Surviving in The Idol Game (9)
[Dancer]
Name: Lee Jaejin (21)
Singing: 80 (C+)/89
Dancing: 92 (A0)/100
Charm: 87 (B+)/95
Trait: “We Shine Together (S)”
‘A UR specialized in dance that immediately surpasses debut tier based on previous game standards…’
At 21, he wasn’t exactly young by idol standards, but since he was already close to being a completed product, age didn’t seem to matter much.
‘And this trait…’
[We Shine Together (S)] – On stage, randomly increases one stat of a random teammate, including the user, by +3.
Although the stat boost is random, the fact that it buffs not only the user but teammates as well made it obviously overpowered.
It’s not even a random increase in value—it’s a fixed +3 stat boost. As long as the “on stage” condition is met, it increases stats beyond the limit. It’s a top-tier trait.
‘Did traits like this even exist before? Isn’t this a bit too OP?’
Apparently, the Step-Up system includes traits that hadn’t been seen before. Still, the fact that it boosts teammates’ stats along with the user’s is a bit much.
Even more intimidating: his total stat was 259, which meant he was close to unlocking a second trait. At this point, it was scary. If his next trait turned out well, he had the potential to be the ace of almost any team.
There may only be limited spots for main vocal and main dancer, but this level of talent made him more than capable of being a main dancer. Considering his traits and stat ceiling, it was definitely worth investing further in dance.
‘It requires a crazy amount of grinding, but he’s better off than most.’
In his case, his singing cap was only 89—not high. But that also meant that more of his experience points would be redirected into his dance stat once singing hit its cap. So, compared to hybrids, his growth would be faster.
‘Of course, that’s just the system logic. Who knows how that’ll translate in real life.’
In conclusion, if he focused on dancing, he had a high chance of success. Plus, his trait was broken.
‘He’s going to debut.’
“Hello? I’m Lee Jaejin. 21 years old.”
“Hi, I’m Lee Hanhee… I’m 19, so you can speak casually with me.”
“Really? Then I’ll go ahead and do that.”
Lee Jaejin sat right next to me without hesitation, now speaking informally. It was the seat Cheonghee had been sitting in earlier. A baton pass?
“You can talk casually too. You can even call me hyung.”
“…Okay, hyung. I’ll drop the honorifics gradually.”
Maybe because of past part-time job experience, I found it more comfortable to speak formally with strangers. It helped prevent accidental slips. And though calling him “hyung” felt a bit awkward because of my real age of 24, it wasn’t like I could say no. I clearly looked younger. I had to start getting used to being 19.
Whether or not I felt awkward, Jaejin began talking casually.
“Since we’re competitors, I thought it was unusually kind of you.”
“I didn’t share anything particularly important.”
Honestly, thanks to Woo Cheonghee, I was the one who got help waking up on time. Anyway, it didn’t seem like he came just to say that. A glance beneath his cap suggested he was getting to his main point.
“Hmm, I have something to ask. Did you perform on the streets near XX University?”
“Ah, yes, I did.”
So he saw me busking? There were a lot of people back then.
Street performances near the university were something I did because hospital performances alone wouldn’t be enough to complete the required 100 hours within 20 days. Luckily, I started from a B0 rank thanks to volunteering at the hospital, so I probably sounded decent.
“I recognized you from the white long padding. But wow, it’s almost April and you were still wearing that? You must get cold easily?”
“Yeah, a bit. I don’t like the cold.”
The padding was a personal preference. Sure, I was sensitive to cold, but it was also useful for covering my body. Even usable as a sleeping bag.
The winter had dragged on unusually long this year due to abnormal weather, so I wasn’t the only one still wearing winter clothes. I did wear lighter clothes underneath, though.
“You kind of look like a penguin.”
“….”
It didn’t sound like he was teasing me—it was strangely friendly. Even though we’d just met, his expression felt oddly familiar.
I suddenly remembered my freshman year of college. There was a lot of MBTI talk back then, so I tried it out of curiosity. The results varied slightly depending on when I took it, but one thing remained constant.
“Seeing you up close now, you give off a good vibe. I’m excited.”
“Uh, thanks…?”
Personality tests always labeled me as an introvert. In situations like this, I felt my energy drain. I awkwardly smiled as I met his slightly excited expression. Why does he look so happy?
“You were out there almost every day for a month. People kept recommending you, so I went to watch too. But every time I saw you, your skills noticeably improved. Like a sprouting bean sprout.”
Maybe noticing I was overwhelmed, Jaejin took a step back to give me space. He was quite perceptive.
I began to understand. He must’ve been someone who regularly came to watch my performances. Maybe his sense of familiarity grew that way. I didn’t recognize him since my cap limited my vision and I only saw the people up front, but it was something to be grateful for.
Thanks to the crowds, my stats increased quickly during the street performances.
