When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar - Chapter 8

#8

Full debut surprise replacement (2)

#Full debut surprise replacement (2)

***

Monday, the start of the week. Lim Seong-an, head of HIT Entertainment’s new talent development team.

Even though she was a team leader, she was a workaholic who was famous for always showing up to work before new employees. He was also a major figure in discovering key members of Monster and Milky Way. In recognition of his abilities, he became a team leader three years after joining the company.

Seongan was the first to arrive at the new development team’s office today and took a seat at the desk. As soon as she sat down, she turned on the computer and opened the box on the desk. Inside the box were a bunch of individually wrapped fortune cookies.

“hmm. “Today…”

Every Monday morning, breaking a fortune cookie, composing oneself with words written on a piece of paper, and predicting the week ahead was something Lim Seong-an had been doing since he was a new employee. It wasn’t that I blindly believed in the fortune cookie’s words, but it was true that they fit me well and were influencing my decision-making.

I picked up the fortune cookie in the middle and opened the package.

[A new relationship is coming. Leap to a higher place with a new mindset!]

Im Seong-an pondered the phrase written on the paper.

‘Are you talking about your ex-lover? It’s been over a year since we broke up, so that’s probably not the case.’

In any case, the meaning of this phrase would not be known until the day passed. Seongan spread out the stationery and placed it on the desk and put the cookie in his mouth.

***

The dance evaluation of Hit Entertainment trainees began at 5 p.m.

Since normal school life was impossible while he was a trainee, Do-wook also submitted an official letter to the school and, with the cooperation of the school, was skipping all classes other than regular classes that could fill the school day.

Yun Jin-seong was very jealous of Do-wook, who left school around three o’clock. I felt more envious of Do-wook not having to attend school right now than that he would become a celebrity.

‘A mere bastard.’

The initial awkwardness has long since disappeared. I didn’t feel any awkwardness in being friends with Yoon Jin-seong. There were times when Yoon Jin-seong told Do-wook not to act like an old man. He had the body of an eighteen-year-old, but the mind of a thirty-three-year-old, so it was natural for him to be called an old man.

‘I’m trying to keep my words as low as possible and not show off, but…’

Do-wook, who had been thinking about that, turned his head and looked around. All trainees to be evaluated were present.

Jo Jung-min stretched out next to Park Tae-hyung and moved his body as if he was going to hit Park Tae-hyung who was standing next to him. Taehyung Park was pressed down by Jo Jung-min’s momentum and kept his head down.

‘The more I see what he’s doing, the more disgusting it becomes.’

As Do-wook approached with a frown, Jo Jung-min also looked as if he would not back down. Whether Jo Jung-min fell for Do-wook’s provocation or not, it was said from everyone’s presence. Cho Jung-min and Park Tae-hyung’s individual scores became the hottest topic of interest besides their own scores.

The three people to be evaluated sat on the sofa provided in the practice room. An atmosphere similar to an audition was formed.

In today’s evaluation, a total of five groups, from Group A to Group E, will be evaluated in reverse order. As it was a time to evaluate to form debut members, the evaluation was scheduled to be conducted not only by the dance class teacher but also by the assistant manager and team leader of the new talent development team.

The production director will be responsible for confirming the final debut member, but the most important thing first was to get the attention of the rookie development team leader. Lim Seong-an’s position within the company was stronger than anyone else’s. It was a straw that must be grasped for those who wanted to debut.

the dance teacher shouted.

“Let’s come out from Group E!”

The cover songs for evaluation were Monster’s ‘TOP’ and ‘WILD FACE’. ‘TOP’ was a song where flow and flexible movement were important, and ‘WILD FACE’ was a song with a fast beat that had to express power and wildness well.

It’s good to excel at one song, but it’s also important to perform both songs above average. Only then will they be able to digest any song and concept in the idol market that continues to pursue change.

Music started playing and Group E started dancing in unison.

‘What a mess.’

I was barely able to imitate the choreography I had learned. It was a mess in Do-wook’s eyes, and it was even more messed up in the eyes of the evaluators. However, perhaps because they had no expectations, the three evaluators graded each person in Group E on the evaluation sheet with calm faces.

The members except Group A did not have the ability to debut right away anyway. These were talented people who took time to develop.

‘Currently, there are 7 people in Group A. KK has 6 members. Perhaps the story where Park Tae-hyung was excluded was a story from the past.’

Dowook looked at Taehyung Park, who was still looking at the floor.

‘If things continue as usual, Taehyung Park’s individual score will be much higher. Jo Jung-min is also a good dancer, but he can’t compare to Park Tae-hyung. ‘It’s clear that Taehyung Park is gifted and has put in a lot of effort.’

Nevertheless, what I was worried about was that Park Tae-hyung was afraid of Jo Jung-min and would ruin the dance.

‘You have to overcome this level of fear on your own to be able to debut and endure well after debut.’

Amid worry, it was Group A’s turn. Each stood in a line. The talented Ahn Hyeong-seo stood in the center position, followed by Jo Jeong-min and Park Tae-hyung on either side.

“Park Taehyung. “Let’s debut together.”

