The Artist and Repertoire team of Topist Entertainment, commonly known as the A&R team.
The A&R team’s responsibilities include not only discovering, contracting, and nurturing trainees but also determining debut strategies, promotional directions, and finding suitable songs for existing artists.
In other words, they are involved in everything from artist creation to music production.
And then there’s Jung So-hyun, the head of the A&R team.
Positioned just below the director, she held a significant role in determining the direction of the artists as an executive in the company.
Originally famous as an acting agency, Topist Entertainment became a major player in the music industry, successfully launching solo artists, as well as the idol groups Pastel Love and X1.
And now it’s time to select the next generation of idol groups.
Although X1 was still active, there was still some time before the launch of a boy group. However, Pastel Love was approaching their eighth year as a girl group.
Even if their contracts were extended, Topist Entertainment clearly needed a next-generation girl group.
For this reason, she had been paying attention to the prospective members of the new girl group.
Working late, Jung So-hyun was observing the broadcast on the front screen in the monitoring room of the Topist headquarters.
Episode 5.
The episode featuring the ranking announcement.
She knew that Kim Na-eun, Kim Seo-yoon, and Do-hee Lee hadn’t returned to the company, which meant they hadn’t been eliminated, but she was unaware of their exact rankings.
At her level, she should have been privy to the production details in advance.
Yet, it seemed the production staff had tightly wrapped the filming set, leaving her with no news.
‘Well, I was planning to watch it anyway, but I need to figure out the direction sooner rather than later.’
The reason she was watching the broadcast was to analyze the image construct, character traits, and promotional direction of the three trainees who would make up the next generation of Topist girl group members.
Most importantly, although the debut group had been canceled earlier this year, the internal consensus was that a debut group would still be formed.
This had become the trend in the entertainment industry lately.
In the past, the system was like fishing for trainees—if they seemed okay, they would be brought in. Recently, the trend has shifted to carefully selecting raw gems from the casting stage and nurturing a smaller group of trainees.
So, the conclusion was that the canceled debut group of five were actually refined gems processed by the rookie development team under the A&R team.
Of course, they still needed further polishing.
Anyway, the three Topist trainees participating in the show would soon be members of the next generation girl group and potential fan-attracting members, so she had to watch them closely.
From an image exploitation perspective, they also needed management.
-Pshh
As she cracked open a can of beer, Episode 5 began on the screen in front of her.
As the cap of the can was popped open, the screen in front displayed the start of episode 5.
< Sua Teacher's Special Class >
‘By now, the kids must be preparing for the second round of the competition.’
On the screen, Sua, the vocal trainer and popular singer, was giving a lecture to the exhausted trainees, comforting and advising them to boost their motivation.
Amidst it all, the face of Do-hee Lee, who was sitting in the audience, appeared on the screen.
Unknowingly, she tightened her grip.
-Crunch
Thanks to that, the beer can she was holding got crushed.
‘Why isn’t she wearing any makeup again?’
Of course, Do-hee was naturally pretty even without makeup. She was one of the visual members in the five-member debut group.
Moreover, Do-hee was versatile and was expected to do well until the final debut.
But whether she’d debut in first place or in a lower rank was a different story.
Among the members who would debut together as part of the “Tu Season 3” project girl group, the trainees from the top three entertainment agencies were ultimately future competitors.
Only by debuting in first place could she easily capture the fandom later.
In a situation where every vote mattered, going without makeup was not something to overlook.
Letting out a big sigh, Jung So-hyun felt her head throb and closed her eyes.
‘Should I make her take makeup classes…?’
Now that she thought about it, Do-hee needed quite a few unnecessary lessons due to her mischievous nature. Selfie classes, aegyo classes, and so on.
Lost in thought, the lecture from Sua ended, and finally, the main event—the ranking announcement—was about to begin, with the screen filled with the “Tu Season 3” logo.
With the subtitle [The first ranking announcement ceremony], the empty set with ranking seats from the first episode was shown.
Then, the trainees entered the set in turn, striking poses in front of the ranking seats.
Do-hee pretended to hit Kim Seo-yoon, and Kim Na-eun entered the set posing as if scolding Do-hee.
‘Everyone’s acting has improved a lot.’
If it weren’t for the poses, it would have looked genuine.
Come to think of it, Do-hee was wearing makeup for the ranking announcement ceremony.
Well, thank goodness for that.
After all the trainees took their seats facing the ranking seats, the MC came up to the stage.
[Hello everyone, what day is it today?]
[Trainees: Ranking Announcement!]
[That’s right, the result of your first ranking has been decided based on online votes from the past three weeks through Netflix and on-site votes from team battles and benefits earned by the winning group.]
[Today, your first ranking from first to 59th means survival; 60th to 99th means elimination.]
[Before we officially start the ranking announcement, we have a video prepared for you to watch with the audience. Let’s take a look!]
There were some behind-the-scenes shots to fill out episode 1.
Several behind-the-scenes details of the production have emerged.
Of course, it was just filming for content, but there’s nothing better than behind-the-scenes footage to showcase each trainee’s image.
The first production behind-the-scenes is [Running Class 3!].
It was literally a long-distance race.
This was behind-the-scenes that could show each trainee’s endurance or grit while demonstrating their physical stamina.
