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Chapter 10
The Trainee Who Refuses to Debut (1)
Miro Entertainment’s 3rd-year content team employee, Mr. Park, was going about his usual morning when he heard a rumor circulating through the company—and ended up spitting out his coffee.
“Zhuge Liang?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
The “newbie” had arrived, and the veterans were unusually excited. It would’ve been interesting even if he were just a normal newcomer—but this one was somehow tied to a whole web of famous names.
“Apparently even Manager Kim, Team Leader Ji, and Seo Ta-il all went to persuade him.”
“That’s a full Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.”
Once the rumor caught momentum, it began accelerating, spawning all kinds of speculative stories.
“Is he really that big of a deal?”
“I heard he used to be a trainee at Rene.”
“Isn’t he the one personally trained by Jang Seoyoon?”
“No, I heard Team Leader Ji personally scouted him.”
“What’s this about him sparring with Ta-il while he was still at UPia Guide?”
Marketing team employee Mr. Jung was getting carried away, clearly enjoying himself.
“You know that incident, right? When Ta-il was calming down some guy last time.”
“Oh. That kid?”
“So they fought?”
“No, they had a full-blown fight. That’s why he refused the trainee contract and stormed out.”
“Wow, he’s got guts.”
Mr. Park found himself impressed by the growing legend. Wow, Seo Ta-il really has insane presence. He fought that guy?
“Oh! He’s coming, he’s coming.”
“Who? Him? That one? Right now?”
“Wow, his mask looks good.”
The lively chatter died down the moment the subject of the rumor appeared. Everyone subtly glanced at the trainee they were talking about.
And the one who felt all those gazes without needing to see them was Kang Hajin.
‘Hah. Damn it.’
What a loud entrance.
An idol trainee should be used to attention and gossip. In fact, many become idols precisely because they crave that kind of attention. Negative attention is better than no attention at all—there’s even a saying that “antis are still fans.”
‘But this is just hype.’
This kind of attention only poisons a trainee who isn’t even in a debut lineup yet.
“Really? He seems pretty normal.”
See? They’re already starting to judge.
Human psychology is strange. Even when someone else’s success doesn’t affect you at all, the moment you hear they’re “something special,” you can’t help but evaluate them with slightly more scrutiny. It doesn’t cost anything to judge.
It would die down eventually since it was just temporary “newbie effect”… but the problem was he didn’t have time. He had to debut within three months, and if he became disliked by staff, everything would fall apart.
Without hesitation, he changed direction and walked toward the group of employees still looking at him with curiosity. Meeting their eyes directly, he smiled warmly—pleasant and approachable.
“Hello. I’m Kang Hajin, starting as a trainee today.”
“Oh, yes. Hello.”
“I, uh… it’s my first day, so I was told to go to Practice Room 3, but I’m not sure where that is.”
As he smiled awkwardly, one of the employees who had been crossing his arms while sizing him up slowly turned toward him—and even loosened his arms.
“Oh, it’s this way.”
“I’ll take you. I was heading there anyway.”
As expected, the man who had been guarded just moments ago now volunteered to guide him. He even went as far as offering extra kindness—asking if he wanted a drink, suggesting coffee.
Hajin politely declined and followed behind him. Behind them, the employees immediately began reassessing him.
“What, he’s pretty friendly.”
“How would you know after one look?”
“There are so many pretty-faced guys who are arrogant these days. He seems decent.”
The effect of being a “well-mannered, approachable newbie” who shattered inflated expectations and rumors was enormous.
[System Alert: ‘Multiple individuals’ feel curiosity and goodwill toward you.]
[System Alert: ‘Accumulated goodwill’ is being converted into system cash. (Converting…)]
The satisfying sound of points accumulating was oddly pleasant. The new skill he created last night was already working as intended.
‘Yeah. Paying is always the answer.’
This “cash skill” was something he had created after suffering heavily from a previous penalty—it was less of a skill and more like an entire system.
[System Alert: Skill <How Much?> is now active.]
[System Alert: The ‘goodwill’ received from people is being converted into cash, which can be used to pay for skill creation and activation costs.]
[System Alert: 600 cash has been accumulated. (Total: 1,000 cash)]
‘600 isn’t bad.’
Of course, the price of creating this skill had been a temporary mental side effect that left him acting embarrassingly childish for half a day…
‘Mom…’
‘Are you suddenly craving your mom’s love today? What’s wrong?’
‘Mommm…’
To a 20-year-old son, it might have just looked like a sudden bout of affection—but to him, it was the humiliation of a 29-year-old (plus a bit extra) acting like that. Just remembering it made him want to die inside.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m just a little nervous.”
“Ah. That happens at first.”
Leaving behind his embarrassing inner history, he refocused. As he walked through the building, he observed the clean interior of the company. The place had so many hallways and practice rooms that it felt like a labyrinth—if he wasn’t careful, he could easily get lost.
“It’s a bit complicated here, right?”
