episode_0232

An entertainment building in Seoul.

A trainee was preparing to part ways with his agency.

Many people dream of becoming idols and sign contracts with companies… but many of them fail to achieve their dreams and part ways with their companies.

But this time, things were a little different.

“Okay, Hyejeong. It’s over. With this, your contract with Kidship Entertainment has ended.”

“Ah… Thank you for everything…”

Lee Hye-jeong’s agency, Kidship Entertainment, wanted to take Lee Hye-jeong with them until the end.

However, Lee Hye-jeong ultimately refused to extend her contract with Kidship Entertainment.

It wasn’t because Kidship Entertainment was bad.

Rather, the relationship between Lee Hye-jeong and Kidship Entertainment was quite long and strong.

But Kidship Entertainment had a fatal problem… .

“That’s too bad, Hyejeong. You could definitely be successful as a female singer.”

“… … .”

The point was that they weren’t raising idols.

The CEO of Kidship Entertainment wanted to develop Lee Hye-jeong into a female solo singer.

In fact, Lee Hye-jeong had a high chance of success as she was a talented contestant who had ranked 7th on the audition program K-Star when she was a high school student.

but….

“I’m sorry, sir. I guess I still want to be an idol.”

Lee Hye-jeong wanted to be an idol, not just a singer.

After confirming Lee Hye-jeong’s firm determination, Kidship Entertainment had no choice but to let her go.

“… Yes, Hyejeong. I pray that your path will be filled with only blessings from now on.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll contact you again.”

“Okay.”

In this way, Lee Hye-jeong and Kidship Entertainment had a sad but warm farewell.

“Hoo… .”

As she left the agency she had grown attached to and returned home, Lee Hye-jeong thought.

I really want to become an idol.

Lee Hye-jeong really wanted to become an idol and she was going to become one.

and….

[Could you come to the office building tomorrow morning for an audition? – Mr. Yerin’s CEO]

If I were to become an idol… there were people I definitely wanted to do it with.

**

The next morning.

“The office building is really nice for a startup… .”

Lee Hye-jeong, who came to audition for Brother Planning, opened her mouth for a moment when she saw the office building, which was much larger and cleaner than she had expected.

I was a little worried because it was a startup… .

Just looking at the building, it is much better than Kidship Entertainment, which has a long history in the entertainment industry.

And while she was surprised… .

“Sister!!!”

Two girls ran towards her, screaming.

“Guys!!!”

“Sister!! Nice to meet you!”

“How long has it been? You’ve gotten prettier in just a few weeks.”

It was Park Yu-jeong and Na Hanna.

Even after the Rookies disbanded, the members still kept in constant contact with each other.

Thanks to that, the three of them were able to share information about the auditions for Brother Planning scheduled for today… .

In order to make a surprise, we kept it a secret from Ha Ye-rin and gathered in front of the main gate of the Brothers Planning building.

After talking for a while, Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yu-jeong, and Na Hanna went inside.

“Oh, three of you came at the same time.”

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

Inside, Sang-gu, Ye-rin’s temporary manager whom they had met once before, was waiting for them.

“Let’s go, everyone is waiting.”

“Yep.”

The three people followed Sang-gu to the interview room.

Meanwhile, Lee Hye-jeong was actually a little nervous.

I came here without thinking because it was Yerin’s company… but what if the people at the company don’t like me?

Also… I don’t think that’s likely, but what if Yerin doesn’t like my sudden appearance?

“Brother, I brought you. Let’s go in.”

“Yeah.”

But the door opens… .

“Phew, you passed. You definitely passed.”

As soon as she saw the faces of the three people, Ha Ye-rin declared that she had passed unconditionally.

Seeing Yerin’s smiling face for the first time in a long time, Lee Hye-jeong felt like all the worries she had felt on the way here were melting away.

“Sister…! Guys…! Come on!”

“Yerin-ah.”

Prison.

How long has it been since I last saw your face?

Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yu-jeong, Na Hanna, and Ha Ye-rin hugged each other tightly as if they were a ball.

Lee Hye-jeong’s embrace was so warm.

‘good night….’

Lee Hye-jeong wanted to become an idol.

I wanted to be an idol with my eternal colleagues here.

**

Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yu-jeong, and Na Hanna, who came to audition, quickly signed contracts with Brothers Planning.

“Sister, guys.”

As I waited anxiously outside the conference room until the three people finished signing the contract, I could tell from the bright faces of the three people coming out of the room that the contract had gone well.

“Contract…, is it okay?”

“Yeah, the CEO is really cool.”

Park Yu-jeong and Na Hanna added to Lee Hye-jeong’s words.

“There are no toxic clauses or ambiguous clauses… Please put in the clauses we want right away… .”

“It was definitely different from my previous company.”

… previous company.

Yes, the three people in front of me all had companies they were affiliated with.

That’s why, even though I wanted to bring all the members of Rookies to Brothers Planning, I couldn’t easily make the suggestion.

But how did these three people end up in Brother Planning?

