If you can’t debut, you’ll die of a disease. Episode 005,
the intro that everyone is familiar with, passed by, and the lively vocals hit my ears.
I took the iconic opening pose I remembered.
One of the judges spits out the drinking water.
– Oh me too! I like you~
My heart beats! It feels like popcorn!
POP! POP!
The exploding beat just resonates~
This feeling fills my heart!
The only one who seriously nods at the simple chop-chop-chop movement is Young-rin, who asked for a dance. It seemed that she was the only professional here.
Gradually, a part that half of my peers can dance comes out.
-POP! POP!
You are my Popcorn~ (Oh Yeah!)
Control
my heart
~
The soft and sweet chorus of < POP☆CON >, released 10 years ago, hit my eardrums.
It is a so-called banned song for the college entrance exam, and it was the main culprit that ruined the listening evaluation of the students that year with sick lyrics and crazy addiction.
By the way, I also took the exam at that time. I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have money.
-POP POP!
Exploding Popcorn~ (Ooh~)
It was also famous for all kinds of people uploading cover dances, and the difficulty level was so easy.
To put it more bluntly, it was a level that even elementary school students could play if they practiced.
If I brought it out 10 years ago when it was popular, I would have been criticized. But now, I tried to select songs because I thought I could weave them into memories and move on to gags.
Of course, he is dancing hard with a straight face.
Judging from the remaining gags, I, as a contestant, would be unlikable if I laughed and laughed openly.
I had to give the impression that I had prepared diligently to the extent that I could perform.
Of course, it was true that he actually worked hard. It’s because I raised my level while practicing this. < First Move > < 10 Moves > Achievements.
Seeing the judges clapping and laughing, it seemed like a mistake, but…I don’t know. You guys know how to rate it.
The dance stopped after the last movement of verse 1.
As I held my breath and bowed my head, applause came out as if I had come to my senses.
“thank you.”
Youngrin took the mic first, but it was the choreographer who came out.
My eyes are red from how much I laughed. It’s like I’m laughing and then I’m crying
“Wow sir…. Oh, I never dreamed that it would come out. Wasn’t Moondae 10 years old when popcorn came out? Did you prepare for a talent show at that time?”
“It’s not like that, but I prepared it because I’m a fan of sweet and sweet sunbaenim.”
“Kha!”
For your reference, Mellow’s most recent album was released four years ago.
Even after he was in his heyday, it was so long ago that it seemed unusual for a 20-year-old to say he was a fan.
It’s because even a member of the opposite sex won’t become a pod at all.
Sure enough, the choreographer who asked the question laughed again.
Beside him, Mudy murmured happily.
“ah…It’s cute~”
“I worked hard, first of all, hard!”
The male idol judges helped.
When he said he had no experience earlier, the doubts he had before were all gone.
Only then did Youngrin open her mouth.
“That doesn’t mean I did well.”
I knew it would be like this.
It was a situation where close-ups and sound effects could be included in the editing.
And with the red subtitles three times larger, I think that line will be ‘doo-dung’.
I roughly anticipated the editorial angle and waited for the rest of the judges’ comments.
“Once you move your body, you can see that there is no proficiency. Even if I get good reviews for my current atmosphere, future missions will be tough.”
“I am prepared.”
The status window, not me.
No matter what he swallowed, Youngrin nodded heavily.
“is it so.”
And then he added with an expression on his face.
“…Anyway, it looks like you tried. Thanks for your efforts.”
“thank you.”
I think I said ‘thank you’ ten times today. Will it be covered with this frequency in the future?
By the time I made that assessment, the judges were exchanging opinions without raising their microphones so that I couldn’t hear them.
At this point, one more brutal element of this show comes out.
Here, even in the first screening, the rankings are ranked from 1st to 77th. Then, seats were assigned in order of rank.
That’s right, using the temporary ranking that comes out immediately after being judged.
And if the next contestant does better while the seat is full, the ranking is pushed back and you have to move away.
Taking a scene in which the lower ranks are pushed back by one space and then sit at the bottom and cry is also the monopoly of this pro.
Fortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever get to that point.
My ranking is… Maybe around 24th?
“Park Moon-dae’s rank is…Number 17!”
It means that it was similar to what I expected because I deliberately rated it around 5th place to shoot a pushing scene.
‘I think I went up 4 more stairs because of the mood.’
If time passes and the pods of the judges come off, I might have to move away from the busy middle and high school students.
It was kind of funny to think of it as stupid but to bow down hard.
“thank you.”
“I’ll teach you hard, so next time I’ll raise the rankings.”
said the choreographer with a grin. If my skills don’t improve like this, I’ll change right away, but I had a status window.
