The CEO Forced Me to Be a Movie Queen! (GL) - Chapter 7

The lunch gathering proceeded in a boisterous, joyful atmosphere. Seol-soo kept Hwa-sun by her side, while Ji-hyo and Moon-wol took charge of the entertainment. The two were fearless jokesters, acting like the most energetic pair of golden retriever pups in a litter of five. Yoo-ri, meanwhile, clung to Moon-wol but remained deeply attentive to Seol-soo’s words.

As the mature “Big Sister” of the group, Seol-soo was a natural caregiver. She refilled Ji-hyo’s drink, placed Moon-wol’s favorite morsels on her plate, and reached for tissues for Yoo-ri. Even with their manager, Ailee—where Seol-soo should have been the one being looked after—she thoughtfully unscrewed the cap of Ailee’s drink for her.

Hwa-sun remained quiet. While her Korean lacked a foreign accent, she occasionally struggled to keep up when the others spoke too quickly. Seol-soo was quick to notice, reminding the others to slow down so Hwa-sun wouldn’t feel excluded.

“Aigoo, it looks like Unnie really likes our new Maknae,” Moon-wol noted, pouting playfully. “I used to be your favorite. I’m getting jealous.”

Yoo-ri countered immediately, “She loves me the most, obviously.” She never lagged behind when it came to competing for the leader’s affection. “Big Sister said she liked me best, right?”

As the “kids” bickered, Seol-soo laughed. “I did say that back then—that I liked Yoo-ri most.” She fed Yoo-ri a bite of food before putting on a mock-heartbroken expression. “But then Yoo-ri said she likes Moon-wol best. It’s a tragic love triangle. My heart was shattered, so I’m just happy a new Maknae is here. If I work hard, maybe Hwa-sun will be the one who only likes me.”

Moon-wol let out a smug giggle, leaning her head against Yoo-ri’s shoulder with possessive affection. “Did you really say you like me more than Seol-soo Unnie?”

Yoo-ri tried to push her away, but her face flushed red. In a moment of shy honesty, she hummed an admission. “I did…”

Moon-wol beamed with pride. “I knew it.”

“Ugh, get a room!” Ji-hyo cried out, rubbing her arms as if she had goosebumps. “What is this? A live confession fan-meeting? I’m going to throw up from the cheesiness…” Her exaggerated gagging face sent the table into fits of laughter.

“You brat,” Ailee scolded playfully, swatting Ji-hyo’s shoulder. “Don’t be gross while we’re eating.”

“Ah! Ow! That hurts!” Ji-hyo yelled, though she was grinning.

Seol-soo turned back to Hwa-sun. “Are you doing okay? Are they too loud for you?”

Hwa-sun shook her head. “No.” She looked genuinely touched. Her Korean wasn’t quite advanced enough to express deep nuances yet, so she kept it simple: “I like everyone.”

“You do?” Seol-soo teased, pointing at Ji-hyo. “Even this annoying one?”

“Hey! Seol-soo, what is your problem with me today?” Ji-hyo protested. “It’s only natural for the Maknae to like me; I have the most female fans in the group, anyway.” She turned to Hwa-sun. “You’ll see, Hwa-sun. Liking me is much better than liking Seol-soo. You should join my CP instead.”

“No way,” Seol-soo shot back. “All you do is take ‘ugly’ photos of your CP partners and make the fans laugh at us. Hwa-sun is staying with me, right?”

Hwa-sun laughed and nodded. “I like Seol-soo Unnie.”

Ji-hyo sighed dramatically. “Am I destined to grow old alone? Even the Maknae didn’t choose me.”

Ailee burst into laughter. “You still have me! I saw a fan-edit online—they labeled us the ‘Mother-Daughter’ duo. It was a picture of me spanking your butt for being a brat.”

As the members roared with laughter, Ji-hyo held her head in her hands. “That had to be a hater.”

Seol-soo’s eyes softened as she looked at her childhood friend. “At the end of the day, people only make edits of you because you’re popular, Ji-hyo.” She knew exactly how to soothe her; she fed her a piece of rice cake. “Stop complaining. We all love you.”

Ji-hyo ate the rice cake, her eyes sparking with a hint of quiet pride. Following suit, Moon-wol and Yoo-ri offered her snacks, and even Hwa-sun shyly added a piece to her plate.

“See?” Ji-hyo said to Ailee. “I’m the ACE. This group was built for me.”

“You’re so thick-skinned!” Ailee laughed as Ji-hyo started tickling her.

The lunch ended in high spirits. The tension of the new arrival had melted away into a warm, afternoon glow.

******

The Vocal Evaluation:

Back at the office, the atmosphere turned professional. Papa Ahn and Director Kim called the group for a meeting.

