episode_0005

“All right, that’s the end of the day. Those who signed up for the club activities can go, and the rest of you, let’s head home quickly. I know it’s tough being in your final year, but hang in there, everyone!”

With the new homeroom teacher’s encouragement, the day ended, and I picked up my bag and left the classroom.

It had been a few days since I signed the exclusive contract with Hyungje Planning.

During that time, I had just been practicing singing and dancing roughly through YouTube.

“Oh, right, the CEO wanted to meet me today. Should I call him first?”

As I walked out of the classroom, I noticed that there were no other friends around me.

Well, that was to be expected… Maybe it was because of my cold demeanor that no one approached me.

I was also too busy with part-time jobs to have time to meet friends… And above all, it wasn’t easy to adapt to an all-girls’ school because I had been a boy in my past life.

There were some who approached me based on my appearance, but I brushed them off.

So, I walked out of the building alone and dialed the CEO’s number.

Ring ring-

“Hello.”

[Oh, yes.]

“Yes, CEO. You wanted to meet today, right. Where should I go?”

[You don’t need to come.]

“…Excuse me?”

[I’m already here.]

“…?”

As I wondered what he meant, I felt a commotion coming from the front gate.

“What… Who are those men…?”

“I’m scared…”

As the frightened high school girl’s voice echoed, I looked in the direction she was staring with disbelief.

“Oh, Hyungnim. She’s coming out.”

“Yerin, over here.”

Dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, Kang Hyungman and his men stood in front of the school gate, waving at me.

As Kang Hyungman shook my hand in greeting, the eyes of the surrounding high school girls turned towards me.

“It looks like they’re here to pick up that unnie…!”

“Wow, she’s so pretty… Who is that unnie?”

“Isn’t she Yerin sunbae from the third year? She’s famous! Students from the neighboring school even come to see her.”

“Wow, amazing.”

Whispers filled the air.

“But aren’t the people calling her gangsters?”

“I heard she’s the daughter of a gangster.”

“No wonder she seemed scary. She’s always expressionless and cold.”

Not knowing what else they might say, I hurriedly approached Kang Hyungman.

“…CEO, there’s no need for you to come all the way to the school…”

“Sorry, I don’t have much time.”

“No, thank you for coming.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

I sat in the back right seat, the CEO in the back left, and his men in the front seat.

“Hyungnim, we’re ready to go.”

“Okay.”

The luxurious sedan, which seemed out of place at the school, left the front gate, and soon Kang Hyungman spoke to me.

“Have you sorted out your part-time jobs?”

“Uh… Yes, everything went well.”

Although the CEOs seemed taken aback by my sudden decision to quit my part-time jobs, they let me go without any friction.

“By the way, I didn’t mention why I wanted to meet you today. We’re on our way to the broadcasting station.”

“…Excuse me?”

Upon hearing Kang Hyungman’s words, I couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Already going to the broadcasting station…? I heard that the first recording was still over a month away.

Seeing my expression, Kang Hyungman continued to explain.

“I heard it’s some kind of pre-recording. It’s just a simple interview, so you don’t need to be nervous.”

“Oh…”

Although Kang Hyungman said not to be nervous, the word ‘recording’ made my body stiffen.

“…”

Watching me silently, Kang Hyungman suddenly handed me something. It was a warm americano.

“Don’t worry too much. We’ll be by your side during the recording.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

With his words, I took a sip of Americano and felt a sense of relaxation wash over me.

Why do I feel this way? With that inexplicable sense of comfort, I arrived at the broadcasting station.

As I got out of the car and headed inside for the pre-shoot, I could feel people’s attention gradually turning towards us.

Two gangsters and a pretty girl, it was indeed an unusual combination.

Feeling the eyes of the people on us, the uneasiness that I had managed to suppress earlier started to resurface.

And as we entered the broadcasting station, it only intensified.

“Excuse me. The production team is waiting over there…”

“…Um, sir. Can I use the restroom for a moment?”

Whether it was due to the tension or the coffee I had in the car, I suddenly felt the urge to go to the restroom. I gestured towards it, and Kang Hyung-man nodded.

“Sure, I’ll go in first, so you can take your time.”

“Yes, I will.”

Seeing Kang Hyung-man enter first, I also headed towards the restroom.

I thought I could relax a bit here before going in.

“Ah, should I wash my face?”

There’s nothing like washing your face to relieve tension.

I approached the sink and turned on the water.

**

“Ah… I’m dead.”

Shin Ki-hyun, the main PD of ‘My Idol Academia,’ also known as ‘NAA,’ slumped back in his chair and asked the junior writer next to him, “I haven’t slept for a few days, it’s so exhausting… Where is the meeting today?”

“We’ve finished the major agencies. Today… it’s there, you know, there.”

“…There? Ah… there.”

The agency referred to as ‘there’ by the NAA production team was a place allocated reluctantly due to the sponsor’s influence – a newly established agency.

