Baekya almost forgot how to breathe for a moment.
Ridiculous. Me, a sunfish.
“Ah... so that’s why the reviews say it’s like raising a sunfish...”
Had it been predicted all along?
Baekya collapsed face-first onto the blanket. In his dazed state, he forgot he’d just had five stitches sewn into his palm.
“Argh!”
A sharp pain radiated from his palm to his bones. Tears welled up.
“A sunfish... me, a sunfish!”
It had to be early game—when the status window first popped up at the snack bar. And what had appeared then was definitely:
[All skills acquired in empty skill slots are automatically equipped.]
So... maybe it was possible to deactivate them?
Grasping at hope, Baekya urgently shouted for deactivation. It was embarrassing, but he was that desperate.
“Deactivate passive!”
His words echoed like a pure magical girl protagonist’s chant. But the status window insulted him.
[Passive <Sunfish (R)> cannot be deactivated.]
“Ughhhh, I’m doomed! I’m doomed! You insulted me!”
Flopping on the blanket like a floundering fish, Baekya thrashed around helplessly.
The title, which was supposed to be active, was instead inactive—and the passive couldn’t be removed. No way out.
Feeling a bit sorry for him, the system quickly popped up another window.
▶ Skill Draw (5 available)
Skill draws right away—the synchronization gift. Given along with the Genius Idol title at the game’s very start.
“Giving me a disease and a cure?! No f...”
Baekya shouted indignantly.
Suddenly, a creeping anxiety overwhelmed him. If his memory was right, the five skill draws before him were a ‘synchronization’ gift.
Come to think of it, aside from going back three years, everything else was identical to his real-life situation. Like it was synced.
“This damn thing.”
Goosebumps covered his whole body.
‘If I die here, the real Han Baekya might really die too.’
Thinking that far, he could no longer laugh off the game.
“Alright. Well, um. Let’s try the draw.”
It felt natural. The Baekya who’d shouted “No” before was now someone else. Thinking that way, he had no mental strength left to lose here.
[How many skill draws would you like to perform?]
When asked how many of his 5 draws he wanted to use, Baekya shouted,
“All of them!”
The results were brutal.
[Skill Acquired!]
[<Are You Crazy, Human? (B)>, <Sexy Damn (C)>, <Hands Faster Than Eyes (C)>, <It’s Me! (D)>, <Drunk on Me (D)>]
I don’t want to live.
Disgusted by the ridiculous skill names, Baekya closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, Baekya, ready to accept reality, opened his eyes and faced the status window again.
“Okay. The names suck, but the abilities might be okay.”
Let’s check them one by one.
<Are You Crazy, Human? (B)>
: Makes others occasionally question if you’re human.
<Sexy Damn (C)>
: Increases sexiness and provocative ability.
<Hands Faster Than Eyes (C)>
: Improves ticketing skills.
<It’s Me! (D)>
: Enhances presence.
<Drunk on Me (D)>
: Boosts confidence when looking in the mirror.
The only decent ones seemed to be the appearance-related skills.
“I get ‘Are You Crazy, Human,’ but what are the others?”
Before Baekya’s muttering ended, the status window changed once again.
[Please select the skills to apply!]
▶ <When a Nerd Takes Off His Glasses (B)> (Equipped)
ㅤ <Are You Crazy, Human? (B)>
▶ <Sexy Damn (C)>
ㅤ <Hands Faster Than Eyes (C)>
ㅤ <It’s Me! (D)>
ㅤ <Drunk on Me (D)>
The first was appearance. The second, without an ‘equipped’ mark, seemed to be a choice.
So, start with appearance.
Better to be handsome without glasses than not! But please don’t turn me into a robot...
Believing it wasn’t that bad of a game, Baekya chose <Are You Crazy, Human? (B)>. Fortunately, it only made him look a bit better—no robot transformation.
Unconsciously sighing in relief, Baekya examined the next choices.
‘No need for sexy, no need for ticketing, presence seems best.’
Actually, even just <Dance of Courtship (D)> alone might make him noticeable. But to survive among talented trainees, standing out a bit more was better.
Deciding, Baekya moved his finger over <It’s Me! (D)>. But before he could select, <Drunk on Me (D)> was automatically equipped.
“Hey? No, I want ‘It’s Me!’ not that!”
