TDOCD Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Choi Song-yi

"And here I thought she was so composed, but Ji-ye says this is actually her being nervous."

Han Damin said while playfully touching my hair. Yes, Ryu Ji-ye really doesn't show it at all.

I nodded in agreement, then pointed to Choi Song-yi who was staring intently at us from a distance.

"I hear that a lot, but Song-yi's the same way. You can't tell when she's nervous either."

"Are you unnies talking about me?"

Seeing how she'd been trying to join the conversation for a while, I brought it up. As expected, Choi Song-yi eagerly approached us.

Han Damin and I made space between us, letting Song-yi stand in the middle.

"You're like Ji-ye - you don't show when you're nervous. Though with Ji-ye, when she says she's nervous, you can kind of believe it."

"Yeah, yeah."

"But with Song-yi, I wonder if you ever get nervous at all?"

I instinctively looked at Choi Song-yi.

When I get nervous, I become quiet and have trouble hearing what others are saying. While it might not show on my face, my behavior gives it away.

In contrast, Song-yi shows no signs of nervousness in either her expression or actions. She often makes jokes about nervous members or gets completely distracted doing other things.

Until recently, I wondered if Song-yi wasn't even interested in any of this.

'I didn't know until I held her hand.'

During the first-round rankings announcement, when Song-yi grabbed my hand, I felt it trembling and damp with sweat.

That's when I knew – Song-yi was taking this competition quite seriously too.

However, as if wanting to hide this fact, Song-yi shrugged her shoulders and acted smugly.

"I haven't been nervous since Gaenari Kindergarten."

Gaenari Kindergarten? Ah, that children's channel where Song-yi had appeared since she was young.

The camera man nodded absently at our conversation before asking, "Among the other five teams, is there any team that particularly stands out or concerns you?"

"A team we're concerned about? Hmm..."

As the members, including myself, were about to contemplate this-

"Starting filming!"

The director's voice echoed through the massive venue.

The camera that had been filming us quickly disappeared below the stage, and we separated to take our positions.

The dim lights illuminating the entire venue went dark, and a spotlight fell on Sohae, who was in another set below the stage.

The group song filming began.

***

"Haha, Team Leader Ryu, we're seeing a lot of each other lately!"

"Indeed, we are! PD-nim, have you been well? You must be quite busy these days?"

"It is a busy period. But aren't you quite busy yourself lately, Team Leader? Though I must say, it's nice seeing you so often."

Ryu Jae-geum deliberately ignored the subtle discomfort on the PD's face and greeted him cheerfully.

"Well, Start Plan is Hong jin Electronics' biggest project. The Chairman is paying close attention to it too. He keeps telling me to come observe in person."

Yes, observe in person.

Not our products. But Ryu Ji-ye.

'I'm doing things I've never done before, all because of Ji-ye.'

Ryu Jae-geum thought while maintaining his pleasant smile.

This kind of field visit was something he hadn't done lately.

He wasn't particularly warm or friendly, so his presence didn't help Hong-jin's image. Since some business partners actually felt uncomfortable around him as a member of the Hong-jin family, he had stopped making such visits after gaining some experience.

But here he was, doing something he hadn't done in ages, all because of Ji-ye.

Even though his natural perceptiveness told him how uncomfortable the PD was with his presence.

Of course, this wasn't entirely his own choice - he'd given in to family pressure.

'Why do they always make me do these things?'

They should send Ryu Jinwoo for these social calls - he's the one who's good at putting on that disgustingly friendly act.

Ryu Jae-geum pouted slightly as he sat in the chair the PD had offered, even as his eyes diligently searched for Ryu Ji-ye on the massive stage.

The lighting was intensely bright, and there were so many trainees wearing the same outfit - some kind of pink uniform - both on and off stage that he couldn't even spot Ji-ye.

After watching the stage intently for a while, the PD, who had been carefully observing him despite being busy, cautiously spoke up.

"Team Leader, you seem unexpectedly interested in this kind of thing?"

"Well, I suppose."

Ryu Jae-geum responded half-heartedly.

"It's a popular series every year. And I generally enjoy watching performances."

"The trainees are quite good, aren't they? Ah, those kids on the front stage are the ones who ranked first in this round."

"Hmm."

Ryu Jae-geum looked at the trainees the PD pointed out with dispassionate eyes.

Under the lights flooding the gymnasium, six teams of trainees stood, and among them, one group stood in a distinctly prominent position.

5th May Rookie.

How did they dance again? Ryu Jae-geum tried to recall something he'd never actually seen and spoke indifferently.

"They were quite good."

"Yes, they're from SU. You know them, right? The most famous entertainment company in our country."

"Ah yes, I know SU. So even the big agencies are sending their trainees?"

"Haha, it's a collaborative arrangement."

Ryu Jae-geum's smile became noticeably crooked.

A collaborative arrangement.

'Ah, Jiye lost then, she lost.'

Even though Ryu Jae-geum didn't particularly care about the entertainment industry, he knew about SU. After all, many of the idols and entertainers you'd see whenever you turned on the TV belonged to them.

They were one of the agencies that had deeply established roots in the industry for a very long time.

If it was a collaborative arrangement with them...

'Choi Gyo-young should have gone after SU instead of bothering with Ji-ye.'

Trying hard to hide his displeasure, Ryu Jae-geum said, "I guess that's why they're doing so well - coming from a good company. Getting first place from the first round."

The PD silently turned up the corners of his mouth in response.

Shining brilliantly

Remember this moment

It will surely spread sweetly

My first plan

At that moment, as the first chorus of the group song began, the stages that had been separated on both sides started moving closer to the main stage.

"...Ah."

Ryu Jae-geum let out a small gasp.

As bright lights illuminated the side stages, he finally spotted his sister Ryu Ji-ye.

The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up into a smirk.

'She really is different no matter how you look at her.'

How could she look so different from how she was at home? Watching his troublemaker sister dance on stage was like watching a completely different person.

Instead of her usual cold gaze, her eyes sparkled like stars. Along with her beautifully bright smile and natural dance movements.

'When did she...'

Once again, he thought about how he'd never imagined in his life that Ryu Ji-ye could dance like this.

At least while on stage, she didn't look like his troublemaker sister but truly like the celebrities he'd only seen on TV - it gave him a strange feeling.

"...Ah, ahem!"

Ryu Jae-geum, who had been blankly staring at Ji-ye, cleared his throat and composed his expression.

'That's not what's important right now.'

His gaze shifted to the camera screen.

What mattered was how much screen time Ji-ye would get among the enormous number of trainees.

“-The opening performance gets the highest views and most public attention. How memorable you are there can be a measure of your early popularity. You understand what I mean, Jae-geum?”

Remembering his brother Ryu Jin-woo's words, Ryu Jae-geum alternately watched the large display screen and the PD's camera screen.

Either get lots of screen time.

Or make a proper impression.

Checking whether his sister Ryu Ji-ye managed to do at least one of these was one of the tasks Ryu Jae-geum had been assigned by his family.

'Hmm.'

So far, his sister hadn't appeared on camera.

Or more precisely, while she had appeared on screen, it was just for about 0.5 seconds along with about fifteen others.

'And even then, she was at the very back!'

Why was Ji-ye at the back?

Although the other members were good too, Ji-ye was also skilled, so why was she at the very back?