Chapter 2
Chapter 2
‘Idol Inc.’
It was a survival reality show that had been a massive hit around this time.
After the trend of gathering dozens or hundreds of idol hopefuls and eliminating them through votes took off, several programs followed the same format.
‘Idol Inc.’ was one of those mass-produced shows, but there was a reason it became particularly famous.
It was because it was more viciously capitalistic.
First, let’s look at the slogan from Season 1.
[Your idol’s stock grows as much as you buy!]
That’s right. It meant you could vote as much as you spent, under the guise of ‘stocks.’
The show was now in its third season.
After Season 2 had completely flopped for certain reasons, they treated that season as if it never happened and returned with the ambitious subtitle: ‘Re-listing.’
Because of that, many people mocked it, saying Season 3 was going overboard and was bound to fail.
…What about me? I didn’t have any thoughts on it because I was too busy preparing for my exams.
Anyway, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Season 3 became an unprecedented hit.
Despite the immense controversy and criticism, it dominated the buzz and viewership ratings, producing a boy group that had 80,000 listeners on music charts upon entry and sold 600,000 copies in their first week.
That’s why I’m planning to go on this show.
Today, I went out to take the first step.
“Alright, all done! I didn’t trim the sides too much, just like you asked.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I finally looked like someone who matched this face. I stared at my well-groomed hair in the salon mirror.
Perhaps because I’d been eating and sleeping well for the past few days, the hollow, depressed look had mostly vanished. Thanks to that, it didn’t look bad even after trimming my shaggy bangs to reveal my forehead.
Just then, an older lady sitting next to me getting a perm gave me some lip service.
“Oh my, it suits you so well, student! You look so handsome now!”
I thanked her and paid in cash at the counter.
‘It’s a relief there was some money in the bank account when I checked.’
Looking at the history, it seemed he hadn’t touched his parents’ insurance money. I felt bad, but I’d have to use it for now.
‘…Once I make some money, maybe I’ll pay back the principal and donate it to a child welfare organization.’
It felt a bit bitter. After getting a copy of the resident register and setting up a phone, I did some digging. It seemed ‘Park Moon-dae’s’ suicide hadn’t been an impulsive act.
He had already moved out of his place (he barely got any of his deposit back because of overdue rent) and had even canceled his phone plan.
And he did it all on his birthday.
He must have really wanted to die.
…Well, I understand. I felt the same way.
‘I hope you’re in a better place.’
I offered a short, silent prayer and ended my sentimentality there. I stepped out of the hair salon. It was close to noon, and the sunlight stung my eyes.
I still had a lot to do to achieve my goal for this outing.
‘First, let’s make sure.’
I already knew all the missions, the debut members, the twists, and even the theme song for this program.
Of course, since I had been busy studying for a civil service exam I was destined to fail, my knowledge of the details was a bit lacking, but it was still hard to find a better stepping stone than this.
The show was going to get so big that even if I only made it past the second round, I’d be able to land a spot in some mid-sized agency.
The only critical problem was that the open auditions for this season’s participants had already ended.
However, I knew a small hint. I planned to use it as much as I could.
My goal was to become a participant in that survival show whose recruitment had already closed.
And I planned to do it within a week.
Not at the broadcasting station, but at a karaoke room nearby.
*
—Aju-sa? Oh, Idol Inc. One of the writers there is a total psycho.
This was some nonsense a guy had snickered about during a photo club after-party.
He was the type of guy I didn’t particularly like—someone who spouted all sorts of rumors he claimed to have heard from a relative working at the station.
—I heard she scouts participants at karaoke rooms or something. You know, near the station… in Seong-dong? She went around the karaoke rooms there scouting ordinary people and got chewed out by the PD. Just a low-level staffer overstepping her bounds. Isn’t she a total airhead?
The guy continued to ramble incoherently and passionately about the scouting.
Nonsense at a drinking party is common, but it was rare to find someone who talked about himself so boringly at a group gathering.
‘Who invited this guy?’
‘Let’s never invite him again.’
‘Agreed.’
People exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Naturally, I didn’t believe his bullshit either. I was just focusing on the free alcohol.
But surprisingly, someone cross-verified it.
—That ordinary person she scouted was Lee Go-yoon.
—…Huh?
Lee Go-yoon was a female idol who debuted in Season 1. She gained popularity for her innocent looks combined with a cheerful, quirky image and a thick dialect.
Impressed murmurs broke out around the table.
—Whoa, she’s the one who debuted, right?
—Yeah.
—Oh… How do you know that?
The woman, a senior majoring in Mass Communications who was about to graduate, spoke calmly.
—Because that ‘airhead’ is my older sister.
The guy’s speech immediately faltered. Contemptuous looks from the interested crowd poured over him.
—…Ah, haha, no, that expression was…
—But she never got chewed out by the PD. Instead, she gets paid more.
—…….
