The Preliminary Interview
Taking a deep breath, I squeezed my eyes shut and tapped on the text message.
I pulled the blanket all the way over my head and screamed at the top of my lungs.
"VAMOS!!"
I pressed a pillow against my face to muffle the sound, but some of it must have leaked out anyway. My younger brother's voice drifted in from beyond the bedroom door.
"Sis, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!"
"Seriously, what is it?"
"My dear brother. Your elder sister has just faced a major turning point in her life."
After a brief sigh, my brother went quiet.
Looking at his attitude made me want to give him a good noggin-knocking...
But on such a glorious day, I couldn't let myself get bogged down by such trivial matters.
I just pulled the blanket over my head again and stared at the acceptance text.
"VAMOS!!!!"
Did my prayers reach the heavens?
A week later, I was standing in front of the Pick Your Idol Dormitory, dragging my suitcase.
To be precise, I was standing in front of my parents, who were standing in front of the dormitory.
Convincing my mom before coming here had been surprisingly easy.
When I told her I wanted to attend a boarding academy to prepare for high school, she asked if I had finally come to my senses and readily sponsored a massive sum of six million won.
'Thanks, Mom. I'll pay you back once I debut.'
But life is never that simple.
My parents insisted on dropping me off themselves.
I repeatedly told them, "I can go by myself," but the sheer momentum of a beaming Mrs. Gyeong-ja, thrilled that her daughter was finally going to study properly, was beyond imagination. In the end, my father silently grabbed his car keys despite it being the weekend.
The entrance to the dormitory was already a chaotic mess.
Contestants dragging suitcases, parents carrying bags... I could see parents holding their children's hands with flushed, excited faces.
If it were just this, I could have easily passed it off as a boarding academy.
But as we walked through the crowd, the camera crews and staff members caught my eye.
My dad quietly scanned the surroundings.
"Is this the boarding academy?"
Thump, thump.
"Yes."
"It's pretty big."
"Well, most academies are like this nowadays."
Mrs. Gyeong-ja narrowed her eyes as she looked at the massive crowd.
"But why are there so many kids?"
"It's a really popular academy. They call it the SKY prep class."
Mrs. Gyeong-ja nodded, and my father also seemed convinced.
"Hohoho! And here I was, thinking Se-ah was scamming me again before we got here."
Just then, two staff members with cameras propped on their shoulders moved quickly toward the entrance. Mrs. Gyeong-ja's eyes darted toward them.
"What are those cameras for?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
"They're probably filming a promotional video for the academy."
"An academy filming a promo?"
"Lots of academies advertise on NewTube these days. You know, like college entrance exam vlogs and stuff."
"Ah, is that so?"
My father scanned the area again and muttered, "But those cameras look awfully expensive."
"Well, it is the SKY class. The tuition was expensive, after all."
"..."
"They say this academy invests heavily in its facilities."
A brief silence fell over us.
Mrs. Gyeong-ja stared at the entrance once more before turning to look at me.
"Se-ah."
"Yes?"
"Study hard."
"...Yes."
"It's okay if you don't make it to SKY, just stay healthy and come back safe."
'I'm not going to SKY, Mom. I'm going to Barcelona.'
I swallowed those words back down my throat.
My father dragged my suitcase to the entrance and gave me a pat on the shoulder. Mrs. Gyeong-ja nagged me three more times, and only after that did they finally head back to the car.
Only when the car had completely vanished from sight did I let out a massive sigh of relief.
'I survived.'
I adjusted my grip on the suitcase handle and looked at the entrance.
The Pick Your Idol Dormitory.
There were no banners, no signs. It was just a massive building standing in the middle of the countryside. However, the faces of the people walking in and out were far from ordinary. They looked completely natural even in front of the cameras. Just looking at their average appearance, they already exuded the aura of celebrities.
'They must be trainees affiliated with Idol Clubs.'
In soccer terms, it was like walking into a stadium locker room filled with elite Youth Academy graduates when you were just a kid who played in local alleyways.
But so what?
Even Leona Messi was just a kid who was good at soccer in her neighborhood before she joined Barcelona.
I dragged my suitcase and stepped inside.
The day of Lee So-hyun, the youngest writer of the Pick Your Idol production team, always started two hours earlier than everyone else's.
The first day of training. 6:00 AM. Before the trainees had even arrived at the dormitory, Lee So-hyun was already sitting in a corner of the interview set, reviewing the questionnaire.
Just then, Main PD Kang Jae-won stopped as he was passing by.
"So-hyun."
"Yes, PD-nim?"
"You're in charge of the preliminary interviews today, right?"
"Yes..."
Lee So-hyun felt her mind go blank at the thought of interviewing nearly a hundred contestants.
Ignoring her utterly miserable expression, Kang Jae-won continued.
