I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 118

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 118
Bang Mu-hyuk and Park Jin-soo were watching practice videos of the trainees.
“Should we check out Sung-guk’s?”
“I’ll show you Sung-guk’s through Face Paper.”
Bang Mu-hyuk pulled up Sung-guk’s Face Paper on his laptop and clicked.
“Sung-guk’s been uploading videos there about challenging the debut group over 30 days as a JP trainee.”
“Honestly, I think he might be a genius. He seems to know what people are curious about.”
Park Jin-soo leaned forward with interest.
“This is day one. It was really rough that day.”
Bang Mu-hyuk watched both Sung-guk’s vocal and dance test from day one, then clapped his hands and leaned back in his chair.
“Wow, incredible. Honestly, he’s the worst trainee I’ve seen recently. He doesn’t have any fundamentals at all.”
“Watch the next day’s video.”
Bang Mu-hyuk showed Park Jin-soo all of Sung-guk’s progress videos in sequence.
Park Jin-soo’s upper body gradually leaned forward.
Sung-guk’s videos showed growth, but there was something oddly captivating about them.
“Sung-guk’s almost at a month now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How did someone with absolutely no fundamentals master the choreography for ‘The Perfect Man’?”
“What’s even more impressive is that while learning this choreography, he naturally picked up the basics of dance too. The guy who couldn’t do a wave at first is incredibly smooth with it now.”
Park Jin-soo was particularly focused on Sung-guk singing “It’s a Lie.”
“This kid only studied, right?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Don’t you remember when I directed this song? I told the Just members to recall the raw emotion of being dumped by their girlfriend. But Sung-guk, awkward as he is, actually has that emotion.”
“His vocals are shaky, but even I can feel the emotion. It’s hard to find kids with good emotional delivery.”
“Mu-hyuk, I’m starting to really want this kid.”
Park Jin-soo straightened up in his seat.
“We’re forming a five-member male dance group this time.”
“Isn’t that already full?”
“Don’t you think it would be more perfect with Sung-guk in it? I think he has center potential. If he’s improved this much in just a month of training, wouldn’t he be ready to debut in six months?”
“That… depends most on what Sung-guk wants.”
“Well, there’s always the next group. We should keep a close eye on him during this month-end evaluation.”
Park Jin-soo couldn’t take his eyes off Sung-guk’s videos.
* * *
Today is finally the day of the month-end evaluation. At JP, we hold a month-end evaluation once a month to cut trainees who lack skill and promote those who’ve improved to the debut group. Today is when the results come out for the journey from trainee to debut group over the past month. I’ll share the results with you this evening.
I grabbed my usual hoodie and picked up my bag.
I hadn’t run into Ye-jin, who was selected for the debut group, even once since then.
We exchanged occasional check-in messages, but most of them were about her packed schedule and not getting proper sleep.
Since we weren’t meeting in person, my hormones seemed to have settled, and the messages didn’t stir much emotion anymore.
[From now on, there are no women in Jeon Sung-guk’s life!]
I steadied my briefly wavering heart.
What mattered most to me now was Face Paper, the business I would soon be expanding.
Knock. Knock.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Min-guk.”
“Come in.”
Min-guk pushed open the door with a thoroughly sullen expression.
“You told me to solve those math and English problem sets, so I’ve been working through them hard. When are you going to show me JP?”
“I have an important evaluation today. I’ll ask about it after that’s done.”
“Ugh, I hate you, hyung!”
Min-guk left, grumbling the whole way.
[Is Min-guk entering his rebellious phase already?]
These days he was constantly complaining and barely listened to anything I said.
A promise was a promise, so whether I passed or failed today, I figured I should ask Bang Mu-hyuk about taking him to JP.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Notifications from Face Paper kept arriving without pause.
Everyone was wishing me success, but there was plenty of mockery mixed in questioning whether I could actually pull it off with my skill level.
To be honest, I wasn’t 100% confident like I usually was.
“Oppa!”
Ji-hee shuffled in with sleepy eyes, clutching her stuffed animal.
“Oppa, do you have a test today?”
“Yeah. I have an important evaluation today.”
“Oppa, Ji-hee will give you a kiss for good luck on your test.”
“Really?”
I offered my cheek, and Ji-hee planted a kiss on it with a soft smack.
