READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The practice began with the mentors, who looked as exhausted as the trainees, regardless of how tired the trainees were.
“You’re tired, right? Once you finish this, today’s filming will be over, so hang in there just a bit longer.”
Some mentors encouraged the trainees with such kindness.
“I saw earlier that you crumble as soon as it gets a little tough. You can’t reach an ‘A’ grade like that. Let’s work harder.”
And some mentors mercilessly pushed the trainees forward.
Our teacher Muk, was the latter.
He maintained a somewhat respectful attitude towards the trainees, who were as insignificant as black plastic bags floundering on the streets, and lashed out at them with his kind words.
“I saw what you did. If I were to score it, passion gets ten out of ten, skill gets zero. Total score, ten. Are you satisfied?”
The foreign trainees, who had sighed in relief at his gentle tone, widened their eyes in confusion upon seeing the Korean trainees freeze up as soon as Muk Hye-sung finished speaking.
Nagase Ritsu, standing behind me, tapped me and gestured to ask what it meant.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. I gave him a bright smile.
However, Muk Hye-sung, who had made direct eye contact with me, gave his characteristic one-pixel smile and opened his mouth.
“I like that you’re working hard. But you didn’t do well.”
“With that skill, you can’t become idols in Korea.”
“What did you think when you saw the other teams perform? Just enjoying yourselves isn’t everything.”
What should I do with this kindly eccentric teacher who, seeing that the kids didn’t understand, repeated it in English, Japanese, and Chinese?
Muk Hye-sung, who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties, was a remarkably competent mentor, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.
I had no idea where this guy came from, but he spoke four languages fluently, danced superbly, and had a pleasant voice that suggested he could sing well too.
How could such a cheat character exist?
All the mentors here were close to being all-rounders who sang well, danced well, and even had good looks.
More people in this world were balanced and excelled in various skills than I thought.
The munchkin(1) Idol Muk Hye-sung was the first to quickly categorize the thirty trainees by skill level, then began teaching the particularly untalented ones among them first.
Seeing how accurately he sorted them after watching them dance together just once, it seemed like He had a radar-like vision.
“How many years has it been since teacher Muk debuted?”
Feeling strongly that he might be an Idol from the first generation, I casually asked Ban Yo-han, who was catching his breath beside me.
I received a light scolding for not knowing about my role model and was told he was in his 20th year this year.
“Crazy…”
Oh. My trick to avoid the filter worked. There’s truly no flawless system under the sky. (2)
…I felt a bit self-deprecating for using swear words in this way, though.
Anyway, is he really in his 20th debut year with that face? He must have managed himself rigorously, debuted at a very young age, or he’s a vampire. It’s got to be one of those three.
“What’s new? Chronicle is a living legend now.”
“I know, I know, King God General Chronicle.”
While I was pretending to be familiar with it, Ban Yo-han suddenly widened his eyes and smiled awkwardly as he pursed his lips.
“…Is Teacher Muk behind me?”
“Yeah.”
How could he come up behind someone so silently without making a sound?
Still, we hadn’t said anything bad that we shouldn’t have, so what’s the problem?
I turned around with a bright smile and greeted him promptly.
“Welcome, respected Teacher Muk Hye-sung.”
“Do you have enough time to chat during practice?”
[Muk Hye-sung, who despises laziness, will now monitor you closely. Muk Hye-sung Favorability -2. Current Favorability 0.]
Ugh! Isn’t this crazy?
When it goes up, it barely moves like a mosquito nibbling on your toes, but when it drops, it plunges like this?
Before I could even make an excuse, Muk Hye-sung spoke first.
“Go ahead. You’re the last ones.”
We were the ones acknowledged as the best among the untalented ones.
To be more specific, we had memorized the choreography to some extent, so practicing alone wouldn’t be a big problem.
“Yes!”
Especially Ban Yo-han, who had memorized the entire choreography purely on his own without relying on the system’s help, unlike me, who did it through luck and gambling.
Though he didn’t say it, he probably memorized it before I could even grasp it through trial and error. I wondered how high his intelligence was set.
“Da da da-dada da tada tada.”
“Tada da clap clap clap! Tat tat tada da clap!”
“Bam Bam boom whoosh snap!”
We enthusiastically counted the beats with our mouths and performed the first verse of the Heart Attack’s choreography.
Damn… Ban Yo-han, that guy even memorized the lyrics.
When our eyes met after the performance, he pretended nothing had happened, but I saw his lips moving to the lyrics. You bastard.
Even though I was busy dancing, I saw it, and there was no way Muk Hye-sung would miss it.
He looked at Ban Yo-han for a moment before turning his gaze to me. It seemed like he was going to start with me.
