Oh Hyeonjin, who had ranked me as number one by giving up the seat, went up on stage.
“He must be really good, right?”
While Oh Hyeonjin was briefly chatting with the mentors and preparing for the stage, Kim Junwu, who seemed anxious and kept mumbling something like lyrics in a small voice, asked me.
Was Oh Hyeonjin that famous to even mention it like this?
I wish I could see other people’s status windows too.
“Maybe?”
I didn’t know, but I could pretend to know.
“Oh, you don’t know?”
Was I just caught?
“When you, Trainee On Raon, first entered earlier, it said ‘former True’ on the screen before it said that you were an individual trainee.”
What?
My head spun with the new information.
Although I was currently being tormented by my pathetic Intelligence and Wisdom, I was a smart kid who solved riddle games, even without any hints, with a professor wearing a fedora when I was young.
Of course, like most prodigies, I became a failure as I grew up, but still.
Former True, former True…
There must have been more than a few trainees who have moved agencies, but True must be a big agency if the program bothered to mention my previous agency separately.
And according to the settings, my player character was there before coming here.
It was so much fun discovering my character’s past that I didn’t even know about.
But it also meant I could die.
A single wrong word could cause a huge problem in the entertainment industry, so why not tell me these things from the beginning?
I didn’t forget to politely smile and greet Kim Junwu after giving me valuable information.
“I didn’t know. Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome.”
[Kim Junwu feels a tiny bit more favorability for you.
Favorability +1
Current Favorability +3]
It seemed Kim Junwu was included in the favorability notifications that were ringing earlier.
Anyway, I now understood why my entrance order was so far back, why Oh Hyeonjin’s favorability was a mess from the start, and why my order was attached to Oh Hyeonjin’s.
I didn’t even know that, and I fought over the first place… I could see the PD’s gums smiling from editing the angles properly.
He’s doing well.
On stage, Oh Hyeonjin was gracefully flying around with a little exaggeration.
Even though he was alone, the stage didn’t look empty, so I could guess his skill.
It’s not just for nothing that he was sent out from a big agency. This was a complete debut intention.
When Oh Hyeonjin’s performance, which lasted for about 1 minute and 30 seconds, ended, a notification appeared.
[You watched the performance of a fully-fledged trainee.
Wisdom +1]
That I stole the first place from a guy like that…
So that guy’s Favorability was -36, huh…
I didn’t know what had happened in the past, but I could tell it was a disaster.
I didn’t ask for much, but I wished “On Raon” didn’t have such a trashy past.
While I was worrying about that, the mentors were giving their feedback.
“The stage was really great.”
“Why haven’t you debuted yet when you’re this good? You don’t seem to need to be here.”
“You have a lot of strength. That’s why your dance looks quite difficult. I’m really curious if you can still dance like that in 5 or 10 years.”
The last comment was from Mook Hyeseong, who had the sharpest vibe among the mentors.
Wow, I should learn how to start with a nice comment and end with a diss like that.
After that, Mook Hyeseong’s detailed and specific feedback went on for a while.
I didn’t know how he could point out so much from such a short performance. Was it because he knew a lot?
Listening to that advice would help, but if the mentee had a weak mentality, it would be painful.
So, when Oh Hyeonjin came down from the stage after being chosen by Han Jihui, his face was slightly stiff.
“Next trainee, please come up.”
Now it was my turn.
I went up on stage, receiving the trainees’ customary applause, and bowed at a right angle.
What’s an idol? It’s all about greetings.
“Hello. I’m individual trainee, On Raon! Nice to meet you!”
“Your name is unique. The On and the Raon parts read the same forwards and backward.”[1]
“I get that a lot. But it’s easy to remember, so I like it.”
I was suddenly grateful my nickname was the bland “Raon.”
If the nickname I entered was something like “9thlevel_failed_start” or “dog_barking_at_trolls,” it would’ve been so embarrassing every time it was mentioned here.
Everyone, please choose your nicknames carefully in case you become a game character.
“You look great on camera.”
“Your eyes are pretty. They’re like cartoon characters.”
Was that a player-only lip service, or did this plain face really look good on camera?
I turned to look at the screen where my face would appear.
“No, if you turn like that, you can only see the back of your head now.”
The mentors and trainees laughed at my silly action.
Darn it.
I think I needed to raise my Intelligence soon. It’s all because my Intelligence was only at 11.
[Tip! System Intelligence is independent of the player’s actual intelligence and functions as a separate ability. The same principle applies to some abilities that are influenced by souls from outside dimensions.]
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
More importantly, telling me this now was like telling me I was an idiot, right?
I quickly buried my face in both hands before it could contort with anger towards the system.
Seeing the reaction of “how cute” popping out here and there, it seemed like the others saw it as an attempt to recover from my embarrassment.
Fine… think what you want…
“And it says here you’ve been a trainee at True for three years.”
Three whole years? That meant On Raon started practicing when he was at least 15. He had been at it longer than I had.
“Since Trainee Oh Hyeonjin did so well earlier, we have high expectations for Trainee On Raon.”
