Sol gulped nervously and approached where the other members stood in a row. An assistant stylist, whom he had met the day before, briefly held him back. With short hair and a boisterous personality, she adjusted the collar of his jacket and smoothed down his styled hair before finally letting him go.
Sol clenched and unclenched his fists to calm his nerves. Ever since his trauma penalty had been reduced by 50%, everything felt much more manageable. Getting to this location today hadn’t been as difficult as before, but Sol had still taken a Stability Potion in advance to be fully prepared. Today was a day when he could afford no mistakes, not even the smallest one.
As Sol drew closer, the members each stepped aside to let him stand in the center. Flanked by Tae-oh and Ga-ram on one side, and Ji-ho and Deuk-yong on the other, Sol took his place. The four of them leaned in slightly to observe Sol’s expression. Even with the Stability Potion in his system, he could feel his heart beating and his mouth drying up.
Meeting their eyes, Sol took a deep breath and looked around the spot he was standing in. The back of the stage. It was a place he was somewhat familiar with, but the unfamiliarity of the field they were entering made him feel even more out of place. He spotted Yeong-ho, who was standing beside a staff member wearing headphones. Yeong-ho, with a face even more tense than the other members, had his fist tightly clenched.
“Ready?”
Ji-ho’s sharp voice broke through his thoughts, pulling Sol’s gaze back to the front. Between his loosely dangling fingers, he felt a warmer, slightly thicker hand slide in. Turning his head to the left, he saw that it was Ga-ram, smiling lazily as he took Sol’s hand.
Seeing Ga-ram smile while holding his hand, Sol gave a firm nod. He squeezed the hands of the two people standing next to him with renewed strength. Tae-oh flinched at Sol’s sudden grip and looked at him, but Sol, too focused on steadying his mind for what was about to happen, didn’t notice Tae-oh’s glance. He raised his head slightly, eyes slowly tracing the lines of light seeping through from the stage.
Exactly ten days ago, Yeong-ho had gathered all the members to announce, rather abruptly, that they’d be participating in a survival program. The news had left everyone in stony silence, but Sol had already known. That morning, as he’d woken up, an unexpected mint-colored notification window had appeared before him.
<Quest: It’s Time to Show What You’ve Got!>
It’s time to prove that you’re ready. Achieve a rank of 3rd place or higher in the 1st Round of the survival program <My Idol Stars>.
Bonus Mission: Appear twice on screen while winking.
- Success: Earn the 1st Round Reward Box (Bonus Mission Reward: Random Concept Gold Ticket x1)
- Failure: System shutdown (or equivalent consequence)
After claiming his daily login bonus, Sol lay there in bed, staring blankly at the unfamiliar notification. It took Tae-oh, who had appointed himself Sol’s alarm clock, to shake him awake, scolding him for being late.
With a dazed look on his face, Sol entered the bathroom and let out a small, questioning exclamation, “Oh...?” Spotting the name of a familiar program, Sol furrowed his brows, just like Tae-oh often did. A survival show. Though he hadn’t watched it seriously before, he had a general idea of what it entailed. It was some kind of competition, right? Which meant he’d have to compete on a broadcast along with his group members. Sol dropped the toothbrush he was holding, and a powerful stream of water poured over it as it landed in the sink.
“Hm…”
Sol murmured as he shook his head and closed the notification window. Tae-oh, who had woken him up that morning, had acted as usual, and the manager, Yeong-ho, hadn’t come to pick them up yet. So clearly, this was news his members were unaware of as well. Even if Sol knew in advance, it wouldn’t be much help, and it was a matter he couldn’t discuss freely. The best approach was to pretend he didn’t know and wait quietly for the situation to be sorted out.
Sol also had one more choice waiting for him—a decision about college. Graduation was approaching, which meant he had to choose whether or not to go to university, as noted in his personal details. He would take it one step at a time, focusing on any immediate issues until Yeong-ho brought it up first.
Hearing Deuk-yong’s loud voice from outside the bathroom, Sol gathered his thoughts and hurriedly finished washing up. But as he glanced in the mirror, an unfamiliar pop-up window appeared, halting his movements once more.
<1st Round: Proof of Skill Edition>
★R-★SR Concept Debuts!
Guaranteed ★SSR for the first 10 consecutive draws
[Single Draw | 10 Consecutive Draws]
Sol blinked. He thought he’d gotten somewhat used to the system, but this was a notification window he had never seen before. Yet somehow, it looked familiar. Memories of having repeated similar draws multiple times resurfaced. As if to disrupt his thoughts, another new window appeared over the one in front of him.
