Dating within idol groups is okay
Kwon Soon-young x Lee Ji-hoon
The company building was still the same, but the letters written on the sign were definitely Hive Entertainment, no matter how I looked at them, forwards, backwards, and sideways. What the f*ck? First, I have to swipe my access card like I always do... Huh? The access card that I always put in my coat pocket when I went to work was gone. I panicked and put my hands in and out of my coat pocket and even my pants pockets several times, but all that came out was dust. You can't get in without an access card. I looked around in confusion. People were just walking around in silence, their eyes fixed on the floor, like office workers going to work, swiping their access cards and going in one by one. Not a single person even glanced at me as I stood there awkwardly. I was debating whether I should talk to the security guard and ask for a temporary access card, when someone lightly tapped my shoulder. I turned my head with a slightly sensitive gesture, not knowing where I was, and he seemed startled, raised his palm, and took a couple of steps back.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”
"............"
“I thought you had some business here... Who are you looking for?”
The man, with his slightly long black bangs covering his eyebrows, had distinct features and a handsome face that anyone could tell was manly. He was so handsome that he looked a little scary, so I could tell at first glance that he was a celebrity affiliated with this company. The way he looked at me up and down with his mouth closed and deep eyes reminded me of a gray wolf scanning its prey, and my whole body automatically tense up. For a moment, as if nothing had happened, the man closed his eyes and smiled affectionately. Somehow, the tension eased and I ended up laughing along with him in vain.
at that time,
[1. Are you working part-time? Just go on your way.]
[2. You are really handsome.]
[3. I'm looking for a practice room.]
....yes?
I gaped at the system window that suddenly appeared before the man's face. It must have been a ridiculous expression to anyone, but the man seemed oblivious to my expression, still smiling affectionately, awaiting my response. As I watched him, who seemed poised to stand there forever if I didn't respond, I finally remembered the message I'd seen on my phone just before I passed out from drinking.
What if you opened your eyes one day and became a popular member of an idol group? And then a year later, you were given the quest to win the Rookie of the Year award.
I shivered violently as if I'd been electrocuted. So what's this? I'm really in a game? In some unidentified idol training simulation game at that? And as a fucking trainee at that? No, wait. That's not the problem. If I'd been in a game I was diligently playing, I'd be used to it, even if it was disconcerting. I didn't even know a game like this existed! Feeling aggrieved, I whipped my head around, but nothing that could resolve the situation caught my eye.
If this is really a game, is there no other way than to complete the quest and see the ending?
I bit my lower lip, feeling like I was going to cry, and looked at the options screen again. Whoever wrote this game's scenario, they really don't have any sincerity in the options. Or maybe they're just really annoying.
I could only choose one of those options anyway. I hesitantly reached out and gently touched option number 3, being careful not to press the wrong button this time, like I did last night when I got drunk and pressed Yes instead of No.
“...I’m looking for a practice room.”
It was clearly a sentence formed by my own voice, moving my mouth, but for that moment, it felt like someone was manipulating me. It was a little terrifying. I kept getting chills, so I rubbed my arms.
“Practice room…? By any chance….Lee Ji-hoon…?”
“Uh...? That’s right. I’m Lee Ji-hoon.”
Thank goodness I was able to speak and act of my own free will when that ridiculous choice screen didn't pop up.
“But how do you know my name?”
“We’re going to practice together starting today, so of course you should know. Oh, my name is Choi Seung-cheol.”
“Oh, yes...”
“Did you hear that we’re debuting in two months? Everyone’s busy practicing, but at the last minute, the director said there’s a member he really wants to add.”
“2 months?!?!?”
What company would put a street-casted kid into a debut group that debuts two months later? This is such a crazy setup.
“Uh…the director said he explained everything to us? He even gave us a wake-up call to make us listen to the demo file of our debut song in advance and get used to it.”
Ah.....that stinky morning call....debut song.
I nodded roughly, feeling somewhat confused.
