Idol Man Confirmed

"Hmm..."

The four judges sat with grave expressions, each of them absorbed in the auditionees' profiles and nothing else. They all looked as though they were weighing the decision with the utmost care. And yet only one participant had left any real impression.

Then it happened. The ballpoint pen in Director Kim Seongtae's hand slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor.

As if they had rehearsed it, every head slowly lifted. The director rose from his seat.

"Well then. Time we made our final choice..."

Actress Hwang Mina quietly stood as well.

"Director, I was most immersed in the last person we saw. His acting was the best."

"That idol...?"

"Seo Jinwoo."

"Right... that idol. I'm with Hwang on this one... What about you two?"

At the director's question, Yoo Youngjin gave a slight nod and opened his mouth.

"Well... for someone acting for the first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, it wasn't bad. At that level, I mean..."

The three of them had lined up.

"Then what about Writer Lee?"

Lee Hyeyoung, who had been gazing quietly down at Seo Jinwoo's profile photo, let out a small laugh.

"If all three of you are saying that, I don't really have much of a choice..."

"No, no. Your opinion matters most. Among all of us, you're the one who understands Choi Dooshik best..."

Everyone nodded in agreement with the director.

If you asked who understood Choi Dooshik better than anyone alive, they would all have answered Lee Hyeyoung with one voice. She was the one who had dragged that serial killer, that psychopath, out into the world. Inside Traces of Evil, Lee Hyeyoung was as good as a creator god.

And yet, just now, she had experienced something rather absurd. She had watched someone whose understanding of the character ran deeper than her own — deeper than the person who had created Choi Dooshik. Of course, pride would not let her say so out loud. But there was no mistake. The performance she had just witnessed with her own two eyes had been Choi Dooshik himself.

He had understood, with terrifying completeness, a character she had only ever imagined in her head and then unraveled onto the page. Goosebumps had risen again and again while she watched. That manic expression, those eyes, that chilling voice — so vivid they still would not leave her mind.

"Unfortunately... I feel the same as the rest of you."

Once the four of them were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unanimous, Director Kim clapped into the empty air.

Clap, clap, clap!

"Wow. To steal Writer Lee's heart in a single go when she's this picky... that idol kid's no ordinary talent."

"Oh, please. I'm not that picky..."

"You're extremely picky..."

"You're much worse on set, Director... the way you put the actors through the wringer..."

"Haha, when have I ever? I just have overflowing passion for the work."

"Same here. I just want it to turn out even better..."

"Haha, I know, I know. I was only joking. Okay then..."

Inside a rattling city bus, a glittering forest of high-rises slid slowly past the window. I stood in the aisle with one hand on the overhead strap, staring blankly at the glass. More precisely, at my own face reflected in it. The performance I had just given kept replaying in my head.

Did I mess up...?

I didn't think I had made any particular mistake. But when I finished and turned around, nobody's expression had looked good. The judges' faces had all gone stiff, as if I had committed some enormous blunder.

Where did I go wrong...?

I had the lines perfectly memorized. Maybe it had just been arrogant confidence. A guy who had never acted a day in his life, getting carried away all by himself because a status window message popped up in front of his eyes.

If I fail the audition, then what...? Do I start going out for other ones?

I did not want to live as an idol trainee again. I was getting too old for anyone to take me, and even if someone did, by the time I finished another stretch of trainee life, my age would be... Before I knew it, my life had shrunk to surviving one day at a time.

While those tangled thoughts were gouging through my mind, a cluster of voices drifted up from the very back of the bus, where a handful of girls in school uniforms had gathered in a huddle.

"Hey... who's that guy?"

"No idea... but he's insanely handsome... holy crap..."

"He's so tall... he's not an idol, right?"

"His face is so small — he totally has that idol look."

"Why would an idol be riding a city bus..."

"Oh. True? No, wait — he could be a trainee."

"Trainees all have managers these days."

"Hey, you go ask him his name."

"No way... you ask."

"You ask..."

Then one of the girls pulled a phone from her bag and quietly lifted it.

"Ugh, you dummies. Hold on. I'll tell you his name."

"Huh? You know who he is?"

"No. You don't need to know."

With complete confidence, she lined the camera up on Jinwoo's face.

Click—!

The shutter was far too loud. The girls flinched and ducked their heads in a hurry.

"Are you crazy...? Why would you take a picture."

"You guys were the ones whining for his name..."

"But why a photo..."

"It's easier to find a name if you have a picture."

"Huh?"

An AI app scanned Jinwoo's face and began analyzing it at speed.

"Oh, what's this...?"

"If he's famous, he'll pop up right here."

"Oh damn... you're kind of a genius...?"

"Heh. This is nothing..."

The girls pressed their heads together, faces bright with anticipation, and stared holes through the screen.

"Huh?"

"What? Why isn't it coming up...?"

"Because he's not a celebrity?"

"No... influencers show up too..."

"Then he's just a regular person..."

"A regular person that good-looking...? Come on, that doesn't make sense."

"Dummy. Celebrities were all regular people at first. Same way the fried chicken we eat started out as an egg..."

"......"

Their voices were loud enough that I heard every word in perfect detail. It seemed to be about me, but I had no interest in their stares or their conversation. I had much bigger things to worry about.

What do I even tell the CEO? And Mom...

That was when the phone in my pocket started vibrating hard.

I swallowed hard and hit the answer button.

"Yes, sir."

The shout coming through the receiver... I really must have messed up.

"I'm sorry...?"

Acting genius...?

"......"

I was dumbfounded. The director had said that? He hadn't shown a hint of it at the audition.

"......"

For a moment my heart hammered so hard I could hear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it in both ears. Face flushed with excitement, I shouted toward the driver.

"Driver! Please stop the bus!"

The driver glanced back with a look of complete indifference and muttered under his breath.

"Ring the bell."

"Ah..."

I was so stunned I had forgotten the bus would only stop if you rang the bell. A moment later it pulled up at the stop, and I hopped down through the opening doors.

"I passed...?"

My head tipped back toward the sky. A stretch of blue I had not looked at in a long time.

"Haa..."

A deep smile had already found its way onto my lips. I could not remember the last time I had smiled like I meant it. My heart kept pounding, and I felt so good I could have lifted off the ground. If I did not do something right that second, it felt like my chest would burst.

I clenched both fists and ran, eyes fixed ahead. I had not even chosen a destination. I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kept running. After a long stretch without stopping, when the rough breath had climbed all the way to my throat, I would halt for a moment.

"Haa, haa..."

Then I would look up at the sky again and laugh, hard, for a long while. People passing on the street tilted their heads at me, but I did not particularly care. Because today — just for today — this world, the entire universe, felt like it belonged to me.

I faced forward and ran again for a long time. When I got winded I would stop and walk, then run, then walk, over and over. Just a hazy feeling, a blank expression, running and walking and nothing else. And before I knew it, I was standing in front of my house.

Not a single stray thought had surfaced the whole way home. All those worries that had been crowding me were gone, as if someone had hit delete. Completely erased from my head.

"I just have to do well from here on out..."

Not as an idol. As an actor. Not singing. Acting.

"I just have to succeed..."

It was not entirely groundless confidence. Another status window message had just appeared before my eyes.

"Whoa... these are my stats right now...?"

It felt exactly like playing a game.