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‘Idol Joint-Stock Company.’
It was a survival entertainment show that had been a hit around this time of the year.
After the popular auditions of tens and hundreds of aspiring idols who were gathered together and eliminated by voting, several other programs followed that format.
The ‘idol joint-stock company’ was one of those mass produced programs, but there was a reason why it especially became famous.
That was because it was more capitalist in an evil way.
Let’s look at the advertisement from season 1.
[Your idol stocks as much as you buy them!]
Yes. it meant that you could vote in ‘stocks’ as long as you spent money.
The program was on its 3rd season this year.
Season 2 had collapsed due to an unknown reason, so after that the season was thrown away as if it never existed and they came back with the aspirational slogan of ‘relisting’.
Thanks to this, many people laughed at season 3 saying it would be a mess and fall in ruins.
…what about me? I hadn’t thought much about it since I was busy preparing for the exam.
Anyways, contrary to people’s expectations, season 3 became an all-time hit.
Although there was a lot of controversy and criticism, it managed to produce a male idol group that held tightly to popularity and good ratings by being able to bring up to 80,000 people into music sites and selling 600,000 copies of their album within the first week.
So I was going to go on this show too.
Today, I went out for this first step.
“Yes, I’m done! I didn’t take much from the sides just like you asked.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Now I had finally improved my appearance a bit. I thought that as I looked at my hair in the mirror of the beauty salon.
Perhaps eating and sleeping well during the past few days had affected it, but the depressed mood around me had already disappeared. Thanks to that, it was okay to get rid of these messy bangs and show my forehead.
Right on time, the lady who was getting a perm while sitting next to me, gave me some lip service.
“Oh student, you look so good in that~ You’ve improved so much!”
I thanked her and proceeded to go to the counter to pay in cash.
‘I went to the bank and checked it, it’s a relief that I had some money in the bank account.’
Looking at the details, it looked like it hadn’t been used since it was his parents’ insurance money. But while I was sorry, I had to use it.
‘…If I make some money I should probably return it and donate some to a children welfare organisation.”
It felt a bit bitter. After taking off the registration copy and opening the cell phone, I found out that the suicide of ‘Park Moondae’ wasn’t on impulse.
He had been kicked out of his room (and due to the monthly rent being a bit delayed he almost couldn’t get a deposit) as well as having his phone cancelled.
And it all happened on his birthday.
He must have really wanted to die.
…well, I understand. After all, I was like that too.
‘I hope you are in a good place now.’
I sorted out my thoughts after a short silence. Then, I opened the door to the hair salon and left. It was near noon so the sun pierced through my eyes.
There was still a lot of work to do before achieving my goal of going out.
‘First of all, let’s be sure of it.’
I already knew everything about the missions, debuting members, and the theme song for this program.
Of course, due to the disclosure the details weren’t complete but it was hard to find a better chance than this.
Even if I just pass the second round, thanks to the program being big I could somehow catch the attention of a small or a medium sized company.
However, there was a critical problem, the public auditions to recruit this season’s participants had already ended.
But since I knew a few hints, I was going to use them as much as I could.
My goal was to become a participant of this survival program that had already ended its public auditions for the participants.
Within a week too.
Not at a broadcasting station, but at a karaoke room around here.
***
-IJC? Oh, Idol Joint-stock company. One of the writers there is a total nutcase.
There was some rubbish that some guy snickered out at the after party of the photography club.
He said he heard it from a relative that worked at the broadcasting station, this was the guy who told a bunch of rumors so I didn’t like him much.
-I heard that she recruited some participants at a karaoke or something. You know… the one by the broadcasting station. Sung X neighborhood? She recruited an ordinary person while going around the karaoke station and the PD got mad. She didn’t amount to anything yet she ran wild. She is a complete moron, isn’t she?
After that the guy fired up and kept talking about the casting system.
It was a common thing to talk nonsense at drinking parties, but it was extremely rare for people to talk about such boring things at a group gathering.
‘Who invited this guy?’
‘Let’s not invite him again.’
‘Agreed.’
With faces full of discontent, people chatted with their eyes.
Of course, I didn’t believe that crap either. I just focused on the free drinks.
But surprisingly, there was someone who validated that.
-The ordinary person that was casted was Lee Goyoon.
-….oh?
Lee Goyoon was a female idol that debuted in season 1. She managed to gain popularity thanks to her cheerful, full of spirits, and pure-looking appearance, who spoke in an elegant dialect.
There were shocked exclamations from all around.
-Woah, this is one of the people that debuted right?
-Yes.
-Wow… how did you know?
The girl who was a senior in the department of journalism and broadcasting who was on her way to graduation calmly continued.
-That ‘stupid moron’ is my older sister.
For a moment, the guy that was gossiping went silent. Everyone around amusingly scorned him.
