As I stepped onto the stage, over a hundred pairs of eyes were directed at me.
Gulp.
Even though I’ve experienced it once before, the nerves made my hands tremble. And… I couldn’t help but admire Seo Yoo-jin, who showcased her performance before me just moments ago.
How could she maintain such a confident expression here?
Seo Yoo-jin’s arrogant trait… I always thought it was garbage, but maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.
At least it would lessen this heavy tension.
Thump-thump.
I trembled under the pressure. After barely calming my wildly racing heart, the judges seemed to be waiting for me to respond with questions.
“Yes, Ha Ye-rin? Please introduce yourself.”
“…I’m Ha Ye-rin, 19 years old, from Brotherhood Planning.”
“Is that all?”
“You really are chic~”
Oops! I intended to add some flair to my introduction, but I must have skipped it due to nerves.
Still, it seems my concise reply didn’t put the judges in a bad mood.
Maybe they were satisfied with my character and even chuckled.
“You seem quite tall. How tall are you?”
“Oh… I’m 172 cm.”
“Really? Wow… You look like you’re at least 177 cm…”
“It’s because my face is small. It’s almost the size of my fist!”
As I said this, one of the judges raised her fist too.
…No matter how small my head is, it’s not the size of a woman’s fist. It felt like she was trying to tease me.
That’s not it… but thank you anyway!
“Awww, your flustered expression is cute!”
“Ha Ye-rin seems to be quite fun to tease, huh?”
Hahaha~
When one judge laughed, the others followed, lifting the previously tense atmosphere.
Since being reborn as Ha Ye-rin, I’ve felt one big difference from my past life.
That people are nice to me.
It’s gotta be because of my looks.
Beauty, whether from a woman or a man, makes others feel good.
Thanks to this, I could pull off a more friendly vibe with the judges than other participants.
Some might find it unfair… but hey, I can’t help how I was born.
I planned to make the most of my pretty privilege.
If I can keep this soft atmosphere going until the end…
But then, out of nowhere…
“Ha Ye-rin, trainee.”
In the midst of the flowing good vibes, a suddenly cold voice sliced through like ice.
Of course, it belonged to Han Si-woo.
He looked disinterested in my appearance, rummaging through paperwork with his head down, before asking in an uninterested but chilly tone.
“I just noticed… your idol trainee career is quite short, isn’t it?”
“…….”
“How long exactly have you been a trainee?”
At Han Si-woo’s words, the other judges also tilted their heads and started to look through their papers.
…Shit.
This was something I had to face eventually. I sighed silently and replied calmly.
“Exactly one month.”
“……!!”
One of the judges adjusted her glasses as if she couldn’t believe it and asked again.
“One month… so you’ve only been training for a month?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“…….”
With my answer, the previously friendly atmosphere began to chill rapidly.
And the one responsible for this change, as if calmly bearing the brunt, started bombarding me with more lethal questions.
“Among the trainees behind me, none have trained for less than a year. Among them, some have trained for over ten years.”
“…Yes.”
“But you’re telling me you’ve only trained for a month and decided to compete… Did you have confidence in your skills, or…”
Tap-tap.
“Did you think being an idol is easy?”
…This jerk.
Why are you grilling me in this high-pressure interview like it’s a big corporation?
From a third-party perspective, I hadn’t realized Han Si-woo’s sharp questions felt like they were strangling the breath right out of me.
But there was no time to think.
Vroom.
The cameras were still rolling.
Wait?
“Zoom in on him and Si-woo, hurry!”
They were instead hyper-focusing on creating new broadcast content, digging my grave right there.
In that moment, I locked eyes with Han Si-woo, who was glaring at me.
His cold eyes were filled with even more animosity than when Seo Yoo-jin looked at me.
Why…?
I didn’t understand, but I needed to pull myself together quickly.
If I mess up here… I’d be done for.
Did I really have confidence in my skills to come on Na Ah Ah in just a month?
No.
Even with the status window, I was far from confident.
“In the past month, I’ve learned how challenging being an idol is by throwing myself into it. Obviously… I’m not confident in my current skills. I need to work harder and grow.”
Did you think being an idol was easy?
No.
That’s not it either.
“I’ve struggled even with just a month of practice. Everyone here has endured this rigorous training for at least several years. I absolutely don’t take the idol industry lightly.”
After I finished, Han Si-woo still stared at me coldly, asking,
“If you’re neither confident in your skills nor think being an idol is easy, then what reason do you have for coming on Na Ah Ah?”
This turtle-creature.
Once he bites me, he won’t let go easily.
What reason did I have to come on Na Ah Ah?
If I were to answer that, it would obviously be…
“…It’s because I want to become an idol.”
“Is that so? Why do you want to become an idol?”
Waaah.
The turtle-creature’s relentless attacks made my head pound increasingly.
If it were any other time, I’d have thought of a decent answer to mask it, but in the mounting tension and pressure, I could only respond with what popped into my head.
The reason I want to be an idol…
“Ye-rin, when I grow old, I want to live in a scenic mansion.”
“Ha ha, darling, isn’t that a burden on Ye-rin? I’m satisfied with a high-end 60-pyeong apartment in Gangnam.”
“Our Ye-rin will live together with mom and dad even after marriage, right?”
“Ye-rin, my favorite fairy tale is Shim Cheong-jeon. It’s so touching how Shim Cheong willingly jumped into the sea for her father….”
…My parents.
Right, my damn parents…
Those mosquitoes who’d suck my blood until I work myself to death.
To escape their grip… I needed money. I needed strength.
