chapter 150
150 – Audition Main Stage 1 (3)
Early morning, on the plane to Korea.
Tomoe looked around at the business class she had flown for the first time in her life.
She had only flown first class so far, so this narrow seat was just amazing.
As she slowly rolled her eyes to the side, Setsuna, whom I had known for a month, seemed to be practicing Zen.
She didn’t move, with her back straight and her hands resting gently on her knees.
Is meditation a hobby?
‘It’s a pity that Producer Ishinami can’t come.’
Currently, producer Hikari Ishinami’s scope of work is limited to Japan.
The reason was that even though the Japanese idol market was well known, the Korean idol market was still unknown.
It was natural since she was originally a Japanese idol, but
She thought it would be nice for Tomoe to follow her.
Suddenly an idea occurred to me.
Take on Producer Hikari Ishinami as your exclusive secretary.
If I succeed to the Marui conglomerate in the future, I will be able to hire at least one or two secretaries.
‘But then you and I will fight.’
What she said to Setsuna last night was sincere when she said she didn’t want to turn pregnant women into enemies.
She chose the environment and means given to her well and had the resourcefulness to shake even her father.
Of course, if you look at the pregnancy path, there was quite a bit of luck.
But who said it was Unchilgisam?
In the end, no matter how lucky you are, you can only save your luck if you support it with technology.
“Mr. Nagano.”
“Yes, yes!!”
… I just spoke lightly and Setsuna bounced in her place like a spring.
The fact that her shouting caught the attention of other passengers was a bonus.
She silently looked at Setsuna, who had made a big deal out of her by going to the Japanese branch office of GI Productions and asking her to produce.
Looking back on practicing together for a month, honestly, the vocals are neither good nor bad.
Even if I’m not good at dancing, Tomoe thought, there’s room for further growth in the future.
At least based on what Tomoe studied about her idols,
With Setsuna’s level of skill, it seemed like she could easily debut as an idol.
I thought that Im Bu-gil did not accept her offer for no reason.
“What are your hobbies?”
“Yes? “My hobby?”
“Yes, Mr. Nagano is the only one here.”
There was a manager behind the scenes.
“My hobby is following female idols!”
“… “Isn’t that work?”
“Yes? “Idols are basically about achieving success.”
She was at a loss for words as Setsuna spoke as if it was so obvious, and Tomoe was speechless.
It was definitely not a case of Tomoe becoming an idol because he liked idols.
She wasn’t interested at all, but she only made it her goal when producer Hikari Ishinami convinced her to become an idol.
Furthermore, Tomoe no longer had to risk her life only on idols.
Of course, both her pregnant wife and producer Hikari Ishinami actively helped her in the hopes of making her into an idol.
But if she becomes the group’s successor and actively invests in the company, it is also a big reward.
Nevertheless, the reason why Tomoe wants to go all the way to Korea and audition for her idol is,
She also wanted to show that she was a genius.
In the eyes of others, it was just a matter of filling her poor self-esteem.
“Ma, Marui, what are your hobbies?”
This time, Setsuna cautiously asked Tomoe.
But she answered Tomoe with a frown.
“Why do you call me Marui?”
“Yes? “That’s because you are the daughter of the Marui family.”
“Nagano-san is not even my subordinate. Call it normal. Anyway, we are the same aspirants. And my stage name is Kojo Tomoe, not Marui Tomoe.”
“Ko, can I call you Mr. Kojo…” ?”
Tomoe nodded her head.
She was instantly moved by Setsuna’s name and later regretted speaking harshly.
She, she, she must have cared in her own way.
“I’m sorry. “I don’t like my family.”
“Really?”
Setsuna tilts her head as if she doesn’t understand at all.
Tomoe thought that it was natural for ordinary people to wonder why they don’t like their own family, even though it is a conglomerate family that everyone envies.
Still, I didn’t want to talk about this for a long time with Setsuna.
“My hobby is single games.”
“Single game?”
“You know, video games, you play them by connecting them to the TV. “It’s a game you play alone, not with others.”
“Ah~”
Setsuna stared at Tomoe’s face with her big eyes, as if she was truly surprised.
“Nagano, don’t you play games?”
“I tried social games for a while, but the gachas cost too much money. “I started not doing it anymore.”
Tomoe and Setsuna continued their conversation for 5 minutes.
But after just 5 minutes, we ran out of conversation material.
There was only silence between the two.
Tomoe realized once again that talking to people is difficult.
***
Immediately after arriving at Incheon Airport, Tomoe and Setsuna were picked up in separate cars and headed to the Seoul studio.
This was a measure taken to prevent rumors that they were aspiring idols who had already caught the eye of producer Im Boo-gil.
If such a rumor spreads, it is certain that there will be rumors that Producer Lim Boo-gil’s review was biased.
I had the longest conversation with Tomoe so far, Setsuna thought as she got into the car.
