Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: Floor 22: I'm Going to Be an Idol! "Hoo... System? Is there... anything else?"
Silence.
As expected, this Tower is so, so unhelpful. From now on, I have to figure everything out myself.
I looked around. The studio-like room was completely empty. The only thing I could see was a single, ordinary smartphone.
When I opened the phone, I was finally able to get a clear grasp of the situation.
My name was the same, Lee Do-hee. Age 20.
This was a cramped room in a student district in Sillim-dong, Seoul, Korea, in the year 2025.
'It feels different, yet the same.'
It was like I'd gone back more than ten years in time.
Everything looked similar, but small details like people's names were different. The general atmosphere felt like Earth, but without the Tower.
'The Middle East is still at war, China is under a dictatorship... America's president is causing a stir, but this was the peak of the Hallyu wave's popularity.'
"I think I've got the gist of it. So, what should I do first? Anyone know?"
I asked, casually looking at the chat window.
- You have to get into an agency to debut. - First, go sell yourself and move out. Look at this dump. - Go practice singing and dancing. - Build up a following as a YouTuber and then join a girl group. - Let's go do adult streams! - Just earn your own money, create a girl group, and put yourself in it. - Stop with the weird advice. Practicing singing and dancing and getting into a famous agency is the most realistic option.
As usual, most of the viewers' advice was not to be trusted.
'Singing and dancing... First, I should try singing to get used to the songs of this world.'
In my experience, singing in a cramped room in a student district like this would get me kicked out.
I left the house and went into a nearby karaoke booth.
"The songs... are the same? The lyrics and pitch are slightly different, but the vibe is similar, so they should be easy to learn."
It was as if they had plagiarized the songs from my world just enough to not get sued. The titles and lyrics were similar but slightly different, while the melodies were almost identical.
It was to the point that if I just sang the songs from my reality, it would sound like a cover arrangement.
First things first, since I was at a karaoke place, I decided to test my singing skills.
'Come to think of it, I've never been to karaoke since I got this body.'
I sang
*
Dadadadam!!
[Wow~ You could be a singer!! 91 points!!]
"It says I could be a singer with this score, right?"
- As if. - Why's that machine the same as the ones back home? lol - Karaoke machines are the same everywhere lol
Next up was dancing.
I put on a song with a girl group music video and copied the moves on the screen.
"Hup, hup...! Yah!"
I could feel my flexible body moving in perfect sync with the rhythm. What's more, I had great stamina, so I didn't get tired!
'Analyzing movements is my specialty!'
"This is pretty good, isn't it?"
- lololololol - You're so damn stiff. - The moves are right, but... - It looks like they motion-captured you and put it on a cheap robot. - Are you a robot? - You suck. - I thought you were practicing martial arts, not dancing. - Jiggle~ Jiggle~ - It's so absurd I have to laugh. - Are you practicing how to shake your boobs or something?
"..."
Apparently not. It was clear that simply copying the movements wasn't enough to capture the feel of an idol's dance.
'If I just practice mindlessly, I'll really be stuck here for a year. I need to come up with a better plan.'
It was time for a strategic approach.
I spent the rest of the day until sunset singing various famous songs once or twice before heading home. In my tiny room, I planned with my viewers, mulling things over until I fell asleep in the early morning.
*
The next day.
Now that I had a decent grasp of this world, I headed back to the karaoke booth.
And I put the song recommended to me late last night,
An intense beat with refreshing lyrics.
And powerful choreography!
My vocals were somewhat listenable, but the dancing was the problem, so I chose a song with a lot of powerful movements instead of fluid ones.
- Aaaargh, stop!! - Why does this bitch keep singing only this song? - Lee Do-hee, the destroyer of original songs.
There was a reason I was doing something so bizarre.
The strategy that emerged after racking my brain with the viewers last night was...
Getting carried.
This trial had a loophole. The music charts, the awards, the Hail Dome performance—none of it had to be done alone. It had to be achieved as a group.
So, what was the answer?
'I just need to get picked as the visual for a talented, successful group and ride their coattails! That's the plan!'
Honestly, it was impossible for me to reach their level of skill. It wasn't a matter of pure talent. It was just... a difference in training time. Probably...?
On my first day at the karaoke booth, I had objectively assessed this body's talent for singing and dancing with my viewers.
My dancing was stiff, like I was performing martial arts forms, and I used too much force. On top of that, my chest and hips were so big that my dance lines just didn't look pretty.
