Save a Failed Idol’s Life

I was kicked out of Seong-won’s room, so I started to get ready to leave on my own.

As I entered the room that I shared with Seon-woo, I saw the cosmetics on the dresser.

‘I used to wonder why these guys put on so much makeup…’

I remembered the scolding I got from the makeup staff when I appeared on the radio last time.

‘Lotion… I should at least find some lotion and apply it.’

I recalled that Seon-woo said it was okay to use his cosmetics until he bought new ones, so I looked for some lotion.

Emulsion, skin, cleansing water, night pack. They all looked similar, but had different names.

Which one is lotion? I had never used anything other than an all-in-one product, so I didn’t know what to apply.

‘This one looks harmless…’

I found a cream that said it was for the basic step of skin care on the back, and squeezed some on the back of my hand.

“What is this?”

The cream was not white or transparent, but had a pinkish hue.

[Waterful Tone Up Base Cream]

Can I apply this? Is this not something weird that I have to wipe off later?

I had never put anything on my face except for this one thing that was the end! The men’s cosmetic! That was advertised, or sunscreen. This was an unknown territory for me.

I had no choice but to ask Seong-won for help, even though I knew I would look stupid.

“Come out for a second.”

I knocked on the door with the hand that didn’t squeeze the cream, and Seong-won glared at me with a neat outfit.

“Why?”

He was the kind of guy who would hover around me when he wanted to pick a fight, but wouldn’t do the opposite. He was so biased.

“Can I put this on my face and go?”

I showed him the tube-shaped product that I took from Seon-woo’s dresser, and Seong-won frowned.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Well, I’m going to do makeup again later, and I don’t know if I can apply this.”

“This is a base. Do you need it?”

“Isn’t it a basic? Can’t I apply it? What’s the difference between basic and base?”

Basic = Base, right?

Seong-won looked suspicious, as if he had eaten something wrong, but I couldn’t help it.

I couldn’t understand what they were saying even if I searched it.

“Just apply some lotion.”

Anyway, it was clear that this was not lotion.

“Okay.”

I nodded and went back to my room. I threw away the cream that I had squeezed on the back of my hand in the trash can, feeling sorry.

Then what should I apply? Should I call Seon-woo and ask him? I was wondering when bang bang bang, the manager knocked on the door.

“Come out quickly!”

I had no choice. I’ll have to ask Seon-woo what to buy and learn from him next time. I hurried to the front door.

“Yes, I’m going!”

“Hurry up and come down. I’ve got a car waiting for you downstairs.”

I grabbed my phone and followed the manager outside.

“What kind of show is this? Are we going to the salon?”

“No, the staff will come to the cast waiting room right away. We don’t have time to stop by the salon. I haven’t even received the script yet. I’ll give it to you as soon as I get it at the station.”

Seong-won clicked his tongue and sat in the inner seat of the minivan, looking displeased. I had been to the cast waiting room a few times, too.

‘It’s my first time going there as Cheonise.’

When I was a food business owner, Lim Hyun-seong, my appearance was not that important.

It’s not like I was a celebrity, but I had a decent face for a general expert.

Thanks to that, I received only the basic level of care from the expert panels and headed straight to the set.

‘This time, I’m an idol who needs to care about my appearance…’

I had to be alert, because I didn’t know when and where a hidden trouble would pop up.

If I was accompanied by someone like Kyunghwa, who was experienced in improvising, or Yejun, who was good-natured, it would be different.

But with someone like Son Seong-won, who was hardly cooperative, it was even more so.

“I’ll park and come, so you guys go to the security first and ask them to guide you to the <School Kitchen Attack> waiting room.”

As soon as Seong-won and I got off the car at the entrance of the station, I looked at him.

“What are you doing, hurry up.”

Seong-won didn’t seem familiar with this either, as it was his first time coming here without a manager.

It was not much different from when I was Lim Hyun-seong, until I got to the waiting room. I walked briskly inside and got a visitor’s necklace.

“You put it on, too.”

I handed one of the two I received to Seong-won and looked for the number I was told, and took the elevator up.

There were more familiar faces today than when I was on the radio, maybe because it was a busy day for broadcasting.

Of course, I didn’t have any real acquaintance. They were celebrities that I had seen a few times on TV.

“There it is.”

I was talking to myself, saying do this, do that, there it is, while following Seong-won, who was silent. It was a bit awkward.

Seong-won nodded his head and read the name tag that said <School Kitchen Attack Celebrity Panel Waiting Room>.

Does that mean there are also non-celebrity cast members, if it’s a celebrity panel waiting room?

I was thrown into this situation without even hearing what kind of program I was going to be on.

‘Is School Kitchen Attack a cooking show? I would have known if it was any cooking show.’

I was the most famous among the food business owners who also did broadcasting.

If they were planning to do a new cooking show, they would have contacted me before I died.

‘I’ll search it in detail when I have time.’

I knocked lightly on the door and entered, and there was only one young-looking makeup staff who was unpacking.

