Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 129

37. A Lost Girl

Rather, it would only highlight Ayoung’s growing international recognition.

Among all countries, Japan showed the most significant increase in recognition.

She had been known since her days as Muhee, and the trot genre itself was familiar through the Japanese version, Enka [a traditional Japanese song style similar to trot], which was a major contributing factor.

Surprisingly, Ayoung’s songs were gaining popularity even among the older generation, who tend to be less receptive to foreign culture compared to younger people.

“Still, I don’t think there’s a need to go as far as making a debut in Japan…”

Considering her already packed schedule with domestic events, it seemed unnecessary.

However, with the market itself expanding, overseas expansion was definitely something to consider.

“That’s because Ayoung isn’t someone who will end up as just a trot singer.”

As Director Hong Euichan acknowledged, her true talent lay in acting.

Her trot singing, praised by everyone, was simply a medium through which her expressiveness was maximized via her acting skills.

Her vocals, typically considered a core talent for singers, weren’t particularly outstanding.

“Well~ those things can be improved slowly over time.”

In any case, gaining recognition overseas through this incident was a positive development.

It would make it easier to pique people’s curiosity when Squid [presumably a project or song] is released later.

Around the time the nation was buzzing about his concert.

Jamie’s debut was finally confirmed.

* * *

-Chika Chika!-

Jamie woke up, brushed her teeth, and, as always, checked her trainee schedule.

The schedule, divided into hourly slots from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., was demanding, but she was growing accustomed to it.

The support of her friends played a significant role in her adjustment.

It wasn’t just the teaching and assistance that helped. While that was considerable, their mindset was the most impactful.

Unlike her younger days, filled with talk about boys and pointless pranks, they were surprisingly talented and passionate, even at their young age.

Watching them made her feel that even complaining about hardship was a luxury.

Furthermore, she realized how truly amazing idols who debuted after such intense trainee lives were.

“It’s not for nothing that they can sing while dancing like that.”

It wasn’t simply about dividing up the song parts.

It demanded an even greater level of difficulty, requiring them to perfectly synchronize with their team members.

It was a stage perfected after relentless practice, so it was no wonder the world was paying attention to K-pop.

“Today, the main things are choreography lessons and instrument lessons.”

Choreography lessons were the priority.

Fortunately, Jamie wasn’t clumsy. In fact, she had a natural talent for using her body, having briefly been on a cheerleader team in her youth.

So, when she first learned about the choreography lessons, Jamie felt confident.

However, her confidence was shattered during her first lesson.

“Those kids who look like babies dance to that level?”

She was intimidated by the dance skills of the young trainees in her class.

However, this was understandable.

The fact that they were accepted into YC Entertainment as trainees, which was even harder to get into than the former Big 3 entertainment companies [referring to the top three entertainment companies in South Korea], meant they were exceptionally talented.

Also, those she perceived as babies weren’t as young as she thought.

It was a misunderstanding stemming from the fact that Asians often look younger than Westerners.

In any case, the shock she experienced at that time was a real wake-up call.

Of course, the very fact that she had moved to another country showed that she wasn’t taking this endeavor lightly.

Wasn’t she dreaming of becoming a singer in the first place?

However, that ambition had been somewhat dulled by three years of simply trying to make a living.

So, what she needed most was to renew her mindset, and this was achieved instantly.

With her changed mindset, Jamie began to transform.

She started living a life where she thought only about music from the moment she woke up until she went to sleep.

She stopped drinking alcohol, which she used to enjoy, and completely cut out her favorite hamburgers and french fries.

She also stopped using SNS [social networking services], where she used to mindlessly spend time, and she no longer watched sitcoms, which she used to enjoy while giggling alone.

It wasn’t that she felt she shouldn’t watch them.

She was so content with her current life that she couldn’t tear her eyes away from her goals.

And behind her happiness was YC Entertainment’s full support for its trainees.

They supported her so much that she didn’t have to worry about anything else.

Her 10-pyeong [approximately 356 square feet] studio apartment, far superior to her room in Las Vegas, was managed like a hotel.

Laundry and simple bedding cleaning were handled through the company system.

She could also get a lunch box from the company cafeteria for about one meal a day.

Additionally, practice clothes and shoes, considered consumables, could be taken for free from the company shop.

The clothes and shoes available for free were by no means cheap brands.

Most were famous brands that were recognizable by name, with an average of more than 10 brands listed in the shop.

All of these brands were sponsored products, and the exposure was valuable enough to warrant a “wearing shot” [a photo showcasing the product being worn].

The wearing shots taken in this way were uploaded to the YC Revolution trainee account and linked to the Revolution online store to sell products.

Trainees who gained some recognition through this account could use these products almost indefinitely.

Furthermore, some trainees deliberately took the time to take wearing shots here because they could earn a small allowance through advertisements.

Jamie was one of the trainees known for these wearing shots.

Perhaps because she was the only member of YC Entertainment of a different nationality and race, she couldn’t help but stand out.

However, she had been receiving a lot of attention for the past few months.

