Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Even as a Villain, I Want to Debut
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A room overflowing with trash.
A boy scrolled through the audition program schedule on his smartphone screen.
The boy's name was Do Won-woo. He was a trainee recently cut from his agency.
He was on the verge of joining an idol survival show, dreaming of debut...
'Why the hell am I even here?'
At a time when he should have been more desperate than anyone, the boy didn't even know why he was in this position.
Because the soul inside the boy's body right now wasn't Do Won-woo—it was Moon Do-hyun.
Moon Do-hyun was what you'd call a genius.
Top of his class. Perfect mock exam scores. A living study machine with not a single wrong answer.
He treated such feats as everyday life, always maintaining utter perfection.
But that perfection only applied to academics.
"Why should I be friends with you?"
Kids who approached him trying to get close fell away quickly.
"That Moon Do-hyun guy's got a weird personality."
"Thinks he's hot shit just 'cause he studies well."
"Forget it, let's not hang with him."
Moon Do-hyun didn't care.
Friends were nothing but annoying, useless obstacles that got in the way of studying.
He had one goal.
To escape this pathetic rock bottom and climb to the very top.
So he ignored them. In the end, he'd be the one laughing.
Bang!
That's what he thought.
Until the day of the college entrance exam, when he got into a car accident.
[You have died.]
He opened his eyes to a blue window staring back at him.
'So I really croaked, huh.'
"Ha..."
Instead of rage at his sudden death, all that came out was a hollow laugh.
Looking back, it was a ridiculous life. Never properly enjoying his youth, clawing his way up desperately, only to end up dying at rock bottom.
"So what happens to me now?"
Ah, so that's how it works.
Maybe my life turned out like this because I drew a bad fate to begin with.
I didn't love the idea of my destiny being decided by some lottery, but there was no helping it, so I waited silently for the results.
"Possessor?"
The unfamiliar term made him wary, and the system added an explanation.
Ahh, got it.
He had a rough idea of what it meant...
'But I know nothing about that stuff.'
Having only studied his whole life, he was a complete outsider to that world.
Should've read some webtoons or webnovels if he'd known. No point regretting now, though.
'Another lottery.'
Well, since he didn't know anything anyway, random might be best.
He just prayed it wasn't some weird world. Monsters jumping out or zombies showing up would be a nightmare.
Flower Path Idol?
He'd never heard of it.
'I don't even know what it's about...'
The unexpected novel left him unsure how to react.
Still, silver lining—he could think positively. An idol story probably meant no monsters or zombies from hellish worlds.
"Oh, for real?"
That was welcome news amid the uncertainty.
He'd been lost on how to proceed without knowing the story.
'Wait, right now? Like this?'
Before he could prepare, his vision went pitch black in an instant.
His blackened vision cleared.
"Where...?"
The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the view of a cement wall outside the window.
'Basement apartment, huh.'
Looking around, the dismal conditions came into view one by one.
The wallpaper was discolored with mold, and the floor was littered with damp boxes and leftover delivery containers in a filthy pile.
'Definitely not a cushy character.'
The familiar stench of poverty.
He'd smelled it plenty in his past life, living in similar squalor.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped as he leaned against the wall.
What kind of system stuck a guy with two unlucky lives in a row?
His previous one had been exhausting enough due to poverty...
But he couldn't just sit there crying about it.
'Gotta change it.'
The biggest silver lining was his past life's memories.
So if he retook the entrance exam now, he could live the life he wanted...
"What?"
He froze for a moment.
"Can't I just live my life however I want?"
As someone who'd never even read a single possession story, this development was beyond imagination.
It wasn't just possession—the system made him fulfill the character's goals too.
"...Ah."
Reading the system window chilled him to the core.
'So I have to become an idol.'
This was bad.
Telling him, who only knew a couple K-pop groups, to be an idol?
To someone who'd only dreamed of acing the entrance exam and going to college, it was like a bolt from the blue.
"Probably easier to ace the entrance exam."
He muttered to himself with a hollow laugh.
"What happens if I fail to debut?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a warning chime rang, and a red window appeared.
If life goal is not achieved, fate remains unchanged. Do Won-woo's death date is fixed in 3 years.
"...Ha."
Speechless.
So if he didn't debut, he'd die in three years, on the original death date?
'Do Won-woo's eighteen now—what the hell does he do to die at twenty-one?'
He'd really drawn the short straw this time.
No ignoring the system and living freely now.
Despite the sigh-worthy reality, he had no choice but to give it a shot.
He didn't want this life ending early.
Flower Path Idol.
The protagonist wasn't Do Won-woo, but a character named Lee Hae-won.
Lee Hae-won was bright, energetic, and without a single rough edge— the epitome of a protagonist.
His story was perfect too.
