Chapter 27

### Chapter 027: If I Don't Debut, I'll Get a Terminal Illness

I summoned the achievement popup that had been hidden.

[Call of Fame!]

50,000 people have remembered your existence!

: Click to draw a rare trait!

This popup had appeared a few weeks ago, right after the first episode aired.

‘I ended up grinding it out unintentionally.’

In fact, I had already achieved the 100,000 people milestone not long after the third episode aired, and received points as a reward.

So, my current status window looks like this.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Geonwoo)]

Level: 12

Title: None

Vocal: A

Dance: C+

Appearance: B+

Talent: C

Trait: Infinite Potential, When I Listen, It’s True (C), Look at Me! (D)

!Abnormal Status: Death if not Debuting

Remaining Points: 1

By the way, the practice points I earned during the team battles had already been allocated to Vocal and Dance, one point each.

Ah, you might think it’s a shame that I didn’t put a point into Appearance to reach the A range, especially since I have one point left.

Of course, it was a shame.

‘However, unlike other stats, a sudden change in Appearance can make people suspect medical assistance rather than growth.’

Especially if the change is significant enough to change the letter grade.

I rationalized that the initial upgrade from C+ to B- was due to better management during the broadcast preparation. But going from B- to A- immediately would be hard to explain.

Even just going from B- to B+ took a month and a change in hairstyle to create a plausible excuse.

‘Well, I was planning to enhance my image anyway, so it was good in a way.’

Looking at the search rankings, it seems that Golden Retrievers are the trend among dog breeds these days, so it would have been even better if it reminded people of that.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on. Let’s get the trait draw from the popup over with.

‘I hope something useful comes out.’

The roulette machine in the new popup, which I’m now familiar with, spun and stopped on a bronze slot.

The high-grade silver slot didn’t come up again. Just as I was about to feel disappointed, I saw the name of the trait.

[Trait: ‘Look at Me! (D)’ Acquired!]

People pay a little more attention to your actions.

‘...?’

Why did this come up again?

The popup didn’t stop there and displayed a new message.

[Identical Trait Detected!]

Would you like to combine ‘Look at Me! (D)’?

“...”

This... isn’t this the ‘enhance with the same item’ feature commonly found in mass-produced games?

I couldn’t figure out where this system came from or why it took this form.

‘But... if I can avoid sudden death by debuting, I need to figure this out.’

Since there was no other option, I decided to combine them.

[Combination Successful!]

‘I Want to Be the Center (C)’ Acquired!

People pay quite a bit of attention to your actions.

- Activating this increases the ‘Talent’ stat by one level.

“...!”

The name was terrible, but the content was impressive.

If it boosts my stats, I welcome it. It feels like a rebirth for a trait that was otherwise useless.

But ‘Talent’... it’s a rather subtle stat to boost.

To put it bluntly, it’s the ability to not be ignored in front of a camera, or more simply, it’s like star quality.

Fortunately, the participant with the highest ‘Talent’ stat was right next to me.

“This is it! The teams have been decided~”

“Wow!”

The MC’s announcement indicated that the team formation was complete.

I clapped along and subtly checked Cha Yujin’s status window.

[Name: Cha Yujin]

Vocal: C+ (B+)

(Rap: B)

Dance: A+ (S+)

Appearance: A (S)

Talent: A+ (EX)

Trait: Black Hole (A)

It was a terrifying status window, even on a second look.

Three consecutive A stats make it clear that this guy is an idol.

Especially, Cha Yujin’s ‘Talent’ stat, both in its current state and potential, was the highest among the participants.

Even higher than the judge Yeongrin, meaning it was higher than most active idols.

And one of the lowest stats in my current status window is the ‘Talent’ stat that just received a boost.

It would be great to get a hint from this team battle on whether to prioritize Dance or Talent.

“Alright, everyone, please start by introducing yourselves to your team members! Once introductions are done, we’ll introduce the second team battle!”

The question was whether the team battle would go well at all.

I looked around at the team members who were gathering and sitting down, and thought silently.

‘No matter what chaos ensues, I just need to keep my cool.’

* * *

“Ah, please take care of me.”

Ryu Cheongwoo, who had been chosen as the leader, smiled and greeted the team members, suppressing the strange tension among the other participants.

Everyone clapped, but the underlying tension was palpable.

‘This... will probably be caught on camera even without editing.’

The production team was incredibly adept at capturing this kind of tension.

“Have everyone introduced themselves?”

“Yes!”

“Ah, it’s a warm scene. Now, let’s announce the second team battle task!”

“Eeeek!”

Even as the participants screamed in response to the MC’s words, the members of this team maintained a relatively composed attitude.

‘It’s like when you’re in a group with students from other majors in a general education class and everyone is trying to avoid standing out.’

Anyway, since it wasn’t a problem I could solve, I focused on the MC’s words.

“The second team battle is a content that ‘Idol Corporation’ has consistently done. Do you know what it is? Ah! That’s right. It’s the ‘Hidden Hit Revival’ project!”

Sure enough, they’re doing that this season too.

“Wasn’t it the one where they voted on 50 songs on the website?”

“Yeah.”

There was some murmuring around me. The other participants seemed to already know, only giving standard reactions.

“Various hit songs that unfortunately didn’t get the attention they deserved! ‘Idol Corporation’ is reinterpreting these songs and bringing them back to the public. This year, our shareholders have selected several idol hit songs!”

In other words, even though the idols didn’t make it big, the songs were good, so they’re remaking them to use as their own.

‘They’ll save on composition fees, so it’s a win for the creative economy.’

While I was marveling at the production team’s amazing cost-cutting ability, someone suddenly spoke to me from the side.

