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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Unexpected Encounters
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“Whoa!”
The loud noise, like the door was about to break, startled Hye-sung, who shot up like a spring.
“I’m sorry!”
An apology followed immediately. Someone in the next stall had slammed the door so hard that the impact reverberated into Hye-sung’s stall.
‘I thought my eardrums were going to burst.’
Hye-sung was about to scowl but held back, composing herself.
‘I can’t just scrunch up my face whenever I get angry anymore. It’ll be a disaster if a camera catches it.’
She had purposely sought out a distant restroom, so for someone else to have come this far, the other floors must have been full. She reasoned that the person must have been in such a rush that they slammed the door with enough force to break it, and calmed herself down.
‘I should get going.’
Hye-sung straightened her clothes and stood up.
Even though she hadn’t actually used the toilet, Hye-sung was washing her hands squeaky clean when she noticed something strange in her reflection.
‘Come to think of it, I look 19 now, but the audition earlier… did I do it looking like my 27-year-old self?’
A chill ran down her spine.
The average age of the contestants for Supernova Project Season 5 was 19.7, with the vast majority being in their late teens. The trainees in the waiting room earlier had all looked like teenagers as well.
‘Am I going to be eliminated in the preliminaries?’
Moreover, the image of the youngest contestant speaking to her with excessive politeness as she left the waiting room—as if addressing an elder—flashed before her eyes.
‘There’s more than a 10-year age gap between us… Oh, boy, that makes sense. It really does.’
Hye-sung considered her actual age, 27, to be very young—practically a newborn in the grand scheme of things.
‘You live to be 100, so up to 50 is childhood. Office workers are babies, too. Companies that make babies work overtime should be destroyed.’
But it was also true that a 27-year-old office worker, worn down by overtime, would stick out like a sore thumb among teenage girls—idol trainees, no less—who felt that even a one or two-year age gap was huge.
‘…I’m not old, just worn out.’
Hye-sung stared into space with empty eyes. She hadn’t done anything, yet she already looked exhausted.
‘No, my documents were changed to say I’m 19… And since Season 5 has fewer applicants, they’ll probably pass most people.’
The dream had started after her audition was already over, so she couldn’t even remember how she’d performed, which made her anxious.
‘If I get eliminated, I won’t let it slide. Seriously.’
Hye-sung pointlessly raised a clenched fist into the air.
Click.
The restroom stall door opened behind her, and the person who had entered the stall next to hers a moment ago appeared.
Swoosh.
The sound of a powerful stream of water filled the quiet restroom.
Hye-sung glanced at the girl washing her hands, bent over the sink next to her. The profile she glimpsed was very familiar.
‘Isn’t that Hyun Na-na?’
She didn’t know if this building was MvN, but it was an audition venue, and the girl standing next to her had blonde hair, just like Hyun Na-na. It seemed to be her.
Hyun Na-na was the trainee who debuted in first place in Supernova Project Season 5. Having watched her performance while reviewing the show last night, Hye-sung felt a sense of displeasure.
This was because she believed Hyun Na-na had stolen the center position that should have gone to Na Yeon-woo during the first competition. Of course, Hyun Na-na had never stolen Na Yeon-woo's position.
“Um… I’m sorry about before. You must have been startled, right?”
Shaking the water from her hands, Hyun Na-na bowed her head and apologized to Hye-sung, who was giving her a dirty look.
“Yes. I thought a bull had charged the door.”
As Hye-sung drily uttered the words, which could have been a joke or serious, Hyun Na-na’s expression turned into that of a scolded puppy.
Then, after a brief hesitation, she apologized again.
“I was holding it in because it was hard to leave during the audition waiting time… but when I tried to go after it finished, the downstairs restrooms were too crowded, so I ran up here. I was in such a rush that I couldn’t control my strength and slammed the door too hard… I’m sorry.”
Up close, Hyun Na-na was slightly taller than Hye-sung. Her vibrant face, which suited her bright blonde hair, was a bit more mature than others her age, making her look like she could be older than the current Hye-sung.
“Yes, well. It happens when you’re in a hurry.”
Seeing her apologize repeatedly, Hye-sung, who had been narrowing her eyes, softened her expression.
“Thank you for understanding. By the way, are you here for the Supernova Project audition?”
“Yes.”
“Me too! Let’s say hi if we see each other later. I’m Hyun Na-na, I’m 19, and my company is Shark Music.”
Hyun Na-na, who had been dejected just moments before, held out her hand, her eyes sparkling.
‘Ugh, according to the setup, we’re the same age right now.’
“Haha… I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the main broadcast.”
Hye-sung felt awkward in this situation and wanted to just shake her hand quickly and escape.
“Huh? Why? Did your audition not go well?”
Hyun Na-na asked with a worried expression.
“Well… there are so many talented people like you, Na-na. I’m not sure if there’s a spot for me.”
‘…That’s just something to say. That System Morphine or whatever set the starting point weirdly, so I took the audition as my real self without any buffs. That’s why there’s a very real possibility I won’t pass the preliminaries, kid.’
On the outside, Hye-sung humbly complimented the other girl while inwardly cursing the system.
“Me? I’m talented?”
Having received a sudden compliment, Hyun Na-na looked at Hye-sung with a touched expression.
‘How cute.’
She was almost swayed by the adorable sight, but she calmed herself by remembering that this was the same Hyun Na-na who had shot up the ranks, surpassing her precious daughter Yeon-woo, the apple of her eye.
