190 - Upki Girl

< Hong-ah, aren't you over 100 kilograms? > "Anyway, she won't last a week here. That's why I'm against it." I vaguely expected that she might agree out of nostalgia, but Yona's decision came as a surprise; she was firmly against it. She wouldn't even allow the former colleague to watch and learn. "You made excuses and bailed when training as an Eyecontact trainee even with the slightest hardship." "They weren't excuses. I genuinely couldn't keep up back then." Having some of her past inadequacies exposed in front of the others seemed to bruise Lan's pride a bit. Yona began an unrelenting tirade of brutally honest truths towards her. "Upkey Girl's practice is even tougher. Seeing you whining on the sidelines would ruin the vibe, so I can't allow it." That certainly wouldn't do. The Upkey Girl members manage to endure over 10 hours of practice, even on non-schedule days, because they maintain a cheerful atmosphere, treating it almost like fun. Early in the team's formation, the rest couldn't keep up with Yona's practice regimen, but now all five members see practicing as natural as eating or breathing. No one complains about practicing — just as no one complains about breathing. Yona's rule that they must put in 120% during practice to deliver 100% in real performances has become the team's doctrine. Yona's relentless criticism of her former colleague continued. "Honestly, you don't want to practice, do you? You just want the comfort of feeling that you're doing something by showing up. I can see it from a mile away. You'll probably brag to your friends and family about practicing with Upkey Girl, claiming you can make a comeback. Isn't that why you want to join our company?" Yona, you might as well punch her. Even as a listener, I could feel the harshness of his words. Even Hong and Eunbit, the more moderate ones, couldn't shield her anymore from Yona's unyielding stance. Lan, who was full of excuses, was momentarily speechless, as if with her mouth full of stolen goods. On one hand, it seemed as if Yona wasn't merely crushing her but using shock therapy as motivation. Perhaps it was a final opportunity? If you can surpass these worst expectations and shame, then give it a shot; if you can't handle it, then scram, this Yonbalom. That's the feeling. Proving my expectations, Yona didn't stop at criticism but provided concrete solutions. Instead of giving her a fish, he taught her how to fish. "If it were me, I'd throw away everything I learned at Karma and start over completely from the basics. From vocal exercises to basic bouncing and waving in dance." Then he turned to me and asked. "Are Hyundong and Roojoo still accepting students for lessons?" The sly Yona, asking while knowing the answer. I nodded. "Yeah. It's once a week, around 30 a month." Lan was surprised. "That's too expensive. Is there a discount if I take both vocal and dance lessons at once? Can you use your authority to make it 50 as a bundle?" "I'm not in the lesson department, so I have zero authority. If you're interested, you should ask directly. I can give you their contact details." "Then give me their numbers. I'll ask them myself." Is it lack of foresight or commendable initiative? Though her ambition to practice with Upkey Girl might have been crushed, Lan did come to the office as a regular student for hums-and-hums. Starting the very next day, in fact. *** "Hello. I'm Lee So-ran, and I'll be taking lessons at Hums-and-hums starting today. Nice to meet you all!" So, her real name is Soran. Lan's greeting, coming from outside the choreography room, was hopeful, like forsythia heralding the arrival of spring. "Looks like Lan's here." Regardless, the Upkey Girl members were busy dividing their parts for their new mission song. Shortly after, the door opened to reveal Director Yeom. "Hyung, do you know who's outside?" Feigning ignorance, I shrugged. "Who?" "The girl from Eyecontact with the drug scandal. She's here to receive lessons. Apparently, you recommended her?" "Ah... I met her yesterday at the Ripple Girl recording. She said she wanted to start from the basics again, so I gave her Hyundong and Roojoo's numbers. And it was Yona who suggested she should." Yona, pretending not to care, promptly defended himself when his name came up. "I only followed the director’s intentions." "What? When did I express such intentions?" "You wanted to help Lan, didn't you?" "Hey, I was against it the whole time, okay? You were the one who suggested lessons first..." "Really? I thought you wanted to help Lan but couldn’t decide because of us, so I spoke up instead." Well, it's