“Oppa, fighting!”
“Yeah!”
[From now on, the only women in my life are Mother and Ji-hee.]
* * *
Ten trainees with less than a year of experience, myself included, stood lined up in the practice room.
Normally we’d be joking around and talking, but today everyone was silent. The tension was palpable.
With the monthly evaluation, someone could get cut—this wasn’t just about grades like a school exam.
For some, this was where dreams would be shattered.
I warmed up my body casually.
Just as Ye-jin had taught me, loosening my arms and legs made my movements much smoother when dancing and prevented injury.
Lee Yu-mi whined from beside me.
“Sung-guk, did you practice a lot?”
“Just a bit.”
That’s what I said, but I’d devoted every moment except sleep to practicing.
Click.
The practice room door opened, and Park Jin-soo, Bang Mu-hyuk, Han So-ri, and Lee Seo-rin all entered together.
Park Jin-soo settled into his seat, his gaze sweeping across each of us in turn.
“Have you all been practicing hard this past month?”
“Yes, sir!”
The trainees’ voices rang out in unison, loud and clear.
“Don’t be too nervous. I’ve reviewed all the practice videos you’ve done with the PD. But remember, our ultimate goal is to become actual singers performing on real stages. No matter how well you execute during practice, one mistake on stage becomes a permanent record. So let’s approach this month-end evaluation as if it were the real thing.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Alright then… shall we start with Seo Jin-ah?”
“Yes.”
All the trainees except the shrewd Seo Jin-ah moved to the back and sat down.
[Why is my heart racing like this?]
I steadied my pounding heart and watched Seo Jin-ah take the stage for the first time.
Seo Jin-ah had chosen a familiar group’s song and choreography.
[That choice is actually a disadvantage. She can’t showcase her own individuality that way.]
When Seo Jin-ah’s performance ended, Park Jin-soo wore an ambiguous smile.
“Jin-ah, your vocals seemed a bit buried today. The dance was solid though.”
I could see Seo Jin-ah tensing up.
“What do you think, PD Bang?”
“The song choice wasn’t great today. Since it’s such a familiar piece, even if Jin-ah performed well, there weren’t many moments where she could really stand out.”
Just as I’d predicted.
“Still, it was a solid performance. Next is Kim Chan-ho.”
Kim Chan-ho stepped forward.
Among the trainees with less than a year of experience, he was by far the most talented.
With his attractive appearance, he was also the most popular trainee aside from me.
He had a quiet, diligent practice style, so there were no conflicts among the trainees.
“Wait? Kim Chan-ho and Sung-guk chose the exact same song today.”
What?
Kim Chan-ho glanced back at me once, then simply shrugged his shoulders.
The fact that Kim Chan-ho—a former street dancer who’d already spent a year as a trainee—and I had selected the identical song…
[This is setting me up for a direct comparison.]
I kept my arms crossed and maintained the most neutral expression I could muster.
“Chan-ho, why don’t you start with ‘It’s a Lie’?”
“Yes.”
Han So-ri immediately began playing ‘It’s a Lie’ on the keyboard.
* * *
“He’s really good. Dancing is Chan-ho’s specialty, but his vocals have charm too. Let’s see the choreography now.”
“Yes!”
Kim Chan-ho immediately launched into the choreography for ‘The Perfect Man’.
Sharp, controlled movements and powerful execution.
[Damn, he’s flawless.]
Kim Chan-ho’s ‘The Perfect Man’ was genuinely perfect.
My face was gradually transforming into despair.
But it was too early to give up.
[There has to be something that sets Kim Chan-ho and me apart…. But does it really exist?]
I was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of hopelessness.
Kim Chan-ho finished his stage and stood before Park Jin-soo, breathing heavily.
“Chan-ho, your dancing is really impressive. Flawless. You could go on stage right now.”
“Chan-ho’s vocals and dancing are textbook perfect. I wish everyone would perform at his level.”
Bang Mu-hyuk didn’t spare his praise either.
“Chan-ho, just keep doing what you’re doing. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kim Chan-ho left, and my eyes locked directly with Park Jin-soo’s.
[Could it be me next? Park Jin-soo, why are you doing this? Putting a first-year trainee and a one-month trainee side by side?]
