Chapter 18

Character Evaluation (2)

As Representative Son Jung-gi was about to move on to the next item, the future manager stopped him.

"Trainee Kim Ji-on, I heard, lives alone, separated from her parents. I'm worried she might feel lonely or get homesick."

"Manager, you have a delicate touch, but there's no need to worry. Trainee Kim Ji-on couldn't relate to that at all."

The team leader's comment made the manager look puzzled. Did it mean she lacked empathy? It was a statement that could easily be misunderstood.

"Really?"

"I asked her if she felt lonely living alone. She said, 'I'm independent, why would I feel lonely?' Instead, she couldn't understand why I was asking such a question. It must be a cultural difference."

Perhaps because she grew up in a country with a strong individualistic culture?

"That's not the only factor, but personal differences play a bigger role. My American friend gets very homesick."

"Oh, I see."

The manager finally accepted it as a personal trait, thanks to the employee's comment.

"We need to be careful about the differences in thought processes we don't understand. We should also educate them about the sensitive points that people in our country care about. Things can go wrong in an instant."

The room fell silent at the head of planning's remark. This was due to a recent incident where an idol member, not from Hanul Entertainment, wrote a supportive post about a foreign country on social media and faced severe backlash.

The meeting continued as several trainees' turns passed.

If more in-depth information was needed, they would have to gather it and synthesize all the information to make a judgment. To do this, they needed to finish the meeting today to fit the schedule.

"Let's talk about the trainee."

"Her singing and dancing are above average, and her appearance is attractive. There's no denying that. She's a strong candidate, I know. But from my experience, she has a short temper and can't control her anger. Our training is intense, and she gets scolded a lot, which makes her angry. But she shouldn't yell and storm out."

"Wow, really?"

"I was hesitant about whether to include this in the report, but I think it's right to tell you. She did apologize and come back, but this has happened three times already."

"…It seems the pressure of image management and the rumors about our character evaluations got to her."

"Exactly."

Representative Son Jung-gi frowned, foreseeing the future. If more trainees focused on image management, it would become harder to select those with good character through various evaluations.

"It's going to be harder from now on. More trainees will act. We can only judge based on what's visible, right? What if we can't tell?"

"If no one noticed, it means they are thorough enough to act even in daily life. At that level, we have no way to filter them out. But, Representative, in my personal opinion, there's no need to worry. Those who are so thorough won't be exposed even after debut."

"…That's true. No need to worry then."

Living a life of constant acting wouldn't be easy, but if someone was that thorough, the chances of being exposed were almost zero.

Being an entertainer is a job based on image. As long as the image is maintained, and nothing shows on the surface, there's nothing to criticize. In fact, it might even be considered impressive.

"…I checked the attendance records. This trainee is always a little late and leaves immediately after regular class hours. She came back after the debut evaluation was set, but we need to look at her usual records."

"She doesn't show any passion or diligence. It seems like she's given up."

"Maybe the difficulty of becoming an idol made her lose her resolve. It's scary to give up, but…"

"If she can't handle this, she won't be able to handle the aftermath of debut."

Some trainees were also receiving harsh criticism. The evaluations were so sharp that it was almost a relief that the trainees weren't there to hear them. The papers with the personal details of several trainees were passed around.

"Let's move on to the next one. Trainee Hong Oh-ran."

"Trainee Hong Oh-ran has no weaknesses in terms of skills. Plus, she's hardworking, so I think she can grow even more."

"Is this the trainee who renewed her contract after her initial one ended?"

"Yes. She had a nose job. The doctor did a great job."

"Is it okay for a young person to have plastic surgery?"

"If the doctor said it was okay, we should trust that."

Decisions about plastic surgery were left to the individual. Recommendations could be made after forming a debut group, but not before.

Trainees could get permission to have plastic surgery during their training, but it would mean missing several weeks of classes, affecting their training.

However, Hong Oh-ran used the end of her contract period strategically.

"I understand. Personally, I felt she has a strong professional mindset. I'm not sure if others felt the same, but she seems to have a clear distinction between her personal life and work."

"Really? I thought she had a warm personality."

"That's her business persona."

"Huh?"

"I noticed the difference in how she treats her friends and me, so I thought it was image management. But she openly showed this side. So, I asked her directly. Do you know what she said?"

The employees listened intently to the vocal trainer, and the representative, who had no idea about this, was also paying attention.

"She said she considers being a trainee a job and is living a social life. She receives investment instead of a salary, so she works for it, and we are her superiors, so she tries to be polite. She treats trainees as family after debut, so she acts naturally."

"Wow…"

"Among all the trainees, Hong Oh-ran is the one with the biggest difference between on and off stage. Because of her business mindset, she does whatever she's told, whether it works or not. She tries to do her best in the moment, even if she might crash later."

Some employees were surprised that they hadn't known her true personality for three years.

"Hong Oh-ran's true personality is cold, but she is well-suited for variety shows. She speaks with good sense and is very proactive. I learned this after asking her to treat me like a friend. I tried to avoid being too close, but I failed…"

"Ah, now I understand. No wonder the employees and trainees had completely different evaluations of her personality."

