Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: 1. A Strange Ability Has Appeared
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This Life is Space Star Prologue
Idols.
Whenever you see those idols who not only grace every kind of media but also spread K-pop around the world, you've probably had this thought at least once.
‘How did they make it?’
Experts cite visuals, singing ability, dance skills, or variety show sense as the keys to their success. Of course, it's not an exact analysis.
After all, skill doesn't always lead straight to popularity.
But it's true that the greater the talent, the higher the chances of success.
Why am I telling you this?
Because I've gained a talent.
A very special one that no one else has.
This Life is Space Star Episode 1
“Pardon?”
My head rang.
Called up to the top-floor office at headquarters, I responded to the bolt-from-the-blue news with a dazed voice.
“What did you say?”
“Exactly what you heard.”
The executive director adjusted his glasses with an awkward expression, leaving me to gape vacantly.
“So... you're telling me to leave the company?”
“Not to leave the company. To be precise, you're being dropped from the debut lineup.”
“Why?”
I couldn't accept it.
“Why am I being dropped from the debut group?”
“Woojoo.”
“No, three weeks ago, you told me the debut lineup was finalized. You even said the group name was set as TNT. But now, all of a sudden...”
“Debuts can fall through at any time. You know how this industry works, Woojoo. No one can relax until the debut is perfect. Even your seniors went through this kind of thing all the time.”
He wasn't wrong.
TJ Entertainment.
One of Korea's so-called Big Four agencies, TJ Entertainment had debuted numerous top boy and girl groups since the 2000s, earning it the nickname of idol powerhouse in the industry.
They'd produced so many idol groups, and looking at the precedents from senior groups at TJ, last-minute member changes really were commonplace.
But I never imagined it would happen to me.
“I know it’s hard to accept. But...”
“Is it because of my dancing?”
There was no answer, but it was affirmation enough.
“There was a planning team meeting recently, and there was a lot of talk. They said the choreography balance doesn't work. If we debut like this, it could hurt the team's image.”
“...”
“Your division head and I argued to give you a chance since you have potential, but it was decided higher up, so I couldn't do anything.”
The only one above the executive director was one person.
Chairman Park Tae-jun.
TJ Entertainment's CEO and the entertainment industry's famed Midas Touch.
When the top boss had decided to cut me from the debut group, there was nothing more to say.
“It's a shame, Woojoo.”
It felt like the sky was collapsing.
A sensation beyond any explanation.
The company I'd devoted nearly six years to—the one where debut was right around the corner—was trying to cut me loose.
Like saying our product had too many defects to sell.
My stomach churned.
Heat rushed to my face, and it felt like my insides were twisting.
The cucumber I'd eaten for my diet rose to my throat and sank back down.
As I tried to steady my ragged breathing, the executive director gave me a look of pity.
“You okay?”
What hurt most was that I had no ground to argue back.
Because the company was right.
Trainee Seon Wooju.
Good at singing but lacking in dance, always scraping by monthly evaluations on looks alone—that was the gossip.
So getting cut for dancing wasn't strange.
But even knowing it was true, the anger boiled up uncontrollably.
If that was the case, they shouldn't have picked me for the debut group in the first place.
We'd taken profile photos, unpacked in the dorm—now they wanted me out?
It was infuriating.
“Woojoo.”
“I'm sorry.”
Tears slipped out before I knew it; I grabbed a tissue and dabbed my eyes.
Maybe once they started, they wouldn't stop.
It was the first time I'd cried in front of someone since Grandma got sick.
After a while, I calmed down enough to take deep breaths and sit straight.
“Better now?”
“Yes.”
The executive director's face was impassive.
Of course.
To someone who cut trainees every month, my tears were probably routine.
“So...”
My voice came out hoarse.
“What happens to me?”
“You have three options.”
He explained.
“First, leave the idol trainee side and switch to acting.”
“Acting?”
Acting out of nowhere?
“It's a suggestion from the management division. Your visuals make up for the dancing. You photograph well too. A lot of people said it's a waste to use that face on idols.”
Trying to lighten the mood, he smiled.
“Why not give acting a shot since it's come to this? We've recruited a lot of actors lately and built up know-how. We'll even produce our own drama soon. If you go for it, the company will support you fully.”
“And the second?”
“If you still want to be an idol, I can connect you to another agency.”
“Another agency?”
“Like Lemon or DNS—companies we're friendly with but smaller.”
Mid-tier agencies, in other words.
He continued.
“If none of that works, the last option is to terminate the contract.”
Stay and switch to acting, transfer to another agency and train as an idol, or end the contract—pick one.
I asked.
“If I go to another company, can I debut?”
“That depends on you.”
The executive director gave an ambiguous smile.
Basically, start over from scratch elsewhere.
I let out an involuntary dry laugh.
“Whatever you choose, we'll respect it, but we'd prefer you go the acting route...”
I didn't hear what else he said.
I was just numb.
Even if someone told me the Earth would end tomorrow, it couldn't feel less real.
A whirlwind of thoughts flooded my mind.
Is this really happening?
Am I actually getting cut from the debut group?
What do I tell Grandma?
Packing up from the dorm is going to be so embarrassing.
What have I even been doing here for six years, Seon Wooju?
Thoughts branched out like stems from a seed, cluttering my head.
Finally, sorting through them, I made my choice.
