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Conditions For Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader

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Chapter 3

Conditions For Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader

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By this point, the name “Zero One” was used less often than the derogatory nickname coined just to slam their trajectory—“Sh*tshow One.” It didn’t take long for a term that started as a malicious anti-fan joke to become something anyone who followed idols had heard at least once.

Fan-baiting and attitude controversies—two of the most fatal issues for idols—weren’t enough; one after another, incidents made people wonder whether these guys should even be called “members” of the same group, given how they showed neither loyalty nor friendship to each other.

One member vanished without notice and, with both the agency and the team keeping their mouths shut, there were no sightings for over a year—no way to confirm whether he was even alive.Full novel: Conditions For Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠

Two members hung out with rappers who, of all labels, belonged to Immersive Records—famous for clubbing, drugs, sleaze, and nonstop controversy—and constantly refreshed eyewitness accounts of themselves at nightlife venues alongside those friends.

A third member landed a supporting role in a web drama that blew up; since then he skipped idol work, focused only on acting, and to an “idol” fan asking about a comeback, he answered he was considering his next drama for early next year.

A fourth member, after collaborating with an American artist, said in an interview he’d only deal with “real music” from now on, abruptly moved to the U.S., and never came back—working as a producer there only.

And lastly—

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[Anonymous Entertainment Chat] For 01, honestly G Yin is the most pitiful one [47]

anon 202N.01.21 │ Views: 1,537

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Seriously… classic case of the wrong team…

He dotes on fans; there’s no other “filial” idol like him, but watching his members cause incidents over and over—he must be bleeding tears. I’m not even a fan, but it makes me feel bad for him.

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[ 47 comments ]

My fave is trapped in a doomed group. Please, leave Zero One and debut solo, Youngin.

└ #GoYoungInSolo #LeaveZeroOne #LeaveDoubleD

└ You think he’d succeed solo? Without the group name bump he’s nothing, lol.

Birds of a feather—who knows what he does behind the scenes lol

└ If anything, he doesn’t even look close to the members, heh.

└ Take your dumb speculation to your locked Twitter and stop spewing crap. ^^

If you’re on the same team, manage your members properly. What does Go Youngin even do to “keep the team together”? If he really adored fans that much, he would’ve self-policed his team already.

└ Collective punishment, really? How is that Go Youngin’s fault? The ones who caused the problems are the idiots.

└ I kind of get why people say this—honestly he does come off a bit cold.

Compared to other groups, they really don’t look close, and there’s barely any relationship “crumbs.”

└ People talked about this since debut—members aren’t funny, and their chemistry isn’t tasty; they act too businesslike to get attached.

└ Co-signing every word. I test-ran them for the visuals but settled with DTD instead.

└ If idols just do their job, who cares about “relationships,” ugh.

He alone caused no incidents or scandals, pulling a tear-stained dog-and-pony show to keep fans from leaking out—running all over the place—yet because they were “members,” guilt by association hit, and all five were cursed out together by default.

At this point, it felt like there was truly nowhere lower to fall.

Not one or two members, but each one generating steady controversy without overlapping—impressive in more ways than one.

It’s hard enough to gather only problem people like this.

Zero One managed the impossible.

Could you really be this rock bottom?

Just when it seemed there was no further to go, the floor reminded them there was a basement beneath. The scale of the incidents started to grow, and in the end…

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🔥HOT! [Anonymous Entertainment Chat] Who said Zero One wouldn’t make the crime pages [999+]

anon 202N.02.04 │ Views: 92,893

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[ “I’m scared to go to school”—school violence allegations against male idol L… verbal abuse, bullying, extorting money ]

[ Prosecutors: thought it was DUI… methamphetamine indictment for Kyeon Inwoo ]

[ Idol group member C exposed for cheating—affair with a married woman; partner is a famous actress ]

[ As controversies continue for a famous idol—fans furious; “plagiarism idol” P caught assaulting a civilian in Gangnam at dawn ]

Get out here now and slam your heads on the floor, f—ck

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[ 999+ comments ]

??? : Members who hit the crime pages should quit voluntarily instead of smearing the group.

└ lmao then you’ve only got one member left

Judging by their behavior, I figured they’d reach the crime pages anyway.

└ True lol Even if not the crime pages, they were doomed sooner or later.

