lookism: Experiment

After school, while heading home, a sleek black van stopped abruptly in front of Michael. The tinted window rolled down, and a man in a formal suit stepped out. He looked professional yet strangely informal as he smiled warmly at Michael.

"Hello, you must be Michael," he said. "I'm from PTJ, here to invite you to the trainee selection."

Michael's face betrayed no emotion as he replied, "Okay, I will come." Without waiting for further explanation, he walked away, leaving the man standing there.

PTJ

The next day, Michael found himself standing before a grand building with the initials "PTJ" glinting under the sunlight. Entering the lobby, he was guided to a large room where a panel of judges awaited him. The air felt heavy with expectation, but Michael didn't feel nervous.

Unfamiliar with formal auditions, Michael relied on a few dance moves he had learned from watching videos. Despite his minimal effort, the judges exchanged knowing glances, as if they had already made up their minds.

Noticing this, Michael decided to stay silent and leave as quickly as possible.

After he exited, the judges began discussing him.

"Who found that cutie?" one of them teased.

Another judge shook their head. "Not me. How did you find him, DG?"

That night, Michael walked beside Crystal along a quiet street. His phone rang, interrupting their conversation. After answering the call, he turned to Crystal with a sigh.

"I passed the trainee selection at PTJ without doing anything," he said, his tone flat.

Crystal giggled. "Well, when you're handsome, it doesn't matter."

Michael glanced at her, still puzzled. "I wonder why they invited me in the first place."

Crystal looked away, whistling innocently. Her behavior was far from subtle, and Michael sighed again, already suspecting her involvement.

After dropping Crystal off at her home, he headed to his apartment.

Class C Introduction

The next day, Michael was assigned to Class C at PTJ. When he entered the classroom, he found two students already seated.

One of them, a boy with messy hair, greeted him cheerfully. "Oh, so a newbie has arrived. Hello, my name is Oliver Jang, and this is Lasol. What's your name?"

"Michael," he replied curtly.

Before the conversation could continue, two more newcomers arrived: Daniel and Duke Pyeon, both of whom looked vaguely familiar.

Moments later, a confident girl entered the room—Joy Hong, a model Michael had seen at a shoot. After exchanging introductions, the group decided to head to the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria, Class C quickly realized their budget was limited to $4 meals.

When Daniel returned with food from the other table, Lasol and Oliver seemed uneasy. Michael noticed but didn't understand the cause until a group of Class A students approached. They tried to flirt with Joy, asking for her number.

Annoyed by their arrogance, Michael stepped in, tapping one of the guys on the shoulder. When the boy turned around, he was met with Michael's icy glare. The intensity in Michael's eyes made him back off without another word, and his friends followed suit.

A Month passed in rigorous training.

On the day of the trainee evaluation, Michael arrived late to find the room abuzz with activity. Lasol was performing her routine on stage, showcasing impressive moves. Michael watched with curiosity as other students performed, some with great skill, but none matching Lasol and Oliver.

"Why are they still in Class C?" Michael wondered aloud.

He soon overheard whispers about Aru, a famous star who held a grudge against the pair.

Duke Pyeon performed next, showcasing fluid and powerful moves, but his appearance caused the judges to overlook his talent. Daniel followed, delivering an equally mesmerizing performance that caught the judges' attention.

Among the audience, DG—a renowned star with pink hair—watched Daniel intently.

Finally, it was Michael's turn. When he stepped on stage, the room fell silent. His routine, an exact replica of Oliver's advanced moves, left everyone in awe. Michael had mastered the performance with just one month of training, a feat that defied belief.

After the evaluation, all of Class C passed the test and had their profile pictures taken for PTJ's records.

Michael (image)

At School

Back at school, the atmosphere shifted. Daniel and Duke became the center of attention, surrounded by curious students. However, Michael remained an enigma. His aloof demeanor and intimidating aura kept people at bay. Only Zack Lee, Mira, and Crystal dared to approach him—a situation Michael intentionally maintained.

During lunch, Vasco congratulated Daniel and Duke and asking for him to take along with them so, Daniel offers him to be their manager. Meanwhile, Zack and Mira gossiped about Michael being a PTJ trainee, openly expressing their jealousy. Michael ignored them, eating silently.

The next day, Vasco accompanied Daniel and Duke to PTJ. As they entered, DG emerged from the building, surrounded by reporters.

Passing by Daniel, DG muttered cryptically, " aren't you always at the convience store. After all this time, you still haven't done anything…"

The words left Daniel frozen in shock.

Standing near DG's car, Michael smirked and said, "Well, hello, James."

DG froze, his body stiffening. He turned, but no one was there.

Surprised DG then drove away his car.

Inside the PTJ building, Michael and his group encountered a man wearing a cap. He reprimanded them for not greeting him and moved to slap Daniel, but Vasco intercepted his wrist with a vice-like grip. The man's face turned pale as Vasco glared at him. Daniel told Vasco to let the person go.

