🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 08
The Crazy One in This Area Is Me (3)
“His attitude is way too rude.”
With nothing to criticize in Ha-jin’s skills, the head director switched tactics: “personality.” The claim was that the kid looked stiff, expressionless, and arrogant—like someone who would inevitably get caught up in school violence rumors.
“He’s young, but he’s got piercings, slicked-back hair… you can tell just by looking. That face screams delinquent. I’m not comfortable with it.”
“Sir, didn’t you personally cast our second youngest because he had that same ‘delinquent vibe’?”
“That one just had the vibe. He wasn’t actually a delinquent.”
“That’s a distinction without a difference…”
Seo Tae-il crossed his arms at the blatantly biased criticism. As someone who had personally been subjected to baseless rumors about drinking, smoking, and even drugs because of his image, this was not exactly pleasant to hear.
“Hmm, but when I spoke to him during the waiting period, he seemed very polite. Quite respectful, actually,” Kim, the manager, countered.
The director waved his hand dismissively.
“You saw it too, didn’t you? No expression, just ‘yes, yes.’ I’ve been in this industry long enough to know guys like that. I can tell at a glance.”
Everyone’s expressions soured at his stubbornness. They all knew his objections were just for the sake of objecting, but no one dared speak up. No matter how many issues he caused, he was still the representative’s right-hand man, practically treated as an executive within the company.
“Maybe he was just nervous?”
“Nervous? Does he look nervous to you? You’ve still got a long way to go, Kim. He doesn’t smile, he doesn’t flinch. That’s the type who causes big problems later, I’m telling you.”
Completely unwilling to change his mind, the director’s attitude made Tae-il sigh. He glanced at Suho with irritation. Do something. The look said it all.
Suho tapped the table lightly, gathering attention.
“Then let’s do an interview first. He might’ve been nervous since he was told to sing immediately after arriving.”
“Good idea. I’m in favor.”
“Hey, Seo Tae-il, you—”
“Didn’t you say you’d change the audition process to your method? Then let me try mine.”
At Suho’s firm tone, the director gritted his teeth. He hated him—always had. It felt like Suho was telling him, “I’ll humor your nonsense, so don’t push it too far,” which irritated him even more. But Suho wasn’t wrong, and he had no real justification to argue further.
In the end, the director nodded reluctantly with a face like he’d bitten into something unpleasant.
“I’ll go call Ha-jin then. I’ve got something to deliver anyway.”
“Ah, yes, yes! Thank you for your hard work today, Ms. Jang.”
Jang, the executive director, smoothly stepped in and declared her departure, escaping the tense internal politics unfolding before her eyes. Kim quickly followed her out.
Watching them leave, the director muttered, still dissatisfied.
“He won’t amount to anything anyway. His face screams stubborn troublemaker.”
“Isn’t that better? He’s a junior from U-Pia and Enderway. You want someone easy?”
“Hey, Tae-il, you keep—!”
“Director. Please calm down.”
“Cough, ahem.”
Tae-il, who was supposed to be against Ha-jin, was now unexpectedly defending him, pushing the director to the brink of madness. But even the director couldn’t easily lash out at Tae-il, a veteran presence in the company. He clicked his tongue and redirected his frustration elsewhere.
“Why isn’t he coming in? It’s been a while since Ms. Jang left. Did he run away?”
“…Sigh, I’ll go check. Get some air while I’m at it.”
Unable to stand the tension any longer, Tae-il stood up and left the room, muttering curses under his breath.
“That guy’s completely lost his sense because of money.”
To be fair, Ha-jin had seemed unusually emotionless compared to other trainees.
No excitement. No nervousness. No tension. No fear.
It was strange—but judging someone solely on that was ridiculous.
How can you know everything from just one look? He just hates him because Suho brought him in.
“I hate office politics…”
But if Ha-jin maintained that emotionless demeanor even during the interview, then things might become difficult.
As Tae-il turned the corner in the hallway—
“…Kang Ha-jin?”
What am I looking at right now?
“You’re… crying?”
At the far end of the hallway, under soft sunlight filtering through the window, Ha-jin was crying uncontrollably, desperately trying to suppress his sobs but failing. It looked like a scene from a drama.
