Back then, I just thought they were giving me all sorts of weird things and was stunned, but thinking about it now, I realized the system really did spit out some 'luck' for me.
Because with the way I'm barely surviving right now, I would've already ended up in the hospital if it weren't for the BoongBoong Drink.
Does it really read the future or something…?
With the Synchronization and the Stat Selection Boost ticket, my current stamina stat is C. It barely rose to C-grade, but if I didn't have a recovery item to wash away fatigue, I never would've survived this brutal schedule.
Thinking of that, I opened my status window with the intention of using a BoongBoong Drink to get through today. At the very bottom where my name and stats were written, an icon I definitely didn't have until recently was engraved.
When I tapped the emoji modeled exactly after a famous company's fatigue-recovery drink bottle, a translucent system window popped up.
『BoongBoong Drink (Remaining: 27)』
Relieves 24 hours of fatigue in 1 second!A special fatigue-recovery item that restores you to peak condition.
※ With accumulated consumption, there is a chance of side effects.
Would you like to consume one?
YES◀ / NO
I pressed YES without hesitation, and the pain in my forearm—shaking from muscle soreness just moments ago—vanished cleanly, as if washed away.
I don't know what kind of algorithm it uses, but the effect is solid. I'll give it that.
Thanks to the BoongBoong Drink, I'd been awake for almost 80 hours now. Until 6 p.m. I'd been in the practice room, and during the evening and overnight hours, I was working part-time jobs.
Even if there are side effects…
I was in no position to endure this without using the BoongBoong Drink. I needed a place to live right now in order to do anything.
I planned to push myself using the item like this for about a month. At least until
Letting out a small sigh, I rolled my neck and got my hands moving again. I had to finish this job quickly and head to the next one. I still had one more part-time shift left today.
After finishing the early-morning shift at the logistics center, I returned to the agency.
I first wrapped up the dance training scheduled for the morning, and while heading to the cafeteria for lunch, I unexpectedly ran into someone.
"Yooh-ha, hey."
"Hey, long time no see."
I greeted Hyun Ji-oh lightly as I received side dishes on my tray. His reddish-brown dyed hair was roughly pressed down under a white beanie. He naturally moved beside me and picked up his tray as well.
As we slowly slid forward together, getting rice and side dishes, Ji-oh kept glancing at me. I could feel the look, but since I stayed silent, he seemed to make up his mind and spoke to me cautiously.
"Have you… been doing okay? I heard you did well on the first mission."
Without looking at him, I answered while receiving food onto my tray.
"You know any trainees who appeared on it? The broadcast hasn't even aired yet—how'd you find out?"
"There are already spoilers everywhere. I looked some up. I was curious."
I picked up the soup bowl last and sat down. Ji-oh immediately took the seat across from me.
I looked around. The trainees who took class with me were scattered about eating, sneaking glances at us.
…Well, whatever. No reason to care.
Normally, the two of us wouldn't be sitting together like this. He was now a debuted senior idol, and I was just a trainee.
No matter how long you train together in the same practice room, once someone debuts, your worlds become completely different.
Because of that, KRM didn't like debuted idols and trainees openly showing close ties. Trainees also felt a mix of envy and resentment toward those with connections to debuted seniors.
To the trainees and company staff around us, Ji-oh and I chatting probably didn't look good at all, but honestly, I didn't care.
It wasn't like I started the conversation, and it's not like exchanging one or two sentences was enough for anyone to scold me, especially when my situation was ambiguous right now after being cast on
Come to think of it… this might be the first conversation we've had since he came back.
Ji-oh was the main vocalist of LON, the rookie idol group that KRM launched last year.
He and I joined around the same time and trained together for four years until his debut—a sort of peer.
During our trainee years, the two of us trained at similar levels and even entered the debut lineup together once.
Back then, we both aimed for the main vocalist position. Later, Ji-oh debuted smoothly and was now a well-recognized member among fans.
"I saw the support video. Tell Hangeol-hyung, Woobin-hyung, Rihito, and Nick I'm grateful."
"Nah, the company made us do it. You don't need to thank us."
When the trainee PR videos dropped a while back, the end of my video included support clips from senior idols at KRM. Among them were the LON members—people I'd practiced with.
Ji-oh looked a little awkward, so I waved it off and shifted the topic, congratulating him on his recent accomplishments.
"Bit late, but congrats on the first win. The song's good."
"Oh—thanks. We got lucky."
LON debuted in the latter half of last year and earned their first win after just a month and a half. It wasn't even a season where you could easily snag empty-house wins, but true to KRM standards, they charted instantly on 24Hits, the biggest domestic music platform, and continued performing well afterward.
They also won a few awards at year-end and New Year ceremonies.
As expected of a group KRM sharpened their blades for—success came easily for them.
Now that I think about it… didn't they have some rivalry with IDYN back then?
That thought made me recall the events from years ago. Articles comparing LON and IDYN had been pouring out when both groups made simultaneous comebacks.
One group debuted with guaranteed recognition and received overwhelming support from fans of senior groups.The other launched from a survival show with many core fans ready.
