Chapter 6

006. No need to wait, right away.

Inside the cafeteria.

Hyung-sik and Do-woong were sitting side by side, eating lunch.

He realized that it wasn't easy to maintain a balanced diet every day after entering society.

Upon returning, he found that even the things he used to take for granted were now appreciated.

While stuffing a well-wrapped bossam into his mouth, Hyung-sik asked,

“Hasn’t the acceptance email come yet?”

“...”

But Do-woong only chewed the bossam in his mouth.

“Hey, you’re not answering. How did the audition document review go?”

Feeling frustrated, Hyung-sik raised his voice.

The students in Do-woong’s class who were sitting nearby looked at the two of them.

It was because of the word "audition."

Only after swallowing the rice did Do-woong finally answer,

“It came.”

“R-Really?”

Do-woong spoke as if it was no big deal.

In contrast, Hyung-sik was so surprised that he stammered.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Nam Do-woong. I don’t know where, but from now on, you should be prepared to bury yourself there...”

“From three places.”

“What?”

Hyung-sik’s eyes seemed to bulge out even more today.

“You mean you got calls from three places?”

The students around them started whispering to each other.

‘Nam Do-woong must have passed the audition screening.’

‘And from three places. Three places.’

‘It’s still just the document review, but it’s impressive.’

At that moment, the sound of a chair being pushed back was heard.

It was Yoon Jung-ho getting up from his seat.

He glanced at Do-woong with a disapproving look and left.

Seeing this, Hyung-sik nudged Do-woong.

“Hey, isn’t that a student in your class? He left a lot of meat. Is he sick?”

“Maybe he’s just not in the mood.”

Do-woong had a hunch but finished the remaining bossam in his mouth.

**

At that moment, at Fantastar Entertainment.

The CEO, Kang Tae-jin, was personally sifting through his emails.

He was a young man in his early thirties with a face that was more suited to an entertainer than a CEO.

In reality, he had been a successful first-generation idol member and a solo singer.

In the early days of Fantastar, he leveraged his name and the talents of skilled ballad singers to achieve consistent success. However, with the music market being dominated by idols over the past five years, the company's position had gradually declined.

Currently, apart from one legendary singer, there were few notable entertainers.

“Sigh... Jeong-myeong’s contract is almost up.”

He had nurtured the singer from his debut days, and they had been together ever since.

However, with offers pouring in, it was uncertain how long the loyalty would last.

“CEO, how’s it going?”

At that moment, a man with distinct features entered the office.

He was Jeong-myeong, a singer in his early thirties and a member of the company.

“Now you’re training idols. You used to say how sick you were of the idol label.”

“What can I do? The world has changed. But I won’t just create idols.”

“Another skilled one?”

“Damn.”

The two bickered like old friends.

While doing so, Kang Tae-jin was still reviewing the applications that had come in via email.

Sometimes, a gem of a talent would roll in.

On the screen, a tall high school boy wearing thick-rimmed glasses appeared.

His name was Nam Do-woong, a unique name.

“Where did this kid take his photo?”

Indeed, the background was a muddy field with construction debris scattered around, quite eye-catching.

Jeong-myeong, who was looking at the photo, started chuckling.

“If you gathered five kids like this and made an idol group, it would be quite a sight. Quite a sight. Haha.”

Kang Tae-jin, irritated by Jeong-myeong’s teasing, clicked on the attached audition video.

Soon, a gentle, a cappella song began to play.

Although it was still amateurish and needed refinement, it was a fundamentally clear and centered voice.

“...”

“...”

The moment the song started, both men were frozen, staring at the screen.

In fact, all their attention was focused on the voice coming from the speakers.

When the song ended, they looked at each other simultaneously.

“This...”

Jeong-myeong spoke first.

“It’s completely your style, isn’t it?”

Without answering, Kang Tae-jin hurriedly called the casting team leader.

“Team Leader Choi! We have to secure this applicant! Make it a priority!”

**

Do-woong was in his private practice room, in the middle of vocal training.

He had grasped the big picture of breath control, so now he needed to study the subtle differences.

-Zzz, zzz.

At that moment, a vibration sound came from outside the practice room.

Do-woong paused his practice and went to his room.

“An unknown number?”

It was probably just an advertisement call, but he pressed the call button just in case.

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is Fantastar Entertainment. Is this Nam Do-woong?”

Fantastar Entertainment.

It was the most prestigious agency he had applied to.

Do-woong tried to suppress his trembling heart and answered the call.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“We are contacting you to inform you about the second round of auditions after reviewing your application.”

“Second round of auditions?”

“Yes, you’ve passed the first round.”

