Chapter 87
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 87
Chapter Title KPop Fever Hits Estonia
Well done.
See you tomorrow!
The students bright voices rang out.
Class was finally over on Friday, and the weekend was right around the corner.
Relieved at the thought of some rest, many of them hummed tunes as they filed out of the classroom.
Lets see, I need to grab my textbooks for...
The same went for this girl attending a high school in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
This weeks classes had been especially grueling, so she was dying for a break, but she still needed her textbooks for next weeks assignments.
Just as she grabbed the necessary books from her locker and stepped into the hallway.
Lena! Perfect timing!
A familiar voice called her name from the other end of the corridor.
Lena greeted the girl rushing over with her long golden blonde hair flying with a smile.
Alisa! Not heading to club today?
I was just on my way! Hey, you wont believe what I saw yesterday. Ive got to show you this.
Lenas childhood friend Alisa had a real talent for performing arts.
Shed loved dancing since she was little and had stuck with the school cheerleading club and dance club ever since.
Judging by her outfit, she had cheerleading practice today.
Lena watched Alisa fiddling busily with her phone.
Whats so urgent that you have to show me right now?
You know how Ive been obsessed with Kpop since last year? Ive been active on SNS ever since.
Yeah.
Alisa finally found what she was looking for and held up her phone with a beaming smile.
Theres this super popular idol program in Korea right now. The finales coming up soon, and its insane! It even made the news!
It was rare to see her childhood friend this excited.
Curious about what was so amazing, Lena peered at the phone.
Theres a trainee from Estonia?
Yeah! I dont know the details, but one of the finalists is Estonian. And get thishes in third place.
How many contestants are there total?
96. Crazy, right?
Climbing to third out of 96 was no small feat.
Lena knew next to nothing about other countries cultures, especially Kpop, so she had no clue how these auditions worked.
But even she, with zero background info, could spot one thing right away.
Hes seriously hot.
Exactly! His face is otherworldly. I want to ask if hes really from our countryhes that gorgeous. Makes all the guys at school who strut around acting handsome look ridiculous.
If Alisa, with her wide circle of friends, was nailing it down this hard, that said it all.
Even a Kpop newbie like Lena could see it instantly.
Alisa, whod gotten really into the scene lately, must have been even more hooked.
Anyway, seeing that face has me fired up all of a sudden. If Im gonna start a Kpop dance crew someday, I need to study up properly. After club today, Im heading home to binge all his stages!
Youre on fire, Alisa.
Of course!
Alisa flashed a grin, then checked the time and gasped sharply.
Oh no! Im gonna be late. Ill text you tonight, Lena! Gotta run!
Yyeah. Have a good practice.
Thanks! Get home safe!
With those last words tossed over her shoulder, Alisa dashed off at full speed.
Left alone again, Lena slowly packed up the rest of her things and left the school building.
She took a moment to refresh herself strolling down Tallinns sundappled streets, then headed home and whipped up a quick snack.
Back in her room with a plate of kirju koer, Lena opened her textbook to tackle her homework.
But for some reason, the words just wouldnt stick.
Why cant I focus today?
She pondered what was throwing her off.
It hit herthe face of the guy Alisa had shown her at school kept flashing in her mind.
Lena pushed her notebook and textbook aside and booted up her computer.
His name was super unique... Karis von Walden, right? And it has von in it?
Racking her brain, she logged into the SNS platform Alisa used a lot.
She experimentally typed in the trainees name.
In seconds, countless posts flooded her screen.
Whoa...
Lena let out a gasp of admiration as she stared.
There were so many photos shed never seen before.
People on stage with flashy makeup and hairstyles.
Dazzling lights beaming down on vast stages.
And under each post, tons of comments from viewers.
It felt like exploring an alien world.
Since many posts were in languages she couldnt read, she ran a search engine to find familiar sites.
Oh, this must be the post Alisa showed me.
Excited, Lena clicked it right away.
Above the Estonian caption was a photo of Karis von Walden making a heart with his fingers.
Below it, over 7,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments.
This trainee was born in Estonia! Hes so handsome
No way. Hes from our country? 0
Wow XD
His names unique too? Do we even have a surname like von Walden?
