episode_0022

It was the worst.

With the change from 4 members to 5, both the singing parts and choreography had to be drastically modified. While cases of latecomers were not unheard of, in such cases, they were given fewer parts. Considering practice time, this was a natural distribution, but Eunji’s part was as substantial as Sia’s.

While Sia was practicing adapting to her modified part, she was also overseeing Eunji’s practice.

However…

As expected, Eunji’s skills were average, but fortunately, she had a decent foundation. It seemed like she had been practicing for at least six months.

But there was a bigger issue.

“Eunji, it’s not time to rest yet, get up.”

“Ah, I’m so tired, let me rest a bit.”

Despite trying to persuade Eunji, who was practically slumped over, she remained stubborn.

This wasn’t the first time.

Most of the time, she would rest or call it quits based on her own condition during practice. Even during practice, she often showed a lack of enthusiasm or passion. Initially, Sia would overlook it, offer words of encouragement, and move on, but unable to bear it any longer, Sia exploded in front of the other members, shouting at Eunji.

“Hey! Are you kidding me? If you came in late, shouldn’t you work even harder to make up for it?! You may not be able to do it perfectly right away, but you should at least practice properly if you have a conscience!!”

Annoyed by Eunji’s lackluster attitude, Sia retorted, undeterred.

“Ah, I’m so tired I can’t move, what am I supposed to do then! Are you trying to act all high and mighty just because you came in first? Look, the other unnies aren’t saying anything! Why are you the only one making a fuss?!”

Seeing the other members standing nearby, Jieun continued.

“Unnies, do you see her making a fuss right now? Or do you all agree with her?”

Shocked by Eunji’s audacity, Sia decided to push even harder, thinking it was time to correct her behavior.

“Hey, why are you dragging the unnies into this? They’re being nice and not saying anything, I’m speaking as the leader. Is it reasonable to rest just because you found practicing difficult? What if we make a mistake on stage or can’t debut because of you?!”

“What makes you so special? Debut? What’s so great about debuting? If we can’t debut, it’ll be because of you, right?”

Slap-

Unable to bear Eunji’s unreasonable accusations, Sia finally slapped her across the face. Eunji’s face turned red not from the pain, but from the shame of being slapped in front of others.

“You, just wait, I won’t let this go.”

After glaring at Sia, Eunji left the practice room, leaving behind a worried and surprised group of members who had never seen Sia lose her temper before.

“S…Sia, are you okay?”

“Yes, unnies. I’m a bit worked up… but I’m fine.”

The member who spoke approached Sia cautiously, sounding concerned.

“Eunji… she’s the CEO’s niece.”

“…What?!”

“You didn’t know, did you? I happened to overhear the CEO talking to the other teachers yesterday, saying she has bad habits.”

Finally, it all made sense.

Initially, it seemed like a plausible reason, but as time went on, the debut was delayed for no apparent reason.

If they really needed members, they would have held auditions, but Sia hadn’t heard anything about auditions being held.

The parachute they had only heard about had finally landed in front of them.

Sia went to the CEO’s office, knocked, and entered.

“Hello…”

In Sia’s greeting, Eunji was visible. She was still glaring at Sia, but there was a smile on her face.

“…Yes, CEO.”

“Right, sit here, Sia.”

The CEO was seated on the sofa, with Eunji on the right, and she gestured for Sia to sit on the left, opposite them.

“Yes, thank you, CEO.”

The CEO, whom she had known and respected for years, was a person who valued etiquette and was a person of considerable status. In many ways, she was someone Sia admired and trusted.

“I was going to call you anyway, Sia. I heard from Eunji. She said that you… abused your position as a leader, ignored her because she didn’t know how to do things properly, and even slapped her in the face…”

…?!

“Boss, no! I did hit her out of anger, but… the reason was because Eunji did it first. She had a bad attitude during practice, and I had every right to point it out.”

The boss looked at Eunji after hearing Sia’s explanation. His eyes were asking for clarification.

Unlike before, Eunji responded with a calm expression.