‘It would be nice if that choreographer could pull out a moving scene.’
I nodded again and headed towards the set of seats.
The seats engraved with ranks became larger, more luxurious, and softer as they went up. The difference was so obvious that it was vulgar.
The 17th place I would sit on was a leather chair like a corporate executive would sit.
When I was seated, a participant sitting in 15th place across the street greeted me. With a sad impression, he seemed to be the same age as Park Moon-dae.
“Hello~”
“Hello.”
“You sang so well!”
“thank you. I think you did well too.”
“yes? Ahaha!”
I couldn’t guarantee it because I couldn’t see it properly, but looking at the rankings, I meant that it was likely, but it seemed to work well.
The contestant laughed out loud and pointed to the name tag on his chest.
“My name is Sejin Lee!”
“…!”
I almost sighed. I answered with the most shameless face.
“This is Park Moon-dae. Please take good care of me.”
“Thank you~”
After naturally ending the conversation, I looked ahead and, at good timing, the next participant entered. But I was thinking of the name I had just heard.
Sejin Lee.
It was the name that debuted through this program. So, let’s say it’s the personal connections of the promised victory.
But there is a problem.
After this, he will explode next year. as well as distribution.
I must have seen that name on the 9 o’clock news at a soup restaurant near the studio.
[Arrested for drug distribution charge of Lee Se-jin from ‘Idol Co., Ltd.’]
…Let’s not talk in the future.
Timing was important. Then, let’s use the interlude to see the status window.
[Name: Park Moon-dae (Ryu Gun-woo)]
Level: 5
Title: None
Singing: A-
Dance: D
Appearance: C+
Talent: C
Trait: Infinite Potential
! Abnormal Status: Debut or death
Remaining Points: 1
First, go to the stage level You got points if you did it up. It seems to be thanks to the achievement of < First Stage >.
And the dance and talent items seemed to have just been created as a stage.
It was inactive during practice, but does it have to be officially recognized? I don’t know of any clear criteria.
Anyway, I vaguely felt it while practicing, but… Even if you say that your talent is okay, it seems that ‘Park Moon-dae’ is not very talented in dancing.
When it comes to dancing, I think I’m just at the level of a normal person.
I think in the next two or three times, I will be able to try something if I invest points into dancing.
On the other hand, the appearance item showed new possibilities of the status window. Even though I didn’t invest points, my evaluation went up because I cared about my physical appearance.
It meant that apart from the level up effect on the status window, I could raise my stats. That’s a pretty positive factor.
Finally, another unusual pop-up appeared. The small one right next to the status bar.
[Successful stage!]
Impressed the majority!
: General Attribute Draw ☜ Click!
‘Something strange came out again.’
Still, when I saw words like ‘success’ and ‘impression’, the nuance of compensation was strong.
I pretended to touch my hair and clicked on the draw. Then something quite interesting popped up.
It was a picture of a gray slot machine. The slot next to the already pulled lever was spinning tight.
However, the pace gradually slowed down. It soon became possible to sneak a peek at the contents of the slot.
A few compartments were brass and most were gray.
[Strong heart]
[Eraser of disgrace]
[Tears of a crocodile]
[Sleep is when you die]
[Look at me!]
[…] ….]
“….”
No, it’s good to guess what it’s like as soon as you see it… Isn’t that such a crude name though?
I looked at the slot machine with low expectations. Anyway, it seemed like it would stop soon.
floating…ridge!
Pollen came out of the slot machine.
The stalls were brass.
[Attribute: ‘Sleep is to die and sleep (D)’ acquired!]
When activated, you don’t get tired even if you don’t sleep.
00 : 01 ~ 04 : 00 Experience Acceleration Bonus +30%
One-time use lasting for a week.
“…!”
Surprisingly, it took a very useful trait. name is…kinda though
Anyway, when I said ‘pick up’, it meant literally. It’s fun to come up with the essential elements of luck X mangem.
I confirmed that ‘Sleep is to die and sleep (inactive)’ has been added to the properties at the bottom of the status window. Let’s think about when to use it most effectively.
“Participant Kang Min-jo…It’s number 56!”
The evaluation was on-going.
No debut members have yet appeared, except for the suspicious drug addict next to me.
I watched the next contestant come in.
A slender physique with long limbs came up on stage.
Seeing that he was alone, he was a participant who had no connections with other trainees.
A murmur spread among the participants seated in the ranking table. Of course, this participant did not come up alone.
“and!”
“oh my god.”
Because the participant who came in was very handsome. I even heard the judges openly admiring it from below.
