Episode 114: Audition (2)
Should I call it the distant future, or the distant past?
At some point, fans of a certain girl group started referring to its two vocalists by a particular nickname.
“The Veggie Line.”
They said just listening to them made your ears feel healthier.
Of course, everyone who knew the origin understood that it was just a forced fit—the name simply came from taking the first syllables of the two vocalists’ names. The “healthy” part was pure fan embellishment.
Because,
‘Chae-kyung wasn’t at that level from the beginning.’
She started as a visual member, not a vocal line member, right?
I was the one who built her vocals from the ground up, step by step, until she reached that point. There’s no way the Veggie Line nickname, which already existed early in their debut, carried that kind of meaning because of her.
On the other hand, So-young was already a near-complete vocalist from the moment I first saw her—there was almost no room for me to intervene.
‘She’s only lead vocal because of Yujin; in any other group, she’d be undisputed main vocal.’
That was the assessment she received even in her duet with Sung-hoon, where she never once yielded the lead and fought fiercely for dominance. That says it all.
That’s why.
“Then shall we hear what you’ve prepared? What did you bring?”
“Ah, I prepared a song.”
“What’s the title?”
Even when the audition began with zero embellishment.
“Sunbae Yoon Hye-seong’s ‘Foreigner.’”
The moment I realized the song So-young had chosen was one so difficult that—even among trainees who received an A-grade vocal evaluation internally at MyWay after receiving my guidance—most could only barely scrape by with it,
“Oho… Bold choice… I’m not trying to crush your spirit from the start, but… this song has a very clear comparison group. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“Uh… Yes. It’s fine.”
Even when Jeon Seon-woo muttered in genuine surprise and asked that cautious question,
‘If So-young sets the bar this high from the start, what about the rest of them?’
I was already worrying about that—because I knew exactly how skilled she was.
So maybe that’s why ‘that’ hit even harder as shock.
After So-young’s rendition of Foreigner ended, layered over the signature acoustic guitar sound that was Yoon Hye-seong’s trademark,
“Thank you. Good job.”
Jeon Seon-woo sent her out with those simple words,
“Hmm… Honestly, after seeing E-GIS, I had high expectations… If they’re all only at this level, I’m going to be pretty disappointed… I don’t think this one can come with us. What do you think, Yujin-ssi?”
The fact that I ended up accepting his “fail” verdict on So-young—
‘In the world… The Veggie Line’s Baek So-young… failed…?’
In the previous timeline, that would have been unthinkable.
The biggest reason Lee Hee-kyung didn’t just abandon Laira after their debut album flopped completely, but instead pulled out the ultimate firefighter—me—was precisely,
“So-young is too good to waste. Don’t you want to try polishing her, Yujin?”
Because of that vocal ability of hers.
In fact, half the reason I stepped in was the potential I saw in Chae-kyung; the other half was my judgment that even if Chae-kyung didn’t rise as high as expected, So-young could fill the gap.
And yet Jeon Seon-woo’s assessment also made perfect sense.
“Her voice is really good… but other than that, there’s not much charm, is there?”
The gap between the So-young standing here now and the one in my memory is simply too vast.
There was none of the bold confidence she once had—where she would snatch the lead from Sung-hoon with her clear, soaring vocals.
None of the attitude that said, “If you think you can take main vocal from me while Chae-kyung charges up from below, then go ahead and try.”
Right now, all I could see was someone desperately trying to mimic ‘Yoon Hye-seong, who crushes difficult songs with sheer vocal weight’ using nothing but a refreshingly clear voice.
“Let’s decide after we see the rest. We can talk then.”
“Hmm. You still have some expectations left, Yujin-ssi. Too high expectations lead to big disappointments. Alright. Let’s take our time and watch the others first.”
I answered Jeon Seon-woo’s words with a light smile.
‘Disappointing… Yeah. It really is disappointing.’
I wonder what kind of face he’d make if he knew that what disappointed me wasn’t the kids’ skill—but his own judgment.
‘Who knows?’
Of course, I can’t blame Jeon Seon-woo.
Honestly, if someone asked me whether I could picture the So-young of two years later just from looking at the current one with no prior information, I’d have to shake my head too.
‘What on earth happened in the next two years?’
I’m curious.
So curious I could go crazy—but unfortunately, there’s no way to solve that mystery right now.
‘The only way to find out is to fail So-young here.’
The fact that So-young debuted at Starlight instead of Jooyul means—for whatever reason—she had no choice but to leave Jooyul.
If I let go of her hand here, the mystery of how the current So-young could evolve into that confident main vocal might be solved.
But,
‘Have I lost my mind? Let her go?’
I’d rather live with this question forever than watch So-young walk back into Starlight.
Even if the future changes and she ends up somewhere else entirely, it’s certain I’d be left with an unsolvable stomachache.
‘And what if she just quits the industry altogether because of this?’
Ugh—just thinking about it is horrifying.
Let’s stop thinking about it.
The reason I asked Jeon Seon-woo for time to think wasn’t what he assumed.
Right now, my head is filled with nothing but: ‘How can I bring So-young to MyWay without causing any noise?’
And the answer came quickly.
‘No justification…’
More precisely—Jeon Seon-woo’s justification is too solid.
In reality, the current So-young is lacking. Severely lacking.
‘If I push hard, I could force it through.’
