Chapter 4: The Idol's Technique That Never Fails

[The potion from the gods does not contain any human components.]

[No matter how much you consume, you will not become addicted.]

The status window kept popping up repeatedly as I walked to the drug test, making me even more suspicious.

Fortunately, the test results showed that there were no drugs in my body at all.

I was incredibly nervous. If I got caught, I could suddenly become a drug offender.

I was also worried that if real drugs were detected, it might affect Park Hee-young. The fact that I thought of my singer first showed that I had become quite accustomed to being a manager. Heh heh.

After receiving all the praise for being a rare, righteous, and law-abiding young man, I returned to my studio apartment and lay down on the floor.

I live in an attic on the third floor of a building, with a bakery on the first floor. In the early morning, the scent of bread wafts up, and I consider this a form of welfare in my home.

In that state, I took out the silver ticket from my wallet.

"But how do I turn on the roulette?"

As I muttered to myself, the status window appeared.

[Shout 'roulette'.]

So, I said 'roulette,' and a silver roulette wheel appeared, different from before.

[The instant draw of the Silver Roulette (Life) has begun.]

Seeing 'life' in parentheses, it seemed that the roulette had different categories for each color. I put the silver ticket in and spun the roulette. After a moment, it stopped.

[B-Class Calming Potion]

[Reduces anxiety symptoms by 10%.]

At first, I thought a health boost would have been better.

Negative comments were rare, and even if there were, they were just things like 'Stop eating so much.'

But after some thought, I realized there was no potion more necessary for an entertainer.

Even someone like Park Hee-young, who was naturally suited to the stage, could suddenly be overwhelmed by anxiety.

Moreover, I had forgotten that I myself was a symbol of anxiety.

I put the potion in my inner pocket.

After using my short break for the drug test, I had to go pick up Park Hee-young. Unlike when I was with Bujeongtae, the group chat was filled with constant updates about Park Hee-young's schedule changes and pickup arrangements.

Still unfamiliar with the team members, I was replying to each message when I received a call from Park Hee-young.

- Was I a troublemaker yesterday?

"A little. Why?"

- Mom said she can't show her face and hit me on the back.

"It wasn't that bad."

- Bring some kimchi when you come over.

"Really? Finally, I can eat ramen and kimchi together."

After saying this out of politeness, I opened the fridge. Inside were still the kimchi my parents sent and the radish kimchi made by Bujeongtae's sister-in-law.

This week, I'll have to eat kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice, and radish kimchi.

After making a thorough meal plan, I closed the fridge.

* * *

To get more potions, I had to think about what I needed to do. Yesterday, I realized that my achievement was 'First Fellow Singer!' So, it seems that my growth is what allows me to spin the roulette.

I tried going to the gym and exercising, and even read some English words, but none of these helped. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough to grow...

Fortunately, the bronze roulette appeared frequently. It showed up for special stages with some reason attached, but the luck was terrible, mostly FF-grade, with only one C-grade.

I drank everything except the C-grade, hoping for a moment of peace.

This helped a lot, and Park Hee-young began to trust my stamina.

However, Park Hee-young's schedule was still intense, so I avoided drowsy driving by living on caffeine instead of alcohol. It feels like I'm living the life of a top-tier trot singer's manager in my 20s.

Today was the strawberry festival performance.

Before going to the festival, I had a feeling that there was something I needed to remember, but I didn't have the time to think deeply about it.

Before going on stage, Park Hee-young brought a bottle of strawberry soju and handed it to me.

"Let's have a drink and go on stage."

"Sure."

I quickly took out the paper cups I always kept and poured the soju into each one, passing them around to our team members. When we all cheered together, the festival-goers cheered.

Park Hee-young knew how to get people excited even from the stage. This must be the experience of a 13-year veteran singer.

She dominated the atmosphere with her megahit song 'I Love You, Darling.'

I found it strange that I liked this song more and more with each schedule, and at the same time, it became harder to watch the stage. After all, standing on stage was my dream.

Since I had to drive, I put down my drink and took the company camera to take photos of Park Hee-young by the stage.

While taking photos, I noticed a young girl in the audience, and my heart skipped a beat.

Park Yuna, the leader of the girl group Square from my dream, who had said she would go to a drinking party with a trashy director and make me suffer, was there.

She must be in sixth grade this year, and she looked exactly as I had seen her in my dream.