“Well, you’re famous.”
“I’m famous? Really?”
“I’ve heard from other trainees. They said a girl named Hyun Na-na is really good.”
Hye-sung had never been a trainee, so of course, she’d never heard anything of the sort. She was just repeating information she’d learned from watching other trainees talk about Hyun Na-na on Supernova Project, as if she’d heard it herself.
“I’m so touched, really. This is the first time I’ve heard something like this directly… To be honest, I don’t have many trainee friends, so I don’t really know about rumors. It’s even more so because I’m the only female trainee at my company.”
Shark Music’s entire roster consisted of male musicians, and it was an agency whose image made it impossible to even imagine them training a female idol. Hyun Na-na was the first female trainee who would shatter that macho company image.
“Anyway, I’m sure you’ll make it to the main broadcast! I can feel some kind of aura from you!”
‘What aura? This isn’t St*r Wars.’
Instead of answering, Hye-sung forced a smile. It looked very awkward.
“It’s, uh, anyway, you have an extraordinary vibe!”
Watching Hyun Na-na excitedly pour out her words, Hye-sung felt a little overwhelmed.
‘How can she be so friendly to a stranger? Maybe because she’s still young, compliments just flow out of her. I can’t do that anymore… I wonder if I’ll be able to get along with the kids there…’
In the end, Hye-sung got swept up in Hyun Na-na’s pace, continued the conversation for a bit, and ended up telling her her name and age.
“Let’s say hi if we see each other there!”
“Sure…”
Having received a satisfactory answer, Hyun Na-na smiled brightly and left the restroom.
“Phew, she’s finally gone.”
To Hye-sung, Hyun Na-na only looked more mature than her peers; on the inside, she was still a child. After exchanging just a few words, she felt that Na-na had a much more naive side than what she’d seen on the show.
‘I was on the fence, but it seems like that comment about how she would have been chosen if she’d applied for the center position wasn’t meant to diss Yeon-woo after all.’
* * *
“She’s not here either.”
Did she already go home? Probably. She must have finished earlier than me. I’m a step too late. Hye-sung stood in the middle of the empty waiting room, arms crossed, deep in thought.
Before coming into this room, she had checked several other waiting rooms, but all of them were empty and silent. It was so quiet it made her feel embarrassed for acting like she was looking for a lost item every time she opened a door.
The preliminary auditions seemed to be over. Hye-sung’s number was in the 50s, and Na Yeon-woo’s was probably around there too.
They had called up to the 70s before she left the waiting room, so considering the preliminaries to select 100 contestants for the main broadcast would take two to three days, it was about time for it to be over for the day.
‘I was hoping I might get to see Yeon-woo’s face…’
Things were never that convenient.
‘Argh, what a shame. It’s so frustrating that I can’t see what Yeon-woo was like during the preliminaries, since it wasn’t broadcast.’
“Can’t be helped. I should go home, too.”
Just as Hye-sung regretfully turned to leave and grabbed the doorknob, someone from the outside pushed the door wide open.
“Whoa!”
Hye-sung thought to herself that she was getting startled a lot today.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
The person who opened the door caught Hye-sung, who was staggering while holding onto the doorknob. They seemed surprised too, as if they hadn’t expected someone to come flying in just by opening the door.
‘Why is everyone here trying to break down the doors?’
“Sorry, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but you’re really strong. I’m not that weak myself.”
Embarrassed that she had been dangling from the door like a piece of paper, Hye-sung needlessly flexed her biceps as she spoke.
“Ahaha…”
The girl laughed awkwardly.
‘She must be a contestant, too, right? But I don’t remember her. Did she not make it to the main broadcast?’
“Looks like the auditions for today are already over?”
Hye-sung asked casually.
“Yes, I was the last one. I came back to look for something I left behind…”
The girl looked at Hye-sung with an expression that said, ‘And why are you here?’
“M-me too. My number was a bit earlier… I guess I came back too late. I’ve been looking for a while, but I can’t find it… Where did my bracelet go?”
Hye-sung, who had lied when she could have just said she was looking for a friend, averted her gaze and needlessly looked around the waiting room.
The girl strode over on her long legs, unplugged a charger and smartphone from an outlet, and put them in her bag.
While she did that, she glanced once at Hye-sung, who was pretending to look for her non-existent bracelet, then picked something up from under a chair.
“Is this it, by any chance? It was on the floor under this chair.”
The object the girl picked up was a bracelet. A bracelet, yes, but not exactly an ordinary one.
“What is this…?”
“The Berserker Pretty Cure Transformation Bracelet. Isn’t this what you left behind?”
Hye-sung stared at the girl with a dumbfounded expression.
‘Do you really think I’d bring something like that here at my age?’
“Uh… no.”
“Then did someone else leave it?”
The girl tilted her head and placed the bracelet on the table.
“I don’t think there’s anything else… Should we push all the chairs aside and look?”
“No, it’s fine! Someone might have put it somewhere else for me. Anyway, thank you.”
Feeling guilty, Hye-sung stopped the girl, who looked ready to move the chairs at any moment, and bowed her head in thanks.
“Oh, it was nothing. Well, I’ll be going now.”
“Okay. Take care.”
The girl, who was heading for the door with a good-natured smile, paused for a moment and then whipped her head around.
“Um, since we met like this, it must be fate. Do you think we could exchange names? I feel like I won’t know anyone when we get to the set…”
‘Again? She doesn’t have any trainee friends either, huh. Same here, though.’