Apparently others thought the same, as the employee guiding him smiled awkwardly. Just as Hajin was about to nod—
“I’ll be going.”
“H-hey, don’t just run off like that!”
Someone rushed out of an office door and nearly collided with them. His face was absurdly small. With jet-black hair that looked like it was dyed by default and an expressionless face, he looked like someone Miro had personally recruited straight from birth.
“Ah, Eun-chan.”
“…Hello.”
Wow, even his voice is unfair.
As if he was born already scripted to say, “Hello, I was destined to be an idol at Miro,” the boy bowed quickly and walked away.
His long legs carried him off in just a few strides.
“…What was that about—”
“Oh, Dayun.”
“…Ah, uh. Hello, haha.”
Another one appeared.
The only way to describe him was “sparkling.” Large, slightly moist eyes, an expression that practically screamed something’s wrong. The moment he saw them, he gave an awkward smile.
“Did the director call you?”
“Yes, I was practicing and—uh, have you seen Eun-chan?”
“He just went that way. Nothing serious, right?”
“No, it’s nothing! I should go now!”
The “sparkly one” (there was no better name for him) ran off like a rabbit escaping a hunter.
After seeing two extremely handsome people in a row, Hajin felt mildly thrown off—like his attempt to avoid Rene’s “Greek god company” aesthetic had been pointless.
But that wasn’t important right now.
‘The director said that just now, right?’
Through the glass door, he caught a glimpse of a familiar, unimpressive face—the director from before.
A chill ran down his neck.
Something’s definitely going on.
‘Let’s gather information.’
“Wow, everyone here is really handsome.”
“Oh, Dayun? He’s cute, right? His name is unique too—Han Dayun.”
“Dayun… Han Dayun.”
A name that clearly wasn’t ordinary. The kind that would get tangled in trouble easily.
For now, since it was his first day, he decided to take things slowly and observe.
“Everyone heard the briefing, right? From today, you’ll be training together.”
“I’m Kang Hajin. Please take care of me.”
Applause with absolutely no soul filled the wide practice room. After his introduction, the dance trainer announced a 30-minute break and left with the employee who had brought him here.
Clearly going to drink coffee and slack off. Seriously? Dumping the newbie on day one?
“……”
“……”
Since the atmosphere was still unsettled, it was awkward for anyone to speak first. Then, a trainee who looked the oldest—clearly an adult—spoke up.
“Alright, let’s gather around and do introductions. Hajin, sit here.”
He naturally took control of the group. The scattered trainees immediately focused.
Looks like the class leader type.
Hajin sat obediently where he was told, quietly assessing the hierarchy of the room.
“Sorry I’m late!”
“Sorry!”
“…Ah.”
The barely stabilized atmosphere shattered as the door burst open. Eun-chan and Dayun rushed in and hurriedly joined the group, disrupting the circle they had formed.
The leader’s face—previously calm and friendly—flickered for a fraction of a second.
Huh?
“Alright, come sit quickly. We’re on break because a new trainee joined today.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
Maybe I imagined it. When he looked again, the expression was warm and friendly once more.
But just as he turned his attention away—
“Still, try to be on time. This is a group, you shouldn’t cause problems for others.”
With that smiling remark, the atmosphere instantly cooled.
So that’s the kind of position he holds here.
Everyone’s attention shifted toward Eun-chan and Dayun, who apologized repeatedly. But the cold atmosphere didn’t fully lift.
Interesting.
“Anyway, sorry for the chaos on your first day. I’ll introduce myself first. I’m Han Seongwoo, 22 years old. I’m the oldest here and the B-class leader. Ask me anything if you need help. Nice to meet you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone clapped enthusiastically—“Wow, Seongwoo hyung is cool!” “Our leader is so handsome!”
‘Well, I’m not interested in that guy anyway.’
As Hajin looked away with a slightly awkward expression, he met Eun-chan’s eyes again. The boy seemed to recognize him from the hallway earlier and hesitated slightly.
“…I’m Ju Eun-chan, 18.”
Still not used to that voice.
Next was Dayun, who introduced himself in a low, strikingly mature voice. Hajin examined his face closely, wondering if they had met in a past life, but nothing came to mind.
A trainee like that failed to debut? Life really makes no sense.
Sensing his gaze, Dayun looked back with a blank expression.
‘Did I stare too much?’
Hajin quickly switched to his professional smile, and Dayun averted his eyes first. A small sense of victory rose in him—but he kept it off his face.
And then, it was Dayun’s turn.
“Hello, I’m Han Dayun… I’m 17.”
“I heard your introduction earlier from staff. Han Dayun. Your name is memorable because it’s unusual.”
“Ah… yes. Uh, we, we met earlier, right?”
“Earlier? Where did you meet?”
Leader Seongwoo asked, intrigued.
Dayun flinched and glanced at Hajin with visible caution. Watching those unusually restless eyes, Hajin became certain.
There’s definitely something about this kid.
