Conditions for Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader

‘Ah, d*mn it. Seriously.’

 

Go Young-in muttered curses under his breath as he buried his face in his hands. A groan escaped involuntarily.

 

[Loading…………….]

[In progress………..]

[………………………..]

 

[Reset complete.]

 

A vibrant 3D hologram hovering in the air blinked intermittently, projecting text that resembled a status bar from a game.

 

His eyes, visible through the gaps between his fingers, reluctantly turned towards the hologram before losing focus as if he had lost interest.

 

The puffy eyes and pale complexion gave him the look of a sick person, like someone who had not slept properly for several days.

 

It was yet another reset, the number of which he had lost count of.

 

Once again, he was back in the past.

 

He couldn’t fathom how long he would have to endure this tiresome cycle.

 

Go Young-in let out a long sigh.

 

‘This damn status bar.’

 

This time, he was in a situation where all he could do was sigh.

 

 

***

 

*Ding*

 

[“100 Conditions to Become the Perfect Idol”]

 

[We’ll help you to become the best idol you can be.]

 

“What… is this?”

 

Go Young-in exclaimed in confusion as he stared blankly at the translucent entity that appeared before him out of nowhere.

 

The sudden appearance of this entity caught Go Young-in off guard, without any warning signs.

 

‘Am I dreaming?’

 

A translucent screen floating in the air, resembling a gaming interface, flickered unnecessarily.

 

Even as he looked at it, he couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

 

He had just been walking down the street as usual. So why?

 

“This is insane.”

 

[Condition 18 | The perfect idol does not engage in reckless speech or behavior at any time.]

 

“Uh… okay?”

 

Go Young-in blinked dumbfoundedly.

 

He couldn’t help but wonder what he was supposed to do about it.

 

“What does it matter if I engage in reckless speech or behavior? What difference does it make?”

 

He wasn’t an idol, nor had he ever considered becoming one. It was never something he was interested in.

 

*Ding*

 

As soon as he finished speaking, the suspicious hologram, acting as if responding, emitted a notification sound and displayed a new message.

 

[Violation of the conditions will result in consequences.]

 

“…It even replies? This is crazy.”

 

[Condition 18 | The perfect idol does not engage in reckless speech or behavior at any time.]

 

[Warning!]

 

Go Young-in wrinkled his nose.

 

It was ominous. Though he didn’t know what was happening, his instincts warned him that the phrase ‘Warning!’ wasn’t good for him.

 

[Accumulated Status: Warning 1, Caution 0]

 

“No, d*mn it.”

 

Feeling utterly bewildered, he cursed without even realizing it.

 

After blurting it out, Go Young-in quickly looked at the status bar with an anxious expression.

 

[Condition 18 | The perfect idol does not engage in reckless speech or behavior at any time.]

 

“Wait, hold on!”

 

He shouted desperately, but the status bar had already dutifully displayed the message.

 

[Warning!]

 

[Accumulated Status: Warning 2, Caution 0]

 

“What’s going on? Seriously, what is this! Give me some explanation or at least a warning!”

 

Did Go Young-in’s cry of injustice reach somewhere? The status bar chimed again.

 

Go Young-in stared at the status bar for a while, then couldn’t help but make an incredulous expression.

 

[‘Warning 2’ will be changed to ‘Caution 1.’]

 

[Accumulated Status: Warning 0, Caution 1]

 

[Upon accumulating 5 warnings, a ‘Reset’ will occur.]

 

[Each violation of the clause results in a ‘Warning.’ Please note that when ‘Warning’ accumulates to 2, it changes to ‘Caution’ 1!]

 

Hahaha…ha……..

 

“Sigh…….”

 

‘Oh… I get it now.’

 

Go Young-in chuckled softly.

 

It seemed like he had gotten overheated.

 

Although he didn’t know what the reset meant, he was clearly drained and seeing things for no reason.

 

At that moment, strong sunlight was pouring down on Go Young-in, as if it would pierce his entire body. For some reason, making his head ache slightly.

 

‘Yeah. If I keep worrying about it, I’ll be the only crazy one.’

 

Despite feeling somewhat uneasy, he decided to ignore the status bar and move on.

 

‘Would anything really happen?’

 

Fortunately, the strange occurrence didn’t follow Go Young-in, and it only blinked incessantly from where it appeared.

 

It simply existed silently without making a sound.

 

*Ding*

 

[Penalties will be applied with each accumulated warning. Effects and duration are random.]

 

[A status ailment ‘Headache’ has been inflicted.]

 

[Remaining time: 12 hours]

 

Did he hear something, or was it just his imagination?

 

Suddenly, his head began to ache, as if he had really been affected by the heat.

 

Go Young-in rubbed his throbbing head lightly from side to side before turning into an alleyway.

 

At the same time, the strange status bar that had been floating in the air quietly disappeared as if questioning its own existence.

 

***

 

A week had passed since the rather strange incident.

 

“Hey, buddy, ever thought about becoming an idol?”

 

“Sorry, not interested.”

 

“Such a waste of your looks… If you ever change your mind, I’ll be there to support you to become the best idol. Here, take my card. Feel free to contact me anytime, okay?”

