“Baekya, your tone, pitch, and range are all perfect. Let’s keep it that way during the evaluation.”
Well, the three daily vocal drills finally paid off….
Baekya wasn’t even sure if his voice came through his nose or mouth. He had no idea how he managed to follow the vocal lesson.
[<Dreaming of Perfect Pitch (1)> Complete!]
[Quest reward granted: 1 Star Point]
Now that he thought about it, he might have seen the status window.
Fortunately, the atmosphere seemed better than when he performed the Dance of Courtship. But Baekya was out of the picture, lost in thoughts about the looming bad ending flickering before his eyes.
‘Should I switch agencies…?’
Maybe if he asked a trainee who had friends at other companies, he could get some info.
“Hyung, you got praised but don’t look happy?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m good.”
Baekya’s expression darkened as he returned to his seat. Jiho misunderstood, thinking Baekya was disappointed he hadn’t shown his full skill.
Originally, Jiho was in the vocal C class, but upon hearing about Baekya, a trainer suddenly arranged joint lessons with the A class, bringing everyone together.
Although his dancing was lacking, even Jiho admitted his singing was top-notch.
“Hyung, you really have a great voice!”
“Really? Thanks.”
Barely holding himself together, Baekya chuckled. Jiho smiled brightly, seemingly enjoying the gesture.
“What song will you sing for the monthly evaluation?”
The company provided quality lessons and environment based on their standards for selected trainees. Would this kid grow into the talent they envisioned?
Conversely, contracted trainees had to prove their skills and potential through monthly evaluations.
Based on quantified results, the company decided whether to continue investing or terminate contracts if expectations weren’t met or directions diverged.
‘But wasn’t that supposed to start after being with the company for over a month…?’
Baekya asked with a puzzled look.
“Do I have to do it too? I’ve been here less than a week.”
“That’s right. Hey, why did you tell the trainer earlier you wanted to do it?”
That was news to him. When had he talked with the trainer about that?
Baekya quickly tried to recall.
“Baekya, your tone, pitch, and range are perfect. Keep it like that in the evaluation.”
“Yes…”
“By the way, you’re not a target for this evaluation, right?”
“Yes…”
“See, it’s better for you not to be evaluated. Why the long face?”
Long face?
Who, me?
“You want to join, so no reason you can’t. I’ll talk to the higher-ups.”
Before Baekya could recover, he’d been caught up in the vocal trainer’s huge misunderstanding.
The monthly evaluation was about two weeks away. For nearly a week, Baekya’s life was a loop of school, practice room, and home.
At first, his will was crushed by the existence of the already confirmed debut team. But then he heard unexpected good news from other trainees.
“US Entertainment is coming for this evaluation. There’s a rumor they’re forming their debut team, so that’s why.”
In Korea, three idol powerhouses were widely recognized: ID, US, and Hytic.
Sometimes they gathered trainees for company-versus-company battle evaluations, which happened to be this month’s evaluation.
Importantly, although rare, trainees were sometimes traded between companies. At that moment, Baekya thought he heard Saint Sa in his ear.
‘I’ll make a good impression at the evaluation and jump to US.’
His newfound determination burned brightly.
It was already past 11 PM. Yet Baekya was still in the practice room. His friends had left moments ago, and he was alone. He decided to check his condition.
Thanks to consecutive hidden quest completions, his current star points were five.
< Dreaming of Perfect Pitch (2) > and < Only Practice Survives (2) > were achieved by completing 10 vocal and dance practices respectively, earning him two points.
And he gained one more point from leveling up, so he was fairly stocked.
‘I should do a skill draw once before the evaluation.’
Baekya opened his skill window.
Lv.4 Baekya (Synchronizing)
Appearance: B
Vocal: A
Dance: C
Charisma: D
Stress: 48%
Title: Genius Idol (Inactive)
Passive: R
Wait a minute—his stress had noticeably increased.
“What’s that?!”
Though the debut team news shocked him, this was too much.
Baekya felt wronged.
“At this rate, I might die from stress before failing debut…”
He’d been so focused on skills that he neglected stress management. His eyes reflected deep melancholy as he stared into space.
Then, as if to encourage him, the system spoke for the first time in a while—with that annoying emoji.
[Don’t worry! You can reduce your stress level using star points! v(°∇^*)⌒☆]
[Using 1 point reduces stress by 30%]
“Oh, star points~”
He had to do draws and reduce stress. Gathering was hard, but spending was plenty.
