Chapter 8
“Four days before the theme song stage recording, rankings will be adjusted based on skill evaluations. For trainees with lower grades, this is a golden opportunity to move up, right?”
When it came to recognition, having a higher rank was absolutely advantageous.
If viewers became familiar with my face from the beginning, it would naturally help a lot in the future voting rounds.
“Then, Star Picking 5 trainees, good luck.”
“Yes!”
“Waaaaah!”
The trainees’ morale reignited at the good news of grade reevaluation.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause echoed as Yoo Haein finished his greeting.
The ending music played to close the program, and the lights in front of us slowly dimmed, plunging the stage into darkness.
The filming was over.
“Phew.”
I had safely gotten through the one-minute self-introduction mission using a popular cartoon theme song and some B-movie-level charm.
The problem was that if I wanted to increase my chances of debuting, I absolutely needed to rank near the top in this upcoming evaluation.
When a hundred trainees danced and sang the same song, the differences in skill would stand out clearly.
‘Looks like I’ll have to practice like crazy again.’
Ding.
The familiar notification sound rang out, and the translucent blue window appeared once more.
—
[Sub-Quest (4): Achieve Grade A in the Theme Song Midterm Evaluation.]
Reward granted upon success.
Eliminated upon failure.
—
“…!”
‘So you’re basically saying I have to get an A no matter what?’
[Ehek, fighting >_0]
I raised my middle finger toward the system window that dared to throw a smug emoticon at me.
☆☆☆
The theme song training began by dividing trainees according to their grades.
Having all one hundred trainees practice together would be inefficient and difficult to film.
“Grade B trainees, we’ll start with vocal lessons.”
“Yes!”
Judge Park Chaeyoung and the composer who had participated as judges conducted the vocal training.
As the main camera in the practice room started recording, the theme song, “Cheer Me On,” began playing through the speakers.
The twenty trainees who had received Grade B followed along while looking at the sheet music they had been given.
The differences in singing ability were greater than I expected.
‘I’d heard idols focused more on dancing than vocals, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad.’
Since synchronized choreography and stage performance were the core of idol work, trainees typically learned dance first during their early training.
Because Star Picking had been milked for all it was worth over countless seasons, there were more rookie trainees than veterans this time, making the skill gap even larger.
Even according to the status windows, many Grade B trainees had significantly higher dance ratings than singing ratings.
Under Park Chaeyoung’s guidance, we repeatedly sang “Cheer Me On” together.
Once the group practice was over, the judges began giving individual feedback to each trainee.
“This time, Cha Siwoo, why don’t you sing it?”
“Yes.”
I placed the sheet music on the floor and sang along with the accompaniment.
—
I’ll tempt you,
Every moment is filled with you,
I’ll give you everything I have, so cheer for my shining day
—
‘The vocal range is more manageable than I expected.’
After I finished singing, Park Chaeyoung stared at me with a surprised expression.
“You’ve already memorized all the lyrics?”
“Yes.”
“No, you only heard ‘Cheer Me On’ for the first time today. When did you memorize it all?”
‘Actually, this isn’t my first time hearing it.’
“I memorized it when you handed out the sheet music.”
The song had been so popular in the future that I had practically been forced to hear it countless times, and my unusually strong memory was both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.
“Are you some kind of genius, Cha Siwoo?”
“No. I just have a slightly good memory.”
“Even your answer is humble.”
“Thank you.”
“Everything was fine, but the triple high note in the highlight section was a bit lacking. I’ll demonstrate it, so try copying me.”
Park Chaeyoung effortlessly produced a powerful yet clean high note.
—
Cheer for my shining day
—
“Wow.”
“She’s so good!”
Admiration erupted throughout the practice room.
“When singing high notes, don’t force your throat. Stable diaphragmatic breathing is important. Got it?”
“Yes, understood.”
‘Let’s try it the way the expert explained.’
Following Park Chae-young’s instructions, I used diaphragmatic breathing and sang again.
—
Cheer for my shining day
—
“…!”
The pitch was far more stable.
The high note came much easier than before and actually felt satisfying to sing.
‘So this is how you’re supposed to sing.’
My eyes met Park Chaeyoung’s stunned gaze.
“You’ve seriously never learned singing before?”
“I haven’t.”
“Then you’re really singing exactly the way I just taught you?”
‘You told me to sing it like this.’
“Yes.”
“Cha Siwoo, you’ve got talent. Practice a lot.”
“Thank you!”
I bowed at a ninety-degree angle, and Park Chaeyoung smiled in satisfaction before moving on to another trainee.
‘This really is different.’
Maybe that’s why expertise should always be learned from experts.
As I continued singing while focusing on the breathing and vocalization methods she taught me, even my own ears could tell that I sounded noticeably better than before.
‘Wait… could it be…?’
With growing suspicion, I called for that guy.
‘Hey. System.’
[Yep.]
‘Show me my status window.’
Ding.
—
[Status Window]
Cha Siwoo (20)
‘ Appearance: A-
‘ Singing: C+ (UP)
‘ Dancing: D-
‘ Charm: B+
‘ Stamina: B+
Ability: ???
Status: Paparazzo who regressed five years into the past.
Remaining Stat Points: +2
—
My singing stat had increased.
‘My singing stat went up automatically? So I can actually improve stats myself through practice?’
[ㅇ]
‘Then this is doable. But what’s the criterion for increasing them?’
[Classified.]
‘Everything I ask is classified, huh?’
The system’s responses had become increasingly lazy.
In return, I greeted the system window with my middle finger.
