Chapter 4
[Daily Quest Success!]
[You achieved 4 hours of dance practice!]
I collapsed on the floor and gasped for breath.
Damn daily quest, it was about 2 hours ago. A system window suddenly appeared.
[The daily quest time limit is midnight every day. Hurry up!]
Then tell me sooner.
Thanks to that, I couldn't even rest for 2 hours and barely filled the time.
11:52 PM. It was close.
[Would you like to receive the reward?]
[Yes/No]
Ha... It's hard to even lift a finger. Can't you just fill it in yourself? I immediately pressed the 'Yes' button.
[Reward applied.]
[Life remaining 52:21:35]
What kind of relief is this? Even so, I have two more days to live.
- I'll go now!
Shin Yeon-woo started coaching me in earnest after that because he was more excited.
Somehow, he found out that we were the same age, so he started talking to me comfortably. With that kind of star power and skill, it would be good to be close. Thanks to that, I was able to dance the first verse in a proper manner.
Shin Yeon-woo coached me one-on-one for about 30 minutes and left the practice room.
Unfortunately, my stats didn't change.
[Kwon Yoo Hyun]
Appearance: A
Singing: C+
Dance: D
Talent: C-
Acting: B
! Passive: Mayfly Idol
It's still a mess even when I look at it again.
Joining the debut group with these stats. After seeing Shin Yeon Woo's amazing stats, it seems even more miserable.
'I should take a short break and practice more.'
The last train has probably already left.... And with the life clock floating in front of my eyes, I don't think I can sleep comfortably.
[Life Remaining 52:18:46]
[Life Remaining 52:18:45]
Time was still passing. I clenched my teeth and pressed my eyes tightly together. I'm definitely going to break that clock someday.
***
I fell asleep for a bit while lying face down, but I quickly opened my eyes to the chilly air.
The all-night practice was... unfortunately not worth it. My dance stat is still a D.
I didn't think I could raise it quickly, but at this rate, I'd be lucky if I didn't get cut from the trainee group, let alone the debut group.
'I guess I'll have to live in the practice room for the time being.'
The building has all the facilities I need, like a cafeteria and a shower room.
As soon as the first train was up, I stopped by the house to pack my clothes and headed back to the office building.
"Hello!"
As I entered the lobby, a person the team leader mentioned, suddenly appeared and greeted me as if he had been waiting.
A slender figure contrasting with pale and youthful face. Was the person who was supposed to pick me up a fellow trainee?
"Are you the new trainee? I'm Kim Eden!"
A trainee with a gentle face approached me with a bright smile. I bowed my head following Kim Eden.
"Hello. I'm Kwon Yoo-hyun."
"The team leader asked me to show you around the company! I'm here to guide you."
"Thank you."
"Ah-what! When I first came here, I got the same thing from the other guys!"
Well, there weren't many places that the trainees could use. It was just the basement floor, the exclusive practice area for trainees, and the company cafeteria.
Kim Eden smiled brightly and took the lead.
Still, I liked the fact that I could eat at the Samsi Seki [*Three meals a day] restaurant for free.
Kim Eden kept talking to me with great friendliness.
"I'm 20 years old."
"Huh?! Huh?"
He asked my age with his eyes glistening burdensomely, and he was shocked.
His already big eyes widened.
I'm surprised at this age, too.
...I guess I should get used to it by now.
"You're my hyung?!"
"I guess so, judging by Eden ssi's reaction."
"Ah~haha! I'm 18! Wow~hyung, you look so young!"
I was the one who was surprised.
Aside from Kim Eden's tall height, if you just look at his face, I'd believe him if he said he was a middle school student.
What are the TP trainees' status windows like?
I quickly checked Kim Eden's status window.
[Kim Eden]
Appearance: B
Singing: A+
Dance: C+
Talent: B
Acting: B-
He was a confident main vocalist.
Is it necessary for trainees to have at least one A stat?
"Please take care of me, hyung!"
"Me too, please take care of me."
"Oh, hyung! Please speak comfortably. It feels too distant to be polite~."
Since today is our first meeting, we're not that close.
They say that the military discipline of trainees is just as bad as that of the sports club, but it seems like Shin Yeonwoo and TP don't have that kind of military discipline.
"...Okay, then."
I nodded at Kim Eden's continued nagging.
"Wow! Then can I call you hyung?!"
You've already been calling me that.
After that, Kim Eden's nagging continued until we arrived at our destination.
-8:30 All trainees gathered (Studio A)
On the translucent practice room door, there was a piece of paper posted to notify that we had arrived at the correct location.
