Chapter 8: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

“What? Why suddenly?”

I need to answer this well.

I shouldn’t say something presumptuous like, “I will select the outstanding talents among the trainees!”

It was important to participate as naturally as possible.

“I just want to watch Dad work. Is that not okay?”

“Ha ha. Is that so? You’re not here to look at the pretty sisters?”

“Well, that’s a side benefit?”

Then Yuna slapped my back.

“Wow. Look at you, being so sly. You came here for this, didn’t you?”

“It’s not like that... I came to see Dad working hard.”

“Hmm. I don’t think so. Dad, it’s not going to work. I’m taking him home.”

Yuna, it’s not like that.

Of course, I was curious about how pretty the people would be.

Father soon burst into laughter.

“Look, Yuna. Our Yunsung is growing up. It’s natural for him to be attracted to pretty sisters.”

I quickly waved my hands to avoid further misunderstanding.

“No, Mom is beautiful, and Yuna is incredibly pretty. Where would I look elsewhere?”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Perhaps she was pleased by the compliment. Yuna’s frowning face relaxed.

“Well, if you say so... Then shall we go watch together?”

“This is unexpected. How did it come to this? Alright. They’re practicing in the basement right now. Let’s all go. We should go for Yunsung’s sake.”

I might have caused some misunderstanding, but in the end, it turned out well.

I followed Father and Yuna down to the basement.

“Here we are.”

A spacious practice room.

Fifteen trainees were dancing to the music.

“Oh? Boss, you’re here?”

“Yeah. PD Kim Jun-yong, these are my kids. You know them, right?”

“Oh, of course. Hi. You’re always a work of art. How do you manage to find such beautiful trainees?”

“Haha. It’s all because I’m handsome.”

“...Ah, yes. That’s true.”

This guy must find social life challenging.

To be honest, Jung Yuna and Jung Yunsung clearly inherited all their mother’s genes.

“But it’s been a while, Yunsung?”

“Yes. Hello, PD.”

“Haha. What’s this? Building a wall because it’s been a while? Last time, you called me hyung (brother).”

It seems PD Kim and Jung Yunsung had some rapport.

“Yes, hyung.”

After exchanging a light greeting, we looked around the practice room.

“So, have you decided on anyone?”

PD Kim shook his head at Father’s question.

“No, I haven’t decided yet. But I have a good idea of who might fit.”

“Right. It’s not something to rush.”

At that moment, I saw an aura emanating from PD Kim Jun-yong.

His aura was blue.

The texture was good, and the size of the aura was impressive.

This level of aura suggests he’s quite skilled.

He looks to be in his late twenties, so he must have built up his skills well.

‘What about Father?’

I turned my gaze to Father.

But no aura was coming from him at all.

It seems selecting and training trainees isn’t Father’s forte.

‘Then...’

I approached PD Kim Jun-yong and spoke cautiously.

“Hey, Hyung Jun-yong.”

“Hm? What is it, Yunsung?”

“There’s something on your shoulder. I’ll brush it off for you.”

“Oh, thanks. How did it get there?”

While pretending to brush off his shoulder, I absorbed his aura.

Suddenly, a flood of musical knowledge poured into my head, making my head spin for a moment.

“Brother Yunsung, are you okay?”

Yuna grabbed me, looking worried.

I patted her head and replied.

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

You just watch from behind.

I’ll make sure you don’t have to suffer.

‘Definitely, the size of each person’s aura is different.’

Out of the 15 trainees, 10 were emitting auras.

There was a noticeable difference in the size of their auras.

Judging by the size alone, these 5 have the largest auras.

But among them,

‘This person has the largest aura.’

It was an aura that seemed capable of devouring all the other trainees.

Not only was it large, but the aura’s fiery momentum was extraordinary.

“What’s this person’s name?”

“Hm?”

“The one at the far left.”

“Oh, you mean Sujin. Baek Sujin.”

Baek Sujin.

I remembered that name.

She was the trainee with the largest aura.

‘I can’t rush to conclude that she’s the best.’

They were practicing choreography to the music.

In other words, this aura was emitted while dancing.

Just from this, I can’t determine if she’s the best among them.

“Really, I can’t tell just by looking. They all seem to be doing well. Yuna, what about you?”

“Hmm. I also think they all do well, so it’s hard to say who’s better.”

Then Father asked me.

“Yunsung, what about you?”

“I think Baek Sujin is the best. And the person in the center, the one at the far right, the third from the left, and the second from the right are also good.”

PD Kim Jun-yong was impressed.

“Oh, Yunsung, you think the same as me.”

“Really? The same as PD Kim?”

“Yes. It’s surprising. Does Yunsung have a good eye?”

This hyung (brother) and I had the same thoughts.

I was only looking at the auras, but a professional who has observed them for a long time must have a different perspective.

“Boss, are Yunsung and Yuna going back now?”

“Hm? No, I brought them because they wanted to watch me work.”

“Wow. Can we let them watch a bit more?”

“Sure, why not. I don’t want to interfere with PD Kim.”

“Ah, no. It seems Yunsung has a good eye like the boss. Haha.”

This hyung is really good at socializing.

“Yunsung, I’ll have the trainees practice in groups of five. Do you want to watch and choose which combination is better?”

“Ah, yes.”

“PD Kim, it seems Yunsung is to your liking. Yunsung, PD Kim is very skilled. I paid a lot to bring him in.”

PD Kim scratched his head.

“Haha. I need to earn my keep.”

He stood up and approached the trainees.

“Everyone, pay attention.”

