Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: A Difficult Farewell
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“Why is your dancing so lifeless?”
Director Lee Sun's expression had turned severe.
“…Because I'm hungry…”
“Is that supposed to be an excuse? You think anyone else is eating fried chicken instead of salad?”
A frosty chill radiated from Director Lee Sun.
“You're both about to turn twenty. What are you going to do with yourselves?”
The two of them simply let out small sighs, saying nothing.
I couldn't help but look at their stats. The status indicators, which had previously been obscured by '???', were now visible.
[Name: Chae-ron (Age 20)]
Status: Depressed, Powerless
Vocal: 66/70
Dance: 64/66
Charm: 33/53
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[Career Aptitude]
Stylist: 76/92
Chae-ron had reached her limit. It was unfortunate, but there were probably at least thousands of trainees in Korea with her level of skill.
[Name: Oh Ro-si (Age 19)]
Status: Depressed, Desperate
Vocal: 62/75
Dance: 57/68
Rap: 58/91
Charm: 55/92
⁝
[Career Aptitude]
Idol: 62/93
Rapper: 63/92
Variety Idol: 59/94
Actor: 43/95
Ro-si was a kid with potential who had taken the wrong path. If she could fully blossom her talents, she could become one of the nation's top variety show personalities.
I need to succeed quickly so I can save these kids from tragically wasting their talents. A desire, separate from my revenge and goals, welled up inside me.
But where have I seen her before?
Was she an idol who successfully debuted in the future?
Ro-si had a classically beautiful face, so that might just be my impression.
Unlike Ro-si, who flinched at Director Lee Sun's brief scolding, Chae-ron's head sank lower and lower toward the floor.
“You two, put on sandbags on your ankles and wrists. I need to see some impact in your movements.”
“Yes, Isa-nim.”
Ro-si bowed to Director Lee Sun and went back, but Chae-ron remained standing in place.
“…Isa-nim, I have something to tell you.”
I had a gut feeling she was about to quit.
Director Lee Sun seemed to be thinking the same thing, as I saw her lightly bite her lip.
“…Think it over, and if you haven't changed your mind in twenty minutes, come to my office.”
“…”
Seeing Chae-ron say nothing, it seemed Director Lee Sun and I were right.
We started walking again.
Director Lee Sun looked genuinely frustrated.
“If you get too invested and worry like this, you'll ruin your health, Isa-nim.”
“…”
A bitter smile formed on Director Lee Sun's lips.
“…Doesn't our company cut trainees? I think that would be better for the company.”
Most small to mid-sized agencies cut the remaining trainees once a debut group is finalized for a project. It's a way to reduce unnecessary expenses.
“…We recommend they leave, but it's voluntary. The Daepyo-nim is a bit greedy.”
I frowned. I knew better than anyone the fate that awaited trainees who had bet their entire lives on this. This was a bad path, for both the company and the trainees.
There will be many things to change once I'm in charge.
“This is the engineer's room. When someone tells you to come to the studio, they mean here.”
“Okay.”
Usually, the engineer's room and the production studio are separate, but it seemed they were combined here due to space constraints.
The engineer's room-slash-studio, which the CEO supposedly cherished, could be seen through a small window. It was state-of-the-art equipment, not much different from what I would be using ten years from now.
“The recording studio is nice.”
“Oh? You know a thing or two?”
“Yes. Those monitor speakers alone must cost eight million won each. Sixteen million for the pair.”
Director Lee Sun's eyes widened. It seemed she didn't know much about this stuff.
“Those tiny things?”
“Yes.”
“Want to go in?”
“Yes.”
Just as the director, who seemed to want to know more about the studio, grabbed the doorknob.
“…Gah!”
Director Lee Sun recoiled with a sudden scream. The sleepy face of CEO Park Jae-yong was filling the small window.
“Oppa!”
Director Lee Sun clutched her chest and shouted irritably.
*Whoosh*.
The door opened, and a gust of stale air rushed out. CEO Park Jae-yong, who was in his forties, looked like he had suddenly aged into his fifties.
“Director Sun. What's with this 'Oppa' in front of the kid? 'Oppa.'”
“Haa… Seriously! Did you sleep in here again?”
“What am I supposed to do when a killer melody just hits me out of the blue?”
“Stop doing that and delegate some work.”
“I'm not dead yet, you know.”
“I'm worried you'll die early.”
“Ooh, check out the rhyme on our Director Sun.”
CEO Park Jae-yong was a man of exceptional talent as a producer. That was both his strength and his greatest weakness.
“You're Min-jun, right?”
“Yes. Thank you for hiring me. I will be sure to be of great help.”
“…Right. Do your best.”
CEO Park smacked his lips and nodded.
“And, Daepyo-nim.”
“Hmm?”
Director Lee Sun's voice instantly regained its frosty edge.
“We agreed to save money on everything except production and marketing.”
CEO Park tilted his head as if she were speaking nonsense.
“I sold my car, mortgaged my house, and I'm driving the company car, and you're spending sixteen million won on a pair of speakers?”
“W-what? Who said that! They're not that expensive!”
CEO Park looked extremely flustered.
The speakers were clearly a high-end product. Should I say I was mistaken to get on the CEO's good side?
But my intuition stopped me, and I chose silence instead of changing my words.
“Really? Should I look up the product number then? Let's see how much it costs.”
At Director Lee Sun's cold words, CEO Park, his face pale, grabbed her hand.
“What is this? Gross.”
Director Lee Sun shook off CEO Park Jae-yong's hand.
“Sun-ah. Monitor speakers, you see. They have to capture every single faint, thread-like sound…”
“So you're saying they *are* expensive?”