 

Go Young-in stared blankly at the business card shoved in front of him.

 

Kang Bada, Assistant Manager, Rookie Development Team, DD Entertainment.

 

Normally, he would have accepted the card out of courtesy and said he would consider it, but hearing the word ‘idol’ reminded him of what happened recently, making him hesitate for no reason.

 

“No, thank you. I really don’t want to. My parents would oppose it too. But thank you for your kind offer.”

 

Adjusting his backpack, Go Young-in nodded politely and passed by Kang Bada.

 

Watching Go Young-in’s retreating figure, Kang Bada clicked his tongue in frustration.

 

That face could make it in anything, really…

 

Regardless of what Kang Bada thought, Go Young-in, uninterested, didn’t even look back and quickly disappeared.

 

Walking briskly, Go Young-in checked that there was no one around and took a deep breath.

 

‘This is really weird. Why do I feel so uneasy?’

 

Didn’t they say humans instinctively sense discomfort? Ever since he saw that strange thing, he had been feeling off.

 

Was something seriously wrong?

 

‘Surely… no, it can’t be.’

 

But Go Young-in’s doubts were chillingly accurate.

 

And it didn’t take long for Go Young-in to realize this fact.

 

“Hey, student, do you like singing? Do you have an affiliated agency?”

 

“Excuse me. I was just passing by and saw you. Do you belong to any agency?”

 

“Don’t you want to become a shining star on stage? You have the potential! You’re like a hidden gem!”

 

Approached by numerous people claiming to work for entertainment agencies, Go Young-in was grabbed as if he were a jackpot.

 

They started asking if he had any intentions of becoming an idol.

 

Even though he wasn’t particularly wandering around near entertainment agencies, he simply took his usual route home.

 

Each time, Go Young-in quickly rejected their offers and hurriedly escaped.

 

Some of them persisted, even following him home like stalkers.

 

Even when he started taking different routes than usual, he somehow ended up standing in front of the school gate.

 

The memory of seeing the school in front of him and him fleeing through the back gate still haunted him vividly.

 

‘Please… Why is this happening to me? Who said I wanted this? If anyone did, I’d run away on my own! This is ridiculous!’

 

Go Young-in gritted his teeth inwardly, feeling like his stomach would turn at the mere mention of becoming an idol.

 

“You lunatic! Come out! Show yourself!”

 

Feeling like he needed to confront whoever was behind this madness, Go Young-in shouted curses at the top of his lungs, attempting to summon the status bar, but to no avail.

 

Still, strange people persisted in bothering him, and each time, Go Young-in did his best to escape.

 

He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had just pretended to go along with the auditions at the entertainment agencies. But now, he felt a surge of determination and refused to give in.

 

Go Young-in began to avoid them more meticulously and desperately.

 

Continuing to avoid and refuse, but the situation around him started to twist strangely.

 

He would suddenly find himself standing in front of idol agency buildings if he walked without any thoughts, or his friends would exclude him from conversations if they weren’t about idols.

 

He might stumble upon a store where idol members were customers or find out that a close relative had gotten a job at a broadcasting station… It was relentless.

 

Go Young-in felt like he was possessed by an evil spirit.

 

‘This is driving me insane.’

 

How long had he endured this?

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, just like the persistent situations that suddenly appeared and disappeared, they all vanished simultaneously at some point, leaving Go Young-in alone.

 

‘I feel uneasy.’

 

However, he couldn’t relax completely. He never knew when they might return to torment him again.

 

As nothing happened, his nerves became even more sensitive. It felt like being in the calm of a storm’s eye.

 

But to his relief, those strange occurrences never resurfaced again, and eventually, after a few years, Go Young-in could finally relax and stop worrying about those events.

 

Slowly, the bizarre and eerie happenings faded from Go Young-in’s mind.

 

Before he knew it, Go Young-in had become an adult.

 

Upon completing his first year of college, Go Young-in immediately applied for military service and quickly enlisted.

 

He thought it was better to get the unpleasant task done quickly, even if it meant facing it head-on.

 

Thankfully, he completed his monotonous military service without any major incidents or accidents and was honorably discharged.

 

Celebrating his discharge with friends, Go Young-in enjoyed a light congratulatory drink and, exhausted from the day, fell comfortably asleep in his bed at home for the first time in a long while.

 

And then, the next day.

 

*Ding*

 

“….”

 

Go Young-in, waking up from sleep, looked down at his shrunken hands. His eyes darted around restlessly.

 

‘Surely… It can’t be. Surely, No way.’

 

Thinking it might be a dream, he clenched and unclenched his fists.

 

He gently exerted pressure on his shrunken hands, feeling the sensation of tension and release, vivid enough to make him doubt if it was a dream.

 

*Ding*

 

[<100 Conditions to Become the Perfect Idol>]

 

[We’ll help you become the best idol.]

 

“…What is this?”

 

Confused, Go Young-in uttered, looking at the translucent entity that appeared before him.

 

[Reset completed.]

 

It was Go Young-in’s first ‘reset.’