You’d better not.
I was set to become the laughingstock, regardless of if I was from True or Tree today.[2]
“Let’s see your prepared performance.”
Having reserved the use of the microphone stand beforehand, a staff member brought it to the center and attached the microphone I was holding.
[Hello, world!: 76.31%]
Hello, world! was a song with a fast and refreshing melody that somehow sounded nostalgic and poignant.
The lyrics, expressing the excitement and strange fear a child felt when entering a new and fantastical world, coincidentally had much in common with my current situation.
Of course, I wasn’t a pure child but a rotten adult, and I was filled with nothing but anger at the moment, so I didn’t know if I could fully empathize with the lyrics.
Although the song wasn’t technically challenging, I could get bonus points if I sang it well and with feeling.
The rehearsal room quieted, and the intro I’d listened to all night began to play.
Suddenly, a cold and hot sensation poured over my head, letting the reality that everyone was now focusing on me sink in.
Wasn’t this the situation my younger self dreamed of?
Damn it, my heart raced.
…No, this is just a game.
I forcefully looked at the names floating above the NPCs’ heads, and my momentarily shaken heart calmed down.
I lightly gripped the microphone and began singing the first verse.
“The world fell into a brief slumber for us,
Though it’s hard to understand,
I suddenly felt it seeing your face,
Now, your dazzling smile.”
Having checked the lyrics once, I had them memorized without having to think about them.
Not only that, but I could intuitively feel how I should sing this song.
“Though it’s our first meeting, I feel I know you.
We resemble each other enough to be called twins.
Yet, we cannot be together, and our brief encounter ended with a fleeting touch.
Your words spread in sky-blue, reaching me,
Your eyes twinkle with a lonely brilliance,
Let’s not let our emotions overflow too much.
Like special pebbles collected in a tiny glass bottle,
Like starlight captured in a shimmering pond,
Let’s cherish them.
To the precious dream I almost lost, I bid farewell,
Now, I’ll entrust myself to you, Trust me,
Let’s become stars and meet again.”
…It’s over.
It felt like it ended instantly, perhaps because I didn’t drag it out.
I lowered my head, feeling a strange sensation as if the pleasant breeze playing with my hair had suddenly stopped.
“Thank you.”
The trainees nodded their heads and applauded. Through their expressions, I could tell I had done fairly well.
The mentors’ expressions weren’t bad, except for the cold and unreadable Mook Hyeseong.
Was I able to achieve over 70% in understanding after silently repeating the lyrics to myself whenever I had a chance?
It was better than I thought. Much better. I thought I’d mess it up, but it seemed like I did well, which was rather confusing.
It was only a 76% understanding, but if I had practiced more and achieved 100%, what would that have been like?
In reality, my progress had slowed considerably after reaching 70%, so reaching 100% didn’t seem easy.
[Jena took an interest in you after doing an excellent job singing her song.
Affinity +10
Current Affinity +10]
Unbelievable.
Were you the original singer? I suddenly felt like I should be five times more polite.
Fortunately, Jena seemed in a good mood since my affinity increased by ten. She spoke in a cheerful voice.
“You sang really well.”
“Thank you!”
Jena said just that and then put down the microphone.
With a smile, Han Jihui followed up with her evaluation.
“To be upfront, there are some technical aspects that need improvement. No, actually, quite a lot. But because of that, I can see a lot of growth potential.”
It seemed she said this because my stats were low, even though I understood the song well.
“You picked a song that suits your voice well. You definitely gave the impression that you understood the song. You probably thought a lot about it. It’s not easy to perform so well in front of the original singer, so I want to praise you for that.”
I was sorry.
That was thanks to the system. I only found out she was the original singer after I finished singing.
Of course, I didn’t show any nerves since it was a game.
Naturally, I didn’t let it show and just thanked and greeted her.
Anyway, it’s better than being criticized for doing poorly.
“The problem is that you didn’t dance at all, so we can’t give a proper evaluation.”
That’s right. I just stood still, holding the stand microphone, and sang.
I didn’t want to break my immersion.
Actually, I couldn’t think of anything but the song while singing.
“We can’t just leave without seeing it, now, can we?”
Now was the time.
[Dancing Catallena: 87.95%]
This dance, if you could call it Dancing Catallena, was one of the greatest hit songs that have left a mark on the South Korean comic scene.
The reason I knew this revolutionary dance was simple.
It was because I practiced it to the bones to win first place in a talent show at my high school retreat.
As someone who had always been introverted, I initially refused to dance in front of the entire school.
However, I was easily swayed by the rather obvious words that my face was destined for first place. And the reward of three spicy fried chickens.
In fact, I wasn’t even that close to them. I was a fool to fall for it.
Three? I should have at least gotten ten.
I sold my face for such a low price as three spicy chickens.
I regretted every moment I was a fool.
[1] On Raon = 온라온
[2] It’s a play on words for “트루” (True) and “트리” (tree). In Korean gaming, “트리” is often used to refer to someone who’s basically doing nothing or not contributing to the team, like a tree just standing there, not moving or doing anything productive.
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