little, but he still managed to keep talking.
“I’m also very grateful to Taeha and Yuhyun, who always made time to help me even though they must have been busy practicing themselves. I truly… want to repay this kindness somehow. They’re younger than me, but being on the same team as friends who are far more amazing than I am is such a….”
Dowon paused, apparently overcome with emotion, and wiped away the tears gathering in his eyes.
“I know how incredibly lucky I am. So much so that I even wonder whether someone like me has the right to hope that we can continue together….”
The microphone he gripped tightly with both hands was shaking violently.
He isn’t going to stop breathing at this rate, is he?
Se-rang happily celebrated Dowon’s achievement.
Yuhyun and Taeha were also mouthing, We’re the lucky ones!
Se-rang glared toward the PD.
Catch that. Hurry up and put that on screen!
Fortunately, the PD apparently agreed that the moment needed to be shown, because the camera immediately cut to the two trainees.
Good. We can’t miss a heartwarming scene like this.
Relieved, Se-rang turned back toward Dowon.
“And….”
At that moment, Dowon was looking at Se-rang too.
“P-Producer. Th-Thank you. For someone like… sob.”
Apparently, seeing Se-rang’s face made all the tension leave Dowon’s body—
“Thank you for choosing a beginner like meeee….”
Dowon began crying more miserably than ever before.
And Se-rang felt slightly embarrassed.
…Stop crying already.
If he was like this when his debut was not even confirmed yet, then by the time he actually debuted, he would probably be sobbing his eyes out.
Se-rang inwardly clicked her tongue at Dowon, who looked so sturdy yet cried so easily.
What am I going to do with someone this softhearted?
How is he supposed to survive this brutal entertainment industry?
…I guess I’ll have to work hard.
Se-rang scratched her head at the prickling emotion she had not felt in a long time.
It felt like raising her own child through a music composition program.
“A-And….”
What else is he trying to say?
Se-rang looked at Dowon with slight unease.
“I-If you allow it, Producer, I want to stay on this team forever…!”
The moment she heard those words, Se-rang instinctively knew.
That single sentence would have a stronger promotional effect than any advertisement for Yeon Se-rang.
So Se-rang readily answered.
“Of course, trainee Seo Dowon. I’ll take responsibility for you all the way to debut.”
After that, Taeha ranked fourth, while Yuhyun placed seventh.
Yuhyun’s ranking was a little disappointing, but Se-rang concluded that this was still an excellent result.
If a team with only three members had achieved second, fourth, and seventh place respectively, they had done more than well enough.
All three had also chosen to remain on the team.
More importantly….
“Welcome to our team, trainee Kim Hyunseo.”
They had gained a new team member.
“I look forward to working with you, Producer.”
With his usual indifferent yet steady expression, Kim Hyunseo bowed from the waist.
When someone as big as a door bowed, it felt like an enormous movement.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Se-rang laughed awkwardly.
“I didn’t expect trainee Hyunseo to choose our team. Of course, we obviously wanted you.”
I was planning to start recruiting him seriously from the Second Competition onward.
She had not even begun a proper sales pitch, yet talent had rolled in on its own feet.
Se-rang was delighted, but also puzzled.
“I knew.”
“Huh?”
Se-rang blurted out the question in confusion.
Knew what?
“That you wanted to recruit me. I knew.”
“Really? I guess our boys actually did some work after all.”
“We told you we worked hard, Produuuucer….”
“I believe you, I believe you…. I only doubted you a tiny bit.”
The three trainees looked deeply wronged, but Se-rang lightly ignored them.
“Did our boys persuade you well? What did they say that convinced fifth-place trainee Kim Hyunseo to join our team?”
“Ah.”
Looking half awkward and half embarrassed, Hyunseo scratched the back of his head.
“…They said you’d buy me unlimited meat.”
“…….”
Seriously?
Was this twenty-one-year-old ace trainee really saying that he had been won over with meat?
Se-rang stared blankly at the inscrutable Hyunseo for a moment.
“You… came to our team because of meat?”
“And….”
Hyunseo hesitated slightly before speaking.
“I’m personally acquainted with Hwiun hyung from Twenties.”
“!”
“Hwiun hyung told me that it might be… good to try working with Producer Se-rang.”
Hwiun said that?
For once, Se-rang was genuinely taken aback.
“…I probably shouldn’t say this, but he said you’d be better than Producer Seungha.”
“Hmm. That is definitely true.” Se-rang answered immediately.
She had to acknowledge the truth when she heard it.
How dare that sneaky political novice even compare herself to Se-rang?
Anyway.
…Trying to live properly really can bring luck like this.
Se-rang smiled faintly.
As expected, this had been the right path.
Her path had never been wrong.
So.
She had no choice but to keep moving forward.