Episode 20. Respect (5)
After leaving Ripple Entertainment, Kang Dae-oh drove, subtly glancing at Kang Yera through the rearview mirror.
Kang Yera had earphones in her ears and was focused on practicing the song she would sing that afternoon.
Because of this, she didn’t notice at all that her dad was secretly watching her.
But Kang Yebin could tell.
“Dad. Is there something you want to say to unnie?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been looking at unnie since a while ago.”
“······.”
Due to the music coming from her earphones, Kang Yera was completely unaware that her sister and dad were talking.
Should he talk about Ripple or not?
Kang Dae-oh, who hesitated for a moment, shook his head shortly after.
“No. Nothing.”
The thought that telling Kang Yera about Ripple’s stance might negatively affect her mental state and condition briefly crossed his mind.
For this reason, Kang Dae-oh decided to postpone bringing up the topic for a while.
Considering the current flow.
‘If things go well, Iroul might even tell her about passing the audition right after it ends, so a company official might come and tell her immediately.’
Then, he planned to fully open up to Kang Yera about the Ripple matter.
It seemed better to have the conversation after the audition was completely over.
Meanwhile, Kang Yebin was certain that her dad was hiding something.
She had watched her dad for a long time.
She could tell just by looking at his eyes, which wavered slightly under her questioning.
Nevertheless, Kang Yebin did not press further.
Because she trusted that her dad would definitely tell them later.
Kang Dae-oh smiled faintly at his second daughter’s decision and replied:
“Thank you, my daughter. For not asking more.”
“Because Dad must have his reasons too.”
Because she trusted Kang Dae-oh.
That’s why Kang Yebin was able to make such a decision.
Meanwhile.
Kang Yera, who belatedly realized that the two had been talking, took off her earphones and asked.
“What were you talking about?”
Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yebin spoke simultaneously.
“Just······.”
“We were just talking about life, unnie.”
“Right. It’s nothing big, so Yera doesn’t need to worry about it.”
They hadn’t even planned what to say in advance.
Was it because they were truly like father, like daughter?
In moments like these, they had incredible synergy.
Dandelion, and Ripple.
Kang Dae-oh’s standards had unknowingly risen after consecutively visiting the headquarters of these two major entertainment agencies.
Kang Dae-oh realized this only after seeing the building where Iroul Entertainment’s office was located.
An old, dilapidated 4-story building.
At a glance, it looked like it had been built at least 25 years ago.
The traces of time were deeply felt from the building’s entrance.
“This place, it’s almost on par with the villa we lived in before we moved.”
Kang Dae-oh’s honest words brought bitter smiles to his two daughters’ faces.
It was a very relatable comparison.
Still, Kang Dae-oh decided to place his hopes on Iroul Entertainment.
The two places where they had auditioned earlier both had their own merits, but there was always something bothersome about each of them, so his expectations for the last company were naturally high.
‘I hope this place is a good one.’
They climbed the stairs to the 4th floor, as there was no elevator.
Knock, knock.
There was no doorbell, so they had to knock on the office door with their hands.
Then.
Creak.
The office’s iron door opened with an eerie sound, often heard in horror movies.
A man in his mid-40s appeared, tilting his head and asking.
“What brings you here?”
“We received a call to come for an audition today.”
“Ah······! You must be Kang Yera? I recognize you now.”
Perhaps he had seen Kang Yera’s widely discussed YouTube videos, as the man belatedly recognized Kang Yera’s face and showed that he knew her.
“Come in! I apologize, I should have recognized you right away.”
“No, it’s alright. You seem very busy. Everyone gets like that when they’re in the middle of a rush, you know. When I run my cafe, I sometimes forget what a customer ordered too.”
Neither Kang Dae-oh nor the man who greeted them expected to feel such common ground in an unexpected place.
Following the man’s guidance, they moved further into the office. The place they headed to was:
“Alright, please have a seat over here.”
A small space that seemed to be used as a meeting room by the staff.
Dandelion and Ripple Entertainment had separate, dedicated audition rooms.
Iroul Entertainment had no such thing.
This naturally made Kang Dae-oh and his two daughters feel awkward.
Kang Dae-oh gave a bitter smile and explained why they felt awkward.
“If we sing here, I feel like we’ll just disturb the staff who are working.”
It was a meeting room, so soundproofing aside, it wasn’t far from the staff’s working area.
They hadn’t come here for a quiet chat.
They had come to play MR loudly, sing, and perform choreography. Naturally, they would be concerned about disturbing the working staff.
Nevertheless, the man just kept repeating that it was fine.
“Everyone here is used to this situation. They won’t mind much. Look. Those staff over there have roughly figured it out and are putting on their earphones, aren’t they?”
The man was right.
Perhaps due to the unique audition atmosphere he had never seen before, Kang Dae-oh was at a loss for how to react to this situation.
“Still······ couldn’t the company CEO suddenly come in and say something?”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that either. Because I’m the CEO here.”
“Excuse me?”
The man stood up and belatedly handed Kang Dae-oh his business card.
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Song Jin-hoon, CEO of Iroul Entertainment.”
“You······ were the CEO?”
“Yes. I’m still very lacking, though. Haha!”