“Executive Director.”
“Yeah. Decided?”
“Yes.”
A decision I'd surely regret later.
“I'll... terminate the contract.”
* * *
“Woojoo.”
“...”
“Hey, Seon Wooju.”
“...”
Someone shook my shoulder.
I'd dozed off.
Snapping to, I saw a young man peering at me worriedly from the driver's seat.
A bespectacled guy.
He looked just like the ghost from the book *Math Ghost* I'd read as a kid, minus the pale skin and beard.
Yoon Seok-hwan.
Someone I'd known for a long time.
His official title: management team agent in charge of trainees.
Worry clouded his face.
“You okay?”
“Sorry, hyung. Must've nodded off.”
“We're at the dorm. Time to get up.”
The car had stopped in an apartment complex in Gangnam-gu.
This was the dorm for the boy group TNT, the one I'd been part of.
After terminating my contract at the company, I'd come to pack my things.
Seok-hwan hyung driving the Carnival was the company's final courtesy.
“It's ridiculous.”
“What is?”
“When debut was confirmed, it felt like heaven. Now it's like I'm standing at the gates of hell.”
Seok-hwan hyung had no reply.
“The kids? Not at the dorm?”
“They're all at the training center this time of day.”
“Yeah, busy with choreography practice.”
It already felt like someone else's story.
The others probably thought I'd been called away for profile shoots or something minor.
Yoon Seok-hwan adjusted his glasses and asked.
“You really leaving without saying anything?”
“It'd just make things awkward.”
“Still, after all this time together, they'll be hurt. Especially Tae-hyun—he'll be pissed if he finds out you left without a word...”
“Seok-hwan hyung.”
My voice cracked.
“Sorry, but I don't have the bandwidth to worry about anyone else right now.”
“My bad.”
“It's not your fault. I'll grab my stuff and be quick.”
Worried it'd get awkward if I lingered, I hopped out of the passenger seat.
Apartment 17th floor.
The elevator to the dorm shot straight up without stopping.
“...”
Inside the dorm.
Fit for an eight-member group, the living room had a long clothing rack piled high with clothes.
I rushed to my room and packed.
I hadn't brought all my clothes from my Gunsan home, so there wasn't much.
A family photo from when I was a baby with my parents.
A few outfits.
And some funky-smelling training clothes that needed washing.
As I packed and headed out, emotions surged.
I bit my lip hard to hold back the tears.
Back at the car, still fighting them off, Yoon Seok-hwan asked worriedly.
“What about a place to stay? Got somewhere for tonight?”
“Hmm...”
“Crash at my place if you want?”
“Nah. Don't wanna burden your family.”
“I'm independent now, dude.”
“Even worse if you're alone.”
He chuckled lightly at my joke.
“I'm heading down to Gunsan, hyung.”
“Wasn't your school in Seoul?”
“I dropped out to focus on the debut group.”
The company had tried to talk me out of it, saying it wasn't necessary, but back then, debut was all I cared about.
Stupid Seon Wooju.
“Told Grandma yet?”
“Not yet.”
“She'll worry...”
“Worry? Nah, she'll cuss me out good. ‘You damn kid, I knew it.’”
Remembering Grandma's booming curses made me shiver.
Still.
At least I wouldn't starve.
My grandma might not be a agency chairman, but she runs a killer homestyle restaurant.
“You really quitting for good?”
“Yeah.”
I rolled down the window, and spring breeze tickled my hair.
“Feels too extreme. You should take time to think these things over. Is being an idol the only path in entertainment? There are actors, models—so many options.”
“You seem more bummed than me, hyung.”
“Of course. If I had your face, I wouldn't be doing this job.”
“Am I that good-looking?”
“Look in a mirror sometime.”
“There are tons of handsome and pretty people out there.”
Yoon Seok-hwan snorted like it was absurd.
When I started as a rookie trainee, Seok-hwan hyung was the management team's baby.
Over six years together, we'd built a real bond.
But he'd risen from rookie to agent.
While I stayed forever-trainee.
I smiled and said.
“No more entertainment for me.”
“Why?”
“Just... reality check time, I guess. Six years prepping for this, and I'm sick of it.”
“So what now?”
“Dunno...”
Maybe because of the warm spring air, Gangnam streets buzzed with crowds. Staring out the window, I spoke.
“Maybe live normally. Study, go to college, see cherry blossoms in spring. Date. Go to the army when it's time.”
“Ugh.”
“What?”
“The army... you'll see.”
His ‘you'll find out when you get there’ look left me tilting my head.
Before I knew it, the car pulled up.
“We're here.”
At the express bus terminal, Seok-hwan hyung handed me his business card.
“Woojoo.”
“Yeah?”
“You might not be thinking straight right now from the shock. You could swear off idols forever. But life is unpredictable. So if you change your mind...”
“Call this number, right?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled and stuck out his hand.
“Take care. See you around.”
After the handshake, I got out.
Slinging on my single backpack.
I glanced at the car trailing exhaust as it drove off, then looked around before entering the terminal.
Spring was everywhere.
People's clothes, the flowers around—everything screamed spring.
“Ah, nice weather.”
Gazing at the clear sky, I headed inside.
At that moment, I thought.
I'd never get tangled up with idols again.
But that was my mistake.
Three years later, my life turned upside down.