I Was Trying To Debut My Baby, But I Ended Up Debuting Instead

Chapter 7

“Ah, hello.”

Na Yeonwoo looked at Hyesung with innocent eyes, making her already large eyes even larger.

Even though it was just a look, in Hyesung’s eyes, it seemed like an angel wrapped in light had come to save humanity.

‘Crazy. She really shines…! Look at the stars in my baby’s eyes. She looks like she just stepped out of a romance comic. The next visual center is definitely Yeonwoo.’

“Did you come alone by any chance?”

Hyesung, inwardly screaming in awe at seeing her in person, tried to ask as normally as possible. She knew that three people had come from Management A, but she asked to continue the conversation naturally.

“Ah, she said she wanted to sit up there….”

Na Yeonwoo turned her head back. In her line of sight, a company colleague of hers was sitting in the debut zone.

The debut zone was already full. The seats were too far away to clearly see faces, but the blonde in the first place seat seemed to be Hyun Nana. As expected, she waved at Hyesung when she looked back.

‘I knew you’d sit there again.’

“I see, I find that place a bit burdensome too.”

Hyesung smiled harmlessly, wanting to appear as a good person to Na Yeonwoo.

“Right. This is just right for now.”

‘Soon, you’ll be up there.’

Hyesung nodded slightly, holding back a smile.

While they chatted and built a rapport, all the other trainees took their seats.

Dudung!

The screen lit up, drawing everyone’s attention. The program logo, shaped like a wave, appeared, and the subtitle “Sailing to Dream” floated up like a wave.

“Hello, 100 trainees who have started your journey towards your dreams.”

The stage lights turned on below the screen, and the host holding the cue cards appeared.

“This season, I will support you sometimes as an older sister and sometimes as a senior, Chief Mate, Seol Hanna.”

In line with the concept of sailing towards a dream, Supernova Project’s viewers were called mates, meaning sailors and friends, and the host was the chief mate.

“Waaaaa!!!”

“I love it!!”

The atmosphere on-site heated up instantly with Seol Hanna’s appearance.

‘I thought she would never be involved in the music industry again after successfully transitioning to acting, but she came out as the MC, which surprised me.’

Seol Hanna had debuted as an idol seven years ago, but her team disbanded early due to poor performance, and she had since pursued a career in acting. She had recently received good feedback for her performance in a drama, just as she was rising as a star.

‘She went through a lot trying to make her group known, so I’m glad she’s doing well now.’

Seol Hanna’s group had debuted at the same time as Hyesung’s old main group, so their activities often overlapped, making Hyesung familiar with their situation. Seeing Seol Hanna now, she genuinely felt happy for her.

“Now, let me introduce the elite trainer squad who will accompany you on your journey.”

The screen quickly switched to the trainers’ introduction video.

“Oh my, I think I’m going to cry!”

“Amazing! It’s Jade!”

The trainees clapped and cheered enthusiastically at the sight of the world-renowned choreographers.

‘Wait, the cast is different from before?’

Hyesung was greatly surprised.

Only the rap trainer remained the same, while one of the vocal and dance trainers had changed.

Moreover, the most surprising was the addition of a new role, the K-pop director, which hadn’t existed before. And that trainer was….

‘…Why is she here?’

Hyesung’s eyes shook violently as if hit by an earthquake, feeling like she’d been struck on the head with a ladle.

‘Ha Hyun unnie….’

It was her former group member.

“This season, we have added a new role. The K-pop director will lead you as a senior idol!”

And appearing with glamorous lights,

“Minty!”

“Kyaaaa!!!!”

Many trainees couldn’t close their mouths at the unexpected appearance of Minty.

“Oh my… I’m so happy, what should I do?”

“No way! This isn’t a dream, right!?”

“It’s not a dream, it’s really Minty.”

Some were teary-eyed, and a few even slapped each other to confirm it was real.

‘…Why is she here?’

Minty, real name Park Ha Hyun. Hyesung’s former group.

She was the leader and ace member of the 8th-year group Lunestar under Q Media, celebrating their 7th anniversary this year.

Her official position was the main dancer, but she excelled in songwriting, composing, arranging, choreography, and vocals, earning her the title of the top idol of the current era.

Minty had started focusing on solo activities after Lunestar’s rise to the top, successfully debuting solo and still actively working.

Hyesung, a former all-fan of Lunestar, had naturally drifted away as their group activities became scarce.

“Nice to meet you. I am Minty, the K-pop director.”

She wasn’t very tall and had a cute cat-like face, but the aura she exuded with just one greeting was immense. She truly seemed to be the talented individual who had taken over the K-pop female solo market with a single album.

Hyesung, seeing her former group member for the first time in years, was both nervous and deeply moved. It wasn’t a bitter breakup, so she felt a bit emotional.

‘She’s got such senior charisma. What a presence.’

But the thought of being evaluated and trained by her former group member made her feel faint.

As Hyesung trembled like a criminal dragged to the ice-cold hell, Na Yeonwoo gently shook her shoulder.

“Unnie? Are you okay?”

“Oh? Oh, I was just surprised.”

“Me too. I didn’t expect an idol senior to come out as a trainer.”

“Yeah, I was a fan, so I was really shocked.”

“Oh~ Hyesung unnie was a fan of Lunestar?”

