Save a Failed Idol’s Life

#031. Something that is not natural

After the live broadcast, everyone was exhausted, and thanks to the diligent cleaning of the kitchen during the broadcast, there was nothing to clean up.

“Ugh~. It’s been a while, so I’m very nervous.”

Yejun stretched out his long limbs and made a strange noise.

Normally, Seongwon would have uttered vicious remarks such as ‘Do you talk about tension with a single cell-like intelligence?’.

However, Seongwon seemed tired as well, and his mouth was tightly closed as if it had been zipped up.

“I had a lot of fun…! It’s been a while since I talked with the fans….” 

It wasn’t something that a guy could have said who didn’t know what to do with mean comments before I used the buff skill. 

“Hey, you…” 

“That’s enough. It would be enough if it went well. It’s a relief that you look fine, too.”

Seongwon was about to say something but was stopped by Kyunghwa. I had the same thought.

There was no need to tell this guy how much I was worried about the side effects.

It’s up to me to decide whether to accept the side effects. It was enough for this guy to have only good memories and positive experiences.

It’s just a little… He’s so excited that other guys might think he was eating something wrong?

‘Anyway, if you’re satisfied, that’s all that matters.’

Everyone knew the insensitive words poured out at Sunwoo were not entirely aimed at Sunwoo. 

Anyone could enter the position of Sunwoo. What if Sunwoo didn’t have a striking body shape?

Seongwon’s not positive attitude, Yejun’s lightness, Kyunghwa’s consciousness of progress, and my past (a car accident, to say the least) should have been caught.

‘It’s fortunate that the atmosphere changed quickly.’

Haters gonna hate. No matter what we do, they hate those who hate.

Even those who like us say ‘advice’ or ‘joking’ and say hurtful words.

First of all, I should be grateful that more blatant and direct insults about body shape haven’t been posted.

‘No. Is this something to be thankful for?’

The fever spread without my knowledge, but it was already past. It was unavoidable since it was a job that made a living through showmanship.

Even if it can’t be helped, I don’t want to take it for granted. I sighed and backed up my chat logs.

“But it hit 5,000 at the end.”

Kyunghwa sighed in relief as he captured the recorded broadcast screen.

Considering the increased number of followers and interest, it was regrettable, but… about Climax, it wasn’t the time to discuss it now.

“How many viewers did we turn on the live broadcast last time?” 

I should have asked in advance. When I asked Kyunghwa briefly, Kyunghwa answered by removing the camera phone from the tripod.

“I think there were about 720 people.”

If I think about it, it really improved a lot. 

It was a really disastrous number considering that other idols’ live broadcasts reached 30,000 or 100,000 even if they weren’t good enough.

There is no proper performance, and even that is on a downward trend as the years pass—failed idol. 

It was a level where you couldn’t tell someone that if they worked hard like this and had hope, one day they would see the light.

‘The day will come when you will rise too. It’s enough to make it feel sorry for even cheering on.’

A person who has tasted success properly can stand up again after a few failures. 

I was like that when I was Lim Hyunseong.

The members who endured this far without even having a proper experience of achievement suddenly seemed amazing.

‘Of course, to put it bluntly, they’re still cowards because they don’t have the confidence to do better just because they’re kicked out of here.’

But at the same time, they were also gems that could shine even brighter if polished and polished well.

Even for my revenge, you guys should cheer up. I smiled lightly and proposed to the members.

“I’m going to order delivery food. Is there anything you want to eat?”

Then everyone’s eyes were wide open.

“Are we going to order delivery food? Hyung is not going to do it?”  

First of all, Sunwoo looked at me brightly with a drooling expression.

My face is going to get pierced.

“I am exhausted and have no energy to do anything. And chicken and pizza are better to order than to make them at home.”

“Then I am chicken!”

Sunwoo’s eyes lit up like a whining puppy with a snack in front of him.

“You only eat oven-baked. Peel off the skin and only the flesh.”

“Yes!” 

After removing all the oily parts, isn’t it pretty similar to the chicken breast? 

It was hard to understand why he was so excited, but I didn’t eat chicken, and this guy couldn’t. 

Of course, the desire for chicken was bound to be different.

“Think of today as a cheat day.”

Even though they might think it’s a bit too tight for a cheat day.

I asked Kyunghwa to order two chickens, two large pizzas, and two pastas.

I had been full for quite some time when I finally pushed the junk food down my throat and pulled the cookie dough out of the oven. 

It was a visual that didn’t have much expectation of who put it in or made it. Some were even like charcoal.

“Wow, this is really a food waste.”

Yejun’s strangely excited voice made me nag.

“What do you like? It will go into your mouth from now on.”

“What? If I eat something like this, I will get sick!”

Even though he’s not a child, he’s eating pizza and chicken and making a fuss, which is just embarrassing. 

“Enough. I’ll wash up and go to bed early. You guys should clean it quickly and go to sleep too. Sunwoo, stop eating now.”

“Eung! I’ll go with you and brush my teeth.” 

Sunwoo, who was eating the chicken Kyunghwa and I gave him, nodded as he ate the leftover salad to fill his stomach. 