After that, the guy sat there with his mouth shut.
I was grateful because it allowed me to enjoy my drink in peace. I think I was drinking somaek while listening to that senior tell the rest of the scouting story.
Anyway, it was a pretty interesting situation, so it remained vivid in my memory.
She said that when they didn’t have enough satisfying candidates from the survival recruitment auditions, they would spend about a week after the auditions checking karaoke rooms near the station.
—Wouldn’t people who do street karaoke be better? They’re easier to scout.
—They said they actually avoid them because those places are already full of aspiring singers. They want to scout ordinary people because they need fresh characters who don’t act like typical survival show participants.
It wasn’t about picking participants who were guaranteed to debut; it was about scouting complete amateurs who knew nothing to add entertainment to the broadcast.
Since most idol trainees these days are trained by their agencies not to speak out of turn.
In the end, it also meant these ordinary participants might be sacrificed for the sake of the show’s entertainment value.
‘Of course, that’s not what’s important right now.’
The important thing was that there was a high probability the writer was still using this method in Season 3.
‘It’s hard to let go of something that’s been successful once.’
In fact, since Season 2 flopped, the pool of applicants for the preliminary auditions might have worsened, making her work even harder.
So, let’s look at this objectively.
This body of ‘Park Moon-dae’ is skinny, but the face is handsome and the height is decent.
On top of that, the singing is good, so there’s definitely a chance she’ll at least give me a shot if we meet.
Furthermore…
‘I need to level up.’
I had to achieve practice accomplishments to invest in my stats. I needed something extraordinary to even have a chance at being picked.
I grabbed the microphone and selected a song. Then, I glanced back at the door of the karaoke room I had entered.
The door was made of tempered glass.
They probably wanted to give it a bright, open feel to target people in their teens and twenties, but at the same time, it was an interior that made it easy to look inside from the outside.
That was the reason I chose this karaoke room.
The person I was waiting for was a writer working in broadcasting.
If she had to go out and scout ordinary people while already busy preparing for the program, she would most likely start with places near the station that were easy to observe.
Therefore, this karaoke room was the optimal choice right now.
Without hesitation, I reserved ten songs in advance and started singing, skipping the intros.
*
[Achievement Unlocked! <10 Attempts>]
Level 1 -> 2
You have earned 1 point!
Before long, I unlocked an achievement. It was the achievement for singing 10 songs. I knew I’d reach it quickly since it was the easiest one.
I invested the point into Vocal again. As a result, C+ changed to B-.
When I sang the same song again as a test, it felt like my basic foundation had improved altogether.
My tone became deeper, and my vocal volume increased. I suppose this is how growth works when the letter grade changes.
At this rate, it seemed I could raise my stats at an impossibly fast pace in the beginning, but there was something else I had to focus on first.
“Ah, this is who I am.”
I didn’t expect to get caught so quickly.
I had started a bit earlier than my estimated timing, but this was an unexpected early score.
I accepted the business card handed to me by a woman wearing glasses.
The woman looked tired, but she was intentionally using a bright voice.
She seemed to be trying to make a good impression on me, and as expected, I had successfully piqued her interest.
The name I expected was written on the card.
[Ryu Seo-rin]
The name of that senior from the Mass Communications department was ‘Ryu Seo-jin.’
‘They’re clearly sisters.’
“What’s your name, student?”
“It’s Park Moon-dae.”
“Even your name is unique. Really, think about it. I think you have star quality. Our show is really good at discovering people with star quality.”
“…Thank you.”
I didn’t act overly enthusiastic. If I seemed too interested, it might look like I had planned this situation.
While most things would be filtered out in the preliminary profiles, they’d want to avoid people who came looking for them on purpose.
Whether it was a good approach or not, the woman continued talking.
“You have a handsome face and you sing well. I think you’ll do really well if you just come on our show. …Hmm, do you want to come and film a test video today?”
“Pardon?”
As if trying to finish the verification in one go, the woman spoke somewhat pushily.
“That’s right. Call your parents. They’ll be so happy to hear their son was scouted for a show and is going to the broadcasting station.”
“…I don’t have parents.”
The moment I said that, a small spark flickered in the eyes of this woman, presumably the writer.
She had judged it to be provocative material.
Well, a sob story is an essential element in survival shows. It’s even better since people will criticize it for being a ‘tear-jerker.’
She probably felt it would be even more of a waste to lose me now, knowing she might be able to use that.
However, the writer quickly hid that look. Then, she spoke more gently, as if she felt sorry.
“Oh dear… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay.”
“I just meant you should come and take a look, think of it as touring the station. It’s not an experience you can have every day~”
“…Hmm.”
Should I agree now?
I hesitated for a moment as if wavering, then slowly nodded. At that, the woman’s face brightened visibly.
“Ah, good choice! The station is right in front of here!”
And so, I achieved my first goal.
It was a smoother start than I had anticipated.