I Decided to Become a Perfect Girl

That evening, on the day I was street-casted,

Father came home from work.

“Dad~”

Do-ah ran to her father and hugged him.

“Oh, did our Do-ah miss Daddy?”

“Yeah. I like Dad.”

Father’s smile was ear to ear.

Do-ah’s love is mine, though.

“Hey, did the old man arrive?”

Mother scolded me with my cheeky tone from the side.

“What’s this about ‘the old man’ for your father, Lee Do-hee?”

“Mom doesn’t get sweet and salty, huh? When Do-ah is sweet, Do-hee is salty. Okay?”

Father smiled and spoke while holding Do-ah.

“I wish Do-hee could be sweet like Do-ah!”

“Just because you wish for it doesn’t mean it’ll happen. If the day comes when Do-ah becomes salty, I’ll comfort her with sweetness.”

“Ugh, brother, that sounds tough. Just wash up first.”

“Okay, got it.”

After Father washed up, we had dinner.

“Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know what happened to me today?”

I grinned while I spoke.

“What? Did something fun happen today?”

“Hehe, mother? Show him.”

“Ugh…”

Mother sighed and showed the business card she received today to Father.

“What’s this? Topist Entertainment? Did Do-hee get this?”

“Yeah, with just that, I’ve been bragging all day long…”

“Wow, our Do-hee got street-casted? I got street-casted when I was in college too.”

“Huh?”

“Brother, this is the first I’m hearing about it!”

“When I was walking as a college student, someone asked if I wanted to be an actor. I turned it down, haha.”

“…So you got street-casted too, huh?”

I felt a bit down.

Sigh, I guess I need to get street-casted at least four more times.

“So, Do-hee is going to be a celebrity?”

“Sister, are you a celebrity?”

“No, I’m not sure either~. For now, I’m planning to visit the agency with Mom tomorrow.”

“If Do-hee likes it, I’m fine with it. But Topist Entertainment is the one with Pastel Love, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Brother, how do you know that?”

“Well, even a kid like me found out today. How does Dad know?”

“I learned it from a junior at work who is a fan of Pastel Love.”

Father’s answer felt suspicious.

“Mom, that’s definitely a lie. I bet if you type in ‘Pastel Love’ on YouTube, it’ll auto-complete.”

“What are you talking about? That’s not it.”

Father looked flustered and denied it, but when Mother grabbed his phone, went onto YouTube, and checked the search history, there it was—Pastel Love.

“Brother, with me around, how can an idol catch your eye?”

“I borrowed my junior’s phone for a moment; maybe I searched it while I was at it, haha…”
“I see you, haha…”

“Say something that makes sense. Do you like idols more than me?”

A relentless assault from Mom’s side.

It’s nice that the atmosphere at home is harmonious, especially since my eyes were already sore from the teacher couple today.

“Dad! Should I get an autograph from Pastel Love that you like? I’ll even ask them to write your name!”

“Yeah, ask Do-hee to get one too, right?”

With the flames of the burning house being fanned, Mom’s voice gets even louder.

Since Dad is taking it all on himself, I guess I should pitch in to make the dynamics more interesting.

“Okay, I’ll bring it tomorrow! Mom’s already planning to get Kim Dong-jun’s autograph anyway!”

“What? What does that even mean?”

Hearing my words, Dad seems to have caught a point to counterattack.

Haha.

The next morning.

After sending Do-ah to kindergarten, I called the casting manager Team Leader.

– Ah! Thank you for calling, Do-hee. Have you discussed it well with your parents? –

“Yeah, I’d like to visit the office with Mom first. Is that okay?”

– Of course. Where do you live? I can pick you up. –

“It’s fine. We decided to take Mom’s car. Should we go to the address on the business card?”

– I can pick you up, but if you prefer, just come to the address on the business card. –

“Thank you. I’ll head out right away.”

– Yes, take your time. Just give me a call! –

“Sure~”

You can definitely feel Team Leader’s sincerity in their determination to cast me.

I’m grateful, but is it really okay for the company to be so humble towards me?

“Mom, let’s go out now.”

“Okay. Let’s hurry back before Do-ah’s kindergarten ends.”

I got in the car with Mom, heading to the address on the business card.

When we arrived and saw the exterior of the building, it was clear that it was a proper agency, even if the building wasn’t large; the whole structure was dedicated to it.

After arriving at the office, I called Team Leader.

“Team Leader, I’m right in front of the office now.”

– Yes, I’ll be out shortly. –

The entrance door opened, and Team Leader stepped out.

“Welcome, Do-hee.”

“Hello.”

Team Leader politely greeted Mom, who was standing next to me.

“Hello, Do-hee’s mother. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jin-woo, the team leader of the Rookie Development Team at Topist Entertainment. You can call me Team Leader Kim for short.”

“Oh, hello, Team Leader Kim.”