But the man didn't back down, he grabbed Duke's ear, drawing blood. Vasco's rage erupted, but before he could act, a kick struck the man's face with blinding speed, sending him crashing into a wall.

Everyone turned to see Michael lowering his leg. His expression remained calm as he walked toward Crystal, who had just arrived.

"Well, what a surprise, Crystal. What are you doing here?"

Crystal jumped in surprise. "Oh, it's you, Michael. You scared me!" She laughed nervously. "Someone invited me here. Want to tag along?"

Michael, not needing any further invitation, tagged along. Together, they entered a large room filled with important people, including DG. Crystal had a seat near the group, and Michael casually sat beside her on the sofa. As she adjusted herself, he took off his jacket and placed it gently on her lap, covering her legs, as she was wearing a skirt.

DG, noticing Michael's calm demeanor, tried to offer his own jacket but he was too late. The entire room watched as DG awkwardly cleared his throat, attempting to regain control of the conversation.

The PTJ president asked DG to introduce Crystal, to which DG reluctantly complied. When asked about the relationship between Crystal and Michael, Crystal calmly stated, "Michael is my friend," which didn't seem to satisfy anyone in the room.

Then DG casually mentioned that Crystal was the daughter of the chairman of the HNH Group, a prominent business conglomerate. While Michael appeared unfazed by the revelation, everyone else in the room was shocked by this connection.

After the meeting, the group exited the room, leaving Crystal, DG, and Gun behind for further discussions. Michael, who had been listening passively, walked outside of the building and aftera while found himself face-to-face with Gun, who had been standing nearby.

Gun eyed Michael with curiosity. "I think I know you. Have we met before?" he asked.

Michael raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "Do I know you?" he replied coolly.

Gun smirked, "You've got one job here. Can you fight?" His gaze turned calculating as he observed Michael.

Without warning, Michael's eyes briefly flashed red, and Gun's grin widened. "Well, you're interesting," he said. "Go with Crystal to where they're shooting Aru's photos. I have something to handle."

Michael, not particularly interested in the request but willing to follow for Crystal's sake, shrugged and walked away with her.

When they reached the warehouse, Michael was standing Inside, Crystal, Vasco, Lasol, Oliver, Duke, Daniel, and Joy were gathered. They say a person was taking Aru naked pics. Lasol held a recording device that contained proof of illegal dealings within PTJ. She revealed it was the only evidence they had.

"Such an idiot," Michael muttered to himself, realizing the gravity of the situation. The door to the warehouse was slammed shut, and things quickly escalated when Gun and Goo stormed in, attacking everyone in sight.

The fighting intensified. As chaos erupted, Michael saw a man in a cap trying to destroy an iPod. He acted swiftly, stopping the man's foot with a precise strike. A fist, faster than the eye could follow, landed on the cap guy's face, knocking him back.

Michael stood there, expressionless, as he folded his sleeves. Blood stained his hands. The gangsters, realizing they were facing someone far more dangerous than they had anticipated, backed off in fear. But Michael, undeterred, moved with cold precision, taking down one opponent after another with overwhelming speed. His eyes flashed red again, and the entire room trembled under the weight of his power.

After the brutal clash, the room fell silent. Every gangster lay unconscious, their blood staining the floor. Only two people remained conscious—the PTJ president and Aru's boyfriend.

It wasn't long before Charles Choi entered the room. His presence was commanding, and DG followed closely behind. Together, they took control of PTJ from President Jang.

As Michael walked out of the building, Charles caught up with him. "Hello, disciple," Charles said with a knowing smile.

Michael turned toward him, his expression cold. "So, you know," he replied.

Charles chuckled. "Who wouldn't know someone like you? Father Gabriel most precious.

Michael's eyes narrowed, and he responded, "If you're going to get in my way, I won't hesitate to act. Even if you are Father Gabriel's friend."

As he walked away, DG approached Charles. "Who is that guy?" he asked.

Charles just smiled. "Someone you should not meddle with."

DG, intrigued, couldn't help but wonder who this mysterious person was, and why even the chairman spoke of him so carefully.

The next day, news broke that PTJ was under DG's control. Students began to crowd around Daniel, eager to know what had happened, but he excused himself, revealing that he had resigned from PTJ.

That night, Michael passed by a grocery store and noticed Crystal staring at the mirror, her face etched with sadness. Then , he saw a small guy with Zoe Park though glass. Michael approached Crystal and teased, "I didn't know you were a stalker too?"

Crystal blushed, caught off guard, and denied it, but her flustered reaction made it clear that she had been caught.

She then asked, "Why did you resign from PTJ?"

Michael shrugged casually. "It didn't suit me."

Crystal gave him a blank look, uninterested. "Well, who can understand you?" she replied.