The CEO of Star-Reach Entertainment, Park Geun-ho, sat behind a folding table with a tablet in hand. He was known as the "Cold Calculator." To him, idols weren't people; they were financial assets.
"LUSTER," Park barked, not looking up from his screen. "This is your last chance. If the synergy isn't there, we're restructuring. And you know what that means."
Restructuring meant disbandment. It meant four of them going home, and the company keeping only the "useful" one. In the past life, that one had been Jin-woo.
"Ready!" Min-ho shouted, his voice cracking slightly with nerves.
The heavy, synth-beat of their debut track, 'STarlight', filled the room.
[Warning: High-Intensity Activity Detected.]
[Estimating Stamina Consumption: 4% per minute.]
[Warning: Your current Stamina (9/100) will be depleted before the song ends.]
'Shut up,' Jin-woo snarled internally. 'I've performed with a broken ankle before. I can do this.'
The music hit the first verse. Jin-woo moved.
Even with a body that felt like it was made of lead, his "Muscle Memory" was that of a veteran performer. He didn't just dance; he controlled the space. Every angle of his arms, every tilt of his head was calculated to catch the light.
"Whoa," the manager whispered from the sidelines. "Look at Jin-woo."
But the cost was immediate.
[Stamina: 7/100... 6/100...]
[Lungs are constricting. Penalty: Breathless.]
By the second chorus, Jin-woo's vision began to tunnel. His chest felt like it was being crushed by a hydraulic press. Every time he jumped, his knees screamed. He was losing his rhythm.
'No. I am Kang Jin-woo. I don't fail evaluations.'
He looked into the mirror and saw his own face. He was pale—ghostly pale. Sweat was pouring down his temples, and his lips were turning a faint shade of blue.
[Activating 'Sickly Visual' Aura (Passive).]
[Effect: Fragility converted into 'Tragic Beauty.']
To CEO Park, Jin-woo didn't look like he was failing. He looked like a man who was putting his very soul into the dance. His desperate gasps for air looked like "intense emotion." His trembling hands looked like "artistic expression."
Then came the bridge. The "Killing Part."
Jin-woo had to slide to the front, hit a high note, and then drop into a floor-based spin.
[Stamina: 2/100]
[Warning: Heart Rate exceeding safety limits!]
He slid forward. He opened his mouth. The high note came out—clear, piercing, and desperate. But as he went down for the spin, his heart gave a terrifying thud and then... skipped.
His vision went black.
He didn't fall. He forced his body to collapse into the final pose of the choreography, landing on one knee.
Silence.
The music stopped. The other members were panting, looking at the CEO. Jin-woo stayed on his knee, his head bowed. He couldn't move. If he tried to stand, he knew he would vomit blood or pass out.
[Stamina: 0.5/100]
[Emergency! Emergency! Vitality at critical limit!]
"Jin-woo," CEO Park said, his voice unusually soft. "That... that was something else. I've never seen that kind of desperation from you."
Jin-woo didn't answer. He couldn't.
"Hyung?" Se-hwa stepped forward, sensing something was wrong. "Jin-woo hyung?"
Jin-woo tipped forward. He didn't even have the strength to put his hands out. He hit the floor with a dull thud, unconscious before his face touched the ground.
He woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the sound of a steady beep... beep... beep.
He was in a hospital bed. A saline drip was connected to his arm.
[Condition: Stabilized.]
[Current Stamina: 15/100 (Resting).]
[Note: You survived the evaluation. Reward: 100 'Karmic Points' (KP).]
"You're awake," a voice said.
Min-ho was sitting in a chair by the bed, his eyes red. He looked like he'd been crying.
"The doctor said it's extreme malnutrition and exhaustion," Min-ho said, his voice trembling. "Why didn't you say anything? You were practicing until you literally died on the floor. We thought... we thought you were just being lazy, but you were pushing yourself this hard?"
Jin-woo opened his mouth, then closed it. The System was watching.
[Detected: Teammate's Guilt. Opportunity for 'Bonding.']
[Select your response:]
1. "I did it for the group." (Reward: +10 Vitality)
2. "Don't touch me, you're annoying." (Penalty: Heart Failure)
Jin-woo looked at Min-ho's genuine, tear-filled eyes. In his past life, he would have scoffed. Now, he just felt... tired.
"I didn't want to be the reason LUSTER failed," Jin-woo whispered. It was only half a lie.
Min-ho wiped his eyes and grabbed Jin-woo's hand. "The CEO was impressed. He said you're the 'Soul' of the group now. We all made it, Jin-woo. We're debuting in a month."
[System Notification: You have unlocked the 'Karmic Store.']
[Would you like to spend 100 KP on 'Permanent Lung Expansion' or 'Instant Fever Reducer'?]
Jin-woo looked at the screen. He had survived the first hurdle, but his body was still a ticking time bomb.
"A month," Jin-woo muttered, a weak, predatory smirk returning to his pale face. "Plenty of time to show the world... how a dying man becomes a God."