Idol Project
As soon as the training session wrapped up, my vision went dark for a moment before brightening again.
"Let's see."
Back in the bathroom like this, I immediately checked the settlement.
Vital Energy settlement from training in progress.
Please wait a moment.
You have acquired 1060 Vital Energy. (Cumulative total: 1795)
"......Whoa!"
The moment I saw the amount of Vital Energy I'd gained this time, I couldn't help letting out an exclamation.
I'd known all along that the settlement amount increased dramatically with each stage, but I never dreamed it'd be this much.
'Come to think of it, how high are Minseo's training stats now?'
With that thought, I pulled up Minseo's info right away.
"She leveled up a ton."
Tongue clicking in amazement, I poked around in case any new features had unlocked. But nothing happened—looks like no new functions without a user level-up.
'Should I level up?'
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I shook my head.
'......Nah, save it for later.'
Didn't need it right now anyway. With my thoughts sorted, I closed the Manager App and stepped out of the bathroom.
There in the karaoke lobby, Eunha and the others were chattering away.
"Oppa, hurry up!"
"I'm hungry!"
The second they spotted me, they chirped like baby birds begging their mom for food. Chuckling wryly, I led Eunha and the crew out of the karaoke joint.
"What should we eat?"
"Pizza!"
Jihyun shouted the instant I asked. I glanced at Eunha and Ye-eun to check if that worked for them, and they both nodded.
From their reactions, they'd probably already decided on lunch while I was in the bathroom.
"Let's go."
Menu settled, we headed into a nearby pizza place. We hit the salad bar, ordered a pie, grabbed our salads, and returned to our seats.
"So, what should we name our team?"
Jihyun kicked things off. Eunha, Ye-eun, and I all clamped our mouths shut like we'd eaten honey.
Jihyun thumped her chest in frustration, then turned to me.
"......Oppa, got any brilliant ideas?"
"Even if you ask me......"
"Normally, the P-guy goes 'Ta-da!' and nails it."
"......"
It was an impossible ask, no matter how you sliced it. Still, if they were leaning on me like this, I needed to come up with something good.
I put on a thoughtful face for a sec, then spoke up.
"......How about Valeria?"
"Valeria?"
I nodded and explained.
"It means brave and strong...... That's what we're lacking right now. So, let's make it our goal—that's why I thought of it as the team name. What do you think?"
Looking around at them, they all seemed to like it, nodding along.
"I'm in!"
Eunha raised her hand in approval, followed by Ye-eun's nod.
"Not bad, P-guy!"
With those two on board, Jihyun patted my back in praise, then grabbed Eunha and Ye-eun's hands.
"......Let's do this!"
At Jihyun's words, Eunha and Ye-eun exchanged glances, then nodded and chimed in.
"Yeah!"
"Sure."
Like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swearing brotherhood at the Peach Garden, the three clasped hands tight, united in spirit.
'Team Valeria, huh......'
No one knew if they'd snag first in the idol project, but with Jihyun's fire, it felt like they just might.
'......Guess I'll cheer 'em on too.'
Smiling faintly, I quietly watched the trio.
'Master's watching......'
Right before the match whistle, Minseo steeled herself staring down today's opponents, the Excitement Life Pink Spiders.
Was it because Master had hugged her tight and cheered her on at lunch yesterday? Her chest fluttered a bit.
And if they won today, he'd surely hold her till her bones went limp—no doubt about it.
'......Ahh.'
Just thinking about being in Master's arms made her core ache already.
"Get your head in the game! Fire up!"
Lost in thoughts of Master's embrace before the match even started, she snapped to at setter Shin Yeojeong's booming voice.
Minseo quickly got into position. Sure, Master's hugs were great, but she had to win first.
She swallowed hard, vowing inwardly.
'Master, watch me! I'll win for sure.'
Clenching her fists, Minseo locked eyes on the enemy court. The starting whistle blew, and the opponents served.
"Nice!!"