"You remember the last one on the list, right?"
Lee So-hyun flipped to the very last page of the questionnaire. Han Se-ah. Independent.
"Of course. I'm the one who found her email."
"Keep a close eye on her."
Leaving only those words behind, Kang Jae-won walked away.
Lee So-hyun stared down at the questionnaire and, for no particular reason, drew a circle around the very last page.
Before she knew it, 9:00 AM arrived, and the entrance to the dormitory was bustling with activity.
Trainees dragging their suitcases, managers carrying luggage, and staff members scurrying busily between them. Lee So-hyun briefly watched the scene unfold through the window of the set.
Kids from the same affiliate clubs naturally clustered together, gradually greeting one another. While there were several faces she had already encountered in the industry, one person stood out from the rest.
A girl dragging her suitcase all by herself amidst the crowd.
She didn't join any group. She didn't receive greetings from anyone, nor did she approach anyone first. She was just looking around on her own, searching for a guide staff member.
'She's an independent,' Lee So-hyun thought.
Her appearance stood out even from a distance. It was as if she alone was in 4K resolution, rendering everyone around her in 720p.
"Sigh... I'd die happy if I could live just one day with a face like that..."
Since she still had a mountain of work to do, Lee So-hyun pulled her gaze away and returned to the questionnaire.
She had to conduct preliminary interviews with a hundred trainees today. An average of five minutes per person. If she ran them back-to-back without any breaks, the math worked out perfectly.
The questions were simple.
Name, affiliated club, self-PR, estimated rank, and reason for participating in Pick Your Idol.
They were simple questions, but the way they answered revealed their true character. This was one of the things Lee So-hyun had naturally picked up during her time as the youngest writer.
Just like that, the morning passed, and afternoon arrived.
Most of them were similar. Well-prepared answers, camera-conscious smiles, moderately humble yet moderately confident words.
It was the common denominator among trainees refined by the industry.
But two of them caught her attention.
Seol I-an, from the Ulsan IC youth system, and Jeong Yu-ah, a pure-blooded youth product of Pohang IC.
These two were the leading candidates for first place in this broadcast.
Seol I-an said only what was absolutely necessary throughout her allotted three minutes. When asked what her hobby was, she replied, "Practice."
"Anything other than practice?"
"More practice."
"...What about during your breaks?"
Seol I-an thought for a moment.
"Stretching."
"Isn't that also practice?"
"Recovery can also be considered a form of practice."
Lee So-hyun was temporarily left speechless.
She quickly moved on to the next question and asked for her estimated rank. Seol I-an answered, "Second place."
Then, during her self-PR time, she abruptly stated that her weakness was singing, adding that if you don't know your weaknesses, you can't fix them.
Finally, as the interview was drawing to a close, she looked straight into the camera and said one last thing.
"I can do well. Please watch over me."
'Is she talking to the fans...?'
That was it. No more, no less.
Then she stood up from her seat and bowed politely.
"Goodbye."
She was so incredibly dry that it was actually impressive.
The very next person to enter was Jeong Yu-ah, the pure-blooded youth product of Pohang IC.
She was practically slated as the next top candidate to debut from Pohang IC.
Even her stride as she walked in was different. It was as if she exuded a completely different aura.
It was hard to describe in words, but there was an undeniable energy you felt the moment you laid eyes on her. Her silver hair, which had a subtle blue tint, and her amber contact lenses further amplified her unapproachable vibe.
First, Lee So-hyun asked for her estimated rank.
"First place. I've prepared longer and harder than anyone else. That's my reason."
Having reigned as the ace for nearly ten years throughout elementary, middle, and high school at Pohang IC—arguably the country's most prestigious youth academy—her track record was her proof.
"Is there any trainee you're keeping an eye on?"
She placed her right hand under her chin and fell silent for a moment with a serious expression.
"Not yet. I think I'll only know once I meet them in person."
Lee So-hyun drew a star next to Jeong Yu-ah's name on the questionnaire.
She had a feeling this one would pull in a lot of views.
And just like that, ninety-nine contestants passed by.
4:50 PM.
Finally, the last interview of the day.
Lee So-hyun had been conducting interviews for nearly seven hours. Her concentration was already shot, and her physical strength had been depleted long ago.
"Ugh, I'm dying..."
Slurp.
The iced Americano sitting next to her was providing the bare minimum of sustenance.
Fortunately, there was only one person left.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come iiiiin..."
Though her voice was barely a crawl, the person outside the door somehow managed to hear it.
Soon, the door opened.
"Hello..."
Lee So-hyun, keeping her eyes fixed on the questionnaire, spoke out of sheer habit.
"Please state your affiliated club and your name."
"Affiliated club...! I don't have one... I'm independent. My name is Han Se-ah..."