I’ve built up enough mileage that if I insist on taking So-young, Jeon Seon-woo would probably give in with a reluctant “Fine.”
Even if he strongly opposes, making So-young join MyWay wouldn’t be that difficult.
‘I just need to nudge Seo Yoonje a little.’
I know exactly how hard So-young works, and I know exactly how brightly she can shine. Proving that my eyes were right when she finally sheds her shell is a foregone conclusion.
‘The problem is…’
I don’t know how long that will take.
And during that time, So-young will have to endure indescribable sidelong glances.
‘No matter how much it’s MyWay, it’s still a place where people live…’
There’s no utopia in this world that kindly accepts a parachute hire with no skill.
‘I need some kind of impact…’
Even as the second, third, and fourth turns passed, no answer came to that dilemma.
‘Is that the only way…?’
Well—there is one.
Fail So-young for now, then hold onto her leash from the outside as tightly as possible. Level her up, and bring her back to MyWay later.
It’s the only way everyone can be happy.
‘But I’ll be the one suffering.’
From So-young’s perspective, failing her and then offering help might look like mockery unless I handle it perfectly—and convincing her of my sincerity will be entirely on me.
Carving out my personal time outside of regular hours to raise her skill level will also be entirely on me.
‘Do I really have to go that far…?’
The thought crossed my mind.
But in the end, the greed already firmly rooted inside me—the desire to raise with my own hands the So-young who appeared fully completed before me in the previous timeline—couldn’t be suppressed.
‘No helping it.’
I let out a quiet sigh and was about to sink into thinking about how exactly to walk that difficult path when—
“Last turn.”
“Hello!”
With a bright, lively voice, Jooyul’s final trainee appeared.
And the moment I saw her face,
‘Wait… this… maybe I don’t even need to go back…?’
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
Because that face was familiar to me in a very different way from So-young’s.
“So… you decided to make that call right here, in person?”
The question came from Seo Yoonje, sitting at a desk far busier than usual.
“Yes. There’s one trainee where Team Leader Jeon and I have completely opposing opinions.”
The answer came from me.
Since I was the one who dragged the already-busy Seo Yoonje into this, it was only right that I take responsibility.
“You said five, right? It shouldn’t take too long. Alright. Let’s hear it.”
“Ah, I don’t think we need to go through all five. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 are fails. I think Team Leader Jeon and I are aligned on those.”
Even though my head was tangled up thinking about So-young, I hadn’t kept my eyes and ears closed.
‘There’s no way another Laira member pops up out of nowhere… but you never know who else might appear.’
From now until two years later, Laira isn’t the only girl group that debuts.
Until the generation shift begins with Laira at the forefront, the current top-tier girl groups will continue dominating the scene—but even in that landscape, a few members from a few groups still shine brightly. I was half-worried one of them might show up.
‘Well… there wasn’t.’
No such coincidence occurred again. The remaining three were average at best.
If it had been a public audition, maybe things would’ve been different—but since this was a re-evaluation framed as fairness to existing trainees, those three unfortunately had to say goodbye.
Jeon Seon-woo seemed to share the same view; his checklist marked 2, 3, and 4 firmly in the “fail” column.
“Yes. Honestly, it seems difficult for them to join us right away. How about we close it cleanly by giving them priority document screening exemption for the August public audition?”
Still, a faint sense of resignation lingered in Jeon Seon-woo’s eyes as he spoke.
He already seemed to anticipate why this meeting had been called.
‘Makes sense.’
The trainee who should’ve been the first to be disqualified—number 1, So-young—hadn’t come up yet. If he couldn’t predict that much, he wouldn’t even deserve to be sitting here.
“It seems like the one we’re going to disagree on is number 1. Let’s talk about her…”
As expected.
Jeon Seon-woo immediately brought up So-young,
“No.”
I cut him off right away.
“Let’s start with number 5. That’s where we’ll diverge.”
“Huh? Number 5?”
Even though I interrupted him, there wasn’t a trace of displeasure on Jeon Seon-woo’s face.
And understandably so.
“Catherine is already at the level right behind Nari and Sang-ah. She could join MyWay immediately.”
Number 5 trainee, Catherine.
She was undoubtedly the biggest reason Jo Dae-hwan accepted girl group trainees into Jooyul in the first place.
The shock of potentially not accepting someone like her would outweigh any annoyance at being interrupted.
But,
“Yes. I figured Team Leader would say that. But she’s a no.”
Just as Jeon Seon-woo couldn’t understand me,
Seo Yoonje’s eyes sharpened.
My firm tone had clearly piqued his interest.
“May we hear the reason?”
At Seo Yoonje’s question, Jeon Seon-woo stepped back slightly and waited for my answer.
Unfortunately, what I was about to say probably wouldn’t fully resolve his confusion.
“Just… she gives me a bad vibe.”
“Huh?”
“Something feels off about Catherine. Run a background check on her. I have a feeling something will come up. Rather than bringing her in, I’d prefer to take number 1—Baek So-young—and develop her myself.”
Even among parachute hires, the atmosphere changes completely depending on what kind of parachute they arrive on.
If it’s someone who dropped in after dodging school violence allegations through name changes, overseas study, and every kind of whitewashing imaginable…
‘Wouldn’t people start getting scared and quietly back off?’
They call him the Magician for a reason. Since it’s come to this, might as well ride the magic blade once and see.
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