Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 13

“Hyung, do you know where Gyeol-hyung’s room is?”

On my way back to the room after a late dinner, I asked Ban Yohan, given that they both belonged to the same ‘Seed’ entertainment.

His immediate response was, “Room 303.” There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation or contemplation.

“…Just out of curiosity, you haven’t memorized all the room assignments, have you?”

“Of course not.”

Jing Xiao, who seemed tired, yawned and asked, “Gyeol? Who’s that?”

“You know, the handsome guy who came from Seed with Yo-han hyung. The rapper, Seo Moon-gyeol.”

Kim Jun-woo, recognizing who I was talking about, chimed in.

“Oh, that handsome guy. Are you close enough to shorten his name to Gyeol already?”

“What are you talking about? His name is Gyeol, so I call him Gyeol.”

Kim Jun-woo and I exchanged puzzled glances.

Hearing our conversation, Ban Yohan burst into a low chuckle and explained.

“His surname is Seomoon. His given name is Gyeol.”

“Oh, wow. That’s unique. Two syllables for the surname and one for the given name? Amazing, sounds like something from a novel.”

Visually, he indeed looked like a male lead from a novel.

“But how did you know? Even the mentors called him Moongyeol, and he wouldn’t have told them first.”

“Indeed. Why did I think that?”

My reaction dumbfounded ban Yohan and Kim Junwoo.

“What? You didn’t know either?”

“Without knowing? You’re really…”

“Well, I felt that way. There’s nothing wrong with the surname Seo Moon, and Gyeol sounds cooler than Moon-gyeol. Gyeol suits him better.”

If I were the game creator, I would have named him “Seomoon gyeol” instead of “SeoMoon Gyeol.” It sounds much cooler that way.

They seemed to accept it as a reason typical of me. Regardless of how long they had known me, why did I feel offended?

“So, why are you looking for his room?”

“He lent me a towel earlier.”

“Oh?”

Ban Yo-han raised one eyebrow, and muttered, “That’s interesting,” then turned his attention to Nagase Ritsu, who had been itching to ask him something.

Listening to them chatter in Japanese, which I could barely understand, we soon arrived in the room.

“I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, totally.”

With permission, I flopped onto Ban Yohan’s bed.

I noticed my blanket was placed neatly on one side.

Before leaving, I must make sure to kick someone out and sleep in a bed at least once.

“Are you guys going to practice more?”

Kim Junwoo asked while opening a cold vitamin drink he had bought from the only convenience store on the way.

I spent the little money I had to buy an energy bar to give to Seomoon Gyeol as a thank-you.

“Of course…”

For now, there was no more schedule today.

We were told we could practice in the individual practice rooms in the adjacent building until dawn if we wanted.

At least, that was what I heard while dozing off…

“…Let’s just rest for thirty, no, one hour.”

Everyone nodded in agreement at Kim Junwoo’s suggestion.

“Let’s do that.”

Then Ban Yo-han and Nagase Ritsu left the room, saying they would shower.

Even though we’d sweat again during practice, they couldn’t stand the current discomfort. I understood that.

So Jing Xiao, Kim Junwoo, and I, who had showered earlier, stayed in the room.

“……”

We were all too tired to talk.

A somewhat awkward silence fell.

Maybe because we’d been talking non-stop all day, it felt even more awkward.

Kim Jun-woo, lying on the bed and looking at the lyrics sheet that was provided to all of us with half-closed eyes, suddenly asked in a hoarse voice.

“How many years have you been trainees?”

How could he suddenly ask a question that was filled with so many implications?

All I knew was that “On Raon” had been a trainee at True for three years.

There was a possibility he had been with another company before joining True.

Jing Xiao answered first.

“I came to Korea a year ago.”

“But your Korean is very good.”

“Thanks.”

“Pfft, I’ve been a trainee for five years.”

“Wow.”

Five years is definitely not a short time. It must have stung to hear he lacked fundamentals and was assigned to Muk Hyesung’s class.

Fortunately, Kim Junwoo has shown an exceptionally enthusiastic attitude so far.

Whether he would make it to the final debut was uncertain, but if he continued as he was, there might be a positive change by the end of the survival program.

“What about Raon hyung?”

I swallowed my nonexistent saliva.

I needed to provide an answer that wouldn’t look strange if captured on camera.

Even such casual conversations could later be edited and aired.

“I’ve been a trainee longer than Xiao.”

“Right, you said you were at True for three years.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded nonchalantly. A moment later, Jing Xiao, puzzled, spoke up.

“But why now—”

“Hey! Is that mermaid story really true?”

Kim Junwoo interrupted Jing Xiao’s words loudly.

Jing Xiao looked at him as if wondering why, then noticed his expression and apologized to me quietly.

“No, it’s fine.”

I could wave it off casually, but the reasons or processes for trainees leaving their agencies were rarely positive.

After receiving poor monthly evaluations, they might have been encouraged to quit or forced to wait endlessly until they were too old to debut.

