Choreography by Proxy
“Hmm… well?”
“What would you do if you were me, unnie?”
“Isn't it just a matter of doing it?”
I shot Yoo Seolha a glare for her overly simplistic answer.
What I'd asked her was advice on song selection for the next round.
Should I swallow my pride, sing an idol song, and do some cutesy choreography? Or go with a ballad that didn't quite suit my voice tone but was a solid song overall?
Or, as a last resort, pull out the band track Your Name is Green that I'd been saving for Blooming down the line?
“Hmm. Can't you hold off on that last one?”
“…Fine, whatever.”
“Hehe. As expected, our Siyeon is the best!”
In truth, even if the audition ended, there was no guarantee the song would end up in their hands.
Because no one knew where any of us would land—which company we'd join, what projects we'd get. It was all a complete unknown right now.
“Speaking of which, your dad really bought a whole company?”
“That? I heard he acquired it ages ago!”
“Whoa.”
Sure enough, with quasi-chaebol money, he didn't mess around when it came to spending.
I casually asked which agency he'd bought.
“Blue Sky Entertainment, I think…? They had Winter Girl back in the day, right?”
“Ah, that place? Nice pick for an acquisition…”
Blue Sky Entertainment was a fairly well-known company. Sure, some time had passed, but they'd produced a first-tier idol group before…
Come to think of it, there wasn't much else around.
In this industry, agencies with that kind of name value were pretty rare.
That's why it was one of the companies I'd sent demos to after possessing this body…
They didn't even read them.
No hard feelings or anything, but the CEO clearly had no eye for talent. Otherwise, he would've recognized my songs.
“Anyway, between the other two, which one do you like?”
“Obviously the full Jelly Pop version.”
“But it's embarrassing for me! Is it really worth enduring that kind of shame… That's the issue.”
“Sometimes you act way too much like a guy. What's wrong with a girl doing a cute little dance?”
“Ugh.”
Her words hit me right in the gut—I wanted to yell, You just nailed it! My body shuddered.
Still, I'd thought I'd been getting more like a proper elementary school girl lately, but apparently not to outsiders.
“Honestly, Jelly Pop's a great song. You've already sung it, so you can't give it to anyone else… Wouldn't it be better to just use it for this stage?”
“You're just spouting the obvious.”
“Hehe. Did I sound smart?”
She was absolutely right—it was pure common sense.
Letting Jelly Pop rot unused would be the worst possible move. In my past life, it had topped the charts, and it was the debut track for the first idol group I'd produced myself.
It was a massive hit, full of memories for me.
Handing a song like that to someone other than those girls felt off, so I'd planned to sing and release it officially sooner or later anyway.
In that case, why remake it inefficiently later when I could use it on stage now and release it right after…?
“You're right. That would be more efficient.”
“Right? If you're still iffy, do something else. It's your stage anyway, Siyeon.”
“No. Jelly Pop was the right choice from the start. Sorry for wasting your time.”
“Hehe. I'm good with it?”
With that, she squeezed her arms around me even tighter.
Right now, I was nestled in Yoo Seolha's embrace, getting endless pets and cuddles.
Lately, since I stopped resisting altogether, she'd developed a habit of scooping me up the moment she saw me.
Truth be told, she got to hug a cute kid to her heart's content, and I got to heal in a beauty's arms—it was a win-win habit.
But now it was time for me to go.
Because damn it, this song needed at least some basic choreography. And for a bouncy track like this, it had to be as cute as possible.
Without going overboard into total embarrassment territory. Something I could actually pull off.
“Aah… Guess it's YouTube binge time again…”
Obviously, I couldn't make it myself, so I'd have to patchwork moves from here and there into a Frankenstein golem of a routine.
But then Yoo Seolha, right beside me, flipped that idea on its head with a brilliant suggestion.
“Can't you ask one of the nursery unnies? You know, the one who made that cheer dance!”
“…That's genius! Unnie, you're a genius?”
“Haha!”
Seo Euna's daily life at Nulnul Nursery was peaceful.
Weekdays: school, academy, nursery.
Weekends: academy and nursery, rinse and repeat.
When a music show schedule popped up, she'd head to Seoul with her academy unnies, hit the stages, and enjoy delicious meat they couldn't get at the nursery.
Her pay went straight into savings, piled up nicely.
The picture of a model middle schooler! Earning money at her age and not blowing it all—that alone put her in the top 1%.
Today, after grinding through brutal practice and dragging her tired body back to Nulnul Nursery, an unexpected message awaited.
- Could you make some choreography for me just once?
“Hm?”
It was from Nulnul Nursery's hero, Seo Siyeon.
Of course, Seo Euna herself couldn't choreograph worth a damn. But her academy instructors? That was different.
- Can send song sample right away
Seo Euna fired off messages to her academy instructors right away.
Money mattered for choreography, sure. But more important was the promo for the academy and proving their skills.
Her academy was big in Incheon, but nationally? Top-tier was a stretch.
So the instructors wouldn't pass up a chance to get their choreo on a national stage.
Hell, they might not even need the cash…
“If they're offering, take it.”
As someone dipping her toes in the industry, Seo Euna had a rough sense of how much money Seo Siyeon would rake in someday.
With all she saw and heard on the job, squeezing cash from a girl who was destined to shine like a heavenly star didn't feel too guilty.
But apparently, she and her instructors thought differently.
- Tell her no money needed?
We'll start on the choreo right now!
- Send the song sample ASAP!
“Why turn down free money?”
Anyway, Seo Euna downloaded the song file from Siyeon and sent it to the instructors.
“Haaah… so sleepy…”
The choreo was done before she even woke up the next morning.
When she checked her phone after rolling out of bed.
- If there's anything to fix or you don't like, just say so!
“Whoa. Insanely fast. Never seen speed like this.”
Her chat was already loaded with demo videos from the instructors themselves.
“Hnnngh…! You, seriously.”
I hit pause on the choreography demo video from Seo Euna, unable to hold back.
Every move was straight-up embarrassing.
The frozen instructor on screen was the epitome of cuteness.
Hands balled into kitty paws pressed to her cheeks, one leg slightly lifted.
Moves that would've made my past-life self cringe to death just watching.
“……You want me to do this?”
I hit play again, and the real choreo unleashed.
Intro: light steps, fingers stabbing the sky.
Then highlight hit, and the madness exploded.
Hands to mouth, blooming open like a flower on the lyrics. Tiny hip shakes left-right, heels tapping.
Hell, there was even a chomp gesture with a nom! and a wink.
“This is overkill. They made it extra cutesy because I'm a kid…”
Difficulty wasn't high, but the mental fortitude needed? Immeasurable.
Was the quality low? Nah.
So with time tight, asking for revisions would just inconvenience everyone.
“The song's good anyway… Let's try it.”
Jelly Pop was already polished, so focus was just the dance. Vocals were dead simple—no extra practice needed.
I looped the video on my laptop, mirroring the dancer's moves to the song.
Seo Siyeon's body had decent physical talent, solid for dance too.
Not vocalist-level, but this cutesy routine? Easy to master.
I picked it up without much trouble…
Until weird laughter echoed from the back of the practice room.
“Pfft, hehehe…! Ah, Si-Siyeon, you're so cuuute…!”
Yoo Seolha was there, barely holding in her giggles as she watched me.
Face burning red, I glared at her.
“Out. Now.”