“I was already doing my best… but my stamina couldn’t keep up, and it was tough for me too… I felt sorry for the other members and apologized, but she hit me while labeling me as someone who doesn’t take practice seriously.”

Sia was speechless, taken aback by Eunji’s words.

“So, even if she misunderstood stamina issues as a bad attitude during practice… hitting me was still wrong, wasn’t it, Sia? Since Eunji is an essential member of the group, focus more on stamina training. Sia… apologize to Eunji and let’s move on.”

“Apologize to her?!”

While hitting may have been wrong, the cause was clearly provided by the girl in front of her. She didn’t seem tired at all and didn’t even apologize to the members.

“I can’t. I didn’t do anything wrong. Just ask the other girls!”

The boss was undoubtedly siding with Eunji’s niece. He couldn’t bow his head to such absurdity.

After sighing, the boss spoke up.

“Then bring in the other girls.”

The situation escalated more than expected, but seeing the members gathered in his office, the boss thought that if he didn’t address Eunji now, she would continue to cause trouble in the future.

“Didn’t you all agree to be here? Let’s hear what you have to say.”

Exchanging glances, the members hesitated to speak up.

“Is it because the parties involved are present? Eunji, Sia, leave.”

After the two left, the boss asked for the opinions of the remaining members.

“I…”

The most experienced member was the first to speak up. She couldn’t shake off Eunji’s words about being able to debut as they pleased.

The members who left the boss’s office brought Eunji and Sia back in before returning to the practice room.

“Sia, as you wanted, I confirmed with the other members. It seems your mistake is true.”

Sia’s eyes widened, and her body and voice trembled.

“T-that can’t be…”

It was a betrayal from the sisters she trusted.

“If you don’t formally apologize to Eunji… despite all the hard work and dedication you’ve put in as the group’s leader, we can’t continue with a member who disrupts the atmosphere.”

Upon hearing the boss’s final warning, Eunji looked at Sia with a smirk, and Sia, in turn, glared back and replied.

“I…”

Taking a deep breath to steady her trembling heart, Sia spoke up.

“I can’t accept this immoral situation. I don’t think the group will succeed if we debut like this. I’d rather quit than be with a member who causes chaos. Thank you for everything.”

After uttering those harsh words and bowing 90 degrees, Sia left the boss’s office without saying goodbye to the other members and headed straight home.

For a while, she submitted demos to other agencies and auditioned, but no one was willing to accept her. Due to the nature of the industry, it was soon revealed why Sia had quit, and regardless of the truth, no one wanted to take in someone who had caused a disturbance.

She had a slight moment of regret.

“If only I had swallowed my pride once…”

But she quickly regained her composure. Sia despised people who sought to gain without effort.

“Now what?”

She had already given up on studying and enrolled in a vocational school for the entertainment industry. It wouldn’t be long before she reached the age limit for trainees. Finding an agency that would accept her within that time frame was almost impossible.

At that moment, without thinking, I glanced at an internet broadcast.

“This is it!”

There were numerous internet broadcast platforms, ranging from well-known ones to lesser-known ones. Among them, what caught Sia’s attention was the overseas platform called ‘Chatter’.

Chatter, a platform that meant online conversations, had users on a global scale due to its overseas nature, rapidly growing in Korea to surpass existing platforms and becoming the most-watched platform.

The age range for broadcasting was flexible, and there were no restrictions on content, allowing for 19+ broadcasts where stripping or self-pleasure was possible.

Of course, the broadcast Sia had in mind was not a 19+ broadcast. Leveraging her experiences, she was confident in music, dance, and communication broadcasts. It was a hobby she pursued during her time at a special education school, accumulating experience, with plans to start in earnest after graduation.

Like other students who focused on their studies at school, Sia quietly went about her business. Of course, it wasn’t because she was studying, but rather because she was researching broadcast content.

Sia was far removed from fights. Implicitly avoiding troublemakers, she was someone who had entered the world of troublemakers on her own.

The reason Sia became close with Yeji was truly due to a coincidental event.