Dowook, who was standing behind Taehyung Park, spoke quietly to Taehyung Park just before the music started. There was no answer from Taehyung Park.

When the dance started, the eyes of those watching widened. Everyone was shocked, as if they had been stabbed in the back.

“What is he?”

“This is Taehyung Park, who I recently selected at an audition, team leader.”

“ah! I remember. But he’s like that…!”

Team leader Lim Seong-an muttered with a look of disbelief even after hearing the assistant manager’s answer.

“Did he do that well?”

Team leader Lim Seong-an’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Park Tae-hyung.

***

Month-end dance evaluation scorecard,

group

A.

.

Kang Do-wook 81

Jo Jeong-min 87

Park Tae-hyung 94

.

.

A few hours after the dance evaluation, as soon as the score sheet was posted, the trainees were glued to the wall to check their scores.

Contrary to Dowook’s worries, Taehyung Park danced with as much passion as usual. No, he moved his body with greater concentration than usual. Even though he had been practicing for a while, it was a dance that went beyond what caught Dowook’s eye during the audition.

It could have been that he had made up his mind, or it could have been that his body reacted and moved first when the song started and he started dancing despite his intimidated state.

Taehyung Park received the highest score in the dance evaluation. Rather, Jo Jung-min’s score fell below 90 points. Although it was still a high score, it was a low score for Jo Jung-min, whose main weapon is dancing.

“F*ck!”

Jo Jung-min, who checked his score, cursed. The trainees glanced at him. Everyone was reluctant to open their mouths for fear of sparks flying.

“I lost. “To Park Taehyung, the person you ignored.”

The atmosphere became even harsher after Do-wook’s words. I was just stating the truth. Regardless, Dowook left the practice room.

Wajangchang-!

Inside the practice room, there was the sound of something breaking along with Jo Jung-min’s swearing. It was the sound of Jo Jung-min, unable to control his anger, throwing the cell phone he was holding.

Dowook’s score was high considering he had just started dancing, but he was feeling disappointed with his score. I was practicing vocals and composing separately, but when it came to dancing, I felt like I was lacking because I only practiced what the agency had planned.

‘It would be nice to have more time until debut…’

Park Tae-hyung followed Do-wook, who was walking lost in thought.

“Do Do-Wook.”

Park Tae-hyung was scared of Jo Jung-min, but he was also happy because he beat Jo Jung-min with his own dancing. It wasn’t a full-scale fight, but anyway, after beating Jo Jung-min, the fear and pressure on him eased. Anyway, this was a place where skill was important.

“Dance evaluation…good job.”

“Looking at the scores, you did the hard work.”

Park Tae-hyung smiled embarrassedly at Do-wook’s words. He always walked around with his head down, but his shy face was quite cute. It was a character that would evoke maternal love in women.

***

Lim Seong-an and other members of the rookie development team sat around a table and held a meeting. K.K. is an ambitious new male idol group. The overall framework was all planned. Now was the time to finalize the members and focus on detailing the members’ individuality.

Of course, there was a rough idea of the composition of the members. However, since there were no suitable visual members, they held an audition and received exactly the picturesque faces they wanted.

‘It’s not perfect, but I thought it was close to perfection…’

Im Seong-an sighed deeply, immersed in worry. I thought everything was done, but I was concerned about Jo Jung-min, one of the members who had been nominated.

In the final inspection and dance evaluation, Jo Jung-min received 84 points. Although it wasn’t first place, there were no major problems in debuting. It was also a meaningful evaluation time where I learned that there is a talented person named Taehyung Park.

However, Jo Jung-min, who was proud of his dancing, was in trouble after the dance evaluation as if his pride had been hurt. He often created an unpleasant atmosphere with other trainees, and it was even said that he harassed one trainee. In most cases, the boys would overlook that, but as negative stories continued to come up, it was difficult to decide whether it would be a good idea to let them debut.

Meanwhile, Jo Jung-min was often late to practice or showed a bad attitude.

“Have you talked to Jo Jeong-min? He doesn’t want to debut? Or do you think my debut has already been confirmed?”

Seongan Lim raised his voice. The youngest member of the development team, who manages the trainees one-on-one, hesitated.

“I’ve said that before…”

“I was worried because he was annoying sometimes.”

Without missing the opportunity, the deputy intervened. In fact, the assistant manager did not like Jo Jung-min in terms of personality. However, since there were no trainees who danced better than Jo Jung-min without causing any major problems, they were carrying Jo Jung-min with them.

However, if the problem has surfaced, the story is different. Also, there is currently a trainee who dances better than Jo Jung-min.

In fact, this meeting was no different from an open meeting because even an alternative resource named Taehyung Park showed up. If there had been no replacement, the only way to think about it would have been to try to somehow change Jo Jung-min’s attitude and educate him properly so that he could debut.

Seongan Lim looked at his teammates.

“This is the group that will lead our company for at least the next five years. You have to decide carefully. “Are you okay with Jo Jung-min’s debut like this?”

It was a serious problem. We were too hasty to come forward and everyone kept their mouths shut.

“Park Tae-hyung…”

Eventually, Park Tae-hyung’s name came out of Im Seong-an’s mouth. The deputy began speaking cautiously.