‘Stats really did go up fast.’
When I was doing the second guidance mission, I spent all day focused: music volunteering in the pediatric ward during lunch, then busking in the afternoon. Some days I even split it into three sessions, performing for 7 hours in total.
‘After one intense day, I settled on 5 hours max.’
Any more than that, and I got home too late. It was dark by the time I got back.
“You stopped showing up as much later on—was that because of the audition prep?”
“Yeah, my dance skills were lacking…”
After reaching B0 in dance around mid-March, I couldn’t keep busking as much. Maybe 2 hours a day, tops.
“I had to practice a lot, so I couldn’t keep up like before.”
Mornings were for lessons, lunch for volunteering, afternoons for busking, and from evening to dawn, more lessons and practice.
I had to bridge the gap between stats and actual skill within the time limit and prepare for the possibly higher debut cutline, so there was no room to slack.
I practically lived in the practice room from sunset to sunrise. I didn’t even bother going home sometimes—it became a habit to just sleep there.
It was all thanks to Director Heo Jungin, who helped me rent a private practice room. It was hell, but a grateful kind of hell.
‘It’s a blessed environment where hard work pays off. No excuses to slack off.’
The system made it that way. It was like being threatened with my life—it wasn’t entirely a good thing.
“You stopped showing up after the choreography reveal for the first theme song too—also for practice?”
“Yeah, the choreography was really hard for me.”
In truth, by mid-March, my dance stat had already reached B0. So even though the choreography was tough, with the stat boost and a bit of smoke and mirrors, I probably could’ve pulled it off without practicing too hard. I could disguise difficult parts as stylized moves and use facial expressions to cover up.
But if I kept doing that, it would eventually show.
‘It’d feel like deception.’
With stat boosts and charm stat glitches already giving me a massive advantage over other contestants—none of which came from effort—it would seem like I was born with talent.
If I started cutting corners on top of that, I’d be building the image of a lazy genius who didn’t even try.
‘Trying to take shortcuts only leads to failure.’
People who succeed effortlessly are more envied than liked. It doesn’t inspire understanding—it breeds resentment and a sense of loss.
I recalled the face of contestant 2157, who quietly left the audition room while others were fervently debating.
‘The face someone makes when their effort is betrayed.’
He tried to suppress his emotions, but his reddened eyes gave him away.
In the end, I needed to debut through this program. That meant I had to beat someone else. But at the very least, I wanted those I surpassed to accept my skills. I couldn’t rely only on looks and stats.
I didn’t want anyone to feel like their hard work had been in vain because of me. That kind of loss eats at people.
‘If I’m going to win, I want to do it with undeniable effort and skill.’
If I couldn’t devote the same amount of time, the least I could do was give it my all.
It had become a kind of obsession. Because I’d been given so much, I couldn’t afford to show weakness.
“By the way, you look thinner than when I saw you in February. Or maybe it’s just because I’m seeing you up close?”
Following his gaze, I noticed my ankles, exposed from my pants riding up while sitting, looked quite skinny.
“Yeah, the schedule’s been tough, and I lost some weight. I’m trying to put it back on.”
44 days. It wasn’t long, but I pushed my body to the limit. I’d probably lost about 4kg. Compared to my weight at 24, I was now practically skin and bones.
“Now that you mention it, you reek of pain relief patches. Have you been overtraining? You’ll damage your muscles.”
“I’ve been trying to take care of it…”
I replied awkwardly. Sure enough, since there was no more fat to lose, even my muscles started to shrink. So I had to hold on tight by taking all kinds of supplements along with my diet. Otherwise, my body just couldn’t take it.
Still, my body kept up better than I thought. Even when my exhausted body wanted to throw up due to a lack of stamina, I kept forcing down protein to endure. Since I had learned a bit about working out before I died, I had some tricks for situations like this, so it was somewhat bearable. Looking back, it makes me realize that every experience counts, one way or another.
“You’ve been improving noticeably day by day. You must’ve worked really hard.”
Lee Jaejin said that with a grin, but I felt a bit conflicted. Honestly, regardless of my mindset or how I prepared, to others, my growth must have looked like a cheat. Even to me, it seemed like a cheat.
[Citizen]
Name: Lee Hanhee (19)
Singing: 84 (B0)
Dancing: 81 (B0)
Charm: 98 (A+)Traits: Grown on Love (R)(88%), I’m the Producer (U)
Thanks to the trait, ever since I started busking seriously, I managed to increase my singing by 3 and dancing by 5 in just 50 days. That alone felt too much like a cheat.
Especially since my dancing started at C0 and reached B0 in such a short time—it was almost unbelievable. In actual numbers, it was like creating something from nothing.
‘I worked on fundamentals, learned two cover choreographies a day, and prepared for busking at the same time—it really felt like I was burning through my life to the edge of death.’
