Surviving in The Idol Game (6)
[Grown on Love (R)]
R, Random. A random stat increase trait appeared.
Random traits were a relatively unstudied area in the game that had been in service for over a year. The general consensus was that these traits were more or less useless—like a chicken rib: not completely worthless, but not worth keeping either.
“When a certain condition is met, a random stat increases randomly.”
It sounded good at first glance, but because the system didn’t show progress, players largely ignored it when planning character builds.
No matter how many players requested that detailed progress indicators be added, the game was never patched. Eventually, people began speculating that the developers had started and then abandoned the content altogether—there were just too many unreasonable aspects to the system. For example:
[Greed (R): When ambition is shown, a random stat increases randomly]
The problem was, no one knew exactly what counted as “showing ambition” in the game. And with no progress bar, there was no way to find out. It was hard enough just meeting the condition.
And even if you did meet the condition, the randomness of “random stat increases randomly” was the next issue. It made it impossible to know how much your stat had increased—or to even predict how much it might increase.
“Honestly, it could go up by 0.1, 0.01, or even 0.000…0001…”
In the end, players couldn’t determine how much the trait contributed to stat growth. It probably did something, but no one could say how helpful it actually was.
As a result, even though it was technically a stat-boosting trait, the randomness made it functionally useless. It was too valuable to throw away, being a stat trait, but too unreliable to keep.
Later on, traits like [I Want to Keep Watching! (S): Dance +3] were much more effective, increasing stats up to their max limits independently from the stat screen. Those kinds of traits were just better, hands down, and it was almost embarrassing to compare the two.
“But this is turning out to be more useful than I expected.”
Surprisingly, this conditional random trait that others treated as useless was showing pretty good efficiency for increasing my early stats.
[Civilian]
Name: Lee Hanhee (19)
Singing: 80 (C+)
Dancing: 76 (C+)
Charm: 98 (A+)
Trait: Grown on Love (R) (58%)
It’s been about ten days since I drew the trait. During that time, my singing stat increased by 1, and my dancing by 2. Ironically, I hadn’t even practiced dancing yet.
It was clearly the result of the [Grown on Love (R)] trait. I still needed one more point in singing to clear the mission for achieving Singing B0, but even so, this much growth already made the trait worthwhile.
“Maybe the stat boost looks more dramatic because my stats are still low?”
For some reason, the progress for the trait was being displayed next to it, so it wasn’t nearly as inconvenient as I feared.
Being able to see the progress was a huge advantage. Even if reaching 100% only increased a stat by 0.00001, just being able to see what actions contributed toward it was helpful.
“People begged for a patch like this… Did I have to die to finally get it?”
In any case, it turned out to be a better trait than expected. My stats were rising nicely, so it might even be more important to me right now than flat stat boosts. All my stats—singing, dancing—were low to begin with.
I stared at the trait description.
[Grown on Love (R): When loved, a random stat increases randomly]
“Still, though…”
Love. The word echoed through the empty house as I muttered it without realizing.
Though I’d made it somewhat livable over the past few days, it still felt empty. That was because I hadn’t brought in any large appliances or furniture yet—like a TV, sofa, bed, or bookshelves. I might need to move again soon.
Bzzzt, ding-ding.
An alarm rang from the new smartphone I bought a few days ago.
“It’s already time, huh.”
I had to go to the hospital again today, so I started getting ready to leave. Since it had snowed heavily, I decided to leave a bit early and neatly packed away my knitting yarns.
I grabbed a shopping bag filled with small gifts for a mini event and looked at the guitar case leaning against the wall before heading out.
Even though I eagerly used the trait draw system, I honestly didn’t want to play the guitar if I could help it. Maybe that was selfish of me, but I just didn’t feel up to it.
“Should I get rid of it?”
Every time I saw it, it made me feel uneasy.
But I had places to be. I locked the door behind me and pushed through the snow.
