To understand the trait of arrogance that Seo Yoo-jin of SAV possesses, it’s necessary to look into her life.
She was born as a late child in a family that had not had children for a long time.
It was like a final gift from the couple, who thought they would live alone forever, so she couldn’t help but live with her parents’ love.
Plus, Seo Yoo-jin’s family was well-off.
Her dad was the CEO of a successful medium-sized company, and her mom was a retired music professor.
Receiving love from her parents, she could do anything she wanted and didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do.
She didn’t study because she didn’t want to.
She had an interest in music from a young age due to her mother’s influence.
With her stunning looks and plenty of money at home, she had many friends.
Seeing her musical talent and appearance, SAV recruited her early on.
Upon entering SAV, one of the top three agencies in the country, her pride soared even higher.
She realized she could do everything she wanted, including the dream of becoming an idol.
One downside was that SAV had already debuted a girl group two years ago, so she couldn’t debut right away.
Therefore, SAV sent the trainee Seo Yoo-jin to Na Ah Ah.
By gaining experience and recognition there, she could secure an advantage when she debuted with SAV in the future.
Knowing this plan from the company, Seo Yoo-jin wanted to show her best performance in Na Ah Ah.
She was always the most eye-catching wherever she went.
She thought she could enjoy the freedom to do whatever she wanted in Na Ah Ah too.
However, not quite.
There were Yoo Seol and Ha Ye-rin.
Those two were simply dazzling enough that they were incomparably better than her.
Whether in looks, singing, or dancing.
Seeing them, Seo Yoo-jin felt a sickening jealousy for the first time in her 17 years of life instead of superiority.
After passing the first week of Na Ah Ah, which could be called a turning point in her life, she returned home and made a resolution.
From the second week onward, she would surpass Yoo Seol and Ha Ye-rin to become the participant with the biggest impact.
‘To do that, I’ll have to work hard.’
Her decision to be both the leader and center had that meaning.
If she could succeed in fulfilling both roles, she’d surely catch the viewers’ eye.
Since she had always done whatever she wanted, she had no guilty conscience about taking someone else’s place.
Indeed.
There was no malice or meticulous schemes in Seo Yoo-jin’s ambitious actions.
It was just pure passion to want to surpass Yoo Seol and Ha Ye-rin.
Of course…
The direction and method of that passion were utterly wrong.
“…”
“…”
I was at a loss for words in quite a ridiculous situation, but I couldn’t just sit back.
If I did…, that slippery Seo Leader would snag the center position too.
First, I calmed my racing heart and began to persuade her slowly.
“Yoo-jin, you’re already the leader. But you want to take on the center too? That’ll be too tough for you. It’s a big burden.”
“I’ve seen other audition shows where people take on the leader and center roles together. The pressure is fine. I can do it well.”
But Seo Yoo-jin clenched her fists, seemingly unfazed.
Seeing that, I could only feel deeply frustrated.
‘It’s not about whether you can do it or not, come on….’
Seo Yoo-jin seemed just like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
Not knowing how to persuade her or what to say, I felt like a deer caught in headlights.
Just then…
“…Uh.”
Lee Hye-jeong, who had been watching our conversation, cautiously raised her hand.
“I think the center should be someone who takes the position right in the middle and becomes the focal point during the dance break, so it’s better for someone who dances well to take that role.”
“Yes, I dance well.”
“But…”
Lee Hye-jeong was a nice person.
She was timid and could hardly speak ill of others.
However…
“Yoo-jin, you know that Ye-rin dances better than you.”
She had made it to the top seven in other audition shows besides Na Ah Ah.
Of course, that had happened five years prior… when she was 17, and now she was 22, but the competitive spirit from that time still lingered in her.
“Since Ye-rin dances better, isn’t it unnecessary for you, who’s the leader, to take on the center role too?”
“That’s….”
With Lee Hye-jeong speaking so logically and even without malice, Seo Yoo-jin was at a loss for words.
Riding that momentum, Lee Hye-jeong turned to me and asked.
“What about you, Ye-rin?”
“…Me?”
“Yeah, I think it would be better if Ye-rin took the center position. What do you think?”
“…….”
If I didn’t catch on to this, I’d be an idiot.
I quickly nodded in response to Lee Hye-jeong’s question.
“I want to, and I think I can do it well.”
“…Hmm.”
As I expressed my intent to run for center, Seo Yoo-jin glared at me as if trying to restrain me.
But I wouldn’t back down either.
“…….”
“…Hmph.”
I met Seo Yoo-jin’s gaze with my usual indifference. Seeing that, she seemed to lower her eyes a little, perhaps thinking she was losing.
As Seo Yoo-jin and I didn’t budge from our stance on the center position, Park Yoo-jung stepped in.
“How about we vote?”
“Vote?”
“Yes, honestly, I think both Ye-rin and Yoo-jin are suitable for the center role. So let’s decide through a vote.”
Voting… wouldn’t be bad for me.
