Amidst the cheers of the audience, Song An-ran walked step by step to the opposite stage.
The hot wind in the venue blew through her black hair, raising a few strands. The crystal seat in front of her reflected the dazzling light of the spotlights, and behind her was the dark trainee stage. Song An-ran seemed to be in between heaven and hell.
It took her one year and seven months to complete the short journey. But behind her, there were more people who might never be able to complete the journey in their lives.
This was the cruelty of the Korean entertainment industry. They had the best star creation system, the most influential Korean pop idols, and the fiercest competition at the same time.
Countless people squeezed their heads to become trainees in the Big Three. Those who couldn't get in had to settle for second-tier companies such as Cube or Pledis.
In the end, those who couldn't even get into second-tier companies had to become trainees in some unknown small companies. Even the Big Three couldn't guarantee that all trainees could debut, not to mention these small companies with less financial resources than the former.
These small companies may need a few years to have enough funds to launch a new group. If the new group didn't earn back the cost after its debut, the company would be in debt for a long time. The remaining trainees had no choice but to transfer to another company.
Before Song An-ran entered the company, the company had just launched a new group called "Young."
girl”。 This group, from the name to the members, was completely in line with the rigid standards of the Korean people for girl groups in recent years.
The group name must have a "girl" in it. The group members were from all over China, Japan, and Korea. Everyone was a sweet girl idol.
The group's first album, "Suger," was also safely chosen to be pure and girlish. As expected, it didn't cause any ripples.
This was the original words of CQ's current producer, Kim Si-hwan.
CQ went through two generations of changes. The first producer introduced "Young."
After "Young," seeing that the new group couldn't even get on a singing program, and that the initial investment was going to be wiped out, he immediately chose to protect himself and gave the position to the fledgling Kim Si-hwan.
After Kim Si-hwan took over the position, he was bold and decisive. He directly let go of the trainees who were forced to stay because of the contract. He recruited a few promising seedlings from his alma mater, and Song An-ran was one of the best.
During her one year as a trainee, all of Song An-ran's knowledge of music theory was learned from a professional music teacher at her university.
After all, Kim Si-hwan was a senior at Jiancheng University. Back then, he had quite a good interpersonal relationship. Coincidentally, he had a friend who was a lecturer at Jiancheng University's Music Department. He was young but very professional.
As a result, Song An-ran followed the schedule of the Academy of Music and attended classes every week, rain or shine. As time passed, the students in the class started to get to know Song An-ran. They would bring her along when they went out for commercial performances or activities.
Representative Zhang: "Song Enran Xi, congratulations on your debut. Please give us your speech."
Song An-ran took a deep breath and held the microphone tightly.
"Nei. Thank you to all the national producers who voted for me. Thank you to all the PDnim who produced this show.
I found a lot of my shortcomings in this show, as well as the direction I should work hard in the future. Participating in this competition has really changed my life. In the coming days, I will work even harder. Please continue to look forward to my growth. Thank you, everyone. "
Representative Zhang tilted his head and looked at her, nodding in agreement. "Song Enran Xi, you don't seem to be in good health today. Maybe you're sick? "
After hearing this, the fans screamed Song An-ran's name at the top of their lungs. They shook the light boards with all their might to express their concern.
Song An-ran waved her hand, indicating that they should not worry. "I was a little uncomfortable during the rehearsal. Now I'm almost recovered. I hope you don't have to worry."
After saying this, she raised her hands above her head and offered a huge heart.
"Liar!" "Liar!"
A few excited female fans in the audience shouted directly. Her face was so pale, and she stood there holding her stomach while waiting for the rankings to be announced. She only knew how to pretend to be strong and lie to her fans.
The girls who were less likely to cry directly cried, complaining that Song An-ran was not honest. At the same time, they felt sorry for her thoughtfulness.
Representative Zhang: "Congratulations to Song Enran Xi for debuting in fourth place. Please take good care of yourself. Don't let the national producers worry."
"Nei." Song An-ran bowed solemnly in Representative Zhang's direction, got up, and walked to her seat.
The rankings continued to be announced. As expected, the third place was the first star of the show, Choi Yi-hye, the cute girl next door with infinite charm.
The second place and first place were tonight's highlight.
Representative Zhang: "The first girl group created by the people in China. The final protagonist is JYP Jeon Teru, who has consecutively won first place and fell behind in the second half of the round. Last week, she successfully won first place again. She is also the trainee Kim Si-jong, who has won first place twice and was voted the most popular before the Daegu Commercial Show."
"The announcement of the first trainee … will be announced later."
"It's commercial time now."
Representative Zhang's steady but mischievous actions successfully tantalized the audience. The live broadcast's bullet screen went crazy.
Song An-ran, who was restless in her seat, took advantage of the commercial break to run down the stage and stand in front of Teru.
