Chapter 62

Episode 62

“…Yes, that’s all I have prepared.”

“…Alright. You did well, Yeoreum. We’ll discuss this among ourselves and let you know the results.”

“Thank you!”

“…”

Creeeak, clang.

After confirming that Jin Yeoreum had completely left, the staff of TwoBear couldn’t help but express their astonishment.

“I could tell even as an outsider that she’s on another level. It’s really impressive.”

“Right? When I saw Yeoreum back in SS being called a prodigy, it wasn’t even close to this level. I guess her skills have improved with rhythmic gymnastics…”

Though she was trying to hide her admiration, Cheon Aram turned to Lee Hyerin and asked.

“What does our dance trainer, Lee Hyerin, think?”

Lee Hyerin spoke with a more serious expression than ever.

“It’s very embarrassing for me to say this as someone who gets paid as a teacher, but she’s at a higher level in dance than I am.”

“Wow, it’s nice to hear such honesty, but are you sure it’s okay to say that?”

“After being in this industry for over 14 years since middle school, I have my own pride. But you have to acknowledge talent when you see it. It hasn’t been long since I returned to idol dance from rhythmic gymnastics, so there are some rough spots, but I will fix everything within two months.”

Saying this firmly, Lee Hyerin subtly glanced at Cheon Aram, probably worried that admitting Yeoreum was better might influence her job security.

If she was really that worried, she could’ve thrown in some lies to downplay Jin Yeoreum, but instead, she made an embarrassingly objective assessment.

That’s probably why she managed to secure a long-term contract with Cheon Aram…

Cheon Aram smiled at Lee Hyerin in an endearing way and said,

“Thank you for your honest opinion, Hyerin. But there’s no need to worry about that. Even if Yeoreum surpasses you in skill, I won’t do anything as shameless as canceling your contract.”

“What do you mean…?”

“What we expect from Hyerin isn’t the blossoming of genius talent, but rather a solid foundation in the basics, right? And you have more than enough ability to achieve that. That alone is sufficient.”
“You have more than enough ability.”

At that, Lee Hyerin let out a sigh of relief and said,

“Thank you for saying that. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave this company because I’ve grown attached. It’s such a rare place with genuinely good people these days, TwoBear Entertainment.”

Cheon Aram beamed at Lee Hyerin’s words, her smile growing wider.

“Wow, Hyerin, I didn’t see that coming. You’re really good at this socializing thing!”

With the atmosphere turning friendly, I felt reassured enough to give Jin Yeoreum some touches of gold.

“Of course, a former national representative is different. Even if it’s rhythmic gymnastics, there are a lot of overlaps with dance that bring out such performances, right?”

“I don’t think it can be said there’s no influence. There’s a lot of talent overlap required.”

We continued to high-five each other over Jin Yeoreum’s dancing.

“I get that Yeoreum’s dancing is impressive, so how about we talk about singing now? First, could vocal trainer Song Johan share his thoughts?”

Song Johan is the vocal trainer I helped recruit when he was volunteering at the orphanage where Yeoreum is from.

He’s not quite a genius trainer or a vocalist with peak skills, though—definitely not your typical top instructor. However, his name became known for not giving singers weird habits and helping them find their voices genuinely.

Given the extreme skill difference between the nearly professional Gaeul and Yeoreum, who hasn’t had formal training yet, Song Johan is the perfect trainer for this talent pool.

Moreover, after turning down countless scout offers in the last round due to his loyalty to the company he joined first, the kind of loyalty that can lead you to ruin like Cheon Aram passing his sense of smell test makes him the ideal fit for TwoBear right now.

“So, Jin Yeoreum’s vocal?”

He does have one flaw, though.

“Jin Yeoreum has a chaste vocal that’s splendid, funky, and calm.”

Right, the issue is, he keeps throwing unnecessary English words into the mix like it’s a spice party.

“Though symmetry that vibrates the bandwidth could be considered imposing in its simplicity, it shouldn’t just be appraised that way…”
“While I could evaluate that imposing elegance as simple, it shouldn’t be limited to just that…”

“Song Johan, could you not use such a ridiculous term that even locals don’t use? I can manage English just fine, but if you prefer, we can communicate solely in English.”