“Are you the cast members of Climax? Please sit here.”

She looked like she was in college. She looked too young to carry that heavy makeup box by herself.

“Are we the only two celebrities today?”

I asked the makeup staff as I looked down at her, and she nodded cheerfully.

“Yes! The rest are preparing in the non-celebrity waiting room.”

Huh? I still couldn’t figure out what kind of show they were trying to do.

“Are you Seong-won and Ise? There are costumes hanging over there, so change behind that curtain and come out.”

The staff who had set up the tools on the shelf in front of the mirror pointed to the hangers.

There were our names on each of the hangers covered with vinyl.

“You go change first.”

It would have been easier to just go in and change together, but that sensitive brat wouldn’t allow it.

Seong-won turned his head briefly and answered for me, then took his share of the hanger and went behind the curtain.

There was a rustling sound for a while, as if he was removing the vinyl cover, and then it became quiet.

“What’s wrong, is something wrong?”

I called out from outside, feeling curious, and Seong-won answered in a shaky voice.

“No, nothing!”

What do you mean nothing? It seemed like something was wrong.

There was a sound of clothes brushing against each other, and soon Seong-won came out with a flushed face like a ripe ruby.

‘Why is he so embarrassed?’

I scanned Seong-won’s outfit from head to toe and began to understand.

The outfit was a mix of a sky-blue checkered uniform and a lace apron, which looked like something elementary students would wear for a contest.

“…Sigh.”

“Don’t laugh. You have to wear it too.”

Seong-won snorted and turned his head.

“Seong-won, please sit here after you change.”

The staff laughed lightly and took Seong-won to the mirror. Meanwhile, the manager came in and opened the door.

“Oh, you started preparing?”

The manager looked more exhausted than usual, as if he was busy.

“Yes. Seong-won changed first and is getting ready.”

“You change quickly and come out too. You study the script while Seong-won is getting ready.”

“Okay.”

I obediently took the hanger and went behind the curtain. When I removed the cover, I saw the same design of the outfit that Seong-won had received.

‘Is this… some kind of punishment outfit?’

I touched the frill on the sky-blue checkered jacket with a stiff expression.

I didn’t understand why this outfit was necessary for a cooking show.

But as Cheonise, I had to do things that I didn’t understand. I had no choice but to do it even if I didn’t understand.

When I changed and looked in the mirror, I saw myself in a dress that would be embarrassing anywhere.

“Give me the script.”

I shamelessly asked the manager for the script.

“Just skim through it. It’s not going to be exactly as it is, and you and Seong-won will split it anyway.”

When I looked at the script that the manager handed me, it was written with Kang Yugeon in mind.

[School Kitchen Attack]

K-POP stars challenge to develop school meal menus! My star’s menu is on our school tray? A delicious collaboration between stars and student fans!

K-POP makes money, huh. They do everything.

As with any food development show, the general menu was already decided. 

The rest was a plan where the cast would just add a little bit of their own ideas and make it in time.

[Today’s planned menu]

[Samgyetang]

Samgyetang in school meals… Usually, samgyetang means pouring chicken broth over pre-cooked chicken legs.

A proper samgyetang would have glutinous rice inside, but… It was too hard to do that with mass cooking.

The basic recipe that was commonly used in school meals was provided, and the rest of the ingredients were prepared for the cast to add their own ideas and complete it in time.

The expert judges and the invited student evaluators would decide the final pass or fail.

‘That’s pretty serious, huh?’

I went back to the cover of the script and checked the number of episodes.

[Episode 1]

That makes sense. I wondered why I didn’t hear any news. I died before they started the serious casting.

When I was Lim Hyun-seong, I never thought I would appear as a challenger, not a judge or a teacher, on a cooking show.

‘I should think of this as a good experience and do my best.’

I made up my mind and skimmed through the script.

“Now, Ise, please sit here.”

By then, Seong-won had finished his simple makeup and hair styling and got up from his seat.

His clothes were quite… childish, but his face was so handsome that he still looked infuriating.

“Give it to me, the script.”

“I’ll give it to you even if you don’t say that.”

I made a clacking sound as I handed the script to Seong-won’s palm and sat in his seat.

“Thank you.”

I applied the thing that Seon-woo gave me last night before bed, though I didn’t know what it was. I hope I don’t get scolded like last time.

As I was nervous, the staff dabbed a wet sponge on my face.

“Ise, you should pay more attention to your exfoliation. It’s not serious, but if you don’t moisturize enough, your skin will get wrinkled.”

“Ah, yes…”

I finally heard another remark. I’ll have to ask Seon-woo to buy me something when he comes back today. I nodded lightly and coughed.

***

About 30 minutes later, the staff who had finished everything tapped my shoulder.

“Done! Wow, you two are idols, so you’re like eye candy. I’ll go to the set first. See you soon!”

With a hearty laugh, all the preparations were over. 

Now it was time to stand in front of the camera with nowhere to hide.