Na Yeonwoo blinked her rabbit-like eyes and asked.

‘I feel a bit guilty.’

Current bias asking about the former bias. It was an awkward situation, though Na Yeonwoo knew nothing about it.

* * *

“Now, we will start the class evaluation by agency.”

With Seol Hanna’s comment, the atmosphere became tense again.

‘I can’t see the other trainees’ stats yet.’

Hyesung searched for trainees to be evaluated first, like a producer with a combat power meter attached to his eye.

“Yeonwoo, the kids who go first seem to be at a disadvantage, don’t you think?”

Hyesung whispered softly. Three teams were called to the stage, including the standby team.

“Yeah, I think so. They’ll be more nervous going first.”

“What number are you?”

“We’re 21. What about you, unnie?”

The order had been predetermined.

“I’m 19! We might go down together if we’re lucky.”

“I’m already so nervous, unnie.”

“It’s okay, you’ll do great.”

The class evaluation began.

The first few teams to perform were trainees who had been edited out of the previous season’s broadcast.

‘It’s ambiguous. They’ll probably be edited out again this time.’

They weren’t particularly bad, but they weren’t particularly good either. If categorized, they leaned more towards the not-so-good side.

‘Still 2-star level.’

Each time a team finished their performance, their stats were displayed. None stood out.

“We’ve gone through nine teams, but no ace grade yet.”

Hyesung whispered to Na Yeonwoo in an even softer voice, almost inaudible, covering her mouth with her hand to avoid being caught by the cameras.

Though it was something she could have said normally, she didn’t want to risk being edited unfavorably.

“Right. They said there were fewer applicants this time… oop!”

“Shh, don’t get a bad edit.”

Though she had initiated the conversation, Hyesung quickly covered Na Yeonwoo’s mouth as she replied.

“Next trainee, please come up.”

Minty spoke into the microphone. Her eyes looked somewhat bored due to the lack of skilled participants.

‘She was really strict with members during directorial reviews, so no wonder she’s bored watching what feels like a school talent show.’

The next trainee stepped onto the stage.

“Wow, finally.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“They must be really good.”

As soon as the trainee appeared, all the other trainees focused their attention. The trainers’ expressions also seemed to change as if they were familiar with this trainee.

“Independent trainee, Han Youngwon.”

‘She’s already stealing the show just by appearing.’

Hyesung swallowed nervously.

The song choice was the first number-one hit of Minty’s group, Lunestar. As the music began, Han Youngwon delivered a performance distinctly different from the previous trainees.

“Given her trainee period and previous experience, I had high expectations….”

Minty started to speak.

“Her technique and expressiveness exceeded expectations. Unanimously, ace grade. Well done.”

It was the first time since filming began that she looked genuinely satisfied.

“Thank you.”

Han Youngwon brushed back her bluish-black hair and bowed.

Though her expression remained mostly cold, her fingertips trembled slightly.

‘Even Han Youngwon gets nervous.’

Just like before, Han Youngwon, the first to receive the ace grade, was supposed to join the popular group BlackЯose (BlackRose) four years ago.

After filming the music video for their new song and appearing in the agency’s own content, a sudden conflict caused the team to break up completely, and her debut was canceled, sending her back to being a trainee.

The agency then formed a new group, Queentet, centered around Han Youngwon, but due to differences in opinions, she left the team right before their debut. Queentet, named after a five-member ensemble, eventually debuted as a four-member group without her.

Han Youngwon, thought to have left the entertainment industry, resurfaced as a participant in Supernova Project Season 5, creating a small buzz among K-pop fans.

‘Pity… It would be too much to call it selling a story since her skills were too solid, winning over even casual fans.’

She was one of the three trainees initially dividing the votes into three parts.

“Wow… She’s amazing… This is what a real singer looks like….”

Na Yeonwoo seemed slightly dazed after watching Han Youngwon’s performance.

“Yeah… She was incredible.”

‘With those stats, she couldn’t help but be good.’

Hyesung held back her words. After Han Youngwon’s performance ended, she had been stunned by the status window that appeared before her.

[Han Youngwon (24 years old/female)]

Visual ★★★★

Vocal ★★★★

Dance ★★★

Star Quality ★★★★

A high average of nearly 4 stars. The highest stats among all the trainees seen so far.

‘Can’t I see the trainers’ stats? Maybe because I’ve only seen their intro videos, it doesn’t work yet….’

Whoosh.

As soon as she finished thinking, the trainers’ status windows appeared. Among them, only Minty had higher average stats than Han Youngwon.

‘Ha Hyun unnie has 4 stars in vocals and 6 stars in dance….’

Considering she was an 8th-year singer and Han Youngwon a trainee, the difference wasn’t that significant.

“Whoever comes out after Han Youngwon must be under a lot of pressure.”

“Yes… I’m worried too.”

Na Yeonwoo seemed more nervous than when the class evaluation began. Her turn was approaching.

“It’s okay, Yeonwoo. Just show what you’ve practiced.”

“Unnie….”

Hyesung patted Na Yeonwoo’s back.

Seeing Na Yeonwoo as a chirping chick, Hyesung felt a motherly concern.

‘My mom must have felt like this when she sent me to school for the first time.’

“Numbers 17 to 21, please come down and wait.”