"Bump it!"
Their serve arced into our court, and Kim Yuri received it perfectly, like she'd been waiting. The ball went to the setter, then Tanya spiked it hard.
Thwack!
Despite the quick attack, Excitement Life blocked it effortlessly.
"Got it!"
The blocked ball floated back to our side, and Lee Taeyoung dashed over, barely digging it up. But it was messy from the rush.
Minseo hesitated a split second, then jumped anyway.
She could've set it safely, but she wanted that first point. And right now, they couldn't block after handling Tanya's spike.
"Nice!!"
"Woooaaahhh!!!!"
Minseo soared high and smashed it down—the ball rocketed into their court. The crowd erupted.
First point scored! Bold spike! Gained 15 EXP.
"Nice one!"
"You're the best!!"
With the first point in the bag, Shin Yeojeong and the others thumped Minseo's back in praise.
Beaming brighter than ever, Minseo flashed a grin at the camera.
'Did you see that, Master? I did great, right?'
Grinning wide at the lens, she prepped for the next play. Her moment had been caught on cam and broadcast live, charming yet more fans. Minseo steadily built her following every match.
"Alright, focus up!"
With Daehan Construction Hillstate up by one, play resumed.
"Block it!"
"Spike!"
Tanya's serve kicked off a long rally. Excitement Life was marking Minseo extra hard after her killer spike—almost overly so.
That should've opened things for Tanya, but she couldn't score. Her first spike getting blocked must've rattled her mentally.
'This isn't good.'
A bit anxious, Minseo dashed around hunting for chances.
"Back receive!"
Tanya's spike hit another block and flew back. Minseo was closest—she dove and bumped it.
But poor control sent it sailing wide. Her chronic issue reared its head again.
"S-sorry."
She apologized on reflex. Shin Yeojeong patted her head.
"What're you sorry for? If you hadn't chased it down like that, no one would've been there."
"Yeah, Minseo. We're the ones who should be sorry. We'll set you up—make it count."
Comforted by her seniors and peers, Minseo shook off the regret and nodded.
'If I'd just received that cleanly......'
Still, she couldn't let go completely. Then, notifications popped up before her eyes.
"Ah!"
Seeing the alerts, Minseo gasped in surprise. But it didn't stop there.
......
'This many......'
It was the first time Minseo had seen her stats jump this much. Smiling faintly, she clenched her fists tight.
Such a huge boost meant Master had high hopes for her play—no doubt.
Minseo got back in position, laser-focused. This time, she'd receive flawlessly.
"Receive!"
And the chance came quick.
Connected to setter just before ball hit floor! Clutch defense! Gained 10 EXP.
Her dive receive flew straight and steady to Shin Yeojeong. The setter's eyes widened in shock but recovered captain-quick, setting Tanya for the point.
No one saw that defense coming—not us, not them. Viewers and casters alike gasped, praising Minseo's play.
"Yo, what's gotten into you?"
"All your showoff genes firing at once?"
They laughed and cheered her defense. Everyone knew her sets were shaky—her surprise brilliance shocked the team.
'Not showoff—real skill.'
While they reeled, Minseo smirked inwardly. When Master boosted her volleyball stats, her game improved drastically.
Short chuckle, then she strutted back proudly, nailing more defenses. Tanya finally heated up, racking points.
Excitement Life realized they couldn't just mark Minseo—they scrambled to block Tanya too.
Point scored! Stellar defense-to-kill! Gained 10 EXP.
"Nice!"
That freed Minseo up big time. She feasted on points till the end of the first set.
"Great job—keep it up!"
"Minseo, you're in the zone!"
The coach and team lavished praise as the set ended in her near-solo carry. Honestly, her stats were way beyond 2nd Division now—national team material, even. Her 80 scoring prowess rivaled any foreigner.
"Alright, sweep 'em 3-0 today!"
The hyped coach rallied them.
"Yes!"
The team roared back, charging into set two.