Once I made it out to the main street, I slowed my pace. Even in broad daylight, narrow alleys were unpleasant.
At the bus stop, I pretended to check social media while opening my status screen again. The phone had automatically installed a status screen app, which felt strange. Everything seemed normal until moments like this—it really felt like I was a character in a game.
[Trait: Grown on Love (R) (59%)]
It had gone up by 1%. The cycle had run about five times so far, and I could feel it getting faster.
“I wish I’d studied random traits more before…”
Unfortunately, I’d never drawn this type of trait before, so I had to rely on guides from other players. I also hadn’t played with 70-point characters much since the early trial-and-error days, so I wasn’t very good at judging things accurately.
Once I got the hang of the game, I mostly played with characters that started with stats above 80. That was standard. Especially in the first phase, up to debut, I preferred to get through quickly using higher grades.
I’d been lucky with draws, so I avoided the so-called “duds.”
“Guess this is karma…”
You never know what life will throw at you.
“Hello! Over here, please. Could you sanitize your hands?”
“Yes, thank you. Oh, this too, please sanitize it.”
“Is it done now?”
“Yes, everything is finished.”
“That’s great! You did well.”
I followed the nurse into the pediatric ward after sanitizing. She was a very kind person—the head nurse, actually. Even though she was always busy, she still stopped by now and then to check in. She was usually in and out quickly, even during lunch breaks, but she seemed to have more time today.
Since nothing helps increase stats like stage experience, I ended up doing a few more busking sessions near T Hospital and eventually started volunteering in the children’s ward. I was told I needed to register, but with help from the hospital staff, it was sorted out quickly.
I also had a health check-up here and learned my exact height: 179.8 cm. I’d shrunk about 3 cm.
“I’ll grow again, probably.”
Anyway, having a stable place to perform was great news for me, so I accepted the offer. It was the perfect setting to test my trait.
Though I wasn’t sure whether to call it “music volunteering,” “playtime volunteering,” or just visiting patients, I came almost every day. Since the trait cycle worked well here, it was only natural.
“It feels nice too, more than I thought.”
The kids were good audiences and spectators. They didn’t care whether the singer had good volume, pitch control, or vocal techniques.
They just liked it if it sounded and looked good.
“They’re honest with their feelings.”
The kids’ instant feedback helped me set up performances. I could gauge which facial expressions or vocal tones got the best reactions.
Sometimes, you really need honest, straightforward feedback.
“It can’t be easy for kids to warm up to strangers, but they accepted me quickly.”
It hadn’t been that long since we met, but parting was getting harder each time.
As I walked further in, I saw a familiar little head. The way it bobbed made it look like the child was crying. Beyond her, Min-a gave me an awkward look.
“Why is Hyeji crying?”
She turned around, her tear-streaked face looking miserable. Her small body ran toward me, and I instinctively dropped to my knees and opened my arms.
She jumped into my embrace, and the shopping bag on my wrist swayed as her voice trembled in my arms.
“If you cry, your fever might go up.”
The body I was holding was already warm. I lifted the child, who weighed less than 20kg, and gently rocked her as I walked. A small face peeked up.
“I want a hat too…”
I quickly looked through the shopping bag I brought and luckily, a white hat was on top.
“Here, your favorite white one, Hyeji.”
Then, as the child got distracted by the hat, I carefully placed her in the empty bag. Her face was a bit red, but it looked manageable. I was relieved she stopped crying quickly.
Mina came closer and tugged on my clothes. I recognized the hat—it was one I had given her.
“It suits her well.”
Back in high school, I used to knit hats for children overseas. When I found leftover yarn in a box recently, and saw many kids wearing hats, I decided to knit one again.
“Receiving gifts makes people happy, and it’s a good way to get closer.”
Lately, it had been snowing a lot, and the freezing wind kept people indoors. I’d been focusing on volunteer work at the hospital, and while memorizing lyrics for songs I’d sing, I also used my spare time to knit.
