LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 15
“Ah, can I change my outfit a bit before going on stage?”
“Sure.”
Right now, the Na Ah Ah participants are all wearing school uniform-style outfits.
The top consists of a dress shirt, a tie, and a sharply tailored jacket, while the bottom is tennis shorts.
Since the outfits weren’t suitable for intense dancing, some individuals changed clothes before going on stage.
Thus, Han Si-woo unwittingly authorized the outfit change.
But then…
Whoosh.
As soon as Han Si-woo’s permission was granted, Ha Ye-rin yanked off her jacket.
“…?”
Han Si-woo, as well as the other judges, were taken aback by her sudden action.
Then…
Swish.
“Y-Ye-rin!!”
Only when she stripped off her skirt did they finally snap back to reality and shout.
There were only a few people here, so what was she thinking? And she’s still a high school girl!
“W-what are you doing?!”
“…Huh?”
While everyone was in shock, Ha Ye-rin remained calm.
She tilted her head, seemingly clueless about what wrong she had done.
“You need to change your clothes outside the stage, not here!”
“Ah….”
Han Si-woo scrambled to cover his eyes while saying that.
Hearing his words, Ha Ye-rin hesitated for a moment, then pointed to her bare legs.
“I’m wearing shorts underneath my skirt.”
At the spot she indicated were the short pants hidden under her skirt.
“Ah.”
Only after hearing that did the judges finally feel at ease and open their eyes.
Especially Han Si-woo, the only male among the judges, could finally calm his racing heart after confirming that Ha Ye-rin was indeed wearing shorts.
“Haha… I misunderstood for no reason.”
It was just a misunderstanding caused by how nonchalantly Ha Ye-rin removed her clothes.
‘Did some uncle sneak in there…?’
After that brief incident, Ha Ye-rin took her discarded jacket and skirt outside the stage and returned.
‘…Hmm?’
Feeling that something was amiss, Han Si-woo asked,
“Is that all for your outfit change, Ha Ye-rin?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
In fact, it couldn’t even be called a proper outfit change.
Ha Ye-rin simply took off her jacket and skirt.
But…
‘It suits her. Like, crazily.’
Her slightly wrinkled white shirt, the loosened tie, and the short black pants that reached her thighs.
That casual mix of office look and casual attire created a mysterious vibe.
Glug.
It subtly provoked a certain kind of admiration among the guys.
Of course, it wasn’t just Han Si-woo who felt this. The other judges and participants did too.
“…Get some solo shots of her.”
Even the production crew outside the stage were captivated by the changed atmosphere and focused their attention on Ha Ye-rin.
Whether she knew it or not, Ha Ye-rin was just preparing for the stage with her usual indifferent expression.
But her seemingly carefree attitude only highlighted her charm.
“Then, let’s start the stage.”
And so, with attention centered on her, the stage began…
Tick-tock.
“…!!”
“…Huh?!”
As the sound of the clock hands clashing flowed in, everyone captivated by Ha Ye-rin suddenly jolted back to reality.
“This song is…!”
“Are we really doing this?!”
The shock was even greater than when Seo Yoo-jin chose Tae-hwan’s moving or when Ha Ye-rin picked the butter-dragon from Digimon Adventure just moments ago.
“This is… 24 Hours are Not Enough?!”
The debut single by Mi-seon, the legendary idol from JJ.
24 Hours are Not Enough
It’s a well-crafted girl performance song, and since the dance moves aren’t too dynamic, it’s easy to perform live, but this song comes with the fatal flaw of having an unbeatable benchmark.
The original singer, Mi-seon, was so perfect for this song that no matter how hard the preparation was, it always seemed to fall flat compared to her.
And above all, the essential problem was that 24 Hours are Not Enough is really hard to pull off.
Dreamlike dances and enchanting voices.
These are difficult to achieve unless you’re a veteran with plenty of stage experience.
In reality, many girl idols have tried tackling 24 Hours are Not Enough only to end up creating embarrassing moments.
Thus, this song was clandestinely designated as a taboo for covers… and she wants to do it?