‘Why! Are they seriously trying to kill me?’
Holding back tears, Baekya decided to use points to reduce stress. Stress was deadly for a sunfish.
▶ Use 2 points
“My precious points…”
Now three star points remained. The already terrible odds were reduced to only one chance.
Sigh… I don’t feel like practicing. Let’s just go home.
Turning off the lights, Baekya left the practice room. The hallway lights were all off—too late, apparently. The darkness looked like a ghost could appear any moment.
“There are trainees still not home…!”
Swallowing nervously, Baekya clenched his trembling hands. His pace quickened.
“Elevator. Elevator fast.”
Heading straight for the elevator, he repeatedly pressed the up button. But the elevator didn’t come down from the fourth floor, no matter what.
The other elevator was under maintenance.
It couldn’t really be under maintenance at this hour. After some time, all elevators except one seemed to shut down automatically.
‘But why the fourth floor?!’
True to his sunfish passive, Baekya was scared.
Four has always been the number of death. Biting his lips anxiously, Baekya decided to run up the emergency stairs. The vocal practice room was on basement 1, so running up wouldn’t be impossible.
Making up his mind, he headed for the emergency exit. But today, the emergency light color seemed off.
‘Was it always this color?’
Between green and orange, some stick figure glared down at Baekya.
“B-Bunsin Saba, Bunsin Saba…”
Kim Yugyeong had said that was a chant to ward off ghosts.
Baekya silently recited the chant in his heart as he opened Pandora’s box. But as soon as he opened the door, bright light flooded out—the sensor light had turned on.
His soul was already beyond the company, at the crosswalk near his home. But his body was still stuck before the emergency exit—meaning someone was there first.
Haa… uh…
Heavy breathing and tangled obscene sounds struck Baekya’s eardrums.
‘C-c-crazy!’
Baekya was horrified.
It wasn’t a parade of naked bodies, but at this late hour! In a secluded place! And a trainee! Being so close was a breach of contract. Not only at ID but everywhere, trainee dating was a strict no.1 forbidden rule.
But with his own life uncertain, Baekya had no time to worry about others. He quietly decided to escape as best as he could.
‘Your Honor, I saw nothing.’
Baekya creaked as he turned around.
But people who sin can’t live easy. Just his clothes caught on the door handle, but the surprise ruined everything.
“Ughk!”
“Aaah!”
“What are you?!”
A male trainee he’d never seen before rushed over, grabbing Baekya’s collar with a hostile face.
“You saw, didn’t you?!”
“W-w-what? I was just startled by a cockroach…”
Baekya flatly denied seeing anything.
Cold sweat dripped down his back, but he forced a smile. He felt guilty, but what else could he do? The guy looked like he’d kill him if he admitted seeing.
The grip on his collar was strong. And he was sure he’d seen at least a pair of cockroaches.
Meanwhile, the female trainee had fled. Only Baekya and the male were left at the emergency exit.
“I don’t recognize you. New trainee? It’s really late.”
“I-I was practicing and lost track of time. When I came out, the elevators were all stopped. Why are you here?”
A pure 100% innocent face. Baekya was unconsciously using that face.
But the guy still didn’t drop his suspicious gaze. His hand still held Baekya’s collar, and Baekya knew he was being suspected.
‘I have to end this here to avoid trouble.’
At that moment, unfamiliar voices came from above.
“Harang hyung, are you there?”
The rescue had arrived. More than one person, judging by the staggered footsteps.
Soon, two bright figures appeared. Their flashy hair over the railing dazzled Baekya’s eyes.
“I have to go back to the dorm—ah, sorry, were you talking?”
“Yeah? At the restaurant earlier!”
Baekya knew them well. They were debut team trainees. One of them looked familiar.
As they looked at Baekya and Harang with confusion, Baekya felt relief slowly.
Though their eyes still doubted him, their expressions said they would reluctantly let go.
“It’s nothing. I dropped something on the stairs. If you didn’t see it, that’s fine. Sorry.”
Harang gave Baekya a slight nod and began climbing halfway up the stairs.
He quickly reunited with the trainees who had come for him, while the two unaware others left, looking bewildered.
But one question lingered.
“…Was there a member like that?”
No matter how much Baekya thought, he couldn’t recall such a face in the group.