true I had a bit of a desire to help. Since she wasn’t signing a contract with our company anyway, I thought it'd be okay for her to use the practice room, as long as it didn't interfere with the girls. Though formal lessons never crossed my mind. Yeom asked with a suspicious gaze. "Is that all? You don't have any other intentions, right?" Was he startled by Upkey Girl and Lan? Or maybe, purely in terms of impact, Lan would be more of a headache. Combining all five of them could potentially be comparable. "Kukukuk, nah. You think I’d actually suggest signing a contract with her?" "With you, anything seems possible." "Yeom. I want Upkey Girl to be my first and last team." “Oh, come on. Why do you make me swoon?” I meant that managing a group was that tough, but Sawon interpreted it as affection, laid down on her back, and clutched her chest. The others seemed quite moved, too. Yeom continued. “Actually, these days, when I go out for business, people are starting to talk about a follow-up group for Upkey Girl. There's even talk about connecting with investors.” “Really?” "Ultimately, it's just about asking for a cut of the commission, so I usually handle it at my level, but aside from that, we also get a lot of inquiries about auditions and trainees." "This is why everyone wants to raise idols." "Exactly. The risk is high, but if you make it, you can change your office building." "Wow! Can we change our building?" At Eunbit's exclamation, Yeom replied positively. "If you win Ripple Girl and hit number one with a mini-album and keep climbing, it's possible." "Wowow!" It's not just a pipedream. Take Planmaker for instance; they built a building with just Plan-L and produced subsequent artists. Within four years, the members of Plan-L even became building owners. Sawon pouted at Yeom. "Director, can't we not raise another team? We haven't even hit number one yet, and you're already getting distracted?" "Who said I am?" "I don't like it, even in the future. I wish you would just focus on us alone. Forever." "Hey. I'm already overwhelmed with just you guys. The incidents and accidents are endless." "But it's been pretty quiet recently. If you want, we can go back to our early days and make things more chaotic for you." Yeom, exasperated, appealed to me. "Hyung, look at her. She thinks of me as less than Jang Woo. Nowadays, I sometimes even envy Jang Woo." "Right? You used to avoid him because you were scared." "Just imagine how full of themselves they'll be if they hit number one." "The day they get number one on a music show, you'll have to carry me on stage, Director." At Sawon's words, Eunbit clapped her hands like a seal in agreement. "Haha! That should be our pledge if we hit number one! We'll sing piggybacked by our agency director. Just thinking about it sounds like a blast! Director, deal?" "Oh, sure. Just hit number one. I'll carry you not just on stage but for life." "Director, you promised." Sawon enthusiastically took out her phone to film the promise as a video contract. After Yeom finished the pledge, he turned the lens my way and asked. "What will you do for us if we hit number one?" "You guys... Anyone would think the company is the only one benefitting if Upkey Girl hits number one." "Come on, it's just for fun. It's a pledge." "Then why don't you all do it together? What will you do if you hit number one? Sawon, you start." "If we hit number one, I'll take the big step and become Kim Yunho's girlfriend." "I don't need that. What about Eunbit?" "If I hit number one, I'll wear a skimpy micro bikini and pole dance in front of Gangnam Station!" "Pass. Hong, your turn." "If, uh, if I hit number one, I'll eat nonstop for 24 hours." "Who would that even benefit? Yona?" "If we hit number one, I'll donate my entire first earnings." "That's boring, pass." "Ugh! I told you not to ask me these things!" It's just fun to tease. Yona's face flushed with indignation, making her about seven points more charming. "Hey, don't you have anything clever? I'm counting on the youngest this time. What’s the princess Aliyah's number one pledge?" "Drumroll, please!" Amidst Eunbit's mouth-drumming, Aliyah announced her pledge. "Well, if Upkey Girl hits number one, I'll, as an investor, move the Hums-and-Hums office to a place twice as big as the current one." "Wow! Now that's a generous pledge!" "Haha..." Even Yeom, whose lips are said to be heavier than a ton of gold, couldn't help but smile. "Does that please you?" "It's perfect." "It's wonderful." "Ugh, you commoners... And one more thing!" "Great, great! What's it, Princess Ali?" "I’ll introduce a girlfriend suitable