The Daughter of a Conglomerate Family Has Debuted - Chapter 29

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

The Chaebol’s Daughter Debuted

Episode 29

Choi Gyu-jin seemed to think this was a natural reaction, so he didn’t force himself to hype up the atmosphere and instead warmed up by exchanging light conversation with the production staff.

And after a moment.

The production staff and crew members who had filled the set studio stepped outside, and the PD’s voice echoed through the speakers.

“We’ll begin filming. Trainees, please don’t chat and focus on what the host says.”

Ah, it’s starting.

Now it’s really starting.

My heart, which had been pounding heavily, suddenly began racing like crazy.

One of the production staff entered the set studio and clapped the slate, and filming began with the signal.

“Welcome everyone to Start Plan, the beginning of your dreams!”

Choi Gyu-jin delivered his opening line energetically, then placed his hand on his chest as if moved and looked around at the trainees sitting one level higher.

“Trainees, how have you all been?”

“Yes!”

The tense trainees answered forcefully as if they were in military formation.

Choi Gyu-jin was startled by the louder-than-expected response, then nodded with satisfaction.

“I heard you’ve all made thorough preparations. So, can I look forward to this?”

“Yees…”

The trainees’ response became a bit quieter.

Choi Gyu-jin grinned and playfully tilted his head.

“Huh? That’s strange. Your voices got weaker. I can look forward to it, right?”

“Yees…!”

Watching him lead the responses, I suddenly thought it was like a school trip recreation activity.

“Hmm, it still seems a bit quiet! Everyone, have confidence. You’re all sparkling so brightly today! While I wasn’t looking, our individual trainees even got pretty and unique group names!”

At those words, I looked up and surveyed the trainees’ outfits.

Right, not just our members but the others too were well-dressed as befitting idol trainees, giving off a distinctly sparkling aura.

I could clearly feel the individual team personalities that I hadn’t noticed during the first filming.

Among them, the group with the most eye-catching outfits was First Grade with their funky concept.

And U&DA in their slim-fit dresses covered in sequins?

While looking around at the trainees, I made eye contact with someone.

‘Oh, who’s that?’

A member of I Meet You, that girl who was the same age as Ryu Ji-ye…

I couldn’t remember her name, but anyway, she was the one who got swept up by Min Ha-young and agreed to be friends.

When I smiled slightly, she mouthed ‘You look really pretty today.’

Oh my, girl.

I quickly waved my hands dismissively and turned my head away.

Then clap! A loud handclap sound drew my attention back to Choi Gyu-jin.

“Alright! Let’s end the catch-up talk here, and now we should start talking about the competition, shouldn’t we?”

Choi Gyu-jin, who had been playfully chatting, began explaining the competition rules and rewards in a more serious tone.

The first competition results would be determined solely by the judges’ evaluation, and team rankings would determine seating arrangements during the group song filming, etc.

It was content we’d heard during the previous filming, explained once more.

After that, we determined the competition order by drawing number balls from a box.

We were fourth in order.

And finally, Choi Gyu-jin, having finished all the explanations needed for the proceedings, shouted.

“You’ve waited long enough! Start Plan’s first round! Let’s begin the mentor song competition!”

The first competition had begun.

***

“Wow…”

Exclamations erupted from here and there.

Dim lighting, one person dancing under the spotlight.

From their movements to their expressions, everything looked like a professional dancer rather than an idol.

“They’re practically a machine. This is no joke. Is that the best dancer?”

“I think there’s one more member like that… I heard they’re both from the same dance team.”

The trainees in the back rows whispered quietly.

As expected, trainees from major entertainment agencies are different.

Not just in skills, but in production and arrangement too.

The first act of the competition was May Rookie from the major entertainment agency SU Entertainment.

They captured everyone’s attention from the start of their performance, and all the cast members held their breath watching their stage.

While major entertainment agencies’ biggest advantage is said to be capital, such words seemed meaningless right now.

They were demonstrating their skills simply by dancing under the spotlight with nothing else.

May Rookie. People with excellent skills who were openly popular as public trainees.

It was an intro that immediately showed why these trainees were popular even before debut.

When the solo dance of the member dancing alone to the music ended, another spotlight came down elsewhere.

The three members each showcased different genres of dance as if introducing themselves.

And a fourth spotlight came down on another member.

What genre of dance would they show this time?

As everyone watched the stage with anticipation, the member under the spotlight began singing with a soft tone.

“Woow…”

Another round of exclamations erupted among the watchers.

The song they chose was [Dumpty] by Jen, their mentor and senior from the same agency.

‘What kind of production is this from round 1…’

I didn’t expect it to be this level.

No, it’s natural that SU Entertainment could create this kind of impact when they put their mind to it.

But I didn’t expect them to bring out this kind of production from round 1 with no audience.

At this level, it’s almost like a declaration of war to the trainees, an attempt at preemptive suppression, and if that was their intention, they succeeded.

Because our kids are all demoralized now.

“How do we beat that…”

“They’re really good. Wow…”

“I’m starting to lose confidence.”

Of course, it wasn’t just our team that got discouraged, but the other teams too.

“It’s okay, guys. Let’s have confidence. We worked hard too.”

The only one who was fine here was Seo Ra-eun, whose mind control worked well thanks to the buff.

I really wish I could take that buff off and put it on our entire team.

I pushed aside my increasingly complicated feelings and thought.

‘We have emotion. Emotion.’

We have our own strengths too, so let’s not get too shaken.

May Rookie ended their stage having demoralized all trainees except Seo Ra-eun.

“…Yes, May Rookie, good work.”

At the judge’s voice, May Rookie straightened their posture with very satisfied expressions.

“Huff…hah…Thank you!”

It seemed they had performed well as practiced without any regrets.

But surprisingly, the judges’ evaluations were divided.

“It was sooo good. The immersion was quite good from the intro part.”

“It was a stage that truly exuded May Rookie’s unique charm, to the point where I wonder if there’s ever been such a good stage for showing the members’ individuality and skills.”

While some judges gave rave reviews.

“First, I enjoyed watching the stage. I could tell it was a thoroughly prepared performance. But compared to the beginning, didn’t you lose too much energy in the latter half? That’s a bit disappointing.”

“I’m also a bit disappointed. It was good, but the solo dances in the intro had such strong impact that concentration actually became blurred once the singing started. Um… To put it more bluntly, the vocal was a bit weak compared to the dance skills. I wonder if it would have been better if a different member had done the intro part.”

Some judges commented that only the Intro Part left an impression.

“Yes, that’s all. May Rookie, thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you….”

May Rookie came down from the Stage unable to manage their Expression after the unexpected critique.

‘They’re looking at this much more critically than I thought.’

If criticism comes out even for a performance like that, it means they’re going to judge quite strictly….

‘…As long as I have the oblivion buff, the Intro Part should be fine, right?’

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