It had been a while, but I got hooked on knitting again, so I started carrying yarn in my shopping bag to work on it whenever I had a moment. Mina must’ve noticed.
It was snowing heavily, so I stayed in the break room knitting until the snowstorm let up. Mina came all the way there and fell in love with the orange hat I had just finished. I gave it to her yesterday.
“I figured I could finish another one by today, so it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
Mina, mature for her age, seemed worried that I got in trouble because she wore the hat first. I think she said she was 10. She’s almost too considerate for her age.
She didn’t steal it or anything—it was a gift. There’s no need to feel bad. It wasn’t a big deal.
“If the other kids get upset, I’ll just comfort them.”
As I gently cooled Hyeji’s flushed eyes with my cold hands, I took the hat she was fiddling with and placed it on her head. The little pom-poms I made myself were quite cute.
“You look pretty.”
Tear stains remained, but her smiling face as she looked into my eyes was truly lovely. I had made these hats hoping for smiles like this—so I hoped she’d smile, at least now.
I played the MR track on my smartphone. It was the song I always sang when doing music volunteer work.
Of course, it was a deliberately chosen song—a Christmas carol titled “Give Me Your Love.”
—Toys are nice, but it’s okay
Snacks are nice, but it’s okay
I’ll give all of them to you
Because everything I need is in you—
While singing, I handed out the hats I brought to each child. Christmas had passed, but it was still snowing and I was singing carols, so it felt like I had become Santa.
The children giggled with joy at the little performance. They clearly liked the gifts and the songs. It took a bit of effort, but it was rewarding.
“75%… One or two more times, and…”
I sang with a smile, hiding my calculating thoughts. The world is give and take, after all. No one loses anything—this was a win-win situation.
—Love, love, I want love
Only your love lets me breathe
Love, love, I want love
Santa’s gift is you
Love, love, I want love
I want to be with you on Christmas—
As I sang the lyrics that could represent the [Grown on Love (R)] trait, I kept my eyes on the slowly rising percentage. Love.
I’d spent days selecting this song, and as a carol with a repetitive and simple melody, the children’s voices blended in easily.
Among the little voices singing along, Mina’s voice stood out. Her pitch and rhythm were perfect. This is what they mean by “a promising sprout,” I thought. Maybe she’ll become a singer someday.
—Love, love, I want love
Your happiness brings me joy
Love, love, I want love
Come to me, I love you—
As I repeated the chorus a few more times and glanced around, everyone was smiling. These children’s voices were especially pleasant to hear. Many of them were good singers—maybe they’d make a good choir. Was this some kind of choir rehearsal?
“Next! Sing another one!”
The enthusiastic requests made me happy. I sang mostly gentle, warm songs. Songs that weren’t too high-pitched, were soft yet rhythmic, and pleasant to listen to. Occasionally, I mixed in catchy tunes with easy-to-sing hooks.
Sometimes we sang together, sometimes they just listened. Each child enjoyed the performance in their own way. I watched their expressions carefully, took breaks when I got tired, and ate fruit or juice with them. At first, we didn’t even have snacks like this—but now, things had started to pile up.
To think I could gain stats through such healing days.
“I wish every day could be like this.”
I was lost in a cozy, drowsy feeling. Love. The skepticism I had was gradually melting away with each passing day like this.
“Am I living in a fairy tale?”
Truly, it was hard to doubt their affection. When I saw the trait percentage increase and the children’s expressions and eyes, I felt like I could see into their hearts.
“It’s like therapy.”
It was an addictively pleasant feeling.
But this peaceful and warm daily life didn’t last long. As soon as February came, it suddenly got busy—as if those moments of rest had never existed.
[Guide to understanding the system – Step 2]
Idol Debut Preparation: 100 Hours of Performances – D-20
On Success: Proceed to Guide Step 3
On Failure: Life -1
This was the beginning of a new phase, one that would test both mental health and wellbeing.
***
Support me if you can :
