Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 3

Author: LyraDhani

Before being dropped into that wretched fantasy world… I, Lee Unha, was an idol trainee.

Well, to be honest, it was a bit embarrassing to even call myself a trainee. I had only spent about a year and a half at a small entertainment agency.

I didn’t know if I had talent or not, but regardless, I was on the verge of being kicked out. I’d already half accepted that this wasn’t the path for me and had started testing the waters to find another career.

‘Who would have guessed I’d be kicked off Earth, not just from my agency?’

Of course, I eventually made it back to Earth, but if it weren’t for Joo Wooyoung—and if it weren’t for that sudden Emergency Quest—I wouldn’t have even dreamed of appearing on this program.

It was unrealistic for someone like me, who hadn’t stood out even in a small agency, to be picked as one of the final seven out of 150 contestants… especially since my perspective had changed far too much during the seven years I spent in the other world.

My body and soul had become so lethargic that the very idea of ‘challenging’ myself was foreign to me.

When I was in the laboratory, I used to secretly chew over the things I wanted to do once I returned to Earth. But once I actually returned, all that remained was emptiness, lethargy, and the PTSD from everything I had endured.

Yes, the only reason I decided to appear on this show was, as I mentioned before, because of Joo Wooyoung and the quest.

<<Emergency Quest>>

[You, with a 1% contribution to the Demon King’s defeat. Assist the Hero Joo Wooyoung, who had a 99% contribution, and debut together. This is a golden opportunity to become the Hero’s companion.]

<<Penalty for Quest Refusal or Failure: Return to the Other World>>

Lying in bed, I suddenly remembered Joo Wooyoung talking about his dream.

Confident that someone like him would definitely appear on this survival show, I submitted an audition video as if possessed. Using a few cheats, I barely managed to pass, but…

I didn’t expect to face a crisis right from the start.

‘It’s only natural that no one expects anything from me.’

The TV station people who let me pass probably didn’t expect much either.

In fact, my role was clearly defined.

I was the stepping stone—the one meant to make the actual debut candidates look better. They were undoubtedly expecting me to give a pathetic performance and get shredded by the public.

It would be even better for them if I got scolded by the judges and burst into tears. If I were lucky, I might get a ‘hard work’ or ‘growth’ narrative and gain interest from a few fans with niche tastes.

But the people at this station probably weren’t even hoping for that much.

‘They’re basically telling me to go out there and be humiliated.’

The fact that they’d placed me immediately after Joo Wooyoung was malicious enough. These TV station people never did anything carelessly, so there was a good chance they’d even carefully assigned contestant numbers to shape the show’s narrative.

The judges, who had seen it all in this industry, couldn’t have missed that fact.

I could feel it in their expressions. Faces that said, ‘Ah, there won’t be much to see here.’ Faces that said, ‘This is just a break time.’

Even the cameras turned away from me. Rather than filming me as I prepared for my stage, they were busy filming Joo Wooyoung and his group sitting in the flashy chairs meant for the high-ranking Nobility.

“Ah… Next is Trainee No. 112, Lee Unha… Could you give us a brief self-introduction?”

I took another deep breath, looked the judges straight in the eye, and opened my mouth.

“It’s an honor to meet you! Respected judges! And all of our viewers! I am 17-year-old Lee Unha, who has descended from the Idol Planet to become your vitamin! ♥”

And then.

“Puhahahaha!”

“What was that? Did you see his expression suddenly change? Hahahahaha!”

Laughter broke out.

‘It worked.’

I hadn’t even realized my expression had changed so dramatically, but it worked in my favor. At the very least, I’d succeeded in grabbing everyone’s attention.

“How did his face change so suddenly? Just a moment ago, he looked incredibly nervous, but now he’s so bright and refreshing. Isn’t the contrast a bit much? Hahaha.”

‘Got the cameras too. They won’t edit me out now.’

“He is a vitamin, alright. My eyes suddenly snapped wide open…”

‘Interest redirected.’

I hadn’t planned on making such a reckless move from the start, but I didn’t really have a choice.

More importantly, I had succeeded in making an impression on the judges. They had already sat through 111 performances.

Reacting and giving detailed evaluations for every single person was a chore. They were professionals, but after doing this for so long, anyone would become physically drained.

Especially if a massive talent had just appeared right before.

The judges were important. How positively or negatively they reacted determined how much screen time you’d receive.

While I maintained a smile so unnatural it made my face cramp, Benok—a 13-year veteran idol and judge—spoke up.

“You were a trainee at QR six months ago?”

“Yes!”

“Well… I’m sure there were various circumstances, but your decision to appear here means you aren’t giving up on your dream, right?”

“Yes! That’s right! I want to become one too!”

“Pardon?”

“The world’s best K-pop star!”

“Hahahaha!”

I didn’t even have to look back to know. I’d bet everything that the cameras had already shifted over to Joo Wooyoung.

‘I’ve tied myself to him.’

“We have two future ‘world’s best K-pop stars’ here then. I hope you show us a stage as good as Trainee Joo Wooyoung’s. Shall we take a look?”

I nodded immediately and stepped to the center of the stage.

In the strangely quiet hall, the intro music began to play after the lights slowly dimmed. I caught the rhythm and immediately started moving.

As the lights brightened, several cameras began to track me. Naturally, the judges’ eyes followed as well.

-Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming.

“…….”

Look at me, the one who shines. I want you to fall into my eyes. I want everyone to look at me.

“…….”

-I want to steal your gaze and lock you inside me.

“…….”

-It’s only right. I won’t let you dare look away. I’ll make you come to me.

“…….”

-Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming.

It was <Charming Charming>, a song by a girl group that had been a hit just a few months ago.

I chose it because of its simple, addictive beat, its relatively low pitch, and the fact that it didn’t actually have many singing parts.

