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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Resignation Interview (1)
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The basic choreography demonstration that followed also ended without any major issues. Since I had memorized all the moves, the worst-case scenario of my body freezing mid-performance didn't happen.
After watching my choreography demonstration, the instructors clapped.
“Iwol, you've improved a lot!”
“Thank you.”
“Your posture is really good, too. That's why your voice comes out so well. You must have been nervous since it was your first time, but you did a great job.”
Objectively, the skill gap between me and the other members was severe, but perhaps because my incredibly short training period was taken into account, the evaluations were generally generous.
The surprising thing was that the system appeared at this very moment.
+
[SYSTEM] As the ‘Work’ adaptation period is complete, a corrective effect based on performance will be applied.
▷ Excellence in ‘Attendance Management’ is recognized, resulting in a high evaluation.
▷ A positive effect will occur on the month-end evaluation.
+
…That was the gist of it.
In other words, it meant that the scores from the performance evaluation section of my resume were now affecting reality.
My attendance management score was 18 out of 20.
If attendance management was the only activated item, I had to assume that it would be difficult to expect any corrective effect without a significantly high score.
‘Still, if it gives me even a single bonus point, I should be grateful.’
Right now, when even a single line of praise was precious, I couldn't afford to be picky.
“Starting next class, we can probably go a little harder. Right?”
“I’ll… do my best.”
“What, you weren't nervous at all until just now, but you're getting tense here?”
My solemn reply made the instructors laugh out loud.
I’m sorry, but just keeping up with this class was hard enough. It would be a problem if you misunderstood me for joking.
But I couldn't just complain, so I forced a laugh along with the instructors. It was the very picture of a subordinate's sorrow.
“I have one last question. What was the most decisive reason you chose this song?”
The vocal instructor asked. The answer to that was clear.
“I thought it was the song that would best showcase what I've learned.”
The instructor smiled, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
It's important to have someone who recognizes that I tried to use my head. This was a better outcome than I had expected.
* * *
The evaluation ended after the individual feedback session.
Only after the staff members had left and the practice room door was closed could we finally catch our breath.
“Hyung!”
As I was cleaning up the desks and chairs we had set up for the evaluation, someone jumped onto my back.
I steadied myself and looked in the mirror to see Lee Cheonghyun clinging to me.
“Awesome. I've never seen anyone get nothing but praise in their first evaluation! Hyung, are you secretly a genius?”
The word ‘genius’ is reserved for people like your future self, with a face as fair as jade, who can spit out raps like flowing water and compose music with a snap of their fingers.
It would have been nice if you could have used those outstanding skills to take some decent selfies, too.
You guys will never know, not even in your next life, how much of a hassle it was to go to the post office to trade photocards for Department Head Nam's daughter.
Worried he might fall, I held onto his legs, and Lee Cheonghyun stuck to my back like a cicada.
“I’m just glad they seemed to appreciate the effort I put in. And you guys helped a lot, too.”
“Humble, too! I really need to learn from you.”
“If you’re going to keep saying weird things, get down.”
“If I don’t say weird things, can I stay on your back?”
“Whatever.”
“This hyung is generous in the weirdest ways.”
Despite saying that, Lee Cheonghyun immediately got off my back.
Kang Giyeon, perhaps proud of me for finishing the evaluation well, taught me a new move.
I, too, rolled around with all my might, thinking, ‘If I can just sacrifice this one body to console you after the hard day you’ve had…’
Unfortunately, however, Kang Giyeon’s face was ashen throughout the practice. He had clearly forgotten my words about how some people in the world are just clumsy.
* * *
After the month-end evaluation was over, the staff members who had attended as judges gathered in the conference room on the second floor of the company building.
“The kids are continuing to practice, right?”
“Yes. They’re all very diligent.”
Min Jukyung answered the CEO's question immediately.
UA's trainees were truly diligent. For years, no one at UA had ever seen a company trainee slacking off.
Moreover, they all had easygoing personalities. Compared to the rumors that came out of the major management companies famous for being idol powerhouses, UA's trainees could be described as downright docile.
“Iwol is already starting to look the part. Jukyung, were you the one who brought him in?”