“But wow, you look so young! If Do-hee hadn’t mentioned she was coming with her mom beforehand, I would have mistaken you for Do-hee’s older sister.”
“I didn’t mention it beforehand, or I would have mistaken you for Do-hee-ya’s older sister.”

“Haha, no.”

Mom, who likes it, laughs.

Even though Mom looks young, I’m 11 years old. What older sister?

“Then come in for now. I’ll guide you inside.”

Following the team leader’s guidance, we entered the building.

“First, you’ll see that we have basements 1 through 5. The first floor is the lobby with only meeting rooms, and I’ll show you the basement facilities.”

As we went down the stairs to the basement, we saw small rooms, about the size of coin karaoke booths.

“These small rooms are vocal rooms where you practice singing alone.”

As we walked a bit further down the hallway, we saw several large rooms.

“And the remaining rooms are all dance practice studios. You might be worried about the air quality because it’s in the basement, but we strictly manage the air quality, so you don’t have to worry.”

While slowly looking around the practice rooms from the outside, someone was using one.

“Are the people using it now also idols, Team Leader?”

“Yes, they’re EXONE, currently our company’s only male idols. If you need an autograph, just let me know.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who they are… Does Mom know?”

“Well, I don’t really…”

“Haha, they just debuted not long ago, so they’re not famous yet. But since Do-hee-ya is a friend, just let me know if you need an autograph.”

After taking a tour of the practice rooms, we took the elevator to the 2nd floor.

“The 2nd floor is where we record and practice songs. You’ll see that there are bigger vocal rooms than before.”

The vocal rooms on the 2nd floor were definitely larger than the previous ones, and there was a piano.

“And the rest are producing rooms, mixing rooms, and recording booths.”

After checking out the entire 2nd floor, we went up the stairs to the 3rd floor.

“This 3rd floor is the management headquarters for singers. By the way, the management headquarters for actors is on the 4th floor.”

“Looks like there aren’t any practice spaces for actors, huh?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, actually, actors don’t visit the building that often.”

“Oh… then I guess we won’t see Kim Dong-jun today…?”

“Haha, but we can get an autograph for you next time you come.”

Sigh, that Kim Dong-jun chatter since yesterday…

Anyway, the appearance of the management we looked around was no different from a typical office, with computers on partitioned desks.

As I was about to go up, wanting to see more on the 3rd floor, a woman in her mid-30s approached and spoke.

“Hello~ Is this the friend you were talking about, Team Leader Kim?”
“ Yes, that’s right. ”

The Team Leader introduces a woman approaching.

“ Ah, this is the Director of the Singer Management Department. ”

“ Hello, I am Director Lee Jung-hye. Are you perhaps the mother… of Do-hee? ”

“ Ah, yes, hello. I’m Do-hee’s mom. ”

“ Ah, I was worried you might be her older sister, so I didn’t want to offend. No lie, she could debut as an entertainer right now. ”

“ Hahaha, no~ ”

Mom beams with a big smile, absolutely thrilled.

She’s over the moon.

Everyone who comes is all about exaggerated flattery.

Older sister? Please.

The director, who looks like she’s been grilling and roasting my mom, bows and greets me.

“ Hello Do-hee, you look incredibly pretty just like I heard! ”

“ Yes, hi. ”

“ Oh, your voice is adorable too. I really hope you join our company. Team Leader Kim is currently showing you around the building, right? ”

“ Yes. I still haven’t shown you the 4th and 5th floors. ”

“ Is that so? Do-hee’s mom, would it be alright if after the tour we do a camera test for Do-hee? ”

“ Should we? ”

“ I would really appreciate it. Then Do-hee, have fun with the tour, and we’ll see you soon, okay? ”

“ Yes. ”

“ Yep, yep. Take your time looking around! ”

And so, we exit the 3rd floor and head to the 4th.

“ This is the Management Division 2, which specializes in actors, as I mentioned earlier, and further inside are the admin headquarters and the CEO’s office. ”

It looked just like the 3rd floor, nothing much to see, so we quickly moved up to the 5th floor.

“ The 5th floor has a cafeteria and a café lounge where you can relax. Meals and café for trainees and company entertainers are all free. ”

As expected of the top floor, the open view looks perfect for enjoying meals and sipping coffee while resting.

“ It’s just in time for lunch, would you like to try it out? It’s quite a famous spot. ”

“ Oh, is that okay? ”

“ Absolutely. We provide free meals for visitors as well, so feel free to enjoy! ”

“ Do-hee, should we eat here? ”

“ Uh-huh. ”

Upon entering the cafeteria, I see the menu board.

Today’s options are kimchi stew, hamburger steak, and bibimbap.

I guess we just need to pick one.

I opted for the hamburger steak.

After getting my hamburger steak and sitting down, I take a bite and it’s definitely a must-try place.

“ Mom. ”

“ Yeah? ”

“ This is tastier than your cooking. ”

“ Indeed. ”

Even Mom, who usually would’ve given me a playful smack, seems to have no comeback for that.

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