[A stage concept card for the 1st Round is required.]
[Would you like to use a ‘Concept Random Ticket’?]
[Available Concept Random Tickets: 12]
[ Yes | No ]
“Ah! So this is what it’s for.”
Finally, the purpose of the ‘Concept Random Ticket’ that had occasionally appeared as a morning bonus was revealed. Its purpose hadn’t been clear from its name alone, and it had only been accompanied by instructions that it could be used after completing certain quests, making it essentially a useless item until now. Though he didn’t recall any new notification about it, a prompt to use the ticket had suddenly appeared.
Sol hesitated for a moment. It was hard to decide whether to jump in and use this immediately or to wait and observe a bit longer. Sol stared intently at the mirror, bothered by the mint-colored notification window hovering over his still-damp face.
After a brief hesitation, Sol chose “Yes.” A new prompt popped up, asking him to choose between drawing once or ten times, and this time, Sol selected the ten-draw option without a second thought. Despite the brief experience, Sol had learned that none of the items provided by the system had been harmful. There were no grand effects, either. Ten cards appeared, flipping over one by one.
Finally, after seeing the result of the gold-colored card, another notification appeared. Sol thought he’d made far too many choices for just one morning.
[Round 1: Choose a concept for Proof of Time stage.]
As Sol cross-checked the images on the cards with the words on the screen, he began to grasp the meaning of it all. Apparently, the outfits depicted on the ten drawn cards would serve as his stage costumes for the first round.
Sol examined each card in order. Each one displayed an image of himself dressed in various outfits. Sol frowned immediately. The first card with a gray border was outright ridiculous: an elaborate floral-print suit from head to toe. Just looking at it was dizzying. The next was an outfit that seemed plastered with inexplicable hot-pink ribbons.
Disgusted, Sol shook his head. Each costume was more outrageous than the last. There was a Snow White costume more suited to cosplay than a stage performance, a Little Prince outfit with ruffled sleeves and red-striped pumpkin pants, and even a transparent two-piece made of plastic. Seeing himself dressed in such costumes made Sol feel faint.
This was the first round of a survival program, essentially his debut stage. Even an elementary schooler would know not to appear on stage in such ridiculous costumes.
“Sol, are you ready yet?”
A knock at the door was followed by Ga-ram’s voice from the other side.
“Oh… Yeah, I’ll be ready soon.”
Sol called out in response, then turned back to the mirror, glancing between his reflection and the system window. There were ten cards in front of him, but only one real choice: the final card with the golden border labeled "SSR."
Even to Sol, who didn't know much, the way the card sparkled alone seemed to be saying, "Pick me." Sol inspected the card's image closely. Despite the flashy, special-looking design, the contents were actually familiar to him.
The school uniform that anyone who spent their school years in South Korea would have likely worn. It wasn’t an eye-catching or flashy uniform but rather a classic, standard one. A navy jacket, dark gray pants, a dark-colored tie, and a white shirt. It was a plain outfit. Sol thought that, for an idol, it might be a bit too plain, but after looking over other options again, he shook his head. Better to look ordinary than to end up as a laughingstock.
[Round 1: The concept for Proof of Time stage has been activated.]
As Sol finished making his decision, a notification window popped up as if to double-check. He wondered if he was making the right choice, but he couldn’t exactly show up on his debut stage in a vinyl outfit or some strange cosplay. Resolving himself, Sol gave a big nod and quickly finished washing his face.
When he opened the bathroom door and stepped out, Yeong-ho stood there with a solemn expression, as if he were a condemned criminal. Ji-ho and Tae-oh, noticing his unusual demeanor, asked what was wrong, but Yeong-ho only kept repeating that he’d tell them at the company.
Sol tilted his head in confusion. Yeong-ho and the other members had always been thrilled about any chance to gain experience and recognition through things like music video shoots or standing in as backup dancers for Eun-gyeom’s stage. After all, a survival show was also an opportunity. Shouldn’t they be happy about it? But Yeong-ho’s expression was far too grim for that. Sol felt a growing unease, wondering if this might not be as good an opportunity as he initially thought.
Sol hurriedly threw on whatever clothes he found, barely bothering to brush his hair, and had a quick breakfast prepared by Ji-ho. Everyone, who had already finished getting ready, watched him with bemused expressions, each chiming in with comments. Before he knew it, Sol had stepped out of the dorm, thoroughly bundled up in warm clothes with his hair neatly styled.
I HATE HATE HATE CATCHING UP TO LATEST XHAPTERS QAQ
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