Kim Eden swung the door open.
"Hello~"
Everyone in the practice room looked at Kim Eden's cheerful greeting.
"You're here~"
"Kim Eden is late!"
"It's not too late! Haha!"
The trainees who had been crowded together greeted Kim Eden warmly.
As I followed in, the warm air in the practice room became cold.
The trainees exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.
"...Ah, an open audition?"
"He's handsome, but not as good as the rumors say."
"He'll probably get fired if he just trusts his face."
I swallowed a sigh at the trainees' transparent restraint.
How on earth did the rumors get out? TP is not only good at handling work, but also quick to spread rumors.
'They won't be happy, since there are more competitors.'
Most of them are young teenagers, so they don't seem to be good at hiding their emotions.
But it doesn't seem like they're even thinking about hiding it.
'They're still scanning me from head to toe with sharp eyes.'
Kim Eun-deun raised his voice excessively and put his hand on my shoulder as if to show off.
"He's the new hyung who came today!"
I nodded with a capitalist smile that I often used in social life.
"Hello. This is Kwon Yoo Hyun."
This debut may be a matter of life and death for you, but it's literally a matter of life and death for me.
There's no need wasting unnecessary emotions.
"Uh... I'm Yoon Jun Woo."
The trainees greeted with nervous expressions.
"Uh, Yoo Hyun!"
Then, Shin Yeon Woo appeared, expressing his joy, and the awkward atmosphere was broken.
Not long after that, the trainer came in and the lesson began.
"Hello~."
"Hello!"
The trainer waved the chart he had brought around and greeted us.
"Thank you for your hard work on the end-of-month evaluation~ This time, Jun Woo took first place?"
"Ooooooh~ As expected!"
The trainees cheered loudly. Was that the ranking chart that the trainees were looking at earlier?
The trainer looked around at the trainees with a happy look and focused their attention.
"Okay, okay. Did you all rest well yesterday? Now you have to prepare for this week's evaluation."
"Ah~"
The trainer continued talking, not paying attention to the trainees' boos.
Here's what the trainees were muttering: The TP evaluation system was like this.
12 trainees divided into 3 teams: Group A, Group B, and Group C.
It's said that only one of these teams can debut.
The members are divided into groups of 3, 4, and 5, but Group A, which I'm joining, is the smallest and most likely to debut.
I could understand why the trainees were puzzled. Of course, I'm grateful. Anyway, I just need to succeed in the quest. I don't know what the company's intentions were for including me in this team.
'A newly-joined trainee is joining the ace group.'
Fortunately, the team composition wasn't bad.
First of all, the main dancer, Shin Yeon-woo.
And by coincidence, I ended up on the same team as Kim Eden.
Kim Eden must be the main vocalist.
And the last team member was a sharp-looking guy named Kang Se-hyun.
I raised my eyebrows at an impression I had seen somewhere and thought for a long time who it was, and I met Kang Se-hyun, who looked at me curiously
The guy blanked out for a moment and then suddenly made a V sign and posed.
"?"
Kang Se-hyun laughed heartily at my questioning expression.
"When you look at me like that, I feel like I have to do something, ha ha!"
...
He is a natural celebrity.
I guess I was mistaken when I thought I'd seen him somewhere.
If I had known this character before, I wouldn't have forgotten him.
Isn't the entertainment industry originally a place where flashy and handsome people gather?
I quickly agreed.
'I have to pass the debut group evaluation with this team.'
After looking at the status windows of the other trainees, they all had at least one A stat.
Recalling that most of the others had B stats, I checked Kang Se-hyun's status window.
[Kang Se-hyun]
Appearance: B+
Singing: B-
Dancing: A-
Talent: A
Acting: B+
...There were even two As here.
I understood why the team was formed with this combination.
Main dancer Shin Yeon-woo, main vocalist Kim Eden, and all-rounder Kang Se-hyun.
The audition is in 5 days.
The outlook for this quest is more hopeful than I thought.
***
"...It won't work."
I muttered quietly.
I stared blankly at the quest window floating in front of me, catching my breath.
[Today's Daily Quest]
[Learn all the choreography for the evaluation song!]
[Skill 6%/100%]
It's absolutely impossible at this speed.
I've been holding on for an hour and I'm only at 6%.
There are about 10 hours left until midnight....I have to live here. At this rate, there's no answer to the daily quest, let alone the evaluation. I took a deep breath and looked around.
'Everyone seems busy practicing right now.'
I wanted to save it for a more decisive moment, but I misjudged.
Right now, every moment is decisive to me.
"Mailbox."
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