The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 10

While my grade evaluation was in progress, Cerberus, who had been hiding somewhere below the stage, hopped up onto my shoulder the moment the trainee named Seong-hwi openly provoked me.

Then he growled quietly.

{Master, that human smells annoying! It’s weird!}

‘There’s such a thing as an annoying smell?’

{I don’t know! It’s somehow hard to express in words! It’s not exactly a bad smell, but maybe it’s because his attitude is annoying. I’m just irritated!}

‘I definitely get that feeling too. It’s not exactly pleasant.’

Anyone could tell at a glance that this kid had a screw loose somewhere.

Ma Si-hyeok looked back and forth between me and Seong-hwi frantically and said.

“Si-hwan, your expression doesn’t look good.”

“Is that so.”

“The cameras are filming this way more blatantly…!”

“Let them.”

I casually ignored Ma Si-hyeok’s whisper while maintaining a slightly annoyed expression.

Well, like I told Cerberus, it wasn’t exactly pleasant.

But even though I could calm my mind and create a peaceful expression, I deliberately chose not to.

‘I don’t completely understand why he’s acting like that, but this could create a new dynamic.’

Looking at the results so far, I had established the impression of a skilled person who climbed up from the beginning.

Along with my high-ranking participant image, I had also created the appearance of a leader who directly extended help to teammates in need.

The line Seong-hwi just delivered was optimized for building a competitive dynamic with rivals – a structure that contrasted with this peaceful character development.

And this serious expression I’m wearing is a part that can be very usefully exploited for provocative editing.

They’ll definitely cut and splice this scene to create an even more serious atmosphere than the actual on-site mood.

My appearance as the target of provocation will naturally be included in close-ups.

‘I can already imagine the cross-editing with subtitles.’

All my current actions involved thorough calculation. Steps taken while considering all the characteristics of Korean survival programs.

This deliberately annoyed expression was also for the preview of this final grade evaluation that would probably air around episodes 2-3.

“Something felt fishy.”

“Are you two acquainted after all?”

“That guy is also from a major agency. I’m from BK, that guy’s from X2. So we briefly greeted each other before coming here and talked a bit while living in the dorms.”

Kang Seon-woo whispered quietly enough not to be caught by cameras.

“That guy has a somewhat unique personality. You can see he knows he’s skilled. He actually is skilled too. So I guess you could say he’s the type who overflows with self-love? He really hates losing and has strong competitive spirit. But then again, the jokes he throws out are quirky and funny.”

“He really is unique as you say.”

“Right? Actually, I still can’t definitively say exactly what kind of kid he is.”

A narcissistic skilled person overflowing with self-love.

I watched Seong-hwi’s grade evaluation stage while resting my chin on my hand.

He was skilled. Similar to Kang Seon-woo, he knew where to put strength in his body and where to release it, and unlike other participants, he overflowed with ease on stage.

But separate from the level test, during the final grade evaluation, the overall difference in abilities became starkly apparent by singing the same song. During the level test, they could select songs they were confident in to hide weaknesses and reveal only strengths.

In that aspect, Seong-hwi displayed vocal skills several levels better than Kang Seon-woo.

His vocal power and high notes weren’t tremendously strong, but his tone was exceptional.

A soft, comfortable voice you could find in ballad singers. Such vocal tones were definitely hard to find easily among idol vocalists.

And what caught my eye most was his facial expressions.

Since he had ease on stage, he had even mastered methods to efficiently express lyrics.

He would flash charming smiles only he could make during choruses or killing verses, and at points where passionate lyrics appeared, he would change his gaze to display masculinity.

‘Well, if he had mediocre skills, he wouldn’t have provoked me in front of everyone like that.’

It didn’t take long for Seong-hwi’s grade to be determined.

All the cameras in the set followed Seong-hwi as he received A-grade and headed this way.

The eyes of trainees in other sections followed along too.

As if the attention of the entire universe was converging in one place, the flow of air was drawn toward me.

I hadn’t intended to draw this much attention.

Seong-hwi walked toward the seat behind me with a bright smile.

The moment he passed by me, he bowed his head and greeted me.

“Thanks to you, I think I was able to raise the tension that had become loose. Thank you.”

Provocation first, then greetings.

{Annoying human!}

Cerberus glared at Seong-hwi as if ready to bite his ear off at any moment.

But I had no intention of being swept up in this rookie’s pace.

“Really? That’s fortunate if it worked out that way.”

Instead, I even sent an eye smile and offered a handshake first from my side.

When the reaction he expected didn’t return, Seong-hwi stared blankly at my face for a moment.

‘Did you expect me to be flustered and show rapid changes in expression? I’ve met guys worse than you countless times in hell. This little bit won’t work, friend.’

Seong-hwi, who smirked faintly enough not to be caught by cameras, gripped my hand tightly.

“This is really interesting. This is what survival should be like.”

“Thanks to you, I’m feeling tense too. Let’s do well from now on.”

While MC Go Hyeon-ju was giving closing remarks in the middle of the set, I was internally feeling some inexplicable change in my mindset.

Maybe it was because I’d only seen too many innocent kids since filming 〈ISL 2〉, but my mood felt somewhat similar to when I lived in hell.

Always doing repetitive practice, training vocal cords, and building stamina was similar there and here.

But now, at this point where the final grade evaluation had ended.

Seeing a friend who openly checked me, my pride and competitive spirit that had been rusting for a very long time began to slowly ignite.

