Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I’m exhausted.
My eyes felt gritty.
Those heartless bastards had kept the participants trapped on set while they judged all seventy-seven of them.
Even during the mid-session breaks, they only let us go to the bathroom in groups.
They probably did it because managing dozens of energetic kids is a hassle, but thanks to that, my patience was wearing thin.
From the perspective of someone who could size everyone up just by looking at a status window, every single performance was mind-numbingly boring.
I’d seen enough active idol performances while out taking photos at events to last a lifetime; there was no way a trainee’s performance was going to move me now.
Though, to be fair, there were two or three instances that were actually impressive.
I glanced up at the two boys sitting on the overly flashy sofas at the top.
Currently 1st and 2nd place. They were from the same famous agency, and they were undeniably good. Their status windows were flashy, too.
Both of them would end up debuting, and one of them would take the 1st place spot.
I knew my chances of debuting would increase if I stuck close to them… but the thought of playing these "adolescent hierarchy games" that I should have outgrown ten years ago made me feel weary.
Let’s think about that again when the team missions start.
And then, mercifully, the evaluations finally began to wind down.
“Participant Ryu Cheong-woo… is in 9th place!”
They pushed him in. The final participant squeezed into the already crowded top ranks. With that… my rank was now 22nd.
I’d held my ground remarkably well.
In terms of pure stats, I felt like I’d managed to beat out about… seven participants who were technically more skilled than me.
I’d have to manage myself carefully from now on so that my overvaluation wouldn't become obvious.
“Thank you!”
The former national archer with the genial impression stepped off the stage with a bright smile.
I heard he’d won a gold medal in the Olympic team event, but I didn't know much about that. I only remembered that he made it into the debut group.
At any rate, he wouldn't have to go to the military, making him the kind of talent any agency would love.
Wait.
Come to think of it… do I have to go to the military?
In my old body, I’d been assigned Grade 4 and served as a social service agent at a city hall.
Just as that terrifying thought—one I’d never considered before—was about to take over my mind, the filming ended.
“Cut! Great work, everyone! Participants, please move to the next location immediately~”
“Yes, sir!”
Scattered applause and responses broke out from all sides.
Even as I moved according to the staff’s guidance, my head was spinning.
As soon as this shoot was over, I needed to check if ‘Park Moon-dae’ had already done his physical exam.
“Pick up your rank cards… and then board the vehicles!”
The dorms were a ten-minute walk from the set. They were newly built on the mountain lot behind the station after the massive success of Season 1.
However, they insisted on using transportation for a very obvious reason.
They wanted to get the shots.
The mode of transportation differed depending on your rank.
“Participants! Ranks 1 through 10, please come this way~”
“Whoa, a limousine!”
“Wow~ this is so cool!”
“Amazing.”
Behind the top-tier participants boarding the black limousine with thumbs up for the cameras, the lowest-ranked participants came into view.
Those ranked 51st to 77th had to go on foot.
They tried their best to act positive and play it off with humor, but I could see them struggling to hide expressions that looked ready to crumble into tears.
And the cameras were dogging them relentlessly.
They were experts at milking misery for provocation.
Honestly, it was a bit sickening.
“Oh, this is nice.”
A premium bus was waiting for ranks 11 through 25.
Lee Se-jin boarded the bus first, grinning from ear to ear.
Wanting to avoid the misfortune of sitting with him, I waited a bit before boarding myself.
As I did, someone scrambled onto the bus behind me in a hurry.
Then, hesitating, he slid into the seat next to me.
It was Seon A-hyun.
“……?”
Why you…?
Well, whatever. He didn't try to talk, so it was nice and quiet.
*
We arrived at the dorms in no time. And just like last season, we were assigned different floors based on our ranks.
This pseudo-caste system would continue until the team missions began.
Ranks 11 through 25 were assigned to spacious five-person rooms. Since the rooms were divided into groups of five by rank, I was separated from the 20th-ranked Lee Se-jin. I was lucky.
“Whoa! I’m claiming this bed!”
As soon as we entered the bedroom, which consisted of two bunk beds and one single bed, one guy theatrically dove onto the single bed.
