Chapter 6: Boomer System (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: Boomer System (5)
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[SYSTEM] ‘Quest’ completed.
▷ Reward: Experience Points (20) granted
▷ Cumulative Experience Points: 60
▷ Cumulative Points: 0
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So far, so good. I was slowly getting used to the stingy point rewards.
What really pissed me off was the message that popped up next.
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[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Person in Charge’ has arrived.
▶ Newbies these days don't know how to do anything. Back in my day, even if our seniors didn't teach us, we’d find a way to learn by looking over their shoulders. Life at the company has gotten quite easy, hasn't it? Step it up, Assistant Manager Kim. Be grateful there’s someone like me giving you this kind of advice.
▷ Consolation Money: Experience Points (40) granted
▷ Cumulative Experience Points: 100
▷ Cumulative Points: 1
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Consolation money?
Anyone could see this was a "get your act together after being publicly humiliated" pity gift.
This bastard was clearly enjoying the situation.
Even so, I was the one in a bind. I had no choice but to scrape together even the humiliation consolation money and dump that 1 Welfare Point into Dance Proficiency.
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Performance Evaluation (100)
― Vocal Proficiency: 4/20
― Dance Proficiency: 2(▲)/20
― Self-PR: 12/20
― Attendance Management: 18/20
― Organizational Adaptability: 10/20
Cumulative Experience Points: 0
Cumulative Points: 0
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The effect of increasing my proficiency by a single point was immediately apparent during the following individual practice session.
I could now follow the video without getting my directions mixed up.
Me! The guy who used to flail around even while watching the mirror mode!
‘Do you not even remember which hand you eat with?’
‘How is it that you follow it fine when I show you the raw footage, but you do the exact opposite when I show you the mirror mode?’
This was the moment Choi Je-ho’s medley of persecution finally came to an end. I was deeply moved.
While I was basking in the joy of growth and diligently studying the video the trainer had recorded for me, Park Ju-woo approached.
“...Does it seem like you’re starting to understand it?”
Park Ju-woo asked in his characteristically leisurely tone. He then crouched down beside me.
“I’m definitely not trying to be funny, but not at all.”
If he meant understanding it with my head, then the answer was yes. I could roughly tell how each movement connected after watching it a few times.
However, whether my body could actually output that was a different story.
Just because you see it doesn't mean you can replicate it.
If it were that easy just by watching, I would’ve been doing something else instead of making floor mats at Hanpyeong Industry.
As I was bitterly reflecting on my career path, Park Ju-woo spoke up.
“If there’s a part that isn't working... I’ll teach you from there.”
This newbie was slightly touched by the Silk Road-like personality of this kid, who was being so kind to a clumsy trainee who had suddenly intruded on his life.
However, I wasn't an adult so thoughtless that I’d steal the precious time of a growing dream-tree.
Even between enemies, there are certain decencies to maintain.
Park Ju-woo wasn't someone who should be managing a passing acquaintance like Kim I-wol; he was a talent who should be focusing on his practice to hone his K-High Notes.
So, I politely declined Park Ju-woo’s offer, knowing every second was precious to him.
It’s not like Park Ju-woo would actually want to teach a beginner whose heart was filled with nothing but hostility toward him, right?
“No, I already owe you for yesterday.”
“...Then just one section.”
With that, Park Ju-woo fidgeted and played the video on his spare phone.
“Move your left foot here, one, two... Yes, like that.”
“Really? Is this right?”
“The movement... is correct.”
The silence that followed "The movement..." spoke volumes about his complicated feelings.
No matter how much I tried to spin it positively, Park Ju-woo’s words only sounded like I had a hell of a long way to go.
To a guy who sang and danced well, the future of someone like me—who couldn't sing and was even worse at dancing—must look pretty bleak.
Still, this was incredible progress. Just yesterday, it had taken me over thirty minutes just to move my feet twice.
And that was even with Choi Je-ho and Kang Gi-yeon holding me from both sides and moving me. Thanks to them, I got a real taste of what it’s like to be a puppet.
‘Can a person really improve this much with just 1 proficiency point?’
Say what you will, but the system really was a life cheat key.
I repented for whining just a few hours ago about how my life was the hardest.
As I completed a single step, wobbling like a newborn giraffe, Park Ju-woo asked, “Aren't you tired?”
“Looking at your face, you look more exhausted than I am.”
“Hyung, you really... have great stamina.”
Park Ju-woo gave a clumsy smile, even though he looked completely drained.
Perhaps because he was still young, he reminded me of a happy puppy you’d find at a country house.
But I couldn't forgive him for only saying five sentences during a fifty-minute radio show just because of some 1:1 training and a single smile.
If given the time and opportunity, I would definitely get my revenge by making him practice smiling for thirty hours.
Still, that day’s practice ended quite smoothly. It was thanks to showing visible improvement after having set the expectations rock bottom.
I finished my long day after practicing for two more hours, just like yesterday.
There was no overtime reward this time, but it couldn't be helped.