Father also followed, and Yuna and I followed behind.

“Oh, Boss.”

“Hello.”

“Good. Everyone is working hard. I want to treat you to something delicious, but I can’t because of your figure management. Sorry.”

“No, but...”

Their gazes all turned to Yuna and me.

“Who are these two...”

New trainees?

They looked at me with friendly eyes,

and at Yuna with wary eyes.

“Oh, they’re my son and daughter. You haven’t met them before.”

“Wow, the boss’s children?”

They alternated their gazes between Father and us, looking incredulous.

“We thought you were celebrities.”

“You’re really beautiful and handsome.”

“Thank you. You sisters are also very beautiful.”

“Kyaa, your voice is so pretty.”

Fortunately, the atmosphere seemed good.

“Alright, that’s enough for introductions. These two are just here to watch with the boss. Now, we’ll form groups of five and practice. Only the called groups will come forward and show what they’ve practiced. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded enthusiastically to PD Kim’s words.

This was essentially an audition in front of the company boss.

They knew it too.

“Alright, let’s start with...”

PD Kim called out the first group.

“Treat it like a real stage. Don’t forget to perform the choreography while singing.”

“Yes.”

The first song began.

In Team A, two people had no aura.

But something surprising happened.

‘The aura is appearing?’

Trainee Jeon Hyo-young, who clearly had no aura during practice, started emitting a fierce aura as soon as the music began and she started dancing with her teammates.

No, to be precise, it seemed she was absorbing the auras from her teammates.

Was that why?

Despite not being in the center, she stood out the most.

Her dancing skills seemed to have improved, and her synergy with the team was good.

‘Is this synergy?’

The synergy created by different auras meeting.

This was a fresh and exciting sight.

And from this, I realized.

‘Being good alone isn’t enough.’

Just like in football, no matter how good an individual’s stats are, if the synergy and strategy among teammates don’t align, they’re useless.

A girl group is ultimately a team game.

How one adapts to the team and showcases their talent is crucial.

“Alright, the next team!”

Team A went back, and Team B came up next.

They also performed a smooth stage with decent synergy.

Because I absorbed PD Kim’s aura, I was looking from a producer’s perspective, not just judging by the aura.

Who had outstanding skills,

who showed potential,

and who to focus on, etc.

The knowledge and vision I gained, along with the aura,

seemed to significantly enhance my judgment.

“The next and last team.”

This was the team I was most looking forward to.

Especially because Baek Sujin, who had the highest aura, was in this team.

But,

‘What? This is...’

Unexpectedly, the last Team C’s performance was the worst.

While Teams A and B had auras that cooperated and coexisted, Team C’s auras seemed to be trying to devour each other.

The auras from others didn’t harmonize and were forcefully suppressed, never to rise again.

And the most notable,

‘She can’t use her power at all.’

The massive aura that once seemed so powerful now looked as fragile as a candle in the wind.

“Boss, what do you think?”

All the teams’ practice performances were over.

“Hmm. Team A seemed the best, but...”

“Right. Everyone did well, but I also think Team A was the best. That doesn’t mean Team B did poorly.”

There was no mention of Team C doing well.

And these two couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the problem was.

PD Kim turned to me.

“What about you, Yunsung?”

Father and Yuna also focused on me.

“Hmm. I don’t think any one team was perfect.”

“Not perfect?”

I shared my thoughts.

“I think the team members need to be changed.”

“Hmm? Change the team members?”

“Yes, just a moment.”

Using the musical talent I received from PD Kim and the auras I saw, I formed a new team.

I handed him a paper with the list.

“I think this combination would be better.”

“...”

Seeing PD Kim’s hesitant expression, I quickly added,

“Oh, if I’m overstepping...”

“No, it’s not that. I’m surprised you left Sujin out. Is there a reason for that?”

“Yeah, Sujin-ssi seemed the prettiest.”

“Hmm. Right, she seemed the most charismatic.”

Father and Yuna didn’t seem to understand.

She could shine in a solo performance.

But when divided into teams, Baek Sujin looked quite meek.

“Hmm. I’m not sure, but in my personal opinion, I don’t think she fits in a team-based group.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She might fit with others, but not with the trainees here.”

PD Kim slowly nodded.

“You have a sharp eye.”

“Yes?”

“I was actually thinking the same thing. Sujin seems to struggle when divided into a group. It’s strange, isn’t it? It took me a while to figure it out, but you noticed it right away.”

Of course.

Whose aura am I using right now?

“Alright. Let’s try it your way.”

PD Kim didn’t dismiss me as a presumptuous kid.

I know producers are usually proud and don’t easily change their decisions, but he listened to me. Was it because I’m the boss’s son?

“Alright, this time, let’s see how you work together. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Thus, the newly formed... Team S.

Let’s call it Team S.

The members looked a bit surprised.

They must have been used to working with their previous teammates.

“Start.”

Honestly, I was a bit nervous.

I know almost nothing about music.

No, I’m a complete novice.

But by absorbing PD Kim’s aura, I gained his knowledge and his vision and intuition.

‘And absorbing auras boosts my abilities, right?’

Especially, this aura, once activated, boosts abilities by about 2 times, so my judgment should be more accurate than PD Kim’s.

No, it has to be.

But what if this is just my delusion?

What if I’m wrong?

The anxiety was brief.

“...?”

Something amazing happened.

As soon as the practice performance started, the auras from the five members slowly rose,

‘What is this?’

and soon merged, emitting a dazzling golden light.

Chapter 9