“…I apologize.”

Fortunately, it seems Cheon Aram could handle it lightly, perhaps because she hadn’t gained fame yet.

“Compared to dancing, it’s not that tremendous… well, not remarkable enough, but if it’s a dance song, you could try for a solo later. Excluding the low limit on high notes, your vocalization is solid and there are no major flaws. To summarize, while you aren’t a genius, you’re definitely talented.”

“Hmm… sounds good.”

Nodding, Cheon Aram wrapped up her assessment.

“If we’re just considering pure talent, we could say Gaeul or Gyeoul are the top cards, right?”

I added in.

“Must consider looks as well.”

“…Yeah, including looks, there’s no talent more crucial for idols than beauty.”

“Yes, looking at all the trainees, there’s no one with that level of completion. From the perspective of TwoBear, it’d be hard to overlook.”

“You don’t have to go that far, I’m still set on bringing Yeoreum in, so you can stop now, Team Leader Seon.”

“…Understood.”

Thank you, President Cheon.

“Alright then, now about the matter of ‘kidnapping’ Yeoreum for the stage…”

“That’s ‘recruiting’, President.”

“…We should think about how to handle the recruitment now; do you have any thoughts on that?”

I cautiously raised my hand and spoke.

“I’ll take responsibility and negotiate with Jinkang…”

“Denied.”

Cheon Aram looked at me with a ‘what the hell is this guy thinking?’ expression, then turned to the others.

“I’m very grateful for all the efforts made for TwoBear. However, there’s no need to take on excessive responsibilities beyond designated duties. That’s the job of the President, which is me.”

She gazed at me with half-closed eyes and said.

“This is directed at you, Team Leader Seon. Got it?”

“…I understand well. There’s no one else here besides me who’s willing to raise their hand to take the stage like that.”

“Oh, you knew that all along.”

“…I apologize.”

I didn’t want to be in this position, but things had just flowed this way.
I didn’t want to, but that’s how things turned out.

Seeing me like that, Cheon Aram snickered and said,

“I understand how you feel, but this time, trust us.”

Seo Soo-yeon, who was quietly standing by Cheon Aram, also looked at me and nodded slightly.

“We even had a deep discussion at the rice soup place about recruiting Yeoreum, what group we should create, and what marketing strategies we should implement, right? We got quite a few good ideas out of it.”

“What Team Leader Seon suggested there seemed quite feasible. I’m creating materials to solidify those ideas.”

She nodded with satisfaction and said,

“If it’s Soo-yeon’s materials, it’s worth trusting. Once it’s ready, I’ll meet with Chairman Jin Baek-ho and persuade him directly; after all, it’ll be more persuasive if I’m the one negotiating since we know each other.”

Cheon Aram looked around the room and asked,

“Then, is today’s meeting over?”

All the employees of TwoBear nodded silently.

I also considered the discussions in the meeting more or less wrapped up and nodded.

“Alright, then, let’s call Yeoreum and give her some praise, but not too much to avoid making her conceited. You all get that, right?”

Just as Seo Soo-yeon was about to open the door to call out to Jin Yeoreum, Cheon Aram suddenly remembered and said to me,

“Just to be sure, I’ll say it again, Team Leader Seon. This time, you can’t charge into Jinkang alone.”

“Come on, President, do you really think I’m that insane? People normally wouldn’t start such troubles, right?”

I may have caused a lot of trouble, but I wasn’t a lunatic. Cheon Aram seemed to agree with that statement and simply apologized.

“Alright, I think I’ve been overly worried. I apologize for my misstatement, Team Leader Seon.”

*

I really intended to keep my distance this time. I was planning to just stay in a corner and wait for Cheon Aram to finish her persuasion.

What kind of insane notion was it to storm into Jinkang and negotiate?

I had no intention of getting involved with such a large corporation at all.

I wasn’t planning to step even a single foot into Jinkang.

“Okay, so you’re the kidnapper who was trying to take our Yeoreum abroad?”

…But I didn’t expect Jinkang would kidnap me.

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