He probably wanted to look mischievous and cheerful for the cameras.
I took a bottom bunk.
Then, once again, Seon A-hyun hurriedly tossed his luggage onto the bunk above mine.
“…….”
When I looked at him, he lowered his head. I was starting to feel like I’d picked up a lackey….
Even when we changed into our provided tracksuits and gathered, he followed me like a shadow.
Looking at him, it seemed he found the high-tension aspiring celebrities overwhelming. He probably felt more comfortable with a relatively quiet "ordinary" person.
He didn't seem like someone who would cause trouble by being associated with me, so I just let him be.
However, since even a minor argument could lead to my personality being criticized, I decided not to get close enough to feel obligated to pick him for a team.
“From now on, you will enter full-scale training! It’s called—the Customized Moving Class!”
The MC introduced the system everyone already knew in an exaggerated tone.
“Based on the scores you received from the judges, you have been assigned grades for Vocal and Dance!”
“Yes!”
“Each class is divided into Advanced, Intermediate, and Basic, and we aim to improve your skills through customized training for each level.”
Up to this point, it was similar to other auditions. The problem came next.
“And your classes can change in real-time at any moment!”
“……!”
“Everything depends on your effort and progress!”
For example, if someone in ‘Intermediate Vocal’ absorbed the lessons like a sponge and suddenly improved, they would move to ‘Advanced Vocal’ starting from the next session.
Of course, it also meant that if you did poorly, you’d be demoted immediately.
They would do this for ten days, and then the final grades would be determined through individual evaluations of the theme song.
It was a way to ruthlessly burn through the kids' mental health to get footage.
“This badge goes to… Participant Park Moon-dae!”
“Yes.”
As expected, I received ‘Advanced’ for Vocal and ‘Basic’ for Dance.
It felt a bit embarrassing to pin a shining gold Vocal badge and a dull bronze Dance badge to my shoulders.
The badges were so exaggerated they looked cheap.
For the record, there were cases where no badge was given at all.
On the internet, people called this the ‘Grade-less’ rank.
“Those without badges are… Ungraded. These participants will attend the Basic classes, but they must also receive special overtime training at night.”
Honestly, if you gritted your teeth and did it, it was a better position for getting camera time than just being in the Basic class. It was easy to build a narrative around.
But I suppose the person actually going through it would feel differently.
The former child actor trembling nearby was a good example.
He’d apparently been in a thriller movie ten million people watched a decade ago, and he went on and on about how he hadn't been able to work since then due to unfortunate circumstances.
That participant was Ungraded in Dance and Basic in Vocal. On the status window, they were F-rank and D-rank, respectively.
He’d probably come on the show looking for a career comeback rather than wanting to be an idol.
The only surprising thing was that his name was also ‘Lee Se-jin.’
I didn't know there would be people with the same name. Naturally, the one who debuted was the other one.
Why didn't I think this one was the Lee Se-jin who debuted? Because he looked exactly like a pawn that would be used for early buzz and then discarded.
For starters, he couldn't hide his displeasure and was openly expressing it.
The PD is going to love that.
Once all the badges were distributed, a massive screen lit up.
“The song you will be practicing is now being revealed. For the next ten days! You will do your best to master this song and present it to the shareholders of <Idol Inc.>!”
It was a song that would be played everywhere until next year, to the point of exhaustion. Even as a civil service exam student who had cut off all media, I remembered the choreography for the chorus.
It wasn't quite on the level of <POP☆CON>, but the moves were catchy enough to follow.
“The song for this Re-listing season is… <Shining Star>!”
Along with a catchy beat, lyrics that were just the right amount of overwhelming and tolerably cheesy began to flow.
—Standing on this stage, me
You probably don’t know yet
The STAR LIGHT surging inside me
I’ll approach you like a flash of light
A dancer appeared on the screen and performed the choreography. Exclamations and strange groans broke out everywhere.
And I realized it, too.
The difficulty of that chorus was a fake-out.
To make it popular, they’d made that part easy to follow, but the intro was insanely complex.