Both groups had strong backgrounds and fanbases—they were often considered rivals.
Though midway through, the IDYN members drifted apart and the gap widened…
Anyway, until the day I died, LON continued to build a brilliant career as a group that kept doing well. They never overlapped comeback periods with Lightning, so I never ran into them on music broadcasts, though.
Which meant it had been a really long time since I'd seen Ji-oh. After the regression, he was busy with LON's debut period, and afterward I was swamped preparing for
Not that trainees and debuted idols have many chances to meet, anyway.
"Yooh-ha, are you okay now?"
I was eating leisurely, lost in nostalgic thoughts, when Ji-oh put down his spoon and asked me in a hesitant voice.
"What?"
"…Your… condition."
"..."
He worded it vaguely, but it wasn't hard to understand what he meant.
He's probably asking if my mind is okay.
He must've been worried because the last time he saw me, right before debut, I'd been in terrible shape.
I stared at him without answering. I genuinely didn't know what to say.
It was only a few months ago for him, but for me… honestly, it's been years.
To be honest, I barely even remembered how I'd been back then. I only vaguely recalled that it had been hellish, and that I'd been out of my mind for months.
After I dropped out of the debut lineup due to the shock of my parents' accident, I couldn't pull myself together for a long time. The company even tacitly allowed me to stay away from practice for a while.
I didn't meet people properly, and I didn't take care of myself. For Ji-oh, the last image of me had remained frozen in that time.
—Yooh-ha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… It was supposed to be your spot…
"..."
And for some reason, he seemed to carry a strange guilt that after I fell out of the debut lineup, he debuted as LON's main vocalist.
Even though his debut was purely his own achievement and the result of his hard work.
"I'm fine."
I hesitated for a moment, but didn't add anything else. At that, Ji-oh's expression softened with relief.
We ate in silence for a while. Then Ji-oh opened his mouth again, bringing up something I hadn't expected.
"Did you hear about Mingi-hyung?"
"Oh. Yeah."
Kim Min-gi had been dismissed and forced to leave the company. He was getting older, his skills hadn't improved, and above all, he had completely failed this month's evaluation.
He just followed my past footsteps exactly.
In the past, I too had to leave KRM because I couldn't overcome my slump and depression, and because the aftereffects of my leg injury kept me from practicing enough. Comparing my current situation to his, it really felt like our fates had been swapped.
"…Honestly, I thought you were the one who'd get cut."
He blurted it out, then immediately panicked and added hurriedly, as if to defend himself.
"Ah—I didn't mean I wanted that to happen. You're really good, but… I didn't think the company would wait for you to recover. So I was worried. You know how our company is."
"…Yeah. I'm lucky I grabbed that last chance. Otherwise, like you said, I'd probably have been the one cut this time."
I answered mildly.
Ji-oh wasn't wrong. The company had really given me
KRM was an efficient agency.
They squeezed as much as they could out of fresh, marketable talent, and threw out anything whose value was fading early on.
It was why the agency was praised—and also criticized.
"…Yooh-ha, I…"
Ji-oh seemed lost in thought, rambling bits of this and that. Then he fell silent for a moment before speaking again, looking uneasy.
"…Never mind. Work hard. I'll cheer for you. I really hope you debut."
He clearly wanted to say something else, torn about whether to speak, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to say it.
It felt meaningful, but I didn't try to pry.
Too many eyes are watching.
Hearing something like that now didn't seem like a smart choice.
Company staff and trainees were everywhere. If it was something sensitive and delicate, this was the worst place to hear it.
Sometimes, not knowing is better.
With that thought, I just thanked him for the encouragement.
"I'll send you my new number. So if you ever…."
Ji-oh nodded at my words, hesitated briefly, then added one more sentence before standing up first.
"If you ever need help, just tell me, okay?"
"..."
I watched his back as he walked away, then stood up as well.
…There's definitely something he's not saying.
He must've heard something about me, enough to come find me because of it. But since he refused to say it, there was no way for me to know what it was.
What could be something he feels the need to be that cautious about?
If it was something he couldn't bring up in front of others, it had to be something related to the company.
KRM isn't planning to form a new debut lineup yet. A solo debut is impossible too.
Many agencies cut trainees early to put them into debut groups after they gain popularity through survival shows—but that wasn't something KRM would do. LON had debuted not long ago; they wouldn't debut a new group again so soon.
And they clearly weren't planning to add me to LON either. Their positions were full, and I was a trainee who had already been dropped from that lineup once.
Then what the hell is it?
I wondered, but accepted quickly that no matter how long I thought about it, I wouldn't be able to reach an answer on my own.
If something really happens, I can just ask later.
I didn't want to waste mental energy thinking about something I couldn't solve, not when I already had the bigger problem of worrying about living expenses.
As long as it's nothing harmful, it's fine. And… I haven't done anything to get on the company's bad side, so they wouldn't bother harming me anyway.
For now, that was enough.
With that, I finished my thoughts and headed to the practice room for my afternoon class.
All the while, completely unaware that this wasn't the time to be having such carefree thoughts.