"Don’t get nervous, and it’s important to do it the way you practiced."

"Yes!"

"I don’t think there’s anyone who shows something beyond their skill. Even if it looks like that, that’s a miracle made by what that person has built up day by day."

Park Taesu paused and looked at the LYNX members listening closely to him.

-TSP kids are especially kind of bad, aren’t they?

⤷Yeah, being shaky live is basically their tradition

⤷Park Taesu’s songs carry them, honestly—if they were at another major agency, a lot of those members wouldn’t have debuted at that skill level

⤷Their CEO performs better than their artists lol

⤷I’m telling you, it’s not for nothing they got 3rd place in Three Kingdom this time

⤷They probably miss Ryu Ayeon who got snatched by KJ Entertainment

Lately, bad evaluations of TSP artists’ skills had been floating around online.

By now, it wasn’t treated as a groundless rumor but accepted like an established truth, so TSP had no choice but to pay attention.

And that was because, no matter how much they tried to hide it, LYNX’s members also had no choice but to see those evaluations online, so TSP stepped in to manage things in case their mental state got shaken.

'Our kids’ skill is never lacking.'

But Taesu believed LYNX’s skill didn’t fall behind not only Iam, but even VYNNIA.

Compared to those two, on the surface it might look like LYNX’s skill was unstable, but that was purely because of his own instructions.

Performance.

What Taesu had emphasized to his artists for a long time was that, on stage, they had to deliver energy to the audience through performance.

Accurate pitch mattered too, but what mattered more than that was expressing emotion through facial expressions and movement, and connecting with the audience.

Even if the pitch wavered a little, if the emotion they wanted to convey reached the people watching, he believed that would lead straight into immersion in the stage.

So TSP idols’ choreography had more full-body movements than you’d expect, and a lot of movements that cut off your breathing.

'That’s how the stage impact comes alive.'

Even knowing it was disadvantageous for live singing, LYNX endured it purely for the performance they would show on stage.

Even Taesu thought it might be a heavy burden for rookies like LYNX, but he still trusted them.

"Please trust us, CEO."

"I always do."

Esther spoke on behalf of the members, as if to prove to him right now that his faith in them wasn’t wrong.

And when he saw all the others sending their agreement with firm eyes at her words, he couldn’t help but nod.

Before he knew it, TSP had become one of the major agencies you could count on one hand in Korea.

LYNX was the group TSP had created by choosing raw gems over the past few years while even delaying their debut, then training and preparing them according to his philosophy.

That was why he was convinced that, in a few years, they really could become a girl group that represented not just Korea, but the world.

Especially as he prepared LYNX’s stage for this second mission of Three Kingdom while directly working with them on a stage from Anygirls—LYNX’s seniors, who once stirred up a craze across Korea—he felt even more certain.

'Anygirls evolved to fit the modern era. That’s LYNX.'

Because he had directly produced both groups, he was already excited at the thought of showing that sense in front of people.

"You’re preparing well. I’ll get going."

"Yes!"

All of a sudden, he found himself curious /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ about how the other judges who would watch LYNX’s stage would react, and among them, the one he was most curious about was Raon’s reaction.

'This time, even Raon won’t be able to give her own group the top score with that “cover your eyes and pretend” routine.'

Last filming, while Taesu and Seyoon held back and criticized their own groups to save face, Raon had thrown her image aside and shamelessly handed Iam the top score.

Because of that, for a while after the broadcast, he couldn’t lift his head whenever he went to work, thanks to the cold looks from company employees and from LYNX’s members.

But this time, even if Raon wrapped herself in thick skin, the thought that she wouldn’t be able to avoid giving LYNX the top score made a smile form on its own.

There was still time left before the stage started, so Taesu left LYNX’s waiting room—partly to get revenge for last time, partly to make her curious again—and headed to Raon’s waiting room.

Knock knock.

He lightly knocked on the door and waited for an answer telling him to come in, but even after quite a while there was no response. Just as he started to turn back, thinking maybe no one was inside—

"You don’t want to go to the ER again, right? There’s still chocolate Ryujin made left in the company fridge."

"Why would you leave that! Isn’t your company crazy too?"

"I left it to secretly feed it to someone mouthy like you! I’m going to give this as a present to Taesu and CEO Seyoon later!"

"Seriously, ever since you went to KJ Entertainment, you’ve gone crazy!"

A familiar voice came through the door.

***

"Are you not managing Lee Sion properly, Raon?!"

"Do you think she’d get managed just because someone tries to manage her?!"