“You memorized the choreography well.”
Now we all knew that this wasn’t a compliment. It just meant that we memorized it.
As expected, Muk Hye-sung continued in an even tone that didn’t feel particularly high or low.
“You are not putting enough power here and not taking it out either. If you’re going to differentiate between strengths and weaknesses, do it properly. And in this move, you need to shift your center of gravity to your wrist at this time. If you don’t do it right, you’ll just get hurt for nothing.”
That’s because my Strength is 12…
“If you spin that slowly, won’t the song end before you finish the turn? Do the moves precisely. This dance particularly requires your body to be light… looking at how you’re doing it now, you seem like a heavy robot that hasn’t been oiled enough.”
That’s because my Agility is 11…
“You might not be prepared to worry about facial expressions yet, but you should never forget that you’re an Idol. If you look like you’re going to die after just one verse, people won’t watch you.”
That’s because my Stamina is 17…
“…”
Then, Muk Hye-sung turned his attention to another trainee with a somewhat dissatisfied face.
I wondered if the Inborn Pitiful effect had activated on its own again, but there was no notification that the special trait had been triggered.
I grabbed Ban Yo-han, who was also avoiding my gaze with a similarly uncomfortable expression and asked him.
“Why is teacher Muk like that?”
“You were… smiling while being criticized.”
“?”
“Maybe… uh, never mind. You might prefer it that way. I’ll think of you as a younger brother who prefers criticism over praise.”
Ban Yo-han said this and took a step to the side as if he didn’t want to talk to me anymore.
Goodness. Only then did I understand the situation.
I must have been smiling unconsciously as my understanding of the choreography increased proportionally to the harshness of Muk Hye-sung’s feedback.
It’s a misunderstanding. A huge misunderstanding! I’m not that kind of pervert!
“Teacher Muk, please listen to me. I’m not that kind of strange guy!”
“Yeah, got it.”
Although he claimed to understand, Muk Hye-sung coldly disregarded me, and I had to clarify patiently that it was a misunderstanding without impeding him before I ultimately received his instruction to simply practice, regaining 1 point of favorability in the process.
Ha. I’m not Jena, who radiates beauty and charm, nor Han Ji-hee, who’s like an elegant ballerina, nor Seok Soo-young, a refreshing cat-faced beauty. I feel so dejected and miserable having to fret over Muk Hye-sung’s favorability…
Overwhelmed by a sense of self-pity, I slumped in a corner somewhere when a few trainees from Muk Hye-sung’s class, who were resting, came over and spoke to me.
“You’re amazing.”
“Yeah. Aren’t you scared of Teacher Hye-sung? I feel like I’d be terrified if he even cleared his throat.”
Do you guys get scared of NPCs in games? Well, I don’t, for one.
Oh, maybe they see it as a mere trainee fearlessly standing up to a legendary senior idol.
Having been tormented by filming and practice since last night, with only a chocolate latte and a donut, and not even being able to sit in the first-place chair for long, I was too exhausted to think of a sincere answer.
“Really?”
When I laughed, it off, they shrugged and resumed practice, despite their buffs having worn off. They were working hard.
This world wasn’t crudely built like a mere game world.
The people felt real, and the pain from hunger or cold was palpable. The joy I felt from listening to music was genuine, too.
Yet, the sensation of playing a game persisted in one corner of my mind, like the names floating above NPCs’ heads.
Was it because all I’d done for years was play games? Was it because only unbelievable things were happening?
Since it was a game, anyway. If any actions were not allowed, some transcendent being, whether a developer or a god, would have already appeared and banned me.
* * *
The filming that started early in the morning finally ended around 10 PM.
None of the trainees were awake, and the sound of rumbling stomachs echoed every three seconds.
Perhaps because it was the first day, most of the trainees who were pumped up were working hard.
As a result, we barely had the strength to walk like zombies on our legs.
I wasn’t much different.
The production crew and mentors seemed to have found time to eat, but the trainees had to endure with just one donut given midway through.
Whenever I tried to close my eyes for a moment while filming was delayed, I would hear a staff member shout from somewhere telling me not to sleep.
‘The player dislikes such passion pay.’
Do they even pay us an appearance fee?
The production team said they would give us dinner once we moved to the dorm.
I hoped there would be enough food prepared for all 100 of us to eat our fill.
As we all staggered out of the studio half-dead, a quest completion window popped up as if it had been waiting.
[Main Quest Completed!]
[You have unassigned stat points.]
I guessed that it would be impossible to fully grasp the choreography without these stats.
How could one understand the dance 100% without the necessary physical abilities?
While participating in the program, I had to improve my skills and push a growth narrative.
(‘Even when thinking rationally, it’s still Charm, isn’t it?’)