Chapter 46

46. Advancing to the Main Competition

"I called you all here to hear your thoughts."

Sung-hoon looked at the three people with a serious expression.

"Director, I really hope you can do your best. Please talk to the kids well."

He heard the same words from the two agency managers, from two of the top three agencies in the country.

HC Entertainment wanted Woo Jin-hyuk and Min Seo-yeon, while NTN Entertainment wanted Woo Jin-hyuk and Yeon Se-rin.

HC had been in contact with Jin-hyuk since his festival play. NTN, after the Teenage Singing Competition, sent a strong offer.

Sung-hoon was flustered. It was unprecedented for a large agency, part of the top three, to invest so much effort in high school students who hadn't even debuted.

"It would be good to decide on an agency before the High School 2 filming starts. After all, schedule support and publicity are important."

Once High School 2 starts airing, they could choose any agency, but it would be hard to find a better option than HC or NTN.

In that case, it might be better to decide in advance.

"Seo-yeon, it would be better for you to join HC, right? Hyun-woo is there too. Of course, if you want, you can go to NTN."

NTN didn't make a direct offer, but they wouldn't pass up a promising talent like Seo-yeon, who had the buzz of being a child actor from "Can't Stop the Chang Soon" and the potential to land a major role in High School 2. Especially if Jin-hyuk and Se-rin, who are already making waves, join together.

Seo-yeon neither affirmed nor denied, just silently looking at Jin-hyuk.

"Se-rin, do you have your heart set on NTN?"

After the Teenage Singing Competition, Se-rin's complex feelings leaned more towards singing than acting.

"Dad, I'm not giving up acting. There's still High School 2. But..."

"I know, Se-rin. That day, when I heard your song, I knew. Our daughter is more like her mother than me."

Se-rin responded with a bigger smile to her father's laughter.

Through the stage, Se-rin, who had awakened as a vocalist, was ready to seriously challenge singing.

In that case, NTN, where the main producer was genuinely interested, was the right fit. NTN was also stronger in idol singers than HC, given the overwhelming presence of B.O.B.

"Of course, Se-rin, you can also go to HC if you want."

At Sung-hoon's words, Se-rin looked at Jin-hyuk. Naturally, the three people's gazes focused on Jin-hyuk.

"Jin-hyuk, what do you think? Both agencies are in an uproar because of you."

After a moment of silence, Jin-hyuk spoke.

"First of all."

"..."

"I hope our decisions don't affect each other."

After all, they were still high school freshmen. It would be strange if his two friends going to the same agency didn't affect him.

But this wasn't like deciding on a school club. It was a contract that would determine their futures. They needed to make the most suitable decision from their own perspectives.

"I plan to decide after the festival play."

"The main competition announcement is tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

Jin-hyuk nodded and continued.

"How about this? After each of us thinks carefully, we can meet on a set date, write down the agency we want, and open them together."

"Hmm..."

"And we should promise to go to the agency we wrote, regardless of others' decisions. I think it's right to make our own decisions without being influenced by others."

Sung-hoon nodded.

"Hmm. Good idea. What do you think, Seo-yeon and Se-rin?"

"I like it, Dad."

"Me too."

Seo-yeon and Se-rin nodded simultaneously.

***

"Kids!"

Mr. Kim Jong-ho burst into the drama practice room, calling the students with an excited voice.

Surely.

The students quickly read the reason from Mr. Kim's expression. Their faces lit up with anticipation.

"..."

As if to meet the students' expectations, Mr. Kim took his time and then burst out,

"We made it to the main competition!"

"Wow!"

The children jumped up and down, hugging each other in joy.

"Wow! ... Wow..."

"?"

Suddenly, the children became quiet. Their gazes focused on two people hugging.

Do Min-woo and Kim Min-yeong.

"Wow!"

Do Min-woo jumped back, startled, and Min-yeong's face turned red.

"Hmph!"

Mr. Kim cleared his throat to change the awkward atmosphere and said,

"Great job, everyone!"

It was a video preliminary competition with over thirty teams. Among them, about ten teams from art high schools, so for a regular high school to make it to the top eight was a significant achievement.

"Great job."

"Hee. You did great too."

"You too."

The somewhat embarrassing incident between Min-woo and Min-yeong made the students calmly congratulate each other. Kim Min-yeong quietly approached Do Min-woo and said,

"Hey, why are you surprised?"

"Well, is there someone who gets surprised?"

"I'm starting to feel bad. You hugged me first."

Do Min-woo smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry."

"Tsk."

"Hehe. Don't be mad, President. I'm sorry. I hugged you by mistake, so I was surprised."

Seeing Do Min-woo's cheerful smile, Kim Min-yeong's frown eased.

"Bravo!"

A hearty shout echoed as the speaker entered the practice room. It was the principal.