In the dream, Park Yuna said she was from this town and decided to become a singer after watching Park Hee-young's performance at the strawberry festival.

Park Yuna was holding her bag strap with both hands, completely entranced by Park Hee-young.

I had suspected it, but now I was sure. It wasn't just a dream; it was a premonition.

I watched Park Hee-young's performance again. It was indeed a performance that could make Park Yuna fall in love at first sight and come to Seoul three years later. I had seen many singers up close and had been a trainee for a long time, but I had never seen anyone like Park Hee-young. Someone with talent and a passion for the stage that drove her to madness.

No, I had seen one. Min Ji-ho, who appeared with me on 'National Selection A.'

I was less surprised to see a character from my dream in reality. Since I could see the roulette, a premonition was something I could now accept.

But my heart sank for a different reason.

I knew Park Yuna couldn't become Park Hee-young, and it hurt to think about the pain that young girl would face. Everyone has different innate talents.

However, there is one thing that can complement all the talents one has. There is a technique that ensures an idol's success, even if not a huge one.

Producing.

Creating songs and stages that amplify the members' abilities.

'I need to study composition.'

Because I had studied classical piano for a long time, composition was a relatively easy field for me to enter.

The program I chose was Logic, which was used by the composer who did most of the arrangements during the 'National Selection A' era. I could ask for help if needed.

In the past, I would never have considered such things due to pride. But knowing that pride would strangle me later, it became easier to let it go.

I bought the cheapest used equipment on installment, using all the money I had, down to the last coin. I would have to go hungry for a few months.

* * *

The schedules continued one after another.

After a month, I remembered what Manager Kwak had said about quitting after three months. I must have overestimated myself.

As soon as I got home, I fell asleep, but a sudden flash woke me up.

Opening my eyes and cursing, I saw the status window.

[Emergency! Overcome the crisis!]

The moment I saw the word 'crisis,' I felt a chill down my spine and instinctively turned on my phone. Today was Jang Yong-gyu's turn to drive.

Desperately turning on my phone just before passing out, I saw only two unread messages in the group chat.

[Hee-young unnie is at my place. We're eating late-night snacks and going to bed. Yong-gyu oppa, just enter the password. 9023*]

[Yong-gyu, pick up Hee-young at 10 and come back safely.]

There were no more messages after that.

Looking at the clock, I saw that there was only an hour left before the music festival schedule. The camera rehearsal would start in an hour, so they should be at the venue, checking the stage and getting makeup done... right?

Despite this, I felt uneasy and called Park Hee-young. When she didn't answer, I called the house owner, Yoo Seon-a, and Jung Gi-hoon, and then Jang Yong-gyu, but no one answered.

"Ah, I'm going crazy."

I woke up completely and rushed out of the house. I kept calling them on the way, but no one answered.

Finally, I arrived at Yoo Seon-a's house thirty minutes later, using the address from the group chat.

"Seon-a unnie! Hee-young unnie! Gi-hoon hyung!"

What am I doing? Of course, they're all gone. But then I heard screams coming from inside the house.

I quickly entered the house using the password Yoo Seon-a had shared. As I rushed in, Jung Gi-hoon, who was running to the front door, turned pale and said,

"Hae-won, it looks like Yong-gyu hyung has gone missing..."

"Does that matter now! Hee-young unnie! Unnie, come out quickly!"

As I shouted, Park Hee-young, who had hastily washed her hair with a showerhead, ran out. Yoo Seon-a, who was quickly gathering her hair and makeup tools, followed.

Before a major accident, several unlikely coincidences often overlap. We four felt this as we rushed out and got into Park Hee-young's car.

While I drove towards the Olympic Park, Yoo Seon-a struggled to dry her hair with a small curling iron powered by batteries.

"Ah, I'm going crazy!"

While Yoo Seon-a was about to lose it, Jung Gi-hoon said to me,

"Hae-won, can you pick up the costumes? They're on the way..."

"I can't. We have to be on the Olympic Park stage in thirty minutes. How can I..."

My phone kept ringing with calls from festival staff. Since Jang Yong-gyu wasn't answering, they must have given my number to the agency.

"Ah, damn it, I'm going crazy."

I had no choice but to put on my earphones and answer the calls.

"Yes, yes. I'm really sorry. One of the managers has gone missing... Yes! We won't be late for the camera rehearsal. Yes, yes. I'm really, really sorry. Yes, I'm sorry."

I repeated my apologies mechanically while driving at a speed I had never imagined.