00:00To break into the entertainment industry, she would hide behind pillars every single day,
00:04watching trainees practice their dance moves. Once everyone else left the studio,
00:08she pulled out videos she recorded beforehand. She mimicked every dance move from the footage
00:12over and over. A senior trainee happened to spot her practicing behind the pillar.
00:15Looking at her petite frame, he figured she had zero shot at debut.
00:19The Korean idol industry is brutally competitive. There are strict standards for height, weight,
00:23and age. Thousands of young people flood into this industry every year, but only 0.01%
00:28actually debut successfully. Haley wanted to grab onto this tiny chance. She woke up at 5 in the
00:33morning to run every single day. Even though her home and school were super far apart, she refused
00:38to take a ride. Trainees go through intense physical training. If your stamina falls short, you get cut.
00:43After running, she made it to school to complete her daily training. Five straight years of grinding,
00:48she still didn't get her debut approval. The debut list was about to drop. The girls cheered each other
00:52on, but the results crushed their hopes. Haley's singing and dancing skills were totally qualified.
00:57The company cut her just because of her height. Her manager felt terrible about it. He suggested
01:01transferring her contract to a smaller company. The executives wanted to squeeze every last drop
01:06of value out of her. They agreed to the transfer pretty quick. The next day Haley showed up at the
01:10new company. The practice room was in a dark basement. Haley saw the girl group members dancing,
01:14with 5 years of dance training under her belt. She memorized the entire choreography after seeing it
01:19just once. Everyone in the room was shocked. After that, the whole team started intense training,
01:24recording their own debut single, shooting the music video in scorching heat. Three days left
01:28until their official debut. Everyone kept rehearsing the dance, training till their whole
01:32bodies were exhausted but still pushing. The next day, the official rehearsal started. Staff suddenly
01:37rushed onto the stage. They stopped the show abruptly. A former member of the group had committed
01:42suicide by jumping into the river. Online, everyone was saying the company exploited trainees.
01:47This news hit the top of the trending charts. The production team was scared of getting dragged
01:50into the controversy. They straight up canceled the group's debut performance. The girls hadn't even
01:55met the audience yet. The team got forced out completely. Haley and her teammates watched the
01:59other performers on stage. They cried backstage. The management company wanted to kill the PR disaster
02:04fast. They ordered everyone kicked out of the dorm immediately. The manager was furious about what the
02:08executives did, but he couldn't do anything to stop them. The three girls went to their former
02:12teammates' funeral. Their tears were saying goodbye to someone gone. They were also crying over their
02:17shattered dream debut. Haley packed away that photo full of hope. She dragged her luggage out of the
02:21dorm. For the next three years, Haley bounced around scraping by. She traveled to remote areas for gigs,
02:26doing cover singer performances. Even when barely anyone was in the audience, she still gave it her all.
02:32On the drive back, her manager got her a small acting role, just one short line of dialogue.
02:36Haley really appreciated this work opportunity, but deep down, she still felt lost about her future.
02:41The car drove over a bumpy road. Haley had drunk rice wine earlier. Her stomach felt awful.
02:46Her manager pulled into a rest stop to buy medicine. Haley covered her mouth and rushed out of the car.
02:51She accidentally crashed right into a man in black. The man watched her hurry away.
02:54Something about her felt familiar.
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