I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 3

Episode 3

 

Baekya almost forgot how to breathe.

 

Unbelievable. Me—a sunfish?

 

“Ah… so that’s why the reviews called it raising a sunfish…”

 

Had it all been foretold?

 

Baekya flopped onto the bed. In his dazed state, he had forgotten that he had gotten five stitches in his palm.

 

“Aah!”

 

A sharp pain shot from his palm to his brain. Tears welled up.

 

“A sunfish… I’m a sunfish!”

 

It must have appeared at the beginning of this game, when the status window first appeared at the bunsik restaurant. And what had appeared then was.

 

※ All skills obtained while slots are empty are automatically equipped.

 

In that case, maybe… it’s also possible to unequip them?

 

Having found a glimmer of hope, Baekya quickly shouted ‘Unequip’. He was embarrassed, but he was that desperate.

 

“Unequip passive!”

 

The line, like something out of a pure-hearted magical girl show, echoed loudly. But the status window gave Baekya a sense of humiliation.

 

[Passive <Sunfish(R)> cannot be deactivated.]

 

“Waaah, I’m screwed! I’m screwed! You’ve humiliated me!”

 

Baekya, who had collapsed onto the bed, flapped around like a freshly caught fish.

 

The <Genius Idol> that should have been activated was inactive, and the <Sunfish> couldn’t be unequipped. He couldn’t see a way out.

 

Perhaps because he looked a little pitiful, the system soon brought up another window.

 

▶ Skill Draw (5 times available)

 

It was the skill draw. It was what he had received along with the Genius Idol title at the very beginning of the game, as a synchronization gift.

 

“Giving poison and then medicine?! No than-…”

 

Baekya shouted in anger.

 

Then a sudden wave of anxiety washed over him. If his memory was correct, the 5 draws in front of him were a ‘synchronization’ gift.

 

Come to think of it, except for going back 3 years in time, everything was the same as his situation in reality. As if it had been synchronized.

 

“Damn it.”

 

Goosebumps broke out all over his body.

 

‘If I die here, the real Han Baekya might die too.’

 

Once that thought occurred to him, he could no longer laugh off this game.

 

“Okay. First, uh, um. Shall we proceed with the draw?”

 

It was fine. Totally natural. The Baekya who shouted that he wouldn’t do it could be someone else. Come to think of it, he didn’t have any mentality left to be shaken, did he?

 

[How many skill draws would you like to proceed with?]

 

At the words asking how many of the 5 draws he had he wanted to use, Baekya shouted.

 

“All of them!”

 

And the result was disastrous.

 

[Skill acquired!]

[<Are You Crazy, Human?(B)>, <Sexy Provocation (C)>, <The Hand is Quicker Than the Eye(C)>, <It’s Me!(D)>, <I’m Drunk on Myself(D)>]

 

I don’t want to live anymore.

 

Baekya shut his eyes at the sight of the unbearable skill names.

 

After a few minutes, having decided to accept reality, he opened his eyes again and faced the status window.

 

“Fine. The names are trash, but the effects might be okay.”

 

Let’s check them one by one.

 

<Are You Crazy, Human?(B)>

: Occasionally makes people wonder if you’re even human.

 

<Sexy Provocation (C)>

: Increases sexiness and provocation ability.

 

<The Hand is Quicker Than the Eye(C)>

: Improves ticketing ability.

 

<It’s Me!(D)>

: Enhances presence.

 

<I’m Drunk on Myself(D)>

: Confidence increases when looking in the mirror.

 

It seemed the only thing worth salvaging was the appearance skill.

 

“I get ‘Are You Crazy, Human?’, but what are the abilities of the rest?”

 

As soon as Baekya’s mumble ended, the status window changed once more.

 

[Please select a skill to apply!]

▶ <When the Nerd Takes Off His Glasses(B)> (Equipped)

ㅤ <Are You Crazy, Human?(B)>

▶ <Sexy ProvocationC)>

ㅤ <The Hand is Quicker Than the Eye(C)>

ㅤ <It’s Me!(D)>

ㅤ <I’m Drunk on Myself(D)>

 

The first was appearance. The second one, seeing as there was no ‘Equipped’ sign, seemed to be an option for the talent category.

 

In that case, let’s start with appearance.

 

Better to be handsome all the time than only when taking off glasses! Though… it’s not going to turn me into a robot, right?

 

Believing that the game wasn’t that bad, Baekya chose <Are You Crazy, Human?(B)>. Fortunately, he just looked a little more handsome; what he feared did not happen.

 

He let out a breath of relief, then examined the next choices.

 

‘Don’t need sexy, don’t need ticketing, presence seems the best of the bunch.’

 

In fact, it seemed his presence would stand out enough with just <Courtship Dance(D)>, without that one. But to survive among the trainees who were all clamoring to be the best, it was better to stand out even a little more.

 

Having made his decision, Baekya moved his finger over <It’s Me!(D)>. But before he could even select it, <I’m Drunk on Myself(D)> was equipped.

 

“Huh? No. I wanted the other one, ‘It’s Me’…!”

 

[The remaining skills, except for the equipped one, will automatically disappear.]

 

“You bastards!”

 

Whoever said this was a trash luck-based game—those words should replace the game’s description.

 

***

 

Last night.

 

Baekya had confessed the truth to his sister while they were eating. Ah, of course, it was about being a trainee.

