Chapter Nineteen: The Legendary Saturday Selection.

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“Is it… or isn’t it?”
Minjun Jin was momentarily unsure how to respond.
The main issue was, she didn’t know what her uncle wanted to hear.
She and Myung-yeon had just started getting to know each other, and she didn’t want to lose the hard-earned good impression in front of him.
“So, is it or isn’t it?” Myung-yeon nearly laughed at his niece’s reaction; the little one was trying so hard to think, and it was genuinely adorable.
Minjun gritted her teeth. “Uncle, I’m not a shipper.”
Although… she actually thought Myung-yeon and Ji-won Kim made a good pair, especially in the drama.
“I see,” Myung-yeon nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for being so serious with his niece. “Minjun, how was your day?”
“Nayeon unnie taught me a lot, and Momo unnie too.”
Minjun didn’t know why her uncle suddenly asked that question before, but it seemed to have passed the test.
The little girl chattered excitedly about what she learned today, especially the shock of seeing Twice dance right in front of her, which only strengthened her resolve to become a trainee.
I want to become a cool woman like the Twice sisters.
Ji-soo Kim thought: Did I miss something?
Myung-yeon felt he had used the right approach: “Alright then, in a few days I’ll take you to the S.M. Saturday audition. Confident?”
“No.”
“...”
This kid was honest to a fault, cutting off Myung-yeon’s words before they even came out.
Thinking about it, it made sense—Minjun had only been in Seoul a few days, still spoke with an accent, so it was natural to feel uncertain.
Even those big-name idols had rough auditions; for example, Yoo Jung-yeon failed her first JYP audition.
Moreover, S.M.’s Saturday audition was notoriously difficult.
For instance, known successful idols who entered through Saturday auditions include Heechul from Super Junior, Taemin from SHINee, and Seulgi from Red Velvet.
One for looks, the other two pure talent.
“Minjun, your uncle will always support you behind the scenes.”
“Uncle, why don’t you bring Ji-soo unnie and Nayeon unnie along too? Maybe I can borrow some luck.”
Myung-yeon was momentarily stunned.
Was the little one joking with him just now?
There’s progress.

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…
Myung-yeon left early in the morning.
Although he cared deeply for his niece, he couldn’t stay home all day; he had to earn a living.
Actors were freelancers in a sense—idle when resting, but extremely busy when working.
“Wonryong, after signing this commercial contract, are there any other schedules?”
Myung-yeon loosened the buttons on his sleeves and leaned comfortably against the seat of the van.
The driver, Jung Wonryong, a man in his early thirties with a stout build, was the first manager at Kim Eun-sook’s agency, since there was only one artist to manage.
“The show ‘Knowing Bros’ wants to invite you as a guest for an episode; they’re planning a ‘Descendants of the Sun’ special,” Wonryong said while driving. “But I declined.”
Myung-yeon smiled. “The main cast isn’t going either.”
Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo were the biggest draws, but that guy had a strong background; Myung-yeon could not compete for now.
“Right, but there’s another important reason.”
“What is it?”
“Ji-won Kim’s side declined the invitation, so we decided not to participate.”
Myung-yeon clicked his tongue and shook his head, deep in thought. “Wonryong, did you get the new script the teacher mentioned?”
“Not yet; I guess they haven’t sent it.”
“Oh, no rush. Let’s wait and see what the teacher means.”
Since his debut, Myung-yeon’s schedule had been packed—he filmed ‘The Heirs’ in 2013, ‘It’s Okay, That’s Love’ in 2014, ‘Descendants of the Sun’ in 2015, and before he could breathe, Kim Eun-sook pulled him in for a cameo in ‘Goblin.’
Many hit dramas, but mostly supporting roles.
Playing the second male lead in ‘Descendants of the Sun’ was a huge leap, and without Kim Eun-sook’s strong backing, he wouldn’t have gotten such a good opportunity.
Myung-yeon had now built up initial popularity, having played second, third, and fourth male leads; his résumé was solid. Next, he needed to figure out when to take on the lead role.
This step had to be taken carefully.
Not everyone could land a blockbuster, but he mustn’t botch it—once labeled a ratings poison, that stigma was hard to shake.
Not asking for glory, just no mistakes.
“Our next goal should be to fight for lead roles or major supporting roles in big productions,” Wonryong’s thoughts aligned with Myung-yeon’s.
Myung-yeon nodded; once you rise in status, you can’t just lower your worth for no reason—that was an unspoken rule in the industry.
Unless you have nothing left to eat.
“Let’s focus on finishing the commercial shoots first,” Myung-yeon said thoughtfully. “Acting isn’t about quantity.”

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“By the way, there’s a magazine inviting you to shoot the cover. What do you say?”
“Send me the details first.”
“Got it.”
…
Minjun Jin was a bit nervous.
She practiced the dance moves for the possible audition alone in her room; thankfully, the soundproofing was good, or her uncle would have caught her and she’d be mortified.
The little girl recalled the lessons from Nayeon Lim and Momo Hirai.
Both sisters’ advice boiled down to the same thing: show your passion for the stage.
For trainee auditions, they looked not at perfection, but potential, or some unique trait that set you apart.
Heechul Kim even sang the national anthem at his audition.
“Will I really succeed?”
Minjun whispered to her reflection in the mirror.
She inexplicably thought back to the look Myung-yeon gave her before coming to Seoul—a look seeking reassurance.
Yes, her uncle had chosen art high school under heavy pressure and had become the popular actor he was today. If he could do it, so could she!
This was the path she chose.
She couldn’t disappoint her mother, nor her uncle!
Myung-yeon: If you want to think of it that way… it’s not impossible.
Minjun raised her small fists to the mirror. “Fighting!”
The little girl lay back on the bed that was gradually becoming familiar, took out her phone, and opened the chat history with Ji-soo Kim. She had been texting her “uncle’s good friend” quite a bit these days.
An idol’s private contact—something others would kill to have.
She always felt Ji-soo’s KakaoTalk profile picture looked like a couple’s photo with Myung-yeon, but thinking about how those two interacted, she shook her head with a smile.
Kids in couples don’t act like that.
“Ji-soo unnie, you said last time that telling a joke to the judges really works, right?”