“Wh-what’s that noise! You want to terminate our contract…?!”
“…….”
The moment Min heard that from Seo Yoo-jin, he felt like he had been hit on the head with a hammer.
It was that shocking.
“Phew… no, what…!”
He was so flustered he almost hyperventilated, but he soon regained his composure and asked Yoo-jin again.
“Phew… huh…. …Yoo-jin, saying that all of a sudden is surprising. Terminating the contract…?”
“…I’m sorry. But… it’s not something I said out of anger; I’ve thought about it for a long time.”
“So you’re thinking about quitting being an idol?”
“…….”
From Yoo-jin’s expression, it didn’t seem like she was thinking of quitting being an idol at all.
Then…
“…which crappy company is tampering…?”
“T-tampering?! No! They just lightly suggested it, and I want it desperately…!”
“Contacting a trainee under an active contract with us is basically tampering, Yoo-jin.”
“…….”
Yoo-jin still had plenty of time left on her contract with SAV.
Moreover, it was SAV that taught Yoo-jin, who used to be an ordinary person, and laid the groundwork for her as a trainee.
Now that their investment was finally paying off, which rude company was trying to swoop in to take advantage?!
“What’s the name of that company? I can’t let this slide. We need to complain on a company level…”
Min, infuriated, had no intention of letting this go.
It was obviously out of the question to let Yoo-jin go, and he wanted to retaliate against the audacious act of tampering with SAV.
But…
“…Yoo-jin.”
“…….”
“…are you crying?”
“……Huhuk.”
Min was left speechless by the sight of Yoo-jin’s teardrop-like sobs.
The Yoo-jin he knew was a spoiled girl who was more accustomed to being bratty than crying…
As Min stared at her in shock, Yoo-jin slowly began to speak through her tears.
“I-I know this is rude… but…”
“……”
“…I-I’m sorry. I really want to continue being a team with the Rookies….”
…Right now, Yoo-jin was sincere.
She genuinely wanted to leave SAV.
‘Damn….’
Min knew better than anyone that when the heart leaves, the body will follow.
Thus, he decided to change strategy and began to comfort Yoo-jin.
“…Yoo-jin. I understand that you don’t want to part with the Rookies right now. But won’t you regret it?”
“…….”
“You took so much pride in being part of SAV. You admired the other SAV idol seniors.”
Yoo-jin had always had deep admiration for the company every time she entered SAV and never hid her feelings.
She loved SAV more than any other trainee.
“You know, right? There’s no better agency in South Korea than SAV.”
“…….”
“So, are you really going to give that up for a simple feeling and go to another company? Are you sure you won’t regret it later?”
Min tried to convince her by exploiting Yoo-jin’s feelings.
But…
“…Yeah.”
“…….”
“I don’t think I’ll regret it….”
Yoo-jin’s resolve was much stronger than he expected.
‘Ah.’
Min had his reasons for caring about Yoo-jin; it was not just because she was talented.
‘A-am I a SAV trainee starting today? W-wow…!! I’ll do my best from now on! Thank you!!!’
Just like Min loved his company SAV… little Yoo-jin also shone with excitement as she loved SAV.
With pride in her affiliation and loving her company…
Min was certain she would succeed.
But right now, Yoo-jin’s sparkling eyes were directed elsewhere.
Min felt saddened by that yet didn’t want to lose that sparkle.
That’s when Min realized.
The Yoo-jin he cared for was not just the one who loved SAV but the one shining with love for something else.
“…You bad girl.”
“…Min.”
Thus, Min said…
“Of course, I can’t decide this alone. I need to talk to the CEO.”
“……!”
He could not let Yoo-jin, whose mind had already left, slip away.
Once Min gave a word that was essentially a nod, Yoo-jin started to cry and grabbed his hand.
“…Min. I’m sorry…, and thank you.”
“Forget it! I’ll talk to the CEO and demand a hefty penalty fee.”
“I-I’ll pay! We have a lot of money at home!”
“What are you talking about? I’m going to squeeze it out of that audacious company! If they dare to steal our kid, they should be ready for that! What’s the name of the company?!”
And so, Yoo-jin began the termination process with the company she once loved and was proud of… SAV.
The day after Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yoo-jung, and Na Han-na signed their contracts.
I went to work at Brotherhood Planning’s office as usual with Older Brother Sang-gu.
And….
“……Huh?”
“Ye-rin.”
