3
Chapter 3
What should I do first to become an idol?
It was a rather vague question.
But given my current situation, the answer was already decided.
“I need to submit a leave of absence request first.”
The Department of Acting at Korea Arts University, where I was enrolled, prohibited students from pursuing entertainment activities.
Fortunately, it was only the beginning of September.
The semester had just started.
If I acted now, I thought I could take a leave of absence without causing any trouble for the people around me.
In less than half a day, I had completed all the necessary procedures.
“What should I do now?”
I blinked while lying flat on the bed in my studio apartment.
Under normal circumstances, I would probably audition for entertainment agencies and aim to become a trainee.
But that method wasn't particularly suitable for me.
There was one fatal disadvantage.
“Even I wouldn't readily choose an applicant like myself.”
[‘The Brightest Star’ praises your talent.]
Instead of unnecessary modesty, I simply nodded.
Judging from that alone, it was obvious that talent wasn't the problem.
Overall Rating: ★★★
▼ Detailed Ratings
- Dancing: ★★
- Singing: ★★★☆
- Appearance: ★★★
- Speech: ★☆
- Acting: ★★★★
‘I don't know why my speech ability is that terrible......’
Regardless, there wasn't any glaring weakness.
Everything was above the minimum requirement of one star.
Just in case, I rented a practice room and checked for myself.
There was a slight awkwardness in my movements, but even so, neither my dancing nor singing was particularly bad.
‘I almost wonder if the ratings are reversed.’
If I added the qualification of being an idol, however, the ratings were reasonably understandable.
But.
“Age is a problem that comes before talent, isn't it?”
[(;ㅁ;)]
If I were around the same age as my classmates, who had only just turned twenty, I would have shamelessly knocked on agency doors.
Unfortunately, I had entered university somewhat later than most.
I had no regrets about it, but now that things had turned out this way, it was a little troublesome.
Well, it wasn't as though I was particularly old.
I was only twenty-three.
The problem was that I needed to become an ‘idol’ right away.
“Going around to agencies won't get me a very warm reception.”
I knew that there were occasionally rookies who debuted despite being around my age.
But becoming an idol at twenty-three and aiming to become an idol at twenty-three were two completely different things.
It was possible that I might somehow squeeze into an opening in a debut lineup.
But that was far too optimistic.
There was a high chance I would waste precious time by getting carried away with false hope.
“I don't have enough time to go through that kind of trial and error.”
[Emergency Quest, ‘Community of Fate’]
- Remaining Balance: 100,000,000 Os
- DEADLINE: 2023/09/07
Unlike the other windows, these words never disappeared from the corner of my vision.
‘It's not like it's my debt or anything.’
Actually, it wasn't entirely bad.
Whenever my eyes happened to land on it like this, it immediately brought me back to reality.
“Five years. Five years...... I have to make the most of that time.”
According to the star's explanation, in order to repay 100 million Os on time, I had to become an idol known not only throughout South Korea but around the entire world.
It sounded simple when put that way, but it was by no means easy.
There were countless groups that disappeared after releasing only a few albums.
In an entertainment industry filled with talented people like stars in the sky, making a name for yourself was that difficult.
To summarize, starting out with my legs already being tied down like this was a problem.
“Let's give up on the conventional route.”
I boldly abandoned the option of debuting through an entertainment agency.
Once I did that, there weren't many methods left.
The most realistic one among them was participating in a survival program.
Around this time, the only idol debut survival program that had achieved any meaningful success was ‘Allmostar 99,’ which aired on the music-specialized channel Wcom.
Allmostar had been successful enough that even I, who had little interest in idols, knew about it.
The same went for HALO, the idol group that debuted through that survival show.
I vaguely remembered seeing internet articles giving them grand titles such as ‘half a million’ and ‘a legendary run.’
If I could simply join a group that had achieved, or was going to achieve, that kind of success, repaying 100 million Os wouldn't be an impossible dream.
“If only that were possible.”
Unfortunately, Allmostar had already ended its successful run several months ago.
I searched anyway, but all I got was confirmation of what I already knew.
[Music Now - Door - HALO. 20180808]
The moment I saw their sharply synchronized performance, fitting for newly debuted idols, I cleanly abandoned that idea.
Entertainment agency auditions rejected.
Survival programs rejected.
It was a desperate situation, if there ever was one.
The star seemed to think so too, because it widened its eyes like a frightened rabbit.
[(⊙x⊙;)]
“What is with that look?”
[‘The Brightest Star’ insists that age is merely a number. ......Probably.]
“Don't worry too much. There's still one method left.”
[?]
I let out a quiet laugh as I stared at the enormous question mark occupying my field of vision.
“Since things have come to this, let's be a little crooked.”
[!!!!!]
[‘The Brightest Star’ doubts the Incarnation's sense of lawfulness!]
I had only meant that we should make use of a little flexibility.
The star seemed to have interpreted my words literally.
Being suddenly treated like a potential criminal was both ridiculous and unfair, so I shook my head.
“Not illegal. Just an unconventional method.”
[?_!]
Ah, come to think of it, the star had said it had been watching me all along.
If that was the case, perhaps persuading it would be even easier.
I pulled over the cellphone I had casually tossed beside the bed.
“Just a moment. There's someone I need to contact.”
