Lookism In K-Pop

Chapter 13

Bum Jae sat in the waiting room.

Staring at the ground, he thought about all the possibilities of Vasco not being able to handle being by himself. Only to shake his head to think of the positive side of things.

He wasn't able to go at the same time as Vasco as he managed to get there without telling him. Vasco seemed to be so excited and thought about their 'telepathy', that he didn't bother telling Bum Jae that he was already at the audition.

Bum Jae first found out by waking up and checking his lover's app to find that Vasco was already at the destination they promised to meet at.

Bolting out of bed, he immediately got ready to leave. Leaving his house in a hurry, he couldn't help feeling worried.

Vasco...!

Now, there he was. Sitting, not knowing anyone. The only thing he knew was that Vasco was in the audition room while he sat in the waiting room, dreadful.

Glancing around the room to pass off time, he noticed someone familiar.

Jang Hyeon.

Jang Hyeon never struck him as someone Vasco would like, seeing as he's handsome and popular with the girls. He didn't care much for him, though. He didn't try to communicate with Vasco or get involved with anything related to him. Seeing him here didn't make Bum Jae cautious, at all. He's even glad he's here, making the chances of them not getting in, higher.

Staring at him for a little too long, Jang Hyeon starts to notice his stare.

Instantly turning his head over at Bum Jae's area, he smiled.

Bum Jae immediately didn't like him.

Who smiles at some random person staring at him? Not Bum Jae, that's for sure.

Placing his gaze somewhere else, Bum Jae went back to observing the auditionees.

They all had similar characteristics; handsome and charismatic.

There was one person that stuck out the most, though.

A black-haired male.

He somehow gave him the same vibes as Hyung Seok. He didn't know if it was because they were both incredibly good-looking or because of something he didn't know. It didn't change the fact that he still reminded him of Hyung Seok for some reason. Considering the theories going through his head, he slowly starts caring less as he goes on with his observing.

Seeing more and more potential idols, he decides that he took in enough information.

Going through the info he had, it instantly made him feel relieved. With the competition he has, he starts feeling certain that he isn't going to get in.  

Sighing in relief, he glances at the clock.

It was time for the next group to go in.

...

The CEO acknowledged Jang Hyeon's presence.

Jang Hyeon gave him a slight nod of his head, greeting him.

While they were doing that, the other contestants walking inside the room, felt dreadful that some guy already had a better chance of getting in than they did.

Trying to appeal to the judges, they start showing off their best-selling body part.

They knew that DY agency strongly goes for looks, just like a lot of other companies. Also, there was a pretty lady in the room, so that didn't stop them from going all out.

Some were making sure that they clearly showed off their sharp jawline; a fraction of them made sure that they brought out their cute features as that's what they were going for; while the rest tried to sit normally, going for a different technic. Acting natural.

Apparently, acting natural was the way to go as the judges seemed more interested in them instead of the not-so discreet way of showing off.

Bum Jae and Jang Hyeon happened to be the most natural amongst the others.

Bum Jae, not wanting to audition, and Jang Hyeon being used to the presence of a higher up.

The judges, other than the CEO, were notified that they were looking for certain things every time a new group comes in.

The first group was solely judged on their charisma. Second group, ability to grasp their attention. Now third, they were looking for the most natural. If someone isn't natural, it'll feel rather awkward watching them on TV, making it heavily judged upon.

Don't get them wrong, even if they didn't follow the requirements of their secret judging, the people who didn't quite fit in the category at the time will still get a chance of getting in. It's just that the CEO felt like being a little playful as this kind of audition hasn't been done in a long time.

The people who do happen to meet the requirements will most definitely get a chance to debut. After all, luck played a huge role in being a popular idol group.

Checking the auditionees out, there was someone else who caught their eye.

The black-haired male.

He gave off a special feeling.

A feeling indescribable, that they couldn't quite take their eyes off his figure.

Slowly regaining their conscience, they shook it away. They had an audition to judge.

They turned towards the first auditionee, Bum Jae.

He was sitting on the far left of the seats, after all. That seat always goes first.

Bum Jae seemed to understand as he nodded.

Standing up, he introduced himself, "I'm Park Bum Jae, auditioning as a rapper."

They nodded, their attention still on him.

Assuming that they didn't have to signal him to start his talents, he starts with rapping.

He didn't have much time practicing his dancing – because of a certain someone – so he decided to give himself a little more time on whether he'd dance or not.

He started his rapping with some words; getting in the zone.

After saying, "Yeah. Yeah." He started rapping with more words in a beat.

His words were smooth and felt nice to the ears.

Liking the sound, some of the contestants even bounced their heads to the beat, not realizing it.

The judges were impressed, they knew that he was going to help the group a lot if he could rap like that every time.

There were no mistakes. Well, to the inexperienced rappers, at least.

The CEO could hear some lack of experience in his rapping, interested in how he got this good with that amount of experience.

Finishing his rap, Bum Jae finished it off with the same way he started it. Saying the last words, he managed to end it with a nice feeling.

Everyone felt nice for some reason. They didn't know why, but the way he ended it felt right. Somewhat perfect.

The other rapping auditionees silently clicked their tongue, wondering if they could give the same impression Bum Jae gave.

Jang Hyeon seemed interested in him too...

Along with a certain black-haired male.

...

A/N: Hello! How's it going? I don't really have anything to say, so... yeah. I'm bad at starting conversations. Not like any of you guys will answer this, anyway... Oh, well. I hope you guys enjoyed this! See you tomorrow!

P.S. Thanks for your kind words, guccirice_! ㅠㅡㅠ They're much appreciated!!