118 – Audition Preliminary (7)
From noble mtl dot com
Before going to the finals, Setsuna briefly came down to his rural hometown.
After eating her mother’s home-cooked meal for the first time in a while, she spoke carefully in her living room.
“I watched the preliminary round of the idol audition TV program and passed.”
“Oh, good job. So, what program is it?”
Her father smiled brightly.
Even when she went to Tokyo and said she wanted to become an idol, she didn’t stop her, but rather she was the one who supported her.
So Setsuna told the whole truth.
Both the fact that she moved to Korea and the fact that she is receiving guidance from producer Gil Imbu.
“Korea? “No, not America, but Korea??”
“What kind of America is this, Dad…” .”
“Why do you leave Japan and go to Korea just because there is something there?”
“Korean idols are popular these days.”
“Oh my, I hear strange things throughout my life. “What kind of idol is Korea?”
She knew very well that she couldn’t watch TV much because she was busy with farming.
When she said she was an idol in her parents’ generation, she meant a native Japanese idol in the first place, and she had never been exposed to foreign idols.
Furthermore, the image of Korea as an emerging country similar to China is gaining popularity these days.
“When I go to Tokyo, all the young kids listen to Korean idol songs and imitate Korean makeup, Dad.”
“What? Isn’t that something that only enthusiasts have enjoyed since ancient times? “Just as we also had pop song enthusiasts.”
“No. “I heard that if you walk around the streets, Korean idol songs start playing.”
My father tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe it.
I never thought I would have to persuade my parents about Korea.
“Okay, let’s say you’re right. But are you going to go and become Korean?”
“I’m just Japanese….”
“They say Korea has strong anti-Japanese sentiments, but doesn’t that mean they are being stoned?”
“I already went and lived there. “There is nothing like that at all.”
“What can you possibly know from those few months? “I just don’t understand the idea of going to Korea instead of going to a country that is more prosperous than Japan.”
Setsuna just sighed.
Now, in her father’s mind, it was not unreasonable for him to be against it since his daughter was planning to go to a developing country and make money.
It’s just that the facts on which the idea is based are outdated….
Dad clicked his tongue and continued speaking.
“You’re an adult too, so I can’t stop you, but…. So, is that TV program aired on Korean stations? “Is there any way for us to see it?”
“This is an audition jointly planned with NP TV. “That’s why I came back to Japan to participate as a Japanese.”
“NP TV?! No really, then it seems like those Korean idols are really great these days….”
In an instant, it made me believe that Korean idols are popular these days.
It is said to be the most famous broadcasting station in Japan, but Setsuna was a bit absurd.
… Because it seems like she gives ‘NP TV’ more credit than her daughter’s words.
“That Inbogil producer? “Let’s see what it looks like.”
“This is Producer Lim Boo-gil….”
Setsuna took out her smartphone and showed a photo she had taken with Producer Gil, who was pregnant.
Her mother reacted before her father.
“Omg, you’re so handsome.”
After hearing her mother’s reaction, her father looked directly into Setsuna’s eyes.
“You don’t have any feelings for Inbogil, do you?”
“Oh, no! “The producer is engaged.”
“Even if you are engaged, don’t let down your guard. “Because a male bastard will target every woman he can.”
At her father’s words, this time her mother looked at her father fiercely.
“Did you do that too?”
“Huh? “Oh, no, I’m not.”
“They say all men are like that.”
“No, that’s not it….”
Father is taken aback by his mother’s unexpected attack.
Seeing that, Setsuna burst out laughing as it felt like she had really come home.
***
“Ah, so you’re saying you’re going to come back to Japan and fight again? All right.”
GI Production Japan Branch.
Ishinami Hikari hung up the receiver.
How on earth was Producer Lim Boo-gil so strict about the screening process that he could not fill even 100 of the 9,000 applicants?
Well, since he has such a pioneering plan, he must be a producer who is currently making a name for himself in both Korea and Japan.
‘I guess he won’t come back.’
The girl who was drinking tap water at the sink in the office bathroom—Kojo Tomoe.
At first glance, she looked cute, even though she looked dirty.
So she wanted to talk to me because she wanted to know what was going on.
After hearing Tomoe’s voice, Hikari Inisami felt exactly the same thing.
This is a kid who did something with vocalization.
At least he seemed to have a talent for that.
‘Even though I was homeless, I had fair skin, a pretty face, and a good body.’
I thought I would be able to entice him by telling Producer Lim Boo-gil that I could get accommodation in advance and pay for all the meals.
I was rejected outright.
But the more I thought about it, the more I cared about that rejection comment.
‘I can’t. ‘Because I have no will.’
When I asked if he had any intention of becoming an idol, he answered that he couldn’t because he didn’t have the will.
It was as if he had already tried to become an idol.
That figure strangely seemed to overlap with Ishinami Hikari herself.
When she was verbally abused by the producer in charge after occupying the TKY52 center.
At that time, I instantly lost all will to become an idol.
Even now, she has no desire to become an idol.
However, she just wants to support her idol from behind the scenes.
So she went to a training center as a short-term instructor, and somehow she rose to the position of producer.
