Chapter 71
Gyeoul carefully stood in front of the panel, a sticker with the letter E and her name Han Gyeoul stuck to the chest of her black super crop top.
As she greeted the dozen cameras surrounding her with a 90-degree bow, she noticed Ye Han-na, who had guided her, had vanished, leaving her flustered in front of so many cameras.
“…Hello, I’m Han Gyeoul.”
Though Gyeoul timidly introduced herself, none of the staff responded.
She was confused, unsure if they were worried about noise during filming or just adhering to some awkward concept.
“…Uh, can I just go in?”
As she fidgeted nervously and glanced around, three trainees suddenly appeared down the hallway.
“Whoa, is this the photo call area? It’s so well decorated!”
“Wow, look at all these cameras! Is that one even a camera?”
“Yujin, don’t touch that!”
Gyeoul glanced at the stickers on their outfits, reading the letters: A, A, A. All three were A’s. She guessed they must possess skills far beyond hers, as only someone with such confidence could pull off those labels.
Feeling increasingly embarrassed by the E on her chest, she shrank back even more.
“Oh, it looks like someone got here first?”
“Where are they from? …TwoBear Entertainment? Never heard of it!”
“Seriously, Yujin, how can you act like you know anything about agencies? ‘Ts-euhm deulubeun geuhneunyo?’”
“Just because I don’t know doesn’t mean I can’t talk! Ignorance isn’t a crime!”
“Whether ignorance is a crime or not, people will definitely catch on to how clueless you are.”
Even in the brief moment of walking up to the panel, they were chattering like a storm. Gyeoul felt as if she were surrounded by three versions of Gaeul.
Regardless of personalities, being around such overwhelming extroversion drained her, like her internal battery was being zapped away.
And being in the entertainment industry meant meeting hundreds of these human energy bundles.
“Oh no, Teacher Taeyang, help me!”
But sadly, he couldn’t come to her rescue. This was, unfortunately, a battlefield she had to navigate alone.
As two trainees bickered, Gyeoul hesitated and remained unresponsive. Then, a trainee with a chic bob and model-like proportions spoke up.
A trainee with a ratio said.
“Hey guys, we should greet that trainee over there first.”
“Oops!”
“Ugh, Yujin, what are you doing?”
“No, Garnet, you forgot too!”
“Enough! Everyone, remember we’re on air!”
As she settled the mood and began the count, the three trainees switched positions and greeted with precision.
“One, two.”
“Hello! This is Han Sora from Neulbom Entertainment.”
“Kim Yujin.”
“Garnet here.”
The camera caught the three of them along with Gyeoul, who reflexively bowed 90 degrees in surprise.
“We used to be a trio under the group called Counter. We released a mini album and shot two music videos, so we were quite active.”
“And then we flopped.”
Han Sora sighed dramatically.
“…Yujin, please behave yourself here.”
“But Sora, I’m not wrong, am I? If we had succeeded, we wouldn’t be here. So, that person over there knows we flopped too!”
“Still, we have fans who believed in us and supported us. How do you think they’d feel if we call ourselves failures?”
“Oops!”
“Ugh, Yujin, what are you doing…”
“Hey! Garnet! Let’s spar. Follow me to the rooftop, you punk.”
“Make sure to bring a mouthguard. You know joint locks are banned between women, right?”
“Please, guys! This is a broadcast. If you want to fight, take me on!”
“No way you can beat the beast, Han Sora…”
“…Agreed.”
Caught in the wave of their chatter, Gyeoul finally remembered she hadn’t introduced herself and stepped forward.
“Ah… Hello! I’m Han Gyeoul from TwoBear Entertainment! Nice to meet you!”
“Wow, Han Gyeoul. Interesting name! Is it a stage name or your real name?”
“It’s my real name!”
Kim Yujin nodded and said.
“Oh, your parents have great naming sense. It’s simple yet sounds pretty and memorable, so I think it’s the best choice for an idol name. That’s probably why the agency let it be!”
“But since when is it polite to comment on someone else’s parents’ naming sense? Yujin, how would you feel if someone said your parents had a good naming sense?”
“How do you feel when your parents get praised for their naming sense?”
“…Uh, thank you for the compliment?”