“Yes. I was surprised at how well he did, too.”
As the trainee she had cast and brought in was mentioned, Min Jukyung added her own comments.
‘I thought he looked promising, but I never imagined he’d actually be a diamond in the rough…’
When the story behind the new trainee Kim Iwol's casting came up, the trainers who were looking over the evaluation forms showed interest and asked a question.
“Jukyung, you brought him in? From where?”
“Hongdae. I saw him watching a busking performance and snatched him up right away!”
“Even the location has a certain vibe.”
“That Iwol kid does have a presence that stands out in a crowd.”
As Min Jukyung replied, the CEO and the dance trainer each added a comment.
Min Jukyung recalled the first time she had encountered Kim Iwol.
‘He certainly stood out.’
The moment she saw Kim Iwol's pale, shadowed face on the streets of Hongdae, Min Jukyung had thought:
‘His visuals would be a perfect match with our boys…!’
His unusually proper posture also played a part in why Kim Iwol stood out.
He had long limbs, and with his upright posture, his unique straight-backed presence stood out even more in the crowd.
“Anyway, Jukyung, you really are a bulldozer. How did you even think of bringing in a non-major?”
“Actually, I asked her about that before. She said he had a good ear.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You know how noisy Hongdae is. He noticed right away that one of the instruments was out of tune.”
At Min Jukyung's words, everyone looked surprised. And it was understandable.
The Kim Iwol they usually saw was someone who just diligently did his own practice, not someone who sensitively picked up on every single note.
But that day, Min Jukyung had seen it clearly.
She had seen the subtle change in Kim Iwol's expression—how he stood still a little distance from the stage, his brow furrowing slightly whenever a specific part of the melody repeated.
Kim Iwol didn't stay near the busking stage for long.
Just as Min Jukyung was wondering if perhaps he wasn't that interested in the song, the vocalist grabbed the mic and started talking to the crowd.
At that moment, the guitarist, who was retuning his instrument by himself, came into Min Jukyung's line of sight.
After that, there was no need to hesitate.
Min Jukyung actively explained that she wasn't a suspicious person to the young student who was wary of her suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
And as she watched the student politely accept her business card with both hands, she thought, ‘Please, I hope this kid comes.’
‘It's true that at first, I was just going to cast him for his looks, but…’
Min Jukyung cleared her throat. As long as you get to Seoul, it doesn't matter which road you take, right?
Just then, Oh Eun, the vocal trainer who had been quietly listening to the three of them talk, spoke up.
“He does seem to have a knack for it. And he works hard.”
At Oh Eun's words, everyone in the conference room focused their attention on her.
She had debuted through a small, obscure agency and was the main vocalist of a girl group that disbanded after three years without leaving much of an impression.
Having been an idol herself, Oh Eun was also the one among UA's executives and employees who evaluated the trainees most objectively.
Hearing the words ‘he works hard’ from someone like her was no easy feat.
It would have been one thing for Jeong Seongbin or Kang Giyeon, who had been trainees for a long time, but for Kim Iwol, who hadn't even been there a month, to have his efforts recognized was clearly a remarkable achievement.
What kind of evaluation would Kim Iwol receive in his first month-end evaluation? Min Jukyung couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
* * *
In high school, you could go home after mock exams were over.
But as a trainee, even after the evaluation ended, you had to stay behind and practice, practice, practice.
After finishing the rest of my practice, feeling like I was filling out an answer correction notebook, it was finally time to head back to the dorm.
Tonight, Jeong Seongbin and I were on lights-out duty.
On our way out of the company building, Jeong Seongbin asked.
“Are you getting used to things here now?”
Always looking out for others when you have a lot on your own plate wasn't something just anyone could do.
And yet, Jeong Seongbin was always consistent. So much so that I thought, ‘Ah, so this is the kind of person who becomes a leader.’
“Yeah. Except for getting completely drained after a one-hour private lesson with Giyeon.”
“One hour? You got off easy.”
“So you do know how to joke, huh?”
Jeong Seongbin laughed, half-embarrassed. I, however, who had been tossed around by Kang Giyeon like a chestnut in a winter roaster, couldn't laugh.