Ah. The package Ms. Jang said she’d deliver earlier…
Tae-il immediately understood the situation once he noticed what was in Ha-jin’s hand. Of course. It was exactly like when the youngest in his own group received his first fan letter.
“W-what… hic… this isn’t… I mean, this isn’t it…”
With his nose, eyes, and lips all flushed red, Ha-jin finally looked like a proper nineteen-year-old rookie.
For some reason, Tae-il felt relieved—and a little guilty for misunderstanding him. It reminded him of his own early days.
“What was all that about…”
Muttering, he approached and gently patted Ha-jin’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. You can cry it all out before going back in.”
At that, Ha-jin burst into even louder tears.
“W-what the—?”
“Wow… that’s Tae-il sunbae.”
People passing by, trainees and staff alike, all witnessed the scene. Tae-il didn’t care.
Kim the manager, the director, and even Team Leader Ji eventually came out and saw it too. Ha-jin ended up crying in Tae-il’s arms for quite a while until the evaluation period ended.
And thus, a new rumor began spreading through Miro Entertainment:
—Seo Tae-il personally dragged a trainee into his arms.
This is humiliating.
I sighed, still holding my aching eyes.
Across from me, Seo Tae-il was already looking at me fondly, like I was some cute youngest sibling.
Should I just switch companies?
The system’s alarm rang loudly in panic, but I ignored it. It was just noise anyway.
[System Alert: When did you even implement a “read marking” feature?!]
Ignoring the system’s shocked messages, I looked down at the paper in front of me.
“Miro Entertainment Exclusive Trainee Standard Contract”
The bold letters on top felt strangely unreal. Originally, there were supposed to be more interviews, but while I was crying, they apparently discussed something among themselves. Judging from the situation, Seo Tae-il had a big role in it. Whether that was good or not… I wasn’t sure.
So if I sign this, I become a trainee.
An idol trainee.
For someone, it might be the start of a dream. For others, the beginning of an endless struggle.
For me, it was different.
It was returning to a dream I had once given up on and run away from. And this time, with the weight of absolute necessity strapped to my feet.
“We usually settle trainee investment costs only after debut. Until then, you won’t really need to spend anything,” Kim explained carefully.
They even said dorms were available if needed. Even among mid-sized agencies, Miro seemed unusually well-off.
The problem was—
“And your classes will be adjusted according to your level after a placement test…”
“Sorry, but…”
I was about to reject everything.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m sorry. I think I need to reconsider.”
My faint apology froze everyone in the room.
[System Alert: The system gives up trying to understand the (fixed) regressor.]
What? You told me to be the crazy one, didn’t you?
The reason I decided to reject Miro came when Seo Tae-il walked up to comfort me while I was crying.
What was all that about…
He had said it under his breath, but I, fully conscious despite pretending to cry, heard it clearly.
There’s definitely someone here who dislikes me.
The interview hadn’t proceeded immediately—it had been delayed because the staff were discussing something. That alone meant I was being evaluated behind the scenes.
If this were a survival show, Seo Tae-il would’ve used a super pass to keep me in immediately.
I need to know who’s on my side before I step in.
That was my reasoning.
Two reasons for rejecting the contract:
First, to clearly identify enemies.
Second, to secure allies in advance.
My instincts told me the director with the sour face was likely the enemy. The team leader—hard to read—was also suspicious.
Actually, the team leader might be the most suspicious one.
At least I confirmed that Kim the manager and Seo Tae-il seemed to like me. That alone was valuable.
[System Alert: What if you end up not joining Miro at all?! (SQ01 remaining time: 39 days)]
“So I secured backup before rejecting it.”
I pulled out a business card from my wallet.
It was Seo Tae-il’s manager’s card, given to me personally with instructions to contact them if I changed my mind.
If they don’t take the bait, I’ll just contact this side instead.
Either way, I just needed to wait for someone from Miro to come back to me. If they really valued me, I could then safely assume they were on my side and use them as contacts or leverage.
“And if possible, I’ll have them remove anyone I don’t like while they’re at it.”
[System Alert: The system is impressed by the regressor’s cunning…]
“Kim the manager doesn’t seem very influential… maybe it’s Seo Tae-il’s side?”
And three days after rejecting the audition—
Miro finally came looking for me.
“Mr. Kang Ha-jin.”
“…?”
And of all people,
the most suspicious one.
“Hello. I’m Ji Suho.”