Nodding in agreement, I looked over at Seo Yoo-jin and…
“I’m okay with that!”
Seo Yoo-jin nodded back confidently.
“Alright then, let’s do it now! First, raise your hand if you think it’s better for Yoo-jin to be the center.”
Under Park Yoo-jung’s hosting, the voting began immediately.
As soon as Seo Yoo-jin’s name was called, she raised her hand right away.
But…
“……”
“……”
No one besides her raised their hand.
For a moment, Seo Yoo-jin looked at the other team members with a gaze full of betrayal…, but Park Yoo-jung continued the proceedings.
“Now, let’s see who thinks it’s better for Ye-rin to be the center.”
Swish
Whoosh
As soon as my name was called, the rest of the team members raised their hands as if they had been waiting for the moment.
“…Ugh.”
Seeing the other team members choose me, Seo Yoo-jin wore a look filled with defeat.
The first round of the battle was thus suppressed by democracy…, and I got to take on the coveted center position.
With the leader and center selection successfully tackled, despite almost causing controversy, we proceeded straight to song meetings.
Seo Leader didn’t neglect her role surprisingly.
“Okay, since everything’s decided, let’s figure out the arrangement first. Where is my first love! is a well-picked song and seems to fit Na Ah Ah’s concept well, so let’s stick to the original feel as much as possible.”
…She felt a bit dictatorial, but her words weren’t wrong.
“I think it’s good.”
“Me too.”
We could make slight alterations, but we should be careful not to mess it up and hinder ourselves even more.
Everyone nodded at Seo Yoo-jin’s suggestion to keep it as is.
“Alright, let’s start with the choreography then.”
Seo Yoo-jin immediately turned on the tablet screen provided by the production team.
The original choreography video of Where is my first love! was inside. We played it for everyone to watch together.
♪♬♩-!
“Hmmm….”
“This….”
Watching the choreography video, our expressions were not bad.
“It’s not as difficult as I thought!”
The original choreography of Where is my first love! wasn’t that tough.
If anything, it was around the same level of difficulty as Na Ah Ah’s theme song, We are dreaming idol!.
“Hmm….”
After the video ended, leader Seo Yoo-jin thought deeply before speaking up.
“I think we can follow the original choreography as it is… Do you want to create something new?”
Seo Yoo-jin’s gaze fell on me as she asked.
I, of course…
“No.”
…Shook my head firmly.
I had upped my stats to forcibly enhance my dance skills, but that didn’t mean my choreography abilities had magically increased too.
Making my disinclination for creating choreography clear, Seo Yoo-jin nodded and moved on.
“Then, let’s start with the distribution of parts.”
After that, our team worked like a breeze, everything proceeded smoothly.
The first team competition takes place eight days after the initial team and song selection.
And…, we have a midterm evaluation on the fourth day.
It’s the process of checking our progress with the producers and trainers.
It’s needless to say that most of the trainees can’t master the stage in just four days, so many get broken down during the midterm evaluation.
However…
“Huu… it’s done!”
Our team completed memorizing all performances by the third night of the midterm evaluation.
This was possible due to the fact our team was made up of relatively high-ranking participants and…
“Girls-! That move isn’t right! Do it again!”
“No, is this really hard? This?”
Seo Yoo-jin ferociously drilled the lower-ranked team members.
Of course, being scolded by the youngest Seo Yoo-jin made them feel miserable, but…
In the urgent situation before the stage, no one protested or expressed their sorrow.
“Alright! Let’s all gather and check once!”
We had been filming ourselves while practicing using the tablet pc.
Now, we decided to check the footage we had recorded together.
♪♬♩-!
As the video started, everyone’s expressions turned serious, examining whether they had missed anything or made mistakes.
Particularly, Seo Yoo-jin focused on picking apart any flaws in the dances of the lower-ranking team members.
And…
“Okay, I think we’re good.”
After the video ended, she gave the okay sign.
“I don’t think we’ll get caught in the midterm evaluation this time.”
“Wow-!”
“Phew-!”
When she said that, the lower-ranking team members collapsed onto the floor as if they had given up.
Seo Yoo-jin watched the video again, smiling with satisfaction.
Park Yoo-jung felt similarly.
“It’s common for participants to get scolded for not mastering the choreography properly in the ranking evaluation, but we probably won’t be like that.”
Then, with a bright smile, she looked my way.
“We’ll probably get praised tomorrow. Maybe we can come in first in the first team competition…”
But…
“…Um?”
“……”
I couldn’t simply smile at our choreography video.
It seemed Lee Hye-jeong, who originally had an A rank, felt the same.
Seeing me looking at that particular section, she voiced her concern.
“Ye-rin… this…”
“For now…, let’s just go as is. It’s a problem we can’t solve right now.”
“…Right.”
And then she patted my shoulder confidently as if to say she believed in me.
Somehow, I had a feeling that tomorrow wouldn’t go smoothly in the midterm evaluation.
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