The Bulldozer's Unstoppable Charge
With everything reset to a blank slate, Director Cha pulled out one trainee's profile and placed it on the table.
"Let's start with the obvious. Yu Hana. No objections on this one, right?"
The unshakable main vocalist, Yu Hana. As a holder of the 'Beautiful Voice' superpower, she possessed overwhelming singing ability, exceptional dance skills, and visuals that made her a true all-rounder. Even in a performance-focused idol group, a proper main vocalist was essential, and someone like Hana—who excelled in every single area—was rare even among the big companies where all the talented kids gathered. She'd been pegged as the main vocalist candidate from the very beginning of debut team planning, so there could be no opposition.
But that was as far as things went smoothly. After Yu Hana, everyone else clamped their mouths shut like they'd been hit with an area-wide stun, maintaining a heavy silence. None of them had the confidence to come up with a combination as good as Plan A, which they'd spent ages brainstorming and agonizing over.
"Why are you all acting like you've swallowed a jar of honey?"
Honestly, at this point, it made more sense to postpone the debut team selection entirely and rethink everything. Most of the staff attending the meeting felt the same way, but they couldn't bring themselves to speak up. It was clearly their mistake for failing to notice the personality issues with the trainees, and they knew exactly how seriously Director Cha was taking this debut team selection.
"How about we just go with Plan C instead?"
"Plan C?"
"You know, the one that came up as a minority opinion during the concept meeting..."
"You want to do that?"
"It's definitely a gamble, but wouldn't the star power be solid?"
How long had the silence stretched? One of the planning team staff members, unable to bear the heavy and awkward atmosphere any longer, cautiously spoke up. Everyone secretly thought it would be better to postpone the debut team selection, but no one wanted to be the first to say it. Someone had to step up and take the bullet.
They didn't actually think the suggestion would be accepted. After all, Plan C was nothing more than a visual combination slapped together by ranking the trainees purely by looks. This had happened about six months ago, back when discussions about the debut team were still serious.
By pure coincidence, three new trainees with exceptional visuals had joined the company. One came through an investor's recommendation, and the other two had been street-cast by a casting manager. While all idol trainees had decent visuals, these three were on another level—it was hard to describe them as simply "good-looking." For a brief moment, someone had suggested trying to build a debut team around a visual concept. Of course, it was immediately shot down.
The three had joined the company far too late to be trained up for the debut team. If they'd been trainees at another company, maybe things would have been different, but these three had lived lives completely unrelated to idols. Throwing brand-new trainees who'd just entered the industry into a debut team after only six months? Even the most chaotic agencies didn't run their companies that way unless they were truly desperate. No matter how talented a trainee was, they needed at least a year of training to even look presentable in this industry.
So, with some regret, they'd concluded that they would train them just enough to build basic skills and then introduce them to a decent company. Yes. This was a matter that had already been settled.
The only reason the staff member brought it up now was as a stepping stone to suggest postponing the debut team selection altogether. If they simply said "let's delay it," Director Cha would never accept it, so they had to at least pretend to offer an alternative.
"Plan C, huh. Not bad. Given the current situation, that might be the best option."
"...Excuse me?"
But instead of the expected opposition, Director Cha immediately accepted the idea. Even the person who'd made the suggestion was stunned, wondering what on earth was going on.
"Seong Jiyeong. Tasha. Ji Seoeun."
While everyone was still frozen in shock, Director Cha's hands moved swiftly. Before anyone could respond, he picked up the three trainees' profiles and slapped them onto the table. His movements were lighter and faster than ever, as if he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"If we add Yu Hana to these three... what do you think? Worth watching?"
"It's pretty girls next to pretty girls next to even prettier girls, so of course it'd be worth watching, but..."
"Isn't this too much of a gamble?"
"Wouldn't it be better to postpone the debut team formation a little more..."
"I agree, Director."
"This is all happening so suddenly, you must be flustered, but now is exactly when you need to stay calm."
The staff had planned to hold out until Director Cha himself suggested postponing the debut team, but they couldn't stay silent when things were turning out like this. Once someone broke the dam, opinions about not rushing and taking more time began pouring out from every direction. The staff's collective will surged toward Director Cha like a massive wave.
"These frustrating people."
But Director Cha stood firm against the fierce current. Like someone who already knew the correct answer, he began persuading the staff without the slightest wavering.
"Are we some kind of major company? If we wait, will some incredible talent suddenly appear? No matter how long we wait, our current trainee pool can only produce a watered-down version of Plan A. Why can't you see that?"
"But..."
"Enough. There's zero chance that waiting will produce anything better than Plan A. In that case, I'd rather trust their star power and invest in it."
"If that's the case, at least take more time to observe..."
"No. This is the right move right now. So let's go with it."
At this point, the staff had no choice but to accept it. The director's bulldozer engine had ignited once again. Director Cha was usually an understanding leader who listened to his employees, but once that fire was lit, he charged forward like an unstoppable bulldozer. No one could stop Director Cha in this state. Even the almighty investors threw up both hands and stepped back whenever he entered 'bulldozer mode.'
If even the investors couldn't stop him, then no one could. All the staff could do was watch as Director Cha barreled forward like a storm.
Oddly enough, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Most of the projects Director Cha had stubbornly pushed through in the past had turned out well. Purple Swan was still talked about as a miracle for a small agency, and although the team eventually fell apart, Black Dust had shown an incredible initial response. So maybe this new group would cause a stir too? Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise?
With precedents like that, the staff waited for Director Cha's next words with a slight flutter of excitement.
"But even if we gather them like this, we only have four. Four feels too unstable, so we need to add one more."