 

“A trainee? So that’s why you suddenly took off your glasses?”

 

“No, this is because I lost my glasses…”

 

“If you want to do it, do it.”

 

Baekya was a little flustered, even though he was the one who had brought it up.

 

“…Huh? You’re not against it, noona?”

 

“You finally have something you want to do for the first time, why would I? But if it gets too hard, tell me. I’ll be against it then.”

 

“That’s great, brother-in-law! So do I have a celebrity family member now?”

 

As a result, Baekya ended up at the ID Entertainment building on a weekend morning.

 

‘There’s no time to waste.’

 

If his memory was right, ID wouldn’t debut AIM’s successor boy group until eight years later. With AIM approaching their 7th debut anniversary, that meant about a year remained. The perfect timing to form a debut team.

 

Moreover, the sunfish passive had already been activated. That meant that if he failed to join this debut group, there was a very high probability that he would get a bad ending for ‘debut failure.’

 

***

 

“Baekya-gun! Welcome. I’ve spoken to your sister.”

 

“Hello. My sister was busy, so I came alone. But I brought the seal you mentioned.”

 

To think he’d live to sign an exclusive trainee contract with ID. Seeing his sister’s seal being stamped next to his name and the guardian section, Baekya felt a little strange.

 

“As I said earlier, this contract does not guarantee Han Baekya-gun’s debut. However, the company is continuously planning a boy group to succeed AIM, and we are also considering discovering solo artists, so as long as Baekya-gun works hard, there will definitely be a good opportunity.”

 

“Yes. Please take care of me.”

 

The man, who was the head of the new artist development team, said he hoped this would be the start of a good relationship and guided Baekya to the practice rooms.

 

Following the man, he arrived at the second basement floor. As the elevator doors opened, he could feel the space thrumming heavily.

 

It seemed the entire floor was made up of large and small dance practice rooms.

 

‘As expected of ID.’

 

This level of soundproofing. It was truly an extraordinary display of capital power.

 

“Mornings are when dance practice is in full swing.”

 

The man smiled slightly at Baekya before knocking on a studio door.

 

“Teacher, I’m coming in for a moment.”

 

As the door opened, the music stopped and a wave of hot air and breathing sounds came out. Baekya, who was following behind, bowed his head at the gazes that were focused on him.

 

He was a little embarrassed.

 

“Team Leader-nim, what brings you here? I heard the new artist development team is swamped because of the debut group.”

 

“We are. But someone’s got to move, and it might as well be the least busy one. We can’t let talent like this get snatched up by another company.”

 

As he spoke, the man guided Baekya forward. The choreographer glanced between the two with interest.

 

“So is this the kid… that one?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. He’s a new trainee who will be joining ID from today.”

 

At the team leader’s introduction, Baekya quickly bowed and greeted him.

 

“Hello. I’m Han Baekya. Please take care of me.”

 

Lukewarm applause broke out here and there. It was a welcome to hell and a subtle check on a competitor.

 

However, before he could even pay attention to it, a status window appeared before Baekya’s eyes.

 

[A new quest (hidden) has arrived!]

[Q. The Only Way for a Practice Worm to Live (1): Achieve the first dance practice]

 

It was a hidden quest that was only activated within the practice room.

 

And as a result.

 

[<The Only Way for a Practice Worm to Live (1)> Complete!]

[Level up! Lv.2 → Lv.3]

[Quest reward is being distributed: 1 Star Point]

[Level up reward is being distributed: 1 Star Point]

 

The quest was a success. Of course, the process itself was a disaster.

 

“Well then, let’s see the new friend’s skills. Was his name Baekya? Baekya-gun, do you know that you’re our company’s fastest audition passer?”

 

“…I am?”

 

Baekya was bewildered. Well, he had auditioned on the day he was accidentally cast, and he had been told he passed on the spot.

 

‘Doesn’t everyone come in like that…?’

 

Baekya subtly glanced at the group of trainees reflected in the mirror. He saw a few of them exchanging glances at the choreographer’s words.

 

‘Hmm. Their wariness is palpable.’

 

However, that atmosphere didn’t last long.

 

“Pfft! Your dancing is so honest.”

 

Because as soon as the music started, the Courtship Dance skill was activated.

 

The trainees who had been wary of him seemed to have let their guard down after seeing his revealed skills. Compared to their gazes from a moment ago, they were like gentle lambs now.

 

Meanwhile, Baekya (Sunfish / 18), crushed by self-loathing, sank to the floor, deeply wounded—and made a decision.

 

‘I’m spending all the star points I’ve collected so far.’

 

He had accidentally found out, but 1 star point could be used for 1 skill draw.

 

Currently, Baekya’s star points were 5.

 

‘I have to become a dance master.’

 

I’ll become a master and surprise all the guys who laughed at me today.

 

Baekya went home with the ambition of definitely drawing a dance skill. And he spent 4 points on the draw. He left 1 point as a contingency for an unknown situation.

 

As a result.

 

[Skill acquired!]

[<Dance Magician on Stage(C)>, <My Body and Soul in This Headphone(C)>, <Clueless(C)>, <Roly-poly Toy(C)>]

 

It was a field of C’s.

 

‘They’re definitely dance-related skills, but…’

 

He didn’t even need to read the descriptions to know. At C-rank, they probably weren’t much better than Courtship Dance.

 

“This trash game…!”