“Are you done with your previous companies? Why did you come to Brother Planning without telling me?”

So I asked them and they answered one by one.

“Ah… , my contract with the company has already expired.”

“Your sister’s company was Kidship Entertainment, right? It’s clearly a company that doesn’t do idols… .”

“Yeah, that’s right. So I was looking for a new company… , a few days ago, Mr. Kang, the CEO of Hyungjegi Planning, called me.”

As soon as Lee Hye-jeong finished speaking, Park Yu-jeong raised her hand brightly and spoke.

“My contract with Levi Entertainment has ended. I was thinking about renewing it, but I came right away after getting a call from Hyungje Planning. I want to debut again with my sisters!”

Even if you say that, it wouldn’t have been easy to part ways with a company you had grown attached to for so long.

Still, I was so grateful to Park Yu-jeong for choosing Brother Planning.

And finally, Na Hanna.

“I still had some time left on my contract, but my company said they have no plans to create a girl group for the next year.”

“Ah… .”

“But Mr. Kang from Brothers Planning said he would pay the deposit instead… . And I also wanted to do it with my sisters, so I came right away.”

“The CEO said he would pay the deposit on your behalf?”

“Decided to do so.”

When I asked in surprise at the unexpected news, Kang Hyung-man, who had just finished organizing the contract and came out of the conference room, answered on my behalf.

“I have been talking with Hannah Yang’s agency, Heist, since yesterday and they have agreed to deposit the severance pay within this week.”

“The amount must have been no joke… .”

Of course, to me, Na Hanna was a precious colleague who couldn’t be compared to that small deposit.

However, from Kang Hyung-man’s perspective, it would have been more efficient to find another trainee rather than paying the deposit to bring Na Hanna.

But why did Kang Hyung-man have to pay the deposit to bring Na Hanna?

Kang Hyung-man read my thoughts in his eyes and answered with a small smile.

“Even if you didn’t say anything, didn’t you miss the Rookies members?”

“… … .”

“Yerin wanted to find the members who fit you best.”

Is it all for my benefit?

“… Thank you, sir.”

When I bowed my head and expressed my gratitude, Kang Hyung-man clapped me on the shoulder, saying, “It’s not just me.”

“Of course, I also highly evaluated Hannah Yang’s abilities. I’ve seen how much you shine while watching the Rookies’ activities for the past year. I wanted to bring you all to our company.”

“Excuse me, sir.”

As soon as Kang Hyung-man finished speaking, the friendly Park Yu-jeong raised her hand and asked Kang Hyung-man.

“According to what the CEO said, did you offer recruitment to all of our rookie members?”

“… … !”

Come to think of it… .

There used to be six members in Rookies, but now there are only four, including me.

‘That means….’

“That’s right. I made a recruitment offer to all the rookie members. And you here are the only ones who accepted it.”

“Then the remaining two… .”

“There has been no contact yet.”

Yoo Seol and Seo Yu-jin.

Both of them have a deep affection for the Rookies, but that alone cannot determine their future.

The two people’s respective companies were JJ and SAV, the three major entertainment companies.

From both people’s perspectives, it would be a more advantageous choice to remain in their original company rather than going to Brother Planning.

‘It’s a selfish thought, but… I still want the two of them to come to the brother project.’

But this wasn’t something I could do as I pleased.

Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yu-jeong, and Na Hanna, along with me, had no choice but to wait for contact from the other two people.

**

A university hospital in Seoul.

“I think you can be discharged now.”

“… Really, sir?”

“Yes, of course you have to come for a checkup once every three months… , but your current physical condition is at a level where you can be judged as ‘completely recovered.’”

“… … !”

Completely cured.

When Yoo Seol heard those words, she lowered her head and shed tears.

“Thank you…, teacher. I really appreciate it.”

Yoo Seol’s mother, who seemed like she would leave her side at any moment, was able to return to a normal life that day.

As she was being discharged from the hospital room that had been like home, her mother wrapped her arms around Yoo Seol’s shoulders.

“… Seol-ah, you’ve really had a hard time. And… , I’m sorry, Mom.”

“… What are you sorry about?”

There was a time when I resented my mother.

Debut at JJ Entertainment, something that Yoo Seol had longed for since childhood.

Because Yoo Seol suddenly lost focus when her mother collapsed, she ended up failing to debut in JJ.

And Yoo Seol’s mother, who knew Yoo Seol’s circumstances better than anyone else, held her hand and said.

“… Our Seol. Mom is really okay now, so don’t worry about it and do what you want most.”

“What I want most… .”

What Yoo Seol wants most.

… there was one thing that came to mind.

Then, Yoo Seol organized her thoughts and turned on her cell phone.

[Brother Planning CEO Kang Hyeong-man]

[JJ Enter CEO Park]

At that moment, there were two messages on my phone.

Yoo Seol chose one of the numbers without hesitation and called it.

“Hello. Mr. Park. Yes, I will go to the office now.”

Today, Yoo Seol’s first destination was JJ Entertainment.