By the way, why would someone who hasn't even started work yet leak a song that hasn't even been released? Is this company really okay? I was so deep in thought that my lips curled up without me realizing it. It was a habit I had when I was concentrating on something. The man who introduced himself as Seungcheol glanced at me, grabbed my hand, swiped my access card, and leisurely went inside.
Walking down the stairs, I glanced at the vocal and dance rooms, their layouts identical to the original P.D. Entertainment. My mind was once again spinning at the sight. Sure enough, it was too suspicious to simply dismiss it as a game. Seungchul, who had no idea I was even thinking this, approached me cautiously.
“But... are you really twenty-three years old?”
“Oh, yes. I’m twenty-three this year…”
“Wow, you really look young. I thought you were a high school student when I saw you earlier. Oh, I’m twenty-four. Can I… can I be more relaxed about it?”
“Yes, yes. Feel free to talk!”
Trying to hide my inner surprise at the word "twenty-four," I nodded vigorously and answered loudly. "What the heck, a setting where even a twenty-four-year-old, older than me, can debut? It's a truly heartwarming and touching worldview."
Seungcheol only let go of my wrist, which he had been holding onto, when we arrived in front of the practice room. Honestly, I'd been wanting to ask him to let go for a while, but I'd been holding it back. He didn't seem to be applying that much force, but my wrist felt a little sore. Maybe this was territoriality? It could easily happen. He must have gone through the long, tunnel-like days of being a trainee, and the idea of me suddenly debuting with him must have been unsettling. But... I've had a tough time as a trainee, too. Feeling a pang of emotion welling up in me, I caressed my wrist and glanced at Seungcheol. An empty heart suddenly flickered in the air above Seungcheol's black hair, but I forced myself to look away.
Let's not think too deeply, let's not think too deeply.
While I was repeating this to myself absentmindedly, Seungcheol stretched out his large hand forward.
“Please take care of me in the future, Jihoon.”
This person has a sharp expression when he keeps his mouth shut, but when he opens his mouth, he becomes soft as if he's lying. He's so gentle that he can instantly calm your anxious mind.
This time, that damn selection screen didn't even pop up. I reached out and grabbed Seungcheol's hand.
“Please take good care of me too, Seungcheol hyung.”
“Are you very nervous?”
Oh, he must have noticed that my hands were shaking.
“Don’t worry. All of our kids are good. I’m actually worried because, except for one or two, they’re all really shy.”
"........."
“...and so do I.”
“Hyung?”
“Yeah, I’m a little nervous right now. I’m really trying to be as brave as I can right now.”
I looked at Seungcheol's face a little more closely this time. The silver piercing on one ear suddenly seemed to sparkle. When our eyes met, he showed a friendly smile that seemed intent on easing my tension. Honestly, his face was so damn handsome that my heart raced.
Pass, pass, pass!!! You need to have these level of visuals to be an idol!!! If I were a girl, this would be the time to fall in love!!!
I was dawdling around like an idiot, trying to calm my heart, which was starting to pound wildly. Seungcheol slowly raised his hand. His hand, which seemed to hesitate slightly, eventually settled on my shoulder and gave it a light pat. This face, dripping with anger, was still a little scary, but I had a feeling we could become close soon. I closed my eyes and offered a sly smile. Seungcheol's eyes seemed to widen slightly for a moment.
[Choi Seung-cheol's favorability rating increased by 1.]
.......hmm?
Reflexively, I looked up and saw the small heart floating above Seungcheol's head. The cute heart, drawn with a white border, was still transparently empty, but it seemed to have subtly tinged itself with red. Hmm. No. Let's not think about it too much. Let's not think about it too much.
I took a deep breath and opened the door to the practice room. It was the space where I had sweated and practiced for years, and now it was time to start anew.
Mission accomplished! Arrived at the practice room by 9 AM.
[Mission Reward: A function to check the members' favorability has been opened.]
You can check your affinity level by skinshipping with the member you want.
Oh, seriously. I can't get used to the system window popping up out of nowhere. I'm dying.