My singing tone was nice, but it lacked any emotion, and my high notes were mediocre. I was basically just an average person with a slightly nice voice.
But I wasn't one to give up here.
To get carried, I absolutely had to debut in a girl group from a major company. If I actually got into an agency and received expensive training, my talent wasn't so bad that I couldn't debut on my looks alone. So, to get chosen as a trainee, I was drilling this one song to death.
To pass the initial document screening for most agencies, you need a short video of yourself singing and dancing for about one to two minutes. That's what I was filming now, repeating the same song over and over.
'Practice. Only practice will save me.'
I could use the skip function to get through the practice, but my growth was faster when I danced myself, getting feedback from the viewers who claimed to be active trainers, rather than just skipping.
For reference, using the skip function switches the view to third-person, and I can adjust the speed as I like. Also, the skip automatically cancels if an incident or event occurs.
*
A week passed like that.
Excluding skips, it took me four days to perfect one song.
"Hoo... I think this is the best take. Should we watch it together?"
I watched the video of myself singing and dancing. In the video, it looked like I had at least put in some practice.
"This is watchable, right?"
- Haaa... - It's something, that's for sure. - It's not too late. Go sell your body, make some money, and start your own agency. - It's definitely more watchable than the first day, but... - Still stiff. - Armpit-cam ON. - For real, her body is stiff but only her chest is jiggling softly, it's kinda bizarre. - Do something about that jiggly chest!
"Hey, I'm wearing compression bandages and a sports bra, and they still shake! What more do you want me to do?!"
In the video, I had genuinely reduced my chest size as much as possible. I thought I was going to suffocate while filming that.
- Just leave it. There might be a demand for that too. - That really is as small as they'll get. - The baby's gonna starve, Do-hee. - If it was just one size smaller, it'd be perfect. - You think there's a demand for that? The idol scene over there is dominated by female fans.
In the idol world, where female fans were the majority, having a large chest wasn't an advantage. If it was moderately large, it could go viral and attract male fans, but when it was as extreme as mine, it would drive away the female fans you already had.
'But still, I have to do this.'
Just in time, several large idol agencies were holding group auditions. If I missed this chance, I didn't know when the next one would come.
I applied to the major agencies first, then went back to living in the karaoke booth day and night.
I had about 5 million won in my bank account, so I could practice without worrying about money. I ate the food from my inventory and, without skipping, put in blood, sweat, and tears into my practice.
My strengths were my stamina and perseverance.
With my tireless energy, I practiced the choreography, correcting each and every posture.
'Even if the goal of becoming an idol is weird, I'll give it my all...'
I picked out viewers who provided real credentials as active vocal and dance trainers and continued to practice based on their advice.
As I danced and sang alone in the karaoke booth every day, I became something of a celebrity, and people started to gather to watch.
"Wow... look at that. She's killer."
"Hey, you'll get reported."
"What? I'm just seeing her as I pass by~"
A crowd of onlookers, mostly young male students, began to grow.
'Onlookers, whatever...'
Tens of thousands of people were watching me on my broadcast every day. What were a few male students?
I mostly ignored them and focused only on practice. I repeated it over and over.
*
Another two weeks passed.
It was finally time for my first audition.
The time had come to reap the rewards of my painstaking practice. Besides the song for the document screening, I had also prepared about three other idol-like songs. Although the quality was quite poor, I couldn't just say, "I don't know it. I won't do it," at the audition, could I?
"You can look forward to it, right?"
- You think? lol - Let's just get this over with. - But this bitch's perseverance is insane. How does she do nothing but eat and practice? - Which agency are you auditioning for this time?
Just then, the bus arrived in front of the YM Entertainment building.
"Where is this, you ask? It's one of the top three entertainment agencies in Korea! YM!!!"
"Mom, that lady over there is weird."
"Surely a fat woman like that isn't auditioning with us, right?"
That's right.
Me, Lee Do-hee. Believe it or not, I passed the first round of document screening.
For my experience, I lied and said I had been practicing on my own for six months. The viewers had chided me, saying I'd never get picked if I was honest about practicing for only two weeks, so I changed it.
Still, the fact that I passed the first round so easily must mean that the practice video I'd focused on for a week was effective.
This was the power of selection and concentration.
'I have to get into a place that'll pick me for my face. Especially a major company.'
As I was thinking about latching onto a successful girl group and riding their coattails, I found myself in the audition waiting room.