{Master, why are you suddenly making a sinister smile? It’s weird! You look like a pervert!}

‘It seems like it’ll become a bit more interesting thanks to this.’

{The Master I saw in hell didn’t have this kind of taste—}

“Participants! You all really worked hard today. The main stage filming for KNet’s 〈Music K Showdown〉 will proceed at 1 PM two days from now, so please get plenty of rest and quickly recharge your stamina. Tomorrow will be a day for all 100 trainees to coordinate stage composition together before the main filming, so please gather without being late. That’s all!”

“Yes!”

I clenched my fist slightly while listening to PD Jeong Chae-min’s words.

The 〈Music K Showdown〉 filming proceeding in two days.

〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 would officially announce its start with this video.

In other words, it would be the first video provided to the countless viewers who would watch this broadcast.

Since it had come to this, I needed to make a definitive impression nationwide.

* * *

“Wow…”

“Are we really filming here?”

“Amazing.”

There were naturally quite a few artificial reactions due to cameras being thrust everywhere, but the stage prepared by 〈Music K Showdown〉 still boasted tremendous scale.

For me, it was a music broadcast stage I had seen many times in my previous life and a set I had frequently witnessed when doing research before, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.

But thanks to the A-grade badge enthusiastically shining on my left chest, cameras swarmed like flies from all directions, so I couldn’t just maintain a calm expression.

[What are your honest feelings about the stage?]

[First, I was amazed that such a huge stage capable of accommodating 100 people exists, and I felt like expressing gratitude to all the staff who worked hard for us.]

Since I had to do brief interviews like this, passionate reactions were essential.

The stage structure was identical to last year’s 〈ISL 1〉.

Three large triangular platforms rising above a circular stage massive enough to fill the music broadcast filming location.

The typical structure with the center platform raised highest.

At first glance, that center was clearly claimed by participants whose activities had stood out over the past two weeks.

“Stage placement is important, so everyone follow instructions well! Please come up in the order we call your names!”

Seeing staff shouting loud enough to burst their throats made me feel sorry for them.

With participants and staff included, nearly 200 people were packed into a filming location with poor ventilation.

Having to arrange personnel in such chaos was the ultimate demanding job.

“A-grade participants, come up here!”

As expected, the total of nine A-grade trainees including me ended up standing on the central platform where the entire set could be seen.

The position I took was the middle point of the left row, not too far from center.

There was a special reason why I had to stand in this position from the beginning.

“…You all know when the points are where you switch positions with each other as practiced, right?”

“Yes.”

Dance trainer and judge Shin Jae-hoon watched the main platform with hawk eyes until the final rehearsal.

That was understandable since only our platform had movement choreography.

A special service provided, however slightly, to participants who received the best grades in the final grade evaluation.

Since this was a group theme song stage where you could end up never being caught by cameras, A-grade participants were guaranteed at least 5 seconds of camera exposure.

So we had to move back and forth in unison at the end of each verse to change formations.

The timing when I would come to center was naturally after the second verse chorus ended and the high-note killing verse appeared.

The moment when all eyes would really be focused on me at once.

“Brother Si-hwan.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you nervous?”

Ma Si-hyeok, standing behind me, asked in a slightly trembling voice.

I hadn’t heard the reason yet, but Ma Si-hyeok’s low confidence was still valid. I thought it might improve a bit after receiving A-grade, but with such large-scale filming approaching, he was shaking like an aspen tree as usual.

“If I were in your position, I probably couldn’t even sing properly.”

“Haha, because you’d have to sing that high note alone?”

“Yes, no matter how I look at it, you’re really amazing.”

When I first met him, I never thought we’d have this kind of relationship. Now it felt like I was carrying around one giant pet dog.

“I just sing as the feeling takes me. If I make mistakes, I make mistakes, and if I sing well, I sing well.”

“Is, is that kind of mindset possible?”

“It’s possible.”

“…I guess I’m just not built for this kind of competition. My heart is beating so hard I could die.”

Still, I couldn’t just leave a guy sweating like this alone, so I quietly turned around and patted his shoulder.

Then Seong-hwi, who had been looking around from the center of the stage, spoke in a gentle voice.

“As expected, Brother Si-hwan is magnanimous, even having the leisure to look after others.”

At the sudden comment, I flashed a faint smile and answered cynically.

“I don’t remember becoming brothers with you.”

“Ahaha! Was I too hasty? Then how about we become brothers from now on? I’m fine with it.”

I looked straight into Seong-hwi’s eyes and repeated what he just said in my head.

A strangely malice-free tone.

If he intended to deliberately get on my nerves, he wouldn’t have those innocent eyes. Even if this was acting, it would be a strange situation.

I really couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

“Then do whatever feels comfortable.”

“That’s right, Brother Si-hwan. Oh, just in case, let me tell you.”

Seong-hwi leaned toward me and spoke quietly.

“What I said about getting tense and finding it interesting because of you – that was sincere, not a joke. Just so you know.”

After leaving those words, Seong-hwi winked and returned to his original position.

I sighed briefly and mentally took notes.

‘Just categorizing him as a crazy person with strong character.’

“Filming will start soon! All participants, please prepare!”

I could hear the deep breathing sounds of trainees on both sides of me. Someone was pumping themselves up, and someone was repeating lyrics.

I straightened my sleeves while looking at the camera with its red light on.

‘This is where it really begins.’

Thus, the video of 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉’s theme song 〈HIT〉, which began filming, would dominate all portal sites in South Korea one week later.