Chapter 21

# Episode 021

First, Joara acknowledged.

The exterior of Garo Entertainment was impressive.

She had thought it would be a small building since it was described as a small agency.

"You didn't expect me to contact you, did you? Didn't you get Mr. Han's business card?"

She did have Han Guin's business card.

But it had been washed away with her laundry when she put it in her pocket.

As a result, pieces of the card were stuck to the laundry.

"I just asked Teacher for your number."

Seong Pil pondered the term "uncle." Since they were the same zodiac age, calling him "uncle" might not be wrong.

Still, he preferred "oppa."

In her past life, Joara had called Seong Pil "oppa."

"Please sit for a moment. I'll bring you a drink."

After Seong Pil disappeared into the inner lounge, Joara began to explore Garo Entertainment.

The first-floor hall.

It was designed solely for relaxation.

'They must care about employee welfare.'

This place might not deserve the label "small agency."

As she slowly looked around, the entrance opened, and a girl around Joara's age entered.

It was Rika.

"Ah."

Rika, who had been whistling happily, froze instantly.

Her gaze quickly swept over Joara.

A school uniform that was excessively shortened, and hair dyed a light purple.

'She's a gyaru!'

In Korean, she would be considered a delinquent.

Rika, having assessed the situation with her animal-like survival instincts, slowly moved to the side.

"Annyeong..."

"I can't speak Korean..."

Rika quickly fled upstairs before any words could escape.

Joara didn't think it was rude.

In fact, it was refreshing.

'So, this is an agency. They even have foreigners.'

Just as Rika disappeared, Seong Pil reappeared.

"Ahem. How about we start with any questions you have? Or should I explain everything at once?"

"Use informal language."

"Excuse me?"

"Just use informal language. You look at least ten years older than me."

"Ahaha! I do look a bit younger, don't I?"

"......?"

He was only ten years older.

The actual age difference was twelve years.

"Alright, I'll use informal language. I'll explain everything about being an idol from start to finish, so think carefully. You said you weren't interested in idols, right?"

"Yes. Teacher said it was a good person... a good company, so I came to check it out. If it's good, I might do it."

But if the explanation didn't appeal to her, she planned to leave without looking back.

Joara wasn't nervous at all.

She had come here as casually as choosing a type of ramen at the supermarket.

Actually, she was a bit annoyed.

Usually, she would go to a dance studio right after leaving school to practice dancing.

She felt like her time was being wasted.

"Give up if you're not serious."

Joara, who had been daydreaming without even focusing, snapped back to reality at Seong Pil's words.

"Excuse me?"

"Being an idol isn't easy. From the trainee period to becoming an idol, it's not something you can handle with just average mental strength."

"......"

"Mr. Han noticed you, but if you're not serious, don't even think about it. You'll just waste time."

Seong Pil organized the documents on the table.

He had brought them to explain Garo Entertainment and its vision to Joara today.

Of course, Seong Pil could explain fluently without looking at them.

The gesture of organizing the documents was to give Joara time to think.

"......Ha."

Joara finally let out a laugh.

'He asked.'

Seong Pil suppressed a smile.

Before the regression, Seong Pil had known Joara for a long time.

Joara was a very proud person.

She didn't easily accept "You can't do it" even for the smallest things.

She reacted strongly to the slightest provocation, and it took a long time to learn how to deal with her.

"If you understand, I'll start the explanation..."

"No, how hard can it be? Why are you trying to scare me before we even start?"

"I've seen it before. Some agencies pick people who want to be idols, but many can't keep up with the training."

"Are you saying I'll be like that too?"

"No. It's possible. Even those who dream of being idols struggle, so those who don't have the dream..."

Joara pouted and glared at Seong Pil.

Seong Pil met her gaze head-on.

"Uh, uh?"

Suddenly, a surprised exclamation came from behind.

Han Guin had dropped the shopping bag he was holding.

"Ms. Joara?"

He approached her as if a celebrity had appeared on the street, observing her from all angles.