"Augny." Teru saw her and hugged her tightly without saying anything. She cried and sobbed, looking so pitiful that it made people's hearts soften.
"Teru, you can debut together. Are you not happy?"
"Ah Ni yo, but the president told me that I must get first place, sob sob sob."
"Kenchana. Shōmi, first place doesn't mean victory, second place doesn't mean failure. What's important is that everyone likes you, Ara? "
"Ne."
Shōmi nodded obediently, but her tears couldn't stop falling down her cheeks. Song An-ran sighed. Everyone knew this, but who could really ignore the rankings?
They were all at an age where their hearts were higher than the sky. They couldn't bear the pain of not getting what they wanted. All the trainees on stage weren't crying because they were weak, but because they couldn't accept it.
"Shōmi, calm down. Think of something happy. Don't cry anymore. You still have to speak later. Good luck. "
If she cried too hard, not only would her makeup be ruined, she wouldn't be able to speak for a while.
"Ne."
Song An-ran looked at Shōmi, who was as quiet as a quail, and rubbed her head helplessly. The two of them stuck together and only separated when the director announced the start of the live broadcast.
Representative Zhang returned to the stage. He was dressed in a black suit and looked handsome.
"Then, this time, we'll really announce the name of the trainee who got first place."
The tense atmosphere returned to the stage. The fans didn't even dare to breathe. Song An-ran sat in her seat with her hands clasped together. She closed her eyes and didn't dare to look at the scene.
"The final trainee is … JYP Shōmi."
Zhao Mi sobbed as she walked up to the throne. Finally, all the 11 empty seats had been waiting for their masters to arrive. The color film exploded from the top of the stage and floated to the heads of all the trainees. No matter what the future held, this moment was already the best arrangement of fate.
**
After her debut, Song An-ran didn't even have time to celebrate. The first thing she did was to pack her luggage and move her dormitory from M Building to another building.
Although she had debuted, she didn't feel like she was an idol. She only felt like she was a star when she was recognized when she went to the supermarket to buy frozen food.
"Anron, your agent is calling for you."
Anron was her stage name. Because it sounded similar to her name, it was quickly accepted by everyone. People around her had already replaced her real name with her stage name.
"Inside." Song An-ran, who was practicing her dance, stopped and ran out of the door. She looked up at her agent. "Oppa, what's wrong?"
"An-ran, come back to the company with me. PDN is looking for you." Liu Hsiao-jen was wearing a hat with a serious expression.
Song An-ran was a little dignified. She said in a panic, "Okay … Oppa, wait for me."
She turned around and put on the black hat she had bought a while ago. She hurriedly got into the car and went back to the company.
The last time she saw Kim Si-hwan was at his debut a few days ago. They were quite far apart and only had time to exchange a few words after the show ended. After so many days, Song An-ran was excited and nervous to see her president again.
CQ's signboard was as cold as ever. It was simple and elegant with white lettering on a black background.
Song An-ran couldn't hold back her excitement. She pushed open the glass door and found that the company was empty. There didn't seem to be any staff working.
She knocked on the glass with her hand, making a crisp sound.
"Hello, did CQ go bankrupt because of Song An-ran's intern vote?"
Liu Xiaoren stood at the side and watched her mischievous act, not saying a word.
“PDnim？”
"Sister Caiyan?"
…
"Is everyone not here?"
Song An-ran looked at the quiet company for a while. She thought about it and decided to go to the PD's exclusive room to look for them. Liu Hsiao-jen, who was following behind her, secretly took out his phone when she wasn't paying attention. He turned on the camera and followed her.
Song An-ran was focused on walking forward and didn't notice the camera behind her.
Song An-ran knocked on the door twice and asked loudly. "PDN, are you in there?"
She quietly leaned against the door and waited for the response from the person inside. There was a faint voice in the room. Song An-ran thought the PD was asking her to come in, so she turned the door handle and entered without thinking.
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
The sound of ribbons exploding rang in her ears.
Song An-ran reacted quickly and squatted on the ground with her hands covering her head. She lived up to expectations and was scared into a ball.
"Enron Xi! Congratulations on your debut! "
A group of people rushed out. Jin Shihuan and Staff, who were nowhere to be seen, appeared with a cake with a few burning candles on it.
"An-ran, congratulations on your debut. You have to be bolder now that you're a star." Liu Hsiao-jen, who was holding his phone, locked the camera on An-ran and gloated at the coward who was curled up into a ball.
Song An-ran stood up from the ground with her hands on the door. She stared blankly at the camera and was stunned for a while before she came back to her senses.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she looked at the cake in front of her. She tucked her hair behind her ears and blew out the candles.
"Phew. Although I've received a great shock, but … "
Song An-ran bowed deeply and said emotionally.
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