"Ah… ah! Ugh, my body is stiff…"
After stretching my body, I relaxed my neck and calmly checked my physical condition.
Before I came back, my body had been ruined due to frequent drinking and long-term use of panic disorder medication.
My skin was always swollen, with bags under my eyes. My body balance was also ruined, and my stomach sticks out because of the alcohol.
"Haa… Rex. If you keep doing this, your noonas will really want to die. What is this, really? Is this idol skin? Is this idol body?"
The stylist and coordinator sighed whenever they saw me.
At first, they were worried and scolded me, but later they all gave up.
Above all, at that time, I had given up on myself.
And now, my body that hasn't yet come across that incident.
"So… so soft."
I was very young in the large mirror on the wall.
Obviously, since it was 8 years ago.
My hair was great, and my expression was bright, yet to experience the rotten politics of the entertainment industry.
Well, it looks a little weird, but it's still me.
I reached towards the mirror and stared at my face. The corners of my mouth lifted into a pleasant smile.
I felt strange.
Before I ruined myself, I had this face, this appearance.
Of course, until yesterday, I'd been known as trash. Trash-Rex.
Poof!
Perhaps my phone didn't like to see me getting lost in thought, so a notification came up.
[Sudden Mission (NEW):
You're currently unable to fully demonstrate your original abilities due to a mental and physical disconnect. The only way to overcome this is through consistent practice! Will you regain some of the skills of a popular (or not-so-popular) idol and successfully complete your first stage?
Reward: Encyclopedia - 〈Memories of the First Stage〉Open]
Before I knew it, the menu tab had been updated with missions, status screens, and an Encyclopedia entry.
Unlike the Encyclopedia, which was still locked, all the others were activated and ready to be used.
I've seen things like this when I was really into mobile games and paying monthly.
"If I look at it… I guess I'm kind of the main character?"
Even so, I'm an idol who has only won the Rookie of the Year award once in my debut year, so clearly I wasn't just some ordinary talent.
I opened my eyes wide, half curious and half expectant, and clicked on the status window.
[Status Window
Name: Kim Chunyong (Individual Trainee)
Vocals: 45 (55) (Skilled General)
Rap: 45 (63) (Skilled General)
Dance: 49 (84) (Skilled General)
Appearance: 69 (80) (Handsome Idol Trainee)
Charm: 40 (75) (Normal)
Skill: -]
"...what is this? Why is it like this?"
I furrowed my brows and quickly entered the chat window. There was so much I couldn't understand.
- Kim Chunyong: Hey
- Kim Chunyong: Hey X
- Kim Chunyong: (Photo)
- Kim Chunyong: What is this? Why are my abilities so low?
The reply arrived in 3 seconds.
- X: What are you talking about; don't you know Korean?? I thought you wouldn't understand if I just wrote numbers, so I wrote an explanation for you.
- X: The one in the parentheses is your original ability. The other one is your current status ^^
- X: If you practice hard, you can get them back, so do your best, trash!"
- Kim Chunyong: No, why are my current abilities so low?
- Kim Chunyong: Why aren't you answering?
- Kim Chunyong: And what? Trash? Are you kidding me?
- Kim Chunyong: Hey
- Kim Chunyong: --
"You're looking and not responding, you idiot."
I grumbled and threw my phone onto the sofa in the corner of the practice room.
I tried to peer at it just in case, but I didn't hear the childish beeping sound again.
Okay, okay. That's not what matters right now.
I expected it from the phrase "mental and physical disconnect", but my abilities were much worse than I thought.
The most crucial things are dancing, singing, and rapping, and even my charm is just that of an ordinary person. The only good one is my appearance.
When I entered the practice room, I confidently said that I could easily tear up a debut survival show that I'd already done.
"Am I going to get torn instead?"
One week left.
…it's chilling.
I felt a cold sweat running down my spine.
* * *
Kim Ji-eun, a part-timer at Hanmaeum Private Practice Studio, was working unusually late.
