The smell of death was surprisingly clinical. It smelled of ozone, bleach, and the metallic tang of blood.
Kang Jin-woo lay on the cold tiles of the dressing room floor, staring up at the flickering fluorescent lights. Outside, the roar of fifty thousand fans at the Seoul Olympic Stadium sounded like a distant ocean. They were screaming his name. They wanted an encore.
'I'm dying,' Jin-woo realized.
He was twenty-seven. He was the "King of Soloists." He was also a man who hadn't slept more than three hours a night in five years, whose diet consisted of black coffee and spite, and who had just screamed at his manager for bringing him the wrong brand of mineral water ten minutes before his heart decided to quit.
'What a joke,' he thought, his vision blurring. 'I haven't even spent half the money in my bank account yet.'
As the darkness swallowed him, a mechanical voice, cold and devoid of emotion, echoed in his mind.
[Analyzing User: Kang Jin-woo.]
[Karmic Debt: Infinite.]
[Status: Arrogance (S-Rank), Greed (A-Rank), Loneliness (MAX).]
[Opportunity detected. Rewriting the script for a 'Perfect Idol.']
"Jin-woo! Kang Jin-woo! If you're going to sleep, go to the dorm. Don't ruin the vibe for everyone else!"
A sharp kick to his shin brought Jin-woo back to the land of the living. He gasped, his lungs burning as if he'd inhaled hot coals. He sat up abruptly, his head spinning so hard he almost retched.
He wasn't in a stadium. He was in a basement.
The walls were covered in scratched mirrors and peeling soundproof foam. The air was thick with the scent of unwashed gym clothes and cheap lemon-scented floor cleaner.
"Min-ho... hyung?" Jin-woo stammered.
Standing over him was Lee Min-ho, the leader of LUSTER. He looked young-barely twenty. In Jin-woo's memory, Min-ho had quit the industry and moved to the countryside after Jin-woo had abandoned the group to go solo, effectively destroying their careers.
"Don't 'hyung' me with that attitude," Min-ho snapped, though his eyes showed more exhaustion than anger. "The debut evaluation is in two weeks. If you can't hit the high note in the bridge, the CEO is going to cut you from the lineup."
Jin-woo looked at his hands. They were thin, calloused from practice, and lacked the expensive rings he usually wore. He scrambled to his feet, but as soon as he stood, a blue holographic window translucent against the mirrors appeared before his eyes.
[System Initialized: The Health Regression System.]
[Host: Kang Jin-woo (Age 17)]
[Condition: Critical.]
[Current Stats:]
- Stamina: 3/100
- Lung Capacity: 5/100
- Immune System: 2/100
- Karmic Weight: 9,999+ (Penalty Active)
'What is this? A hallucination? Am I in a coma?' Jin-woo reached out to touch the screen, but his hand passed right through it.
"Is he having another episode?" a voice whispered from the corner.
Jin-woo turned. The other three members of LUSTER-Jun, Se-hwa, and Dong-wook-were watching him with a mix of pity and annoyance. In his past life, Jin-woo had called them "dead weight" to their faces.
"He's probably just trying to get out of the extra vocal session," Jun muttered.
Jin-woo's temper flared. 'Those brats... do they have any idea who they're talking to? I'm the one who carried the K-pop industry on my back!'
"Hey," Jin-woo growled, his voice dropping into the cold, arrogant tone that used to make CEOs tremble. "Watch your mouth before I-"
[Warning!]
[Detecting 'Hostile Arrogance' toward teammates.]
[Penalty: Stamina Regression.]
Suddenly, the strength vanished from Jin-woo's legs. It wasn't a gradual fatigue; it was as if his bones had turned to lead and his muscles to water.
Thump.
He hit the floor hard, his chin bouncing off the linoleum.
"Jin-woo!" Min-ho rushed forward, his anger instantly replaced by panic.
[Current Stamina: 1/100]
[Warning: If Stamina reaches 0, the heart will stop. Again.]
Jin-woo couldn't even lift his head. His heart was thudding weakly, a pathetic thump-thump that felt like it was struggling to push sludge through his veins. Every breath was a labor.
'I'm... I'm actually going to die,' he realized, panic finally setting in. 'Just for being a bit rude?'
[To restore Vitality, perform an act of 'Idol Humility.']
Jin-woo looked up at Min-ho, who was trying to help him sit up. The old Jin-woo would have snarled. The new Jin-woo, staring at the '1/100' blinking red in his vision, didn't have a choice.
"I'm... sorry," Jin-woo wheezed, the words feeling like acid in his mouth. "I... I've been... a jerk. Thank you for... helping me, hyung."
[Humility detected. Sincerity: 12% (Low, but acceptable).]
[Reward: +5 Stamina.]
A small spark of warmth spread through his limbs. The crushing weight on his chest lifted just enough for him to take a full breath.
Min-ho froze, his hands still on Jin-woo's shoulders. The entire room went silent.
"Did he just... apologize?" Dong-wook whispered, eyes wide. "And say thank you?"
"Maybe he really is sick," Jun added, looking genuinely concerned now. "His face is as white as a sheet."
Jin-woo leaned against the mirror, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He looked at the system window. It was still there, a cruel reminder of his new reality. He had the talent of a legend, the memories of a superstar, and the body of a Victorian child with the plague.
[Main Mission: Survive the Debut Evaluation.]
[Hidden Condition: Gain the 'Trust' of your members to unlock the 'Health Shop.']
Jin-woo closed his eyes and let out a weak, bitter laugh. He had spent his first life stepping on everyone to get to the top. Now, it seemed, he would have to spend his second life begging for their help just to stay alive.
"Fine," Jin-woo whispered to the empty air. "You want a 'Perfect Idol'? I'll give you the best performance of your life. Just... stop trying to kill me for five minutes."
[Next Mission: Clean the practice room mirrors. Reward: +2% Lung Capacity.]
Jin-woo looked at the wall-to-wall mirrors covered in smudges. Then he looked at his trembling hands.
This was going to be a long decade.