"Great job, everyone! Haha!"

The principal, the headmaster, the vice-principal, and a few other teachers entered the practice room, carrying bags of snacks.

"Great job."

"Great job, kids."

Encouraged by the principal and teachers, the students were even more motivated.

"Our school's performance is scheduled for the last day of the festival, the last performance. They must want us to show a great finale, right? Haha."

The event lasted two days. The performance order was randomly determined by a draw, but the most preferred slots were the first and last performances.

"Our school will also send a group to Busan to support us. Haha."

Being scheduled for the last performance meant they would receive a lot of attention.

The principal smiled happily.

"Here, I brought some snacks. Help yourselves."

"Wow! Thank you!"

The teachers distributed snacks to the children, who gathered in small groups to share them. The principal, Mr. Kim Jong-ho, and the drama club leader, Jin-hyuk, gathered together.

"Jin-hyuk, great job. You're amazing!"

The principal gave Jin-hyuk a thumbs up and whispered,

"I heard your name came up a lot among the preliminary judges. It seems there's a chance our school could win an award this time."

Mr. Kim patted Jin-hyuk's shoulder proudly.

"The only downside is that our performance is right after the Cultural High School... "

Cultural High School, the team that won last year's festival with the outstanding actor Jeong Ji-an.

After that, Jeong Ji-an became a star as the lead in the movie "Korean," and the intensity he showed at the festival was still etched in the judges' minds.

Even without Jeong Ji-an, Cultural High School, being the top performing arts high school in Korea, was always considered one of the strongest contenders.

Of course, being human, the judges might find it hard to compare the performance of Myeongseong High School after seeing the high-quality play from Cultural High School.

"But I believe in you, Jin-hyuk. I expect great things."

For someone else, it might have been better not to mention such a burden.

But the principal couldn't see Woo Jin-hyuk as an ordinary person. Jin-hyuk had a reliable quality that made it seem like he could accomplish things no one else could.

Jin-hyuk responded to the principal's trust with his usual calm smile.

***

"Hee. What time is the kids' play on Saturday?"

Leaning against the car window, half-asleep, and speaking in a somewhat absent-minded tone.

It was the rising star of Chungmuro, actor Jeong Ji-an.

For an actor praised by critics as the most talented newcomer in the past ten years, she looked surprisingly whimsical.

"3 PM."

"Right. You know you need to prepare snacks for the kids, right?"

"Of course. Why are you asking me this for the third time?"

"Oh... Is that so?"

The drama club at Cultural High School, which Jeong Ji-an led as a senior until last year. Despite her busy schedule, she took a whole day off to support her juniors.

"I wonder if the kids will do well this time. Dong-joon was a bit worried. He said the kids struggled a bit after we graduated."

"Hey, hey. Even if they struggle, it's still Cultural High School. Their skills are still there. Don't worry."

Jeong Ji-an's manager suddenly thought of a senior in the military who had bullied him. "What will you do when I'm discharged? Will the unit run properly?" he used to say.

Who knows who this Dong-joon is, but he hasn't even been to the military, and he's already talking like that.

The manager, emotionally projecting himself, accelerated inwardly.

"Hey, Ji-an. I heard an interesting story."

"What story?"

"The team after Cultural High School is Myeongseong High School."

"Myeongseong High School?"

Jeong Ji-an tried to recall last year's memory but couldn't.

"Oh, it's a team that hasn't made it to the main competition recently."

The manager, catching Jeong Ji-an's expression, added,

"But the male and female leads of that team were cast in major roles in 'High School 2.' It's not official yet, but everyone in the industry knows."

"High School 2?"

"Especially the male lead. He was brought in by writer Han Yook-kyung herself."

Jeong Ji-an's half-closed eyes opened a bit wider.

The sequel to 'High School,' where Jeong Ji-an had a major setback at the audition.

Of course, Jeong Ji-an wasn't the type to care about audition failures. But she knew about writer Han Yook-kyung's keen eye, who had tried to convince the production team until the end.

"They say he was impressive at the audition. PD Jung Doo-il was moved to tears, and there were rumors calling him the second Jeong Ji-an. But, you know, it's just what people who like to talk say. Not everything is true."

The manager glanced at Jeong Ji-an.

"Since you'll be staying in Busan for a day, you can rest at the hotel. I want to go see his acting. I'm curious. Is it okay?"

"What? Of course it's okay. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Really? Can't I?"

Jeong Ji-an looked at the manager and said,

"Take me too."

"Huh? You want to go too?"

Although he said it that way, the manager smiled, knowing Jeong Ji-an would naturally want to go.

"But what's his name?"

"Oh, Woo Jin-hyuk. He's a first-year."

"Woo Jin-hyuk..."

Murmuring Jin-hyuk's name, Jeong Ji-an turned her head back to the window and closed her eyes.