Save a Failed Idol's Life

Chapter 166:

I quickly checked my status window as a sudden question popped into my mind.

[Name: Na Seon-woo – Age 21]

[Attributes]

Visual: A *(SS)

Vocal: A

Dance: B

Performance: B

Charm: A

Speech: D

[*The grade in parentheses is the grade before adjustment.]

My charm had risen from B to A after the downgrade adjustment, but my visual remained unchanged.

Why…? I had been taking care of myself and paying attention to various things as I resumed my activities, so it was natural that I had some external changes.

Ever since I started working again, there was no end to the compliments on Seon-woo’s visual, and he was still undoubtedly the most beautiful among the members.

But why was there no change in the grade? Was it affected by something other than what I saw?

Unable to shake off the question, I squinted my eyes and scrutinized Seon-woo’s face, and he tilted his head in confusion.

“Did I… do something wrong?”

Did I scare him unintentionally? I quickly shook my head.

“No, it’s not that. Let’s get ready quickly.”

I felt drained after working all day at someone else’s company building.

The best thing to do at times like this was to turn off the power and take a rest.

“Uh-huh…”

Seon-woo nodded his head and tucked himself into the blanket as if he was pushed back.

“I’m turning off the light.”

“Okay!”

We didn’t have many chances to do a photo shoot like this, except for the last jacket shooting, so Seon-woo also looked exhausted from the hard work.

“Good night, hyung.”

His faint greeting was the last thing I heard before his regular breathing filled the room.

I made sure Seon-woo was asleep and turned my body so that the phone light wouldn’t shine on him, and checked the fans’ reactions on SNS.

[- Did they go to do a reality show or to work??????????]

[- They’re having so much fun????????? It’s not fake, but real friendship that shows and it’s hilarious]

[- Oh Yi-jun is crazy?????????? Ise and Kyunghwa were taking turns covering their mouths because they wanted to laugh??????]

It wasn’t much different from the YouTube comments. I was very nervous when we were filming, wondering if Oh Yi-jun would make a mistake or cause an accident.

But after we finished, I was relieved that there were many people who liked it.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been so harsh on him…

‘No. If I hadn’t restrained him, he might have done something wrong.’

I shook my head vigorously.

I should scroll down a little more and go to sleep, I decided, and as I scrolled down, I saw something I didn’t expect.

[- The second shipment of Seumkyeong has started:) It will be delivered by next week!

[Picture]

What is this? It’s a deer-like humanoid with a very strange expression, but somehow it looks familiar. It’s not ugly, but something… It has a visual that irritates me, like poking a sore spot… It’s cute, but it also looks too gloomy, so it would be a bit scary to see it in the dark.

I clicked on it out of curiosity and it turned out to be a (deer) plushie. I knew that fans would contact factories and make their own goods, like idols.

I wondered when they started making stuffed animals.

‘This must have cost a lot of money…’

It took a lot of work to make a seal for a mass-produced bread, let alone a stuffed animal.

I went to the account that shared the news of the deer plushie and saw that there were various other dolls being made.

From human-shaped ones to animal-like ones. Some of them had already been delivered and fans were taking pictures of them in various places.

‘The dolls seem to get better treatment than people…’

I was hungry looking at the pictures of food. I wondered if there were any issues with the rights or IP, but it didn’t look like they were making much profit.

It was probably a tacit agreement to let them do it as long as they didn’t make any money, like other fan-made goods.

I went back to the original feed and met eyes with the deer plushie and I flinched without realizing it.

‘What is this… Isn’t it a bit weird for a deer? And it’s really… It makes me feel weird when I look at it…’

It was neither completely cute nor ugly, but it had a strange expression that seemed to pierce through everything, and it looked like someone I knew.

‘I want one.’

It seemed to have gained popularity with its bizarre visuals that stimulated the desire to collect, and there was an announcement that they were preparing for the second batch.

I wanted one, but… If I publicly appealed that I wanted one, it would cause a stir.

I had to wait for the next opportunity or find a way to get one without being caught.

I looked at the pictures of the deer plushie going to a spicy soup restaurant… going to a theme park… going to an aquarium… with the hashtag #deer_challenge and I yawned.

‘I should go to bed.’

Tomorrow was the first practice with the collaboration artist.

The basic concept was a prom party at the end of the year. We needed a guest to play the female protagonist who was courted by the five members at the same time.

We decided to ask Seon-yeong for help again, after considering the possibility of scandals and other problems.

Seon-woo might not be very happy to share the stage with his sister again, but… Even though she was family, we had to consider the backlash from the fandom, so the concept was closer to a running mate than a couple.

‘There’s nothing too difficult to do.’

The goal was to make the audience feel like they were invited to the stage, even though it was Seon-yeong on stage.

For now, I had to save up some energy for tomorrow. I nodded to myself, flipped my phone over, and closed my eyes.

That night. I had a nightmare for the first time in a long time.