"Ms. Joara!"

"Yes, it's me. Your name is Korean oppa, right?"

Why was Han Guin "oppa" and he "uncle"?

Seong Pil, feeling slightly hurt, looked at Joara, who smirked at him.

She had deliberately used different terms of address.

"My name is Han Guin, not Korean. Are you thinking of becoming an idol?"

"No. I just came to listen."

Han Guin looked at Seong Pil with admiration.

He seemed like a son watching his father catch a fish as big as his arm at a fishing spot.

"How... No, Mr. Park, how far have you explained?"

"I was just about to start."

"Can I take over?"

Seong Pil handed the floor to Han Guin.

He faced Joara and spoke fluently, as if he had prepared in advance.

While Joara seemed to listen attentively, her rebellious gaze kept darting at Seong Pil.

"That's the end of my explanation."

"Hmm, so..."

"Yes!"

"......Oppa, you're too close."

"Ah, sorry."

Han Guin smiled shyly, like a boy in front of someone he liked.

"So, you'll take a test in front of the CEO?"

"Yes!"

"And then a short-term training program for a month, followed by another test?"

"Yes!"

"Passing that will make you an official trainee, right?"

"Yes! We'll support you fully as an official trainee. We'll do everything to ensure your success!"

His statement was full of confidence.

Han Guin, perhaps realizing it was too much, subtly signaled Seong Pil.

"Mr. Park and the CEO. Of course, I will, and so will they, work hard."

"There was a group from this agency that failed, right?"

"Ah, that. They didn't fail... They did fail, but it wasn't because of their lack of skill. It was just bad timing..."

"If the timing is wrong, you'll fail. What if my timing is off too?"

"Uh, somehow..."

"How somehow?"

"......Try hard......"

"Seventy percent luck, thirty percent skill."

Seong Pil, seeing Han Guin being toyed with by someone over ten years younger, took over the conversation.

"Everything in life is about luck, especially in this industry. A well-shot practice video can make you famous. Participating in an unpopular drama OST can later make you known through the song. Even a single viral clip can make you a major star."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Joara couldn't hold back her derisive laugh.

"What's the point of achieving something through luck?"

"I said seventy percent luck, thirty percent skill. If success is a 10, and just being successful is a 5, some people can't make it even with 4 points of luck and 1 point of skill. Skill is the agency's capability. Even if you rely on luck, we can provide the 3 points of skill."

"So, you can't guarantee it."

"No agency can. You should focus on what we can provide, not what we can't."

"Mr. Park."

Han Guin was at a loss. He pulled Seong Pil aside and whispered.

"Mr. Park, you're not being yourself. Aren't you being too aggressive? When you persuaded Rika and Baek Seolha, you only told them sweet, dreamy stories."

"Those two wanted to be idols. Joara came here like she's visiting a neighborhood snack bar."

"Snack bar...?"

"Spending a month on short-term training costs millions. We can't afford to take in someone who's just here for fun."

"No, no. Since she came, she must have some interest. At least a little. Yes, definitely..."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Han Guin cleared his throat and approached Joara with a humble smile.

"How about you take a test? Don't feel pressured."

Indeed, looking at Joara's expression, he understood.

She had come here as casually as going to a neighborhood snack bar. The thought made Han Guin's heart ache.

It felt like a precious gem was being washed away by a river.

Then, Joara smiled.

"Yes. I'll take it."

* * *

"Being an idol isn't easy. From the trainee period to becoming an idol, it's not something you can handle with just average mental strength."

No, how hard can it be?

Isn't it just about going on stage, doing some dance moves, and laughing a few times?

Sure, singing and dancing at the same time isn't easy.

But the dance moves aren't particularly difficult.

'It's just a matter of being hard. It's not that the expression itself is difficult.'

On TV, there were plenty of idols who danced worse than Joara.

Five years of trainee life? Seven years? Don't be ridiculous.

Joara was confident she could copy the moves and perform better than them on stage.

...Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

"Even those who dream of being idols struggle, so those who don't have the dream..."

