The Daughter of a Conglomerate Family Has Debuted - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Chaebol’s Daughter Debuted

Episode 106

‘The atmosphere has completely confirmed me as a parachute hire.’

The stares made me feel awkward, so I fidgeted with my nose for no reason.

I had expected this kind of atmosphere, but receiving those looks from U&Da, who had been so friendly until yesterday, did feel a bit unpleasant.

Though it’s a misunderstanding that will be cleared up.

“Oh, Ji-ye. Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Ugh, I almost died from the heat yesterday, seriously! Ryu Ji-ye set the air conditioner on a timer saying she needed to take care of her throat, but I couldn’t fall asleep! Not until the air conditioner turned off!”

“Then couldn’t you just turn it back on?”

“I was going to, but I couldn’t find the remote control so I just slept like that. I took a shower first thing when I woke up this morning. Ugh, Ryu Ji-ye’s stubbornness.”

Thankfully, the members who knew my situation well came over as soon as they spotted me and made a noisy fuss.

I pretended not to notice the stares from the surrounding trainees and calmly conversed with the members.

I didn’t want to get swept up in this atmosphere, so I was planning to reveal it after this competition.

Well, what can I do.

Someone else spread my identity before I could.

“It’s competition day today, are you all going to eat breakfast?”

“I’ll pass. I didn’t sleep properly so my stomach feels bloated.”

“I’ll pass too. I always get stomach trouble when I eat on competition days.”

I was killing time talking with the members like this.

“Ji-ye trainee, just a moment.”

Gu Beom-tae PD approached with an awkward expression and gestured to me.

“PD Do asked if he could have a brief conversation with you.”

“….”

What was bound to come has finally arrived.

I readily nodded and waved to the members.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay. We’ll be in the practice room!”

The members headed to the practice room with worried faces, being dragged along by Han Da-min.

“Let’s go.”

Left alone, I walked with Gu Beom-tae PD.

“….”

While climbing the stairs, Gu Beom-tae and I didn’t even make eye contact.

When we arrived at the monitor room on the 3rd floor, thoroughly pretending not to know each other.

I opened the door to the monitor room and said to Gu Beom-tae in passing.

“Good work. I’ll contact you soon.”

“Yes.”

That ended my conversation with Gu Beom-tae.

He would probably do his own work for a while and then move with me again around when Start Plan ends.

“Excuse me.”

I walked into the monitor room without hesitation.

“…Oh, you’re here?”

The expressions of the production staff who turned to look at me inside the monitor room.

They were truly indescribable faces – not resentment, not anger, but not exactly welcoming either.

One thing was certain: all the production staff looking at me had cloudy, dazed eyes.

How should I put it.

Would it be accurate to say they looked like people who realized there was no way to survive a sudden disaster that had befallen them, not because they were tired?

I looked around at them and spoke.

“What did you call me for?”

When I asked, Son Yeo-jin writer made a troubled face, fidgeted with her lips, then pointed to a table behind the monitors.

“Shall we sit down and talk for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Son Yeo-jin writer pointed to a room across from the monitor room.

Nothing was marked on it, but it seemed to be a space the production staff used as a break room.

Following Son Yeo-jin to sit at a table chair inside the room, Do Myeong-gyun PD soon entered and sat across from me.

A three-way confrontation with us awkwardly looking at each other.

Son Yeo-jin, who had been constantly fidgeting with her lips with an expression that showed she didn’t know what to say or how to bring it up, finally opened her mouth.

“Ji-ye, do you know what rumors are going around about you lately?”

“Rumors?”

Of course I know.

I probably would have known even if I hadn’t spread it myself or exchanged signals with Gu Beom-tae.

In Start Plan, you can freely use mobile phones in places without cameras after all schedules are finished, and laptops are placed everywhere for trainees’ practice and meetings.

The fact that I’m the youngest daughter of Hongjin Group is displayed prominently just by entering the main page of portal websites, so there’s no way not to know.

But since I was slightly twisted inside to just say I knew and start the conversation, I pretended not to know and drooped my eyes sadly.