CEO Song Jin-hoon scratched his head, letting out an awkward laugh.
Even if Kang Dae-oh didn’t know because he was meeting CEO Song Jin-hoon for the first time.
It was surprising that the two daughters didn’t recognize CEO Song Jin-hoon right away.
Iroul Entertainment was said to become a company large enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dandelion and Ripple in the future.
If so.
Kang Yera and Kang Yebin would naturally have known the face of Iroul Entertainment’s CEO.
However, observing his two daughters’ reactions, Kang Dae-oh sensed that they had no idea the man in front of them was the CEO Song Jin-hoon they remembered.
Kang Yebin whispered to Kang Dae-oh, just loud enough for him to hear.
“The CEO Song Jin-hoon that unnie and I remember······ didn’t have that.”
“Didn’t have what?”
“His hair. It wasn’t as full as it is now. That’s why we didn’t recognize him right away.”
It turned out that CEO Song Jin-hoon was, in fact, a talented individual (?) destined to become bald in the future.
Kang Dae-oh’s gaze at him began to fill with pity.
On the other hand, Song Jin-hoon had no idea why Kang Dae-oh was suddenly looking at him with such an expression.
“Ahem! I think we should start the audition soon.”
“Should Yebin and I step out for a moment?”
“No. It’s fine. There isn’t really a separate space for you to go outside anyway. And since I’m going to be the only one judging, you just need to step back a bit so you don’t interfere with Yera’s choreography.”
“Understood.”
Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yebin moved back to create space for the stage, as per CEO Song Jin-hoon’s words.
They settled down with the second daughter at a spot they thought was far enough.
Meanwhile, CEO Song Jin-hoon took on the role of reassuring Kang Yera not to be too nervous.
“Just relax, as if you’re practicing at home. Understood?”
“Yes, CEO.”
Perhaps because she had already auditioned twice, there was no tension on Kang Yera’s face.
As the prepared MR started playing.
As Kang Dae-oh had worried, the staff working in the office space briefly turned their attention towards the meeting room.
The reason they turned their heads wasn’t simply because it was ‘noisy’.
It was because of Kang Yera’s singing.
And her dance skills.
Kang Yera performed her small stage even more vibrantly and energetically than when she auditioned at Dandelion and Ripple Entertainment.
The doors of the previous two audition venues had blocked Kang Dae-oh’s eyes and ears.
But Iroul Entertainment’s audition clearly showed Kang Dae-oh all of Kang Yera’s efforts.
Watching his daughter’s performance, Kang Dae-oh had many thoughts.
He felt it was a highly polished performance.
‘Yera truly wants to be an idol.’
He was even more pleased to truly feel his eldest daughter’s sincerity.
After the short performance ended.
CEO Song Jin-hoon clapped, expressing his thoughts on her performance.
“I expected her to do well, but the quality is incredibly good, beyond my expectations. Yera must have prepared a lot.”
“Yes, CEO!”
“Indeed, there’s a big difference between seeing it in a YouTube video and seeing it directly with my own eyes.”
Naturally, he preferred the latter.
CEO Song Jin-hoon, like the other two companies Kang Yera had auditioned for, quickly gave her a pass.
“If it’s alright with both you, Father, and Yera, I’d like to first propose that you work with our company.”
There was one part of CEO Song Jin-hoon’s words that particularly caught Kang Dae-oh’s attention.
“CEO, you aren’t just confirming the contract intention with me. Some places say that the parents’ will is more important than the daughter’s, and that I just need to make the decision.”
“I’m not sure which company that is, but I definitely want to tell you that I think differently. It’s not you, Father, who will stand on stage, but Yera, who will diligently practice and achieve her dream of being on stage. Therefore, I believe the child’s will is the most important.”
Determination filled CEO Song Jin-hoon’s eyes.
“Even as a parent, you don’t live your child’s life for them. Thinking, ‘She’s young, so I can just sway her this way and that as I please,’ is a very dangerous thought. The qualification to be a parent, by definition, begins with respecting your child.”
The last words resonated particularly deeply with Kang Dae-oh.
“Those are good words, CEO.”
With someone like CEO Song Jin-hoon.
Kang Dae-oh felt he could confidently entrust Kang Yera to him.
A few days later.
Kang Yera brought up the audition to Kang Dae-oh when he returned home from work.
“I’m going to Iroul Entertainment.”
“You’re not going to Dandelion or Ripple?”
“No.”
“Why? You said those two companies were good.”
“Dandelion has clear disadvantages, as I mentioned before. And I feel like Dad doesn’t really like Ripple.”
Although she didn’t get a chance to hear what he heard back then, Kang Yera roughly guessed it through observation.
“And Iroul was the place Dad liked the most, wasn’t it? So I’ll go there.”
“Are you sure that’s okay? Signing a contract for that reason······.”
“Yes. Yebin and I are confident we’ll succeed no matter which agency we go to. If that’s the case, then it’s better to choose a place that puts Dad at ease.”
Just as Kang Dae-oh respected Kang Yera’s wishes.
Kang Yera also respected Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Dae-oh felt he had grown even closer to his eldest daughter through the audition.