She possessed a beauty that had attracted attention even when she was an ordinary person, and when she stopped eating unhealthy food and started exercising and taking care of herself, her potential truly blossomed.

She was rated S- in terms of visuals on the evaluation chart.

Because of this, many people were looking for her personal account, but unfortunately, all of her SNS accounts were set to private.

However, seemingly unaware of this fame, she was warming up in the practice room early today, as usual.

-Squeak… Squeak! Tadatadak-

The choreography teacher couldn’t help but admire her fluid movements as she practiced the choreography.

“Wow~ the choreography really comes alive because her arms and legs are long. I’m jealous.”

Of course, behind that appearance was improved dance skills, so much so that it was hard to imagine the clumsy days when she couldn’t even keep the beat properly.

“It’s all thanks to the teacher.”

“Oh my~ how cute.”

Her Korean skills had improved significantly during that time, and she was able to speak, albeit awkwardly, so she showed humility as if she were Korean, and the choreography teacher was charmed by her cuteness.

After catching the choreography details for a while, the choreography teacher finished the lesson earlier than usual.

The choreography teacher smiled and said to Jamie, who looked curious.

“The CEO called you.”

“The CEO? Why?”

“Well? I don’t know, but it certainly looks like good news.”

“Hmm?”

She was curious for a moment, but she tried not to show it, though a subtle blush rose on Jamie’s face as if she was excited.

The choreography teacher secretly pretended not to notice and slipped away.

Who is the CEO?

It was none other than YC, the most watched star in the world and the sexiest man for over two years.

Even she, in her late 30s, felt her heart pound when she happened to see him in the company, let alone Jamie, who was in her early 20s.

As if the choreography teacher’s thoughts were correct, Jamie, who would have been heading to eat at other times, hurried back to her studio apartment and was busy washing and dressing up.

* * *

I was able to take a break, albeit a short one, after going on a fairly long business trip to Japan to address the concerns of the Japanese industry, which was shaken by Diva(G)’s debut.

And around that time, I started reviewing the monthly evaluation videos of the trainees I had selected this time.

Of course, there were many trainees, so I couldn’t watch them all, and I mainly focused on the videos that the teachers had selected as the best.

“Amazing?”

The main subjects of the selected and uploaded videos were all shining brightly.

Currently, the trainees in the company are those who have been re-selected and gathered from the best talents in Korea, so the main subjects of the videos were no less talented than any first-tier idol.

There were a few who stood out, so I paused the video for a moment and looked at their backgrounds, and I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“They were kids who dreamed of re-debuting.”

Apart from their skills, they seemed mature for trainees, and they were the ones who had debuted in the past.

That’s why I felt frustrated.

Despite having such outstanding skills, they disappeared without making a significant impact.

On one hand, I was glad that I could give some of those people a chance like this.

After watching the trainees for a while, I turned my attention to Jamie’s video, which I had been deliberately avoiding and putting off.

There was a reason why I had been delaying watching Jamie’s video, even though she was a talent I would have been thrilled to discover even if I had won the lottery.

Jamie in the video, which I had briefly watched when I couldn’t pay proper attention due to last year’s All Stadium Tour, was enough to surprise me.

Her beauty, which had risen to A-class or higher as she was being managed, was impressive, but her vocals had changed so dramatically that I was speechless.

“Karen Carpenter…”

She was approaching the level of Karen Carpenter [a legendary vocalist known for her distinctive voice] as surprisingly as I had unconsciously mentioned the legendary vocalist.

It was unbelievable that all of this had happened in just three months since she became a trainee.

“This kid is a monster.”

Only then did I realize that she was a prodigy.

I realized that she possessed a talent that surpassed the level of simply Karen Carpenter coming back to life.

It was truly unbelievable that the owner of such an amazing talent had become just a mimic because she didn’t have proper guidance or an environment to nurture her talent.

“At this rate, it will be harder to see her.”

Even now, just three months later, it’s like this, so what will it be like when the concert tour is over?

I was sure that I would want to see her on stage.

“That shouldn’t happen.”

So, I forcibly kept her away.

I was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy her growth period properly because of my own desires.

“But now that it’s almost been a year… wouldn’t it be okay?”

In the end, I couldn’t resist and opened the folder containing her videos that I had been avoiding.

There were a total of 11 videos that had accumulated in the meantime. Usually, one is uploaded for the monthly evaluation, but Jamie is a special management target, so the situation is different, and they had accumulated like this.

I started watching from the past videos that I had been avoiding.

“…?”

And when I came to my senses, I had already watched all the videos. Considering that each video is about 6 minutes long, an hour had passed in an instant.

Jamie in the video was truly amazing, and I was completely engrossed.

“I think it’s a good thing that I’ve been keeping away from her…”

It was great that her dance had improved to the level of a first-tier idol, but it was her vocals that impressed me the most.

The vocalist teacher, who was specially invited to take charge of her, said in the 9th video that there was nothing more I could teach, and that was true.

If it’s about vocals, it’s a different story, but in popular music, it was no exaggeration to say that she had completely established her foundation.