Debut or Die

Chapter 6

I’m tired.

My eyes feel stinging.

They kept the participants at the set while these ignorant bastards judged all 77 participants.

They divided the participants into groups even at break time and only sent them to the restroom.

Most likely, it’s because it’s difficult to get hold of so many energetic children, but because of that, my patience is running out.

If I saw the status window from a position where I could see it from all sides, every performance would be boring.

I went to the filming of the active idol performance and watched it until I was sick of it, but the trainee’s performance couldn’t have been good enough to impress me.

Of course, there were two or three times when I was impressed.

I looked up at the two men sitting on the overly glamorous sofa.

They’re the current 1st and 2nd place now. They are both from the same famous agency, and they did very well. The status window was impressive, too.

They both made their debuts, with one of them taking first place.

If I stick with those punks, my chances of making my debut will increase—. But the thought of playing with a teenager group that would have been a good match 10 years ago at this age made me dizzy.

Let’s think about it again when the team battle comes out.

Fortunately, the evaluation is coming to an end.

“Participant Ryu Cheongwoo…9th place!”

I got pushed. The last participant squeezed through the top ranks, which were already packed. If things continue in this way— my current rank will be 22nd.

That was a fairly good defense I put up.

The number of participants whose skills are better than mine is, in fact—7 participants.

I should keep managing it so that the overestimation doesn’t come up again.

“Thank you!”

The former representative of the national archery team, who left a soft impression, smiled as he walked off the stage.

I heard that he won a gold medal in the team event at the Olympics, but I’m not sure. I recall him only as a part of the group’s debut lineup.

Anyway, he was a good talent that the agency would like because he wouldn’t go to the army.

Wait.

Come to think of it… Do I have to enlist in the military?

In the past, I had received the 4th grade in my body and had to drop out for community service at the city hall.

Filming finally ended just as my mind wandered to a scary topic that I had never thought of before.

“Cut! Thank you for your hard work! Participants, let’s move right away.”

“Yes~”

Applause and responses rang out from throughout the place.

My head was spinning as I followed the staff’s guidance.

As soon as this filming is completed, I must check to see if ‘Park Moondae’ is included there.

“Get your rank ticket~ You can take it on board!”

The accommodation was a 10-minute walk from the set. After the huge success of the first season, it was a newly built dormitory on a mountain behind the broadcasting station.

But I needed to use transportation, and the reason was obvious.

They are trying to pick a cut for broadcast.

That means they had varied modes of transportation based on their rank.

“Participants! If you were in the Top 10, please come this way~.”

“Wow, Limousine!”

“Wow~ I really like it!”

“This is amazing.”

Behind the top-ranked participants in the black limousine, who gave the camera a thumbs-up, the lower-ranked participants could be seen.

People who were ranked 51st to 77th moved by walking.

They did their best to act happy and humorous, but I could see that they were holding back tears all over their faces.

There were always cameras following the participants.

There is a possibility that their misery was used as a way to pique their interest.

To be honest, it’s a bit gross.

“Oh, it’s good?”

From the 11th to the 25th, premium bus vehicles were waiting.

Lee Sejin smiled broadly as he got into the bus first.

I waited for a while to ensure we wouldn’t end up sitting next to each other by accident, then entered the bus slowly.

Someone quickly followed and got on the bus from behind, making a thumping sound.

Then he hesitated and sat quietly next to me.

It was Seon Ahyun.

“….?”

Why are you…?

Well, never mind. It was nice to be quiet.

* * *

They quickly arrived at their dorm. We also used different floors for each rank, just like last season.

The caste system will stay the same until the team battle mission comes out.

A spacious five-person room was arranged from the 11th to the 25th ranked. I got pushed up in the rankings by five people, but this means I won’t have to share a room with Lee Sejin, who is ranked 20th.

I was lucky.

“Wow~ Me! I’m going to use this bed!”

As soon as I entered the bedroom consisting of two bunk beds and one single bed, a man randomly jumped into the single bed.

I guess he wanted to look fun and cheerful for the camera.

I moderately grabbed the bottom of the bunk bed.

Then, once again, Seon Ahyeon placed his luggage on the bed above me.

“….”

He looked up and bowed his head. It’s as if I have a subordinate who follows me—.

After that, we changed into the training clothes we were given and went to gather.

When I think about it now, I think it was because aspiring celebrities were harder to deal with, while a relatively quiet, normal person was more comfortable with me.

I left him alone because I didn’t think he would be a problem.

However, I should avoid being close enough to the point where we would both pick the same team because I could be criticized for my personality by arguing.

“You’re going to start training in earnest from now! It’s called~ Customized movement class!”

The MC introduced a system that everyone already knew with an exaggerated tone.

“Everyone, your scores for vocal and dance have been decided based on the grades you got from the judges!”

“Yes!”

“There are upper, middle, and lower groups in each class; each level aims to improve their skills through specialized training. “

Until now, it was similar to other auditions. The next thing was the problem.

“And you can change classes in real-time at any time!”

“….!”

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

For example, if you absorb the tutor’s lessons in “Intermediate Vocal” like a sponge and become good at it quickly, you will be moved up to “Advanced Vocal” the next time you train.

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

After ten days of this, the final grade is determined based on an individual evaluation of the theme song.

It meant that they would burn children’s mental mercilessly in order to gather as much footage as possible.

“This badge… Participant Park Moondae!”

“Yes.”

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

It was a little embarrassing to have a gold vocal badge and a dull bronze dance badge on my shoulder.

The badge was overly exaggerated, making it look cheap.

For reference, there were cases when they didn’t provide badges at all.

On the Internet, this case was called an ‘absolutely worthless person.’

“If you don’t have a badge… It means you’re not a part of any grade. You will take a beginner’s class together, but you also have to take extra special training at night.”