[Skills not selected will be automatically removed.]
“You damn game!”
Who called this a luck-based trash game? This review should be the official game intro.
Last night.
Baekya told his sister the truth while eating. Of course, about being a trainee.
“Trainee? Is that why you took off your glasses suddenly?”
“No, I lost my glasses…”
“If you want to do it, then do it.”
Baekya was a bit surprised he said that himself.
“…Huh? You’re not against it?”
“First time you have a thing you want to do. Why would I be against it? But if it gets tough, tell me. Then I’ll oppose it.”
“That’s great, brother-in-law! So I’m getting a family in showbiz?”
As a result, Baekya came to ID Entertainment’s building early that weekend.
“No time to waste.”
If his memory was right, ID would debut their next boy group 8 years after AIM. AIM was about to celebrate their 7th anniversary—so about a year left. The perfect timing to form a debut team.
And the Sunfish passive was already active. That meant if he failed to join the debut team, a ‘debut failure’ bad ending was highly likely.
“Baekya! Welcome. We spoke with your sister.”
“Hello. My sister is busy, so I came alone. But I brought the seal she said to bring.”
Never thought he’d sign an exclusive trainee contract with ID. Seeing his name and his guardian’s seal made Baekya feel strange.
“As I said earlier, this contract doesn’t guarantee your debut, Han Baekya. But the company is planning a boy group to follow AIM and is scouting solo artists, so if you work hard, it will be a good opportunity.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The man who introduced himself as the head of the rookie development team greeted Baekya and led him to the practice room.
Following behind, Baekya reached the basement 2 floor. As the elevator doors opened, the space vibrated heavily.
It looked like the whole floor was turned into various sized dance studios.
‘As expected from ID.’
Such soundproofing—truly a sign of great capital.
“It’s the main practice time this morning.”
The man smiled slightly and knocked on the practice room door.
“Teacher, we’re coming in for a moment.”
As the door opened, the music stopped and hot breaths escaped. Baekya lowered his head as many eyes focused on him.
A bit embarrassing.
“Team leader, what brings you here? The rookie development team is busy with the debut team, right?”
“Busy, yes. But even the busiest have to move. We can’t lose talent to other companies.”
The man answered, leading Baekya forward. The choreographer glanced between them with interest.
“Is this the new trainee…?”
“Yes. Starting today, he’s joining ID.”
At the introduction, Baekya bowed quickly.
“Hello, I’m Han Baekya. Nice to meet you.”
Weak applause broke out here and there—both a welcome to hell and subtle competition.
Before he could even react, the status window appeared.
[A new hidden quest has arrived!]
[Q. Only the Practice Bug Lives (1): Complete one dance practice]
A hidden quest activated only inside the practice room.
And the result.
[<Only the Practice Bug Lives (1)> Complete!]
[Level Up! Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Quest reward: 1 Star Point]
[Level-up reward: 1 Star Point]
The quest was a success. Though the process itself was pure despair.
“Then let’s see the new guy’s skills. You’re Baekya? Did you know you’re the fastest to pass an audition here?”
“...Me?”
Baekya was stunned. He’d taken the audition the day he was randomly cast and heard the acceptance immediately.
‘Isn’t everyone like that?’
Baekya glanced at the trainees reflected in the mirror. Some exchanged wary glances.
‘Hmm. The tension’s obvious.’
But the atmosphere didn’t last long.
“Ha! Your dancing is so honest.”
Because the Dance of Courtship skill immediately activated when the music started.
The trainees who were wary now seemed to lower their guard after seeing his skill. Compared to earlier, their looks were now like gentle sheep.
Still, Baekya (Sunfish / 18) sat down wounded by creeping self-doubt. He made a decision.
‘I’ll spend all my star points.’
By chance, he learned that one star point could buy one skill draw.
He currently had five star points.
‘I must become a dance king.’
He vowed to pull a dance skill no matter what. Returning home, he used four points for draws, saving one point just in case.
The results:
[Skill Acquired!]
[<Dance Magician on Stage (C)>, <My Body and Soul in These Headphones (C)>, <Eyes Bird (C)>, <Roly-Poly Toy (C)>]
All Cs.
‘At a glance, they’re dance-related skills...’
Even without descriptions, he could tell. Just C-rank, nothing different from Dance of Courtship.
“This damn trash game...!”