"Th-That’s true, but! Is that something KJ should be saying?"

Hyeryeong couldn’t believe it as she watched Raon answer back proudly even after causing trouble.

-It’s wrong to be outside when a typhoon is coming!

Raon shut Hyeryeong down, leaving her speechless, insisting that when a natural disaster hits, avoiding it is just basic common sense.

"This is the second time! Fine, let the first time slide, but how do you feed ramen before the stage every single time! And Buldak Hot Chicken Stir-Fried Ramen, at that!"

"Hyeryeong!"

Whoosh.

Hyeryeong turned at the voice calling her and glared at its source.

In one corner of Raon’s waiting room, a single girl was kneeling down, quietly pinned in place.

On both sides of her, manager Kim Yunsik and Park Jiu stood guard like they were escorting a violent criminal, giving off an ominous air.

The one in the middle—like a pirate king facing execution in Loguetown—was none other than Lee Sion.

"Why are you calling me?"

When the very person who had made her furious called out so nonchalantly, a sharp answer came out of Hyeryeong without her realizing it.

"Of course, if you only eat Buldak Hot Chicken Stir-Fried Ramen, it can be hard on your stomach."

Even to that sharp reply, Sion kept speaking calmly, as if she understood exactly how Hyeryeong felt.

"So?"

"I’m not someone who doesn’t know moderation. I mixed in a spaghetti cup ramen that can neutralize the spiciness."

"···So you did a good job?"

"On top of that, I even put a slice of cheddar cheese on it. This is a special meal you can only eat on your birthday."

At how unbelievably confident she was, Hyeryeong’s mind started to go blank.

"Be quiet, Lee Sion!"

"Seriously, how did you, in the short time we looked away, even drag in a member of another group and go to a convenience store again!" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

At least the managers, unlike Sion or Raon, seemed to still have something like a conscience left, because they hurriedly covered Sion’s mouth and tried to rein her in.

-Kaella, where did Kaella go?

-She said she was going to the bathroom for a bit.

-Don’t tell me she went to throw up again?

Today, Hyeryeong had come to MPlay to watch VYNNIA’s stage for the second competition of Three Kingdom—the one she had personally coached.

After rehearsal, they gathered in the waiting room to wait for the actual filming together, and then Kaella disappeared saying she was going to the bathroom, causing a huge uproar.

Eating disorder.

Everyone at the company already knew Kaella’s eating disorder—something she’d had since before debut—was more serious than you’d think, so they worried she might be throwing up again.

'It’s a more common illness than you’d think.'

Hyeryeong could understand her.

Hyeryeong herself had once suffered from an obsession that was close to a mental illness, and several idols she knew also dealt with physical and mental illnesses, big and small.

Idols.

Even if they looked glamorous on the outside, inside it was a job that carried countless pains, so she could understand Kaella as a junior—and worry about her too.

-She’s not in the bathroom either!

VYNNIA’s members and the SY staff, including Hyeryeong, searched all over the station for Kaella, who still hadn’t come back.

-Don’t tell me it’s the convenience store again?

But they couldn’t find her anywhere. Just as they were starting to get genuinely worried something had happened, someone muttered that she might be at the convenience store, and it was like lightning struck everyone’s head.

They remembered the chaos from last filming, when it was discovered that Kaella had gone to a convenience store with Iam member Lee Sion and eaten food before going on stage.

With a half-believing heart, they rushed to the convenience store inside the station, and—

-How did you even come up with this combination?

-Big data. If you eat convenience store food to survive, you build up a database of taste.

-Hurry and try this too!

-Hey! But why does it feel like I’m the only one eating?

-I wanted to see you eat so bad I couldn’t sleep since yesterday.

They found Sion and Kaella sitting face-to-face with a mountain of food piled up on the table.

"Kaella, you too—kneel next to Lee Sion and put your hands up!"

"You’re not satisfied with just one, Hyeryeong!"

"Our Kaella wasn’t this kind of kid! Seriously, what···."

So dumbfounded she couldn’t even think, Hyeryeong grabbed both of them on the spot and dragged them to Raon’s waiting room.

After the last incident, they’d caused trouble again. This time, Hyeryeong was going to demand of Raon, the producer, whether this wasn’t too much.

Even if Raon was a senior Hyeryeong respected and was close with, she still had to say what she had to say.

But—

"Say you’re sorry to me!"

"Aughh!!"

At first, Raon flinched when she saw Sion and Kaella being dragged in by Hyeryeong, but then she quickly grasped the situation and started acting shameless, making the back of Hyeryeong’s neck throb.

