Cha Hye-mi’s voice was almost identical to the ideal voice that Seon-ho had imagined based on her profile picture.
It was so similar to his imagination that it felt almost unreal.
Before he knew it, melodies that would suit Hye-mi began floating into his mind.
– Hello? Who is this?
“Oh, hello. I’m Han Seon-ho, your new manager starting today. You were informed, right?”
– Yes. Have you already left?
“I’m parked right in front of your studio apartment. Black, new-model Carnival.”
– Ah, please wait ten minutes. I’ll be down soon.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Even after the call ended, her voice lingered in his mind.
As Seon-ho replayed her voice in his head, he picked up the profile he had left on the passenger seat.
He had already read it multiple times, but reading it after hearing her voice felt different.
Real Name: Cha Hye-mi
Stage Name: Cha Hye-mi
Age: 20
Personality: Cheerful, affectionate, sociable, and active.
However, due to her father’s influence as a soldier, she can sometimes be rigid and conservative.
Especially refuses to wear revealing clothing.
Career:
To convince her father, who opposed her dream of becoming a singer, she participated in Tomorrow K-Star Season 2 in 2016.
Praised as Korea’s “Avril Lavigne,” she reached the Top 6.
However, while her vocal tone resembles Avril Lavigne’s, her musical spectrum is quite different from Lavigne’s signature pop-rock style.
After Tomorrow K-Star, she received offers from seven entertainment companies and negotiated contracts before ultimately joining MOK.
Currently preparing for her first full-length album.
That was the gist of her profile.
Cha Hye-mi was the most promising talent at MOK Entertainment—not as an idol, but as a solo artist.
In the past three years, nearly all new female solo artists had failed. Some who had gained pre-debut exposure through audition programs managed to stay afloat, but they barely broke even, never generating real profit.
As a result, the industry standard became debuting talented female vocalists as idols first, then giving them solo releases later.
Yet, MOK was preparing to debut Hye-mi as a soloist from the start.
This meant that she had undeniable star power and talent—or at least, MOK had high hopes for her.
Until just two months ago.
Tick. Tick.
Seon-ho absentmindedly tapped the corner of the file with his fingernail, deep in thought.
Hye-mi is too talented to waste. She’s got something special.
Amid his contemplation, Team Leader Park Cha-myung’s voice echoed in his mind.
At that moment, the passenger door swung open.
“…Oh?”
Seon-ho, seated in the driver’s seat, locked eyes with Cha Hye-mi, who stood outside the open door.
She had delicate, refined features, yet her expression carried a gentle energy.
Not the type of dazzling beauty that grabs attention at first glance—but the more you looked, the more beautiful she seemed.
That was Han Seon-ho’s first impression of Cha Hye-mi.
After hesitating for a brief moment, Hye-mi gave a polite bow.
“Hello. Where’s the manager?”
“…Huh? The manager?”
“The one who just called me. You’re not with MOK?”
“…Ah.”
Understanding what she meant, he let out a quiet chuckle.
Hye-mi had mistaken him for an accompanying celebrity rather than her manager.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Seon-ho, your new manager starting today.”
“What? Oh… I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. You were just being polite. Please, hop in.”
As Hye-mi took Seon-ho’s business card, she climbed into the passenger seat.
“You should sit in the back. It’s a long ride to the salon, so you should be comfortable.”
“But that would make you feel like a chauffeur. My father always said that when two people ride together, the passenger should sit up front.”
Seon-ho could already see hints of Hye-mi’s firm mindset, just as her profile had mentioned.
At the same time, he could sense the wall she was putting up.
Except for the brief moment when she opened the door, she had maintained a polite yet guarded demeanor.
“We’re heading to the salon near the MBN broadcasting station. It’ll take a while, so just relax. Did you have breakfast?”
“No. But I usually eat a packed meal at the salon anyway.”
“Hmm. Today’s shoot involves having lunch with your partner on camera, so you might have to skip the packed meal. I’ll grab a light snack from a convenience store so you can eat on the way.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’m not that hungry.”
Seon-ho thought for a moment, then shook his head.
He had never been on set before, but he doubted the on-camera lunch scene would actually happen at a proper lunchtime.
Besides, he had heard that rookie singers often barely ate the day before a shoot, worried about facial bloating.
That wasn’t a good way to maintain energy for singing.
“Wait here.”
A few moments later, Seon-ho returned to the car, carrying an variety of snacks labeled low-calorie and low-fat.
“Eat while we drive.”
Hye-mi hesitated for a moment, then gave him a small bow.
“…Thank you, Manager.”
“Hye-mi, this is the main sponsor’s lunchbox, so eat naturally! Enjoy it!”
“Understood.”
“Oh, you haven’t eaten yet, right?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You must be starving. The shoot starts in 30 minutes, so hang in there a little longer.”
After the assistant director left, Han Seon-ho gave an embarrassed smile.
“I wasn’t expecting to get a thank-you. I didn’t think you’d start eating right away.”
“Don’t worry about it. I only had half a banana and some yogurt anyway. Now that my appetite is back, I feel even hungrier.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Yes, so don’t worry.”
The conversation ended, and silence filled the space.
Meanwhile, the production crew was busy moving around.
Han Seon-ho sat next to Hye-mi, observing the unfamiliar sight of the set, taking in every detail.
To viewers watching through their screens, it would look as if Hye-mi was simply having a meal with her partner, but the reality was entirely different.
It wasn’t just the two of them—there were over a dozen people.
Two cameras were capturing the waiting room from different angles, and behind them were even more pairs of eyes watching.
Show business.
A world that revealed only the tip of the iceberg, selling the beauty of what lay beneath.
