episode_0143

After that, the meeting ended with Director Jeong briefly explaining Rookies’ activity schedule to us.

It was a short meeting that took about an hour, but it was a good time to confirm that our Rookies were receiving a lot of attention and support from the company.

“Then, this concludes today’s meeting. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work~”

“The legal team’s meeting hasn’t ended yet, so you’re spending some time here in the conference room. We have a lot of work to do, so we’ll go first.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

After saying those words, Director Jeong was about to leave with the working team, but as if he suddenly realized something he had forgotten, he stopped and spoke to us.

“Ah, Rookies members. I forgot to tell you, but you need to set aside time tomorrow as well.”

“… Yes?”

As we tilted our heads, Director Jeong said to us while checking something on his cell phone.

“Rookies’ accommodation has been decided. I will now send the Rookies dorm address to each member, so you can come here by the designated time tomorrow.”

Tiring.

As soon as Director Jeong finished speaking, a new message arrived on my phone.

And what the message says… .

[ZZ Castle, XX-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.]

It was the name of a luxury apartment that everyone had heard of at least once in the so-called rich neighborhood.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Seeing this, our members froze for a moment… .

“Now, just a moment, Director Jeong!”

Park Yu-jeong, who was the first to come to her senses among us, caught Director Jeong as he was about to leave and asked.

“Woman, this ZZ Castle is our accommodation?!”

In response to Park Yu-jeong’s urgent question, Director Jeong tilted his head as if asking what the problem was and then answered.

“Okay, what’s the problem?”

“I… , the accommodation is so… , I think it’s good. I wonder if this is really our accommodation… .”

Park Yoo-jung still had an expression of disbelief.

Director Jeong responded with a grin.

“Yes, this is definitely Rookies’ dormitory, where you will be staying starting next week. Maybe you don’t like it… ?”

“Oh, no! I don’t like it! On the contrary, I like it so much that it feels like a burden… .”

“I am confident that Rookies can become an idol group worthy of this kind of treatment.”

“… … .”

When we fell into a group again at Director Jeong’s words, he waved his hand at us as if it were really the last time… .

“Then let’s go. See you next time. Ah, if you have any problems, please contact me. Okay then. ”

As if he was busy, he left the conference room with other working staff.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Our Rookies members looked at each other with blank expressions as they looked back at the staff members leaving and the addresses of apartments whose prices far exceeded billions of dollars.

“You all must be very shocked.”

Accordingly, I asked Han Si-woo, who had not left the conference room with the NAS Entertainment staff, but was still in the room.

“I… , Producer Han Si-woo.”

“Yes, Miss Yerin.”

“… Is it common for girl groups about to debut to be treated this way?”

“Hmm… , if you ask me if it’s common… .”

Han Si-woo rested his chin for a moment, closed his eyes as if thinking about something, and then opened his mouth.

“ZZ Castle is the place currently selected as the rookies’ lodging, right?”

“… Yes, that ZZ Castle in Gangnam.”

“I lived in a dormitory there around the 5th year of my group activities.”

For reference, the fifth year of Han Si-woo’s group activities was truly his peak.

The time when I was a top idol, ruling over Korea and making money with a rake.

“Is this kind of treatment common for new girl groups? Hehehe, absolutely not. This broke the industry’s highest ceiling a long time ago.”

“… … .”

“It seems that NAS has very high expectations for Rookies.”

Han Si-woo laughed as if he was happy, but we couldn’t just laugh.

It was nice to live in a luxury apartment in Gangnam that I thought I would never live in again, but… , because it came back as a burden to us.

**

In the car on the way home after saying goodbye to the members… .

bruise.

I looked out the window and made a blank expression.

Kang Hyeong-man asked after seeing me like that.

“Why are you doing this, Yerin? Did you encounter any problems at the meeting?”

“… No, there was no problem. On the contrary, the NAS entertainment side has done so well that I can’t even believe it. Boss, our rookies’ dormitory is Gangnam ZZ Castle.”

“Oh, I heard that too. It seemed like the NAS paid a lot of attention.”

“Of course, although we are receiving a lot of attention from the public right now… , Why is the NAS being so nice to us?”

“That’s right.”

It was a time when only Kang Hyung and I were shaking our heads at the excessive treatment from NAS Entertainment.

“Ah, if that’s the case, I know a little bit about the reason.”

“Yes… ?”

Suddenly, Attorney Lee Kim Jang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, joined our conversation with a bright smile.

“I heard about it because my friend works in YW’s legal department… Isn’t there a new girl group debuting on YW this time? The friends’ accommodation is also ZZ Castle.”

“… Yes?”

I couldn’t help but be taken aback when the story of YW’s new girl group suddenly came up again.

Attorney Lee Kim Jang continued speaking as if it was amusing.

“Maybe it’s a battle of pride? Looking at the atmosphere earlier, it seemed like NAS was very conscious of YW.”

“Ah, I felt that too.”

Even Kang Hyeong-man said this… .

‘Of course, Director Jeong directly mentioned YW’s new girl group in the meeting earlier… , Why did they hire Han Si-woo, who is from YW, as their producer…? .’

Even from what I could see, I could see NAS Enter keeping YW in check.

This made me even more skeptical.

“But why… ? It’s not like NAS Entertainment and YW have a bad relationship. But why on earth… ?”

“large. Oh, that’s right.”

It seemed that Attorney Lee Kim Jang had a bit of an explanation-oriented temperament.

He cleared his throat, cleared his voice, and began to explain.

“Before the story, Ms. Yerin. Actually, I have a bit of a foothold in the entertainment industry. I became a lawyer because I wanted to become an idol.”