"How are you any different from Lee Sion?"

"What? Are you done talking?!"

"No, PD, if you react like that there, what does that make me!"

When Hyeryeong pointed out her shameless attitude, Raon snapped and glared sharply.

And then Sion butted in, looking wronged that she’d been mentioned at all—

"Stay out of it!"

Hyeryeong and Raon shouted at her at the same time, and only then, as if she realized she’d get stuck holding the bag if she got caught now, Sion went quiet.

"You don’t want to go to the ER again, right? There’s still chocolate Ryujin made left in the company fridge."

"Why would you leave that! Isn’t your company crazy too?"

"I left it to secretly feed it to someone mouthy like you! I’m going to give this as a present to Taesu and CEO Seyoon later!"

Their argument only got more intense.

But—

Creeeak.

"Raon···?"

The door opened, and Park Taesu appeared. Raon froze like stone.

***

"Why don’t you just go ahead and assassinate someone while you’re at it?"

At Seyoon’s voice, Raon could only bow her head.

"I’m so scared I don’t think I’ll be able to drink even water you give me for a while."

"No···that was just something I said in the heat of the moment."

"So scary, so scary. I raised you like my own kid, and now you’re even trying to give poison chocolate."

"It’s not poison! People will misunderstand if they hear you. There wasn’t even a single ingredient in it that could get you in trouble under the Food Sanitation Act, you know?"

"But Hyeryeong went to the ER and got an IV after eating it."

"That’s because she’s weak."

Raon, Seyoon, and Park Taesu sat side-by-side in the judges’ seats.

Of all things, Raon was in the middle, so with Seyoon and Taesu attacking her from both sides, even if she had two mouths, she had nothing to say.

'No, why did Taesu show up right then!'

Because he walked into the waiting room while she was in a small argument with Hyeryeong, Raon was in a very awkward situation right now.

"Iam picked 'that song.'"

"···Yes."

"Bold of them."

Fortunately, after teasing her once, Seyoon seemed satisfied and moved the conversation to another topic: the song Iam chose for this second mission.

"Out of your songs, Raon, that one was the one I liked the most."

At his words, Taesu added that he also liked the song Iam chose the most this time.

"I like it too, but that song is still second place."

"Then what’s first place, Senior?"

"Your debut song. Raon, do you remember back then?"

"I remember, CEO."

Raon recalled her debut at Seyoon’s question.

Back then, everyone at SY had opposed her solo debut.

Starting with how she was too young, the company’s main argument was that it would be better to make a boy group or a girl group that had already proven successful.

But because Seyoon, the CEO, pushed it through despite all that opposition, her debut happened. And because they went through the entire process together, her debut song held an especially special meaning for both Seyoon and Raon.

"So this time, I’m not going to go easy on Iam’s stage."

"That’s what I want too."

Raon understood how he felt, speaking firmly that he would never go easy on Iam’s stage that chose her song.

Seyoon cared deeply about Raon and her albums, just as much as she did, so if they reproduced it clumsily, he couldn’t possibly tolerate it.

And Raon, who was producing Iam, wasn’t planning to go easy on them either.

This time, if the members looked sloppy, she was even prepared to grit her teeth and drag it all out of them one by one.

"But seriously, you two both went all-in, isn’t this too much?"

"Us?"

"VYNNIA is G.G, LYNX is Anygirls. Are you trying to do some kind of girl group all-star showdown or something?"

Now that attention had moved off her, Raon counterattacked Seyoon and Taesu.

And as if they felt a little guilty, both of them deliberately looked away.

'They really went all-in.'

SY prepared their stage by mobilizing G.G—the girl group called the best in Korean history—and even Hyeryeong, who had been their leader.

And TSP, not to be outdone, had prepared Anygirls’ stage too—the rival of G.G, who had once even carried the title of the nation’s girl group.

"Even having the same producers is cheating."

"If you’re going to talk like that, isn’t it even more cheating that the original singers themselves stepped in directly?"

"That and that are different!"

"What’s different!"

Watching even Taesu—usually famous as a saintly gentleman in the music industry—snap like that, Raon got a feeling that this competition really wouldn’t be easy.

'Our kids prepared hard too, but it’s the same on the other side.'

Unlike the first mission, the opponents didn’t show even a hint of letting their guard down.

"We will begin filming."

Hearing the staff member’s voice announcing the start of filming, Raon had no choice but to believe Iam’s members would do well.