Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 4

“Unfortunately, Trainee No. 112 Lee Unha has been assigned to the <Slave> rank. As all of the judges were in unanimous agreement, you have regrettably been placed in the <Slave> rank.”

 

An MC, whose name I couldn’t quite recall, announced my rank after receiving the results. Judge Benok smiled and spoke to me.

 

“But since we can see plenty of room for growth, I hope you’ll continue working hard. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

‘Even here, I’m in the slave rank. What kind of lunatic PD came up with this ridiculous concept?’

 

“Trainee Lee Unha, please take your seat. Next is participant No. 113. Please enter!”

 

‘Still, I’m glad I caught Benok’s eye.’

 

They’d said my vocal tone was good, and that my visuals weren’t bad either. Those were positive points I’d earned without relying on Succubus Eyes. I couldn’t help feeling a little encouraged since I hadn’t skipped out on my practice.

 

I could barely even hear the MC’s voice anymore. Then again, maybe it was because I had no real interest in any of the contestants coming after me. Trainee 113, 114, 115, all the way to Trainee 130 before the scheduled break—they were likely all nobodies.

 

But even so, I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage.

 

‘Reactions. I have to give reactions.’

 

I had no choice if I wanted to stay on camera even a second longer. Since the trainees in the 100s were physically and mentally exhausted, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that anyone with good reactions from this point on would definitely make the cut for the broadcast.

 

The other trainees in the 100s were likely thinking the same thing, as everyone was showing off exaggerated reactions with their mouths wide open. But my reactions, honed through seven years of slave labor, were on a completely different level.

 

The seal clap, the wide-eyed wonder… the effort I had put into catering to that mad dark mage’s whims was finally seeing the light of day.

 

‘Trainee 123… He cracked badly on one note…, and now he’s crying.’

 

Sure enough, Trainee No. 123, who had just been verbally torn apart by the judges, began to cry.

 

“Ugh… hic… I’ll… I’ll work hard.”

 

I shed tears right along with him. I wept as if I fully understood No. 123’s feelings, as if I empathized with the frustration of not being able to show the results of his hard work.

 

I felt a little bad for stealing No. 123’s camera time, but since this survival show was no different from a battlefield, I had to snatch every bit of coverage I could. Everyone was trying to look sad to get on camera, but Vitamin Lee Unha was the only one actually dripping tears.

 

Naturally, the camera had no choice but to follow me.

 

‘At this rate… I probably won’t just fade into the background…’

 

In fact, besides the dedicated reaction camera, another camera was tracking me. To be precise, it was tracking both me and Joo Wooyoung.

 

Slanting my eyes slightly to the side, I noticed Joo Wooyoung—no, the former Demon Slayer—was still staring at me. He was glaring so openly that it was obvious. He didn’t even seem to care about the cameras. For a moment, it looked as if he had completely forgotten he was being filmed.

 

“Trainee 123 is in the <Slave> class. Next is Trainee 124! Please enter!”

 

Even after 123 left and 124 appeared, and even after that…

 

“Trainee 128, please come up to the stage!”

 

Even when it was 128’s turn, Joo Wooyoung kept his eyes fixed on me.

 

“Trainee 132, please enter!”

 

Even when Trainee No. 132’s performance began…

 

“Trainee 145 is…”

 

Even while Trainee 145 was giving a passionate performance, Joo Wooyoung continued to watch me.

 

He seemed to scan his surroundings occasionally, but ultimately, his gaze always returned to me. The writers and producers seemed to have noticed this as well. Seeing the cameras capturing both of us meant they were paying attention.

 

Whatever the reason, they were likely racking their brains to create a narrative—whether it be friendship, a subtle rivalry, or a battle of nerves, they probably thought they had found a scene that would draw aggro.

 

‘They’ll probably pull me for a separate interview soon.’

 

How could they possibly imagine that, while completely unaware of returnees and fantasy worlds, Joo Wooyoung currently suspected me of being a low-ranking succubus?

 

***

 

Once all the trainees’ performances were finished, the scene became a bit chaotic. The judges were saying their goodbyes to the PDs, and the staff were packing up the equipment. 

 

I realized today’s self-introduction filming had finally come to an end. Sure enough, I heard the voice of a young woman who seemed to be a staff member.

 

“That concludes today’s filming. There are no more scheduled activities afterward, so please rest until your dorm assignments are announced. Some of you may be called in for individual interviews.”

 

After a chorus of ‘Good job everyone!’ people began to scatter in small groups. The trainees, who had been sitting for hours, finally stretched and left the set, and the judges seemed to have quickly disappeared into the waiting rooms.

 

In the midst of that, I heard the voices of other trainees snickering as they looked my way.

 

“Oh, it’s the Vitamin.”

 

“Hey, Vitamin.”

 

“Great stage. The alien Vitamin from the Idol Planet.”

 

‘Yeah, go ahead and laugh all you want.’

 

Basically, there were always guys that age who didn’t know their place. This was true whether they were idol trainees or even debuted idols. Agencies might try to teach them proper behavior, but the ones who actually listened and got their act together were usually trainees from major companies who were already almost guaranteed to debut and therefore knew better than to make trouble.

 

Those from tiny agencies nobody had ever heard of—or those without agencies at all—often acted recklessly without thinking.

 

‘Once the cameras and mics are off, everyone’s the same.’

 

In fact, I could bet there were guys who couldn’t even keep it together in front of the cameras. By turning 150 mindless beasts loose in one place and even creating a literal class system, the show was openly inciting this kind of conflict.

 

The program’s name was Idol Classism, after all.

 

A show with an absurd premise: create <Nobility>, <Commoner>, and <Slave> classes, throw these beasts who want to be idols into extreme conditions, and debut the seven survivors.