“Ugh…”

Something huge was following me from afar. Maybe it was because I was so busy lately. I didn’t have trouble sleeping because of nightmares…

As I ran through a space where I couldn’t even tell where I was going, I suddenly wondered. What am I afraid of?

I turned around with curiosity and saw what was following me with a huge shadow.

“…!!”

Clumsy limbs. Slit eyes. A strange pupil that looked like a cat or a reptile. There were horns on its head, making it look like a dragon or a deer. The identity of the weird monster was none other than Seon-yeong.

“I… I told you I’m a deer!”

Seon-yeong, who sounded like Kyunghwa, opened her eyes wide and shouted.

“Huh… Huh… What kind of dream is this…”

Sweat was dripping from my forehead. I picked up Pposili, who was looking at me as if he was asking if I called him, from the cushion under the bed and hugged him.

“Really… It looked weird…”

It wasn’t 100% cute or 100% ugly, but it resembled Kyunghwa, so it was more impressive.

I guess having something like that at home would make me more nervous. I should give up on getting one.

I got up and went to the kitchen to drink some water, thinking that maybe my lips would shrink a bit. I saw a lump sitting on the sofa in the living room.

‘…? I don’t think there was anything like that when I came in last night…’

I drank half a cup of water and walked to the sofa without thinking.

“Pfft-! Cough, cough…”

I realized then that the lump was Seon-yeong.

“Aaaah-!”

I was so startled that I dropped the cup I was holding and the glass cup shattered on the tiled floor.

Soon, Seong-won and Kyunghwa, who were awake, came out of the bedroom, rubbing their eyes as if they were wondering what the noise was.

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

I felt like such a fool that I wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

I barely calmed down and looked at where Seon-yeong was sitting. She looked at me with a look that said she knew the truth.

That’s not a deer’s eye, no matter how you look at it.

This must be a dream too.

I ignored the broken cup and went back to the room. Seong-won and Kyunghwa looked very awkward.

‘A dream within a dream… I have to wake up…’

I was worried for a moment, but then I felt a presence behind me.

“I…”

I couldn’t turn around completely, so I slowly turned my head. And as soon as my head turned.

“I… I told you I’m a deer!!!”

“!!!”

I woke up with a start, startled by a loud scream in my ear.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

As usual, Pposili was staring at me with his head tilted, lying on my feet.

The next morning, I went to the living room with bleary eyes and saw Kyunghwa sitting on the sofa, playing with his phone.

“Are you up?”

He was holding Seumkyeong in his arms.

He must have known already. He even bought it.

I looked back and forth between Seumkyeong and Kyunghwa a few times, then pointed at Seumkyeong with my fingertip.

“Seumkyeong.”

“Huh?”

Kyunghwa asked, sounding puzzled.

“A deer… I know…”

With that, I headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

“What…? Why are you like that…?”

He muttered, looking dumbfounded, as I left him behind.

After that, I hid Seumkyeong under a cushion on the sofa, somewhere out of sight. He looked like he would haunt my dreams.

The practice schedule was from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., including lunchtime. I packed the lunch box I had prepared in advance and headed to the practice room reserved by Polaris, marching along the short but long road.

“Wow, you all did a great job!”

“Thank you!”

“Let’s try to improve the parts where the timing was a bit off before the next practice, and if you have any new ideas for the choreography or the direction, share them with each other and keep in touch more often~!! It was so much fun to see all five of you at once, it’s the first time for me too!”

Seon-yeong, who was exactly as I remembered her, spewed out a long sentence without taking a breath, showing her enthusiasm. Kyunghwa and Seong-won nodded their heads reluctantly, as if they were bored.

“Yes, thank you for today! We look forward to working with you for the rest of the schedule!”

Only Yi-jun kept his mouth alive, chattering away. Well… at this rate, the third mission should go smoothly.

Thanks to winning the first place in the second mission, I could take on the third mission without much pressure.

Compared to the stress I had during the second mission, Seon-yeong’s high tension was nothing.

There was no comparison between a friendly and communicative ally and a bunch of guys who were practically enemies and whose thoughts I couldn’t even guess.

“Well, we’ll go ahead then! See you at the next practice!”

Kyunghwa said goodbye to Seon-yeong with a desperate attempt at socializing, and we all quickly left the practice room.

“Phew…”

And at the same time, a long sigh echoed in the hallway.

“But, you know, she doesn’t mean any harm…”

Seon-woo said, looking awkward, as he hesitated. We all chimed in as we headed to the parking lot.

“I know. Don’t worry too much, she didn’t make the schedule hard for us. We’ve seen Seon-yeong before. She’s definitely skilled, so we trust her and we’re glad to have someone we can rely on by our side.”

“I think she’s kind of fun.”

“You… You’re a bit weird.”

Seon-woo’s expression brightened a bit. Well, who wouldn’t feel good when their family was praised?

As the third mission was going smoothly, I remembered the schedule I had forgotten.

[December 18th – Bravo Solo Life shooting]