“You look like a deer~”
Even to me, it was a level of appearance that I wouldn’t have to worry about debuting.
It’s a level where you don’t have to appear in survival. I’m sure he did something after this show.
But looking at the name tag on the chest, I didn’t know the name.
[Seon Ah-hyun]
I wonder if I can’t debut with that face, so I don’t have enough skills. He is more handsome than most active idols who sold direct cam data.
Hmm, if we convert it to the status window… Wouldn’t all of the abilities be between F and D except for the appearance?
‘If I could see someone else’s status window, I’d be able to know for sure.’
Surprisingly, as soon as I thought of that, a window really floated to the side of the participant.
“…!”
Was it something others could see?
[Name: Seon Ah-hyun]
Singing: B- (A)
Dance: A (EX)
Appearance: A+ (S+)
Talent: B (A+)
Trait: Tenacity (inactive)
! Abnormal Status: Lack of self-esteem.
It was a gorgeous status window. To the point where I wondered if I would easily be in the top 10 in this judging. Are the ones in parentheses the maximum growth? If so, the future was bright.
But the last item stands out.
[Abnormal condition: Lack of self-esteem]
With that face? I would rather have been arrogant.
Anyway, being able to check on others was a great benefit. It seemed that I would not die of starvation if I had to rub it with an entertainment company.
As I was looking through the items with interest, I heard the MC’s voice.
“Please introduce yourselves!”
And Sun Ah-hyun picked up the microphone.
The hand holding the microphone was shaking.
“Ah ah hello….”
“…!”
It wasn’t that I accidentally fumbled because I was nervous. It was an awkward tone that made me feel uncomfortable.
It was a clear symptom of stuttering disorder.
Moreover, I felt that he was very conscious of his speech impediment. Should I say that the anxiety and embarrassment touched me enough to be burdensome?
That’s why. At once, I understood the status window of Seon Ah-hyun, the participant.
Still, with this level of looks and skills, you can turn stuttering into a narrative, so why didn’t you debut?
After all, is the condition called ‘lack of self-esteem’ a problem? Can you find out more… ….
[Lack of self-esteem]
: Despise yourself.
Reduces all stats by two levels.
“…!”
Suddenly another pop-up appeared. I never thought I could check the details just by thinking.
‘Be very useful too.’
I need to check my status ailments again and see how much life is left.
I’m being sarcastic, but in fact, I was a little surprised that the contents of that status abnormality were more radical than I thought.
If I got a debuff like this in the game, I would fold it. It’s a game of life, so I can’t reset it, so the other side will be quite annoyed.
“Ahyeon-kun, by any chance…Is it difficult?”
“my…my me… I was in an accident when I was young… ….”
“ah….”
On stage, the storytelling was beginning.
To be precise, it seems that Sun Ah-hyun is trying to explain her condition, and the production team seems to be trying to make it a storytelling.
Arbitrary reactions also erupt from the participants around me.
In particular, the guy who nodded his head with a sad look on his face seemed like it would definitely be used as a reaction cut.
Because I was even doing this kind of dialogue.
“oh my god….”
Reacting to such a sensitive topic shouldn’t be approached like that.
Even if the editing is off by an inch, voices such as ‘That kind of reaction is also violence’ come out.
I just stared straight ahead with a ‘I see’ expression without much agitation.
The judges said a few obvious words of thanks and cautiously requested a stage.
“Then can I see Ahyeon’s stage?”
“yes yes….”
The stage that followed wasn’t that bad. Just enough to look good overall.
In other words, if the status window is correct, that participant is worse than his own skill.
“Seon Ah-hyun is in 18th place!”
Without mentality and strategy, this is what happens. A rank lower than me in that status window.
Anyway, the evaluation was good, whether it was because I felt good about my skills or because I didn’t want to say bad things.
“Well done~”
“I look forward to it in the future.”
The judges picked up various warm sounds and served them. Some even give a thumbs up.
However, Seon Ah-hyun’s face was dark as she bowed deeply.
I came out of the stage, trying hard not to make a face, and followed the MC’s instructions and came up to the seat next to me.
“….”
I feel like I should say goodbye… ….
Seon Ah-hyun glances at my seat, but doesn’t talk to me.
Just in case, it shouldn’t come out in a scene I ignore.
But I was too lazy to open my mouth. So I just nodded to the side.
Seon Ah-hyun shakes her head in surprise.
“There are 5 contestants to be judged next! Choi Jin-su, Hong Seong-gun….”
I silently counted the number of remaining participants and let out a weak sigh.
It’s been a while.