Still, it’s true that I got more results than I deserved for the effort I put in. It would’ve been impossible without the trait [Grown on Love (R)].
In the end, this was a type of growth and effort that only worked because I had the stats to back it up. Without the dance stats systematically built up through the trait, no amount of effort would’ve meant anything.
[Stats randomly increase when receiving love.]
In the game, meeting this condition might have been vague, but in reality, it was much more intuitive.
Honestly, I had never loved or been loved before, so I was skeptical about the word “love.” But the more my stats increased through this trait, the more that skepticism began to dissolve.
‘When people look at me with eyes that sparkling, it’s hard not to feel their affection.’
I realized this as I thought back to the stares I got with every little move during street performances.
Since I performed at the same spot and time regularly, familiar faces started appearing among the crowd. Occasionally, when my eyes met theirs under my hat, the way they looked at me with such pure affection left me overwhelmed.
Meeting people who poured that much love into me made me feel grateful and amazed at their passion and effort.
‘They looked so earnest… When someone gives that much love, it makes you want to give something back.’
While chatting with Lee Jaejin about busking experiences, a familiar topic came up.
“By the way, just like before, you’re still covering your face. I mean, if it’s something difficult to talk about, I won’t press.”
His voice was sincere as he added that he’d understand if it was due to a scar or something.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
It was understandable for him to be curious, since I always wore a hat or mask.
It was a question I often got when I busked near college areas. Pretty much after every song, people would ask again and again.
But from my perspective, covering my face was necessary. I was fully aware that my looks stood out.
I still don’t know the exact mechanism of how the charm stat works, but it’s clearly excessive for a regular person.
In early February, I often had to take the long way home after busking to avoid people following me. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. Later on, even after pulling an all-nighter and coming out of the practice room in the morning, there would be people waiting nearby.
Even though I tried to cover up my face, that still happened—so now I’m even more cautious. I wouldn’t know what to do if something went wrong.
‘There are good people in the world, sure, but that doesn’t mean there are no bad ones.’
The best thing I could do was prevent any trouble before it started.
There were other reasons I could give for covering my face, but the most fundamental one was my family. If my dad, especially, found out I was trying to become an idol, he might drag me back.
‘I still don’t know the exact nature of family relationships in this world, but for now, I’m a minor.’
Judging by the family registry and other documents, it seems they’re still alive.
Since I’ve been independent for nearly three months with no contact, I can roughly guess what that means, but you never know. Anything related to family always felt like it could trip me up.
“It’s… for various personal reasons.”
Ultimately, I just didn’t want to risk facing something I couldn’t handle.
Whether it was safety, or family.
“There’s a reason I need to hide my face.”
If this program airs on TV, they’ll know eventually.
I’ve always wondered—when someone who looks like my mom becomes famous, what kind of reaction my dad would have.
“But I’m okay now. I didn’t come all this way to keep hiding.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Depending on the topic, Lee Jaejin’s tone shifted between light and serious again.
He was very skilled at reading the mood. He made you talk just enough and knew exactly where to draw the line. That kind of maturity is rare even among older people, yet here he was at 21, feeling like someone with a lot of life experience.
“Anyway, it’s already Group 90. Not much time left—shouldn’t you be practicing?”
“What about you, hyung? What if there’s a second audition? Shouldn’t you be preparing too?”
“Well, I’ve built up my own skills. If I have to do it, I’ll just do it.”
I envied that confidence. I had to struggle and push myself to barely meet my own standards.
But then again, the difference made sense.
A dance stat of 92 built through years of solo practice vs. a 75-day-old idol trainee whose skills were boosted through game mechanics.
If I was like a game character inflated with traits and stats, he was someone who gained his skills through time and effort. The system just didn’t display that time and dedication.
Our mentalities were probably different, too.
“That’s admirable.”
“Ah, did I sound too full of myself?”
I had genuinely admired the calm he earned through hard work, but Jaejin seemed flustered and quickly added that, as if worried I’d think he was arrogant.
‘Did he think I’d find him annoying?’
Still, I didn’t think he needed to downplay himself like that.
“If you’re genuinely skilled, then it’s not bragging—it’s just the truth.”
“Oh…”
He smiled playfully, looking handsome as ever. I thought fans would definitely love him once he debuted. There really are so many talented people in the world.
“Well, I’ll head out first. I should get ready.”
“Sure. See you again.”
His voice didn’t sound like he was worried about getting eliminated.
And honestly, I didn’t think I’d get eliminated either. After all, so many people had been rooting for me.
[Guide to Understanding the System – Step 4]
Idol Debut Preparation: Pass Round 1 of <Idol Survival> Auditions
On Success: Proceed to Guide Step 5
On Failure: Life -1
Ignoring the guide window hovering before my eyes, I confidently stepped into the audition room. Then I stood before the stage.
***
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