“Listen,” Papa began, his tone shifting to that of a seasoned producer. “You might be idols, but at the end of the day, if the music is bad, you won’t survive. At SPE, we are ‘musical rationalists.’ Your vocal ability comes first. I won’t tolerate any weak links. Understood?”

The members nodded solemnly. Papa was known to be a strict traditionalist when it came to the craft. He played a new demo—a simple melody—and asked each of them to sing a segment to assess their current levels.

Moon-wol went first. She was a classic mezzo-soprano with a remarkably stable middle register, though her voice became thin and strained once she hit C5. In a weaker group, she could easily be a lead vocal.

Yoo-ri lacked Moon-wol’s technical precision but excelled in her falsetto. Her transitions were smooth and natural, giving her a better “musical feel” than the technically superior Moon-wol.

Ji-hyo’s rap flow was impeccable. It was clear why she was the most popular; even though she was young, she already had the foundations of a solo artist.

Then it was Seol-soo’s turn.

Hwa-sun watched her intently. Though Seol-soo was the main dancer, her singing was no afterthought. She had a highly recognizable mezzo-low timbre—warm and mature. Her breath control remained stable even below G#3, and her resonance was excellent. However, her range was physically capped; she couldn’t hit the high power notes required of a lead.

“You’ve all improved significantly. I’m impressed,” Papa said, before looking at Hwa-sun expectantly. “Sun-ah, why don’t you try?”

The room went quiet. Everyone wanted to see what the “Main Vocal” tag really meant.

Seol-soo gave her a nod. “Just like you do at home.”

Hwa-sun took a breath, looked at the sheet music, and began with a gentle, slow tempo.

She hit an E5 without a hint of effort. Her high notes were bright but never piercing—a perfect blend of pop sensibility and technical power. Even with a basic practice melody, she began to improvise—stretching notes, adding runs, and executing rapid scales with a level of control that left the room stunned.

It was a tidal wave of sound. Everyone had goosebumps. When she finished, there was a heavy silence.

“Is… is it over?” Moon-wol whispered, finally catching her breath.

Hwa-sun nodded shyly. The room erupted into applause.

“That was… incredible,” Ji-hyo admitted, her usual cockiness replaced by genuine awe. “Seol-soo, this kid is a monster!”

Seol-soo nodded, looking at Hwa-sun with pride. “She’s a genius.”

Director Kim was floored. “I saw the videos of her singing ballads, but I didn’t expect this. She’s only sixteen, but her technical skill is at a level where she could go on King of Mask Singer and shock the nation.” He turned to Papa. “Doing a girl group with this talent almost feels like a waste.”

“I want to be in a girl group,” Hwa-sun said firmly.

Papa looked at them all. He stood up and, in a rare gesture, bowed to his artists. “I don’t say this often… but please, cherish each other.”

“President…” the girls stammered, standing up to return the bow.

Papa looked up, his eyes glassy with emotion. “I owe you all an apology. You practiced so hard, only for my poor management to let your debut song vanish. I wasted a year of your lives… making girls as talented as you work in convenience stores just to survive.”

He took a breath. “But it will be different now. Hwa-sun is my niece, as you know. She has the skill to be a solo artist, yet she chose to be with you. I’ve watched Seol-soo and Ji-hyo grow up. When I left the big agencies because I wanted creative control, you girls gave up your chances there to support me at SPE…”

“Papa… you’re a good teacher. We wanted to follow you,” Seol-soo said, the others nodding in agreement.

Papa smiled through his sentimentality. “It wasn’t easy getting us all here… I literally had to ‘steal’ Hwa-sun away from my brother. If this group doesn’t work, he’ll probably hunt me down.”

The laughter broke the tension. Only Yoo-ri was still wiping away tears, Moon-wol pulling her into a hug.

“We have a secret weapon now,” Ji-hyo declared. “With a main vocal like this, we’re going to be world-famous.”

******

The “Special” Training:

Training continued through the afternoon, but as the session ended, Papa called Seol-soo aside.

She followed him to his office, only to find a familiar face waiting there: Choi Jin-yeon, the woman she had met a week ago. Her new “Big Boss.”

Seol-soo, dressed in her sweaty white T-shirt and gym clothes, bowed politely despite her exhaustion. “President.”

Jin-yeon, looking sharp and impeccably elegant, gave a soft smile. “Good work today. I heard you’ve been training hard.” She studied the slender, tired girl. “There’s a place I’d like to take you. I asked Producer Ahn to bring you here.”

Seol-soo glanced at Papa. He let out a small, weary sigh. “I’ll tell the others that President Choi likes your ‘aura’ and wants to train you as an actress. You’ll have separate ‘acting classes’ at the headquarters a few days a week.”

Acting classes. It sounded plausible enough.

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