I will let Lim Hyunseong think about what happened later. Lim Hyunseong now had only a desire to rest his head. 

Standing side by side with Seonwoo, I brushed my teeth, took a light shower in turn, and each of us lay down on the bed.

When I turned off the light, I saw a stain on the ceiling wall that I hadn’t seen before.

Looking closely, it was a star-shaped glow-in-the-dark sticker mark.

‘Is it a trace left by the previous owner of the house, or…’

Cheon Yise had never lived in this house since the beginning. Then the two members who left—was it Junghyun? It is possible that it was a trace left by that person.

‘Either way, it’s none of my business, but….’

Falling asleep while looking at a star that seemed out of reach wasn’t much different from my current situation. 

A distant goal that I don’t know whether it’s a trap or hope, which I think I’ll be caught if I stretch out a little more.

If I succeed as an idol, can I get revenge? Perhaps, the system only plays with me. 

For a while, worry rushes in. Woof–! Somewhere, I heard the barking of Pposil.

‘Don’t be suspicious?’

When I laughed in a loud, choppy way, Pposil barked again with just the sound. 

Yeah, for now, there is no other way but to believe. Then Sunwoo came into the bedroom.

As I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, Sunwoo tossed and turned for a long time, touching my nerves.

‘Ugh, please go to sleep!’

I was about to get up and nag, but I stopped because I thought that guy would be in a complicated state of mind today too.

Does he think it’s a miracle to overcome the negative comments today?

Or did he gain the courage to believe that he could overcome it by working hard like this in the future? 

Since I am not Sunwoo, it was an area that I would never know unless I asked myself.

As I forced myself to close my eyes, I soon fell asleep. It was the end of a long day.

* * *

As soon as the first live broadcast was over, things like ‘idol’ started to happen in earnest. Chun Yise was invited to make an appearance for the first time.

Of course, it was a short 20-minute guest appearance at the invitation of all members of the Climax, but that alone was a good thing.

‘It’s just a radio interview… Even when I was Lim Hyunseong, I appeared several times.’ 

It’s not like I don’t know the broadcasting ecosystem well, and it’s not my first time doing it, so I didn’t worry much.

Until I heard who the host of the program was.

“It seems that Yoogun really likes you. He wants you to be invited as a guest at least once.” 

What? Was it that guy? 

Everyone had high hopes for the group schedule, which came after a long time, but it turned out to be like a balloon that had been popped.

No, there is one. Where is it? I came to my senses with a slap on the cheek. 

After the storm-like interest that seemed like a midsummer night’s dream subsided, the number of followers remaining was around 320,000.

‘When there were a lot of people, I even took pictures of 330,000….’

Was it not as exciting as you expected? After unfollowing and unfollowing continued to fight, it settled at 320,000 people. 

Even if not all of these people were our fans, there would have been a possibility of becoming a fan.

So let’s not be so happy. I swept my heart thinking about the reaction to the live broadcast, which wasn’t as good as I thought.

In order to attract fans in earnest, I had to keep showing something.

What kind of charms do we have, and what sense of accomplishment can we get if they continue to watch over us?

‘If I think so, well— a radio appearance would be a good promotion, too.’

Even though it wasn’t a place I was interested in, I had to be thankful that they called me anyway. 

“But what are we doing? No new songs have been released yet.”

Yejun yawned so hard that his mouth was about to split open. He then asked with an innocent look on his face. 

“Well, they must have talked about salads and cooking live broadcasts that have been a hot topic. The live broadcast clip appeared to be popular and was widely circulated.” 

I knew that too. There weren’t that many viewers at the moment, so I didn’t expect it to spread again.

The scene where Yejun and Kyunghwa fight or Yejun makes a mess of dough becomes a hot topic. 

‘Now, all that’s left to do is turn the people who follow us into fans since we’re good at what we do and people are interested in what we do.’

The radio appearance is next week. Until then, I had to come up with ideas for what to do on the radio.

Of course, confirming the lyrics for the single for the comeback was something that had to be done at the same time.

I finished arranging and writing the lyrics within this week. I need to find a choreographer soon and outsource it.

It was to the point where even ten bodies were not enough to handle the work that I had been an outsider to.

According to the original procedure, the company should have taken care of it, but—.

Since I said I would do it myself, there were a pile of things that I had to do with my own hands.

‘I can do well. I’ll do well.’

After wrapping it up in my head for a few days and repeating it to myself like a mantra, I succeeded in finalizing the lyrics with three days left before appearing on the radio. 

“It’s done!”

It was the best result that the members and I came up with after wrapping our heads through countless rounds of voting and editing.

‘This is honestly as good as most professional lyricists.’

Is it because you put too much time and energy into it? Confidence welled up. Not sure whether there was a basis or not.

Then came the moment to overcome another hurdle.

“Now that the lyrics work is over….” 

“I’ll have to split the part.”

Seongwon intervened like a ghost. The guy who never spoke first, except when fighting, didn’t miss the timing.

It’s natural for the main vocalist to take the most difficult and attention-grabbing part, but—.

The problem was me.

Son Seongwon or Na Sunwoo? 

It was because I hadn’t decided who to put in the center yet.