Chapter 25

# Episode 025

Hanguin hummed a tune as he prepared the camera.

He said he had hardly slept until dawn, waiting for this day.

Seeing his excitement, Hong Gyuheon felt reassured.

'I was worried he might lose interest in this job.'

Hanguin seemed like someone walking without a map.

He had been walking without knowing which direction was right or if he was on the right path.

However, by discovering Joara, he found something to focus on in his work.

"It's all set."

Hanguin quickly sat next to Hong Gyuheon.

There were about 20 minutes left before the evaluation began.

"Did Joara prepare well?"

"She stayed late for several days. I'm sure she prepared well."

"That would be good."

"What if the results aren't good…"

The main purpose of the short-term training is to see passion and perseverance.

Being a trainee is tough.

One has to practice without any feedback for years.

The only thing that keeps them going is willpower.

If you don't confirm their willpower in advance, it will be painful for both the trainee and the agency if they lose their passion later.

"Even if it's not good, so what? Should we still choose her even if the results are bad?"

"I believe she will do well to some extent. After all, this was a new task for Joara."

Of course, even though the short-term training is about seeing passion, the results can't be completely ignored.

If her performance is terrible, it would be strange to choose her.

"That's excessive worry. It's unusual if she can't do it after practicing and preparing for a few weeks. Even if the quality is a bit low, if she shows effort, we'll choose her. She's a good kid, after all."

Hanguin seemed a bit relieved and straightened his back.

While they were talking, Seong Pil was looking at the songs Joara had chosen.

'Did she pick these on her own?'

The evaluation is divided into vocal, dance, and performance.

Seong Pil was paying attention to the vocals and performance.

If Joara had chosen these songs, it was a very smart choice.

Creak.

The door opened cautiously, and Joara came in.

She was wearing black high-waist hot pants and a loose-fitting shirt.

"Hello."

"Come in. Shall we start right away?"

"Yes."

Joara sat in the round chair and adjusted the microphone height.

Seeing her ready, Hanguin started the music.

A synth sound that sounds a bit old-fashioned nowadays flowed out.

'Café Time.'

In the early 2000s, it became a favorite song among college students with its unique romantic lyrics and atmosphere.

It is still loved today and has been remade by many famous singers.

However, Joara chose the original version, not the currently famous remake.

'This song doesn't require much technique.'

The strength of 'Café Time' lies in its atmosphere and lyrics.

It also became a favorite because it's easy to sing.

'Smart.'

The question is, can Joara recreate the feeling of the song?

If she chose it just because it seemed easy, it could be a disaster.

"Strolling through the grass on a sunny day,

Visiting a café with a strong coffee aroma."

At the first lyrics, Hong Gyuheon was slightly impressed.

Anyone who remembered Joara's first test would feel the same.

Her voice had become incredibly clear.

It was as if she was a different person.

"Street poets whisper love,

I want to sing songs secretly beside them."

Surprisingly, she followed the pitch of one of the remakes, not the original.

She adopted more advanced techniques than the original, making it less boring for modern listeners.

'Combining the original and remake pitches must have been difficult.'

Seong Pil gave her extra points for this.

He would teach Joara, as well as Rika and Baek Seolha, how to compose in the future.

He wanted to highly praise her courage and spirit to modify the song to fit her.

Moreover, Joara's version of 'Café Time' sounded quite good.

"Inside the classroom, the scent of sunlight,

When drowsiness comes and I close my eyes,

You're there to wake me up."

Is this really the same Joara from a month ago?

This level of performance suggests she must have practiced this song for the entire month.

Her facial expressions were also perfect.

'Wow. She must have practiced a lot in front of the mirror.'

It exceeded expectations.

When she first heard that Joara had chosen 'Café Time,' he thought, 'She's trying to take the easy way out.'

But seeing the result, his mind completely changed.

Joara had put in enough effort and produced good results.

The song ended.

The three of them gave her a small round of applause.

"Take a 20-minute break and come back for the next part. Get ready."

Joara bowed and left.

The three of them looked at each other in silence for a while.

Hong Gyuheon was the first to speak.

"Well, it was okay."

"Considering she prepared in a short time, it's amazing. Her skills improved so quickly."