for my brother!" "Woohoo!" Unlike my cheers, the kids booed softly. In sequence, Han, Shibal, and Sipalsekki voiced their disapproval. "Boo! Heresy must be banished!" "Gwak doesn't need a girlfriend!" "Exactly! What he needs is a flawless schedule and Brother Jang Woo!" The high spirits were dashed by Yona. "Let's start practice." "Eek! Yona-leader, we only took a two-minute break!" "It wasn't even scheduled break time, so you've rested enough. Assume your positions; let's rehearse with the live parts we divided earlier. Director and Aliyah, please film us." "Okay." The choreography room snapped back into order. Yeom, who was about to grasp the doorknob to return to his own tasks, paused. "Ah, right. I nearly forgot the main reason I came in. Hong and Eunbit, you've been confirmed for a ceremonial first pitch at pro baseball." "Wow, awesome." Usually, for ceremonial pitches or opening throws, unless you're an A-list celebrity, the management company has to reach out to the team's PR for a request (read: favor). With the high popularity of professional baseball, the competition is fierce, often even requiring connections. Thus, mutual recognition, buzz, and fervor towards the team are crucial selection criteria. Typically, arrangements are finalized 2–3 weeks in advance, and for teams based in Seoul, they've scheduled ceremonial pitches up to two months in advance from what I've heard. Even before the professional baseball season began — when Hong's girl-crush persona was in high demand — we had preemptively sent offers to all ten teams separately and received a few responses placing us on standby. I wondered which team's interest materialized. As I checked the schedule on my phone, I asked. "Which team?" "Doosan." "Oh, Doosan!" "The opponents are Kia." Upon hearing the opposing team name, Hong muttered sheepishly. "Oh. Well, I'm actually a Kia fan..." "From now on, switch allegiance to Doosan. Become a bear born from capitalism." "They say there's no forgiveness for players who change teams." "Kehehe, what kind of player are you?" "Still... red blood flows through my body." "All blood is red. I didn't know you were into baseball, Hong." "Yeah, sometimes I'd take my younger siblings to watch live games. Tickets aren't that expensive." "Oh right, since you're from Gwangju, it makes sense you're a Kia fan." "Wh-What's your favorite team, Director?" "I don't watch much these days, but back in the day, I liked LG because of Lee Sang-hoon. When I was in elementary school, I’d go to Jamsil Stadium with my dad and brother. Oh, Hong, you probably don’t know Lee Sang-hoon, do you?" When Hong shook her head, Yeom chuckled and interjected. "Ah, Yoon-ho hyung, talking about Lee Sang-hoon is ancient history. Don't show your age." "Since Yeom's from Incheon, I guess you're a Hyundai Unicorns fan?" "Kukukuk." Yeom, who claimed to be an SK fan, mentioned that one of his ideal types was a woman who likes baseball. Similarly, even though I don’t watch baseball, I agreed that a girl who loves the sport isn't bad at all. With the other four in silent mode, Eunbit carefully chimed in. "I like the Jeju team..." "Jeju...?" "Yeah." I could understand the desire to join the conversation, but it seemed he confused it with a football team. Suppressing my impending laughter, I inquired seriously. "There are two teams in Jeju. Which one do you like, Jeju Gamgyuls or Hallasan Mountains?" "Uh...? Uh... Jeju Gamgyuls." "Then you must like player Koo Ja-cheol?" "I don't know the names well, but he wore orange anyway." "Right, the orange outfit. Koo Ja-cheol, the stalwart number 4 batter for Jeju Gamgyuls." "Oh! That sounds right. Number 4 batter Koo Ja-cheol!" "Surprising. Our Eunbit knows baseball. Quite the charm." "Hehe." Goodness, just look at that smug grin. Yeom smirked as he asked. "Then let's schedule it for the 20th... Would it be better for Hong to do the first pitch?" "Hong, do you want to pitch or bat?" "I, I don't mind either. Eunbit, what do you want to do? Pitching is throwing, and batting is hitting." "Which is more difficult?" Yeom answered for her. "Pitching is harder. For hitting, you just have to make a swinging gesture." "Then I'll just pretend to swing. Better start learning from YouTube." "Once Hong sets her mind to it, could she throw over 100 kilometers per hour?" "Huh? I swear I've never weighed over 100 kilos!" "Not your weight, your pitch speed..." "Oh, pitch speed... ahem, ahem." Yeom mentioned having a colleague who used to be a high school baseball player and offered to ask him for some lessons. < Hong-ah, aren't you over 100 kilometers per hour? > The End.