How tiring.

It was packed with eyes.

These ignorant bastards kept participants off the set while the 77 people were being judged.

Even during breaks they would divide us into groups and only let us go out to the bathroom.

It was probably because it was inconvenient to try and manage dozens of energetic teens, but thanks to this my patience was running out.

Thanks to being able to see all the perspectives due to the status window I could see that all the stages were quite boring.

I had watched an overwhelming amount of idol performances when I went to film during events, so I couldn’t have been less impressed by the trainee’s performances.

Of course, there were 1 or 2 that felt a bit impressive.

I stared intently at the two people that sat on the overly fancy sofa.

They were currently in first and second place. They came from the same famous agency so they definitely did well, their status windows were also gorgeous.

Both of them had debuted with one of them being 1st place.

If I stuck to those guys the chance of debuting would definitely be higher… It felt like a long time ago when I thought of which teenage group I should hang out around 10 years ago.

Let’s just think about it again when the time to form teams comes.

And fortunately the evaluation was coming to an end.

“Ryu Cheongwoo, you are… 9th place!”

There we go. The last contestant squeezed into the top rankings which was already packed. Thanks to this situation, my ranking was now… 22nd.

I had done a pretty great job.

In fact, when I evaluated the people who did better than me… seven people made it to the cut.

I would have to manage well in the future so my overestimation of self wouldn’t show.

“Thank you!”

The former leader of the national archery team said with a gentle impression and left the stage with a grin.

I heard that he had won a gold medal in the olympic team event but I wasn’t so sure, I only knew that he was one of the people that debuted.

Anyways, since he didn’t have to go to the army he was a talent that would be wanted by the agency.

Then.

Come to think of it, Me… Did I have to go to the army?

In the past I had received a Grade 4 for my body and had to drop out for community service at the city hall.

The shooting ended just before the scary topic I never thought of took over my mind.

“Cut! Thank you all for your hard work. Participants will be on their way right away~”

“Clap~”

Applauses and replies came from all around.

My head felt dizzy as I moved following the guidance of the staff.

As soon as the shooting was over I had to check whether or not ‘Park Moondae’ was listed.

“Make sure to get your rank checked~You can find them on the board!”

The accommodation was a 10-minute-walk away from the set. After the great success of season 1 It was a newly built dormitory at the mountain site behind the broadcasting station.

However, we still used transportation to get there, the reason was obvious.

They were trying to get a cut for the broadcast.

The method of transportation would be different depending on people’s ranks.

“Participants! If you are within the top 10 please come this way~”

“Hey, It’s a limousine!”

“Wow~ That’s really good!”

“Awesome.”

Behind the top ranked participants that were boarding the black limousine with their thumbs up at the camera, the lower ranked participants could be seen.

People who placed between 51-77th moved by foot.

They tried to appear positive and humorous, but I could see them trying to hold back their tears.

Even the cameras obsessively followed those participants.

It looked like they were stimulated by their misfortune.

Frankly, it was a bit gross.

“Oh, that good?”

For ranks 11th to 25th, a premium bus was waiting.

Lee Sejin smiled and boarded the bus first.

I wanted to avoid the unfortunate accident of the two of us sitting together so I purposefully waited a bit before boarding.

Then someone hurriedly followed behind to get on the bus and then hesitantly sat next to me.

It was Seon Ahyun.

“…?”

Why was he…?

Well, what’s done was done. Not to mention the quietness was nice.

***

The accommodations quickly arrived. And just like last season each rank used a different floor.

This similar castle system would continue until the team missions started.

Spacious 5-person-rooms were assigned for ranks 11-25. Because I was pushed down by 5 people I managed to avoid being roomed with Lee Sejin who was in 20th place. I was lucky.

“Wow~ Me! I want this bed!”

As soon as someone entered the room that consisted of 2 bunk beds and one single bed, he immediately jumped into the single bed intentionally.

I guess he wanted to look naughty and cheerful in front of the camera.

I moderately grabbed the bottom of the bunk bed and then once again, Seon Ahyun put his luggage on the bed above mine.

“…”

He looked down and bowed his head. Somehow it felt as if I was bringing a child with me…

After that, he changed into the training clothes and followed me.

Looking at it now, it seemed like a lot of people who aspired to be idols were somewhat burdensome. So someone quieter was more comfortable.

I didn’t think it would be a problem right now so I let him do as he pleased.

However, I don’t think we should be close enough that we choose the same team because just a small argument could cause me to be criticized for my personality.

“Everyone will earnestly start training from now on! It will be called~ Customized movement class!”

The MC introduced the class that everyone already knew about in an exaggerated manner.

“Currently everyone has been graded on Vocals and Dancing based on the scores they received from the judges!”

“Yes!”

“Each class is divided into upper, middle, and lower levels, and there is individual training provided for each level to help you improve your performance.”

Up to this point it was similar to past seasons. But the problem was what came next.

“Also you can change classes in real time anytime!”

“…!”

“It all depends on your dedication and hard work!”

For example, in ‘intermediate vocal’ if you suddenly swallowed a sponge and did well, you would be put on ‘advanced vocal’ from then on.

Of course, that also meant that if you didn’t do well your class level would drop.

After keeping this up for 10 days the final grade would be determined through individual judging of the theme song.

This meant that they would burn down the mentality of these children without mercy to get enough footage.

“This badge is for… participant Park Moondae!”

“Yes.”

As expected, I had gotten ‘Advanced Vocal’ and ‘Beginner Dance’.

It felt a bit awkward when I wore a golden badge for vocal and a dark bronze badge for dance on my shoulders.

The badges were so exaggerated so it was obvious that they looked cheap.

For your information, there were some cases where badges were not provided at all.