In my case, well… let’s not think about it.

“So, is that story true? Or did you just make it up? Is it a concept?”

Before the mood could get too heavy, Kim Junwoo asked again.

I played along, pretending to not care.

“Oh, of course, it’s true.”

“I’ve heard of ancestors giving lottery numbers in dreams, but never of a mermaid teaching dance.”

“Lottery numbers are more impressive.”

Whose ancestor? I’d like to know about them too.

After that, we had sporadic, trivial conversations until Ban Yohan and Nagase Ritsu returned with refreshed faces, and everyone fell asleep.

One hour passed quickly. Kim Junwoo’s wristwatch, set with an alarm, beeped.

No one seemed to want to get up, so I, barely holding on to my sanity, took the lead and got out of bed with a body that felt like lead.

“Let’s go practice.”

I nudged Ban Yohan lying next to me to wake him up.

He propped himself up and, squinting at me, said in a sleepy voice.

“You’re sharp, unlike what I expected.”

“Excuse me, what do you mean by ‘unlike what I expected’?”

“I mean it literally.”

His leisurely tone and smile made him look like a mischievous boy.

It made me want to smack him on the back of the head.

“Anyway, get up and let’s go. If we want to learn this within the time, we have to stay up all night.”

We left in our practice outfits, shivering from the cold, and entered the practice room marked with an A4 paper saying “Hyesung Class.”

A few trainees we recognized were already there.

As our eyes met, we awkwardly greeted each other with, “Hello, hello.”

“We can watch the choreography video with this.”

“Thanks.”

A trainee approached and readily handed over a tablet PC. There was another one with the other group.

I pressed the play button, and the choreography video we had seen countless times in the studio started playing.

“Oh, here it is.”

We watched the choreography video carefully from start to finish.

We had to show the entire dance during tomorrow’s lesson, not just the first verse. Apparently, we had dance lessons in the morning and vocal lessons in the afternoon.

Learning the song the normal way was also impossible because of my lack of intelligence and wisdom.

‘In this case, I have no choice but to use the Catallena Meta.’

The Catalena Meta meant practicing just like when I had registered the ‘Dancing Catalena’ choreography during the day and naturally learning the dance.

I realized another possibility of “learning” back then.

The first was trying probabilistically after listening to or watching the song or dance from start to finish.

The second was automatically registering the song and dance on the list by practicing in a relatively less system-dependent, normal way.

‘They said attempts at learning were impossible, not learning itself.’

So, the thing to do was practice, after all.

Though it was hard, I didn’t dislike practicing. Moving my body to the beat was quite enjoyable.

Was I always this active?

No way. I quit Ring×t after two days.

“Hyung, let me join you.”

Jing Xiao, who was replaying the video on the tablet, came over and matched his steps to mine. Soon, Kim Jun-woo and Nagase Ritsu joined in one by one.

Before we knew it, we were in a group with the other trainees practicing beside us.

The sound of our shoes hitting the floor echoed loudly.

“Isn’t Yohan hyung joining?”

“I want to watch this a bit more. There are parts I don’t understand.”

Ban Yohan, who had clearly memorized the choreography, leaned against the wall, continuing to watch the video.

For someone who boldly declared in the afternoon that there was no age for chasing dreams, he didn’t seem very motivated.

“Hyung, at this rate, you’ll be getting a beating from teacher Muk tomorrow.”

Only after hearing that did Ban Yohan reluctantly get up and join us at the end of the line.

After one practice session, I could feel the sweat and strain, but I managed to control my strength just enough.

As for Ban Yohan, as soon as we started practicing, it was clear he was just going through the motions to avoid sweating.

He really didn’t seem to want to be there. Why did he join this program?

No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem like a disposable extra character to be eliminated early on; he must have some special backstory.

With his good looks, perfect exam scores, and the title of a top student at S University, Ban Yohan’s participation in the program would significantly affect it.

Moreover, he was in the same class and room. If this went well…

I glanced at Ban Yo-han, who was gulping down bottled water, and our eyes met.

“Why?”

[Ban Yo-han is suspicious of you.]

Yikes. What did I do to deserve suspicion?

I was the one with the system to read people’s minds, but I felt like I was being read instead.

I hid my startled reaction and asked again.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. I was just looking.”

Do you suspect everyone you make eye contact with? Those words almost slipped out. Was he sensitive or just quick-witted?

I was indeed thinking of something suspicious.

At this rate, Ban Yohan had a high chance of getting an F-grade.

Judging by the speed he learned the choreography, he seemed capable of aiming for an A.

… Alright. Let’s do that.

“Hyung, I’ve made up my mind.”

“About what?”

“Let’s aim for an A grade together.”

“What?”

“Just trust me once and aim for an A grade with me.”

“Seriously?”

“Let’s aim for the A grade together.”

The narrative of getting dragged by the teacher and adding a storyline about taking care of classmates and rising together was added.

Of course, Ban Yohan’s opinion didn’t matter to me.