‘For the next ten days, I’ll act like I’m already dead and focus entirely on singing and dancing.’
I immersed myself in the sheet music.
Suddenly, I felt someone staring at me from nearby and turned my head.
“Hello.”
“…?”
One of the trainees I had personally sent crashing into ruin during my paparazzi days was smiling while staring directly at me.
‘Holy shit, that scared me!’
Conscious of the cameras with red recording lights glowing everywhere, I slightly lowered my head.
“Yes, hello.”
‘Ignoring him could start a controversy about attitude.’
After giving a brief greeting, I turned back toward the sheet music.
Then the guy suddenly shoved his face right into it.
‘What exactly are you trying to do?’
A laugh escaped me.
“I’m Park Sugyeok, a trainee from Harmony Entertainment.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You memorized the lyrics so quickly, and your vocal tone is really nice. Want to practice together?”
‘Me? With you? Why?’
“No. I prefer practicing alone.”
‘Why would I risk getting dragged down with you?’
Park Sugyeok had debuted later in another idol group and reached mid-tier popularity before ruining himself by constantly clubbing and dating multiple women at once.
‘Back when I was staking out clubs to photograph him for a job, the music was so loud my ears nearly burst.’
Just remembering it made my ears hurt.
Guys like that were rotten from the start.
‘Getting involved with him would only be a headache.’
“Ah, really? Have you never heard of me before?”
‘This guy already has celebrity syndrome despite still being a trainee.’
I slowly raised my index finger and dug it into my ear.
Actually, I’d wanted to raise a different finger, but the cameras stopped me.
“Phew.”
Looking at Park Sugyeok’s strange smile, I blew on the bit of earwax dangling from my fingertip.
Watching it drift downward, I put on my professional social smile.
“No, I haven’t.”
“I thought I was fairly well-known for a trainee.”
“That’s just what you think.”
The corners of Park Sugyeok’s mouth twitched slightly.
‘Looks like he gets it.’
“To be honest, practicing was just an excuse. I want to get close to you.”
“Ah. Why?”
“Connections matter in survival shows. If we get linked together as the Grade B duo and appear on broadcasts together, it’ll benefit both of us. It’ll help with voting later too.”
‘I’m not interested.’
Lowering his voice, Park Sugyeok whispered into my ear.
“Honestly, the only people in Grade B who look like they’ll survive are you and me. Neither of us belongs in Grade B, right? Let’s move up to Grade A together and build a proper alliance.”
“Sounds like you’re not very good at judging people.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe you’re just a generous evaluator.”
The smile on Park Sugyeok’s face visibly trembled.
“You’re pretty blunt, aren’t you? What if that causes a controversy later? It’s a good offer for you, so why act like this?”
‘Good offer? More like a nuclear bomb.’
“I’ll decide that myself. And I think you should worry about your own controversies.”
“What?”
I glanced at the cameras and lowered my voice as much as possible.
“You seem to have a complicated relationship with women. You should tone it down.”
Park Sugyeok’s face instantly turned red.
‘Oh. A person’s expression can change that fast.’
Breathing heavily in disbelief, Park Sugyeok quickly left his seat.
‘Looks like his love life is already messy.’
I had only thrown out a random guess because this was still five years ago, but he bit immediately. Maybe he was easier to bait because he was younger.
‘Well, I probably won’t have to deal with him anymore.’
I could feel intense stares aimed at me throughout practice, but I ignored them and focused on the sheet music.
☆☆☆
“Cha Siwoo! Are you a robot?”
“No.”
“Then are you a machine!?”
“No!”
The dance trainer’s shouting echoed through the practice room.
Unlike vocal lessons, dance lessons had been nothing but suffering.
“No, seriously. It’s fascinating. You stay on beat perfectly, so why are you so stiff?”
‘Because my dance stat is D-.’
“I’ll practice again.”
“Sigh… Park Chaeyoung called you a sponge, so I had high expectations, but your dancing is truly awful.”
“I’ll work hard and apply your feedback.”
“You answer well. But why don’t you ever look discouraged no matter what I say?”
“Why should I feel discouraged over something I’m bad at? I can just work hard and learn.”
“…Forget working hard. Try being good.”
“Yes!”
The dance trainer sighed and restarted the music with a defeated expression.
The choreography for “Cheer Me On” was fairly intense.
Even the Grade B trainees, whose dance abilities were considered decent, were breathing heavily from the effort.
Whenever the choreography required smooth waves, my stiff movements reflected in the mirror stood out to anyone watching.
[Kekeke]
‘You always laugh whenever I dance.’
[KEKEKEK]
‘Hey, stop laughing.’
[Keke, seriously… this is a talent in itself. LOL.]
‘I’ve improved compared to before, haven’t I?’
Ignoring the system window that kept spamming laughter, I focused on dance class.
My ragged breathing climbed all the way to the back of my throat, and sweat continuously streamed down my cheeks.
‘My clothes are completely soaked.’
Only after dancing for about three hours did the lesson finally near its end.
My ears hurt from hearing so much nagging.
“We’ll end today’s dance lesson here.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed ninety degrees toward the dance trainer.
The trainer left, and the staff began packing up the cameras.
“Today’s official filming is finished. For the remaining time, trainees may spend it however they like. You can continue practicing or go back to the dorms and rest.”
‘There’s no way anyone here is actually going to believe that and go rest, right?’
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
After the production crew left behind only minimal recording equipment and departed, only twenty trainees remained in the practice room, now filled with the smell of sweat.
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