Park Jin-soo nodded as if he could read my thoughts.
“Sung-guk, shall we see what you’ve prepared?”
The other trainees murmured among themselves.
“Oh, they’re doing the same song.”
“Wow, the skill gap is going to be painfully obvious.”
I clenched my fists and stood up.
“Since you’re doing the same song as Chan-ho, we’ll be able to assess your abilities more clearly.”
[He’s telling me to know my place. Park Jin-soo, that’s cruel….]
“Let’s start with the vocals.”
Han So-ri immediately began playing the keyboard.
I entered the opening with my voice as high and delicate as possible. Appealing with my voice before it changed seemed like it would give me more distinction from Kim Chan-ho.
At the same time, Park Jin-soo and Bang Mu-hyuk stared intently at me.
But I couldn’t read their intentions.
“Sung-guk, you’re doing the same dance as Chan-ho for ‘The Perfect Man,’ right?”
“Yes.”
“Comparing you to Chan-ho would be pointless, but show me how much you’ve grown in this one month.”
“Yes!”
Finally, the intro to “The Perfect Man” began to play.
At first, I moved through the choreography comfortably.
Of course, compared to Kim Chan-ho, my skills were obviously pathetic. So I had to pull out my trump card.
As “The Perfect Man” reached its climax, the relaxed trainees began clapping and singing along.
[Alright, time to play my trump card!]
I naturally spun and yanked off my hoodie in one fluid motion.
In that instant, the female trainees let out screams.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaah!”
At the same time, Park Jin-soo burst into laughter, clapping his hands and leaning back.
* * *
“Sung-guk, you need to build up your physique before taking your shirt off. You can’t just strip like that.”
Park Jin-soo began his evaluation with a face full of laughter.
Bang Mu-hyuk was barely suppressing his own smile.
“Sung-guk, I got a good look at your ribs.”
“Still, it’s a hundred percent effective on the girls. Director Bang, did you hear those screams earlier?”
“Exactly. Sung-guk, that’s cheating. Since you couldn’t beat Chan-ho fair and square, you took your shirt off, didn’t you?”
[Damn, I’ve been caught….]
I scratched my head sheepishly.
“Sung-guk still has plenty of room for improvement, honestly. His vocals need work, his dancing is weak. But the progress he’s made in just one month isn’t ordinary. Plus, he’s a Harvard student and a model student, so I was wondering how he’d come across on stage… but he absolutely shined up there. Today’s performance really showed me his star potential, so I’m completely satisfied.”
“Sung-guk, next time don’t resort to tricks. You need to compete fairly and squarely.”
[Bang Mu-hyuk, if the results are bad, everything’s bad.]
I laughed awkwardly and adjusted my hoodie.
“Yes. I’ll work harder.”
Then I collapsed into my seat.
[Phew, I really burned bright out there….]
* * *
Park Jin-soo, Bang Mu-hyuk, Han So-ri, and Lee Seo-rin gathered together to conduct the end-of-month evaluation.
“Still, Chan-ho’s first place is obvious, right?”
“Of course. Chan-ho is the best in this class when it comes to skill.”
Bang Mu-hyuk agreed.
“Jin-ah and Yu-mi are doing fine too…. But what does everyone think about Sung-guk?”
Park Jin-soo asked with sudden seriousness.
“What do I think? What do you mean?”
“I was completely blown away by that guy today. Since he clearly couldn’t beat Chan-ho on skill alone, he took off his hoodie, right? How did he even come up with that idea?”
“I screamed along with everyone else.”
Lee Seo-rin chimed in.
“What about you, Han So-ri?”
“Did you notice he deliberately sang with a softer tone? Sung-guk’s clearly intelligent. Since Chan-ho appealed with masculine charm, Sung-guk countered by singing with a more delicate tone while dancing with masculine appeal—it was perfectly calculated.”
“With that hoodie performance, I’d say Sung-guk is definitely the winner today.”
Lee Seo-rin stated it emphatically.
Park Jin-soo shook his head with a laugh.
“Sung-guk’s star quality is really something else.”
“But… there’s something that worries me.”
Bang Mu-hyuk looked at everyone with a serious expression.
“Director Bang, what’s the worry?”
“Isn’t he standing out too much on his own?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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