"Did she only practice this song? Maybe that's why she couldn't follow the academy's guidance?"

"Surely not."

The atmosphere was warm.

Especially Hanguin.

Seong Pil deliberately praised Joara more to make him even happier.

Hanguin was genuinely pleased.

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

Hanguin had already reached the highest level of a manager, seeing the idol and himself as one.

The next part was the dance.

When Joara entered the practice room, she hesitated for a moment. After considering whether to leave, she took off her shirt inside the room.

Under the shirt, she was wearing a tight black long-sleeve T-shirt. She had worn the shirt to match the atmosphere while singing.

'She's right. If she had sung 'Café Time' in this outfit, it wouldn't have matched the atmosphere.'

Joara took a deep breath and clasped her hands.

As the music started, she relaxed her posture.

Dance evaluation.

This was the part everyone was least worried about.

"Wow."

Hong Gyuheon couldn't help but exclaim at Joara's dance.

'She's really a natural at dancing.'

Her dance perfectly matched the intense EDM.

It was so vigorous that it seemed she might dislocate something.

'People can move like that?'

The well-controlled speed made it seem like special effects were added to the camera.

Unlike the first test, where she tried to show her skills by mixing various genres, this dance was composed to match the song's feeling, overwhelming the viewers with harmony and power.

"Good job."

As the song ended, Hanguin clapped.

Hong Gyuheon had told him not to react too much, but he couldn't help it.

"How much rest do you need?"

The next part was the performance.

She had to sing and dance simultaneously.

"20 minutes will be enough."

"Really?"

"Yes."

While answering Hong Gyuheon, Joara was looking at Seong Pil.

Her eyes were burning with determination.

"Alright. In 20 minutes."

Joara left the room again.

As soon as she left, Hanguin gave her the highest score in almost all categories.

Hong Gyuheon looked at him with a tired expression.

"I know what Manager Han thinks. What about Manager Park?"

"Good. I thought she was good from the first time I saw her, and now I'm even more confident."

"Really? I thought you didn't like Joara. What did you say? A spoiled brat who grew up being pampered?"

"I didn't say that exactly."

He had deliberately been colder to Joara than to the other trainees to boost her competitiveness.

It had worked.

'For other reasons too.'

According to Seong Pil, Joara had been overly friendly to him.

That might have made him colder.

He had mixed in some praise and encouragement from time to time.

But looking back, he might have been colder more often.

"Alright, this is the last one. Let's see."

Joara entered the room with determination.

The music started without any words.

Unlike the previous two songs, this one was current and trendy.

'Thank You For.'

A song created by the boy group 'Babel' to reflect their style.

Since all members are known to be dancers, it's easy to guess what kind of song it is.

In their music video, they tried to show the overall dance form by minimizing camera movements.

Naturally, each move reflected the members' favorite street dance styles.

'When I first saw it, it was fresh.'

The problem was that the song didn't become popular.

They revealed on a variety show that they would listen more to the agency's advice from then on.

Anyway, this was the best song Joara could choose.

'Sure, the dance is good.'

If she had chosen it only for the dance, it would have been a mistake.

'Thank You For' has a high dance difficulty, so singing while dancing requires a lot of skill.

'Especially since the original has some auto-tune, it's hard to sing without it and maintain the feeling.'

Joara turned to face Seong Pil.

"I wander in the darkness, searching for you. I can't help it, I have to see you."

A large movement made her breathing pause.

The lyrics in the middle were muffled.

Already, warning signs were appearing.

"Now it's hard. I hope you'll find me. Even if I don't give up, it's still hard."

The song reached the drop part.

The sound was building up, about to explode.

Before the highlight, the movements became static.

Joara adjusted her breathing to match the calmer dance.

Slowly, moving her shoulders left and right.

"Find me. Reach out to me. Find me. Reach out to me."

After a jump, she rapidly turned her body.

Rolling her feet and swinging her arms, she moved and rotated her limbs continuously.

Large movements were repeated one after another.

"Thank you for. Thank you for."

Joara's lyrics kept getting muffled.

She had danced a lot but had only a month of experience singing while dancing.

It was hard for her to be familiar with it.

"Thank you…"

Her breath was short, and her pitch fluctuated.