“Oh, goodness…”
As a pure expletive nearly slipped from Garnet’s lips, Han Sora shrieked in shock.
“Ahhhh! Guys, it’s a broadcast!”
The camera was capturing the whole farce.
Gyeoul had a feeling this scene would definitely make it onto the broadcast, even if just for a moment.
Perhaps thinking they had enough material, a writer instructed everyone to walk down the central hallway.
As the four awkwardly walked together, Kim Yujin said, “The staff here sure don’t talk much. They hardly explain anything.”
“You’ve never even experienced a broadcast outside of music shows. Who do you think you are to critique like a seasoned veteran?”
“Here, a music show is enough to make you a veteran. There are trainees who haven’t even debuted yet.”
“…Well, that’s a good point.”
Garnet suddenly seemed curious about where Gyeoul fit in, so she asked.
“You said ‘Gyeoul,’ right? Have you debuted yet?”
“No, this is my first schedule.”
“Hmm… I see. You must be really nervous.”
Propping her chin on her hand, Garnet nodded and asked Gyeoul, “How old are you?”
“Yep, I’m 16 years old!”
Kim Yujin replied, grinning widely, “Wow, you’re so young! We’re all 19!”
“Hey, don’t talk to me informally without permission!”
“Oops! So, Gyeoul, can I talk to you casually?”
“That doesn’t mean it’s okay just because you ask, you big dummy! We should all be polite here!”
“How am I supposed to keep up with this?”
As Garnet and Yujin began bickering again, Gyeoul shouted in panic.
“I… I’m fine if you want to talk casually!”
“She says it’s okay, so there!”
“…Fine, do as you like.”
Yujin smiled brightly and said, “You were nervous since it’s your first time.”
“Ah, can you tell?”
“No, it doesn’t show on your face. In fact, you look super tough! If we met in class, I bet you’d rush to the snack bar and microwave a pizza bread as tribute.”
“Yujin!”
“What? What now?”
With her sharp and cold features, deep-set eyes, and natural blonde hair, Gyeoul seemed to leave a rather strong first impression.
And it seemed that her natural blonde hair gave off a rather strong first impression.
Gyeoul guessed that the word “bully” was about to come out of Yujin’s mouth but was softened as much as possible.
“Then, how did you know that I was nervous?”
“You wrote E in your own level of freedom on your first schedule, right? So I can imagine what kind of feeling you have standing here.”
Garnet, who had been watching quietly, nodded in agreement.
“Well, Yujin is right. Honestly, it hasn’t been long since you started your trainee life, has it?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“Garnet! If you say things like that, Gyeoul might feel awkward!”
“Being inexperienced isn’t a wrong thing. It’s not wrong to point that out either. You just have to learn a lot here.”
“But human emotions don’t only operate so rationally.”
As Garnet and Han Sora began a discussion, Yujin suddenly put her arm around Gyeoul and said,
“Hey! Don’t worry too much! I’ll take care of you. You’re lucky to have an industry senior like me being so nice!”
It was a remark filled with enough consideration, but it seemed that Yujin, Garnet, and even Han Sora all viewed Gyeoul as a clumsy beginner.
Gyeoul felt the weight of that common gaze, realizing her current level.
This was a space where professionals came and went.
It wasn’t just a small practice room with three girls singing and dancing.
In that small practice room, not being able to catch up to Gaeul’s singing or Yeoreum’s dancing, she concluded she was just a tiny bug in this place.
“Team Leader Seon, showing a twist seems difficult. I’m just a beginner like they said… I’m sorry.”
Although she hadn’t seen the stage yet, considering the aura and confidence of the three over there, Gyeoul thought that even if she tried her best to not look out of place, she would just end up being a laughingstock.
Gyeoul didn’t mind being a laughingstock.
But failing to meet Taeyang’s expectations was far too sad.
If Seon Taeyang had sensed Gyeoul’s train of thought, he would have responded like this:
“No, just the fact that Gaeul and Yeoreum can keep up with a world-class genius means you’re a genius too, Gyeoul! That little practice room is a gathering of S-ranked talents! And yet, you can keep up with both of them!”
Unfortunately, Seon Taeyang, who could point that out, was not here.
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