Conditions For Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader - Episode 3

By this point, people used the so-called slur coined to criticize Zero One’s behavior—Number One—far more often than the group’s actual name.

At first it had been a vicious term made up by anti-fans, but it did not take long before it became a word anyone who followed idols had probably heard at least once.

Not only were they already mired in one of the most damaging scandals an idol could face—fan betrayal, attitude problems, character issues—but now incidents kept piling up that made people wonder whether the members could even still be called a single team, much less a group bound by loyalty or friendship or anything at all.

One member had suddenly gone dark without a word, and because neither the agency nor the other members would say anything, people had no idea whether he was even alive, let alone able to get any sightings of him, for more than a year.

Two members kept up friendships in private with rappers from Immersive Records—the very label notorious for clubbing, drugs, nightlife scandals, and all manner of public indecency—and by hanging around with them, they kept refreshing rumors of being seen at hostess bars and entertainment lounges.

After a supporting role in a web drama blew up, one member stopped doing idol work altogether and focused only on acting. When fans asked when he would return to idol promotions, he casually replied that he was planning his next drama for the first half of next year.

After collaborating with an American artist, one member had declared in an interview that he would be dealing only in true music from now on, then abruptly left for the United States—and had never come back to Korea, instead working there as a producer ever since.

Lastly—

At the end of the day, this was just a case of the wrong team.

His love for fans was unreal, and there was probably no other filial idol like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him, yet every time the members around him caused another disaster, he must have been bleeding tears too. I’m not even a fan and I still feel bad for him. Heartbreaking.

While he ran himself ragged to stop fan leakage, throwing his whole miserable body into the effort without causing a single incident or scandal, even the member who had done nothing wrong ended up getting dragged through the mud simply because he was part of the group.

At this point, it felt like there was nowhere left to fall.

It was impressive in several ways that they managed to keep creating new scandals one after another, with each member’s issue different from the others, not even overlapping.

It couldn’t have been easy to assemble nothing but problem people like that.

And yet Zero One had done it.

Could there really be a lower bottom than this?

Just when he thought there was nowhere else to go down, as though reminding him that there was always a basement beneath the floor, the scale of the disasters started to grow. One by one, the incidents got bigger and bigger until finally—

He had achieved the great feat of making it onto the social news pages.

Fuck.

As the years passed, the group began to collapse more and more, until it reached the point where recovery was impossible.

There had been something a little like a house built on sand from the very start, but he had never imagined the members would turn out to be this hopeless.

By the time the group had established itself to some extent, Go Young-in had basically given up on the members.

At first, it was their debut, and he was too busy scrambling because of the status window to properly take care of even himself, so he couldn’t pay much attention to the others. After things started going wrong, the relationships were already so ruined that there was nothing he could do to fix them.

Character issues exploded, scandals exploded, accidents exploded....

He had wondered whether this could still be called a perfect idol, but maybe because his warnings hadn’t piled up to five yet, he didn’t reset.

No, the so-called “perfect” idol had already gone out the window. Was it only about each individual being perfect? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

That had been Go Young-in’s question all through the group’s activities, but the status window never answered.

It was just like those moments before the first reset—the uneasy calm before the storm.

And of course, Go Young-in’s bad feeling was right again this time, too.

People say he was Zero One’s Go Young-in. May the deceased rest in peace.

It happened only a few months before the agency contract was set to expire.

* * *

Had he said that this was the kind of situation that would only make a person sigh?

“Fuck. So the whole group really did become an idol that got dragged into the social pages.”

Go Young-in laughed at himself bitterly.

The status window’s message saying the reset was complete no longer even registered in his eyes.

Wouldn’t it have been better to just let me die instead of resetting me after death?

Damn status window. You’re useless in my life.

“Say something. Don’t just show up when you need me.”

“...What?”

Go Young-in shot upright in bed.

In all the countless resets he had experienced, this was something that had never once happened before.

“Update....”

What kind of prank was this now? Was it a benefit or a loss?

Judging by everything the status window had done so far, the odds that it was a loss had to be one hundred percent.

He had no idea what on earth it had updated.

Before Go Young-in could even decide whether to check it or not, a new notice popped up with a chime from the status window.

Go Young-in’s eyes slowly widened. What on earth was happening now?

Only belatedly did he look down at himself.

He had been too dazed to notice properly, but this was definitely an adult body, not a child’s.

So different, and he’d only realized it now. He really must have been losing his mind.

Could this be the bonus reward? Starting in the middle instead of from the beginning?

I can’t even tell whether I’m supposed to be happy about this or not.

Go Young-in blinked with a dubious expression. Then the alert sounded again, and the status window appeared anew.

Wait, hold on. What do you mean, a new item? And why is the content like that? A group isn’t made by one person alone?

Another clause added... Ah... what now? This insane...

Go Young-in screamed inwardly and rubbed his face hard with both hands.

* * *

He understood, at least in his head, that he had died in an accident and reset. But it still didn’t feel real.

It was like floating alone on an endless open sea.

This kind of death is a first... isn’t it? Or have I already had one like this?

Surprisingly, his condition was better than expected, to the point that he found himself making the ridiculous thought that this wasn’t really any different from a reset.

What reached him, though, was a crushing emptiness.

Maybe this had really been his chance to break free of that damned status window.

Bonus reward or not, the only reward that would have meant anything to Go Young-in was one thing.

Escaping this accursed status window once and for all.

The skin around Go Young-in’s reddened eyes was worn thin with exhaustion. He sat motionless for a long time before finally letting out a deep sigh.