This Is What They Call Talent
I called the CEO to check, and it really was true.
"...It's actually real."
"Come on, why would I lie?"
After giving the security guard a proper explanation, I brought the kid inside the building. She trotted after me like a little puppy, then suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the lobby.
"Whoa, it's Crown!"
Her small hand pointed at the enormous screen. A music video was playing across the massive LED display that covered an entire wall of the first-floor lobby — Crown, our company's flagship boy group.
I'd dreamed of making a spectacular debut just like those Crown seniors myself...
"Whoa, Luna Eight!"
That was our company's other flagship act, the girl group Luna Eight. I'd had the exact same reaction when I first became a trainee. It wasn't that I didn't understand how she felt... but when the staff started watching us and smiling like we were some kind of spectacle, the embarrassment hit me fast.
"Hey..."
"Yes?"
"Keep it down and follow me."
"Where are we going?"
"...Just follow me."
"Um... I need to go see the CEO..."
"The CEO isn't in yet."
The place I took her, ducking the staff's curious eyes, was the cafeteria down in the basement.
"Whoa, oppa! Is this place actually free!?"
"......"
Her voice was so loud the cafeteria ladies looked over and started smiling at us.
"Hey, kid. People are looking. Lower your voice a little."
"Huh? Why am I a kid? There's only two years between us..."
Was that true?
"Please call me Hayoung. Cute Hayoung would be even better. Heheh."
"......"
Still, she seemed pretty good at taking feedback. She dropped her voice to a whisper, like someone had hit the mute button.
"It's a habit from livestreaming... I always talk loud. Heheh. I'll keep it down from now on."
"You don't have to go that far. Just... act natural."
"Yes, sir!"
"Can you actually eat all that, though?"
Hayoung's tray was piled with a mountain of bulgogi. The spot where a soup bowl should have gone was wallpapered in beef — and it wasn't just the bulgogi. She'd stacked egg rolls on there too.
"Obviously. This much is nothing."
If that was actually true, it would be genuinely impressive. I had never in my life seen a girl eat this much.
Wait. Don't tell me.
"Hayoung... you're not a mukbang YouTuber, are you?"
"I do mukbang sometimes. Heheh."
"Sometimes? Then what do you usually do?"
"I sing. Music streams."
"......"
She didn't exactly have the face of someone who could sing well.
"But... is it really okay that we don't have to pay?"
She'd been asking that over and over since we sat down. It really seemed to be eating at her.
"Yeah. It's free for everyone who works here."
"Holy crap, that's insane! Oppa, Wooju Entertainment's benefits are absolutely unhinged!?"
"...Just eat."
"Yes, sir! Thank you for the meal!"
The words were barely out of her mouth before Hayoung grabbed her spoon and launched into a full-blown feeding frenzy. She ate so well it was like watching a mukbang happen right in front of my eyes — stuffing her cheeks until they puffed out like a squirrel's, packed full of rice and side dishes, then chewing with tiny, rapid bites.
"Hayoung, slow down. You're going to choke..."
"I am. This is me going as slow as I can. Whoa, oppa! This is seriously so freaking good!"
"...Swallow first, then talk."
"Ah! Heheh. Sorry!"
She ate like someone who hadn't seen food in days — completely unhinged. Even watching it with my own two eyes, I could barely believe it. I had eaten lunch and dinner in this cafeteria every single day for five years as a trainee, and I had never seen anyone put away this much food.
And this girl wanted to be in a girl group...?
Everything I thought I knew was crumbling.
The girl group trainees and senior idols I ran into around the company barely ate more than birdseed. I'd always assumed that was just how it was.
"Haaah, I feel like I can finally live again... I actually haven't even had breakfast yet today."
"...You don't need more?"
I asked just in case. I figured she'd say she was fine.
"Huh? I can go for another round?"
"......"
She picked up her empty tray, quietly stood, then trotted off and came back with it loaded all over again. Her expression was so casual, like this was her first plate, not her second.
