Episode 131: The Crazy Bastard of This Area Is Me (2)
Originally, there were a total of 20 trainees who appeared on Project Trinity.
Naturally, I don’t remember every single one of their faces.
No matter how much of a hot topic the program was, I was far too busy during that time to watch Project Trinity religiously.
Even if I had watched it, remembering everyone would have been impossible.
It’s a program from over ten years ago in my memory, and unlike Blind Singer, there weren’t any participants whose skills left such a deep impression that they stuck in my mind.
Still, that doesn’t mean there are no faces I clearly remember.
The ones I actually met in person and exchanged greetings with are still fresh in my memory.
‘Since we crossed paths not just once or twice, but quite often.’
The exact number is five.
Yes—the members who became the winning team of Project Trinity and debuted as the girl group Trinity.
And starting from the very first introduction video, one of the faces etched in my memory appeared.
[Moon Esther (17, Sunshine Entertainment)]
‘Her skills really are S-Class 1TOP.’
The claim that she was unanimously called the absolute best among the only three S-Class trainees in the original Project Trinity seems to be a fact.
Even Nari, who gets comments within MyWay like “She could debut anytime and it wouldn’t be strange,” falls a little short by my standards. But Moon Esther is at a level where I’d give her a passing score even by my criteria.
‘Betting everything on this one kid would actually be worth trying.’
In reality, that strategy did work to some extent.
The problem was that it was the only strategy they had.
Moon Esther—Trinity’s leader, main vocalist, main dancer, center, visual, variety show member, and even handled live fan communication—was, in one word, the “girl breadwinner.”
The more Moon Esther’s popularity stood out, the more the other members’ enthusiasm waned.
As their lack of sincerity dragged down the overall evaluation of the girl group Trinity,
Moon Esther, who still gave her all, earned even more favor and her popularity surged further.
And the more Moon Esther’s popularity surged… well, no need to explain the rest.
In that vicious cycle, bound by a one-year contract, she rotted away helplessly—her image in the latter half of Trinity’s activities is a tragic scene that anyone who overlapped with that period remembers clearly.
‘Anyone could see her insides were rotting away… yet she still smiled in front of others.’
If even a second-year rookie fresh out of the rookie phase could feel that much, then that says it all.
Still, the one fortunate thing is that, among the original Trinity members, she was the only one who continued in the entertainment industry.
‘Whether it’s fortunate that she became “actress Moon Si-hyang” instead of idol Moon Esther is debatable.’
But considering the passion and tenacity she showed, I do think it counts as fortunate.
There were more than a few people who never got repaid for that passion and tenacity.
“Tch.”
Feeling a bitter taste on the tip of my tongue for no good reason, I scratched my head roughly as Moon Esther’s introduction video ended.
After that came the rest of Sunshine’s trainees, followed by those from Overwhelm and JWY.
[Song A-rin (17, Overwhelm Entertainment)]
[Sato Kanon (16, JWY Entertainment)]
‘These two were here too.’
The first faces introduced from Overwhelm and JWY were also familiar ones.
But they’re on a slightly different track from Moon Esther.
Song A-rin is the “Song” in “Chae Song-hwa,” the visual member line representing fifth-generation girl groups, and Sato Kanon.
Judging purely by the skills shown in this video, I’d have to give them scores a bit lower than Esther—and even slightly below Nari.
‘But their visuals are straight-up gangster level.’
The kind of charm that instantly seizes the eyes of countless men is definitely there.
Considering they’re in a bare-faced state with none of the pre-debut beauty treatments that are basically mandatory, the S-Class evaluation doesn’t feel insufficient at all.
[Seol Nari (19, MyWay Entertainment)]
Other than those two, there aren’t any faces or names I recognize, so I just watched based on skill alone. Then MyWay’s turn came up quickly, led by Nari.
There was no need to rewatch Nari’s video, so I tapped through it continuously,
[Han Chae-kyung (21, MyWay Entertainment)]
The moment I saw the following text, one thought suddenly came to mind.
‘Come to think of it… Chae Song-hwa are all gathered here.’
The last member of the fifth-generation girl group visual top 3, alongside Song A-rin and Sato Kanon, was none other than Chae-kyung.
Of course, unlike in the previous timeline, Chae-kyung won’t be grouped together with Song A-rin and Sato Kanon under the nickname “Chae Song-hwa.”
By the time Song A-rin and Sato Kanon debuted in their respective groups, Chae-kyung had already soared high after passing through my hands with Laira.
In the case of the Chae Song-hwa line, their skills were as outstanding as their visuals, which is why they became the representative name for fifth-generation girl groups.
‘This is a bit…’
Even I would feel guilty tying the current Chae-kyung together with those two.
She has some foundation from originally dreaming of becoming an idol, so there aren’t any glaring flaws like being unable to match pitch or rhythm.
But it’s also true that compared to the other trainees, she clearly falls short.
Proof of that is her class being set at D.
Honestly, even D feels generous for Chae-kyung’s current level.
If Project Trinity’s class system had extended to E instead of stopping at S, A, B, C, D, she would have been 100% in that bottom category.
At best, Chae-kyung’s strong point is her youthful appearance that doesn’t lose out to Song A-rin or Sato Kanon despite the 5–6 year age gap,
‘But I crushed that.’
In fact, when that video was shot, she was desperately trying to hide even that charm as much as possible.
[Baek So-young (18, MyWay Entertainment)]
So-young isn’t much different from Chae-kyung.
The “rap” So-young is doing in the video is the exact same thing she never managed to fix even in the previous timeline, to the point she eventually gave up on it.
‘Yul-bok hyung is probably going to be cursing nonstop when he sees this, 100%.’