Hanguin bit his teeth as if he had made a mistake. Hong Gyuheon made notes on the evaluation sheet with a cold expression.

While everyone was focusing on the negatives, Seong Pil was different.

'She's not breaking the lyrics.'

At this level, she could have skipped a sentence or two due to heavy breathing.

But Joara stubbornly continued the lyrics.

Without breaking them.

"Thank you for… being my path…"

There was a strong sense of obsession from Joara.

Obsession with the result and the corresponding effort.

Qualities needed in an idol.

On the evaluation sheet, Seong Pil's pen quietly drew a circle.

* * *

"Joara!"

Rika ran to Joara as she came out.

She hugged Joara gently, unlike a wrestling tackle.

"You worked hard! You worked hard! It must have been tough, right?"

"No."

Joara played with Rika's hair. Rika laughed despite making a 'Gwaaah!' sound.

"Did you do well?"

Baek Seolha asked worriedly.

Joara slowly nodded.

"Alright, I guess."

Rika and Baek Seolha had helped Joara prepare, even giving up their free time.

For a whole week.

She couldn't say something like 'I couldn't do it' in front of them.

"I did my best."

"Thank goodness."

Even with Joara's vague answer, Baek Seolha sincerely sighed in relief.

The three of them sat on the sofa in the lounge, anxiously waiting.

Or rather, Rika and Baek Seolha were the ones showing anxiety.

"Joara, aren't you nervous?"

"Um, not really?"

Bullshit.

Joara's heart was pounding like a motorcycle engine.

She crossed her arms to hide her rapid heartbeat.

Still feeling exposed, she draped her shirt over her shoulders to cover her upper body.

"Huh? You guys were here too?"

Hong Gyuheon came down from the second floor.

Joara's heart beat even faster.

His descent meant the results were out.

"I can't go to the academy on such an important day!"

"The money for your academy is my money. How painful do you think my wallet is?"

"Sorry…"

Joara looked behind Hong Gyuheon.

Hanguin and Seong Pil were following.

She focused on Seong Pil.

She tried to read the result from his expression.

Unfortunately, she couldn't read anything.

"Go on."

"We want to hear it too!"

"Why?"

"Because Joara is our friend!"

"Ah, I see. So you're here to cry with her if she fails?"

"Eek?!"

Rika was shocked.

"Joara failed?! Really?!"

"I don't know."

"Thank goodness, Joara! You didn't fail!"

"That's not it. I haven't even told you the result yet. If you're here when she fails, won't it be uncomfortable for Joara?"

"Huh."

"Phew."

Rika's changing expressions made Hong Gyuheon chuckle.

"Joara, what do you think? Should we go outside? Or stay here… Joara?"

Joara was frozen.

Hong Gyuheon's wordplay made her heart soar and then plummet.

She finally calmed down and forced out words.

"If you're going to say it, just say it."

"Alright."

Hong Gyuheon smiled. He crumpled the paper in his hand.

Everyone was shocked, thinking it was the evaluation sheet.

Despite this, Joara only looked at Seong Pil beyond Hong Gyuheon.

"Would I come down if she failed?"

"…"

"Joara, do you want to join our company?"

"…"

Joara took a deep, very deep breath.

And then,

"Aaaaaah!"

She let out a scream of joy.

It was impossible to hold back her laughter.

Rika hugged Joara from behind, sharing her joy.

"How about it! How about it! I told you I could do it, right?!"

"Hey, hey, I believed in you, Joara!"

"Did it! I did it! I did it!"

Joara hugged Rika and quickly looked at Seong Pil.

Seong Pil was smiling.

'I won.'

She had proven it.

To that man.

To that person, she had proven her worth.

Her mind soared beyond the material world, flying high into the sky.

To put it crudely, she felt like drinking a lot of alcohol and flying.

She had never drunk alcohol, but seeing adults drink like that, it must feel like this.

"Stop celebrating and give me an answer quickly. Let me share your joy. What do you think?"

The answer was already decided.

"Of course…"

Joara's face froze.

The answer was already decided?

Which way?

"Of course…"

The joy in her heart seemed to escape.

Why did she prepare so hard for the test?

Of course…

"I… don't… want to…"

The first floor, no,

The entire Garo Entertainment froze.