Forming a team with an odd number had practically become the standard these days. Of course, there were successful four-member teams, but it still felt a bit empty. Even if putting together the original seven-member plan was difficult, they at least needed to add one more somehow.
It was truly no easy task. The visuals of the four already chosen were so outstanding that no matter which trainee with a high chance of joining the debut team they picked, the combination just didn't feel right.
In this situation, who exactly was Director Cha thinking of adding? As everyone tensed up, Director Cha spoke again.
"Na Yeri."
"Ah..."
The moment Director Cha said Na Yeri's name, groans erupted from all around the room. It was a name no one had expected.
"Well, if we're talking visuals, Yeri is definitely top-tier, but..."
"But Yeri is..."
Na Yeri, the undisputed visual ace of Cha Entertainment. If you were talking purely about visuals, even famous actresses would struggle to compete with her. It wasn't just that she was pretty—she had this atmospheric, almost ethereal beauty. Especially those lake-like eyes that seemed to hold every story imaginable. Just looking into them made people feel strangely empty inside, instinctively wanting to cheer her on.
But she had one fatal flaw: her catastrophic interpersonal skills. The only person she could have a proper conversation with was Director Cha. Even with the original members who'd been at the company since its founding—when she first joined as a trainee—she only exchanged glances instead of words, maintaining an extremely closed-off personality that refused any real interaction.
Well, she could build walls with the staff. Even with those walls, she was so ridiculously beautiful that there wasn't a single employee who disliked her. The real problem was her relationship with the other trainees. The fact that no one among the current trainees—the longest-tenured of whom was Na Yeri herself—had any closeness with her was a serious issue.
The Cha Entertainment staff, having learned many lessons through Black Dust, placed considerable importance on relationships and harmony between members. The employees who'd watched Yeri for a long time had no choice but to conclude that she was unsuitable for group activities. And so, despite being Director Cha's top pick and his most painful heartache, Na Yeri had been crossed off the debut team list early on.
Her visuals were too precious and regretful to waste, but they judged that giving her up was more efficient than letting her damage the team's chemistry.
Yet here was Director Cha, unable to let go of her, pulling out the Na Yeri card at this critical moment. And as if he'd been waiting for this exact opportunity, he began explaining point by point. At this rate, it was starting to seem like he'd overturned the entire debut team just for her. Or perhaps, since Na Yeri had always been his unshakable favorite, that was exactly what had happened?
Yu Hana was a social butterfly who got along well with all the trainees, so she didn't have a bad relationship with Yeri. The other three trainees had only recently joined the company, so they had no prior connection with Yeri, meaning they could start fresh from the beginning. On top of that, Director Cha explained that he was already preparing psychological counseling specifically for her. The staff began nodding and accepting her inclusion as a foregone conclusion.
And above all, there was one undeniable reason why no one could refute Director Cha's words...
"With Seong Jiyeong, Tasha, Yu Hana, and Ji Seoeun as the four, the only member who wouldn't create any sense of discomfort when placed among them is..."
"Only Yeri."
"Yeri is Yeri, after all. The unrivaled visual center."
That was right. With four visual shock members already confirmed, Cha Entertainment had no other choice.
"Now that I think about it, Yeri's stage today felt especially special, didn't it?"
"Did Yeri always sing that well? The emotion was really..."
"There wasn't much technique, but her tone was insane. I thought it was someone else."
"At that level, main vocalist might be pushing it, but she'd make a solid lead vocalist..."
"That's her original voice color. I kept emphasizing that she should sing with her real voice, but she wouldn't listen. Still, she came to her senses in the end."
"The singing was impressive, but what really shocked everyone was the visuals. She didn't wear that weird makeup today either."
"It was honestly a shock. She's been covering up lately, right? Our resistance must have dropped. The moment her real face appeared, the evaluation and everything else..."
"Her pale complexion, that haggard atmosphere. I heard she's been skipping meals entirely lately, but it was all an act."
"It really matched the 'Loss' concept perfectly."
Having realized there were no other alternatives, the staff recalled Yeri's stage from earlier that day. It was a magnificent performance she'd never shown before. They'd felt regretful, thinking, So this is what a properly directed Na Yeri looks like.
Honestly, after seeing today's stage, none of the staff could look down on her. Once they thought about it that way, there was no real reason to oppose her inclusion. Especially since Director Cha had promised to handle the most problematic mental aspects himself.
Since things had come to this, it was wiser to stop dampening the mood and instead discuss the bright future ahead. Watching the staff like this, Director Cha quietly clenched his right fist in victory.
In truth, the person who'd felt the most regret when Plan A for the debut team was confirmed—meaning Yeri would have to be sent elsewhere—was Director Cha himself. He wanted to debut her in his own company more than anyone else. But even he couldn't force it through recklessly. The staff's words made sense, and for the company's future, building the team around the three anti-gravity members as the core was the correct decision.
But now the situation had suddenly changed. The debut team plan itself had collapsed. There was no longer any reason to hesitate.
Just as the staff had suspected, forming the debut team by adding Na Yeri to the four visual members had been done entirely for her sake. Of course, it wasn't a thoughtless decision. Director Cha, who trusted Na Yeri's star power more than anyone, believed this member composition offered the highest chance of success.
Especially after witnessing today's stage where Yeri's potential had exploded, his expectations had solidified into certainty. Moreover, Yeri had a special reason why she needed to succeed as an idol. Her goal was to become a successful idol and find the parents who had abandoned her.
What a heartbreaking story. Yeri was a child who needed to debut no matter what—even if it wasn't with Cha Entertainment. Yes, it was Yeri. How could he possibly abandon her?
Now that even the company staff had been completely persuaded, Na Yeri would debut under Cha Entertainment. The thought that his favorite would debut in his own company filled Director Cha with such strength that his shoulders squared with pride.