Undeterred by Director Lee Sun's words, CEO Park Jae-yong continued his excuses.
“You have to examine the balance of each session's sound, one by one…”
“They *are* expensive.”
Director Lee Sun's quiet voice was filled with subtle anger.
“But I got a big discount and bought them for fifteen million…”
“Ha.”
“I was wrong.”
I almost burst out laughing at the sight of CEO Park suddenly surrendering with a serious face.
“Go away.”
Director Lee Sun turned to shake him off, but CEO Park Jae-yong followed her around with a pitiful expression.
“That's actually really cheap for what it is. There are some that cost thirty million won.”
I couldn't tell what their relationship was, but it was clear that Director Lee Sun was the one with the real power.
It seems I've definitely picked the right side.
* * *
Back in the office, a sigh escaped Director Lee Sun's lips.
Was it because of the childish CEO?
Or the trainee, Chae-ron?
Sitting down, Director Lee Sun turned on her computer. She searched through the trainee records, found Chae-ron's file, and sighed again.
It seemed Director Lee Sun wasn't even aware she was sighing.
“Have you ever worried about being cut?”
The director asked with a sigh.
“Yes. I worried about being cut, but at the same time, I also thought that if it wasn't going to work out, I'd rather they just let me go quickly.”
“…Besides dressing well, she doesn't really have anything else.”
Director Lee Sun seemed to be worried about Chae-ron's future after what was effectively her dismissal. Suddenly, the 'Career Aptitude' I saw earlier came to mind.
“What about being a stylist?”
“What?”
A brief spark of interest lit up in Director Lee Sun's eyes, but it quickly faded.
“…Based on aptitude alone, it would be a good fit. But she won't be able to do it.”
“Why not? She dresses well and seems to have good taste.”
“You talk like you know her so well after seeing her once?”
“I'd like to think I have good intuition.”
Director Lee Sun snorted softly and opened her mouth.
“That kid has no money. She's living with her married sister right now.”
“Do you have to be rich to be a stylist?”
“Not necessarily, but the youngest assistants don't even make one million won.”
I was dumbfounded by the nauseating 'passion pay'. And this in a world where the minimum wage would soon hit ten thousand won per hour.
“That's pretty extreme, isn't it?”
“Stylists have it good. The youngest makeup artist assistants are lucky if they get 300,000 won.”
It was so absurd I couldn't help but laugh drily.
“…300,000 won for a month's work?”
“That's right.”
“When a roll of kimbap costs 3,000 won…”
This vicious cycle probably continues because there are too many people eager to learn, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
*Smack!*
“!?”
I was startled by the pain in my arm.
Why did she hit me out of the blue?
But far from feeling bad about Director Lee Sun's stinging hand, I actually felt better. It felt like we'd gotten closer.
Director Lee Sun made a call.
“Yeah. Unni. Do you have an open spot for a junior assistant? Ah, there's a kid I'm letting go, but she's got a good sense for styling and she's nice…”
Some might say making a single phone call for someone else isn't a big deal, but I don't think that way.
“Okay, Unni. I'll call you back. Oh! And please pay more attention to sponsorships for our kids. Don't give everything to SJ. Yeah, thank youuu.”
The call ended, Director Lee Sun having poured out a nasal, charming tone instead of her usual charismatic voice.
“Well, the choice is hers to make.”
I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or to herself. But her expression was much better than before.
The twenty minutes must have passed, as Chae-ron entered the office, her lips pressed into a firm line.
“…I'm quitting.”
“Okay.”
At Director Lee Sun's reply, Chae-ron's eyes squeezed shut.
Was she thinking, 'How can you be so cold? Can't you just try to stop me one more time?'
Chae-ron hesitated several times before the contract termination form. After she finally, painstakingly signed it, her eyes welled up with tears.
“Thank you for… everything… *hic*.”
Finally, the sobs Chae-ron had been holding back burst forth.
Trainees who had spent anywhere from a few years to over a decade chasing a single dream. Her feelings right now were probably no different from the world collapsing around her.
The emptiness of the time she'd lost and the daunting task of having to set a new goal so late.
As if she didn't care that makeup and tears would ruin her blouse, Director Lee Sun hugged Chae-ron.
“*Hic… sob…*”
Even I felt a lump in my throat watching the back of Director Lee Sun as she patted Chae-ron, who was now sobbing uncontrollably.
“Don't cry. You were amazing, and you did your best. There were just too many monsters out there.”
Director Lee Sun's words felt as if they were comforting my past self, and the tip of my nose tingled.
“*Sob, sob, hic…*”
She looked like an adult on the outside, but her crying was that of a small child.
Chae-ron had the looks and talent to stand out instantly in a crowd of ordinary people, but this industry was overflowing with monsters who were even greater.
Chae-ron cried her heart out for several minutes before she calmed down. The shoulder of Director Lee Sun's blouse was soaked transparent with her tears.
“Our Chae-ron is pretty and has great taste, so you'll definitely succeed wherever you go.”
A different side of her, like a reliable big sister, compared to when she was scolding them with a frosty demeanor.
“…Isa-nim, why are you being so warm at the end? That's cheating.”
Chae-ron forced a smile, her eyes still shimmering with tears.
“If I were warm all the time, how would I manage the kids' health, and how would I get them to debut?”
“…I guess you're right.”
“Sit down for a moment.”
“Okay.”
“Chae-ron, what are you going to do now?”
“…I think it's too late to go back to school, so I was planning on going back home for now.”
“Because it's a burden to live at your sister's place?”
At the director's question, Chae-ron's eyes widened.
She seemed surprised that Director Lee Sun knew about her situation.