Chapter 10

The result was not out of Jin Zhongming's expectation. Sika used all her tricks to try to persuade her parents. The Zheng couple, who deeply loved their daughter, accepted their Momo's dream of becoming a dazzling idol on stage.

After contacting the talent scout, Liu Daheng, the latter invited the Zheng couple to bring the "Zheng siblings" to the ** Company building for an audition on the weekend.

Regarding the term "Zheng siblings," Jin Zhongming could only shrug. He never explained it to the other party. The other party, seeing Jin Zhongming, Sika, and Krystal calling each other siblings, didn't think much of it.

"Uncle and Aunt, you don't need to come specially on the weekend. I'll take them to have a look. ** Company is on the other side of the river in Apgujeong. Besides, the trainee contracts at ** are the same. If it works out, it works out; if not, it doesn't matter," Jin Zhongming volunteered.

The Zheng couple agreed. In fact, they trusted Jin Zhongming more than themselves when it came to taking care of their two daughters.

As Jin Zhongming said, ** Company and their two families' houses were only separated by the Han River, and Apgujeong was directly opposite Donghu Bridge. Jin Zhongming, holding Sika's hand on one side and Krystal's on the other, set off from their neighborhood and strolled for twenty minutes to get there. During this process, they looked like a small family of three.

The entrance to ** Company was a four-story building with no significant accompanying structures. It was quite shabby, and almost everyone who mentioned the company building years later commented on it. However, by 2000's standards, the building, which was completed in 1995, was still acceptable.

At the entrance to ** Company, there was already a bit of the atmosphere of a future school-skipping haven. A dozen or so middle school girls gathered in a group, shouting their idols' names loudly every time a car arrived or someone came out of the company building, hoping for a chance to see their oppa. From the names they shouted, most were HOT fans, with very few MYTH fans.

Afraid that Krystal would be scared, Jin Zhongming held her in one arm and pulled Sika with the other, following the waiting Liu Daheng inside.

The interior of ** Company was as unremarkable as its exterior. However, the bustling staff and the occasional ringing of the telephone reminded Jin Zhongming that this company was the top star-making factory in the Korean music industry at the time.

Climbing to the third floor, he put Krystal down and had to rub his sore arms. Little Crystal was growing bigger, and even as an excellent baseball pitcher, it was becoming difficult for him to carry Krystal up the stairs.

A mature selection system. Seeing the quickly arriving judges and equipment, Jin Zhongming silently evaluated. He and Sika, Krystal sat on a bench in a room that looked like a practice room, and a small photography set was quickly set up in front of them. Lights, scenery, microphones, sound equipment, cameras, and more were all set up in less than five minutes.

Sika went up first.

"Good appearance, a bit unnatural on the face. Oh, no, it's because of the braces. Good stage presence, hmm, very distinctive voice! Good high notes! At this age, if she stays in the company and is carefully cultivated through her voice change, she can definitely become the high-note bearer in a group." A judge quickly recorded his impressions on paper.

In the audience, Jin Zhongming chuckled. He had originally been worried that Sika would have the legendary camera shyness, but when Sika spoke to the camera, he realized it. So-called camera shyness, 99% of the time, is because the person being filmed thinks they look ugly and are afraid of being photographed. The original Sika's root cause of this symptom was undoubtedly the braces. The current Sika? She had been taken to the dentist to get braces at the age of ten, not during the critical period of being a trainee. She was still as vain as ever, thinking she was beautiful, so how could she have camera shyness?

When Krystal walked over and stood in front of the judges, all the judges ticked a box in their minds. What a beauty at just six years old! In ** Company, which values appearance, this little girl was definitely going to be accepted. Moreover, at this age, both dance and music could be gradually cultivated.

So, after Krystal introduced herself and sang a children's song, the judges nodded in satisfaction and let her go. Seeing Krystal come down, Jin Zhongming immediately stood up and asked the judges, "So, Teacher, how did my two sisters perform? Can we sign the trainee contracts now?"

One of the judges looked at Jin Zhongming in surprise, "You haven't been interviewed yet..."

"Oh, Teacher, you might have misunderstood. I'm just here to accompany my two sisters for the interview and to take the trainee contracts back for the guardians to see," Jin Zhongming explained calmly, having anticipated this situation.

Hearing Jin Zhongming's explanation, an older judge stood up, "Ah, Zheng student, I noticed you earlier. Your behavior is very proper, and we like you. I also noticed that, like your two sisters, you have a very good appearance. Have you noticed that you look a lot like the child actor, Jin Zhongming? Let me tell you, those child actors are actually plastic surgery cases, and their faces will sag as they get older. But you are different. Think about it, if all three of you can become stars together, you can also take care of your sisters. Why don't I talk to your parents about this..."

