Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: A Timely Intervention
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Seol-ah grabbed Si-ah's wrist, pulled her inside, and quickly closed the door.
She was a rabbit-faced beauty with fair skin, cute front teeth, slightly wide-set round eyes, and full lips.
While not possessing the otherworldly beauty of Oh Ro-si or Shin Yi-na, her petite stature and cute features would surely make her popular among those with a taste for the adorable.
Si-ah's startled eyes were fixed on Seol-ah, but tears still streamed down her face.
"...What's going on...?"
At Si-ah's question, Seol-ah said nothing and simply held up the lunchbox, looking at me.
"Can we give this to her?"
"..."
In the worst-case scenario, if she ate the lunchbox, got an upset stomach, and ruined the recording, it would be my responsibility.
But even with that risk, I wanted to see this girl enjoy a good meal.
"I'll take responsibility. Let her eat."
A look of satisfaction briefly crossed Seol-ah's face.
Seol-ah offered the lunchbox to Si-ah, who was sitting on the sofa.
It was an appetizing lunchbox with beef bulgogi and fish cutlets as the main dishes.
"Eat."
"..."
When Si-ah hesitated, Seol-ah even unwrapped a pair of chopsticks and placed them in her hand.
"You're Si-ah, right?"
"Yes... Seonbae-nim."
Si-ah looked like she was about to burst into tears again, seemingly grateful that Seol-ah had remembered her name.
"Seol-ah, you should eat with her. You're making her uncomfortable."
"Ah... should I?"
Seol-ah, who had brought the lunchboxes, sat down next to Si-ah and opened the lid.
The appetizing aroma of various seasonings and fried food wafted up.
"Listen while you eat. Our Timjang-nim and I will take responsibility."
Just then, Si-ah's stomach rumbled with a growl, and the stylist covered her own mouth and turned away.
Her face flushing red, Si-ah wiped her tears and picked up the chopsticks.
"...Thank you for the meal."
With a trembling hand, Si-ah brought the cold, sticky rice to her mouth.
A tremor that ordinary people, in this age of abundance, would never experience.
But it was a phenomenon anyone who had been a trainee could sympathize with.
"How long has it been since you ate?"
"...I had a salad for lunch yesterday... and nothing since. The other unnis... they ate this morning."
Seeing Si-ah looking like she was choking up, I handed her the container of soup.
"Thank you."
The moment our hands touched, an image that seemed to be Si-ah's future unintentionally flashed in my mind.
Si-ah, showcasing her blossoming beauty and singing brightly, looked incredibly happy. Behind her, Choi Yoo-jun also briefly appeared, his expression serious, unlike now.
"Hey! How could you just let them leave like that!"
"I thought the manager would catch them!"
The commotion outside caused the vision from my 'Third Eye' to abruptly cut off.
A shame. I wanted to see more.
"Aish! Where did she go?"
"Probably that way?"
"Eating isn't the problem right now! Spread out and look for her. If you can't find her in five minutes, come back."
"Ah, seriously! What is this, all because of one little kid!"
Seol-ah and Si-ah also listened to the commotion outside.
The noise from the next room died down, suggesting the manager and the N-Pink members had all gone out.
"So the other members ate, but you didn't?"
"Because I'm the fattest..."
She wasn't even fat. It was more like what people call 'baby fat,' something that appears before one's body fully matures.
Knowing how amazing the future Si-ah would become, I found it absurd.
"I was hungry... and I missed my mom. And I don't think I have any talent as a singer."
The sight of her eating while sniffling was truly pitiful.
"What are you talking about? I saw you earlier, you're a great singer."
"...Besides singing, I can't dance well, and I'm short..."
In response to Seol-ah's words, Si-ah coolly assessed herself.
I was curious, so I couldn't help but check Si-ah's stats.
Stats.
[Name: Si-ah (16)]
Vocal 70/93
Dance 42/73
Rap 33/65
⋮
As expected, her talent was simply undeveloped, but she had a desirable gift.
*Click.*
"Food...?"
Lee Seul-bi came in, saw Si-ah, and looked at me with surprise, as if asking what was going on.
"Ah! Hello, Seonbae-nim. I enjoyed your performance earlier. I'm Si-ah from N-Pink."
"Oh? Uh..."
"Seul-bi, Yi-na, you two eat quickly too. You need to rest a bit before we go."
"...Okay. What's with the lunchboxes?"
Seul-bi and Yi-na grinned as they inspected the contents of the lunchboxes.
Seul-bi, seeing the cramped sofa, took a silver mat out of a prop bag and spread it on the floor.
Tossing off their shoes, Seul-bi and Yi-na stepped onto the mat with expressions of pure bliss.
"Aah! That's better. I thought I was going to suffocate. The floor is the best."
Seul-bi and Yi-na also began to eat ravenously.
Seol-ah, glancing at Si-ah's nearly empty lunchbox, spoke up.
"Still, you can't just run off like that."
"..."
"You said you're the main vocalist, right?"
"...Yes."
"If you act impulsively because you miss your mom, what happens to your teammates?"
At the word "impulsively," Seul-bi flinched, glanced sideways, and then grinned when our eyes met.
"...Won't they just find another main vocalist?"
At Si-ah's incredibly naive answer, everyone's gaze turned to her.
"Si-ah, have you never been a trainee?"
"Ah! How did you know?"
"..."
As I thought. She was a kid who hadn't gone through proper trainee life.
"It's not that I haven't at all. I was picked at an audition, trained for a month, and debuted in my second month."
"Wow..."
A small gasp escaped in the waiting room.