I looked it up since it was new to mevon Walden comes from a Swedish noble family in the 1600s. link Wikipedia link here. Our countrys influenced by Nordic countries, especially Sweden, so the name pops up among regular folks now and then.
It sounded noble, and it really is an old aristocratic surname? With that look, youd think he was actual nobility from back then.
Hes so handsome.... I knew nothing about Kpop, but now Im interested because of Karis.
Like Lena, lots of commenters didnt know much about this unfamiliar Kpop world.
Kpop fans on SNS were eagerly explaining it all for them.
Wow, they have to go through all this just to debut?
Lena read up on the program Karis von Walden was in.
Out of 96, only 7 would debut after over two months of grueling competition.
It gave her a sense of the immense pressure they faced.
He left home and went all the way to a foreign land for his dream? Thats amazing...
Lena scrolled through SNS, devouring every post about Karis.
Once shed seen his face, her curiosity kept growing.
Video Karis speaking his native language at the ranking announcement!
Hes been speaking only Korean, so the Estonian sounded a bit awkward XD So cute!
More than his looks, its touching that someone from our country went so far away to chase his dream...
His rankings high too? Hes incredible.
If this is a survival show, do you have to keep voting to stay in? Any site links?
link This is the homepage. Karis survived to the final round, so vote then. But finals are live, so I think its text voting only
Hes from our country, so I hope he does well Can global fans vote too?
Lena clicked every link in the comments.
She pored over the Idol Training Simulation site, getting the full rundownit felt like diving into a whole new subject.
Super unfamiliar and awkward...
But kinda fun.
Is this why Alisas hooked?
Unlike her performingartsloving childhood friend, Lena had zero interest in that stuff.
Shed focused solely on school, so discovering this new content had her hooked.
Digging deeper, she started to get why Alisa was so into it.
This must be a stage video.
Wandering the vast internet ocean, Lena landed on YouTube.
Among the many videos, she clicked one with Kariss face zoomed in big. She didnt know what fan cam in the title meant, but whateverlets watch.
......Whoa.
Lenas jaw dropped as she stared blankly.
Karis von Walden, with his stunning looks, moved with graceful precision.
He shifted to center stage midway and sang a few lineshis resonant voice was striking.
Then, as the song hit its climax.
The name of this feeling right now is Love
Karis made a heart with his fingers and blew a kiss.
The crowds cheers exploded in the background.
And in Lenas head, staring wideeyed at the screen, something went boom too.
......Cool.
People were putting on shows this amazing in a world shed never known.
Rhythmic, upbeat music synced with slick dance moves, breathing life into the audience.
Topped off with a face that grabbed your eyes instantly, leaving a massive impression.
She was starting to understand why Alisa loved Kpop.
Homework forgotten far away, she binged Karis videos until night fell.
Noticing how dark it was outside, Lena grabbed her phone and called.
After a few rings, it picked up.
Lena! I just finished practiceperfect timing!
Oh, youre done now? Good.
Yeah, spot on. Whats up? Something happen?
Sorta... Not really an emergency. ...I went home and looked up that trainee you showed me.
For real? No way! Hes hot, right? Amazing!
I watched his stages too, and I get why youre into Kpop now.
Im so touched right now. Ahh, this is exciting!
Alisas voice over the phone sounded genuinely thrilled.
Lena grinned and swung her feet back and forth.
Can we watch that show here too?
In this day and age? Everythings possible! Hold on, Ill tell you where to stream it. Lets binge from episode 1 at my place later!
Sounds good!
Karis von Waldens statement at the third ranking announcement had an enormous ripple effect.
Kpop fever started sweeping Europes less familiar markets, especially small countries like Estonia.
Our countrys trainee is killing ithow proud!
We want to help somehow.
That attention naturally flowed back to the Idol Training Simulation program itself.
How to vote in the finale, how many debut and who...
Not just Estoniahis name was spreading across other Western countries too.
Hed always been a fan favorite overseas, but only among hardcore Kpop lovers.
Now, riding this wave, his influence reached everyday folks whod never cared about Kpop.
Exactly the direction Karis von Walden had aimed for with his new skilla massive hit.
As things unfolded outside just as hed planned.
Inside the Idol Training Simulation set, racing toward the finale, a similar situation was brewing.