On the internet this situation was called ‘absolutely worthless people’. (The actual word used here is a korean slang that has that meaning)

“For those without badges… this means you don’t belong to any class. You will take classes alongside beginner level but you will also receive a special overnight training.”

To be honest, it was more advantageous to receive more camera time instead of just lower class. That way you could create a story.

However, once you became an involved party you would have a different opinion.

A good example was the former child actor whose hands were shaking over there.

I heard that he took a part in a thriller movie that was watched by over 10 million people 10 years ago, but he kept saying he couldn’t continue due to unfortunate circumstances.

The participant wasn’t put in a class for dance and he was also in a low class for vocals. In the status window I could see that each grade was F and D.

He was probably aiming to make a comeback thanks to this broadcast instead of being an idol himself.

The only surprising thing was that his name was also ‘Lee Sejin’.

I didn’t know there was another party that shared the same name, though of course the one that debuted was the other one.

Why was I sure that he wasn’t the Lee Sejin that debuted? Because just by looking at him he seemed like a tile that would be used to make a hot topic in the beginning but then get thrown away.

And to add to that, he openly expressed his anger.

“The PD is gonna love it.”

Soon after all the badges got distributed the huge screen lit up.

“Now, it’s time to reveal the song you will be practicing. Over the next 10 days! You will do your best to master this song and present it to the shareholders of !”

It was a song that would be played all around until next year. Even me who had quit social media remembered the chorus and choreography for it.

It wasn’t at the level of but it was still worth following.

“The song that will be premiered this season… !”

Alongside its catchy beat, the lyrics that were moderately overwhelming and bearable began to flow out.

–As I stand in the stage you might not know me yet

I will come to you like the spark of STARLIGHT that flashes inside me

A dancer appeared on the screen showcasing the choreo. There were shouts and subtle groans coming from here and there.

I realized it too.

The difficulty of this chorus was a fake one.

For the sake of popularity it was difficult to follow and the intro was terribly messy.

The first verse went by before I could even think of memorising it. And in the blink of an eye the chorus started.

–The one who shines on this stage today is me!

Yes, the Shining Star you will create today is me!

Finally waking up to shine. Watch this moment.

I shine the brightest!

Even ‘that choreography’ in the chorus looked like it was made for us to fall while doing it.

Right away, I made up my mind.

“Status Window.”

Let’s just… not sleep.

“…Activate ‘Sleeping is only after you die’.”

***

Calories. I had to properly count calories well.

What that means is I should have been aware that I burned calories a lot as long as I didn’t sleep. On the first night when I stayed up all night and felt hungry it was really annoying.

“T-T-This… would you like some.”

And Seon Ahyun gave me some chocolate bar. I felt so grateful that I had spoken informally.

He was the same age as Park Moondae. Talking to such a young person made me feel energised.

For the next few days, I ate 3 meals a day and tried putting as much food in my mouth as possible. The rice… tasted like a jjambap, but it was good and there wasn’t a limit to the amount I could eat. (jjambap = some sort of military meal)

On the second to last day.

I finally memorised all the choreography. From beginning until the end.

Being able to spend the whole night practicing without feeling fatigue had definitely helped.

In addition I managed to level up several times.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Geonwoo)]

Level: 7

Title: None

Vocal: A-

Dance: D

Visual: C+

Talent: C

Attribute: Infinite potential, Sleeping is only after you die (D)

!Status Abnormality: Debut or Die

Remaining Points: D

It was fortunate that there were quite a few hundred achievements up to 500.

But I didn’t distribute the points on purpose.

If I did it right now It wouldn’t have much impact.

‘Until right now… 5 people.’

5 people had been promoted from beginner level dance to Intermediate.

There were very few people that had dramatically improved their skills after only a few days of training. So my guess was that most of them failed the first evolution then found their true strength.

If they were included here there was a high possibility that they would be tied up and passed up.

Then there was no point in upgrading. I had to show a more dramatic improvement in my skills.

Since I even had enough scenes to use.

That’s because I was scolded by the choreographer from the very first day.

–Again!

-Foot, bend your left foot!

-Why are you swinging your arms? Hold them up!

On the first day, as soon as the classes had begun the choreographer mercilessly scolded the participants from all around.

Thanks to that the atmosphere had become heavier and heavier as if we were mourning.

At the end of the class the choreographer called in me and gave me a talk.

-Moondae

-Yes.

-If you keep working on the choreography like this the next evaluation will be nothing.

-…

I wasn’t particularly bad at this class.

In the first place, this was a ‘beginners’ class. If I had to pick I would be average. It was at the level where ordinary people who weren’t too bad at dancing worked at.

But I was the first person to rank high. So it was a matter of expectations.

Sure enough, the lines he said were similar to last season.

-No, I am sure of it too. I gave you the wrong rank. I don’t think you were capable of receiving that rank in the first place.

That was the right answer. Perhaps he did this for the entertainment of the broadcast or himself.

-Let’s do it properly, okay? Fix your mindset.

-Yes.

Unless you were really lucky and talented, most people wouldn’t suddenly develop basic skills after just a few days of training.

But I could, so I just nodded my head as if I made up my mind.

Criticism without any advice didn’t do anything. However what was important is that it looked like something that could be hurtful in the eyes of the others.

I had to live through these provocative things even though it was a waste.

So I had to wait.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Yeah, don’t give up.”

The choreographer nodded his head as encouragement for the participants that were drenched in sweat.

And after making sure that the staff were organising the cameras, he checked his phone and left.

That was the end of the morning dance class.

Now, it was time for vocal after a meal.

For lunch there was Bulgogi and seaweed soup.

I ate as much as I could. And after a simple shower I went to the vocal class by myself.

Come to think, I have something to confess.

“Then I’ll call Moondae~”

For vocals I ate raw. (Ate raw = done without effort)