The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 5

I slowly moved my steps while looking at the set where seats were arranged at different heights according to ranking.

The rank I received was 4th place.

I’m not sure how it looked to others.

‘It came out higher than I expected.’

Everything from song selection to the actual stage had flowed exactly as I calculated.

These kinds of survival programs, especially idol-related programs, have quite a few landmines to be careful of.

The top priority I had to consider was ‘what kind of image will be remembered in people’s hearts from the beginning.’

If you establish your own solid character early, it becomes easier to create a narrative.

There were three options.

Start as a trainee with no skills at all and draw a growth-type character.

Draw the image of a perfect skilled person and championship candidate from the start.

Or pioneer a path that others can’t walk and only I can take.

What I chose was the last method.

First, the growth-type character has too much risk. Those KNet bastards who love stimulating editing wouldn’t just sit still with such good prey.

It’s obvious they’d edit with fire in their eyes, trying to tear apart the participants’ mentals.

They’d put unskilled kids among skilled ones to make them hear things like “Why did that person come to a place like this?”

Then they’d add scenes of step-by-step improvement to create a reversal in public opinion.

Finally, they’d wrap up with reactions like “Hey, that person was so bad at first but their effort is really admirable,” or “Honestly, they’re good-looking too, so I wanted them to do well.”

However, this is an example of a growth-type character that turned out well. Once you get the title of an irredeemably hopeless trainee, it’s also hard to recover. So, pass.

The second case of a perfect championship candidate image is optimized for attracting early attention. But this also has stark pros and cons.

Opposite to how growth-type characters get massive rewards when they do well once, these characters don’t know how far their image might plummet with one mistake.

It’s the best example showing that when expectations are high, the fall is also tremendous. Even if I made no mistakes whatsoever during actual filming, the production team might edit strangely for the sake of stirring up issues.

To the production team, trainees are merely tools to raise the program’s recognition.

For internet buzz, destroying one trainee’s mental state completely isn’t a big deal.

So this also has high risk, pass.

After pondering for a while, what my radar caught was precisely the title of ‘independent trainee.’

My prediction that agencies would frantically send trainees to participate this season after 〈ISL 1〉 became a huge hit was somewhat accurate. I could tell at a glance even at the scene. Most participants had come out in pairs.

What if a rare independent trainee showed off skills like those of major agency trainees?

Then primarily, the judges’ surprised expressions would definitely be included.

If unexpected reactions poured out from the judges, the production team wouldn’t be able to not use them.

Naturally, Ryu Si-hwan’s screen time would be secured during the first level test that would air for episodes 1-2.

Then the problem was showing ‘what level’ of skill.

As I mentioned before, doing too well creates risk factors.

Then what method could I use to get attention with the independent trainee title while performing not too excessively?

‘Come to think of it, everyone reacted exactly as I thought they would.’

I cleverly utilized the level test system.

The advance notice text stated ‘prepare a stage of minimum 1 minute, maximum 2 minutes.’

Not wanting to show too much from the very beginning, I intended to cut the stage at exactly about 1 minute 20 seconds. Show all performances accurately in the first verse but stop right before overflowing.

The next step was song selection, and honestly this was the easiest.

Since I had already narrowed down candidates, I just had to avoid what needed avoiding.

Songs by super-grade idols boasting tremendous fandoms.

Songs by idols who would be hot when 〈ISL 2〉 aired.

And songs by idols whose group characteristics were too distinctly imprinted.

If I mistakenly picked one of these three types, I don’t know what kind of devil’s editing I’d face. No, even without devil’s editing, I could get torn apart to dust by viewers and netizens.

Gambling against idol fans who enjoy comparing things like eating meals is absolutely forbidden. Especially in such survivals.

After excluding such songs, I picked 〈Spotlights〉, which could best express what I was capable of.

This was my level test stage that combined and executed all these points.

Honestly, I had expected around the ten-something rank. But 4th place.

Of course, I might get pushed down by later contestants, but it was still a high rank.

“Hello.”

“Hello~!”

I exchanged brief greetings with the top-tier participants sitting around me.

With skilled technique, I swept my eyes over their faces and compiled the information I had stored in my head.

‘1st through 3rd place are indeed from major agencies that have appeared so far. Since it’s still the level test stage, what I’ve prepared should be sufficient to cover, but I’ll be able to know more accurately what their real skills are when we get to the first round.’

No matter how calculated a fight I have to wage, right now I should greet them with a bright expression out of courtesy.

That guy who stood up from the current 1st place seat had shown tremendous potential from the beginning.

Just by ranking, I at 4th place should be much more welcoming, but strangely, the 1st place side showed intense interest in me first.

“Hello! I really enjoyed your stage just now.”

“To receive such praise from someone sitting in 1st place is embarrassing.”

“Oh, not at all.”

The 1st place trainee waved his hands back and forth with a grin.

“I’m Kang Seon-woo. You’re Ryu Si-hwan, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m 21.”

“Wow, really?”

Kang Seon-woo, hearing my age, even clapped his hands.

“We’re the same age! It’s hard to meet friends.”

“Haha…”

No wonder he’s from a major agency trainee background.

Working on image-making this early?

And not with the kids he came with, but with me, an independent trainee?

{Sniff sniff. Hmm, this human doesn’t have a problematic smell either, Master. You don’t need to be too wary.}

Cerberus, who had been waiting quietly down there during my stage, was somehow already perched on my shoulder.

