20
ch 20**The Importance of Input (5)**
Kwon Jinwoo, the protagonist of Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol, had become Ethereal's breakout star.
His ten seconds of overwhelming stage presence had gone viral, with a short clip of his performance surpassing five
million views.
Thanks to him, Ethereal, once on the verge of disbandment, was now enjoying the peak of its popularity.
Everyone praised Kwon Jinwoo as the group's biggest contributor.
But Jinwoo himself was miserable.
'Damn it... I'm going crazy!'
His growing popularity had created a new problem.
His genius idol ability could only be used once a day.
Now that Ethereal's schedule was packed with music shows, festivals, and variety programs, he was expected to perform
multiple times daily.
'At this rate, everyone's going to find out the truth.'
He could survive talk shows.
He couldn't survive two live stages.
Without his ability, his dancing and singing were worse than those of an average trainee.
One bad performance would destroy everything he had built.
Desperate, he spoke directly to the scheduling manager.
"Please don't book more than one stage performance a day."
"I want to show fans only my best performances."
Ordinarily, a rookie idol would never be able to make demands like that.
But the company was in a difficult position.
Ethereal's contracts were nearing expiration, and if Jinwoo transferred to another agency while his popularity was
soaring, it would be a devastating loss.
After some hesitation, the manager agreed.
"Fine... but next week's schedule is already fixed. You'll have a music show recording, then a K-pop festival in
Pyeongtaek on the same day."
Jinwoo sighed.
That meant he could only use his ability once.
"I'll just have to practice until I can at least survive the second stage."
Ironically, practice was even harder than performing.
On stage, his ability carried him.
Practice relied entirely on his own skills.
Still, he had no choice.
---
The Ethereal members gathered for extra practice at Jinwoo's request.
But the moment they watched him rehearse, they were stunned.
"...What's going on?"
"He's completely different from when he's on stage."
The Jinwoo before them stumbled through easy choreography, missed steps, and even tripped over himself.
Naturally...
They misunderstood everything.
'He asked us to practice just to show us this?'
'Is he pretending to be bad on purpose?'
'He's hiding his true ability.'
Whenever there wasn't an important performance, Jinwoo occasionally practiced while using his ability, showing
overwhelming talent.
Because of that, the members concluded today's clumsy performance had to be intentional.
Soon their misunderstanding spiraled even further.
'He's disappointed in us.'
'Compared to him, we're holding the team back.'
'He's carrying Ethereal by himself.'
Filled with guilt, the members bowed their heads.
"Jinwoo... I'm sorry."
"I'll work harder."
"I won't become a burden to you anymore."
They apologized sincerely before throwing themselves into practice with renewed determination.
Jinwoo blinked in confusion.
"...Huh? What's gotten into them all of a sudden?"
---
Meanwhile, Geulpok couldn't stop laughing.
"This is so much fun."
He had already reread Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol three times.
Yet it still made his heart race.
The misunderstandings between Jinwoo and those around him were endlessly entertaining.
Jinwoo desperately struggled to survive, while everyone else interpreted his every action as brilliant strategy or
overwhelming confidence.
That gap in perspective was what made the novel so addictive.
More importantly...
"It doesn't require any background knowledge."
Anyone could enjoy it.
For the first time since falling into his slump, Lee Juho was completely absorbed in a story.
That was why he had written his recommendation.
Not as Geulpok the famous author.
But simply as one reader recommending a genuinely enjoyable novel.
Still, one question lingered.
"Who is this Shuppa?"
At first, he had assumed the author was a rookie because of the outrageous fifteen-chapter release.
But after reading the novel...
"No rookie writes like this."
The polish and storytelling felt like someone who had already completed at least five commercial series.
"Someday... I'd like to meet them."
Ironically, he wasn't entirely wrong.
Yoon Seongjun really had written five complete novels.
The only difference was that every one of them had been written exclusively for Siwoo.
---
The next morning, Siwoo woke up and immediately sensed something was wrong.
Her father always woke her for breakfast at 7:30.
Today it was already nine o'clock.
She rushed to his workspace.
"Dad! Were you writing all night agai—"
She stopped.
Seongjun wasn't writing.
He was staring silently at the monitor, completely absorbed.
Only after she called him again did he finally look up.
"Oh... Siwoo."
"What time is it?"
"It's nine."
"I'm sorry. You must be hungry."
Siwoo frowned.
"Don't tell me you stayed up all night again."
"...Maybe."
"What were you doing?"
"I was reading Geulpok's novels."
"Reading?"
"You should have seen them."
He yawned.
"I couldn't stop."
When Seongjun showed her his reading history, Siwoo's jaw dropped.
"You... read all of these?"
He had finished fifteen ebook volumes overnight.
Nearly 375 chapters.
"Dad... are you a monster?"
Chuckling, Seongjun pinched her cheek.
"Whose genes do you think you inherited?"
Siwoo wanted to scold him for skipping sleep.
But she had read all of Geulpok's novels herself.
She understood exactly how addictive they could be.
Still...
"No more all-nighters."
"I promise."
After a moment, Seongjun smiled.
"Let's order breakfast today."
Siwoo stared in disbelief.
Her father almost never ordered delivery to save money.
"What happened?"
"I suddenly feel like writing."
His eyes were tired.
But they burned with excitement.
"Reading Geulpok's novels made me want to write again."
Siwoo couldn't help smiling.
Maybe she really had inherited more from her father than she thought.
"So... are you writing Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol?"
Seongjun shook his head.
"No."
"Do you remember the very first web novel I ever wrote for you?"
Siwoo's eyes widened.
Before the idol novel...
The first web novel Seongjun had written for his daughter had been a fusion fantasy.
"I think..."
"I'm going to rewrite that one."