After Nari’s part raised expectations sky-high, this is a drop so steep it’s not even a rollercoaster plunge—it’s like the track got ripped out entirely. If curses don’t come out of that man’s mouth, that would be the weirder outcome.
The other three producers must have clearly realized by now that Chae-kyung and So-young are “mines” to avoid even among the “passed over” trainees.
That conviction only grew stronger the moment I saw the five participants from mid-tier agencies who came after So-young.
‘Look at this Ryu Je-hoon bastard…?’
Among those five, the only face I remember is
[Jin Ro-a (20, Pressure Entertainment)]
—the one Chinese B-Class trainee that the producer who dumped a massive amount of points to snag Moon Esther must have squeezed in with whatever scraps were left.
The other three—the massive sinkhole of Trinity, the ones who were definitely passed over in the auction—aren’t even in the lineup.
‘The lowest class is C-Class?’
The D-Class members, who were clearly thrown in on purpose to balance things out, are nowhere to be seen.
Which means,
‘They’re planning to use Chae-kyung and So-young as the villains?’
It’s painfully obvious they intend to assign Chae-kyung and So-young the “cancer-inducing sweet potato” role that the original sinkhole members faithfully filled in the previous timeline.
‘See? You can’t trust those broadcasting station bastards.’
There are exceptions like Hong Hyun-wook PD from Blind Singer, but no matter how nice they seem, variety show department people—especially the ones from Music On Net—are packed to the brim with demons.
The higher their position, the more they’re devilish types you absolutely cannot trust.
They acted like they’d do anything if I just gave up one of MyWay’s recommended trainee slots, and now they pull this?
‘Of course, I did leave them an opening…’
But that was bait thrown expecting them to bite it in one go.
This is more than enough proof that you can’t blindly trust broadcasting station people.
My thoughts stopped there.
Because at that moment, a shadow fell over me.
“Watching something fun?”
I pulled the earphones out of my ears, lifted my gaze from the phone screen, and looked up—only to find the Pilates instructor who had been teaching the kids now standing right in front of me.
“Ah, I just had something work-related to check real quick. Are you done?”
“Yes. I can see them improving day by day, so it’s really rewarding to teach them. By the way, Producer-nim, are you actually working right now?”
“Of course?”
“No, it’s just… for someone working, you were laughing way too happily. It definitely didn’t look like a working face… right?”
The person she was seeking agreement from was, naturally, the kids.
From a few steps back, they were glancing at me awkwardly and smiling sheepishly—clearly, I must have looked that way in their eyes too.
‘Well, yeah…’
Things are moving exactly as I expected.
On top of that, Ryu Je-hoon has voluntarily cleared out any potential landmines for me.
In a situation where it would be weirder not to laugh, it seems I’ve caused a bit of a strange misunderstanding.
The way to clear up the misunderstanding is simple.
Just show them the video I was watching.
But I left them to their misunderstanding.
‘How am I supposed to show them this?’
This video is currently confidential, but it will soon be released to the public.
‘They did agree to be filmed, but still…’
No matter what, from Chae-kyung and So-young’s perspective, this is the kind of material that will remain a lifelong dark history.
Chae-kyung and So-young probably won’t misunderstand that I was laughing at them, but rather than shoving this in their faces and making them embarrassed, it’s better to just let them think I was slacking off.
There’s also an issue coming up that will blow this kind of misunderstanding out of their heads in one go anyway.
“If weight training is done, hurry up and finish with cardio.”
Even though my voice came out a little brusque, strange smiles were floating in the kids’ eyes.
It’s the kind of smile that says they think I’m acting this way out of embarrassment.
‘How are they supposed to survive in this harsh world when their thoughts are so transparent?’
A poker face is practically a required virtue for entertainers.
For a brief moment I wondered how I was supposed to teach them that.
But right now, I decided to forcefully drive out the random thoughts cluttering their heads.
“Nari.”
“Yes!”
“After weight training and lunch…”
“Yes! We’ll head to the meeting room!”
When I paused and trailed off, Nari immediately filled in the blank with her reflexive answer.
Since the common sense and personality classes we do with them are always held in the meeting room, that response would normally have been correct.
“No.”
Unfortunately, today it’s wrong.
Starting today, the time for those classes will be pushed back a little.
“Eat lunch, rest properly, and come to the third-floor practice room by 1 o’clock.”
“Huh?”
Nari, who always answered my instructions instantly, this time asked back as if confirming.
It shows just how unexpected this was.
Not just Nari—Chae-kyung and So-young were also standing there wide-eyed, frozen in place.
“The practice room?”
“You don’t know the third-floor practice room?”
“No, it’s not that…”
I know perfectly well she wasn’t asking because she didn’t know where I meant.
How much time have we spent here? There’s no way Nari doesn’t know that place.
She’s just struggling to process the sudden change in schedule.
To Nari, who was like that, I explained the kids’ newly changed schedule in a bit more detail.
“Starting today, we begin dance training. The existing classes will happen after dinner, so Nari and So-young—tell your parents you’ll be coming home late from today onward.”
Then, without waiting for their replies, I turned my back.
A moment later,
“Kyaaaah!”
“Really? We’re actually starting training now?”
From behind me came So-young’s high-pitched scream and Chae-kyung’s voice full of disbelief.
‘Is it really that exciting?’
One person isn’t making any noise, so she probably understands.
Well… it’s not exactly something to be purely happy about.
***************
TL Note:
Want to read ahead?
Chapters 132–158 are available on My Patreon (Premium Tier) together with 5 other novels.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
[This series is in the “Regressed Idol” collection]
If you joined mainly for this novel, a quick message would really help me decide whether to continue translating it.
**************