 

Some inhuman monster of a PD, who decided that regular evil editing or standard planning could no longer stimulate the viewers’ dopamine, had turned this place into a laboratory for middle and high school beasts.

 

‘You can already see the groups forming.’

 

The trainees from the same agencies were naturally sticking together, but even now I could already see people grouping up according to their ranks. Nobility with Nobility, Commoners with Commoners, and Slaves with Slaves. Kids that age loved hierarchies more than anything, so it was a natural reaction.

 

‘They obsess over tiers in games too, so…’

 

I walked past some thugs who looked like they’d be in a school violence scandal soon.

 

“Uh… you’re Lee Unha, right?”

 

One of the Slaves spoke to me. I didn’t remember his face well, but seeing the large ‘123’ on his chest, I knew he was the trainee who had made a pathetic show of crying on stage.

 

“Your stage was cool. Your vocal tone is really good, and your dancing was… you were good. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be in the Slave class. Did you choreograph it yourself? And like Benok sunbaenim said, you really draw people’s attention. Do they teach you things like that when you join an agency?”

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

‘This guy… it wouldn’t be bad to get to know him.’

 

The fact that he wasn’t acting like a beast already earned him a passing grade. Second, he was the same rank and had secured screen time and a character through his crying show. Since it seemed his tear ducts were broken, there was no harm in being friendly with him.

 

“It wasn’t that great of a dance. Rather than choreographing it, you could say I just shaved down an existing one. My stamina is weak, so I can’t move as intensely as the original. You sang well, too. It was a bit of a shame at the end… was it because you practiced too much?”

 

“Huh? Oh… yeah, something like that.”

 

‘I like that he’s not trying to act tough.’

 

“That must’ve been frustrating. I felt the same way—I don’t think I managed to show everything I’d practiced either. When I saw you come down from the stage crying, I really sympathized. I ended up crying too before I even realized it…”

 

“Ah. I saw you. You were crying over there in the seats…”

 

“Why were you watching me?”

 

“Oh, you just stood out… How could I not? I had just come down crying.”

 

‘Kids this age really do become friends fast.’

 

“Ah! So Unha, you’re not with an agency anymore?”

 

“Yeah, something like that.”

 

It seemed he already considered us friends even though we had just met and barely talked. Of course, if either of us got eliminated, this connection would disappear just as quickly, but he seemed to need a place to lean on while this survival show lasted.

 

After giving him a moderate answer, I immediately threw a question back.

 

“And you’ve never been in an agency before?”

 

No. 123 replied immediately.

 

“Nope. I only went to a vocal academy. I learned some dance too, but nothing special… My instructor told me I should try auditioning here… and I somehow got lucky enough to pass. But there are so many people here who are amazing at both singing and dancing. If I’d known it’d be like this… I probably wouldn’t have applied…”

 

“Why? You’re a good singer. Who knows? Maybe we’ll debut together.”

 

“I’d really love that… but 7 out of 150? Isn’t that going to be hard?”

 

‘Yeah, it’ll be hard. Probably.’

 

Of course, I didn’t plan on chatting aimlessly with No. 123 forever. He wasn’t the only one who had business with me.

 

‘He’s following us…’

 

“……”

 

‘He’s definitely following… It’s Joo Wooyoung.’

 

I could feel Joo Wooyoung slowly following behind me. If I looked back too obviously, he’d realize I was aware of him, so I kept glancing while pretending to look at No. 123. But without a doubt, Joo Wooyoung was tailing me.

 

Even as we passed the filming set and headed toward the restroom, he kept chasing. His face was set in a grim expression. He seemed to want to talk to me immediately, but No. 123 was stuck to me like glue, and he looked increasingly impatient.

 

Eventually, I saw him slip in and slowly call out to me.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Huh? Me?”

 

“Lee Unha? Trainee… I mean, what should I call you…?”

 

“Ah… just call me Unha.”

 

‘It’s Joo Wooyoung. It’s really… really Joo Wooyoung. I’m actually talking to him.’

 

“You… you can speak casually to me too.”

 

It was awkward. Insanely awkward. I couldn’t believe the Vanquisher of the Demon King was standing right in front of me, talking to me.

 

“Ah, then, I’m Joo Wooyoung. I saw your stage earlier. It was good… Unha. Your self-introduction was impressive, too…”

 

“Um… so… you’re eighteen, right? Can I just call you hyung?”

 

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

 

Since in reality, we were both over 20, the whole situation of wanting to call him ‘hyung’ and speaking casually felt a bit weird, but for now, we exchanged words like students of that age. Fortunately, No. 123 seemed a bit pressured by Joo Wooyoung’s sudden approach and quietly backed away from me.

 

“But why did you call me, h-hyung?”

 

“It’s nothing serious….”

 

“……”

 

“I just had something to ask.”

 

It was at that exact moment that the atmosphere changed.

 

Whoosh.

 

An overwhelming pressure suddenly crashed down on me, so intense that I could barely breathe. Yes… It was exactly like the feeling when that mad dark mage used to pressure me.

 

My body and jaw began to tremble. The strength left my legs, and I felt as if I were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. I wanted to fall over immediately, but my body wouldn’t let me. Instead, all my senses became so sharp that the hair on my body stood on end.

 

‘I’m going to die… I’m going to die. I’ll… I’ll die…’

 

“……”

 

‘Run… have to run… escape…’

 

Only then did it truly sink in again. 

 

The person in front of me wasn’t just a simple idol trainee. 

He was the Vanquisher of the Demon King, the Hero.

 

Joo Wooyoung’s eyes flashed as he opened his mouth.

 

“You. What exactly are you?”