Adults think they hide their emotions well, but they don't.

She could feel everything.

Seong Pil seemed to be looking down on her.

'You?' his expression seemed to say.

'What a joke. How ridiculous.'

Being an idol? She could do it easily.

She just didn't want to.

How much did she not want to? About as much as changing from the humanities to the sciences in the middle of high school.

Seong Pil's condescension only made her more determined.

"Yes. I'll take it."

Watching Han Guin squirm was enjoyable, but Joara wanted to see something else.

Seong Pil's reaction when he realized her talent.

And then his desperate plea for her to become a trainee.

Then, she would say:

"Oh, sorry. It's not my thing."

Since there was a test, she would show her skills and let them decide.

* * *

Hong Gyuheon entered the practice room for the first time in a while.

To watch Joara's test.

"Uh... Can you dance in that outfit?"

Joara's attire didn't look good, even as a compliment.

Her school uniform was shortened to its limits, almost uncomfortably so.

'Is this what the popular kids wear these days? Not like delinquents or anything?'

While Hong Gyuheon was uncomfortable, Han Guin rushed out and returned with a tracksuit.

"What's up, Mr. Han? Where did you get that?"

"It's Rika's. She has three sets and rotates them. I do the laundry and put them somewhere..."

Hong Gyuheon almost cried at Han Guin's heart-wrenching explanation.

If it weren't for her, Han Guin would have been a high-earning securities man in the U.S...

Now, he was doing laundry for kids in Korea.

"Ms. Joara, which song would you like to use?"

"Kill Everybody on the Earth."

"Excuse me?"

"Kill Everybody on the Earth."

It was a dubstep song, not an idol track.

A song that would make you want to dance in a club.

Han Guin, though hesitant, prepared the song diligently.

"Mr. Park, Mr. Han found her first, right?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Park persuaded her to come?"

"More like, I got some help from an acquaintance."

"What do you think of her?"

Joara was the first trainee Han Guin had seen potential in.

Hong Gyuheon couldn't help but be interested.

But how Seong Pil saw her was anyone's guess.

"She's a gem."

"Oh. So Mr. Han's eye for talent is proven?"

"But she doesn't seem very interested in being an idol, which is worrying."

"That might change with some experience."

The song started.

It followed the basic EDM structure: intro, build-up, breakdown, and drop.

But Joara skipped the intro, build-up, and breakdown.

For the first minute, she only did some simple stretching.

"Looks like she's starting with the drop."

The highlight of the song.

The drop, where all the sounds intensely drop, was where Joara began to move.

"Definitely dances well for her age."

The base of Joara's dance was waacking.

She performed difficult moves with ease, showing no awkwardness.

But the best was yet to come.

"Locking?"

As the song's part changed, so did the dance genre.

It didn't stop there.

Popping, hip-hop, boogaloo...

She performed almost all the moves of existing street dance genres, switching between them.

While it was hard to maintain unity and beauty in such a diverse dance, Joara accurately grasped the song's structure to create a cohesive performance.

"Wow, is she just a dancer?"

Hong Gyuheon showed a satisfied smile for the first time in a while.

At the end of the song, Joara leaped.

A series of backflips.

She moved with the lightness of a gymnast.

Watching Joara fly like a feather, Hong Gyuheon flinched and stepped back, thinking she might collide.

But as the music stopped, Joara stood straight in front of Hong Gyuheon.

A perfect, impactful finish.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

Han Guin clapped like a seal.

Joara looked at Seong Pil with a smug expression.

As if shouting, "Look at me!"

Her confidence, that she could shine like this, pierced everyone's hearts.

"Ahem."

Even Hong Gyuheon was momentarily stunned. He looked at Seong Pil for his opinion, not wanting to be the first to say "good" as the CEO.

"What do you think?"

Joara confidently wiped her sweat-drenched bangs.

Seong Pil furrowed his brow.

"Your undergarments are showing too much."

"......What, what do you mean?"

"Your undergarments are showing too much."