I wasn't going to be able to debut just by learning how to take two steps, after all.
The only time I could deeply reflect on the system was in the early hours of the morning.
During the day, I was too busy rolling left and right, struggling to keep my sanity.
And at night, I had to stay alone in the practice room, swaying and dancing to the music playing from the spare phone.
“Whew.”
So, as soon as I washed up, I sprawled out on my assigned bed. I needed time to organize my cluttered thoughts.
‘The system said I was set as a Producing Member.’
If so, it was highly likely that this point was considered even during the street casting that led me to become an idol.
In reality, the old Spark didn't have a member in charge of producing.
The fact that UA had no experience producing idols was also a problem in itself.
I still remembered a post that went up on the day UA pulled a "surprise" comeback promotional live.
≫ UA has zero f*cking sense, right? All the other boy groups do individual lives, but even after five years since debut, Spark isn't allowed to do a live without staff present? If you're gonna be like this, just post a monthly live schedule. Don't turn on the broadcast without warning and slap a [Surprise] tag on it, it's annoying as hell.
If the company had just uploaded a few photos of Spark eating, they would’ve only been cursed out for being incompetent, not for being heartless. They were a truly terrible company.
I don't know what they saw in me to give me this position, but if I wanted to debut safely, it seemed I had to head in the direction of producing as the system instructed.
I racked my brain, which I couldn't remember the last time I’d used. It took a lot of effort to get a dusty office worker's brain turning.
The one saving grace was that Lee Cheong-hyeon would eventually take charge of composing for the team.
It was a huge relief that I wouldn't have to come up with ideas, write songs, pen lyrics, and set concepts all by myself—not that I could anyway.
They say there’s always a way out, and that was exactly right.
I was thinking back on Spark’s dizzying past concepts when the system appeared again.
At least now, I didn't get a surge of anger when the system popped up. I think it’s because I’d started viewing it as a Welfare Point notification.
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[SYSTEM] A work order from the ‘Person in Charge’ has arrived.
▶ I don't care what Assistant Manager Kim used to do. Kids who’ve done half-assed internships elsewhere only bring bad habits with them. Throw away whatever you were doing before and let’s start fresh. Refresh yourself. Got it?
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Quest’ has been assigned.
▷ Check current personal details
▷ Consolation Money: Experience Points (60) granted
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Never mind. I’m f*cking pissed.
It’s a talent to be able to say such shitty things. My blood boiled.
But more ominous than anything was the experience reward, which was a whopping 60 points.
And the attribute was ‘Consolation Money.’
Thinking that something worse than public humiliation in dance class was about to happen made everything go dark.
At this rate, by next month, I might find myself standing on the roof of the UA building shouting, “I love you guys!”
Unless they promised to excuse me from seven-day work weeks for four consecutive weeks, there was no way I’d ever shout that I loved Spark.
‘What am I supposed to check in my personal details?’
The back of the ID card I checked yesterday had a sticker with the address of Spark’s current dorm. It meant the move-in registration for the new address was complete.
The resident registration number was the same, and my name had been officially changed.
‘Name, resident number, address, education, military service, resume...’
My thoughts, which were ticking off basic personal details one by one, stopped at a certain point.
Education.
‘What’s the date... today?’
February, nine years ago. Specifically, the second week of February in the year I had just turned twenty.
That was the week I was street-cast while on my way to meet my sister.
It was the week I borrowed 15 million won from her.
And it was the week I was supposed to register for the university I’d been accepted to through regular admission.
‘No way.’
My mind went blank.
With trembling hands, I opened my phone. It said February 13th.
Unfortunately, if my memory served me right, this was two days after the deadline for regular admission registration.
I called upon every god I knew and borrowed a laptop from Lee Cheong-hyeon.
Then, I accessed the registration confirmation page.
After a few clicks, the same acceptance confirmation page I had seen nine years ago appeared.
The examinee number on the screen had been switched to ‘Registration Forfeited.’
I refreshed the page several times and logged in and out repeatedly, but the situation didn't change. The academic background that had at least allowed me to get into Hanpyeong Industry had vanished.
Furthermore, I discovered a fact I didn't really want to know.
The 15 million won I had borrowed from my sister was still sitting in an account under my name.
‘Three years of high school just became a blank slate.’
My head felt numb.
The penalty for failing to debut as an idol was re-employment at Hanpyeong Industry.
When I first saw that, I thought it was the worst possible ending for my life.
But they say there’s always a basement beneath the ocean floor.
At this rate, I wouldn't even be able to go to Hanpyeong Industry even if I wanted to. I wasn't that great of a talent.
If a talentless, incompetent guy like me didn't even have a small, cute degree, what company would ever hire me?
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[SYSTEM] ‘Quest’ completed.
▷ Consolation Money: Experience Points (60) granted
▷ Cumulative Experience Points: 60
▷ Cumulative Points: 0
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Tears welled up, so I lifted my head.
It was a despair so deep that 60 experience points couldn't even begin to offer consolation.