Title: How to Survive as a Limited-Time Idol [Season 1-3]
[Mini novel]
[Extend your life by completing quests!]
Idol bodyguard, Kwon Yoo-hyun.
Not only did I suddenly go back 7 years, I also ended up with a limited time.
[
[Life Remaining 23:52:45]
Only one day left to live.
If you don't complete the quest, you die.
Chapter 1
Beeeep-
On the stage where the music ended.
The cheers that filled the concert hall became tinnitus and pierced my eardrums.
[Life remaining 01:00:15]
[Life insufficient! Headache, high fever, nosebleed, hyperventilation penalties are in effect.]
This damn system window.
I can feel it with my whole body even without you telling me so kindly.
"Ha..."
My lungs were already about to burst after finishing the intense choreography, but I was really out of breath.
The camera came right in for the stage ending.
I caught my breath and fixed my expression.
Three seconds until the lights went out.
That moment felt like an eternity.
Tak-
The stage finally turned off.
My legs, which had barely held on, began to tremble.
At that moment, someone grabbed my shoulder urgently.
"Hey, Kwon Yoo-hyun...!"
I avoided a near-fall thanks to the hand of someone who grabbed me.
The moment I raised my head and tried to say that it was okay, my vision began to spin and became distorted.
I couldn't keep my balance and my back bent forward.
"... Hoo. Hoo...."
My breath came rushing out of my mouth.
My body was warm, but the sweat running down my body was so cold that it made goosebumps appear on my spine.
[Life Remaining 01:00:08]
[Life Remaining 01:00:07]
Even in this situation, time was passing.
I straightened up while glaring at the window that was sparkling in front of me.
"... You crazy guy. I told you not to push yourself too hard."
Seongjun scolded in a low voice and supported me.
"Hyung!"
"Are you okay?!"
The members who had suddenly become thoughtful filled my field of vision.
"Can you walk?"
Yeonwoo, with a stern expression, made eye contact and asked.
"... yeah."
First, we have to get off this stage.
[M8 Yoo-hyun, fainted on stage on the day of receiving the Rookie of the Year award]
I absolutely refuse articles with headlines like this.
No, more than that, if I lose consciousness now, it's really dangerous this time.
I might never wake up.
'Hold on.'
I can't just die like this.
The moment I grit my teeth and take a step forward.
Beep-
An unpleasant warning sound rang in my head.
[Life Remaining 01:00:00]
[Life Remaining 00:59:59]
[Life Insufficient! Fainting and illusion penalties added.]
Damn.
I have to get down from here quickly....
Stagger-
In an instant, my vision distorted.
My eyes went dark.
***
"Why is that... here?"
It was an absurd morning.
The clothes I saw as soon as I opened my eyes.
'Kwon Yoo-hyun'
The high school uniform with my name honestly engraved on it.
...Did I have a company dinner yesterday?
Did I get a drug that makes me bring out old stuff and brag when I am drunk?
"Ha...."
When I tried to recall yesterday, my head suddenly started to hurt as if it was going to split.
I've never drunk so much that I blacked out.
I got up and opened the refrigerator door, feeling dizzy.
'I should drink some water and come to my senses.'
I gulped down the water.
Tiring-
[
"Pfft! Cough cough cough-."
And then it spewed.
A blue spear appeared before my eyes.
"... Is this a dream?"
I stared blankly at the spear that suddenly appeared.
Yes. It must be a dream.
A system window floating in the air.
There's no way such an unrealistic thing could be real.
Dreams are so real....
At that moment, the spear suddenly appeared again.
[Applying the 'Kwon Yoo-hyun' player trait.]
"Ugh!"
I backed away and hit my back on the table.
It hurts?
... It's a dream, so why does it hurt?
I swallowed hard.
[Loading... ]
Now, a loading icon was floating above the window.
'It seems like my head is loading too.'
I grabbed my head with trembling hands.
I can't figure out the situation.
Since a while ago, it's all about games and players, unrealistic things, but the pain I feel in my waist kept reminding me that it's real.
For a moment, crazy thoughts crossed my mind.
'Is it a new virus, disease or something?'
A disease where I can see the system window right in front of me.
It's ridiculous, but isn't the current situation even more ridiculous?
I looked around and picked up the cell phone on the bedside table.
The moment I opened the cell phone, I felt something strange.
'... A flip phone?'
This is the cell phone I used before I entered college.
Of course, it wasn't a model that could connect to the internet.
With trembling hands, I checked the date on my cell phone.
[February XX, 20X1]
20X1? Why is it 7 years ago....
Now that I think about it, there's the school uniform hanging on the wall, the flip phone I used until I was in high school.
It's so vivid, like the past has been recreated exactly as it was.
No way.
'No, that's ridiculous.'
This isn't some fantasy novel, and there's no way something like that could actually happen.
When my mind started to get dizzy.
Tiring-
I slowly raised my head at the sound of a notification ringing in my ear.
[Trait application complete!]
[Passive: Mayfly Idol]
[Extend your lifespan by completing the quest!]
[Lifespan remaining 23:52:45]
What is this?
***
[Violation of idol virtues! Idols don't smoke!]
[Lifespan shortened.]
[-04:00:00]
I was surprised by the pop-up window that suddenly appeared and dropped my cigarette.
