The First Audition.
The participants went from 1,500 to just 300.
And among us, the first to be eliminated appeared.
It was Chiyo unnie.
Chiyo unnie had the shortest training period among us—less than a year.
So her skills were the most lacking, and since she was Japanese, her Korean was insufficient as well.
Of course, if asked who had improved the most in a year, it was Chiyo unnie, but that was an unavoidable part of a survival program.
Whether Chiyo unnie acknowledged her lack of skill, she promised to debut together with me in the years to come and decided to stay with the company.
And the Second Audition.
At the second audition, where we met the main PD of Jeodol Season 3 for the first time, participants had to perform the same stage as the first round, and only those who caught the main PD's eye could advance to the third audition.
The number chosen here was just 200.
Finally, the Third Audition.
It was the final gateway to select the 99 who would participate in Jeodol Season 3.
For the third audition, all we had to do was show our individual star power.
"Trainee Lee Dohui, what have you prepared?"
Main PD Im Hyeonung asked.
I looked at the piano set up inside the audition room and said,
"I've prepared a piano piece."
When I sat in front of the piano, the production crew looked at me with expectant expressions.
The piece I would play today was Chopin's Scherzo No. 1.
Honestly, rather than having prepared it, it was a piece I had already performed in an elementary school competition.
The reason I chose it was because Scherzo No. 1 was a piece with a strange atmosphere.
An unbearable melody that breaks people's hearts.
A piece where tension reaches extremes, confusing the brain and ears to the point of being hard to interpret.
And when it reaches its climax, the exploding confusion sweeps the listener away into the music.
That is why it is a piece that shakes people's emotions.
I thought that might be what star quality was.
"Yes, please begin."
I sat at the piano.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I was performing a complete piece in front of a large audience.
In piano competitions, I always had to stop mid-performance.
My heart pounded.
Not with nervousness, but with excitement.
I pressed the keys and began to play.
The beginning was sharp as a knife, played staccato.
I stepped on the pedal, falling into the next chord, playing so that a frustrated, chaotic feeling emerged.
Then, the passing notes were played delicately rather than straightforwardly, preserving the piece's feeling.
Of course, in between, I added accents to heighten the atmosphere and give a sharp feeling.
And as it progressed, a mixture of notes grew sharper, as if they could slice through.
The left hand played gently passing notes.
The right hand played sharp notes with staccato.
Even while playing forcefully, the image of crashing down in decrescendo was expressed to the fullest.
The passing notes and the important notes alive with accents.
Immersed in playing like that, before I knew it, the piece had ended.
My heart beat even louder than when I started.
It seemed I had been swept away by emotion without realizing it while playing.
Performing on stage under the gaze of many.
I stood up from the piano and bowed to the production crew.
The crew applauded.
"Wow..."
The main PD's jaw dropped as he looked around at the surrounding crew and said,
"Do we really have to drop her?"
"Right?"
The main PD smiled and said to me,
"Wow, that was really amazing. It's strange for an idol survival PD to say this, but it's a waste for you to be an idol..."
A laugh escaped me, feeling proud.
"Thank you!"
The PD muttered as if the lingering feeling hadn't faded.
"Wow... she really plays well..."
***
Three days after the third audition.
I had already been certain, and sure enough, the acceptance message came.
But among us, there was someone who couldn't smile happily.
It was Ua unnie.
Ua unnie was now 17 and in her fourth year as a trainee.
She was currently Topist Entertainment's longest-active trainee.
Of course, considering the entertainment industry was crawling with trainees in their tenth year, it wasn't that long a training period.
But the sense of loss Ua unnie felt, having made it to the debut team only for it to fall through, couldn't be small.
Whether Ua unnie felt sorry toward us, she tried to hold back her tears, but once the floodgates burst, they wouldn't stop.
We too couldn't comfort her recklessly, feeling sorry ourselves.
After pouring out tears for a while, Ua unnie opened her mouth with a trembling voice holding back tears.
"I'll... stay at the company and practice with Chiyo while waiting hard... so all three of you... have to make it to the final debut, okay?"
"Yeah."
In the end, only three of us would participate in Jeodol Season 3.
It was me, Seoyun, and Naeun unnie.
The time remaining from the end of the third audition until the first recording on May 1st was one month.
The three of us prepared our stages diligently for the grade evaluation on the first day of recording.
***
After the third audition ended, Mwave began its full-scale media play.
Mwave started scattering all kinds of articles and viral posts across the internet.
And the reactions came immediately, regardless of whether it was male-dominated or female-dominated communities.