The representative, Son Jung-gi, finally understood the meaning of the character evaluation report.

Since character is a sensitive issue, evaluations had to be done anonymously.

But if someone used the anonymity to their advantage? If one person gave a completely different opinion? It would be suspicious. Evaluators are human, so personal feelings and errors could influence the results.

Despite being described as cynical, most of the evaluations of other trainees mentioned warm or tsundere personalities, with no issues in the character section.

"What about Trainee Nam Chorok?"

"Chorok is very sociable. She has great interpersonal skills and a warm personality. If I had to rank them by character, she would be number one."

"You don't know? Ah…, sorry, cancel! Pretend you didn't hear that. I'm not used to these situations…"

"What? There's no such thing. Team Leader!"

"Team Leader of Management. Please finish your statement."

The representative stopped the team leader from trying to dodge the question.

Leaving one person out in such a setting would ruin the atmosphere, and leaving a statement unfinished is something Koreans can't stand.

"Representative…"

"Go on."

"I have no choice… Her sociability and warmth are undeniable. But what if it's a strategy? Nam Chorok is more perceptive and resourceful than you might think."

"What's your evidence?"

"Remember the trainee who was let go for causing trouble? Everyone knows, right?"

It was about a Hanul Entertainment trainee who secretly dated a female student from the same school, got her pregnant, and left the training program before it was discovered.

The company only found out about it later through rumors. The story was so shocking that it was unforgettable. The representative looked at the team leader, who brought up this absurd incident.

"The person who handled it behind the scenes was Nam Chorok."

"…What? How did she do it?"

"Relationships usually show, but no one knew who she was dating. Nam Chorok, with her wide network, somehow found out. She heard about the pregnancy later. The boy acted as if nothing was wrong, very calmly. He probably didn't intend to take responsibility. Nam Chorok told him to quit, saying she didn't want to be a trainee with someone like him."

"Wow…"

"Indeed. I should be grateful to Nam Chorok as a representative."

If the girl was a regular student, the company would have had no way of finding out.

If they hadn't filtered out the irresponsible scumbag who got a girl pregnant… The thought was terrifying. Son Jung-gi shuddered.

Even if the trainee had stayed until the end of the contract, it would have been a loss. If the pregnancy had been discovered and he had been kicked out, it would have been a huge scandal.

"I heard the trainee was close to Nam Chorok, but that wasn't the case, right?"

"Nam Chorok has a wide but shallow network. She doesn't have many close friends. Even if the trainee was a close friend, she would have kicked him out, wouldn't she?"

"Shocking. I didn't have a good eye for people. But it's a relief it wasn't for the worse."

An employee muttered, looking as if they had been hit hard.

"Usually, it's hard to know. The troublemaker came to me, feeling wronged, and I found out unintentionally. He said Nam Chorok had threatened him to leave and that he wanted to come back, ignoring his own faults."

"Wow, what a shameless guy."

"But the contract was already terminated, so there was no going back. I told him it was impossible. At that time, I didn't know about the pregnancy, so I couldn't ignore his claims. I just observed Nam Chorok closely. After the truth came out, I pieced together the context and heard from other trainees. That's when I understood why Nam Chorok did what she did."

"…We're in the middle of a debut group evaluation, but why is this so interesting?"

Everyone was wide awake, their eyes sparkling. They were in a meeting about the company's future, but that wasn't the only reason.

Since it was a setting where they could share behind-the-scenes stories, it was inevitable. Son Jung-gi only wished they would avoid gossip in other settings.

"It's a relief that the scumbag who pretended to be unaware of the pregnancy was exposed. If he had gotten away with it, Nam Chorok would have been in trouble."

"Do you know where the rumor started?"

"Impossible!"

"I'll stop here."

"…!"

Typically, a trainee's misconduct would be reported to the company, which would handle the situation. But Nam Chorok didn't do that. If she had just reported it, the company would have terminated the contract and moved on, as there was no benefit in making a fuss.

Nam Chorok's actions minimized the company's damage while socially burying the scumbag.

"Then why are there so many things not included in the report? For Hong Oh-ran, it might be ambiguous, but for Nam Chorok, it should have been reported, especially since the company was involved."

"I apologize, Representative. Nam Chorok didn't want it to be known, and I judged that reporting it wouldn't change the evaluation."

"No. Please share all the information, no matter how minor. I will make the final decision. I'm glad I heard from the Management Team Leader. Now I know who would be the best leader."

"If Chorok is the leader, there's nothing to worry about."

The Hanul Entertainment employees nodded in agreement, still looking shocked by the new truths they had learned.

"Her dancing is almost professional, and she can even choreograph. I wanted to emphasize her good voice, but her personality alone makes me want to include her in the debut group."

"…Is there anything else?"

"No."

The employees answered in unison.

"This is the last one. Let's talk about Trainee Ham I-won."