“… … Yes?”

I wondered what this meant, so I turned to Kang Hyeong-man and he nodded.

“That’s right. Even though this lawyer is a weirdo, he is still sane, so don’t worry too much.”

“Ah… , yes.”

“Anyway, my connections are extensive in YW as well. Officials there said… , the talent of the new girl group debuting at YW this time is truly incredible.”

Attorney Lee Kim Jang raised his voice as if he was excited and continued speaking.

“Skill is skill, appearance is appearance. They say that there is nothing that is too difficult. Maybe that’s why they say they have high expectations even within YW.”

“Ah… .”

surely… , If you look at the videos posted on YouTube at that time, your skills were amazing.

‘I couldn’t see it clearly because he was wearing a hat, but he looked decent.’

When I nodded, Attorney Lee Kim Jang also nodded and said.

“When YW, not another company, made such a fuss, NAS also became nervous when they heard the rumor. Naaah, the viewership ratings must have been huge. I’m trying to properly dip my toe into the idol business starting with Rookies, but I don’t want Rookies to be overshadowed by YW’s new girl group.”

“Ah… .”

So, does that mean that the reason why NAS Entertainment is giving us so much support that we don’t deserve is because they are conscious of YW’s new girl group?

Just how good are your skills? ?

At the same time, I am deeply curious about this… .

‘uh? But wait… .’

One question occurred to me.

Was there a YW new girl group around this time in my past life? ?

Of course, in my past life, I wasn’t very interested in idols.

but… .

Just as I knew Yu Seol in my past life, if YW’s new girl group left a great mark on the entertainment industry, it would definitely remain in my memory… .

‘I don’t remember… .’

No matter how hard I tried to remember, the existence of YW’s new girl group never came to mind.

“Actually, I’m looking forward to it a lot. YW will be successful just by releasing a girl group. This time, I am receiving rave reviews from people even before my debut… Wow, just how good is it… .”

“Attorney Lee. too much. You need to think about where you belong now.”

“Ah… ! Oh, of course I support Rookies.”

Kang Hyeong-man quieted the noisy lawyer Kim Jang Lee in the passenger seat, patted my shoulder and said,

“Yerin, don’t worry too much. I also saw all of your Rookies members perform on stage. If you just focus on your own work without worrying about others, you will quickly reach the top.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what Kang Hyeong-man said.

‘… Yes, if you worry about others and compare yourself to others, you get tired.’

Judging by the details of the meeting with Director Jeong earlier, it seemed like NAS wanted to make our Rookies’ debut happen as quickly as possible.

Even if we focus on uniting our rookies and improving their skills, it will not be enough.

There was no need to worry about others, being rivals, competitions, etc.

After thinking like that, I opened my eyes again and looked only at Kanghyung and said.

“Yes, boss. Rather than worrying about others, I will focus on working hard as a rookie.”

“I’m still working hard enough. Good luck in the future.”

“Thank you.”

but… .

‘It’s even weirder when I think about it… .’

No matter how hard I tried to focus on us and forget about YW’s new girl group, the doubts in my head did not go away easily.

So, I headed home without being able to erase the feeling of discomfort I felt towards them in my heart.

**

Meanwhile, at the YW office building at that time.

“Well, good job everyone. Let’s take a break!”

The Python members, who had been dancing together for more than several hours, finally sat down after hearing producer Sua’s words.

“Ha… , ha… Oh my… .”

Kanna, the only Japanese member of Python, suddenly lay down on the floor with her entire body soaked in sweat.

Then, producer Suah took advantage of the opportunity to leave the practice room for a moment to mumble.

“Chik show… ! How many years have they been making us practice repeatedly? ! We are already perfect… !”

Kanna never overestimated Python’s skills.

Python already had the skills to surpass most active idols, but… .

Because of Python’s producer Sua’s perfectionist tendencies, they were building even more expertise on their already perfect skills.

Kanna, who was very dissatisfied with this, turned to Python’s leader to ask for agreement with his opinion.

“Leader-chan, don’t you think so too? Why do we have to rot in the practice room with this skill… , hmm? Leader, what are you looking at?”

“… … .”

Python’s leader was watching a video on his smartphone in that short period of time.

That’s it… , it was Naaa’s final contest video.

“Ah… , I was watching this. These guys are definitely good at it. Well, it won’t work for us, but… .”

“… It’s strange.”

“Hmm? What?”

The leader of the Pythons spoke with an emotion in his eyes that he could not dare to describe.

“… Why did someone else win instead of Yu Seol?”

“… to? Leader Sang, were you a fan of Yu Seol-jjang?”

“… That’s not necessarily true, but the winner is supposed to be Yoo Seol.”

“… … ?”

Kanna tilted her head at the leader’s words.

Although Python’s leader had outstanding skills and good looks, he sometimes had this quirky side.

In response, Kanna thought that the leader was like this again and shifted her gaze towards Ha Ye-rin in the video.

“I like Yerin-chan better… . It’s cute.”

“… cute? This kid doesn’t look cute.”

“It’s a face that makes me want to cry.”

“… … .”

If Python’s leader had a quirky side, Kanna had a temperamental side.

“Hehe… Don’t you wonder how pretty this proud face would look when she sheds tears with an expression that makes the whole world fall apart? Just imagine… , haha… .”

“… I’m not interested in such perverted tastes.”

Even as he said that, Python’s leader did not take his eyes off Ha Ye-rin in the video.

‘What is the identity of this child who suddenly appears?’

Her eyes became deeper as she looked at Ha Ye-rin.