Beep-
[Life Remaining 19:35:12]
[Life Insufficient! Headache Penalty Applied.]
"Cough! Ugh, F**k."
I felt a sharp pain in my head for a moment.
I groaned and stared at the pop-up window.
At that moment, another window appeared.
[Violation of Idol Virtue! Idols Don't Swear!]
[Lifespan Shortened.]
[-04:00:00]
"What kind of sh*...."
I bit my lips and swallowed the curse that I almost blurted out.
After being bombed by the system window, I looked for cigarettes in my room in a dizzy state.
However, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a single cigarette in the house.
'If it was 7 years ago, I would be 20 now, so there would be no way there would be cigarettes in the house...'
I couldn't believe myself for accepting the situation like this.
Eventually, I went outside to buy cigarettes and took a puff in the smoking area, but this happened.
I couldn't even pretend it was a dream anymore because of the pain in my temples that kept lingering for seconds.
I looked closely at my face reflected in the glass.
'This... has definitely gotten harder.'
White skin with less baby fat.
My skin, which had been tanned from frequent outdoor work, had completely changed.
If only I could be happy about having become younger....
If I really went back to the past, it would be very likely that it was true that I had less than a day left to live.
'Of course, it would be true that I would die when my lifespan ends.'
Cold sweat ran down my back.
What kind of X-like characteristic is it?
I tried to ignore it, but from the moment I realized death, my two hands were trembling slightly.
I couldn't understand it.
Since when have I been afraid of death?
And why am I naturally accepting such an absurd situation?
I question everything, but now is not the time for this.
I have no choice but to do what I can right now.
I shook my head and sorted out the situation.
"Did you say to extend my life with a quest?"
At that moment, the system window appeared again.
[Would you like to start the main quest?]
[Yes / No]
"!"
... This is the system.
I pressed the 'Yes' button in a hesitant manner.
Then windows popped up one after another.
[Main Quest Arrival!]
[Sign an Idol Trainee Contract Before Your Life Ends!]
[Reward Life 24:00:00]
Is it real?
Since the idol survival game, idol virtues, and idol-talking have been going on, I've been feeling something strange.
Idol.
It's a random career path.
No, actually, it's not completely unrelated.
Since my college days, I've been working as an idol security guard under a senior who works at a security company.
'...What the heck is the problem? What did I do wrong?'
I suddenly remembered an idol member whose face had been getting darker day by day since their debut.
There are only 15 hours left...
I have to audition and pass within that time.
'If the compensation is only 24 hours, it can't end with just a trainee contract.'
Is this the way I should live as an idol and prolong my life?
I looked down at the cigarette I had dropped on the floor with a complicated look on my face and picked it up.
Then I put it back in a cigarette case that was as good as new and threw it in the trash can.
I have to live and see.
***
- TP Entertainment Sunday Open Audition
Time: 2 PM
Location: TP Art Center, B1
I went straight home and started searching.
Idol auditions that I can do today.
Luckily, it didn't take long to find the information I wanted.
TP Entertainment.
It is one of the two major entertainment companies in the current entertainment market.
It is also famous for holding open auditions every Sunday.
It is a shame that I don't have much information about it since it is a company I don't have a close relationship with.
But now is not the time to worry about that.
'I found a company to audition for.'
I tapped the table with my index finger.
The real problem was something else.
'Only 3 people passed in 5 years...'
I slowly scanned the TP open audition reviews on the monitor.
It's been 5 years since TP held an open audition.
There are hundreds of applicants participating in the audition every week, but only 3 trainees passed.
Even those 3 transferred to other companies, so there is not a single TP celebrity who came from an open audition.
There were only a few hours left until the audition.
It was even tighter when you consider the time it takes to travel.
'... What should I do?'
The audition recruitment fields were vocal, dance, and acting.
Since they told me to become an idol trainee, I skipped acting.
Then all that was left were vocal and dance....
I was at a loss.
Just because I worked in the idol industry doesn't mean I can sing and dance like an idol.
'There might be something I can get help with through the system.'
It kept telling me to become an idol, but if it had a conscience, it would do that much.
I tried something new.
"Skill."
And nothing happened.
My ears started getting hotter and hotter, but I tried to ignore it and tried again.
"Status window."
Thankfully, the system window responded this time.
[Kwon Yoo-hyun]
Appearance: A
Singing: C+
Dancing: D
Talent: C-
Acting: B
! Passive: Mayfly Idol
"Hmm... ."
I looked at the status window carefully.
Each item was optimized for an idol.
But the stats....
'This is miserable.'
The cigarette I had just thrown away floated before my eyes.
...Singing C+, dancing D.
I don't know what other people's averages are, but even if I just think about it in terms of grades, it definitely didn't seem like a high grade.
While I was staring at the status window in a state of distress, a small upward arrow next to the stats caught my eye.
Can I raise my stat with this?
I pressed the arrow with a thin hope.
[Would you like to purchase song stats?]
[Deducted life 24:00:00]
[Yes / No]
"!"
I kept pressing 'No' on the system window as if I was burned.
This is just telling me to give up.
I don't think I'll ever raise my stats this way again.
I took a deep breath and calmed my rapid breathing.
"Haah...."
Then there's only one option left...
-