There was a diverse group of people waiting. From elementary school students to adults over 20, everyone seemed to be steeling their resolve.
Time passed, and it was my turn. When I went inside, a camera was rolling, and two middle-aged men and a beautiful woman who looked like a former idol were sitting there.
"Next is number 22, Lee Do-hee, correct...?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm... Her body proportions are really..."
"She's bigger than I thought."
"And her age is a bit high..."
They were talking trash right in front of me before I even started, but there was nothing I could do right now.
'Just you wait. When I become a top idol, I'll use this as an anecdote!'
If anything, it fueled my determination.
They had me dance, sing, and even do a weird voice impression before the audition ended.
"Um... Ms. Lee Do-hee, may I be frank?"
"...Yes!!"
"Your body is completely unbalanced, and your dancing didn't look like idol choreography but more like some traditional African dance. It was too stiff to have any feel to it. As for your vocals, besides your tone, there was nothing noteworthy... and at 20, you're already on the older side, so it would be difficult to pick you unless you have the skills to debut immediately."
After he finished, the former idol judge continued.
"May I say something as well? Ms. Lee Do-hee, you have no expression when you dance. It makes your already stiff dancing look even more rigid. And... haa... it's difficult to be an idol with a body like that. In the video, I thought you were wearing shapewear, but I never imagined it was the opposite... And you don't really have any charm. You've never tried to act cute for a guy, have you?"
I was reeling from the judges' brutal honesty.
"Th-that's..."
"I don't know why you want to be an idol, but you're not suited for it at all. If you want to be a celebrity, why not try acting or modeling instead? If you'd like to go that route, I'm willing to offer some support. But you are absolutely not idol material."
'Absolutely not...'
I was kicked out with my heart wounded.
'Right, that's one of the famous top three agencies. I didn't expect to get in on the first try.'
I wasn't one to give up here.
I practiced again, filmed another video, and applied for more auditions.
I applied to other major agencies, but I was rejected again.
"Hahaha... I never thought I'd get into places like that anyway. Besides, even if you become a trainee there, you have to compete to get into the debut lineup, right? It takes too much time."
I lowered my sights a little and applied to solid mid-tier agencies.
But I was rejected from all of them as well.
I lowered my sights even further and applied to any agency that seemed decent, but the result was the same.
"Why...? No, how?"
Two months.
Skipping the unnecessary parts, I had practiced non-stop for two weeks and gone to every single audition there was.
For some reason, I always passed the first document screening but failed every single time at the second-round interview.
- It's because when they see your real boobs, they're speechless. - For real, seeing your K-cups in person after watching the compression bandage video is overwhelmingly impressive.
Their reasons for rejection varied.
"Your figure... it seems like it would be difficult for you to be an idol."
"Your skills are too mediocre. It's hard to find a reason to pick you."
"Your age... I think you're past the point of playing idol."
"Besides your face... everything else is weird..."
Age, skill, body...
Most of them rejected me, saying these three things made me unfit to be an idol. Some criticized me to my face, and some even subtly sexually harassed me.
'Damn them. I'll succeed, no matter what.'
[We are unable to have you join us...]
[Thank you for participating in the audition. However...]
I opened my phone to a flood of countless rejection messages.
"Sigh... Still, it's not like I applied to brand-new or crappy little agencies..."
I was scrolling through the messages without much expectation.
Then, one particular message caught my eye.
[Hello, Ms. Lee Do-hee. This is Manager Kim Myung-hoon from Aurora Entertainment, in charge of the group Serenia. I was wondering if you would be available for a private meeting.]
"Huh...? Aurora Entertainment?"
I remembered it as an ambiguous agency, somewhere between mid-tier and small. The judges' expressions hadn't been great, so I'd assumed I'd be rejected and hadn't paid it much mind.
A quick search revealed that Aurora Entertainment's girl group, Serenia, had already debuted as a four-member group.
'They're a group that's already debuted, so why are they contacting me?'
What's more, it wasn't an acceptance letter for the audition, but an invitation for a private meeting.
'This... the location for this private meeting isn't some shady motel, is it?'
I was a little suspicious, but I had already been rejected from every other audition. Looking at the audition schedule for next month, there wasn't a single major or mid-tier company.
'Skipping through the training period is an option, but I should at least meet him first.'
And so, I scheduled a meeting with Manager Kim Myung-hoon of Aurora Entertainment.
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