Jeong Seongbin looked at me and asked.
“You always stay until the very end to practice. Isn’t it tough?”
“The instructors teach so kindly, and everyone helps out, so it would be rude not to work hard. Thankfully, my stamina holds up.”
“Your stamina is admirable, hyung…”
Jeong Seongbin, who had once approached me to teach me a move only to collapse like a boiled bean sprout, trailed off.
This is what happens when you only feed growing teenagers salad.
This company just doesn't understand the importance of the growth period. Will they only come to their senses when Kang Giyeon fails to grow past 175cm?
“And it’s not just that you work hard staying late to practice. You’re always moving around, even during breaks.”
In the practice room, Jeong Seongbin was a guy who moved as if he didn't know how to rest. It was the same even after their debut.
Hearing my words, Jeong Seongbin faltered for a moment. It was so brief that I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking closely.
Jeong Seongbin quickly relaxed his expression and said with a smile.
“I’m just average.”
It was a humble thing to say, but I wasn't so sure.
Could you really call a life of waking up at the crack of dawn and repeating nothing but singing and dancing from morning till night for years on end ‘average’?
Not in this day and age, when even paid overtime is limited to twelve hours a week.
‘Go back to being a trainee vs. go back to the military…?’
Jeong Seongbin, who had solidified his reputation as one of the ‘Top 5 Bodhisattva Idols,’ couldn't answer that question for a long time during his live broadcast celebrating his military discharge. That said it all, really.
If he was that diligent, you'd think he'd at least be proud of the time he put in. But Jeong Seongbin had a strange tendency to take his own efforts for granted.
What if there was an employee in my department who had perfect attendance, never hesitated to help other colleagues, and worked hard every day to improve their job skills?
If it were me, I might just carry that person to work on my back starting tomorrow. This is all because modern society is so stingy with praise.
‘Should I just give him some damn praise?’
It's not like praise costs money.
Besides, among the five members of Spark, Jeong Seongbin was the one I had the least resentment towards.
He'd organize their speaking order on broadcasts so their voices wouldn't overlap, and he'd always say the members' names to make them easier to remember.
To me, a beginner fake Sparkler who had been forced to get into Spark, Jeong Seongbin's consideration was like a beacon of light.
I could certainly offer a word of praise to such a benefactor.
Though, if Jeong Seongbin had managed to prevent their disbandment, I could have avoided the unfortunate incident of passing out, falling backward, and becoming nine years younger.
I walked a few more steps with Jeong Seongbin before speaking at an opportune moment.
“Most people, even if they have something they want to do, don't work hard at it every day like you do.”
“Huh?”
“It’s even more true when you’re young. There are so many fun things in the world. Not just anyone can resist them, knowing they exist.”
For some reason, it felt like I was having a counseling session with a junior colleague for the first time in a while.
I don't particularly enjoy conversations with this kind of atmosphere, but I couldn't just bail and run to the dorm mid-sentence, so I painstakingly continued.
“And it’s not like you’re only good at one or two things, either. You sing well, and you dance well. Look at me. I can’t sing, and I can’t dance.”
“Hyung?”
I was clearly trying to comfort Jeong Seongbin, but for some reason, my own heart ached.
In the meantime, perhaps because I was rambling too much, Jeong Seongbin's expression had turned strange.
They say you've become a preachy old man when you just say whatever you want in front of others. That's exactly what I was doing.
“...Of course, considering the countless fans you'll have in the future, it's a good thing to be working hard to build your skills now.”
You never know what the future holds, so I didn't forget to add a little gentle pressure.
Not that Jeong Seongbin was the type, but if I lost their leader of seven years because I ran my mouth, I wouldn't be able to face anyone, not even Spark.
“Fans… you say…”
Jeong Seongbin laughed bitterly.
‘Huh?’
For a moment, the back of my neck grew cold, as if an icy wind had just blown past.
I knew this unsettling feeling from past experience.
The other person's self-esteem had hit rock bottom. The uncertainty about themselves was written all over their face. A tone that clearly held no expectation for the future, one of complete resignation.
‘Assistant Manager, I'm planning to quit at the end of this month.’
This was, without a doubt, a sign of resignation.
