The Alpha Constellation survival show was supposed to have 40 trainees alone. But they had decided to add another 10 to make up the number and keep the normal "50- contestant" legacy.
Yujin guessed he was lucky because he got an opportunity to join because of that.
And he found out about it while going through his phone.
He was in the taxi heading to the venue, scrolling through his phone, checking the trainees of the show and the rankings.
The show would be airing officially in about a week. It was already trending on all social media platforms.
The whole K-POP fandom was tuning in for the boy group the company would be producing after not having produced one in a while.
He scrolled through the unofficial ranking of the trainees, which was basically a rank made by the number of votes— which could change from time to time.
As expected, Lee Jaehyuk was ranked no.1 with 10 million votes!
Yujin was impressed. That was a lot.
He guessed Jaehyuk was just that popular that the audience anticipated his idol era. Even Yujin couldn't scroll past an entertainment news a single day without seeing people talking about him.
He was just that big.
Seo Yujin also saw Park Hyunwoo, his childhood sweetheart and now his ex. He was ranked 30.
He didn't have any prior fame before this, so it was understandable that he wasn't too high on the rank. People only voted based on their impression of him from the introduction video.
To Yujin, it was already impressive that he ranked 30 as a newbie in the entertainment industry.
Yujin could already predict that he'd go higher when the show began because he seemed like a typical idol material.
The one both the audience and show coordinators would love.
And they did love him, because he debuted anyway.
Yujin casually scrolled through the rankings, seeing familiar faces of those who debuted. The person who ranked 2nd with 5 million votes [half of Jaehyuk's votes] was already a popular figure.
He had been in a previous boy group that disbanded a while ago. And the rest of the four members who would debut in the group from this show weren't in the top 10.
Seo Yujin sighed as he stared at his profile, which was newly created. It was at the bottom with zero votes.
He sighed. "That's poor," he thought.
But he expected that. He had yet to show himself, and he was certain that he would collect more votes in the future once the show began.
He was confident.
Yujin also went through the introduction videos of some trainees, and he was impressed to see Jaehyuk already having 30 million views on his video!
He was literally the goat of the show at this point!
He rolled his eyes. "What do they even see in this brat?" he mumbled as he casually watched the introduction video.
It was a one-minute video where contestants were expected to introduce themselves, their special skills, their hobby, and charm within a minute, while also appealing to the audience to vote for them.
Jaehyuk didn't do much. He only sat there talking about how much he appreciated his fans' support throughout the one minute.
He didn't even show any skill or charm.
"So unfair…" Yujin mumbled while pressing the unlike button on the video.
Well, he guessed Jaehyuk could literally just sit there sleeping and still gain 50 million views.
The taxi soon pulled over before the building, and Seo Yujin got down with his bags.
He looked towards the building, already crowded with female fans in uniform who screamed at the top of their lungs, holding up cards that read;
[WE LOVE YOU JAEHYUK OPPA!]
[JAEHYUK OPPA DEBUT!!]
[WE ONLY KNOW JAEHYUK!!]
[SUNMIN OPPA DEBUT!]
[WE LOVE YOU JAEHYUK OPPA! THE ONLY IDOL IN OUR HEARTS!]
Yujin could tell that most of the fans here were Jaehyuk fans. Seeing and hearing his name a lot was beginning to hurt his head.
He rolled his eyes as he covered his face with a black face mask.
To protect himself from being recognized by these excited high school girls as part of the contestants, and also for the aesthetic of it.
But while Seo Yujin walked past and into the building, no one recognized him at all. They didn't even bother stopping him or even looking his way too much.
He now stood inside the building, watching the security men who let him in after he showed them his ID [which was sent to him by the company a day before].
Yujin felt disappointed.
"I should already be used to it," he mumbled as he turned and pulled his bags in.
He never was recognised in his first life either.
---
Seo Yujin was soon in the dressing and makeup room, where some other alphas were.
He could recognize some of these alphas from the audition that day. That was enough to tell him that their dressing room was a low-budget one for filler trainees like them.
The other dressing and makeup rooms for the main trainees were clearly better than theirs.
They had staff to help them, but theirs didn't. They were getting ready and making themselves up.
Seo Yujin didn't bother. He ignored the other guys who were busy chatting and laughing while getting ready, and made his way to prepare himself.
It only took five minutes, and Yujin was ready in the clothes he'd perform with.
An elegant long-sleeved white top made of silk. Soft and puffy at the hand sides. And then black silky pants to match it.
He styled his soft brownish hair and added some soft make-up to his face. He was good with make-up and general fashion with his experience in the industry.
And Yujin had been studying himself recently and what he wanted from this show and his career.
He needed to build an "image" for himself first. Something he'd be seen for.
And after assessing himself, he could tell what he'd be good at.
The pretty, cute boy with some feminine energy.
That was an image he could easily work with within his lane. Especially since male Omegas were easily associated with being feminine and weak.
But he wouldn't try conforming to being overly masculine to fit in. Neither would he view it as weakness, but rather he'd turn it into his strength.
And that was what he was going to use to scale through. The same traits he was previously looked down on for.
He was soon done, staring at himself in the mirror.
He looked elegant and pretty enough to win some stares from people.
And some guys in the dressing room were already looking…
---
In the Auditorium where they were to gather and perform, the cameras were rolling and everything was set.
The stage was illuminated, the seats arranged in order.
The overly blue and starry aesthetics of the hall room was a detail worth mentioning.
The MC now mounted the stage, ready to deliver an opening.