The three Director of Trainees who were conversing with Cao Rouli had only asked casually and were not particularly interested in Cao Rouli, so when Jiang Shu spoke up, they let him have her.
Jiang Shu successfully secured his second trainee of interest.
Having consecutively secured Shin Yuna and Cao Rouli, Jiang Shu was in high spirits, but he did not relax, because an extremely important contestant was waiting next, and Jiang Shu had to get this person no matter what!
Contestant waiting area.
The girl with contestant number 171 affixed to her body sat quietly behind contestant number 170, watching the decreasing number of contestants ahead, her nervousness growing little by little.
The girl’s features were very harmonious, and she carried a subtle, serene aura, standing there as if she belonged to a different world from those around her.
All the contestants who made it to the audition site were handsome men and beautiful women who had passed the preliminary rounds, but even among this sea of beauties, the girl's unique temperament still made her stand out, becoming the most distinctive presence among this group of contestants.
Many male contestants secretly glanced at the girl standing still, but due to the staff standing nearby, some of the interested male contestants did not dare to go up and ask for contact information.
When contestant number 170, who was in front of the girl, entered the room, the girl's nervousness reached an unprecedented level.
Two or three minutes seemed to pass in a flash.
“Next, number 171.” The staff member's calm voice rang out, and the girl belatedly came back to her senses, took a deep breath, and stepped into the audition room.
Upon entering the audition room, the first sensation was coolness, and then the girl saw the judges seated in a row, more than ten of them; even without any action from them, just so many people sitting there, the psychological pressure instantly surged.
The girl subconsciously lowered her head and quickly walked to the center of the stage.
Little did she know that as she walked in, the eyes of many listless Director of Trainees instantly lit up.
Pretty?
Pretty.
But her beauty was not the refined beauty of Shin Yuna, but rather her temperament!
This temperament is very unique.
Jiang Shu noticed the gazes of others and thought, “This is not good.”
“Hello, judges, my name is Kim Minju, my birthday is February 5, 2001…”
Yes, she was the important contestant Jiang Shu had been waiting for this morning, and the one he had to secure no matter what.
Not only because of Jiang Shu’s game ID “IZ*ONE First Love Kim Minju,” but more importantly, because of the bond on Kim Minju!
Kim Minju (A)
Bond: Self-Adaptation (1), fantasy fairy tale (12)
Self-Adaptation: Kim Minju's exclusive bond.
Effect: Join a group with a bond, the “Self-Adaptation” bond changes to that group’s team bond, and this bond disappears after activation.
If Jeon Soyeon was the key to activating a highly difficult card set like ITZY, then Kim Minju was a self-adaptive puzzle piece that could be moved wherever needed.
Missing one person from Six Portraits?
Kim Minju is on!
Missing one from Four-Second Clock?
Kim Minju is on!
Missing one person from Five Wangdao Passion?
Kim… Uh, let's skip that one.
Having no Special Forces bond mixed in with ITZY would be too tormenting for Zhou Zhou; poor Lia will have to endure the suffering herself.
In short, Kim Minju was a plug-and-play puzzle piece, and this puzzle piece could be molded freely; as long as one person was missing, she could be used!
Jiang Shu even played TWICE in his second playthrough and couldn't draw Tzuyu no matter what, so he used Kim Minju to fill in…
Ahem, while the reversal of the heavenly stars was absurd, it was indeed useful, and she really did activate TWICE's nine-member bond.
But these were all for emergency use in the game; Jiang Shu's idea of securing Kim Minju in reality was simple: a group's bond needed her to complete it.
So, he was determined to get Kim Minju!
While Jiang Shu was deep in thought, Kim Minju began her performance.
And then…
Many Director of Trainees who had been interested in her quickly lost interest.
Bad!
Very bad!
Terrible!
Their company's C-rank trainees would perform better than Kim Minju in singing and dancing; it was simply unbearable to watch.
At seventeen years old, if her singing and dancing skills could even meet a C-rank standard, they would sign her and try to train her.
But Kim Minju’s skill level was, at most, that of a beginner; her dancing was decent, clearly systematically learned, but her singing was just too terrible?
Most K-pop stages still use live vocals, except for IVE.
IVE's biggest current criticism is not singing live.
It's not that they don't sing live at all, but rather that they semi-sing live.
This semi-live singing doesn't mean having a backing track with vocals; it refers to the four supporting members of IVE singing live, while the twin stars, Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying, do not.
It's known as IVE's exclusive semi-live singing.
But why is it said that IVE doesn't sing live?
Because everyone implicitly agrees that IVE's twin stars = IVE.
Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying not singing live = IVE not singing live.
Very reasonable, no problem.
Such is the general environment; only IVE doesn't sing live. Other companies launching girl groups still have to consider the issue of live singing, unlike Jiang Shu, who thinks, if you can sing, sing; if you can't, then don't.
Kim Minju's vocal level was too low, just that of a beginner, and she had no vocal talent either, making her too difficult to train.
If she were thirteen or fourteen, it would be fine, but seventeen… No, she's too old.
However, there were still some Director of Trainees interested in Kim Minju, such as S.M. Entertainment and JYP.
After Kim Minju finished her performance, S.M. Entertainment's Director of Trainees spoke.
“Kim Minju, I am the Director of Trainees from S.M. Entertainment…”
After S.M. Entertainment finished speaking, JYP’s Director of Trainees also spoke; she was quite interested in trainees with such a special aura like Kim Minju.
As two of the Three Greats spoke, the entertainment companies that had some ideas also fell silent.
If the big brothers didn't speak, they would compete, but when two of the three big brothers spoke, what was there to compete for?
It was just a trainee; they would give her up.
Just as the Director of Trainees from S.M. Entertainment and JYP thought they would be the ones to contend, Jiang Shu’s voice rang out.
“Minju, come to our DM Entertainment, and we will arrange your debut within two years.”
The Director of Trainees from S.M. Entertainment and JYP looked at Jiang Shu in surprise, as did everyone else.
What the heck?
Arrange debut within two years?
Is this an audition or a debut candidate selection?
Oh, you're the chairman.
Then it’s fine.
Jiang Shu ignored the others' gazes and looked at Kim Minju with enthusiasm.
“Although our DM Entertainment is not well-known and our strength cannot compare to established companies like the Three Greats, we have still cultivated a popular group like IVE. And I see potential in you that is no less than IVE’s!”
“So, come to our DM Entertainment!”
Kim Minju stared blankly at Jiang Shu.
She understood every word he said, but together, it was very confusing.
Potential no less than IVE’s?
Did she qualify for that?