-…oh, haha, that expression was…
-But she was never yelled at by the PD. Instead she got a raise.
-…
After that, he shut himself up and sat quietly instead.
Thanks to that, I was able to comfortably enjoy drinking. I believe I just drank more alcohol while I listened to that guy talk about casting.
Anyways, it was a pretty interesting moment so it had remained in my memory.
If the number of people they liked from the audition for the survival show was low, it is said that they would go to the karaoke by the broadcasting station for about a week after the audition.
-Isn’t getting kids who do street karaoke better? They are easier to cast.
-There are already a lot of aspiring singers there, so they avoid it. I heard that they are trying to recruit ordinary people who have a unique charm to them unlike the other survival contestants.
It wasn’t necessarily about casting people who could debut, but rather about casting a completely ordinary person who doesn’t know what’s happening for the sake of making the show fun.
These days kids who aspired to be idols would be trained by the agency to not talk recklessly.
In the end, this also meant that the ordinary participant might get sacrificed for the entertainment of the show.
‘Of course that’s not what matters right now.’
What’s more important is that in season 3, it was likely that the director would continue using this method.
‘It’s hard to let go of methods that have been successful.’
Maybe because season 2 was ruined, the audition pool might have gotten worse, so they are working harder.
So let’s think objectively.
Although the body of ‘Park Moondae’ was very skinny, he was handsome and tall.
Plus, his vocals were good, so if I meet them, there is definitely a chance that they’ll give it a try.
Also…
‘I had to raise my level.’
I had to invest in stats by achieving practice achievements. In order to be chosen it was necessary to have something special.
I grabbed the microphone and chose a song. And sneakily casted a glance at the door of the karaoke room I entered.
The door was made of glass.
The interior was bright and open since it was intended for people aged 10~20, but at the same time, it was an interior that was nice to look at.
That’s why I chose this karaoke.
The person I was looking for was a writer who worked at the broadcasting station.
If she had to go out while she was busy and look at the general public while preparing for the program, it was most likely that she would come to a place near the broadcasting station that was easy to see.
So that’s why this karaoke was the best choice.
Without hesitation I chose ten songs in advance and started singing.
***
[Accomplishment achieved! <10 attempts>]
Level 1 -> 2
You have received a point!
Soon after, I completed an achievement. It was the achievement for singing 10 songs. Of course I knew this would be achieved quickly since it was easy.
The point was once again put in singing. So the C+ grade changed to -.
As I sang one more song for the sake of testing it, It felt like the basics were better this time.
The tone was deepened and the volume increased. Perhaps when the alphabet unit changed this is how the improvement was.
At this rate, it seemed I could raise my abilities ridiculously fast at the beginning, but right now there was something else to focus on.
“Oh, I am someone who is in this kind of work.”
I didn’t think I would be scouted so soon.
It started a bit early if I calculated the timing, but it was an unexpected score.
I accepted the business card from the woman who was wearing glasses.
The woman looked tired, but she purposefully put on a cheerful voice.”
It looks like she was trying to impress me, it seems I had succeeded in intriguing her as expected.
The name I expected was written on the business card.
[Ryu Seorin]
The senior girl who majored in journalism and broadcasting was called ‘Ryu Seojin’.
‘Just looking at it you could see that it was a name that belonged to sisters.’
“Student, what’s your name?”
“My name is Park Moondae.”
“You have a unique name. Think about this quality. Student, I think you have the ability to become a star. Our people are really good at discovering people with said star qualities.”
“…Thank you.”
I didn’t act too happy. If I seemed too interested it would seem like I was aiming for this situation.
Usually, the first step would be the preliminary profile, but I am sure that they would skip those who were aiming for this.
Maybe it was a good approach since the women continued.
Student, your face is handsome and you sing well. I think you would do really great if you were to come on the show… hmm, would you like to go today and try to film a test video?”
“Huh?”
Waiting to finish the verification at once, the women pushed a little.
“That’s right. Please call your parents. If you told them their son was casted on a TV show or went to a broadcasting station they would be happy.”
“…I don’t have any parents.”
As soon as I said that, a small spark flashed in the eyes of this so-called writer.
It seemed she judged this as stimulating material.
Well, it was a necessity to sell stories on survival shows. It was even better if they were criticized for squeezing its juice.
It was a waste to miss it just in case this opportunity could be used.
However the writer quickly dismissed her look. And said in a gentle tone as if she didn’t want to hurt me.
“Oh my… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“That’s all right.”
“I was just saying that I think you should come and watch the broadcasting station comfortably. This experience isn’t something you can always get~”
“…Hmm.”
Shall I slowly accept it?
I paused a little as if I was hesitating, and then slowly nodded. The woman’s face became noticeably bright.
“Oh, that’s a wonderful choice! We are right in front of the broadcasting station!”
And that’s how the first goal was achieved.
It was a better start than expected.