The reason was because of the man in Practice Room 8 who's been coming for three days in a row.
"No way, is there still someone inside?"
"I told you there is."
"But it's already been two hours?"
"He just keeps practicing unless it's to drink water or go to the restroom, and he comes in when it opens and leaves five minutes before closing time. Can't he have some consideration for me?"
"...you're sick."
"What? No, that's not it!"
"Ugh… if he does this every day, isn't he a robot?"
"For a robot… he still has this human-like handsomeness. I told you, a bad boy."
While talking to her best friend, Min-ji, Ji-eun kept staring at Practice Room 8.
Although it was impossible to tell what was going on inside due to the thick soundproofing, he always looked tired whenever he came out.
He was practicing like crazy.
'It'd be nice if he came out a little more often. He could rest, and I could feast my eyes on him…'
"Ji-eun, you're looking brighter now."
"Huh?"
"Hey, don't waste your time like this. Wanna watch some Leopold videos? I carefully selected them for you."
Minji-'s eyes blazed as she quickly pulled out her tablet. Only then did Ji-eun realize why Minji came all the way to see her.
"Hey, I told you I don't really like Leopold. I can't relate to their concept, always like 'I'm dying, I'm alive'."
"That's the charm. Have you heard of gap moe? Our kids dance and sing like Northern Dukes, but they're soft at heart. Okay, let's start with a fancam that gets you hooked."
"Oh, I'm not looking! Mom!"
"Daughter, listen to your mother!"
"Uhm, excuse me."
Ji-eun and Min-ji shut their mouths at the same time.
While they were arguing over Leopold, the man from Practice Room 8 had finally arrived.
Kim Chunyong had appeared before them.
Kim Chunyong looked back and forth between the two, who were wrestling with each other, and muttered softly with an embarrassed expression.
"Are you… busy right now?"
"No? No way. I'm here to work."
Ji-eu quickly answered before he even finished speaking. Min-ji had already paused the Leopold video.
Kim Chunyong asked them politely, though a little nervous.
"Oh, then… Can I borrow a tripod? I'm planning to film."
"A tripod, a tripod. Just a moment, I'll go look for it."
Ji-eun grabbed Min-ji by the nape and quickly entered the storage room. Their gazes met mid-air.
"...Did you see it?"
"I saw it."
"Your opinions?"
"Kim Ji-eun is a total hoot. He's a beauty who doesn't quite match his name. A handsome punk who never wears the school uniform jacket. And also rebellious. He's amazing, it's crazy."
"That's right, I told you!"
The two girls were stomping their feet in delight. Moments like this don't come very often in life.
Min-ji, who had seen a handsome man, whom she treated like a unicorn, smiled happily, but soon expressed her doubts to Ji-eun.
"Hey, but why did you come here? You said this is where you come when you're sleepy."
"...I'm the one who thinks about everything. Just trust me, my friend."
After a while, Ji-eun and Min-ji came back out, cleared their throats, and spoke.
"Well, I looked and there's no tripod right now. I'm so sorry for making you wait."
"Oh, really? I don't have any, but I guess there's nothing I can do. Well then...."
"But! If that's okay with you."
Shall we take the video for you?
Yes. Ji-eun had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
Handsome men are precious.
The opportunity to see a handsome man for a long time was even more precious.
The opportunity to film a video of a handsome man was even more and more precious.
"Hmm..."
Kim Chun-yong seemed slightly concerned, but then nodded coolly.
Ji-eun and Min-ji held hands tightly behind their backs and shouted in delight.
The girls rushed into the practice room and sat down in front of the mirror.
Kim Chun-yong handed her his phone and asked her to press a button when the music started. Ji-eun nodded, thinking.
'I can't tell if someone is good at dancing or not just by looking at them. I guess I'll just have to look at his face. It's so cool.'
The only dance Ji-eun knew was simply shaking her body to the beat.