Trainees who worked hard were always the likable characters for the viewers, so this filming had been consistently included since Season 1.
The method was simple: all trainees would start running at the same time, and once the lead runner lapped anyone, that trainee would be out – a rule to run for 30 minutes.
With the sound of the MC’s whistle, the trainees on screen began to sprint around the track.
Before they completed a few laps, the trailing trainees were caught up by the frontrunner, Hana Kwon.
Hana proved her status as a standout with her incredible speed backed by her stamina.
By the time 15 minutes passed, most trainees had been eliminated, leaving only a handful.
Among them was Do-hee Lee.
It was already known that Do-hee had good stamina.
She had been consistently skipping rope to maintain her fitness ever since she joined the agency.
However, even Do-hee couldn’t last the full 30 minutes and was lapped by Hana, collapsing on the spot.
Still, 2nd place.
If Hana Kwon wasn’t an alien with abnormal stamina, Do-hee would have taken 1st.
Though only Hana, who lasted the full 30 minutes, had personal interview cuts, Jung So-hyun was more than satisfied.
The cute youngest and visual center with great stamina and work ethic was a steady seller without any dislikes from any age group.
Besides, Kim Na-eun and Kim Seo-yoon also held their ground for quite a while.
It seemed the stamina they had built up daily during their debut team days was meaningful.
“I guess I’ll have to keep grinding for the next couple of years. I could even try for a girl-crush image.”
And so, the minor behind-the-scenes details consisting of trivial games between trainees passed by.
[COMING UP: Ranking Announcement Soon!]
With a BGM that built tension, the serious-faced MC appeared against the backdrop of the ranking seats.
[We will begin the first ranking announcement of Season 3.]
The screen showed several trainees mumbling their nervousness or concerns about the ranking reveal.
[First, let’s unveil the trainees who narrowly escaped elimination, from 58th to 51st place.]
It seemed like the last place, 59th, would be revealed last.
Well, whatever, they were already in the lower tier anyway.
Jung So-hyun wasn’t interested in that.
Her focus was solely on the Topist trainees and the trainees from the three major entertainment agencies.
Based on online indicators, all Topist Entertainment trainees appeared to rank within the top 15.
Of course, she hoped all three would be within the top 7, earning debut opportunities.
Her ranking from the first announcement would be crucial for building a solid fanbase.
She watched the trainees’ ranking reveal with ease.
She watched the ranking announcement for the trainees with ease.
Before she knew it, they had moved past 15th place, and now it was time to announce the top 10, which could be counted on both hands.
[Now, 10th place. We will announce the trainee in 10th place.]
All three Topist trainees who hadn’t been called yet.
She thought at least one of them would get a lower rank in the first ranking announcement, but surprisingly, they all performed well enough to make it into the top 10.
‘The next generation girl group will definitely get noticed.’
Jung So-hyun clenched her hands tightly.
[The trainee in 10th place is… a trainee from Topist Entertainment.]
The screen split into three parts, showing Lee Do-hee, Kim Seo-yoon, and Kim Na-eun.
[This trainee received many votes in the random team battle! The trainee is Kim Na-eun!]
10th place.
It was a pretty decent ranking.
Not within debuting range, though.
Kim Na-eun, who could have felt disappointed about being in 10th place, smiled brightly, hugged her neighbors Kim Seo-yoon and Lee Do-hee, and stepped up onto the podium.
Once on the podium, Kim Na-eun recited a standard speech highlighting her intention to show her development, her gratitude, and her commitment to always strive to do better.
‘Na-eun is so kind, but…’
Sometimes, she needed to show a lively side like Kim Seo-yoon and Lee Do-hee.
Of course, being kind made her suitable for the leader role.
As the single-digit rankings were announced one by one, Kim Seo-yoon and Lee Do-hee still hadn’t been called.
Instead, Yoon Seo-won from Zy was named in 9th place.
Even though she was from a major entertainment company with a solid fan base, her ranking was somewhat low.
‘She seems like she’s lacking in skills for a major company.’
Of course, she was quite pretty, but they wouldn’t send someone lacking skill just because of looks.
So, she figured Yoon Seo-won was probably related to the Zy executives who had ensured her debut.
That must be why she was trying to build her visibility.
Anyway, soon 7th place was called, with Kwon Hana and 6th place going to Kim Se-yeon, and Jung So-hyun felt sweat building in her palms.
[Now, we are at the 5th place trainee. Ah, this trainee performed excellently in the first round of the random team battle with the song ‘Mugunghwa.’]
The remaining five were Lee Do-hee, Kim Seo-yoon, Jeon Ha-rang, Eun Se-ra, and Gong Chae-rin.
Among them, the members who performed ‘Mugunghwa’ were Kim Seo-yoon, Jeon Ha-rang, and Eun Se-ra.
[And in 5th place, we have Topist’s Kim Seo-yoon!]
Kim Seo-yoon seemed slightly disappointed as she stood up, while Lee Do-hee beside her cheerfully clapped, clearly happy to have bested Kim Seo-yoon.
“Ha-ah…”
Jung So-hyun gulped down the rest of her beer in one go.
Reflecting again, she felt it was a relief that Na-eun, who would become the leader, had such a kind personality, and she, as the overall team leader, thought this was a blessing.
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