TDOCD Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Ryu Mansion

"Welcome, young lady."

The phrase sent shivers down my spine.

Did they really just call me 'young lady'?

Maintaining my composure became increasingly difficult as I stood before the magnificent mansion.

I never knew such a place existed in South Korea.

A two-story estate, each floor spanning at least 1,000 square meters, with a vast courtyard that seemed to stretch endlessly.

"Young lady, are you feeling alright?"

A staff member's voice snapped me back to reality.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by an enormous number of people.

Employees sharing household duties, managers overseeing them, secretaries rushing by, and butlers standing at attention.

I had a vague recollection from Ryu Ji-ye's memories, but facing this grandeur in person was overwhelming.

So this is what it means to be the owner of Korea's top company.

The scene before me was more dramatic than any drama I'd ever watched, and I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

"Why are you standing there in a daze? Everyone's been waiting for you. Hurry up,"

Ryu Jae-geum's impatient voice cut through my thoughts.

"Oh..."

I mumbled, following him into the house.

"Geez, just thinking about the schedules delayed because of her... Auntie, don't give her anything tasty for a while, just porridge. She needs to learn her lesson,"

Ryu Jae-geum grumbled, clearly displeased with me as he gestured for me to go to my room.

As I obediently entered the room guided by the staff, another hollow laugh escaped my lips.

"Is this for real..." I whispered, taking in my surroundings.

The room was bigger than my old dorm, which had felt cramped with several members living together.

"What on earth..." I shook my head vigorously, trying to clear my thoughts. This wasn't the time for wondering. I had left the hospital early, forgoing rest, so I needed to focus on what needed to be done.

I awkwardly made my way to Ryu Ji-ye's desk, where a laptop sat waiting.

Searching for the password in my memory, I unlocked it and began my investigation.

The first thing to do was to accurately assess my current situation.

I turned to the internet, searching for my name first. 'Hong Yeo-eun' - my original name.

As a debuted singer, there should have been search results, but... nothing.

Even if I was a failed idol, it didn't make sense. During my active days, searching my name would at least have brought up some information and related videos.

"Hmm..."

No Starstar account, and my phone number was being used by someone else.

There wasn't even a single article about my accident even if the dates matched.

The existence of Hong Yeo-eun had vanished without a trace.

Strangely, it wasn't as shocking as I thought it would be.

When I first became Ryu Ji-ye, I had checked, but there was no information about Hong Yeo-eun or my group 'Choux Cream'.

Back then, I thought maybe the group name was too common to search easily, or that I couldn't look properly because I was wary of Ryu Jae-geum.

I searched for my former group members' names, finding they existed and were living different lives.

Some had even debuted in other groups and were doing better. I stared blankly at the Starstar account of a member who had randomly become an announcer.

It seemed that only I and our group, 'Choux Cream', had disappeared along with our fans and all our efforts.

Snapping back to reality, I overlaid a new search term: [Start Plan]. Countless articles and the official Start Plan homepage link appeared.

"UNET Start Plan - The Beginning for Your Dream" read the headline.

This, at least, remained unchanged. UNET's annual audition program continued to thrive as their flagship variety show.

Each year, they brought it back without fail, varying the format to keep it fresh. Sometimes it pitted debut trainee groups from different agencies against each other, while other times it gathered 100 individual trainees to compete.

Regardless of the specific format, the show consistently captivated audiences with its blend of talent, drama, and dreams.

Despite last season's controversial broadcast, the cycle began anew. It was time for agencies to recruit trainees once again.

UNET's clockwork-like process of sending official documents to agencies gave industry insiders like myself a heads-up on the show's content and timing well before any public announcements.

​The youngest member of our group had seriously considered participating so I knew the details.

As far as I knew, right before the motorcycle accident, when our disbandment was decided, the agency's trainee recruitment had ended.

And usually, right after the agency trainee recruitment ends, individual trainee recruitment begins.

I thought this was exactly that recruitment period.

With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, I clicked on the official homepage link. A popup appeared:

" Individual Trainee Recruitment - We are recruiting individual trainees who will challenge for their brilliant dreams."

As I thought! I laughed inwardly while rejoicing.

This was my chance.

The best way to convince my new family would be to show results.

Ryu Ji-ye's parents, fortunately, were the type to support her passions if she showed talent.

Unlike her brothers, Ryu Jin-woo and Ryu Jae-geum, who were under pressure with their parents' expectations for business succession, Ryu Ji-ye had grown up receiving only love and care.

I remembered 18-year-old Ryu Ji-ye's outburst that had freed her from business expectations:

"Why are you forcing me to study? Dad, I told you I'm not interested in the company! Don't even think about putting me in the company! I hate it, I said I hate it! This is gaslighting! Why do I have to work at a job just because I was born into this family? I'm really unhappy. I want to leave home, I'll sue you, really!"

She had been unable to control her temper. After the house was turned upside down, Ryu Ji-ye's parents completely gave up on the idea of passing on the business to her.

They probably thought that if they entrusted the company to this troublemaker, it would definitely fail.

"Okay... You just need to live healthily and happily. That's all we wished for when you were born."

I felt a wave of gratitude.

"Thank you, Ryu Ji-ye," I thought.

She must have caused her parents a lot of grief with that personality, but I was grateful.

Her rebellious nature had paved the way for my freedom now.

I planned to notify the family after passing the audition.

If I could clearly show that I had talent, this family was likely to allow anything. And if it led directly to debut, that would be even better.

Without hesitation, I clicked 'Apply'.

Start Plan was an entertainment program that combined the previously successful team competition show and individual survival audition program.

The process was quite unique: a survival shows with a total of six trainee groups, but not all of them were teams from companies.

Among them, 4 teams were debut groups sent by agencies, and 2 teams were newly formed from individual participating trainees.

It seemed to be a strategy to capture it all at once: the chemistry between well-prepared debut trainee groups and their high-quality performances, the raw atmosphere and clumsiness that only individual trainees could bring, the growth narrative that developed day by day, and participants with skills threatening enough to challenge the debut group trainees.

As the goal was quite ambitious, they had no choice but to be picky in selecting individual trainees.

They needed to choose people who were either charming or skilled enough not to be overwhelmed by the debut group trainees who were already outstanding in skills or individuality.

People who, although unaffiliated, were prepared enough to debut right now without any problems.

They would select people considering the harmony when formed into a team.

In that sense, I was in a very advantageous situation. I was pretty and had good stats in various categories.

With Hong Yeo-eun's seven years of experience embedded in Ryu Ji-ye's body.

I had an advantage that others didn't.

As I began filling out the application, a sense of determination washed over me.

This was more than just an audition; it was my chance to reclaim my dreams and forge a new path in this unexpected life.

Whatever challenges lay ahead, I was ready to face them head-on.