└ You’re only listing the crime-page stuff, but they’ve had controversies forever. It just exploded after being bottled up.

Ugh… all the time and money I spent on them, I want to cry. If you’re human, you don’t do this to the face of the remaining member…

└ Hope every bastard who made loving them embarrassing just dies.

Now the only one left is Go Youngin… Youngin, I’ll believe in you somehow.

└ Believe what lol You think he’s any different?

They achieved the glorious feat of making the crime pages.

F-ck.

With each passing year, the group collapsed to the point of no return.

Sure, from the start they felt like a sandcastle, but who’d have thought the members were this utterly hopeless.

Once the group reached a certain orbit, Go Youngin had practically given up on them.

At first, it was his debut and he was too busy panicking over the status window to manage himself, let alone others; after things went off the rails, the relationships were already too warped to fix.

Character blew up, controversy blew up, incidents blew up…

Could this be called a “perfect idol”? Maybe because he didn’t stack five warnings, there was no reset.

No, the “perfect” idol ship had sailed. Did it not matter as long as the individual was perfect?

He wondered that the entire time he was active—but the status window didn’t answer.

Just like that storm’s-eye silence before the first reset.

Of course, his bad feeling hit the bull’s-eye again.

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[ K Daily ] Car plunges off coastal road into the sea… Is the deceased the famous idol G?

Views 8,987 │ Comments 5,318

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In the early morning of the 4th, on a coastal road, the car of twenty-something driver G went off a nearby cliff.

According to police and fire authorities……

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[ 5,318 comments ]

noo***

They’re saying it’s Zero One’s Go Youngin. Rest in peace.

There were only a few months left until his exclusive contract expired.

***

Did I say it was a situation that only drew sighs?

‘F-ck. We ended up as an idol group where every member made the crime pages.’

Go Youngin spoke in self-mockery.

The status window’s “Reset complete” message didn’t even register anymore.

If you were going to reset me after death, you should’ve just ended it at death.

Damn status window. Useless to my life.

‘Answer me. Don’t just show up when it suits you.’

─Ding

[ There are 2 unchecked update items. ]

‘…What?’

He shot upright in bed.

In all the resets—too many to count—this had never happened once.

“Update……”

What kind of stunt was this? Would it help him, or hurt him?

Judging by everything the status window had pulled so far, the odds of “hurt” were 100%.

He had no clue what it had supposedly updated.

Before he could decide whether to check, a chime sounded and the window displayed new guidance.

[ Since you did your utmost in your primary duties until your agency contract’s expiration drew near, a bonus benefit will be granted. ]

[ It is currently Zero One’s 2nd debut anniversary. This is the optimal option and starting year, where nothing major has yet occurred. ]

[ Try becoming the best idol! ]

His eyes grew wider and wider. What was happening right now?

Only then did he look down at himself.

He’d been too out of it to register it, but he was in an adult’s body—not a child’s.

To only realize now, when it was this different… he really was out of it.

So this was the bonus? Starting mid-run instead of from the very beginning?

‘I can’t tell if I should be happy about this or not.’

He blinked with an awkward expression—then another chime, another window.

[ A new item has been added to the existing conditions. ]

[ One item has been added to “100 Conditions for Becoming the Perfect Idol,” changing it to “101 Conditions for Becoming the Perfect Idol.” ]

[ Condition 101│A perfect idol “group” is not made alone. ]

W—wait. An added item? And why that wording. A group isn’t made alone?

[ New conditions have been added. ]

[ “50 Conditions for Becoming a Kind Idol Leader” have been added. ]

New conditions… ah… what the hell now. This f—king…

Go Youngin screamed inwardly and scrubbed his face with dry, rough hands.

***

He understood in his head that he’d died in an accident and then reset, but he still couldn’t feel it.

It felt like he was just floating alone on a boundless sea.

This kind of death was a first… was it?

He felt better than expected, to the point he wondered if there was any real difference from a normal reset, which was ridiculous.

What came to him was an excessive emptiness.

Maybe this time had been his chance to finally get free of the damned status window.

Bonus or not, there was only one benefit that meant anything to him at all:

To get away from this miserable status window.

The corners of his eyes were red with fatigue. After sitting still for a long while, he let out a deep sigh.

Full novel: Conditions For Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠
📱NovelCodex for AndroidYour library, progress and tokens, in an app made for reading on your phone.Get the app
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