‘I’ll have to look for it.’
Anyway, I had to go and reserve a hotel room for Producer Im Boo-gil.
I should look around here on the way to see if Tomoe is there or not, Inisami Hikari thought.
After telling the interpreter that she would leave for a moment, she left the office. She
She And she stopped by a place like a park where homeless people might be.
But she wasn’t even seen with her nose removed.
‘Did I end up here because of my misunderstanding? .’
As Tomoe warned, she could end up blushing if she carelessly helps a homeless person.
But when she said it out of her own mouth, she thought she wasn’t the person for that.
What kind of money problem could have caused me to get kicked out of my house?
Usually, at that age, fighting with parents over money would be about overspending.
He may have taken on a large amount of debt carelessly, but there was no sign of him being chased by the debtor after all that trouble.
‘I’ll have to look for it again when I get off work.’
Maybe you are working part-time during the day, or maybe you are at a homeless shelter.
Ishinami Hikari decided that if she searched for several days to no avail, she would just give up.
She had a great desire to help Tomoe, but that did not mean she could give up her own livelihood.
I walked to a hotel near the office.
I made a reservation in the lobby on the first floor.
… One room.
Secretary Jeong Song-i told me over the phone to grab just one.
Producer Lim Boo-gil and secretary Jeong Song-i must be in a similar relationship.
Even though she thought she wanted to have a caring boyfriend, she thought that no man would like a woman with a dirty past, so Hikari Ishinami gave up.
I turned around to go back to the office,
“This is under contract with the company, so you can’t take it without permission!”
I heard a man’s voice scolding me.
“… Sorry.”
“If you ran away, go back home quickly. “My parents are worried.”
“… ….”
In front of the man holding recycling bins in his hands, there was a girl with her head down.
It was Tomoe Kojo.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like she was caught trying to take the hotel’s recycling trash as she pleased.
Finally, with her shoulders slumping, Tomoe walked out of the hotel.
Ishinami Hikari quickly chased after him.
“Mr. Kojo!”
Tomoe turned his head back.
It wasn’t very dirty, maybe because it wasn’t long after I washed it last time.
Her hair was so messed up that it wasn’t unreasonable for the hotel staff to think she was a girl who ran away from home.
“… Are you here to laugh at me?”
“That can’t be right. “I just came here to make a hotel reservation and happened to see Mr. Kojo.”
Tomoe’s face was literally in tears.
Perhaps he couldn’t find a job and was trying to make money by selling recyclable waste.
However, not only was she caught by the hotel staff and taken away, but she was also humiliated. How miserable must she feel.
“You couldn’t eat, right? “I’ll buy you cheese gyudon.”
“Aren’t they going to tell me to become an idol again?”
“To be honest, yes. But why do you hate being an idol so much? “We provide accommodation and food for you, and you can make a lot of money if you debut without spending a single penny.”
“… ….”
Did I speak too honestly?
Seeing Tomoe’s pursed lips, Ishinami Hikari felt a little uneasy.
Perhaps this might be the last chance.
“I’ll tell you if you buy me a large cheese gyudon.”
“I understand.”
***
Five days have passed since the list of players for the repechage match was sent to ‘KCBC’.
Today, we headed to the Ilsan Concert Hall to judge the Korean side’s repechage match.
After greeting producer Jeong Kang-soo, she received broadcast makeup.
I think about it every time I get makeup done, but it feels a bit itchy when things touch my face, and I wonder if women don’t feel that way.
Or is it something you get used to because you do it so much?
I sat on the only chair in front of the stage.
“Please let me in.”
“Yes!”
After giving instructions to the staff, ten aspiring Korean idols came on stage.
Today was not an individual screening of each person.
Although it is called an audition, it must have an entertainment aspect, so games will also be included from now on.
Of course, even if it’s a game, it’s not really playing.
He spoke while holding a dynamic microphone in his hand.
“All ten of you practiced all the songs we gave you in advance, right?”
“”Yes!!””
… Everyone’s voices were loud, as if they were giving a powerful shout to the front line.
Out of these ten people, only two can be resurrected.
Even though they all became our trainees, the opportunity to appear on TV seemed like a great opportunity.
“I’ll explain the rules for the repechage match.”
As I spoke, the staff gave me a prop.
It was a yellow finger-shaped stick with an extended index finger.
Also called directing hand.
“When the accompaniment comes on, the person I point to can sing and dance.”
It is said that it was an idea that producer Jeong Kang-soo came up with.
… Honestly, I thought this was a tray karaoke room without a tray.
Still, it seemed fun, so I adopted it.
In fact, an idol not only practices her own part, but also practices other members’ parts, and if a member is absent for some reason, she has to take on that member’s part as well.
There were three songs that we announced to them in advance.
The first song is a ballad where vocal skills are important.
The second song is exciting dance music that sounds like it would be played in a club.
The third song was a TKY52 song.
Now that the idols I produce have to consider entering Japan, I also needed to look into how well they can sing Japanese songs.
“Then let’s begin.”
“”Yes!””
MR came out.
At the end of the prelude, he raised his hand and pointed to the candidate on the far left.