A rural boy who only knew guitar comes to Seoul for the first time, joins an audition program. With zero dance experience, he grows tremendously and debuts successfully.
Lee Hae-won, beaming on stage, sharing his acceptance speech.
"Thank you so much to everyone who's supported me so far! I love you all again!"
Of course, even flower-path Lee Hae-won faced crises.
Malicious forces emerged to block his debut during the survival show—one of them being Do Won-woo.
Do Won-woo's life was so wretched it fit the word "tragic."
Poverty and abuse. Having either one was hell; he had both.
Parents who grabbed a belt at the slightest inconvenience. Classmates whispering behind his back about the kid who got beat.
Sadness, anger, anxiety, despair. Relative deprivation from not having what other kids took for granted.
Those emotions began rooting in the once-pure child's heart.
Why was I even born? One night, crying himself to sleep with that thought.
"Hey, interested in becoming an idol by any chance?"
Passing through the school gate, Do Won-woo got a business card from a woman.
"You've got the perfect idol look."
"Me?"
"Never heard you're handsome?"
Born into the worst conditions, Do Won-woo had one saving grace.
His face.
'He's so handsome.'
'What's his name?'
'He could be a celebrity.'
He realized he was handsome after elementary school graduation.
As time passed, his looks matured perfectly, and the blatant whispers faded.
Thus, despite being hopeless at singing and dancing, Do Won-woo entered TSQ Entertainment on his face alone.
TSQ Entertainment. One of Korea's top agencies—a giant where debuting meant a flower path was all but guaranteed.
Do Won-woo worked hard. Growth was minimal compared to effort, but he believed he could change his fate.
"Sorry, but this is the end of the line for you."
Until the sudden dismissal notice from the company.
"Why?"
"Won-woo, don't take this too hard."
The company offered consolation, saying he didn't fit the group's image.
Maybe not their intent, but that's how it sounded to Do Won-woo.
'We're branding as high-class; a poverty-stricken kid like you doesn't fit.'
Thinking of his dad causing a scene at the company begging for money, the decision wasn't incomprehensible.
A kid with issues. No need to take risks for him.
'Was I really only worth that much?'
Do Won-woo went home.
"What, you got cut from being an idol? Told you you couldn't hack it."
"Big companies won't lend a dime. Why'd you even cling on?"
"What're you gonna do now? I just sigh thinking why I even had a kid like you."
Daily verbal abuse from his parents poured down.
'Ha, maybe I should just die.'
In the end, Do Won-woo snapped.
If he didn't debut, his reason for living would vanish forever.
So he joined the idol survival show as his last shot.
In the early broadcast days, Do Won-woo's handsome face got him screen time and popularity.
But as time passed, public opinion soured.
He started neck-and-neck with Lee Hae-won, but the gap widened, changing how people saw him.
"Ha..."
Do Won-woo wanted to die.
Why wasn't he improving when everyone else was?
He'd worked just as hard—stayed in the practice room later even.
"Won-woo. Why are you crying? The comments?"
One day, Lee Hae-won spotted him crying and offered advice.
"Dunno. But wouldn't it be better to practice more than stressing over that stuff?"
There was more to say after that.
'Won-woo, you're hardworking, so push more and you'll make it.'
But a sudden author call pulled Lee Hae-won away, and Do Won-woo missed the rest.
In that moment, malice took root. That's how it sounded to Do Won-woo.
'Practice instead of reading that crap, you whiny loser lol'
Do Won-woo looked flashy on the outside but was twisted within.
Lee Hae-won, born poor like him but loved and raised. Climbing from nothing on effort alone, earning recognition.
That scratched something in Do Won-woo.
'...Why only you?'
From then on, he became the villain blocking the protagonist's flower path.
But his schemes always failed, earning contempt even from former friends.
Like every novel villain, his end was miserable.
His plots against the protagonist exposed, he met a pathetic demise.
The novel ended with the protagonist's beautiful stage finale. No word on Do Won-woo's fate.
A side story unpacked his backstory, sparking minor sympathy, but no readers remembered him.
Do Won-woo was just a tool to make the protagonist shine—nothing more, nothing less.
So...
He had to debut this guy?
'Singing's abysmal, dance is mediocre for trainee years.'
Handsome face aside, Do Won-woo had zero talents.
'Normally, you'd quit midway without that much talent, right?'
A sudden curiosity hit.
Why push the grueling idol path? Comments were right—influencer life would've been easier.
'Must've been that kind of feeling.'
First business card from a big agency sparked hope that he might be worth something amid the attention.
Hard to accept that hope shattering. He'd dreamed of idol success, adored by fans on stage.
'...Foolish hope.'
But even that foolishness felt familiar.
Both lived staring up from rock bottom. Neither made it up before the end.
'If Do Won-woo's dream is to become a successful idol...'
He resolved.
I'll make that dream come true for him.