“Ah, Seungcheol hyung! I’m here early, right?”
“Oh, Sunyeong. You’re really early today.”
“Huh? Who’s next to you?”
It seemed like not all the members had gathered yet, so two men who looked older than me were sitting in the practice room and then suddenly got up.
“Did you hear from the director? Our thirteenth member.”
“Oh, wow. That guy...”
Seeing the men approaching me made me nervous again. Honestly, I hadn't told Seungcheol earlier, but I'm also incredibly shy, so this situation was terrifying. But I figured it would be best to quickly become friends with my fellow debutants, so I spoke first.
“Hello. This is Lee Ji-hoon.”
Even my voice was trembling. Did he notice? I greeted him with a confident air, but my eyes darted back and forth, lost. But...who is that person? Why, why does he keep coming closer? What, why? Why are you looking at me like that?
“Is this really Lee Ji-hoon?”
"...yes."
“Is it really Lee Ji-hoon?”
"yes."
“Twenty-three years old?”
"yes."
“Awesome. But why are you so cute?”
"yes yes?"
The man's eyes, examining me from right in front of his nose, seemed somehow filled with emotion. As expected, this black-haired man had a high nose and thick eyebrows, giving him a handsome appearance. Although he had a gentler impression than Seungcheol, his jet-black eyes and thick eyebrows that seemed to pierce through me made me think he might be a bit scary. Above all, there was something overwhelming about his height, which seemed to be at least ten centimeters taller than me. My shoulders hunched without me realizing it, but the man's two hands grabbed my cheeks.
“No, isn’t she really so cute? She’s really twenty-three? She’s the same age as me?”
This? Excuse me. This is it.
I wanted to shoot him a word, but I couldn't bring myself to do it on our first meeting, so I just rolled my eyes.
“Oh, I was really looking forward to it when you said you’d come. Oh, I’m Kwon Soon-young.”
"......"
“If you don’t know anything, feel free to ask. I’ll tell you everything.”
"......."
“But you look really soft.”
Soonyoung's hand, which had been carefully stroking my cheek, became bolder as I remained silent. Soonyoung had pushed me back, my back against the wall, but Soonyoung didn't let go of my cheek. I turned my eyes slightly and looked at Seungcheol. Seungcheol was nodding his head slightly at the other man standing next to him.
“What about Kwon Soon-young? That’s not that kind of character.”
“I’ve been watching him for years, but I’ve never seen Kwon Soon-young so active.”
Hey, you shouldn't be watching this, you should be stopping it...
“Oh, you’re really cute. Jihoon. Can I call you Jihoon? You can call me Soonyoung too.”
".....huh."
When I managed to squeeze out my voice to answer, Sunyoung's eyes widened.
“What’s that voice? Oh, it’s so cute. Where are you from? It seems like you have a slight dialect.”
Yeah, I only said one word, but what's with the accent?
[Kwon Soon-young is fond of Lee Ji-hoon.]
[Kwon Soon-young's favorability rating increased by 1.]
Shix. Suddenly?
What on earth is this genre and what kind of worldview is it?
Soonyoung was practically treating me like a baby now. Trapped between his arms, basking in his adorably cute gaze, I started to feel strange. Was it because of the height difference? Was this how a female protagonist feels when she sees a handsome male protagonist in a drama or something who can jump over walls? My heart felt strangely tingling, and at the same time, an alarm bell rang loudly in my head. Then, that damn system window appeared again.
[!Choices have occurred! Choose carefully.]
[1. I feel strange receiving such favorable gazes. I blush and lower my head.]
[2. This is not right when meeting for the first time. Firmly tell them not to do this and lightly slap the back of their hand.]
[3. He seems like a strange person. I turn around and run away from the practice room to avoid him.]
In this space where time seemed to have subtly stopped, as if the world would not turn unless I made a choice, a phrase from the morning call I had heard earlier suddenly rang in my ears.
Bet your tomorrow on the sun of destiny
* * *