Do-woong pulled his face away from the smartphone and took a deep breath.

He hoped it wasn’t a wrong call due to a system error and calmed himself down.

Then, the woman’s voice came from the speaker again.

“What date would be convenient for you?”

‘Oh my god, it’s real!’

They were asking for a convenient date, not just informing him.

This was the first time, but he knew it was a positive sign.

He tried to remain calm, set a date, and ended the call politely.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Do-woong immediately punched the air in joy.

“Is this a huge success?”

Earlier, at lunch, he had acted as if it was no big deal in front of Hyung-sik,

but he was actually incredibly moved and shaken.

He didn’t plan to join any agency yet.

He wanted to build more talent to have a better hand.

He had applied to see how his current level compared to before.

Starting with a light heart, his emotions were now in turmoil due to the results.

He knew that passing the document review wasn’t easy.

“Wow... I thought it would be a big deal if I got a call from just one place...”

But out of the ten places he applied to, he got calls from four.

Almost half.

Moreover, he received a call from Fantastar, where he had applied with the most ambition.

-That’s it. Stop it.

In the past, he had been turned away even before he could show his prepared materials.

Or he had been asked for large sums of money by scam companies.

At the time, he had tried to deny reality, but now, looking back, he could see clearly.

His level was just that.

“But not anymore.”

One thing became clear as a result.

How extraordinary the talent he was currently training was.

After just one training, the results were astonishing.

“Great! Now all I have to do is practice hard.”

Do-woong rekindled his determination and entered his private practice room.

Now, the completion rate was 89%. It was almost done.

That Saturday morning.

Coincidentally, all the second-round auditions were on the same day.

It seemed as if the agencies had some kind of agreement to avoid overlapping times.

Do-woong, lacking appropriate clothing, left home in his school uniform.

At the first agency he arrived at, Hyung-sik, who had come along, waved enthusiastically.

“Don’t be nervous, just do your best!”

Do-woong entered the building, which looked like an apartment complex.

‘Right, I’m just here to test my skills. Just a test.’

He repeated this to himself, but his body tensed up, and he felt the familiar nervousness.

He performed the song as he had practiced and did his best with the dance.

After finishing the audition like roasting beans in a flash, Do-woong pondered the words of the casting director.

‘You definitely have the basics, but it’s a bit disappointing to put you in the debut lineup right away.’

He understood the meaning of these words more clearly through the next two auditions.

‘Mr. Do-woong, you sing well. You know that, right? But your position is definitely the main vocalist. In that sense, your skills are a bit ambiguous. Have you considered further training at a school affiliated with us?’

‘Your singing isn’t enough to compete yet. Come in as a trainee and we’ll see after a few years...’

Some places were blunt about pointing out his weaknesses.

“Ultimately, your position is definitely the main vocalist.”

“Yes, but your skills are lacking for that.”

“Still, some places suggested you come in as a trainee. That’s a pass, right.”

Hyung-sik was right. One place was essentially a pass.

Do-woong hadn’t expected to pass all the auditions,

but the disappointment was inevitable given his high expectations.

‘Well, if it were that easy, I wouldn’t have gone through all that hardship.’

The company that suggested he come in as a trainee was a place he could never have dreamed of before returning to the past.

It was a tremendous growth in just one month.

Recalling this, Do-woong regained his energy and headed to the last agency, Fantastar.

In the waiting room.

There were already a dozen or so applicants waiting.

Even for a medium-sized agency, the competition was fierce.

A group that seemed to be from a vocal school looked Do-woong up and down.

He had encountered them at previous auditions.

‘Hanje High School uniform. Those guys.’

Most of the applicants knew each other’s skills.

They often attended the same auditions, and rumors spread quickly in the tight-knit community.

But with his thick-rimmed glasses and ill-fitting school uniform,

Do-woong was clearly a newcomer.

Without training at a school, it was rare to pass unless you had exceptional natural talent.

‘At least I’m not the last one here.’

They felt relieved, as they had before.

“Mr. Nam Do-woong? Mr. Do-woong, please come this way right away.”

At that moment, a staff member called out to Do-woong.

Do-woong followed her to a separate room.

“CEO, Mr. Nam Do-woong is here.”

The staff member’s voice carried to the waiting room,

causing a stir among the applicants who had just been mocking Do-woong.

‘What, why is the CEO seeing him personally?’

‘Is he a hidden talent we don’t know about?’

But Do-woong was also taken aback.

‘The CEO personally...?’

When he entered the room, he was even more surprised.

At the judging table were the then-popular singer Jeong-myeong

and the protagonist of the amateur K’s vocal technique (D) video he was currently training with,

first-generation idol Kang Tae-jin.