Save a Failed Idol’s Life

As soon as we got back to the van and closed the door, Kyunghwa opened his mouth.

“I don’t like Kang Yugeon.”

It was obvious to anyone who saw him. I didn’t bother to comment and glared at my phone screen.

[Kang Yugeon]

[010-XXXX-XXXX]

The neatly printed phone number made me feel hot. The basics of being a professional are to keep time and have a sincere attitude.

No matter how good the results were, it was as good as nothing if we couldn’t coordinate our schedules.

“Why? He seemed better than I thought when we talked.”

Ye-jun leaned back and reclined his seat, answering casually.

“Sit up and move your seat forward. You’re making it cramped for me.”

Seong-won, who was sitting right behind Ye-jun, glared at him with his long legs crossed.

“Then do you want to switch seats with me?”

Seon-woo, who was sitting in front of me, offered to Ye-jun first.

“Uh, thanks. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

We switched seats in the minivan and the topic went back to Kang Yugeon.

“You two seem to get along well.”

“I get along well with most people~.”

He said that as if he hadn’t just argued with Seong-won a minute ago.

Ye-jun was the most open-minded among the five of us. But why did he always snarl with Seong-won? I had given up on that area to some extent.

“And there’s nothing wrong with being friendly. If there’s anything we can get help with, we should use it as much as possible.”

He said that without batting an eyelash, showing his usual nerve.

“You have a good appetite, don’t you?”

“Just say you’re desperate. I want to keep working as Climax too.”

‘Isn’t it just that you met the type you want to be friends with?’

We all seemed to have similar thoughts in our heads, but we didn’t bother to say them out loud.

“Anyway, you all worked hard. I’ll make dinner when we get home, so eat and rest well.”

As the first external activity as Cheonise, I was also quite tired.

“Ah~ I’m hungry!”

Ye-jun stretched out on the backrest. Seong-won looked at him with a disdainful eye.

Of course, Ye-jun didn’t care at all.

We’ve taken the first step, so we have to do well from now on! It was hard to think positively all the time.

But anyway, today’s reward was to finish the group schedule without any trouble.

‘I should check the chats one last time.’

Compared to the hasty start, the reviews were surprisingly positive.

[I’m looking forward to Climax’s next comeback]

[The visual member’s face did everything…]

[Is Ryu Kyunghwa the main host? He would do well as an MC. He has a good voice]

[The member sitting next to Yugeon was hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Is it Oh Ye-jun? His sound is not bad at allㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[The visual member’s name is Seon-woo! How is his name so prettyㅠㅠㅠ]

I had to admit that Kang Yugeon did a good job as the host. But I didn’t want to give him credit for that.

‘This is… a useless stubbornness. Or…’

I was lost in thought when the van arrived at the lodging. I felt like making some rice for dinner.

I had bought some fresh sliced fish yesterday.

I should cook some rice with godre greens in a pot. It was a seasonal dish with plump carp on top.

‘I should prepare some anchovy broth to pour over it like ochazuke.’

I planned the menu and the work order in my head and headed straight to the kitchen to start.

The members who expected another salad were surprised by the rice and emptied their bowls.

“Do you think I’m starving you?”

“It’s so good, that’s why. Can I have one more bowl?”

Ye-jun pushed his empty bowl forward and twinkled his eyes. I wanted to refuse him coldly.

But he also worked hard today. I reluctantly gave him half a bowl of the remaining rice.

“…Me too.”

Seong-won, who was watching Ye-jun’s bowl being filled, held out his bowl.

He hadn’t spoken much since the persuasion (?) in the room last time. What was going on?

“Here you go. One more rice cake for the ugly one.”

I put all the remaining rice in Seong-won’s bowl.

“Ah…”

Seon-woo also let out a weak sigh, as if he wanted to eat more.

“You can’t. You’re the pretty one.”

“Okay…!”

Seon-woo nodded quickly and took his bowl to the sink.

We were finally starting the recording tomorrow.

I was still worried about not finding a choreographer.

‘But we still have about two weeks left…’

Most of the famous choreographers I found online were already booked and rejected me.

If we were more famous top idols… A meaningless assumption popped into my head.

They would try to fit their schedule and accept us, I thought.

But if we were famous idols in the first place, the company wouldn’t have left us to find it ourselves.

‘So there’s no point in making that assumption. I have to do my best with what I can do now.’

The members who had a noisy meal scattered to their rooms to rest.

I let Seon-woo go to his room first and searched for ‘Cheonise’ on the portal site.

[Search > Cheonise]

[Title: Cheonise something… I felt uneasy and thought about it…]

I frowned at the first post. Uneasy? Did I feel like a different person?

I clicked quickly and the main page loaded.

[Main text]

[He takes care of the members’ meals, and he explains the recipes like a chef on the live broadcast.

I wondered if he was trying to create a vibe of a sexy man, a domestic man, or something like that.

But he doesn’t seem to sell himself as a similar husband, so I wondered what kind of vibe this was.

