Chapter 50

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“I see. Participant Park Moondae, I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thank you.”

Cheongryeo cleanly accepted the refusal without adding more words.
I wanted to proceed as planned by pulling out more conversation to get a desperate cut, but he didn’t seem like the type that such a scenario would work on.

‘For a start, his name value is too big.’

Since he was last year’s Grand Prize winner, the gap in class was too wide. Rather, there was a high probability that only ‘Park Moondae’ would look pitiful.

“Then I will destroy this contract.”

Cheongryeo picked up the contract, held it up clearly for the camera, and tore it in two.

‘It’s a performance.’

It seemed like an act he had been told about in advance.

“You worked hard making a difficult decision. I hope you continue to succeed in the future.”

“Thank you. I hope you also finish your activities healthily, Cheongryeo-sunbaenim.”

I shook hands and bowed in accordance with the ending atmosphere.

“Ah, have you seen our activities this time?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

I thought the filming was over.
I didn’t know the reason, but he continued the conversation. Let’s respond sincerely.

“I’m really enjoying listening to this album.”

“Wow~ By any chance, what is your favorite song?”

Is this guy doing this on purpose? He’s not trying to screw with me because I refused, is he?

“Hmm, I particularly like ‘Star Purple’.”

I chose a B-side song appropriately. In fact, I had never heard it because I had no time, and it was a song I saw in a fan post shared on SNS while searching for ‘Park Moondae’.

“Ah, I wrote the lyrics for that one.”

Cheongryeo pointed to himself happily.

‘He’s even taking care of the promotion meticulously.’

Even though they were already as successful as they could be. He was indeed an experienced idol.

“Aha, you told me that on purpose because I’m here.”

I just laughed. It would be strange even if I said no, and strange if I said yes, so there was nothing I could do.
Cheongryeo laughed with me, and then suddenly went out the door as if he had just thought of something.

‘What is it?’

In the hands of Cheongryeo who came back in, there was an envelope.

“It’s nothing much, but it’s red ginseng. I brought it for you to eat and gain strength.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Looking at the brand logo written in gold on the red envelope being vivid, it was a definite PPL.

‘Anyway, red ginseng is welcome.’

As soon as I accepted it, Cheongryeo gave a final greeting once more.

“Then, fighting!”

“Yes, fighting.”

The filming ended with us smiling at each other broadly.
Immediately, the staff came in and started taking care of Cheongryeo.
Some adjusted the camera and touched the tablet PC, but it was certain that the majority were attached to Cheongryeo. They seemed to be the VTIC staff.

‘They’re very devoted.’

Well, given his value, I would do the same.
Cheongryeo quietly spoke to me after confirming that the staff collected the microphone attached to his clothes.

“Moondae-ssi.”

“Yes.”

Unlike before, he had a face without much laughter.
It doesn’t mean it was a stiff expression, but just the expression of a person talking naturally.

“It’s awkward to say it with my own mouth, but LeTi is a decent agency. The settlement is also okay. If the situation permits after the program ends, contact us.”

“…!”

It meant to contact them if I was eliminated.

‘Is he serious?’

No, why on earth is he recruiting a trainee here when he’s not even an agency executive?

‘Ah, does he have company stocks?’

Then it makes sense.
Still, I don’t know the reason why he’s doing this to Park Moondae, but well… there might not be a main vocal suitable for the debut group.
I nodded without a long word.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The conversation ended there. I followed the staff’s guidance and naturally exited the room and moved to the waiting room.
Probably to prevent the disclosure of spoilers, I seemed to have been isolated from the participants who hadn’t taken this surprise psychological test yet.

“Hyung!”

As soon as I entered, Kim Raebin, who was sitting first, spoke to me.

“By any chance, where did you get the offer?”

“It was LeTi.”

“I was also LeTi!”

As expected, more VTIC members had come.
Kim Raebin uncharacteristically excitedly told the story of meeting VTIC. While I was nodding and listening, Ryu Chungwoo, who was entering with a tired face, acknowledged us.

“Ah, you guys finished first.”

Ryu Chungwoo’s expression alone showed that he had a mental conflict.

‘Is it VTIC here too?’

3 out of 10 was too generous a probability.
A participant who only knew our faces from the side cut in.

“Hyung-nim! Where did you get the Casting Call from?”

“I… Wonderhall.”

It was T-Holic’s agency. A large agency famous for picking idols well for a long time.

‘This side is also good.’

I heard the guy who asked exclaiming. But Ryu Chungwoo only smiled with his mouth and sat down with an exhausted expression.

‘It’s unexpected.’

It’s quite surprising that he seemed to have seen a route to escape even though his debut was almost certain, but well, there must be circumstances.
The participants returned to the waiting room one after another. Soon all 10 people who were the first hitters gathered.

‘For now, everyone refused in the first round.’

Honestly, I thought one or two of the lower ranks would escape, but it was unexpected. It was because the agency lineup was much better than expected.
In the second round too, everyone returned to the waiting room. At this point, some guys who were proud, as if a strange sense of companionship was created, followed one after another.

“H-He seemed like a good person.”

Seon Ahyun, who returned late, muttered with a bright face. It seemed that a certain singer who was active as a solo artist had given him very kind words of encouragement.

“But you refused.”

“U-Uh?”

At the words I said jokingly, Seon Ahyun jumped. Seon Ahyun muttered with a shocked face.

“O-Of course I have to do it until the end…! If I go there… we can’t debut together…….”

“…….”

