Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 12

Skills could be evolved slowly.

But if you didn’t catch the viewers’ attention from the start, you wouldn’t get any votes.

If you suddenly became good-looking later, you might get caught up in plastic surgery controversies.

In the beginning, the screen time would be short, so when would you have the chance to showcase your minuscule skills? Being handsome was the best.

…That’s what the guys at my former agency used to nag about endlessly. Thinking about it again, it was annoying.

Although I didn’t completely agree with that statement, I decided to enhance my charm after a rather rational thought process.

“Hey, don’t sleep while walking. Get a grip.”

For reference, I’m a person who can think rationally even while sleeping.

“Our room is this way, 312.”

Ban Yo-han, who had no consideration for my clothes, grabbed me and pulled me in the opposite direction from where I was heading.

‘Ah, we arrived at our dorm.’

At that moment, we were going up the stairs of the dorm to check the room assignment.

Fearing I might have an accident on the stairs, I slapped my cheeks with both hands and consciously blinked several times.

Ban Yo-han looked at me strangely, but thanks to that, my foggy mind cleared up to some extent.

As soon as we entered room 312, I saw five suitcases lined up near the entrance.

My suitcase, slightly smaller than the others but with my name tag on it, was there as well, thankfully indicating flexible handling of the compensation.

Jing Xiao and Nagase Ritsu, who had arrived earlier, stood awkwardly apart and brightened up upon seeing us enter.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hello….”

Their voices were weak as if they were exhausted.

“Wow, a bed. Wow.”

“Keep your spirit intact.”

I took off my shoes and sprawled out on the floor.

There was a bed right next to me, but I couldn’t contaminate the sacred bed with my body dirty from sweat and other impurities.

“Did you hear the announcement properly earlier?”

“I heard it, but don’t remember. What did it say?”

“It said to change clothes and wait, then go to the dining room when they call our room number on the broadcast.”

Kim Jun-woo answered as he entered.

It was decided that  Ban Yo-han, Kim Jun-woo, Jing Xiao, Nagase Ritsu, and I would share the same room during this camp.

Now that I think about it, we were all from Hyesung’s class. They must have grouped us by class.

“Wow, there’s a camera.”

“There’s one here too.”

“How do we change clothes with everything being filmed?”

“We either change under the blanket or go to the bathroom to change.”

While I was half-asleep sprawled on the floor, Kim Jun-woo and Ban Yo-han discovered the cameras installed in the corners and whispered to each other.

I had to be careful with my words and actions.

As I resolved to be cautious, Ban Yo-han suddenly made a ridiculous suggestion with a very bright smile.

“Alright. Then Raon, you sleep on the floor with a blanket.”

“What?”

“Can I use the bottom bunk?”

“Sure. I want the top bunk.”

“Excuse me?”

“[Ritsu, do you want the bottom bunk? Or the top floor?]”

“[I’m fine with either.]”

“I’m not okay with that.”

Just as Jing Xiao, whose Korean was good enough for casual conversation, expressed his desire to use the top bunk, I realized there was no turning the public opinion around.

Accepting the reality quickly, I crawled to the nearby camera and decided to report the outrageous acts of these ungrateful guys.

“Everyone, are you watching? I’ve been abandoned. Despite how hard I just worked to help my hyungs and Jing Xiao, these people showed no gratitude and told such a good younger brother to sleep on the floor. What can I do? A good person like me has to endure. PD-nim. Please make sure this is aired later. Please.”

Kim Jun-woo, who was watching me, approached slowly and put an arm around my shoulder.

“Raon, you know hyung cares about you, right?”

“Yeah. It’s already too late.”

I tried to shake off the sweaty Kim Jun-woo but failed due to my lack of strength stats. Damn it.

After struggling for a while, I finally managed to pry off Kim Jun-woo, who was clinging to me like gum on my back.

I wished Ban Yo-han and the other two wouldn’t look at me with such pitying eyes without helping.

Anyway, after much effort, I opened the wardrobe.

Inside, there was a bright yellow sweatshirt, just like the vest we wore during practice at the studio earlier.

“Wow, it’s chick-yellow.”

“Chirp-chirp.”

What’s wrong with them?

Ban Yo-han, who had the same thought as me, remarked,

“Jun-woo hyung looks like a sick chick.”

“This kid’s words are quite harsh.”

I pulled one out that seemed to roughly fit my size.

“I’m going to shower.”

Since they were calling rooms on the broadcast starting from the second floor, our turn was far away.

I planned to take a quick shower with hot water in the meantime.

“We’ll lay out your blanket nicely.”

If there weren’t any cameras, if I weren’t a trainee, I would show this annoying guy the glory of my middle finger.

But I couldn’t cause a personality controversy on the first day of possession.

Hold it in. If I endure, good things will come.