Just thinking about it brought a sense of discomfort to Shin PD’s mind.

How hard had the production team worked to successfully launch NAA?

Especially in selecting the cast, they had put in a lot of effort.

From the aces who would shine in the program to talented individuals with great potential, and even trainees who could be used as villains, they had carefully chosen each one.

And now they had to include someone with little information just because of the times.

Annoyed, Shin PD clicked his tongue and even asked the junior writer, “What was the name of that agency again? It seemed like a really tacky name.”

“That agency? Um… Oh, it was called Brothers Planning.”

“…Brothers Planning? Why does the name sound like that? It’s like something gangsters from the 90s would come up with.”

“Indeed, the naming sense feels off. What grade should we use for the interview questions, top, middle, or bottom?”

“Ask whatever you want, let’s go with bottom. Did you prepare the questions for Choe?”

The meticulous production team had divided the interview questions for the pre-shoot into top, middle, and bottom grades.

With complaints about the parachute and low expectations for the new agency, the NAA production team had already prepared the lower-grade questionnaire.

And as the promised time arrived…

Knock, knock.

“We’re from Brothers Planning.”

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened, and Shin PD, thinking it was neither a major agency nor a new one, tried to casually welcome them while seated.

But then…

“Nice to meet you.”

“…Huh? Oh, yes! Welcome, please come in.”

Seeing their faces as they entered, he automatically stood up.

With their massive build and black suits, one of them even had a shaved head and scars on his face.

‘What the… damn. Are they really gangsters?’

Their appearance truly resembled that of real gangsters.

Sigh.

No matter how much the production team boasted in the broadcasting station, every human has primal instincts.

The presence of the two gangsters from Brothers Planning seemed to chill the temperature in the meeting room.

“We are these kinds of people. Please take our business cards.”

“Ah… yes, of course.”

The business card felt rough and rigid, as if it had been buried in dirt.

With trembling hands, Shin PD received the business card and as he sat down, the staff from Hyungje Planning also took their seats.

In the cold atmosphere, Shin PD slowly read the business card.

“On one side is President Kang Hyeongman…, next to him is Director Han Sanggu…, hmm?”

And then…

“…But why did only two of you come? Today was supposed to be a trainee accompaniment day, wasn’t it?”

Realizing the fear that he had not yet noticed, Shin PD asked.

“Oh, the kid went to the bathroom for a moment. He’ll be back soon.”

“Oh… is that so.”

“Definitely, if I’m with these two, I’ll need to pee every 30 minutes.”

Understanding the situation of the trainee whose face he had not yet seen, Shin PD nodded his head as Kang Hyeongman looked at him and slowly opened his mouth.

“But before our kid comes in, there’s something I’d like to ask…”

“Oh, yes. Please go ahead.”

“Since our kid is new to this place, it seems like he’s very nervous… I would appreciate it if you could treat him gently and comfortably. Do you know what I mean?”

“Oh… yes. Y-yes, of course, we will do that.”

Although Kang Hyeongman spoke politely, Shin PD quickly nodded his head due to an inexplicable sense of intimidation.

If he didn’t nod his head, he felt like he would be thrown into a drum immediately.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Yes, haha. Of course… it’s our job to ensure the convenience of the cast…”

With that, Shin PD forced a smile on his face…

“……”

“……”

Once again, a cold silence filled the meeting room.

“Darn it… I wish someone would take these gangster guys out, whoever they are.”

The expectations for the trainee from Hyungje Planning had long since disappeared.

Shin PD didn’t care who it was, he just wanted this suffocating meeting to end quickly.

And then, it happened.

Creak-.

“Oh, sorry for being late.”

The door opened once again…

“……!”

“……!!”

This time, the shock that swept Shin PD and the other production staff was completely opposite to when the two gangsters from Hyungje Planning entered.

“Hello. I’m Ha Ye-rin from Hyungje Planning…”

“……”

A haughty and cold-faced beauty.

With a neat school uniform and somewhat arrogant gestures, and perhaps because of the gangsters on both sides, she gave off a vibe like a well-bred chaebol daughter.

In addition, there was a sense of innocence that seemed to be felt because of the drop of water flowing down her chin…

So beautiful… wait… water?

As Shin PD looked at Ha Ye-rin’s face, he noticed something strange and immediately asked.

“Um… Ye-rin, right? Did you wash your face before coming in here?”

“Yes? Oh… yes, I just washed my face in the restroom in front of here because I was nervous.”

Does that mean Ha Ye-rin’s face is bare right now?

‘Even without makeup, that face…?’

At that moment, a warning bell was ringing in Shin PD’s head. It was his sharp intuition built up over a decade as a PD.

As soon as he felt it, Shin PD subtly turned to his junior writer and whispered.

“Hey, change it to an interview look. No, do we have the best look?”

He was confident that the girl in front of him was the key to success, whether it was good or bad.