Han Seon-ho finally felt the reality of stepping into that world.
Soon, filming began.
“Hye-mi, you must have been really hungry! You’re eating so well.”
“I barely ate anything yesterday because I was worried about my face swelling up before the shoot.”
“Yeah, I guess the period right before debut is when you have to manage yourself the most. When’s your debut scheduled?”
“The exact date hasn’t been set, but I heard it’ll be within the next three or four months.”
“Huh? Why? Isn’t now the perfect time?”
“Well… I’m just a rookie, so…”
Han Seon-ho brushed off the assistant director’s question with a smile.
In truth, Team Leader Park Cha-myung had said the same thing.
The show they were currently filming was Tomorrow K-Star Season 3 on MBN.
Fans called it Two-K for short.
But this season of Tomorrow K-Star had another nickname among viewers: Two-K No Fun.
The previous season, which Cha Hye-mi had participated in, was a massive success.
The final top 10 contestants who made it to the main stage became hugely popular.
They were all vastly different in music styles, personalities, looks, and backgrounds.
But in terms of musical talent, they were evenly matched.
With ten skilled contestants fiercely competing, there was no way the show wouldn’t be entertaining.
But Season 3 was different.
The performances weren’t as impressive, the buzz was lacking, and the ratings were disappointing.
The production team, who had invested heavily in hopes of continuing the success of Season 2, was now in crisis mode.
That’s why they made a decision—to bring back some of the Season 2 contestants, including Hye-mi.
“What if we create collaboration stages with the popular Season 2 contestants?”
“Hmm… Would a one-time collaboration really help the entire program? It might boost clip views, but…”
“Then let’s not make it a one-time thing. What about three rounds?”
“Using guest performers for three episodes? PD-nim, we could get a lot of backlash for that.”
“We’re already getting criticized. If we keep going like this, it’ll only get worse.”
“Still, isn’t this too risky? It might mess with the program’s identity.”
“In times of crisis, you have to take risks.”
- Season 2’s top 10 and Season 3’s top 10.
- A total of 20 contestants paired into 10 teams for the competition.
This wasn’t just a special event.
It was a structured format where teams would compete across three rounds, narrowing down from the top 10 to the top 5.
Some production staff worried that this plan distorted the show’s original concept, but the main PD pushed forward with confidence.
The CP (chief producer), the final decision-maker, also backed the PD.
They believed this was the best way to regain the attention of viewers who had been disappointed with Season 3.
That’s how popular Season 2 had been.
But the program wasn’t the only one hoping to benefit from this setup.
“If they’re still this good, I hope they release an album.”
“That person sings so well. Are they not debuting?”
If the performances were impressive, the returning Season 2 contestants could also attract major public interest.
For those who hadn’t officially debuted yet, this was the perfect opportunity.
Now, the ball was in the production team’s court.
For the guest contestants, avoiding elimination in the first round was the top priority.
Discussions about investments and sponsorships were already happening between entertainment companies and the production team.
Some companies even made subtle moves toward the judges.
But MOK remained completely silent.
From an outsider’s perspective, it was strange.
MOK still had more than five years left on their contract with Hye-mi.
Most assumed the company had a different plan, but some industry insiders suspected there was trouble between Cha Hye-mi and her agency.
“A rookie manager, huh? Maybe I should try prying for information.”
The assistant director talking to Han Seon-ho was one of those people convinced that there was an issue.
Letting a talent like Cha Hye-mi go to waste could only mean one thing—conflict.
“Hye-mi must’ve had some conflicts with her company, right? It’s pretty common for artists and agencies to clash early on.”
“Conflicts? Why do you think that?”
“Well, if there were no issues, wouldn’t her company be pushing her more? She sings well, has a great personality, and is gorgeous. On top of that, she gets more charming the more you watch her.”
“Hye-mi does have a lot of charm.”
“Honestly, it was a shame she only placed sixth. The voting system naturally favours male contestants, so it was inevitable, but still…”
Han Seon-ho tilted his head.
“Why do female contestants have a disadvantage in voting?”
“Oh, you must not know this as a rookie. Men don’t really vote.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, about 80% of the votes come from female viewers. Who do you think they usually vote for? Mostly men, unless it’s a ‘girl crush’ type contestant.”
“Oh, that makes sense. By the way, I’ve been curious about something…”
When Han Seon-ho started asking basic questions, the assistant director eagerly launched into a lengthy explanation.
Before long, he was sharing all sorts of broadcasting tips, even things that hadn’t been asked.
Somehow, the topic of Hye-mi and MOK’s supposed conflict had completely faded from the conversation.
‘This guy really loves to talk.’
Even when whispering because of the ongoing shoot, he kept going.
A little while later, the assistant director left the set to run an errand for props.
Only then was Han Seon-ho finally able to focus on the filming.
Meanwhile, Hye-mi had finished her meal and was chatting with her partner, Jung Su-rim.
Jung Su-rim, a high school sophomore, was in a situation very similar to Hye-mi’s last year.
Because of that, they quickly bonded.
“Su-rim, is there a song you’d like to sing?”
“Oh… Actually, yes.”
“Really? Which one?”
“The song you sang last year—Autumn Leaf. I love that song so much.”
Autumn Leaf.
A song by Kim Dong-han, a popular singer-songwriter from the ’90s and the current head of MOK Entertainment.
“Oh, you want to sing that?”
“Yes! I sang Autumn Leaf a lot while busking. I even arranged my own version… Do you want to hear it?” *Busking is to perform in public places.
“Sure.”
Cha Hye-mi nodded.
Jung Su-rim’s face lit up as she pulled a sky-blue acoustic guitar from a case that was almost bigger than she was.
Leave a Reply