Chapter 10.1
The “pretend to be nice” project was working surprisingly well. Humans were visual creatures, easily deceived by appearances. As long as I smiled prettily and acted polite, most of the R&M staff responded to me with favor.
When I was a real nineteen-year-old, I lacked this kind of social awareness. Even after hitting thirty, I still had trouble lowering my pride, so of course, back then, my attitude had been terrible. I couldnât remember exactly, but I was pretty sure I had been the type to throw tantrums about quitting, despite being the one who had walked in voluntarily.
It was the first time I had adults around to respond to my mood swings, so I took advantage of it whenever I got bored.
Thinking back, it was embarrassing. But even then, I had quickly realized I was talentedâso I had made myself comfortable and acted like I owned the place.
Once I figured out that only high-ranking staff could scold me, I even stopped greeting people properly. At the time, I didnât think I needed anyoneâs help. And, honestly, I wasnât keen on getting close to people.
Now, thinking about my future, I knew it was better to just smile and play nice. Appeasing people wasnât that hard, anyway. After all, when I was thirty-two, people used to joke that if I suddenly started acting polite, it meant I was about to die. So I just had to keep up the same energy as my past self.
“So hyung, you’re moving into the dorm next week too?”
“Yeah.”
“Thatâs great! Iâll tell Zi Yi hyung too. Letâs grab a meal together later!”
Past or present, Go Haram had always been friendly toward me. The guy was obsessed with my face, so I figured weâd end up getting along again this time too. Even when I was at my worst, Go Haram had put up with my attitude. Not because he was particularly kind, but because he was a diehard visual stanâif someone was good-looking, he forgave them easily. Thatâs why he liked Cheon Tae Rim too, not just me. The guy had one simple standard: attractiveness.
I had no idea what specific beauty criteria he followed, but one thing was certainâbeing pretty was a huge advantage in life. All it took was a smile and a kind demeanor to win people over. In my first life, I had missed out on this easy trick and had spent my trainee years as a loner.
But this time, things were different. Since I took the initiative to be friendly, most of the other traineesâwho were still just teenagersâwerenât bold enough to treat me badly. Of course, a huge factor was that I had aced my level test and was placed in A-Class for both vocals and dance.
At R&M, trainees were given different training regimens based on skill level. They couldnât exactly force a beginner to start running before they could even crawl. Most trainees spent years in B-Class, grinding endlessly to reach the next level.
From what I heard, the average trainee spent at least three years in B-Class before they even had a chance to move up. Because building a solid foundation took that long. But I was different. I had skipped B-Class entirely and was placed directly into A-Class as soon as I entered. The other trainees had complained, so R&M had released my level test video to shut them up.
After watching it, the ones who had grumbled the loudest suddenly went silent. Even they had to admit I was good. Of course, I was. I had been an active idol for twelve years. And even without that, raw talent always crushed effort. The world wasnât fair.
Among peers, talent was a weapon. If peopleâs skills were roughly the same, theyâd start competing, envying, and resenting each other. This was especially true for trainees. Even at a young age, they werenât naĂŻve enough to believe in a bright, hopeful future.
It was rare for trainees to get along with each other because to debut quickly, they had to outshine others. There was no real camaraderie between traineesâunless they were close in age or had trained together for years. Because, in the end, they were competitors.
So naturally, a newcomer, a new trainee, was seen as a threat. But what if that newcomer turned out to be an overwhelming genius? Someone who had never trained professionally, yet could sing, dance, and had a perfect face?
Theyâd feel robbed. But trainees who spent every waking moment agonizing over whether theyâd ever debut werenât stupid. If someone new had a high chance of debuting, theyâd start hanging around them, even if just to gain favor from the staff.
If a trainee got noticed because they were close to someone promising, they might accidentally get pushed into a debut team too. Sometimes, just the phrase, “That kid is friends with so-and-so,” was enough to tip the scales. That slim 1% chance was enough reason not to antagonize me outright.
It was dirty and calculated, but that was how this industry worked. As long as no one deliberately tried to push me out, things would probably stay stable until the debut team was finalized.
But, of courseâthe world doesnât always work the way we predict it to.
“Oh, Ye Jin. Youâre early again today.”
“Thereâs no point staying at school when Iâm not going to study anyway. They just told me to focus on trainee life instead.”
“Must be a good school, though.”
“Good school, my butt. You went to a special-purpose high school yourself.”
“Like that means anything. I just ended up there by chance.”
Carrying a heavy duffel bag, Kim Sung Hoon sighed to himself, “Man, must be nice to be youngâŠ.”
It felt a little weird hearing that from someone who was only twenty-three.