//
[Exclusive] "It will be a legendary season." Three of the Big 4 Agencies—JS, ZY, and Haru—to Participate in Mwave's Jeodol Season 3
http://q.entertainmedia.never.net/v/2022041245465
You bastards, I told you hahahahahahahaha
Three out of the Big 4 are coming hahaha
└ Crazy, all of them are coming? hahahahaha
└ Legendary Jeodol hahaha
└ Find the True Jeodol Season 3 dd
└ The sweet deal goes to Mwave. Why would they participate when they have image risks? hahaha
└ They probably got like 500 million won per trainee hahaha
└ Wow, then who's coming out on Jeodol? I wonder if Kim Chaeeun will come out for JS
└ Would a bitch who got eliminated early even in JS's own survival show still be at the company? Haha. I think Eun Sera will come out during the JS performance
└ Eun Sera was fucking pretty as hell hahaha
└ Let me list the Big 4 trainees exactly. Haru: Ha Eunha, Lee Gyuri / JS: Eun Sera / ZY: Yun Seowon or maybe Hong Seoeun, Kim Jiwon
└ Who the hell are they
└ They've all been in music videos or ads. My own confident picks as someone who's only been following trainees for 10 years. Yep
└ Wow, there's a bastard who stans trainees instead of idols
└ But are these bastards really not rigging it? Feels like all Big 4 agencies will get their trainees to debut
└ You believe that? Even if there's no vote rigging, they'll get all the camera time and editing hahaha
└ Is Lee Dohui not coming out? She's a Topist trainee
└ What the fuck haha, leave out the nugus
└ She's not a nugu, she's the Ion Sweat armpit girl
└ Ah, the armpits? Then she's got my respect
//
[Exclusive] "It will be a legendary season." Three of the Big 4 Agencies—JS, ZY, and Haru—to Participate in Mwave's Jeodol Season 3
Crazy... I'm not lying, there's an article. Crazy crazy
└ No way, seriously...?
└ There were posts on info saying Eun Sera was coming, and now they're putting the final nail in the coffin hahaha. Eun Sera, let's debut!!
└ What's there to regret for the Big 3 about coming out? If they don't get ranks worthy of the large agency title, they'll obviously get mocked???
└ 2222
└ 3333
└ No, crazy hahahahaha legendary hahaha
└ Wow, really a legend
└ What trainees are there right now?
└ The famous ones are Eun Sera and Yun Seowon?
//
And so, Jeodol Season 3, which had succeeded in its media play with the news of three major agencies' participation, was already becoming a hot topic even before the first recording began.
***
The day before recording, I was packing my things for the two-week dorm life starting tomorrow.
'Packed earplugs. Packed underwear and clothes... packed wet wipes... I'll only bring basic cosmetics. Cleansing gel, lotion, ampoule, skin toner, sunscreen... ah, I should bring lip balm too.'
As I was packing like that, Mom looked at me with a worried expression.
"Dohee, won't it be hard?"
Mom had grown more worried about me ever since the debut team fell through.
"I'm doing it because it's fun, so don't worry. Have you ever seen me unable to do something?"
"It's exactly because everyone works so hard that I'm worried. I'm afraid you're enduring hardship. Besides, you'll be in a group dormitory with kids you've never met."
I was already a veteran of communal living, so there was no need to worry.
"I'll call you if it's hard. Don't worry~"
Mom hugged me tightly and rubbed my back.
"Don't just endure it if it's hard, okay?"
"Okay."
But the more I kept acting like a soap opera, the more Mom seemed to worry.
Because I hated seeing Mom worried.
I had to become a filial daughter.
I pressed my chest against Mom, who was hugging me tight, and said,
"But Mom. My boobs are huge, right? Admit it?"
It was right after I had taken another meaningful step in growth over the past four months.
Mom started hitting my back with the hand that had been rubbing it.
"Ugh. I'm an idiot for worrying about you!"
"Ah! Mom, that really hurts! Wait. I said it really hurts!"
After finishing packing and going to the bathroom to wash up, my back reflected in the mirror was bruised.
Mom doesn't even know the heart of her filial daughter... So happy
.
.
.
Early the next morning, I woke up and left the house with Mom and Dad seeing me off.
"I'll be back~"
"Our princess, fighting~"
"Lee Dohui, don't get hurt!"
Meanwhile, Doa...
said she was sleepy and didn't even see me off, just slept.
I raised my younger sister wrong.
Sniff sniff...
.
.
.
When I arrived at the company,
a celebrity van was parked in front of the building.
My first time riding in a van.
When I opened the door and got in, Naeun unnie and Seoyun unnie were already inside.
I greeted my unnies.
"Hiyo~"
"You're here?" "Get in quick."
"Yep."
Naeun unnie, who had been looking at me, grabbed my cheek and said,
"But Dohee, didn't you do your makeup?"
Come to think of it, both Seoyun unnie and Naeun unnie had done their makeup.
"Huh? Aren't they going to do it for us there?"
They've always done it on-site for all the shoots so far.
"How are they going to do it for all 99 people? It's not even the day we're performing on stage."
Ah, I see.
"But what should I do?"
"Why?"
"I'm pretty even without it."
"Sigh... here we go again."
Truth is, I don't know how to do makeup.
Do it for me~