Both earlier and now.

‘That scent-detecting ability is quite useful.’

{Of course, I’m Cerberus from hell!}

‘Do you happen to have the ability to read thoughts?’

{I can only smell, Master. Thoughts can’t be distinguished by smell!}

If he had the ability to read thoughts too, it would have been much more convenient.

Anyway, if Cerberus says someone has ‘a fine smell,’ that means they’re normal.

That means the trainee Kang Seon-woo might not have approached me to use me one-sidedly.

‘Let me observe for now.’

“Participant 78, please come in!”

It was the next trainee’s turn, so we stopped chatting and sat down.

Come to think of it, number 78 was my neighbor.

What was his name again, I felt he had quite a scary impression.

Was it Ma Si-hyeok?

“Ma Si-hyeok, then we’ll watch your stage.”

I watched the stage while recalling Ma Si-hyeok, whom I had briefly talked with.

He seemed quite timid, but how would he be on stage?

Intense drum bass that broke expectations echoed through the speakers.

“Ooh.”

The judges’ reactions were almost the same as mine.

His gaze had been fixed on the floor until before the stage started, but as soon as the accompaniment played, his eyes completely changed.

The hard bass track with increasingly intense beats was definitely what crump dancers frequently used.

As if proving why he chose such a song, Ma Si-hyeok successfully completed an impressive dance performance with his outstanding physique and flexible body.

‘This is quite a reversal too?’

Though I hadn’t talked with him much, it was 180 degrees different from the image I had imagined.

Watching Ma Si-hyeok return to his originally quiet and seemingly shy appearance as soon as the stage ended, I made a mental note.

If his singing was also decent, this could be a card useful to me.

“Actually, I’m not confident in singing…”

“It’s okay. Would you still like to try once?”

Ma Si-hyeok, pushed by the judges’ pressure to finish even one verse of singing, only became more rigid.

I sighed slightly while resting my chin on my hand.

‘His singing is exactly average or below average.’

There’s no way the judges wouldn’t notice what I felt too.

As expected, Ma Si-hyeok settled in 19th place, receiving evaluations like ‘dance skills are overwhelmingly impressive but lacks confidence’ and ‘vocal skills are also disappointing.’

I couldn’t hide my regretful feelings looking at his face, which appeared dejected until the moment he sat in his seat.

‘His dancing and physique are really good. But he can’t properly utilize that.’

Still, the trainees who appeared after the 50s had better skills than those before, so I could feel less boredom while watching.

Silently analyzing the participants’ capabilities, I also discovered several talents worthy of wariness. Most were from agencies with name value and all received high rankings.

Thus, at the end of the great journey, the level test stages prepared by 100 trainees were completed.

My final ranking was 9th place. Though I got pushed down in the latter half, it was a result far exceeding my expectations.

I wondered if my strategy had gone too wrong from the beginning.

‘Still, since it’s already past, I should think positively.’

The first stage provided to netizens, the theme song performance, would be based on this ranking. Rather, since I received a decent ranking from the start, I might be able to stand in an even better position during the theme song stage.

‘Since it’s come to this, should I use my brain to extract maximum screen time?’

“Participants will move to the dormitory!”

We all took large buses together and moved to a large boarding facility nearby.

Then we had to unpack our luggage in individual rooms and come down to the auditorium.

‘Cerberus, stay in the room as much as possible while I’m filming. Got it?’

{It might be stuffy but… Got it, Master!}

I can’t keep carrying Cerberus dangling on my shoulder.

As soon as all trainees gathered in the auditorium, the first trial immediately arrived.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Go Hyeon-ju, who will be serving as the general director and MC of 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 from now on.”

It seems a famous actress in her 20s, who started as a child actor and currently commands the highest fees, was handling the MC role for 〈ISL 2〉.

The trainees momentarily stirred at the appearance of the incredibly beautiful actress, but an announcement that instantly shattered that atmosphere dropped.

“All of you who will be boarding here from now on will spend countless hours practicing.”

“Yes~.”

“Then you must be curious about where and with whom you’ll practice. The period to prepare 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉’s theme song, 〈HIT〉, is only 1 week. I’ll now reveal the placement chart created with the intention of promoting your rapid growth and learning within that period!”

Go Hyeon-ju revealed a placard set up at the very front of the auditorium while speaking in an exceptionally bright tone.

Looking at the letters written on the placard, the trainees let out groans in unison, contrasting with that bright voice.

“You all remember the vocal and dance grades you received during the level test, right? For the next week, to become each other’s stimulants, each class will have A, B, C, and D grades all positioned together. I’m already looking forward to seeing which trainee will develop more and move forward in a situation where everyone’s skills are different!”

The auditorium filled with even louder noises, but Go Hyeon-ju delivered consecutive KO punches with lightning speed.

“And there’s one thing you must keep in mind. After this 1-week practice period, there will be a ‘final grade placement’ where grades can change according to your skill improvement level. It will be an important moment that determines the fate of the full-scale survival rounds, so I hope everyone practices hard.”

This was a development even I hadn’t thought of.

It had been the same last season, and if it were a typical survival program, they would naturally put trainees of the same grade together.

I looked at the placement chart consisting of 10 total classes and smiled bitterly.

‘They’re determined to completely shatter the kids’ mentals from the start.’