To my surprise, it was Lee Sejin.

“...Is there a song you want to do?”

“Hmm?”

The person who spoke seemed to regret it, but it was still a question, so I answered.

“I’d like a song with a bit of a catchy tune.”

I didn’t want to do a song that lacked popularity, especially since it was already obscure.

“What about you?”

“I... would like to do ‘Base’.”

It was a good choice. ‘Base’ is like the debut song of the previous team, Malrangdalcom, a title track from an idol’s unknown period.

I’ve seen the performance before, and I remember it had a strong concept and a catchy melody.

“That’s a good song. It would make a good stage too.”

“...Yeah.”

Lee Sejin nodded in agreement.

Just as I thought he was finally starting to socialize, Cha Yujin suddenly joined the conversation.

“I like that song too. ‘Base~ Uh, the ringing heartbeat~’”

“...Ah, yes.”

Lee Sejin closed his mouth with an uncomfortable expression.

‘This guy always does this.’

I wanted to ask why he even came here if he was going to act like this.

But with the camera around, it’s better not to make a scene. I tried to smooth things over.

“Really? It would be good to do it this time.”

“Yeah!”

Cha Yujin nodded happily, seemingly without a care in the world.

‘He’s positive, even if he lacks awareness and context.’

I was starting to reassess him positively when the MC finally announced the song selection method.

“On the table in front of you, there are seven items!”

Sure enough, a table was visible, quite a distance from the participants.

“These items are possessions of the original artists of the ‘Hidden Hits’~ You need to choose one of these items using deduction and intuition!”

“Whoa.”

“Ah~ I can’t do this!”

“The method~ Ah, it’s traditional. It’s a race! Leaders, please get ready!”

“A race?”

With Ryu Cheongwoo, who is good at sports, as the leader, this was a favorable situation.

Of course, it would only be effective if you could guess the song from the original artist’s item.

However, this kind of approach was possible.

“That’s a pouch! It looks like a woman’s!”

“The baseball is... a baseball fan, maybe?”

“Oh, a skull pencil. It’s unique, isn’t it?”

There was a lot of murmuring from the participants, all trying to think.

Ah, this team quickly reached a consensus.

“When you get close, choose the item that looks the most expensive.”

“Hmm, okay!”

The reasoning was that if someone puts an expensive item up for this, they are likely a successful entertainer.

It sounded plausible, and it seemed to consider not just the song selection but also the screen time.

Ryu Cheongwoo nodded in agreement with Kim Raebin’s suggestion.

Soon, the MC called the leaders again.

“Alright, leaders. Are you ready?”

“Yes!”

“Then, go... start!”

The leaders ran over and reached for the items on the table.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any time to choose anything carefully over there.’

Would this just come down to luck?

“Got it!”

But Ryu Cheongwoo grabbed something and returned with a big smile.

He held out the item with a confident look.

It was a baseball.

“This is a signed ball by Ryu Wanbeom!”

“...!!”

“Wow.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. Ryu Wanbeom was a famous hitter who had made it to the major leagues.

Cha Yujin immediately asked.

“How did you know?”

“I watch baseball a bit, so I recognized it right away.”

Ryu Cheongwoo smiled and tossed the baseball, the good vibes temporarily easing the tension in the team and creating a relaxed atmosphere.

But it didn’t last long.

“The owner of the baseball is... Ah, the vocalist of the idol band ‘Sun Island,’ Lee Chanwoo!”

“...??”

The owner of the baseball was... an unknown middle-aged man that no one knew.

“Who is he?”

Cha Yujin’s straightforward question went unanswered by any of the team members.

“Wow!”

Next to us, Choi Wonyul’s team was celebrating excitedly.

“Hello, I’m Jung Haeim, an actress.”

“Eeeeh...”

The owner of the pouch chosen by the leader of that team was a famous female actress.

Due to the first team battle, it felt like a strange déjà vu.

I shrugged.

‘Well, this can happen.’

Ultimately, the most important thing was the song.

Of course, having a currently famous entertainer would be advantageous for screen time.

Additionally, it would prevent reactions like ‘even taking the precious song of a poor unknown idol’ from the audience.

But ultimately, a good song was the biggest advantage. After all, the stage needs to be good in an audition show.

So, when the song was revealed...

“The song I’m entrusting to you is... ‘Burning Like the Sun’!”

Oh.

Oh... What do we do with this?

“Ah!”

“I know it!”

The other team members exclaimed in admiration.

“I’m glad it’s a song I know...”

“Senior, I’ve been listening to it!”

The team was filled with relief.

They seemed to regain their energy, knowing it was a somewhat well-known and good song.

The original artist, seeing this, seemed pleased and enthusiastically introduced the song.

“‘Burning Like the Sun’ was released seven years ago but is still loved as an anthem. If you like baseball, you’ve probably heard the chorus at some point.”

“Ah, I know. It’s a great song.”

Ryu Cheongwoo’s friendly response made the original artist smile. Cha Yujin, with wide eyes, asked.

“What’s the chorus? I don’t know much about baseball!”

The original artist, as if waiting for this question, cleared his throat.

“Ah, hem. ‘Come on, rise up~ burning like the sun~’”

“Ah, I see. That’s it.”

“Haha!”

The team members laughed warmly at Cha Yujin’s clumsy grammar.

The warm atmosphere created with the original artist looked much better compared to before.

The problem was... the outlook wasn’t good.

Yes, it seemed like the next cut would have a ‘two days later’ subtitle, hinting at the team’s doomed atmosphere in the preview.

This song... is completely unsuitable for an idol survival show...