It wasn't because Si-ah's skills were amazing, but because of the agency's conduct.
There were many agencies run haphazardly like private businesses, but experiencing a real case made JD Enter feel like a major corporation.
Trainee life not only refines talent but is also a crucial period for learning to view the entertainment industry objectively.
No matter how desperate they were for a main vocalist, the industry wasn't a place you could just debut a kid full of fantasies.
Even Yi-na, who was a trainee for years, was immature. How much more so would Si-ah be?
"Si-ah, let me explain. Listen up."
I began to explain the system of the industry as simply as I could.
Whether my sincerity got through to her or not, Si-ah seemed to be concentrating, trying to understand even the parts she found confusing.
"So, if you suddenly quit, it's not just a matter of finding a new member. The entire team could be disbanded."
"...I see."
Si-ah lowered her head.
"The unnis who trained for years to finally debut—how do you think they'd feel if the team disbanded just like that?"
"..."
"The unnis who dropped out of school to become trainees, what would they do to make a living all of a sudden?"
"...They'd probably be suicidal."
Being so young, she spoke without a filter. The Answer members and I tried to persuade her with kind words to change her mind.
"Just because you had an easy debut, you have to remember that not everyone else walked an easy path."
"...Yes."
"And don't worry, I'll talk to your manager separately and sort things out."
"...Thank you, Manager-nim. Thank you, unnis."
There are kids who act out because they're rude, but there are also kids like Si-ah who make mistakes simply because they don't know any better.
And the clumsy actions of her manager and teammates were likely part of the problem, too.
"You'll hit it big just like us, Answer, so cheer up."
"Hey, we haven't hit it big yet. We might soon, though."
Seul-bi chuckled, responding to my words.
"No way! You guys are amazing! You'll definitely be huge once this airs! Can I get just one picture...?"
I took a picture, framing it so that Si-ah, giving Seol-ah a double thumbs-up, Ro-si, who was getting her makeup done, and Seul-bi and Yi-na, eating their lunchboxes, were all in the shot.
It was a strangely healing photo.
I had a feeling a day would come when we'd look back on this moment fondly.
* * *
While the Answer members were getting into their new outfits and touching up their makeup for the second part, I took Si-ah back to N-Pink's waiting room.
"Are you crazy? Wow... Even if you have no common sense..."
"I'm Min-jun from JD Enter. Can we talk for a moment?"
I handed him my business card before he could start cursing. After glancing at my card, the manager's expression softened slightly.
JD Enter may have been on a downward spiral, but it was still a company boasting the well-known CEO Park Jae-yong, Director Lee Sun, and Kim Sung-hoon, who, despite being long past his prime, served as a decent cash cow.
It wasn't a place a typical startup agency could ignore. Plus, our group, Answer, probably looked like a strong contender for the win.
"...Hurry up and get inside to prepare for part two."
"Yes. And... thank you, Manager-nim."
Si-ah bowed deeply to me and went into the waiting room.
"Unnis, I'm sorry. I won't talk about quitting anymore, and I'll work hard."
"...What's gotten into you?"
It seemed my advice had made an impression, as Si-ah apologized to her members.
I hope that the failures Si-ah is highly likely to experience become nourishment for her future.
"So?"
The N-Pink manager, who had been looking at me with disdain, spoke, visibly suppressing his annoyance.
"I'm saying you should be a little more flexible with a young kid who has no experience in this industry. Managing her figure is one thing, but where do you get off starving her for two days?"
I knew I was overstepping my bounds.
But I wanted to make sure these kids were treated like human beings.
"...This is ridiculous. Why do you care?"
"Didn't you see her almost collapse on stage earlier?"
"...I didn't see that..."
The manager's expression grew a bit serious.
"'Girl group collapses from exhaustion after dozens of continuous hours on schedule.' If the story gets out that she fainted because her manager wouldn't feed her, that'll look great for your company."
"...Are you threatening me right now?"
He took the bait.
"A threat?"
I scrolled through my phone and held it out to him.
His face darkened when he saw the call log with Shin Dong-min, an entertainment reporter from a famous newspaper.
"He calls me every day asking if there's any dirt during the filming of 'Best Idol,' since it's getting so much attention. I have to give him something if I want to get something in return. How about I give him a story about N-Pink's member deserting the group?"
"...Aish, fuck."
He muttered under his breath, and I opened my mouth, feigning more anger.
"What, fuck? I brought back your main vocalist who had nothing to do with me, who was about to quit on the spot, and instead of a thank you, I get a 'fuck'?"
"!"
For a moment, the N-Pink manager's eyes filled with confusion.
"Wow, seriously! The more I listen, the more pissed I get! You should be thanking him, bowing even, not cursing at him! This is too much, really!"
Choi Yoo-jun, who had been eavesdropping, jumped in, shouting, and even the Answer members came out with cold expressions.
The more chaotic the waiting room hallway became, the more the N-Pink manager failed to hide his flustered expression.
"Aren't you going to apologize?"
Choi Yoo-jun said, fuming.
"I-I made a mistake because I was so flustered. Thank you so much for your help. And I'm truly sorry."
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had been glaring and threatening me just moments ago.
"...Yoo-jun, let's go back inside."
I spoke coldly and turned to leave, but the N-Pink manager suddenly grabbed my arm.
"I don't know what came over me. I must have been possessed by a broadcast station ghost. Please forgive me, Timjang-nim. You must not have eaten yet, let's go together..."
I barely managed to hold back a laugh at the sudden reversal of the situation.
Behind him, Si-ah of N-Pink was smiling with a complex expression.