And the only way I could achieve that right now was by becoming an idol.
So… I am…
“It’s because of my parents.”
“…What?”
“Because of my parents… I have to become an idol… I must…”
“……!”
As I poured out my sincere feelings, a sudden burst of blinding light erupted from my status window.
Bam!
Out of nowhere, it started glowing, like it had a mind of its own…
[You’ve fulfilled the trait condition!]
[Acquired trait ‘Truth’.]
[Trait: Truth (眞心) – “Oh, it’s real!!” If the genuine feelings arise from your heart, they will be conveyed to the other party.]
…Something vague appeared.
I always thought my empty status window would fill one day. But what the heck is this?
What’s “genuine feelings from the heart…”?
And does anything change if it’s conveyed to others?
“Because of your parents, you say you need to become an idol?”
“Y-Yes….”
“Why are you being so earnest? Oh, never mind.”
“…?”
The dance trainer who seemed about to ask me something suddenly changed his expression and stopped questioning.
In that moment, I recognized that the judges’ vibe toward me had shifted.
Those who previously looked at me coldly… now seemed to have a more compassionate feeling? A vibe of support…?
Did the trait get applied?
…But even though the trait was applied, it didn’t really feel like my true feelings were correctly conveyed.
What I meant by saying I had to become an idol because of my parents implied that I needed to escape from them.
Yet right now, their reaction felt just like watching a sailor gazing at Shim Cheong diving into the sea.
…There was definitely some misunderstanding happening.
“……”
Still, I didn’t feel the need to correct their misunderstanding.
If they wanted to misinterpret, I’d be grateful. The cold atmosphere had lifted, so I was even more thankful.
Besides, if I could even snag a good-daughter concept, I could gain a positive image.
This isn’t so bad!
Even Han Si-woo, who had seemed like a turtle-creature, appeared to have softened a bit.
“No matter the reason, as you just mentioned, this industry isn’t easy. A month of training isn’t enough to prepare for a ranking evaluation stage….”
“That will be proven on stage.”
“…Alright, I understand.”
With that last question, he set down the microphone. It meant they wouldn’t ask any more questions and would just watch the performance.
The other judges followed his lead and put down their microphones.
“Now then… I’ll show you my stage.”
I returned the interview mic to the staff and took my position on the stage.
Even if the atmosphere improved a bit, over a hundred pairs of eyes were still fixated on me, weighing heavily.
Among them, the most dominating gaze belonged to Han Si-woo.
As expected, a pro, huh? His eyes returned to being coldly rational again before watching the stage.
I almost felt small, but as we approached the stage, I strangely relaxed.
More than anything, hadn’t I prepared a strategy against Han Si-woo?
That cold face will certainly melt!
After some adorably mischievous thoughts of wanting to capture Han Si-woo’s heart, I signaled to the staff for the cue.
Vroom.
Dozens of cameras outside the stage were aimed at me.
This was… my first stage as an idol trainee to show the public.
“Ta-da! Thank you for your hard work, Soo-hyun!”
“Yes, Ji-woo, you too.”
While the first shoot of Na Ah Ah was in full swing, outside, the two who were Ha Ye-rin’s temporary trainers were enjoying some refreshments at a food stall.
“I bet Ye-rin is doing her ranking evaluation right about now.”
“Probably.”
Oh… I hope she doesn’t make any mistakes…
“Yeah, let’s hope so.”
The two weren’t throwing around empty words; their feelings were genuine.
Over the past month, they had built quite a bond with Ha Ye-rin.
“I heard this time, Nnet put a lot of effort into Na Ah Ah’s shoot; is JJ also participating?”
Ji-woo asked casually, having no particular meaning behind it. She was just wondering if Soo-hyun knew something since she originally belonged to JJ.
But then…
“……”
“……?”
At Ji-woo’s question, Soo-hyun silently took a drink of soju, then responded with a somber expression.
“…I hear one of my former students will be participating.”
“…Ah.”
In the entertainment industry, everyone had their share of painful stories.
And the participant from JJ who appeared on Na Ah Ah was Soo-hyun’s most sore spot.
“…I really thought she was one of the most talented kids I had seen… but due to circumstances….”
“……”
Seeing Soo-hyun’s downcast expression, Ji-woo couldn’t ask any further questions.
Instead, she simply raised her glass to offer a small consolation.
“…I’m sure it’ll work out.”
“…Right. I hope Ye-rin and that girl do well.”
Clink.
The two clinked their glasses again, drinking from their soju glasses, engulfed in a heavy atmosphere.
In the awkward silence, Ji-woo tried to change the subject.
“…Um, Soo-hyun, why did Ye-rin choose that song for the evaluation?”
“That’s… I don’t know either.”
The song Ha Ye-rin prepared for this evaluation was quite unfamiliar and wasn’t even typically an idol song.
Both Soo-hyun and Ji-woo expressed concern, but…
“She’s a smart girl, so I’m sure she has her reasons.”
“Yeah, I suppose…”
…Since Ha Ye-rin had insisted earnestly, they had no choice but to comply.
More than anything, both of them trusted Ha Ye-rin. They believed there was a good reason behind her strong insistence.
“Shall we make a toast once more for Ye-rin’s A rank?”
“…Ji-woo, you really drink well. We’ve been at this for three rounds now…”
“Yeah?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Soo-hyun chuckled and raised her glass again, with Ji-woo joining her in cheerful spirits.
Though they were two people from different fields, personalities, and hobbies.
Clink.
At this moment, they united their glasses for their trainee’s sake.
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