At this point, maybe she shouldn't be aiming for a girl group. Maybe she should lean into her natural talent and go full-time as a mukbang YouTuber. She'd probably make it a lot faster that way...
In the end, Hayoung cleaned every last grain of rice off both trays. I still couldn't believe a body that small had put away that much food. She patted her belly with those little hands, her face steeped in satisfaction, then even finished things off neatly with a toothpick.
"Tsk, tsk! Wow, my stomach hasn't been this spoiled in ages."
"......"
The way I looked at Hayoung had changed. I regretted ever writing her off as just some clueless kid. You really never know a person until you've seen them in action.
I respected her now.
"You're... actually incredible."
"Huh?"
"How did you eat all of that...?"
"Ah... heheh. You've gotta have a full stomach to sing well. I'm the type who sings on rice power..."
"......"
"Oh, did I eat too much? I can't gain weight... I have to stay in shape if I want to be in a girl group..."
Now she thinks of that?
And yet, weirdly enough, her body was incredibly slim.
"Why didn't you eat more, oppa?"
"I ate plenty..."
I almost never have breakfast, normally.
"Ahh, so you're a light eater. Wouldn't have guessed. But why are you so tall?"
"Beats me... maybe you're just short?"
That little fact-check hit her square on. Both cheeks puffed out and her lips jutted into a pout.
"Hiiing... I want to be super tall like you too..."
"You're still young. Eat well, sleep well, and you'll grow more."
"Really!?"
"Probably..."
I couldn't say for sure. People always said height was genetic. Mom was on the tall side, and so was my sister.
"Shall we go?"
"Okay."
The CEO had told me to bring Hayoung up with me. We left the cafeteria and walked over to the elevators, and we'd been waiting there for a while when I heard her voice trembling behind me.
"Khh, nngh! O-oppa..."
Wondering what that was about, I turned around. She was twisted up like a pretzel, her whole body locked rigid, and her face looked like something terrible was happening.
"What, what is it...?"
"I, I..."
"What...?"
"I have to poop again...!"
"......"
"Hoo, hoo, nngh... eughyaagh...!"
Judging by her face, this was the real deal.
"Th-there! Around that corner, the bathroom's right there!"
"Th-thank you! I'll be right back! Just wait a... nngh! Ahhngh...!"
"......"
She sprinted toward the bathroom, then suddenly froze in place. Then she turned around and stared at me, blank-faced.
"Why, why... d-don't tell me... you already—!?"
"N-no. I'm... gathering my energy... nngh...! Restarting!"
"......"
Five minutes later, Hayoung emerged from the bathroom looking like the happiest person on earth.
"Hwaah, oppa. Isn't the world just so beautiful?"
I was so speechless I couldn't do anything but laugh.
I gave a light knock at the door of the CEO's office, then stepped inside.
Knock knock—
I led the way, and Hayoung trotted along behind me. The moment the CEO spotted me, he came over with a bright smile.
"Well, look who it is. The greatest acting genius recognized by Director Kim Seongtae and Screenwriter Lee Hyeyoung themselves! If it isn't Seo Jinwoo!?"
The second I heard that, my face burned with embarrassment.
"Haha, it won't be long before our Jinwoo's a bona fide star."
Please let that actually happen.
"Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well? Have you eaten?"
"Sure did. Had breakfast at home. You?"
"I just ate at the company cafeteria."
"Oh, good. That's what I like to hear. You're an actor now, so make sure you never skip breakfast. You're tall — you can afford to put on a little more weight."
"Yes, sir. I will."
The CEO had been looking at my face with a pleased expression when he suddenly tilted his head. He'd spotted Hayoung hiding behind my back.
"Hm? Who's that behind you... ah! You're Hayoung!?"
Hayoung, who'd been hiding tightly behind me, popped her head out and strode right up to him. Then she snapped her hand up to her forehead in a full salute.
