Chapter 7
Ding.
—
[Status Window]
Kim Sunyoo (23)
* Appearance: B
* Singing: B-
* Dancing: A-
* Charm: B-
* Stamina: B-
* Ability: ???
* Trait: 5th-year idol veteran
—
‘Wow. His stats are basically model student material.’
[He’s on a completely different level from someone I know.]
‘Shut up.’
The performance of a veteran whose stats were filled with A’s and B’s was truly exceptional.
‘Not that I have room to talk, but isn’t this guy cheating too?’
The moment the one-minute timer ended, the music stopped.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause erupted among the trainees, their expressions full of amazement.
The judges, wearing satisfied smiles, picked up their microphones.
“Kim Sunyoo, trainee.”
After catching his breath slightly, Kim Sunyoo flashed his eye-smile once more.
“Yes.”
“A veteran idol really is different.”
“Your vocal execution was clean, and your dancing, gaze control, and facial expressions were all perfect.”
“…!”
“Kim Sunyoo trainee’s grade is…”
Still smiling confidently, Kim Sunyoo stared directly at the judges.
“Grade A.”
“Thank you!”
After bowing to the judges, Kim Sunyoo’s turn ended.
‘Honestly, a veteran deserved an A grade.’
From then on, trainee introductions continued one after another.
“They’re good.”
‘That guy’s the one who’ll get caught in a gambling scandal three years from now.’
“Amazing.”
‘And that one crashed because of a school violence controversy.’
Conscious of the cameras constantly zooming in, I swallowed all the things I really wanted to say and wore my professional social smile.
I kept my trembling lips curved upward and transformed into a human applause machine.
“They have a charming look.”
‘Seriously, how many hours have I been smiling? Watching 100 people show off their talents is torture.’
A translucent blue window suddenly appeared.
[Cha Siwoo, do you have a personality problem?]
‘Me? No, they’re the ones with personality problems.’
As I endured by thinking back to my paparazzi days and kept clapping, most of the trainees had already finished their evaluations.
“Cha Siwoo trainee, please get ready to go up.”
Only when it was finally the last turn was my name called.
“Yes!”
As I stood up, sharp gazes immediately flew toward me.
‘These brats. So wary.’
Maybe because I’d often received threats against my life, this level of hostility felt cute.
Some trainees quickly averted their eyes when we made eye contact, while others openly glared.
I returned a professional smile to the glaring trainee and waited below the stage according to the staff’s instructions.
‘Sitting around this long made my whole body stiff.’
While stretching my slightly cramped body, I watched the trainee currently being evaluated on stage.
The trainee before me had forgotten the lyrics, panicked, and eventually shed tears like chicken droppings.
“Sniff… I’m sorry.”
“Yes. Trainee Hong Ryuhan receives Grade E.”
The judge, staring at him with cold eyes, called for the next person.
‘Merciless.’
As I climbed the metal stairs and stepped onto the stage, the blazing spotlights shone brightly.
Because the judging had gone on for such a long time, the judges’ faces were filled with exhaustion.
“Hello. I am Cha Siwoo, a 20-year-old independent trainee.”
Even now, every time I claimed to be five years younger than I really was, my conscience still pricked me.
After bowing ninety degrees and lifting my head, the judges’ previously lifeless eyes suddenly brightened.
‘I’ve seen this scene somewhere before.’
“Cha Siwoo trainee. According to your profile, you’ve never been part of an agency?”
“No, never.”
“How long have you trained as a trainee?”
“About a month.”
One judge looked startled and asked again.
“Pardon?”
‘More accurately, two weeks.’
“My trainee period has been roughly one month.”
“…Ah! That’s basically beginner-level experience. Yet you still passed the first audition. That’s impressive.”
“I was lucky.”
“Your answer is humble too. What do you think your charm point is?”
‘Hmm… What’s the model answer here?’
Just as I was pondering…
Ding.
—
[Choose one of three responses to the question.]
- My prince-like handsome appearance. I think I passed the first audition because I’m handsome.
- Teehee. (wink) My adorable way of speaking and expressions overflowing with cuteness >_<
- My crazy gap charm that screams delinquent. People often say I look surprisingly rebellious.
—
‘…What the hell is this?’
I was genuinely stunned by the system’s unexpected appearance.
‘I’m not seeing things, right?’
[Select your answer within 3 seconds. If no selection is made, an answer will be chosen automatically.]
‘Hey! What kind of–!’
“Teehee. (wink) My adorable way of speaking and expressions overflowing with cuteness >_<”
“…”
“…!”
‘You bastard system!!!’
For a moment, complete silence filled the filming set.
“Pfft…”
“Ahem. Ha. Ha. Ha. We enjoyed seeing Cha Siwoo trainee’s cute aegyo.”
“Another trainee overflowing with cuteness has appeared. Then, shall we see the introduction stage you’ve prepared?”
“…Yes.”
‘One day I’m going to kill that system.’
I desperately suppressed the embarrassment burning inside me.
‘Mind control. Stay calm.’
Dung-ddang-ddung-ddang ping ping ping!
As the instrumental of the song I had prepared began playing, the judges’ pupils visibly shook.
I swayed my body slightly to the excessively bright and cheerful opening of a familiar cartoon theme song.
—
I will become a princess~
Heart Ping, who has fallen for me!!
—
It was the theme song of a princess-themed children’s cartoon that was hugely popular among kids around this time.
Its popularity was so overwhelming that its merchandise topped children’s wish lists, causing shortages everywhere and emptying parents’ wallets.
