Debut Preparations (1)
The name of the newly added member was Nam Eungyu. He was 18 years old, the same age as Kang Jun. We trainees generally got along with everyone, but with 16 kids in the class, cliques were bound to form. So, I didn't have any close memories of hanging out with him.
Unless something crazy happened, we'd be debuting as this lineup, so we welcomed the new member with open arms. We'd be spending the next few years together through thick and thin—bad blood would just hurt everyone, right?
The atmosphere was warm and fuzzy. But it didn't last long before tension set in.
As debut prep kicked into high gear, the company's demands ramped up big time. The manager had mentioned cameras following us starting next week, and sure enough, when I got to the company that Monday morning, a camera greeted me.
"Already filming?"
"Act like the cameras aren't there as much as possible. Part of this is to get you guys used to them early on."
Kang Kyungtae, who'd arrived before me, was standing there stiff as a board, looking super tense. Three cameras were trained on him, plus one mounted on the practice room wall.
Suffocating. Totally suffocating.
I walked over and poked his side. "You okay, hyung?"
"Yeah."
"Your face is rock solid."
"...This is my normal face."
"Pfft!"
A snicker burst out before I could stop it. Gotta hand it to Kyungtae—his tough-guy act is something else. Too bad I have to call him hyung.
He knew his excuse wasn't landing, and his ears were turning red. I grinned slyly and pointed at the camera. "Ugh, honestly, I'm the one more nervous than hyung. Cameras are intimidating as hell."
"Not much experience in front of them, huh?"
"Yeah. First time was that profile shoot."
"Oh, right. Perfect timing—you mentioned it. The profile pics are out."
We were chatting when the manager cut in. "Wait, already?"
"Not for some magazine or anything; company just wanted to give you experience. Editing doesn't take long. Hang on."
The manager spread out the photos.
"These from back then? Editing makes them look way better."
"Want 'em? Send you the files via email."
"Please do."
"Me too."
We'd take tons more photos like this down the line, but I wanted to keep the first ones.
Kyungtae glanced at his pic, then at mine, eyes going wide. Even I had to admit mine looked suspiciously good—like someone cheated.
"I came out great, right?"
"......"
No response? Guess even he thought so. He alternated between my photo and his, looking all sulky. He's pretty handsome himself, but standing next to me, anyone would look lesser.
Maybe I should cheer him up—then the manager spoke up.
"Oh, and dorm's ready. Tell your parents and pack your stuff to move in."
Fuck, dorm?
I swallowed the curse with superhuman effort. "...Dorm?"
"Yeah. To build teamwork—move in ASAP, everyone."
I figured post-debut schedules would be brutal, but a dorm was on par with the reality cams—an unexpected nightmare. Living in one meant 24/7 with the members. It could mean no more late-night meetups with Jua noona.
What the hell do I do?
Sneaking out at night? Anyone spotting that would get suspicious.
Reality cams and dorm life hit me like a double whammy.
The trials didn't end there.
"Urk—"
"Dude, no dry heaving while we're eating."
"Ugh~ Still hungry."
The diet. We'd had meal plans since making the debut team, but the manager wasn't watching 24/7, so we could sneak snacks. Once confirmed for debut, though, high-calorie stuff was off-limits entirely.
With reality cams filming every meal, there was zero chance to snag anything. Except that one time we swiped food, hid in the stairs, and split chocolate—otherwise, proper food felt like ancient history.
This is so unfair. I don't even gain weight!!
Poni's fantasy body needed zero dieting. And if I somehow packed on pounds? Cheat coins could fix my weight directly.
Still, I couldn't complain while the others choked down grass, heaving.
Surprisingly, Kyungtae struggled most with the diet. Not fat at all, but cams made him look puffy, so he had to stay under average weight to not stand out.
Gonna lose my mind. Raised stamina too damn high!!
Two full weeks in the dorm now. Zero coin income.
Tap tap tap tap—
Shiiiiiibaalllllll~!!!!!!
My overflowing energy was so obvious it'd blow my cover with the members any second. Mornings? Morning wood that wouldn't quit.
Knock knock knock—
"Hyung, at it again?"
"...Hearing your voice deflated it. Thanks."
"Sorry to interrupt. Had to poop bad, hyung."
"I'm killing you, Uyeon."
Two weeks without women. This is hell.
I couldn't keep ducking into the bathroom multiple times a day, handling it right-handed. Time for a plan!
Only one I could consult: Poni. I needed that guy.
"I'm losing my shit."
"Two weeks celibate, and this is me. Not losing weight from diet—it's from blue balls."
Idols: endlessly close to women, yet must stay distant. Add dorm life and reality cams? Zero chances.
Poni had a duty to fix this.
"Don't wanna see me snap? You fix it."
"No 'reviewing, empathizing' bullshit. Solution, now! I'll enlighten myself at this rate."
"Don't want that—find a way. I'm dead serious."
"Surveillance everywhere!! Uyeon's yapping all day—his voice still echoes! Can't even convenience store excuse 'cause diet—no snacks. I've tried everything!"
Jua noona's desperate too after two weeks; begging for even an hour. Cruel to her and me.
"There's a way? Why say now!!"
"Coins make it possible?"
"What item?"
"Use night hours? But without getting spotted? Dorms aren't solo rooms."
Put doll on bed for outing. After business, think "back to doll"—swaps you with it. No sneaking back in.
"One-use?"
"Damn, perfect for me."
"Cheapest, huh?"
Looked OP, but "cheap" means lesser quality?
"Why more?"
"No pretend?"
"Mimics me?"
Holy shit. Beyond imagination.
"Prices?"
Not 10-20 coins. Sweat already.
4k and 20k coins.
"Fuck! No morals. How?!"
"No way at all? Can't hold out."
"Ha... gonna lose it."
Brainstorm hard. Can't afford as-is. 20k? Over 6k sex—hell no. But 4k... maybe doable.
"Yo. Loans?"
Intelligent beings, probably banks.
"I know. Brutal interest?"
"You lend."
"No bank? You then?"
"All no? Sell status window?"
"Compensation gift, still 'yours'? Status window only coin source."
No coins my ass—has stash. Still attached to the status window she gave. Probably scheming to snatch it back.
Can't trust this guy after all.