Before he finished, Sika was already laughing. Glaring at Sika, Jin Zhongming interrupted the teacher with a stern face, "Teacher, I am that child actor, Jin Zhongming. They are my sisters who grew up with me, not biological siblings. I think you have a lot of misunderstandings."

The entire practice room fell silent. Finally, the teacher who had initially asked Jin Zhongming broke the awkward silence, "I understand. We will prepare the contracts for these two children right away. You wait a moment. Director Xue, shall we go prepare?"

The older teacher who had been talking to Jin Zhongming was indeed Director Xue. He nodded and quickly left, "Ah, yes, let's go prepare the contracts."

Five minutes later, a man Jin Zhongming did not expect appeared in front of the three of them. He was in his forties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and well-maintained. If Jin Zhongming didn't know who he was, he would have thought he was a music professor at a university. He smiled and asked from a distance, "Ah, you are Jin Zhongming, right?"

"I am only 12 years old, please don't use honorifics, Teacher," Jin Zhongming bowed with one hand on Sika and himself.

"Ah, what a polite child. Let's sit down and talk," the man smiled and waved, sitting on the bench.

"Sure, Teacher, what do you need to say?" Although the atmosphere became more relaxed, Jin Zhongming became nervous.

Hearing Jin Zhongming's slightly nervous voice, the man looked at the curious Sika and Krystal, who was holding onto Jin Zhongming's clothes, and found it amusing, "Relax, I'll call you Zhongming. What is the relationship between Zhongming and the Zheng sisters?"

"Actually, our families were neighbors in Los Angeles, and both sets of parents were busy with work. So, when we were young, we were taken care of by each other's parents for a long time," Jin Zhongming adjusted his mindset and his tone returned to normal.

"I see, so it's almost like real siblings," the man adjusted his glasses and got to the point, "Zhongming, I am the person in charge here. I want to ask, do you have your own agent and agency? Although our company is a music company, we also sign actors. If possible, why not all three of you sign with the same company?"

Hearing this invitation, Jin Zhongming almost couldn't hold back. He paused, adjusted his expression, and then replied, "I'm very sorry, Lee Soo-man."

"What are you thinking, Zhongming?" Lee Soo-man was very composed despite the rejection.

"Actually, Lee Soo-man," Jin Zhongming prepared his words, "I started my career with the help of Director Lee Tae-hyang. Director Lee Tae-hyang and my parents are alumni of Sogang University, so although I don't have an agent or agency, the contracts for advertisements and movies are handled by Director Lee Tae-hyang's husband, Zhang En-he. In the film and television industry, to be frank, Director Lee Tae-hyang might be more helpful."

"Ah, I see. I won't force you then. I hope we can work together in the future," Lee Soo-man was quite disappointed.

** Company, after launching HOT in 1996, created a new order in the Korean music industry. The debut of SES and MYTH further solidified its dominant position. However, in the film and television industry, although ** Company had great ambitions and signed many actors, it lacked the ability to produce talent. Major actors looked down on this music company, making it difficult for ** Company to succeed in this field. Lee Soo-man had watched Jin Zhongming's breakout film, "Grandma's House," and other films where Jin Zhongming played supporting roles, which greatly impressed him. His years of experience in talent selection told him that this child actor would surely become a great talent in the film industry. Upon hearing Jin Zhongming's response, he personally came to try to sign Jin Zhongming as an investment in ** Company's film and television sector. However, he was firmly rejected.

In fact, Jin Zhongming was deceiving Lee Soo-man. Although Zhang En-he helped him with many agency matters, it was not a long-term solution. Since he had decided to pursue this path, he definitely needed an agency to assist him. The reason he hadn't signed yet was that he didn't want to be oppressed by a large company; and he was still young, with the blank period of adolescence ahead, so there was no need to rush into a contract.

If a normal film and television agency boss had come to him, like Lee Soo-man, he would have agreed long ago. However, Jin Zhongming knew about ** Company's future direction in the film and television industry and knew that it was a joke. So, he almost laughed out loud when he heard Lee Soo-man's invitation.

In the future, the company never relaxed its pursuit of the film and television industry. Large sums of money and resources were invested, but for some reason, perhaps because idols lacked the skills to act, or perhaps because the company's film and television department was not professional enough, or perhaps just bad luck, the company's film and television productions over the next decade were all terrible. Many idols with acting talent destroyed their acting careers after appearing in the company's films and TV shows. On the contrary, those who chose other normal film and television works or left ** Company immediately revived their acting careers.

With the trainee contracts for the Zheng sisters, Jin Zhongming and the two girls left ** Company.

Lee Soo-man also returned to his office with great disappointment. However, when he got back to his desk, he was stunned to find his nameplate sitting neatly on the table. The question was:

How did that child, Jin Zhongming, know his name was Lee Soo-man? Do I know him?

Lee Soo-man had nightmares all night!

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