Although it was a bright cartoon song with a surprisingly high vocal range, I had discovered that it was within my capabilities.
More importantly, the dance was basically a children’s routine.
Even kindergarten kids danced to it.
‘A dance even someone with my D- Dance stat can learn in a day!’
—
Heart Ping! Love Ping Ping Ping!
—
At that moment, I instinctively felt I should throw a heart.
‘What? Why am I… thinking that?’
Following my instincts, I formed finger hearts and sent them toward all the judges along with a wink.
‘Is it because my Charm stat got higher?’
Actions that normally would have embarrassed me to death came naturally.
The judges’ faces froze after receiving my hearts.
Finally, when the timer hit one minute, the cheerful song stopped.
‘Ha… That one minute was rough.’
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
Silence filled the frozen studio.
Only after about three seconds did applause finally begin.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A judge, looking completely dazed, snapped back to reality and picked up the microphone.
“Cha Siwoo trainee.”
“Yes.”
“You really have incredible charm.”
“Thank you.”
‘All that all-night practice paid off.’
“You look like a cold, handsome guy, but you’re so full of aegyo. That’s quite a gap charm.”
“At first I thought it was ridiculous, but your charm practically overflowed, and your vocal tone is genuinely good.”
The B-movie-esque self-introduction, which had descended like rain upon judges exhausted from hours of evaluations, hit its mark perfectly.
“Your unexpected idea and performance make me excited to see more from you in the future.”
As praise beyond my expectations poured in, the corners of my lips naturally rose.
‘I can clear this quest.’
The choreographer judge, who had been wearing an uncertain expression, finally picked up the microphone.
“The dance part is a bit ambiguous since it was more like a routine than actual dancing…”
When the staff pointed at their watches, the choreographer reluctantly nodded.
“Still, judging the stage itself, it was good.”
‘Just as I predicted.’
“Your strategy was smart. This self-introduction mission is about showing your charm within one minute. You selected a song that matched your abilities very well.”
This stage had a strict one-minute rule.
Considering the judges had to evaluate 100 trainees, I never thought they would change the rules or extend filming time just to examine one trainee’s dance skills.
After a brief discussion among themselves, the judges nodded.
“We will now announce your grade.”
Tense music flowed through the speakers.
“Cha Siwoo trainee’s grade is…”
“…”
“Grade B.”
‘I did it!’
“Thank you!”
I bowed ninety degrees toward the judges.
Ding.
A familiar notification sounded as a translucent blue window appeared.
[Congratulations. Side Quest (3): ‘Receive Grade B or higher in the self-introduction evaluation.’ Quest completed successfully.]
‘Nice!’
[Would you like to receive your reward?]
‘Of course.’
[Reward: +2 Stat Points. Please choose which stats to increase.]
‘What should I raise first? Dance, since it’s absurdly low? Or singing for the safer option?’
Following the staff’s instructions, I returned to my seat.
On stage, Yoo Haein’s voice echoed through the venue.
“Trainees, you’ve all worked hard. The one-minute introductions were full of charm and very entertaining to watch. The videos filmed today will later be uploaded to both the official website and GyuTube.”
“…!”
“Oh no… What do I do?!”
‘Those broadcasting station bastards are still doing whatever they want.’
Unexpected developments with no prior notice were already infamous in Star Picking.
The trainees who had succeeded and those who had failed wore completely different expressions.
Turning another cue card, Yoo Haein continued.
“The final results for all 100 trainees are as follows: 15 trainees received Grade A, 20 received Grade B, 38 received Grade C, 12 received Grade D, and 15 received Grade E. Great work, everyone.”
The A-grade trainees were smiling brightly, while those who received an E looked gloomy.
“Now that the warm-up is over, let me introduce the next survival mission. First, shall we listen to some music?”
A trendy instrumental began playing through the speakers, followed by a familiar melody.
It was the theme song of Star Picking 5, a massive hit from that era.
“The song you just heard is ‘Cheer Me On,’ the official theme song of this survival program.”
It had dominated every music chart and could be heard everywhere. Even someone like me, who had little interest in music, had been forced to hear it countless times.
“Starting now, you will practice this theme song and present a high-quality performance at a recording two weeks from now. The performance filmed that day will also be broadcast on TX Network’s music program.”
“…!”
The studio erupted into commotion.
“So we’re doing the theme song stage again.”
“We have to master both the choreography and song in only two weeks…!”
“We get to appear on TX Network’s music show before debuting?!”
The cameras zoomed in on the shocked trainees’ faces.
Judging by their worried expressions, two weeks was far from a generous amount of time.
“It’s too early to be shocked. There has to be some difference between grades, right?”
“…!”
“A-grade trainees will receive benefits. They will stand in the front positions and receive solo camera shots during the performance. In addition, A-grade trainees will be allowed to film a separate MimTalk challenge video that will later be uploaded to social media.”
‘So they’re going to heavily favor the A-grade trainees from the very beginning.’
In a stage featuring all 100 trainees at once, those standing in the front had an overwhelmingly higher chance of being seen on camera.
“The theme song stage will be filmed in a V-shaped formation. Behind the A-grade trainees will be B, then C, D, and E grades in order.”
In other words, an E-grade trainee might not appear on camera even once.
As the murmuring grew louder, Yoo Haein smiled and turned another cue card.
“Then lower-grade trainees would naturally be dissatisfied, right? That’s why we’ve prepared something. There will be a grade re-evaluation for the theme song stage in ten days.”
‘This is a chance to overturn the rankings, isn’t it?’
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