She doesn't know about Min-ji, who is a seasoned idol fan, but she, who likes idols lightly, couldn't tell the difference between idols who are good at dancing and those who aren't.
"Uh... then let's begin. Thank you for your consideration."
"Yes!"
But the moment the beat based on synth sounds starts to thump in the practice room and Kim Chun-yong starts to step.
"Ah...."
Ji-eun had no choice but to have her mouth agape.
-When I see your fluttering hair
It felt like my heart stopped
Arms that cut through the air with ease, and clean control of speed.
A detail that is not missed at all.
A beat that is exquisitely split.
Even if a clueless person looks at it...
'What the heck. Isn't that dance really good?'
Yes. Kim Chun-yong was originally good at dancing.
That's only natural since my position was a sub-dancer.
Above all, Kim Chun-yong was good at singing and dancing on stage.
I enjoyed moving all the muscles in my body as he pleased, and I was happy to choreograph to the voices of the other members.
If I could keep performing on stage like that, I felt like I could do it forever.
...After my family's accident, my heart was completely broken.
'I'm trash.'
As I danced, I felt empty. I felt like I wasn't worthy. It felt like people in the audience were pointing fingers at me.
As a result, I naturally started practicing less, and eventually, I ended up wandering around irreversibly.
After that, Kim Chun-yong gained a reputation as a trashy and malicious member rather than a dance member who was good at bringing out delicate details.
'But it's different now.'
I'm now in a state where I would stop at nothing to get back what I had once lost, and above all...
Regardless of how the process was, it was because I had a head with hundreds of stage experiences.
'A sub-dancer? This time, I'll be the main dancer.'
-I love your black shirt
Oh, A black shirt…
After the music ended, Kim Chun-yong's gasps for breath echoed throughout the practice room. Ji-eun and Min-ji just stared blankly at him, who was trying to catch his breath.
Kim Chun-yong, finding them frozen in place, tilted his head and cautiously opened his mouth.
"Are you okay? Did the filming go well?"
"Huh, yes, yeseeeek!?"
'Oh, crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy!'
Ji-eun hurriedly pressed the pause button and handed the phone to Kim Chun-yong with trembling hands.
"Ah, it looks like it came out well. Thank you so much for your help."
But even after Kim Chun-yong finished thanking them, the two were unable to move from their spot.
Kim Chun-yong, bewildered by the two women's unreadable expressions, seemed to think about something for a moment, then spoke with a bright expression.
"Could you possibly give me feedback? Hmm, maybe I misstepped a part?"
Please tell me more details.
"I'll fix it and do better."
'Hehehe...'
For a moment, Ji-eun and Min-ji thought they saw a halo behind Kim Chun-yong's dazzling face.
They waved their hands frantically, their faces flushed.
"Oh, no. We don't know anything about dancing, so we can't give feedback. Right, Min-ji?"
"Uh-huh. Rather than that...."
The eyes of the two girls sparkled as they looked at Kim Chun-yong.
'Oh, wait a minute.'
Kim Chun-yong already knew when, where, and who would look at him like this.
Beyond knowing, it was a look that I had been endlessly hoping to receive again.
This is, obviously....
"Can I please get a signature!?"
"Me, me too. No, I know you're just an ordinary person! I just think things will turn out well for you later!"
It was the look from a fan.
At that moment, a notification popped up on his phone. Startled, Kim Chun-yong stumbled and answered in a flustered voice.
"Yes, no. Yes! I will do it."
"Wow! Just a moment, I'll be right back with a pen and paper!
As they rushed out of the practice room, Kim Chun-yong checked the notification on his phone.
After punching the phone a few times.
"Send it while considering the time and situation, timing...."
[Pokedex: Encountering the First Fan
Congratulations! You've made your first fan since returning.
Taking the first step is always crucial when embarking on a journey. Your first fans will support your activities, cheer you on, and not be afraid to speak out. Let's continue to build more fans!
Collection Reward:
"First fan...."
Kim Chun-yong's face shifted in a strange way with joy and relief.