'Idol Joint-Stock Company'

Around this time, survival variety show series garnered huge audiences.

Tens and hundreds of kids aspiring to become idols gathered in one show and the audition was held by voting, this became popular and many programs were launched with this format.

'Idol Joint-Stock Company' was one of the many programs following this format, and there was a reason why the program got exceptionally popular.

Because the show was more evil in a capitalist way.

For starters, this was the advertising slogan in Season 1.

[Your idol stocks that grow as much as you buy them!]

That's right. That slogan meant voting was done by buying 'stocks' using actual money.

This year, that program launched its third season.

After Season 2 was doomed and failed due to some sort of reasons, they came back with a very ambitious slogan 'Relisting', as if the previous season didn't exist.

Because of this, a lot of people ridiculed Season 3, saying it would fail with the same stupid overdone stuff.

...How about me? I was busy preparing for the civil service exam and didn't think much about it.

Anyway, contrary to people's expectation, Season 3 was an unprecedented hit.

Although it had tremendous controversy and criticism, it received a lot of popularity and good ratings. The debuted group entered music sites with 80,000 fans and sold 600,000 copies of the album in their first week.

So I was going to be a contestant in this program too.

I went out for this first step.

"Alright, everything's done! As you requested, I didn't cut much of the hair on the sides."

"Yes. Thank you."

My appearance was finally looking good. I looked at my finely trimmed hair in the mirror at the salon.

The past few days, due to me sleeping and eating well, my gloomy appearance had disappeared a lot. Thanks to that, my face looked good even with showing my forehead after cutting my stuffy bangs.

At that time, the lady next to me who was receiving permanent curls gave me some lip service.

"Oh, student, you look so good~ You now look handsome and tall!"

After giving my thanks, I went to the counter to pay by cash.

'I'm glad there was still some money left on the account when I inquired with the bank'

Looking at the account history, it seemed like he hadn't used the insurance money from his parents. Sorry, but I needed to use it.

'...I'll earn money and return the initial money, then should I donate to the Children Welfare Society.'

I felt a bit bitter. To get a registration copy and buy a plan for my phone, I investigated this and that, but it looked like 'Park Moondae' attempting suicide wasn't an impulsive move.

He left his rented place (he was late to pay his rent so he couldn't receive almost any of the deposit), and his phone plan was also terminated.

Moreover, it was on his birthday.

It seemed like he really wanted to die.

...Well, I could understand him. I used to feel that way too.

'May you be in a better place'

I gave a short moment of silence and concluded my feelings. Then I opened the salon's door and went outside. Almost noon, the sunlight pierced my eyes.

There were still a lot of things to do to achieve my goal in going outside.

'First of all, let's become a contestant for real.'

I already knew all of the program's missions, debuting members, and the unexpected theme song.

Of course, I missed some of the details because I was preparing for the exam, but right now it would be harder to find a more suitable gateway than this.

If I managed to pass the second elimination, I would still manage to get into a small to middle entertainment company, as this program would become big.

The decisive problem was, the open audition recruitment for the contestants in this season had ended.

However I knew something that could be of a hint. I was thinking of putting it to use until it worked.

My goal was to become a contestant in this survival program, which had ended its open audition recruitment.

Within a week at that.

Not at a broadcasting station, but at a karaoke in this neighborhood.

* * *

- IJC? Oh, Idol Joint-Stock Company. One of the writers there is totally crazy.

This was a rubbish talk someone cracked up in an after party for a photography club.

He said he heard it from a relative at the broadcasting station. I wasn't fond of him since he was a tattle-tale of many rumors.

- She recruited a contestant in places like karaokes. You know.. the neighborhood of the broadcasting station. Sung-X neighborhood? She recruited a commoner while going around the karaokes there and was berated by the PD. She was a nobody yet she made a ruckus. She's totally a crazy bitch, right?

That guy was fired up and talked so many things about the recruitment after that.

It was common for people to sprout nonsense at a drinking party, but it was rare to see a guy that discussed about such boring things at an after-party with the whole club.

'Who invited this person here'

'Let's not invite him again.'

'Yeah.'

With a sour face, everyone used their eyes to convey that message.

Of course, I also didn't believe that rubbish talk. I was focused on the free alcohol.

However, surprisingly, someone attested to that.

- That recruited commoner was Lee Goyoon.

- ...Uh?

Lee Goyoon was a female idol who debuted in Season 1. She earned popularity with the image of a pure-looking girl, cheerful and free-spirited personality and spoke with a clear dialect.

Several people were in admiration from the sides.

- Woah, she was one of the debuted members, right?

- Yeah.

- Wow... How did you know about it?

The senior girl from the Department of Mass Communications who was graduating soon said this calmly.

- That 'crazy bitch' is my older sister.

That moment, the gossiping guy was silenced. Everyone playfully scorned him.

