Chapter 18.1
Considering Jang Hye Joon’s parents, he probably ranked at the bottom of B-class. Despite having incredible family connections, R&M saw no chance of debuting him, so they planned to send him to Ciel instead.
Yet, from what I remembered, Hye Joon never debuted at Ciel either. Now I was genuinely curious about his skills. Just how terrible was he that he couldn’t debut even with all that nepotism backing him up?
“So, are you going?”
“To Ciel?”
“Yeah.”
“Nope. For better or worse, I started at R&M, so I want to see it through here. Even if I drop out early, I’d still like to experience the debut survival at least once.”
The gloomy expression he’d worn when he entered quickly brightened. Hye Joon actually was quite handsome, taking strongly after his famously good-looking father, Jang Sun Wook.
His features were closer to an actor than an idol, but still, there seemed to be decent demand for a face like that. He’d inherited actress Lee Ah Ra’s prettiness too, giving him an oddly charming appeal.
It was almost unbelievable that the agency was trying to toss him around like a ticking bomb, despite his insane family connections and good looks. Just how hopeless was he? Did he dance even worse than Choi Hyun Hee?
“So, Ye Jin.”
“Yeah?”
“Could you watch me practice for a bit?”
“Me? You’ve got trainers for that.”
“The trainers don’t really give me honest feedback.”
“What about other trainees in B-class?”
“Uh… Aside from Ji Oh hyung, I’m not really close with anyone else in B-class.”
“……”
“If possible, I’d prefer someone from A-class to check me out at least once. I want to know if I’m really that hopeless.”
Jang Hye Joon stared calmly at me and Ha Ram. Life really wasn’t fair. Born wealthy with incredibly rich parents, and even mentally resilient on top of that.
Since I’d become genuinely curious just how disastrous his skills were, I nodded without hesitation. Go Ha Ram, looking startled, also nodded along.
“A-class doesn’t have practice scheduled yet, right?”
“You want to do it now?”
“Yeah. It’s hard to match up schedules otherwise. If it’s fine, could you guys show me your practice room?”
“Alright.”
I led Hye Joon and Ha Ram out of the B-class practice room.
* * *
In the A-class practice room, we found someone already there.
“Our practice doesn’t start for a while.”
Kim Sung Hoon, who oversaw all the trainees, often occupied the practice room even outside scheduled hours. Usually, he practiced alone or studied, but today someone else was next to him.
With his bright red hair and blue tracksuit jacket, Shin Ji Oh lay sprawled out on the floor, lazily waving at us—completing his patriotic red-and-blue look.
“What’s Hye Joon doing in the A-class room?”
“I brought him,” I replied.
“You did, Ye Jin?”
“Yeah. Just wanted to practice something briefly.”
“What exactly? Normally, trainees from A and B-class aren’t allowed to freely enter each other’s rooms.”
Yet Shin Ji Oh from B-class is lying right next to you…?
Kim Sung Hoon still smiled gently, but continued pressing me. Considering his unusually persistent questioning, either ‘Pick Your Romeo’ was stressing him out, or he was feeding off Ji Oh’s presence and growing petty.
“I asked Ye Jin to check my dancing.”
Jang Hye Joon finally spoke up, breaking his silence. Behind us, Ha Ram—smart youngest member that he was—remained quiet, head slightly lowered.
If it were just Kim Sung Hoon, it’d be fine. But with Shin Ji Oh present, antagonizing senior trainees wouldn’t do us any favors. Older trainees, especially veterans, had a knack for bullying younger ones and could pick fights over the smallest things.
In my past life, since I’d never bothered hiding my bad personality, I’d fought back against those who tried to intimidate me, going wild like a rabid dog. But now, I couldn’t do that. I’d painstakingly built a nice image, and ruining it myself would be too much of a waste.
“You could’ve just asked the trainers to watch.”
“Leave him alone. The trainers can’t really criticize Hye Joon because of his parents.”
“Ahh. Still, it feels awkward. Ye Jin just joined recently, so he probably doesn’t know much. You might be comfortable with him since you’re the same age, but maybe it’d be better to ask someone who’s been here longer.”
“I’ll do that next time.”
“Alright. And if it’s too hard, you can always ask us.”
“Count me out. I’ve got my hands full already.”
Shin Ji Oh, who’d been lying down this whole time, slightly lifted his upper body to look at us. From his tracksuit pocket, something familiar briefly emerged, then disappeared again.
I immediately recognized what Ji Oh had in his pocket. How could I not? It was the e-cigarette brand I’d gotten hooked on past thirty.
This is crazy… A trainee smoking already? Even I only started after coming back from the army, who does he think he is, picking up smoking at this age?
Of course, Shin Ji Oh was twenty-two, so legally there wasn’t an issue. But it still rubbed me the wrong way. Here I am quitting cigarettes, so who’s he to smoke…?
“Oh, and Ye Jin.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t get cocky just because you’re a little talented. You get a few compliments from the trainers, and suddenly think you’re something special?”
“…I’m not.”
“Keep your head straight and stop causing trouble.”
“……”
“Debuting’s seventy percent luck anyway. You think you’re special? Plenty of talented trainees never debut. If the program edits you poorly, you’re done. Straight back into the warehouse.”
Shin Ji Oh kept speaking facts. Painful facts…
It wasn’t easy to be this condescending at just twenty-two. Part of me wanted to show him that when it came to being a jerk, I wouldn’t lose to anyone.
“Maybe worry about yourself first.”