“I know I’m getting a lot of hate.”

Do Myeong-gyun PD, who had a serious expression, looked at me.

It wasn’t an expression of trying to get angry at me, but because of his quite charismatic impression, if another trainee had received that gaze, they probably would have shrunk quite a bit.

I met that gaze directly and said.

“The hate, it’s really a lot.”

So. I’m saying I’m upset because I’m getting a lot of hate due to your editing, so what are you going to do about it.

Naturally, Do Myeong-gyun PD frowned slightly at my words but passed it over without saying anything special.

“Is public opinion so serious that I need to drop out?”

“Ah, no. Dropping out, it’s not that. It’s just….”

Seeing that I seemed to be missing the point, Son Yeo-jin pressed her forehead firmly and asked.

“Ji-ye, is your father by any chance Hongjin Group’s Ryu Sang-ryeol?”

I nodded without hesitation at the careful question.

“Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”

The two people couldn’t continue speaking at my overly calm words.

“How do we know…. There was an article….”

Son Yeo-jin spoke in a completely drained voice, then held her head for quite a while before asking in a somewhat resentful voice.

“Why didn’t you tell us? You’re Hongjin Group’s third daughter, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, but why should I have mentioned that?”

“What?”

“Other contestants also participated without talking about their family backgrounds. It would be strange if only I mentioned it, and also.”

I pretended to hesitate and closed my mouth briefly before speaking again.

“If I had mentioned it, the production staff might have felt unnecessarily burdened.”

They definitely would have manipulated my results being conscious of Hongjin.

I wanted to be confident at least in the results, and even if I had received such good rankings, the backlash would have only grown bigger after my identity was revealed.

Frankly speaking, if they had done editing to make me stand out purely to look good to Hongjin, what would the current situation be like?

No matter how much I explained, I wouldn’t have been able to escape the image of using my family’s power to manipulate rankings.

“Haah….”

Do Myeong-gyun PD let out a big sigh at my words.

Then after being silent for quite a while, he nodded saying he understood.

“Since the issue has spread so widely, we called you to confirm the facts, so don’t worry too much about it. You can go practice now.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, thanks for the trouble of coming all the way up here.”

Oh, what’s this, actually saying thanks for the trouble.

When I saw him during the live broadcast last time, he looked annoyed to death the whole time before disappearing.

Anyway, I quietly bowed my head and left the break room.

Having entered strictly as a trainee, I don’t intend to directly demand anything from the production staff just because my identity was revealed.

‘Hong Jin will step forward instead.’

Starting precisely today, after the competition ends, Ji-ye’s brothers who had been grinding their teeth waiting for this moment would put insane pressure on Start Plan.

***

And shortly after, amid the chaotic atmosphere, Start Plan’s trainees headed to the broadcasting station.

Although it wasn’t a long distance, since all the trainees traveled by bus together, we broke out in cold sweat dealing with the suspicious stares pouring down on us the entire way to the broadcasting station.

As soon as we arrived at the broadcasting station, we immediately got our costumes and makeup done and headed to the set studio.

“Ah… She’s here.”

Sure enough, even at the set studio, people lined up whispering about me.

‘I’m like a monkey in a zoo.’

At that moment, the members quickly surrounded me to block the stares.

“Let’s go.”

“Ji-ye, are you okay? Don’t worry too much about it. It’s just a misunderstanding that will be cleared up anyway.”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

I gritted my teeth and raised the corners of my mouth, heading resolutely into the set studio.

Let me endure this firmly and fiercely.

Anyway, I would have received similar stares even if I had revealed my identity myself after this competition.

Fortunately, my costume was also a rebellious and rough concept with a leather jacket, long straight hair, and heavy makeup!

I tensed my facial muscles as much as my costume and waited for filming to begin.

And shortly after.

“Hello, hello. Oh my, why is the atmosphere so chaotic today? You need to focus before the competition!”

Announcer Choi Gyu-jin entered the set studio with a light joke, and the 4th round competition began immediately.

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