A song like this was the bare minimum I could actually perform live.

Because the original dance was intense, I had to tone down a few sections, but the performance was only about a minute and a half long anyway.

Since I wasn’t performing the full song alone, I thought I could handle it, and I had practiced… but…

‘I’m… I’m dying.’

My strength was fading. I was already exhausted from waiting through over a hundred performances, so it was natural to feel tired, but this was harder than I thought.

-Ha… charming. charming. You are to me… ha… ha….

Sure enough, I immediately started running out of breath. It reminded me all over again that singing while dancing wasn’t easy. I could feel my lungs screaming.

I continued the stage exactly as I had designed it in my head, but I could feel my already mediocre performance crumbling. I could see the judges’ expressions falling as well.

‘They’re definitely going to use that expression in the edit.’

It would be used as a face of disapproval toward a participant who had nothing but unearned confidence. It would probably even show up in the teaser.

Kim Minhyuk, the judge with the least seniority, hardened his face while checking Benok’s reaction.

Since that guy always gave copy-paste evaluations that mirrored whatever Benok said, he was probably loading up a critique to blast me with.

Despite that, I kept singing.

‘I knew this would be difficult from the start. I knew something like this could happen.’

There were many reasons why I chose to sing <Charming Charming> live despite the risk…

The biggest reason was that this song had great synergy with the measly ability I currently possessed.

[Succubus Eyes: D-Rank]

As I guided the tiny traces of mana scattered throughout my body into my eyes, I immediately felt the supernatural power settling within them.

It was the reason I was able to pass as a trainee for this program, and one of the few abilities I’d gained from that laboratory that had left me with nothing but scars. No, to be precise, it was one of the supernatural abilities I was still capable of using.

[Succubus Eyes: D-Rank]

[Siren’s Voice: F-Rank]

[Conversation with the Dead: C-Rank]

These were the results of my master—no, that mad dark mage—randomly injecting demon blood into my body as a human experiment.

The succubus blood had been the least painful to receive, and it had been fairly compatible with me. Thanks to that, I was able to gain an ability, so technically the experiment was a success, but…

I hadn’t inherited the exact same powers as a succubus.

Unlike a real succubus, who could instantly place someone under hypnosis, all I could do was make people feel a slight degree of affection toward me.

The other abilities were the same. The ‘Siren’s Voice’, which was supposed to attract others, was only F-rank yet consumed so much mana that I couldn’t even use it simultaneously with the Succubus Eyes.

And ‘Conversation with the Dead’ wasn’t meant for the stage in the first place.

In this performance, I could only use the Succubus Eyes, but actually…

This alone would be enough.

‘Because it’ll be captured on camera.’

Even a tiny increase in people’s favorability was incredibly effective. Just making people view me a little more positively was already an amazingly useful ability. After all, it was thanks to this very power that I’d made it through the preliminaries and earned a spot among the 150 contestants.

Sure enough, Benok’s distorted face began to smooth out little by little.

The dancing was just so-so, and the singing was just so-so. The sound of my heavy panting between lines was likely grating on their ears, but they would be feeling a strange sensation—that this trainee was somehow drawing their gaze.

Even though I wasn’t nearly as handsome as Joo Wooyoung, I was making them feel an unidentifiable aura.

I immediately raised my finger, looked straight ahead, and twirled it.

-Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming.

I looked at the camera and twirled it again.

-Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming. Charming.

Camera 3, Camera 4—I looked at every camera filming me and performed the signature the signature finger-twirling choreography.

Thinking they’d edit it appropriately, I even twirled my finger toward the writers, the producers, and the station staff.

Since it had been a while since I used my power, I felt all the strength drain from my body as if I were about to collapse from exhaustion, but I managed to stay on my feet, look forward, and finish the stage.

-Charming!

“…….”

Ha. Ha. Gasp. Ha. Ha.

‘F*ck, I’m so tired.’

My ragged breathing, which even I found annoying, was likely making everyone uncomfortable, but fortunately, the sound of polite applause began to drown it out. Soon after, Benok’s voice rang out.

“I can’t say, even as a joke, that this was an amazing stage.”

“Ha….”

“Your courage in choosing such intense choreography is commendable, but I got the impression that neither your dancing nor your singing is particularly outstanding. The first 20 seconds seemed okay… but I think you probably feel it the most yourself.”

“There were several moments where you went off-key. I’m not sure whether everyone else noticed, but it also looked like you stumbled during parts of the choreography you arranged yourself. This may sound harsh, but it’s hard to believe you were once a trainee. Your fundamentals seem extremely lacking. Or perhaps it’s less a matter of fundamentals and more a lack of stamina.”

“I’m sorry.”

“However.”

‘However?’

“For some reason, it was a performance I couldn’t take my eyes off. Don’t you think so, noona?”

“Yes. There was definitely something there. He’s got good visuals, too…”

‘Really? My visuals… are okay?’

“How should I put it? He has the kind of face that makes people want to become fans. And… he’s still rough around the edges, but I think his vocal tone is good. No, it’s definitely good. Though there seems to be a limit to his range…”

‘I can’t really do anything about my vocal range. Does this count as praise?’

“Minhyuk, what did you think?”

“It looked that way to me too. At the very least, he fulfilled his role as a ‘vitamin.’”

“Hahahaha!”

The ridiculous joke drew equally ridiculous TV laughter and reactions, but I’d say things had gone fairly well.

If there was a problem, it wasn’t with the judges…

It was with Joo Wooyoung.

‘He… he already noticed.’

Naturally, Joo Wooyoung realized that I had used a supernatural power.

I could feel his gaze on my back, sharp enough to sting. It was a natural reaction.

After all, considering Joo Wooyoung’s other title, he couldn’t possibly react any other way.

‘The Demon Slayer.’