The first verse flew by before I could even think about memorizing it. And then the chorus exploded.
—The one shining on the stage today is
Just me!
Yes, the Shining Star you made
Just me!
Finally waking up to radiate light
Watch closely, this moment~
I’m the one shining the brightest!
Even ‘that choreography’ in the chorus—once I saw the footwork, it looked like I’d trip and fall trying to do it.
I made up my mind immediately.
“Status Window.”
Let’s just… not sleep.
“…Activate ‘Sleep is for the Dead.’”
*
Calories. I had to calculate my calories carefully.
What I mean is, I should have realized sooner that my calorie consumption would be intense since I was active without sleeping. I almost got cranky from hunger while pulling my first all-nighter.
‘W-would you… like this?’
And then Seon A-hyun gave me a chocolate bar. After a few words of thanks, we started speaking casually.
He was the same age as ‘Park Moon-dae.’ Speaking casually to a young kid really made me feel like I’d regained my youth.
From the second day on, I crammed as much of the three meals and drinks into my mouth as possible. The food… well, it tasted like military rations, but I liked that there was no limit on the amount.
And so, on the ninth day.
I had memorized the entire choreography. From start to finish.
Being able to use the night hours without fatigue definitely had an effect.
Furthermore, I’d leveled up a few times.
[Name: Park Moon-dae (Ryu Gun-woo)]
Level: 7
Title: None
Vocal: A-
Dance: D
Appearance: C+
Star Quality: C
Traits: Infinite Potential, Sleep is for the Dead (D)
!Status Effect: Debut or Die
Remaining Points: 3
Fortunately, there were quite a few achievements in the hundreds up to 500.
However, I intentionally didn't distribute the points.
Doing it now wouldn't have much of an impact.
Up to today… 5 people.
Already, five people had been promoted from Basic to Intermediate in Dance.
Since it’s rare for someone’s skills to improve drastically after just a few days of training, most of them probably just messed up their first evaluation and were now finding their true skill level.
If I were included in that group, I’d likely just be lumped in and passed over.
Then the promotion would be meaningless. I had to show that my skills had improved more dramatically.
I even had enough usable footage for it.
Because I’d been torn apart by the choreographer since the first day.
—Again!
—Feet, bend your left foot!
—Why are you swinging your arms? Hold them up!
On the first day, as soon as the class started, the choreographer dropped the formalities and ruthlessly crushed the participants from all sides.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere grew as heavy as a funeral home.
And as the class was ending, the choreographer singled me out.
—Moon-dae.
—Yes.
—If you keep doing the choreography like this, you’re hopeless for the next evaluation.
—…….
I wasn't exceptionally bad in this class.
It was the ‘Basic’ class, after all. If I had to rank myself, I was probably around the middle. I was at the level of an ordinary person who wasn't a klutz trying their best.
But I had the highest initial rank in this room. So, this was a matter of expectations.
Sure enough, lines similar to those from last season came out.
—Honestly, I’m even thinking this. I gave you the wrong rank. I don’t think you had the skills to get that rank in the first place.
He was right. He probably knew that but was doing this for the sake of the broadcast.
—Let’s do this properly, okay? Get your head in the game.
—Yes.
Unless someone is truly gifted, it’s rare for basic skills they never had to suddenly appear after a few days of training.
But since it was possible for me, I just nodded as if I were determined.
Empty criticism and advice didn't move me. But what mattered was that it looked like something that would hurt someone’s feelings to an observer.
I couldn't let such provocative material go to waste.
So, I have to wait.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Yeah, don’t give up.”
The choreographer nodded at the greetings of the participants, who were panting and drenched in sweat.
After confirming that the staff were packing up the cameras, he looked at his phone and left the classroom.
That was the end of the morning dance class.
Now, after lunch, it was the vocal class.
Lunch was bulgogi and seaweed soup.
I ate as much as I could. Then, after a quick shower, I headed to the Advanced Vocal class alone.
Ah, come to think of it, I have a confession to make.
“Then Moon-dae should try singing it~”
I’m currently coasting on vocals.