Among the stunned crowd, the one most profoundly shocked was Han Si-woo.
‘This… is a disaster.’
To be honest, just moments ago, he had been quite intrigued by Ha Ye-rin’s vocal ability.
So he secretly hoped for slightly better performance from her, but doing this song now?
In that instant, Han Si-woo pictured Ha Ye-rin floundering awkwardly, ruining the mood.
‘This is even worse than a dog leg dance choice.’
There’s no way someone who’s only had a month of practice could handle this song.
Unless maybe Ha Ye-rin is a gifted genius, but…
‘But that’s unlikely.’
Thus, Han Si-woo watched the stage, feeling sorry for Ha Ye-rin.
And then….
“……!”
As the performance progressed, Han Si-woo’s initially furrowed brow began to fill with a different emotion.
Dramatic sound.
Unable to contain his surprise, he eventually didn’t even realize he was gaping.
Flashing back a bit.
Somewhere in Gangwon-do.
XX Division Headquarters, C-2 Company Quarters.
Friday, 11:43 PM.
The members of the company, exhausted from guard duty and chores during the day, huddled in front of the TV, enjoying the night show.
Of course, this blissful night break wasn’t for everyone.
“Hey you, dumbass. Are you stupid or something? Do you not recognize the division commander just because you’re wearing civilian clothes? Do you know that the secretary yelled at our squad leader because you didn’t salute the colonel?”
“I-I’m sorry…!”
“Have you even been on duty for two months? And yet, dumbass, you can’t even memorize the license plate numbers. What’s the vehicle number of the information officer?”
“Uh, the information officer… Colonel Han Young-hee’s car, license plate… 1721…! 1721!”
“That’s the attack operation officer’s number! You idiot. Ugh, this pathetic fool. Damn it. You’re on guard duty with me at 02:00? You better not sleep and memorize those license plates from now on!”
“…Yes! Understood!”
“I’ll ask again later, and if you get it wrong, you’re really dead.”
Behind them, a flustered private was getting roasted like a rat by the superior…
“Ugh, damn. There’s nothing good to watch. I might as well sleep.”
Up front, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon, who had 93 days left until discharge, was yawning and flipping through channels at random.
‘If that’s the case, just sleep. Let us watch it!’
The surrounding numerous juniors cursed Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon for not being able to sit still to watch TV, but their voices never reached him.
No matter what, they were the blessed ones who were at least in front of the TV.
The rookies, who still hadn’t earned their stripes, were sprawled out, unable to watch television and sleeping in their respective spots.
This was the C-2 Company Quarters.
A place where absurdity and irrationality coexisted.
“Um… Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon?”
In the heavy atmosphere, one rookie hesitantly raised his hand to speak.
“What?”
“Is there nothing to watch? How about trying Nnet?”
“Nnet? What? Is a new season of Show Me out?”
“No, it’s not that. Nnet is currently airing a girl idol audition program called ‘Idol Academia’.”
“…What?”
As soon as he heard that, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon quickly dialed to that channel, asking,
“A girl idol audition? What time does it start?”
“If I’m correct, it starts at 11 PM. It should be on now.”
“What the…? You idiot! You should have said that earlier! Ugh, it’s already past time!”
“…I’m sorry.”
In fact, the rookie was not at fault, but he apologized instinctively.
Regardless, he felt good because he might get to watch ‘Na Ah Ah’s first broadcast, which he had been waiting for.
When the talk of an idol audition arose, the attention of the other rookies turned to the TV.
For military men, girl idols were an inseparable existence.
Whoosh.
“Ah, it’s on.”
Thankfully, they didn’t miss the juicy part. When Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon flipped the channel, the Na Ah Ah participants were engaged in a ranking evaluation.
In fact, the next performer was Seo Yoo-jin.
[SAV’s Seo Yoo-jin!]
Seeing the big captions and Seo Yoo-jin’s appearance, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon exhaled in admiration.
“Wow~! She’s so pretty!!”
The kind of beauty every guy would love.