To be honest, receiving a camera was a great opportunity for a beginner.

However, if you are the person involved, you will think differently.

A former child actor with trembling hands over there was a good example.

It was said that he was in a thriller movie that 10 million people watched 10 years ago, but he kept saying that he couldn’t be active after that because of unfavorable things that happened to him.

That participant is judged as out-of-class for dance and their vocals are also a beginner. In the status window, each is an F grade and a D grade.

He most likely came out with the intention of making a comeback in broadcasting rather than being an idol.

What was a little surprising was that the name over there was also ‘Lee Sejin’.

Though I didn’t know that there were two people with the same name, it’s clear that the one who made his debut is the other.

Why don’t I think he’s Lee Sejin, who made his debut?

Just by looking at him, it seems that he will be thrown away after being used as a topic of discussion at the beginning.

Most importantly, he made it clear that he hates getting hurt.

‘The PD will like it.’

Eventually, the huge screen lit up when all the badges were distributed.

“Now, the song that you will be practicing will be revealed. For the next ten days! You will do your best to master this song and present it to the shareholders of <Idol Joint-Stock Company>!”

It was a song that would be played everywhere until the next year.

Even though I was studying for a civil service exam and had already stopped using social media, I still remembered the chorus’s moves.

It wasn’t on the same level as ?POP?CON? however, it was still a movement worth following.

“The song for this season is…?Shining Star?!”

Along with the catchy beat, lyrics that were moderately overwhelming and childish enough to bear began to flow out.

I’m standing on the stage

You won’t know me yet

STAR LIGHT swaying inside me

I will come to you like a flash of light

The choreography was performed by a dancer who appeared on the screen.

There were a few exclamations and a mysterious groan here and there during the performance.

And I realized it, too.

The difficulty of the chorus was fake.

For the sake of popularity, it was made difficult to follow, and the intro was made dirty and complicated.

I couldn’t even think about memorizing it, so verse 1 went by in the blink of an eye. And then the chorus started.

What’s shining on the stage today?

It’s me!

Yes, the shining star you will create.

It’s me!

I finally wake up and shine

Look at this moment~

I shine the most!

Even the choreography for the chorus looked like it would make me trip if I tried to do it.

I made up my mind right away.

“Status window.”

Let’s just… Let’s not sleep.

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

* * *

Calories. I had to calculate the calories well.

What I mean is that I should have known earlier that I would be burning a lot of calories since I don’t sleep.

I was so hungry on the first night that I almost got angry.

‘T, t, this… Would you like some?’

And Seon Ahyun gave me a chocolate bar. I spoke casually after saying a few words of gratitude.

He’s the same age as ‘Park Moondae’ and I felt really refreshed after talking casually to such a young child.

From the next day on, I tried to eat and drink three times a day as much as I could. The meals, well… It tastes like Jjambap, but it was good that there was no limit on the amount. (t/n : ?? (Jjambab) means military meals)

On the ninth day.

I memorized all the choreography. From beginning to end.

Being able to spend all night without fatigue certainly worked.

In addition, I was able to level up multiple times.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Gunwoo)]

Level: 7

Title: None

Vocal: A-

Dance: D

Visual: C+

Talent: C

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

!Status abnormality: Debut or die

Points Remaining: 3

There were a lot of achievements that could be done up to 500 times, so it was a good thing.

‘Until today… 5 people.’

Five people have already been moved from a beginner level to an intermediate level.

Very few people have dramatically improved their skills after only a few days of training, so most of them must have ruined the first evaluation and now have found their skills.

Even if they included me in this, it was more likely to be tied up and passed by.

Then it was pointless to be promoted. I had to show that I had improved my skills more dramatically, even if I had enough scenes to use.

It’s because the choreographer scolded me from the first day.

– Again!

– Foot, bend your left foot!

– Why are you swinging your arms? Hold it up!

As soon as the class started on the first day, the choreographer stopped talking and tortured the participants in all directions.

Thanks to this, the atmosphere became heavier, as if at a mourner’s house.

And at the end of the class, the choreographer pointed me out and talked to me.

And when the class was over, the choreographer pointed at me and said to me.

– Moondae-ya.

– Yes.

– If you keep doing this with your choreography, you won’t have any answers for the next evaluation.

– …

I wasn’t exceptionally bad at this class.

Because it was a ‘beginner’ class in the first place, if I had to ask, would it be about average? It’s not like I’m a bad dancer; it’s just that I was at the level of an ordinary person who works hard.

But I was a person with a high rank in the first place. So this was a matter of expectations.

It’s not surprising that these are the same lines as last season.

– No, I think so. I gave you the wrong rank. I guess you never had the skills to get that rank to begin with.

That’s correct. He knows that, and maybe he did it just for broadcasting fun.

– Let’s do it right, okay? Get a hold of yourself.

– Yes.

Most of you won’t suddenly learn basic skills that you didn’t have before after just a few days of training unless you’re really lucky and talented.

But I can, so I just nod my head as if I had made up my mind.

The criticisms and advice that didn’t help were not encouraging.

But it needed to seem to hurt my feelings in other people’s eyes.

So I had to live with this provocative material, even if it was a waste.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Yeah. Don’t give up.”

The choreographer nodded at the greetings of the participants, who were drenched in sweat.

And after confirming that the staff had organized the camera, he looked into his phone and left the class.

This is the end of the morning dance class.

After eating, it’s time for vocal class.

For lunch, there was Bulgogi and Seaweed Soup.

I ate as much as I could eat. And after a simple shower, I went to the advanced vocal class alone.

Oh, come to think of it, I have a confession to make.

“Then Moondae should sing it~”

I ate raw for my Vocal. (t/n: ?? ?? means that someone gets something easily without working hard.)