- ...Ah, haha, that expression was....

- But she was never berated by the PD. Instead, she received higher pay.

- ...

After that, the guy just stayed seated quietly.

I was thankful since I could enjoy drinking alcohol peacefully. While listening to that senior revealing more of the recruitment incident, I drank more alcohol.

Anyway, I remembered that very clearly because it was a pretty funny situation.

When there was a shortage of likeable contestants from the open audition recruitment for the program, the senior said she would be checking around the karaokes near the broadcasting station for a week.

- Isn't it better to get kids who sing karaoke on the streets? They're easier to recruit too.

- Actually, she avoided a lot of them because there were lots of singer wannabes. If she was recruiting a commoner, she would rather get someone with a refreshing character that's unlike survival contestants.

She wasn't going to recruit someone who looked like they could debut, but she would recruit a commoner who knew absolutely nothing to make the show more fun.

These days, entertainment companies taught kids aspiring to become idols to not talk carelessly.

Ultimately, this commoner contestant might become a sacrifice for the fun of the program.

'Of course, right now, that is not important.''

The important thing was there's a high probability that this writer was still using the same method for Season 3.

'It's hard to let go of the method that brought you success before.'

Since Season 2 failed, the preliminary audition contestants could be worse, so she might be working harder now.

Let's think about this objectively.

This 'Park Moondae' body was scrawny, but his face was handsome and his height was quite tall too.

In addition, his singing was good, there's clearly a chance he would get picked if they met.

Also....

'I need to level up.'

I needed to invest in my stats by achieving the practice accomplishments. I had to have something striking so I would get picked.

I grabbed the microphone and chose a song. And sneakily, I looked at the karaoke room door.

The door was made of glass.

The karaoke interior might be aimed at people in their 10s and 20s with a bright and open feeling, but at the same time, people could look from the outside.

That was the reason I chose this karaoke.

The person I was waiting for was a writer working in broadcasting.

She must be busy with program preparations, if she had to look outside for commoners, the chances were higher that she would be looking at places near the broadcasting station that were easy to observe.

That's why this karaoke was the best choice.

Without hesitation, I booked 10 songs in advance. Skipping the prelude, I started singing.

* * *

Not a long time after, I achieved an accomplishment. The accomplishment of singing 10 songs. Of course I knew it would be fast because this was the easiest.

This time too, I invested the point in Vocal. The level has changed from C+ to B-.

Like before, I tested it by singing the same song once more, and this time, it felt like my fundamentals had become even better.

My voice color became more profound and my voice volume became better. It seemed like when the alphabet level changed, the growth was like this.

With this speed, I would be able to grow unthinkably fast at the early stage, but right now, there was something else I needed to focus on.

"Ah, I'm a person in this line of work."

Who knew I would get scouted this fast.

If I counted the time approximately, this started too early, but this was an unexpected early score.

I accepted the business card from the lady wearing glasses.

The lady looked tired, but she raised her voice to sound brighter on purpose.

It seemed like she wanted to give me a good impression. As I anticipated, I succeeded in gaining an interest.

In the business card, there's the name I've been waiting for.

[Ryu Seorin]

The senior girl from the Department of Mass Communications' name was Ryu Seojin.

'Just from one look, their names are definitely sisters'

"Student, what's your name?"

"My name is Park Moondae"

"Your name sounds unique too. Please think about it carefully. I think you have the material to become a star. Our program is really good at finding people with that star material."

"...Thank you."

I didn't really act delighted. If I acted too overjoyed, she might think I was waiting for this situation to happen.

Those people would get caught in the preliminary profile, but she would want to skip those people.

As if this was a good approach, the lady added more words.

"Student, your face is handsome and you sing well. If you appear in our program, you're really going to perform well. ...Hm, do you want to try to take a filming test today?"

"Pardon?"

Wanting to finish the verification in one step, the lady sounded a bit pushy.

"Right. Please do contact your parents. They will be happy to hear their son was recruited for a TV program and is coming to the broadcasting station"

"...My parents are not here anymore."

The moment I said that, as suspected of a writer, this lady's eyes showed a small firework.

It seemed like she thought of this as an exciting idea.

Well, selling a story is essential in survival programs. It's even better to get scorned saying that they're milking the story.

It was a waste to lose this opportunity, which might be useful.

But the writer immediately concealed herself. And she said this more gently.

"Gosh.. I'm sorry. I said something insensitive."

"It's alright."

"I was just saying to think about it as visiting the broadcast station in leisure. This opportunity is not something you can get easily~"

"...Hm"

Should I give my yes now.

I acted hesitant and waited for a bit, then slowly, I gave a nod. The lady's face brightened up outrightly.

"Ah, you've made a good choice! The broadcasting station is right up in front!"

Like that, I achieved my first goal.

Better than my expectation, this was a smooth beginning.