Ignoring the giggling of Ban Yo-han and Kim Jun-woo, I took out a transparent pouch with shower supplies and a change of clothes from the suitcase with my name on it and headed to the communal shower room.

“Hello.”

“… Hi.”

I met Seo Moon-gyeol at the entrance to the shower room, carrying similar items, and we entered together.

Partitions divided the shower room and, since no one had used it yet, it was clean and quiet. Nice.

Leaving Seo Moon-gyeol, who was looking around the shower room, behind, I entered the closest stall and drew the curtain.

After a moment, I heard the sound of a curtain being closed again.

Putting the sweat-soaked clothes on the shelf and taking a hot shower, my sore body gradually relaxed.

[Satisfying shower. Fatigue -30]

Even after finishing my shower, I was reluctant to turn off the hot water and wasted a lot of it. Only after reluctantly turning off the faucet did I realize something.

‘Damn it. No towel.’

I considered drying myself with the clothes I wore but having enjoyed my first comfortable and satisfying moment since entering the game world, I didn’t want to do something so unpleasant.

Despite being a game addict, I was a perfect person who made sure to take a refreshing shower at least once a day in the bathroom attached to my room.

As usual, I acted all cool and checked myself in the mirror, but sure enough, instead of the self-love-inspiring face that could rival Narcissus, there was a slightly ugly guy, which made me feel bitter.

‘Life is but a dream…’

At that moment, I heard the sound of another curtain being drawn open.

Hidden by the curtain, I confirmed through the name tag floating above that it was Seo Moon-gyeol.

Hearing the sound of slippers hitting the floor as he walked away, I suddenly thought of something and shouted.

“Hyung! Could you lend me a towel? I forgot mine….”

The structure of the shower room made the sound echo, so he must have heard it, but there was no response. Did he just leave?

Just in case, I decided to wait a bit.

As I stood there in the winter cold, I turned on the hot water again. I was enjoying the warm water when someone entered and hung a towel over the partition for me before leaving.

It was Seo Moon-gyeol. The world was still worth living in.

“Thank you!”

His character was worlds apart from Ban Yo-han, who had banished me to the floor.

He was like the old me who had both character and looks.

Unlike the cheerful image of the flower boy Ban Yo-han, Seo Moon-gyeol had a rather sensitive and sharp impression due to his cold expressions.

Given that, I doubted he would fulfill such a sudden request from someone he barely exchanged greetings with, but clearly, you shouldn’t judge people by their looks.

After drying off and changing into fresh clothes, I returned to the room to find four people lying weakly on the floor, who got up when they saw me.

“Did they call us yet?”

I thought they might have gone for dinner while I was showering, but thankfully, they hadn’t.

As I shook off the remaining water from my hair and neatly placed the towel to one side, the guys looked at me with incredulous expressions and made comments.

“How could we go without you?”

“Of course, we waited for you.”

“[Yes, we waited for you.]”

“We’re not that disloyal. They called us on the broadcast earlier, but we waited for you.”

…The world couldn’t be this warm.

Just as Seo Moon-gyeol had, these guys acted with a warmth that surprised me, causing me to stay silent. Kim Jun-woo, noticing my reaction, cautiously asked,

“You’re not mad, right?”

Oh, right? This was a game world. Game, game.

Muttering that addictive word a few times in my mind, I quickly understood why they were so friendly.

Smiling, I told them it was nothing, just that it took this long because I was showering, and they all looked relieved, complaining about being starving and urging us to hurry up.

‘Wow, this is hard to get used to.’

We went down to the dining hall on the first floor. Arriving late, we had only a meager amount of stir-fried pork and rice to fill our trays and sat at an empty table.

“Even though we pretty much know each other’s ages, shall we quickly confirm while we eat?”

“Sure.”

“Hey, Yo-han hyung, translate for Ritsu.”

“Okay.”

Ban Yo-han, whose impressive qualifications made me wonder why he was trying to be an Idol, translated Kim Jun-woo’s words to Nagase Ritsu in fluent Japanese.

Nagase Ritsu gave an okay sign with his hand.

Meanwhile, my basic Japanese skill proficiency smoothly increased.

“I’m probably the oldest here, 22.”

Kim Jun-woo was 22, Ban Yo-han was 21, Nagase Ritsu was 20, I was 18, and Jing Xiao was 17.

After hearing everyone’s age, Kim Jun-woo suggested,

“Shall we just speak informally?”

“Shall we?”

“I was already doing that.”

“You are… well.”

“You what?”

[The trainees of room 312 acknowledge you as the biggest socialite in this area. Charm +1]

I appreciated the charm boost, but why did I feel so uncomfortable?

Maybe it was because people had mistakenly called me, an introvert, a socialite, but I’m not that extroverted, you know.