After asking the star for its understanding, I immediately called the class representative.
He was already rather drunk despite it being early in the day, and he agreed to my request without so much as a hint of suspicion.
“Apparently he barely came to school around this time. I'm surprised you even have his contact information.”
The profile I received through the messenger didn't even have the most ordinary photograph.
His name wasn't properly written either.
There was only a single star-shaped emoticon dropping down from the sky.
It was no different from the future I had left behind.
I couldn't help laughing at how stubbornly consistent his behavior was.
The star, on the other hand, still seemed puzzled.
It had claimed to have been watching me all this time.
At least it seemed to have respected a minimum level of privacy.
“Good star.”
To help the star understand, I pressed down on the comet and changed its name.
[Acting Department-16-Lee Seon]
“Do you understand now?”
An extremely dramatic reaction came immediately.
[♬♪‘The Brightest Star’ sings for joy at having such an intelligent Incarnation♪♬]
“You really are such a fuss.”
System windows containing the star began falling all over my head.
It was honestly a little distracting, but it seemed better than before, so I simply left them alone.
I waved my hand around to clear my field of vision and sent Lee Seon a message.
- Hello, sunbae-nim.
- I'm Yoo Seongha from the class of 2017.
- Is that promise we made before still valid?
As if to prove that he really was an impatient person, the number 1 next to the message disappeared almost immediately.
His reply, however, took a little longer.
Well, that was understandable.
A junior he barely knew by face had suddenly contacted him out of nowhere.
But even if he hesitated, he wouldn't refuse me.
He was the kind of person who definitely kept the promises he made.
- 16-Acting-Lee Seon: Of course it's still valid.
- 16-Acting-Lee Seon: But when?
See?
When I asked to meet as soon as possible, Lee Seon immediately gave me an answer.
- 16-Acting-Lee Seon: Then how about today?
So that's where his straightforwardness came from.
For some reason, I felt pleased and raised the corners of my lips.
But from this moment on, everything would change.
Lee Seon, me, and perhaps many more people besides us.
Certain of that, I sent my reply.
- Sounds good.
It was a remarkably small branch for something that would divide the future.
* * *
“Is there something wrong with my eyes?”
No, perhaps there was an error in the app.
Lee Seon, sitting on the floor of the practice room, glared at his cellphone.
But no matter how much he stared, the name displayed on the messenger wouldn't change.
- Yoo Seongha: I'm Yoo Seongha from the class of 2017.
Yoo Seongha.
It wasn't a familiar name, but it wasn't completely unfamiliar either.
The junior one year below him was quite well-known in various ways.
The rumors had even reached the ears of Lee Seon, who was currently taking a leave of absence.
“He's a pretty sensible person. He doesn't throw his age around, either. But somehow, he really stands out. He's subtly unusual!”
Even after thinking it over, that was an excellent description.
“Just look at how he suddenly contacted me like this.”
Lee Seon thought about it carefully, but his first and last encounter with Yoo Seongha had been several months ago in the department room.
Even then, it had lasted barely ten minutes.
At this point, simply remembering him was impressive.
“Maybe you really shouldn't judge people by their first impression.”
The reason Lee Seon had remembered Yoo Seongha all this time was because of the calm atmosphere he gave off.
Perhaps because everyone around them seemed unable to endure without expressing themselves, his classmates and juniors and seniors were generally loud.
The freshmen who had just survived the brutal entrance examinations were even more so.
Against that backdrop, Yoo Seongha, who remained quietly silent by himself, stood out instead.
Judging by how he readily played along with his classmates' childish jokes and politely treated seniors who were younger than him, he didn't seem completely lacking in social skills.
And yet, for some reason, Lee Seon felt as though Yoo Seongha always stood one step apart from them.
Even after thinking about it again, he was a person who seemed strangely devoid of warmth.
“But apparently he's completely different on stage.”
Maybe that was why it seemed even more impressive.
He also seemed like the type who would quietly carry out whatever task he was given.
Lee Seon could easily believe that even without seeing Yoo Seongha act.
Well, there were plenty of strange people in this industry.
This level of eccentricity wasn't even worth bringing up over drinks.
As though shaking off his recollections, Lee Seon roughly ran a hand through the back of his hair and looked at his cellphone screen again.
- Yoo Seongha: Is that promise we made before still valid?
He had said that the next time they met, he would buy him a meal.
But Yoo Seongha couldn't possibly have misunderstood that as anything more than a polite greeting.
“Why on earth is he clinging to that?”
It was puzzling, but he didn't think too deeply about it.
Even if it had been an empty promise, it was still something he had said.
If so, he had to take responsibility for it to the end.
“......I hate being irresponsible.”
Lee Seon stared at the corner of the practice room for a moment before finally sending his reply.
From then on, everything proceeded smoothly.
The meeting was an hour away.
If he wanted to arrive on time, he had to hurry.
While gathering the belongings he had scattered around the practice room, Lee Seon suddenly stopped.
Something he had brought along just in case caught his eye.
“That's just being overly self-conscious. Who's going to recognize me?”
After a brief internal struggle, he ultimately decided not to take out the mask.
He simply pulled his cap down over his head and left the practice room.
He had no idea that he was about to encounter a single moment, and a single person, like a comet that would completely change the course of his life.