"Good morning, sir! I am Yoon Hayoung, influencer with three hundred and forty-nine subscribers! Loyalty!"
"Heh heh, what a spirited one."
"Thank you, sir! Loyalty!"
A second ago she'd been fidgeting and hiding behind my back. Now I was standing right next to this performance, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"Hayoung, you said you were living in Gangwon-do, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir! That's correct! Upon receiving your summons, I arrived safely in Seoul at approximately ten p.m. last night!"
"Last night? Then where did you sleep?"
"I spent the night safely at a twenty-four-hour bathhouse, sir!"
"Aigoo, you should've called me once you got here..."
"I deliberately chose not to inform you, sir, as I did not wish to cause you unnecessary worry at such a late hour!"
"Aigoo, I'm sorry... I had no idea... Nothing happened, did it?"
"No, sir!"
"Breakfast? Did you eat?"
"Yes, sir! I ate an extremely delicious meal at the cafeteria with this handsome older brother here!"
"Oho, well done. Come sit down. Let's talk sitting."
I sat blankly on the sofa in the CEO's office, eavesdropping on their conversation. Not that I was trying to listen in — he hadn't told me to wait outside, so it must have been fine for me to hear.
"Your mom and grandma are doing well?"
"Yes, sir."
"Back in the day, Sungmin used to brag about his little girl every time I saw him... Looking at you now, he had every right to. You've grown up beautifully."
"Huh? Sir... you know my dad...?"
"Of course I do. Sungmin and I have been best friends since high school..."
"Ah... so you were my dad's friend. I didn't know. I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. You were so little back then, you might not remember... That was already ten years ago..."
The CEO gazed at Hayoung's face in silence for a long while, lost in thought, as if sifting through old memories.
"You look exactly like Sungmin did when he was young."
"Huh? The neighborhood elders always said I take after my mom..."
"Haha, well, you take after your mom plenty too."
"Heheh. Thank you."
The corners of the CEO's mouth settled into something quieter.
"...Then one day, out of nowhere, I remembered something Sungmin used to say."
"Yes?"
"That his daughter could really sing."
"Ah..."
"He asked me to take a look, see if she had talent. If Sungmin said it that seriously... then the talent was definitely there."
"Ah... I thought you'd contacted me because you saw the videos on my YouTube..."
The CEO let out a small laugh, crossed his legs, and leaned back comfortably into the sofa.
"Hayoung."
"Yes, sir."
"Want to try singing something? Just casually."
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Then..."
Hayoung quietly rose from her seat. She stood where she was, eyes gently closed, and curled her fingers around an invisible microphone.
"Hoo... okay. I'll give it a try..."
"Don't be nervous. Just relax."
"But... what genre? Is a ballad okay?"
"Whatever you're comfortable with. Whatever you sing well."
"Yes, sir. Then..."
Hayoung closed her eyes again. From the sofa, the CEO and I turned toward her as if we'd planned it. No accompaniment. No microphone. She simply let the first line fall, light and easy.
In that instant, the fine hairs on my skin stood on end, and a thin shiver raced across my whole body. The CEO's face looked exactly like mine.
I was so stunned I couldn't form words.
"......"
Barely twenty minutes ago. The image of her sprinting for the bathroom, yelling that she was about to explode, overlapped in my head and sent my brain into a tailspin.
Just like that first impression of hers — intense — her tone was impossibly clear and unique. No flashy technique. No forced vibrato. Just that one God-given color of voice, and my heart was pounding.
For a moment, a strange feeling came over me. It was the moment I realized that everything I'd poured into my trainee years might as well have been nothing. I felt so hollow, so empty, that the strength drained right out of my body.
There was no accompaniment. No reverb. Just her raw, unprocessed voice. And yet it felt like I could hear a melody. I almost wondered if I was imagining it — or hearing things...
Was this what people meant when they talked about talent?