I listened to the radio today and I got it. This is it. He is a member of our family, but… not my husband… more like… my mom’s spouse…]

[Comments]

[-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThis description is perfect. He really feels like a dad]

[-When I come home drunk the night before, he makes me bean sprout soup the next day. It’s not ‘Honey, I made you a hangover soup♡’, but ‘Anonymous, come out and eat’ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[-He looks really delicious when he’s in the kitchen. He doesn’t have the vibe of a twenty-four-year-old]

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a very negative story.

But what is the vibe of a twenty-four-year-old? 

I scratched my cheek with a flustered expression and turned off my phone.

How am I like a dad? 

I was a bit unhappy. But considering the average age of idol fandoms…

I was the same age as their fathers. I’d rather be uncomfortable with being sold as a boyfriend or a husband.

I wondered if I should go for a dad-like image.

But there was a big difference between a dad concept and a grumpy old man. I knew that much, even though I had just stepped into the world of idols.

‘Well, I’ll figure out the details of the concept later.’

That’s when a status window appeared in front of me.

[Tutorial 2 > Sub Quest – ‘He Who Wears the Crown, Endures Its Weight’ has been cleared. Congratulations. Achievement Reward Points +30]

The points weren’t that important. The real reward was something else.

[Quest Completion Reward]

[Fate > You have acquired Kang Yugeon.]

[Special Item > You have acquired ‘Unbreakable Streaming’.]

‘Show me Kang Yugeon’s profile.’

I had to check his stats and skills right away.

[Name: Kang Yugeon – Age 23]

[Skills]

[Buff 1: <Overwhelming Talent> – It instantly silences the complaints of anti-fans. It temporarily neutralizes cyberbullying and malicious comments.]

-Usage Points 40pt

[Buff 2: <You’ll Like Me Too> – It temporarily raises the favorability of multiple people who have a negative impression of the target.]

-Usage Points 20pt

Why did he have two buffs? I felt a bit unfair, but I was the user.

The more skills I could steal and use, the better.

If I had to… I could use them on the members too.

‘But I’m a bit worried about the side effects.’

Now, let’s see his stats.

[Attributes]

Visual: S

Vocal: A

Dance: S

Performance: S

Charm: S

Eloquence: A

It was faster to count the ones that weren’t S than the ones that were S.

Yeah… He looked like that.

I felt my confidence shrink, thinking that our kid wouldn’t lose to him.

‘But our kid doesn’t do things like meeting pranks!’

In that respect, Ye-jun was a hundred times better. He was also somewhat uncontrollable and self-willed, but he had a sense of being on our side.

As Ye-jun said, we had to use what we could and discard what we couldn’t.

‘I don’t even know what he’s thinking, anyway…’

I was sure that it wasn’t something like a sense of atonement or debt.

Was it just a simple interest, or did he really just want to eat salad? I scratched my head furiously.

‘Let me check the item description now.’

As I gently stroked Pposili’s head in the air and asked, a new window popped up.

[Special Item > ‘Unbreakable Streaming’]

[Item Description: It maintains the current ranking of streaming for 48 hours.]

Wow… It looked like I needed some strategy to use it, but it was definitely good.

If I could get to the first place, I had to use it right away.

These days, it was hard to stay in the first place for a week, unlike the days when a song would stay in the first place for dozens of weeks.

‘That means the competition is fierce.’

After checking the fate and item I had acquired, I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me.

I had been on edge all day, so it was understandable.

‘I better get some sleep.’

As I opened the door and entered, I heard Seon-woo tossing and turning. I ignored him and went to sleep. 

My eyelids weighed heavily on my body.

***

The next morning. 

Maybe it was because I was conscious of the first day of recording. I woke up earlier than usual.

It was an awkward time to go back to sleep.

‘…Should I go out and warm up my throat?’

I left the lodging to check my condition secretly from the members.

Because of the time, I ran into a group of students on their way to school.

“Wow, isn’t that the person who came out with Kang Yugeon?”

“Hey, do you think an idol would be wandering around like that at this time?”

What do you mean by ‘like that’? 

I retorted in my mind and quickly flipped my hood over.

No one recognized me when I just walked around with my bare face until now.

But it seemed like people started to recognize me as the face of Floss fans.

‘I have to tell the other guys to be careful when they go out.’

Anyway, I was grateful that I wasn’t caught and went to a coin karaoke that was a bit away from the lodging.

I wanted to warm up my throat before recording, and see how good Vocal D’s skills were.

I had been humming along with the lyrics, but this was the first time I sang with a microphone in front of me.

Until now, Cheonise was a ‘dance’ member, so I was distracted by improving my dance.

‘None of them seemed to have high expectations of me anyway.’

I couldn’t ruin the recording by showing my poor skills. I took out a ten thousand won bill from my wallet and changed it to a thousand won and entered the booth.

There was no one else who came to the coin karaoke at this time.

I took the darkest spot and pressed the song number of my favorite song ‘Love of a Thousand Years’.