As expected, Seon Ahyun seemed to be extremely over-immersed in the positive peer relationships he had experienced for the first time.

‘If the deal was a little better, all the other guys would have run away.’

I looked at him a bit pitifully and just nodded.

“Right.”

“Y-Yeah!”

Seon Ahyun affirmed energetically. Kim Raebin was looking at Seon Ahyun from the side with an expression as if he were seeing something strange.
In that subtle situation, the 3rd group slowly started to return.

“LeTi is a waste~ A waste!”

Big Sejin, who was the first to return, said that while grinning as soon as he sat down.
It meant that this guy also received a proposal from LeTi.

‘Kim Raebin, Big Sejin, and me?’

It could be a coincidence, but it was quite interesting to see the tendency of the agency.
And Big Sejin’s words were even funnier. A waste.

‘He’s saying words that aren’t in his heart.’

Since his goal seemed to be debuting as quickly as possible, such a sensible guy wouldn’t go to LeTi.
However, Big Sejin checked that there was no microphone and the camera wasn’t running, and muttered quietly.

“Ah~ Should I have switched? It’s a bit of a waste.”

“…….”

He seems to have thought about it more than I expected?
Since his existing agency was not trustworthy at all, it seemed like words that flowed out naturally.
In fact, it is also a rare opportunity. Because switching to a better agency without completing the contract period is actually impossible due to the industry environment.
Transferring the affiliation of the trainees who make the final debut in was actually no different from the tyranny of a giant broadcaster.
In vulgar terms, a gangster act.

The agencies were in a position of having no choice but to accept it, but since they were trainees who had already been shown on the broadcast, they seemed to think of it as recycling them.

‘It plays the role of a lubricant for the relationship with the broadcasting station.’

But because this season was doing so well, there seemed to be subtle pressure.
The pressure that they wanted them to drop out voluntarily and remain in the agency.
I recalled the words I heard in passing from Big Sejin during the filming break.

-Oh, I’m hearing those words lately. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to debut together with the younger brothers you’ve practiced with so far?’… People are really interesting, right?

They weren’t even tempting him with some benefits, so there was no way he would feel like it.

“It’s a joke. I have to go for debut here~”

Big Sejin laughed and played it off, but it was clear that he had really considered it, not just as a joke.

‘Surprisingly, there were many guys in the upper ranks who wavered.’

I shrugged. Wasn’t there anyone who wanted to leave and reduce the competition rate a bit?
But unfortunately, such a thing did not happen.
The only one who escaped was one person from the lower ranks.

“Participant Choi Wongil responded to the Casting Call of agency Traveler, and will leave from today.”

I was impressed.

‘He chose the timing well.’

He must have seen the public opinion of this episode and cut it off quickly.
Because he was young, he seemed unable to control his emotions, but since he seemed to use his head a bit, he probably didn’t leave while grinning.

“O-Our agency?”

I heard Gold 1 muttering in panic behind me.

‘Ah, that guy was from Traveler.’

I heard he had difficultly refused the proposal of T-Holic’s agency. It seemed he had some attachment to his original agency.

‘It seemed he also had the guts to keep trying.’

Anyway, with that, the event was concluded.
I was a bit bitter that I didn’t achieve my goal, but I secured screen time.

‘They wouldn’t cut the VTIC screen time.’

Since they wouldn’t waste the recruitment effort.
The production team took several cuts of the participants’ reactions to Choi Wongil’s departure and immediately went into preparation for the ranking announcement.
Thanks to that, the participants ended up enduring a tedious waiting time sitting exactly in the seats they sat in before the event started.
But this time, everyone seemed busy talking because the topic of conversation was so colorful.

“Heol, that agency?”

“Amazing.”

“Wow… what does Cheongryeo-nim look like in real life?”

Even the tension just before the ranking announcement had lowered in intensity.

“Phew~ The lineup was no joke. It’s understandable that many kids conflicted.”

Big Sejin whistled and named the agencies one by one. And after checking the surroundings slightly, he whispered with a strange smile.

“Hey, do you know that?”

“What.”

“My namesake hyung-nim sitting over there also conflicted a lot.”

He seemed to be pointing to Lee Sejin, the former child actor.

‘Come to think of it, he joined the latest.’

Lee Sejin arrived almost at the same time as the news of Choi Wongil’s departure.
Since I had no interest, I didn’t care, but hmm… honestly, I still don’t care much.
Big Sejin hadn’t seemed to have any good feelings toward Lee Sejin since a long time ago, but perhaps he had become comfortable with ‘Park Moondae’, as he started to let out his true feelings with a smile.

“He was originally from an actor’s agency. Did he really want to switch to being an idol?”

“It could be.”

If it seemed like he would be eliminated but he wanted to continue being an idol, it was worth considering switching.
Although it seemed hard to aim for the next team unless he debuted immediately because of his age.

‘He’ll take care of his own business.’

Realizing that I wasn’t very interested, Big Sejin shrugged his shoulders.

“Is that so.”

The spare time ended with that.
And, the filming of the full-scale ranking announcement began.

* * *

Around the time the participants prepared for the ranking announcement.
The celebrities from the agencies who had made a surprise appearance for the event had already left for other schedules.
It was the same for VTIC, who said their schedule was in minutes once they started activities.
The two people in the van looked into their own smartphones, and only opened their mouths when they were ordering lunch.

“Hyung, how was it?”

“I just worked.”

Cheongryeo answered calmly.

“Hyung saw three people too, was there any kid who stood out? The kids I met were okay.”

“Well.”