[Seo Yoo-jin (SAV): Yes, I’m not nervous.]
[Seo Yoo-jin (SAV): It’s because I’m from SAV!]
[Seo Yoo-jin (SAV): I will prove that I’m different from the other participants through this stage!]
While her speech seemed a bit rude, it was still okay because Seo Yoo-jin was pretty.
Moreover, she…
-In this mysterious atmosphere, I can’t let you slip away.
Not only was her appearance stunning, but she also possessed excellent stage skills.
“Wow… She sings so well…”
“She seems to dance really well too.”
“Must be because she’s from SAV? She could debut just like that.”
The other rookies also admired her and added to Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon’s comments.
[Han Si-woo: Don’t you think your stage is a bit pretentious?]
When Han Si-woo criticized Seo Yoo-jin’s stage, everyone united in cursing.
“Who do you think you’re cursing?”
“How dare you touch my future wife.”
“That jerk Han Si-woo has always been a disrespectful loudmouth.”
Such was the extent to which Seo Yoo-jin had captivated the hearts of the company members.
[SAV Entertainment’s trainee Seo Yoo-jin’s rank is B.]
[Shocking result.]
“Wow… A B? That can’t be right.”
“Is Han Si-woo really picking on a SAV trainee because he was previously with YW?”
“I don’t think that stage was deserving of a B.”
With disappointment over Seo Yoo-jin’s B rank and encouragement for her mingling…
“Hey, how do we vote? We need to do it tomorrow.”
“We’ll do it too. We really hope Yoo-jin can debut.”
In that moment where they all vowed to vote together at dawn…
Boom.
“Huh?”
Just as Seo Yoo-jin returned to her seat, the background music suddenly changed.
It became very grand and pulsating.
“What’s going on out of nowhere? Is Prince Suyang coming out or something?”
“It seems like they are hyping up the next participant.”
They wouldn’t use such a final boss-like music for nothing.
[The next participant to showcase on stage is Ha Ye-rin from Brotherhood Planning.]
However, as soon as the affiliation of Brotherhood Planning was announced, the anticipation plummeted.
“What kind of loser name is Brotherhood Planning? Is it a famous company?”
“F-First time hearing about it.”
“Me too…”
They thought that with such a cheap and old-fashioned company like Brotherhood Planning, a nobody would come out.
At that moment, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon, holding the remote with a bored expression, collapsed onto the lap of a rookie.
“Instead of giving screen time to these unskilled, ugly no-name girls, just put more focus on that Seo Yoo-jin girl. A proper company like SAV…, Wait?”
Just then…
Clop.
The camera slowly filmed Ha Ye-rin as she stepped onto the stage, panning from her feet to her body… and when her face finally appeared…
“……!!”
Even Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon, who had been complaining…
“……Wow.”
“…Damn.”
The other seniors watching the TV beside Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon also…
“……Wow.”
Even the rookies pretending to sleep while stealing glances through the gaps…
“What’s the vehicle number of the supply officer?”
“….”
“Hey, dumbass. When I’m talking to you, where are your eyes going… oh?”
Even the junior, who had been teased, and the senior pestering him…
[Yes, Ha Ye-rin contestant. Please introduce yourself.]
[Ha Ye-rin (Brotherhood Planning): I’m Ha Ye-rin, 19, from Brotherhood Planning.]
They found themselves staring at the girl on screen as if bewitched.
Long flowing hair down to her waist, proportions that could convince anyone she was a model, just the right amount of glamour, and her curvaceous waist. Her features seemed to have stepped straight out of a comic, all topped off with her school uniform.
She had everything that any guy would fall for.
Bam.
The company members were frozen as if hit by a tranquilizer gun.
They had completely forgotten about Seo Yoo-jin’s presence.
“……”
“……”
In a military filled with clumsy guys, her presence was excessively destructive. As a result, the members of the company began to drift into their silent daydreams filled with their imaginations.
In this atmosphere, the first one to break the silence was Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon.
“……She’s really freakin’ pretty.”
That was the highest compliment he could muster.