“Unnie-!!!”
I spotted Yoo Seol waiting for someone in the building’s lobby on the first floor.
I thought she had no interest in Brotherhood Planning because I hadn’t heard from her for a while…!
“W-were you here to sign a contract?”
“Yeah.”
“What about JJ Entertainment?”
“…….”
Yoo Seol smiled slightly in response to my question.
“JJ said they’d debut me as a solo artist.”
“……!”
“But I came here. …I want to stay in a team with you and Hye-jeong unnie, and the other younger members.”
“Unnie!”
“Eek…!”
I couldn’t contain my emotions when I realized that Yoo Seol had chosen us and ran to hug her.
Of course, because Yoo Seol was smaller than me, it looked like I was holding her in my arms.
“U-uh, Ye-rin. I can’t breathe.”
“It must not have been an easy choice…. Thank you….”
I tightened my arms around Yoo Seol and buried her face in my chest.
At first, Yoo Seol struggled a bit, but she eventually smiled and embraced me tightly.
And after a few minutes of being tangled up together…
“Eh?”
“Seol unnie-!!”
“Seol-ah-!!”
Just then, Kang Hyung-man entered with the other members he had picked up.
“How did you get here?”
“You came to sign the contract, right? Am I right?”
“Yeah, I came to sign.”
“Woahhhh-!!”
We all celebrated joyfully at our reunion.
That day, Yoo Seol completed her contract just like the other members.
And…, only one piece of Rookies was left remaining.
The members who finished their contracts, including me, gathered in the meeting room.
We were called by Han Si-woo, who brought unexpected news.
“Yoo-jin might… not be able to come to Brotherhood Planning?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“…….”
Stunned by the shocking news, we fell silent as Han Si-woo began to explain.
“Actually… I received a message from Yoo-jin wanting to come to Brotherhood Planning.”
“Yoo-jin wants to…!”
I felt a lump in my throat at the news that Yoo-jin, who had such pride in her company SAV, wanted to come to Brotherhood Planning, but…
“However, the SAV CEO was not very pleased about it. Yoo-jin still has a lot of time left on her contract…”
“Ah….”
It seemed that contracts between companies couldn’t be canceled and established so easily.
“Kang CEO is directly discussing this with SAV, so let’s wait a bit longer.”
“Yeah….”
All we could do was trust and wait for Kang Hyung-man.
As everyone grew anxious, Yoo Seol raised her hand and asked.
“Producer Han Si-woo. If Yoo-jin can’t come, what happens to the group?”
“If Yoo-jin can’t make it… I think the five of you will debut without any additional members.”
Debuting with just the five of us here….
Actually, it’s common to prefer odd numbers for group formations since they are easier to balance.
Moreover, all five of us here had good balance combinations, so the quality wouldn’t drop significantly without Yoo-jin.
But…
‘Still, I hope Yoo-jin can come….’
Still, I desperately wanted Yoo-jin to come to Brotherhood Planning.
I wanted her to debut with us again.
Because it wouldn’t be complete Rookies without Yoo-jin among the five of us here.
“It seems our discussion is over. The CEO is on his way to the office.”
Could it be that my prayers were answered?
Thirty minutes after Han Si-woo informed us that Kang Hyung-man was coming back…
Kang Hyung-man entered the meeting room with a blank expression.
…with Yoo-jin right beside him.
“Yoo-jin!”
“What happened… wait a minute…”
Seeing Yoo-jin enter behind him, we thought everything had ended well.
But…
“…….”
“…….”
Neither of their expressions seemed bright.
While it’s normal for Kang Hyung-man to have a blank expression, the fact Yoo-jin looked off was concerning.
We hesitantly asked, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
“What’s… going on?”
“Yoo-jin… it didn’t go well?”
Yoo-jin covered her eyes with her palm, looking like she was about to cry, and then…
“…It’s fine.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s done! I’m now with Brotherhood Planning!!”
Suddenly, her face changed into one of joy as she threw herself at us.
“What?!”
“Damn!!”
Yoo-jin, who had low acting skills, was now grown up enough to tease unnie’s!
Realizing we had been fooled, we rushed around Yoo-jin, pretending to pat her back and hugging her together.
Rookies, who had thought they would completely part ways after a short year of activities, were dramatically reconstituted once again at Brotherhood Planning.
Of course, soon after…
“I don’t think we’ll be able to use the name Rookies.”
We received more sad news.
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