I can meet a producer once and have a private chat with the daughter of a chaebol family.
It seemed like everything was thanks to producer Lim Boo-gil.
But as she got closer to Seoul, her worries began to dominate Setsuna’s mind again.
Will she be able to survive until the end of this survival audition?
It is not known exactly how many people she will select in this audition, but
She thought she would pick at least five people.
‘5Th place out of 100….’
Even when I was in school, I never received a rank like that.
I was increasingly worried about what I would do if I failed.
I wonder if producer Im Boo-gil is throwing it out, saying he was disappointed in him.
For Setsuna, his existence was the path to becoming an idol.
“We have arrived. Just in case, I parked a little in front, so you can walk for about 2 minutes.”
“Oh yes, thank you.”
While I was imagining being abandoned by producer Im Boo-gil and returning to my hometown to farm in tears, the manager who drove me spoke in a deep voice.
Setsuna got out of her car and walked in the direction her manager indicated.
After walking for just 2 minutes, the studio building appeared.
I went into the entrance of the building and changed into my gym clothes.
The color of her gym uniform that Setsuna received was red.
She entered the waiting room with the red door.
‘This outfit is pretty.’
The feeling of whether or not she was exposed suited Setsuna’s taste.
Soon, the waiting room was filled with ten aspiring idols, including Setsuna.
I heard the voice of MC Moon Deok-seung, whom I saw a lot on Korean TV.
In order to promote friendship among members, instructions were given to attach white cloth to the top of the gym uniform and write each other’s names.
‘Isn’t this Zekin?’
The clothes I just changed into are gym clothes of a style that often appears in Japanese media.
Attaching a piece of cloth with the name on it was also close to a Japanese name tag.
… She remembered ironing and sewing when she was in school.
None of the ten aspiring idols in the waiting room came forward willingly, as if they were being noticed.
Setsuna just rolled her eyes.
I was afraid of criticism that I was showing off, but I thought that among these people, I was probably the only one who was familiar with this type of name tag.
Setsuna, holding the white cloth given to her by the staff, approached the nearest aspiring idol.
“What is your name?”
“Yes?”
“Your name. “I’ll write your name down and give it to you.”
“Oh, yes.”
I wrote the other person’s name in marker, peeled off the double-sided tape on the other side of the cloth, and attached it.
As Setsuna moved, her other idol trainees followed suit and asked each other her name.
In about 2 to 3 minutes, the name tags were attached to the front and back of the ten people’s shirts.
-Did you paste everything? If you’ve put it all together, shout out loud!
“”Yes!””
A sound rang out at the same time in another waiting room.
The shouts of a hundred people were enough to blind our ears for a moment.
Setsuna once again felt the considerable number of aspiring idols gathered here.
-Now, let’s discuss and decide on a group name! Please name your group something that is related to the color of your clothes!
Let’s all come up with a group name together.
Setsuna was doubtful whether he would be able to come up with a name that would satisfy all ten people.
She thought the production team would just randomly select her, but it was unexpected.
“The wall is a whiteboard, so you can write with the marker I gave you earlier.”
The staff said, pointing to the left and right walls.
Setsuna thought deeply.
What is related to red?
… Ladybug?
A red ladybug suddenly came to mind.
The English name for a ladybug is Ladybird, so it’s surprisingly good, isn’t it?
I didn’t really use this name until I debuted, and even if it’s a bit childish, it’s more advantageous for broadcasts like this to stand out.
Although it was a bit embarrassing to think that way, Setsuna opened her mouth.
“Ladybug—.”
“Fire truck—.”
But it overlapped with another aspirant.
Fire trucks are also red, so fire trucks?
The remaining eight aspirants could not keep their mouths shut at the two’s naming sense.
Ladybug and fire truck.
… It was a group name that was very far from a girl group.
Setsuna approached her would-be friend who gave her fire truck opinion.
The name tag said [Kim Hye-shin].
“Ladybug is ladybird in English, so doesn’t ladybug have a better connotation?”
“Even if it’s Lady Bird, it’s still a bug, so wouldn’t a grand and cool fire truck be better?”
Setsuna and Kim Heshin each argued that the group name they thought was better.
In no time, the blackboard was filled with ladybugs and fire trucks.
Meanwhile, Setsuna was one of the other eight who thought that although she was Japanese, she spoke Korean very well and wrote Korean well.
-2 Minutes remaining! I think there are some teams that haven’t been decided yet, so please finish it quickly!
Both Setsuna and Kim Hye-shin had nothing left to say to persuade the other.
Now that things were like this, we had no choice but to come to an agreement.
“Let’s go with Ladybug and the fire truck.”
“Of course.”
“But it was too long, so I shortened it….”
“Muso?”
“Yes, let’s go to Muso.”
This was the moment when the group name of the red team was decided.