Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

“Yohan was a perfect scorer in the college entrance exam two years ago, and he’s also the top student in S University’s Business Administration Department.”

College entrance exam perfect scorer? S University?

Why on earth was he here?

It wasn’t just me who thought that as the trainees let out a collective “Wow…” in admiration.

“Life is really unfair.”

“Seriously… he’s got both good looks and brains.”

It’s clear that their reactions were genuine, not just for the cameras.

“But your training period is only around two months… It’s quite a short time to learn anything substantial from your agency. You’re 21 now. Why suddenly become an idol?”

Despite the sharp question, Yohan answered with composure.

“I think there’s no age limit to pursuing your dreams.”

He was so relaxed. He seemed like someone who’d pass a university interview as long as he didn’t curse the interviewer.

If an average-looking guy in his late twenties had said he was too old to be an idol, I’d honestly be uncomfortable…

But Yohan’s smooth, handsome features lent credibility to his words.

Nice dream.

With that face, what’s the big deal about starting to practice at age 21?

Some of the mentors were visibly pleased with his textbook-perfect response.

“Let’s see the performance you prepared.”

On stage, Seo Munyeol’s presence stood out.

Munyeol showcased a rap with a deep, low voice as if chewing and spitting out the lyrics.

Even though I don’t know much about rapping, it didn’t sound bad, and he danced powerfully as well.

If that guy gets eliminated, it’d clearly be rigged.

Yohan did very well for a two-month trainee, but his lack of fundamentals was obvious even to me, so he’d probably end up with Teacher Mook.

I felt threatened.

There was no hope if I fell behind in terms of visuals and talkability.

No… My solo growth story.

But as I feared, Yohan joined Mook Hyeseong’s team because of his lack of fundamentals.

When the announcement was made, the trainees in Mook’s team, including me, were taken aback.

[You received detailed and professional feedback.

Wisdom +1]

After watching the trainees’ performances and listening to the mentors’ feedback, my Wisdom increased to 15.

Unfortunately, there was no progress in Intelligence, which remained at 11.

At least Wisdom seemed to increase with direct or indirect experience related to idol activities, but I had no idea how to raise Intelligence.

Should I take some brain-enhancing pills?

“Now, please pay attention.”

Jena held the microphone.

The mentors stood in a line on stage, looking at the trainees.

Finally, the mentor evaluations were over.

It started in the morning, and now it was almost night.

“The mentor evaluations are all over. You all worked hard during this long evaluation process.”

Clap, clap, clap.

We applauded at every word she said.

“As a result of the evaluations, Jihui’s team has 9 members, Suyeong’s team has 19 members, Changyeon’s team has 21 members, Ju An’s team has 19 members, and Hyeseong’s team has 32 members.”

Jihui’s team, which can be called the honors class, had the smallest number, while Hyeseong’s team, with the weakest skills, had the most members.

Jena smiled mischievously.

“We divided you into teams by mentor so you can focus on learning from each mentor’s strengths, so please make the most of your mentors during the training camp.”

“Yes!”

While the other mentors kindly smiled, our teacher, Mook, didn’t even bat an eyelash.

He didn’t glare at us or frown, just showed complete indifference with his face.

Wouldn’t he face a controversy about his personality if he were like that all the time?

He must be okay with it, right?

…Did I have time to worry about an NPC celebrity doing well in a game?

“Now, we’ll announce the signal song for Season 3 of Pick Your Heart. In Season 1, it was We Are, and in Season 2, it was Your Star, both causing a sensation. The title of Season 3’s signal song is Heart Attack.”

The choreography video featuring 9 dancers was played on the front screen.

Everyone’s eyes were naturally drawn to the screen.

“I aim for your heart,

Heart a-ttae-ttae-tack!”

Overall, it was refreshing yet passionate.

The catchy hook had a feeling that it would become trendy.

The problem was that the highlight was so high it seemed like it would require hitting high notes, and the choreography was frustratingly complicated.

Somehow, it felt like learning wouldn’t be possible because of insufficient Intelligence.

Was that right?

The trainees’ expressions were getting worse in real-time, as if they thought they were the only ones who were screwed.

Half of Mook Hyeseong’s group was especially like that.

After watching the choreography video to the end, a pop-up window appeared as if it had been waiting, asking if I wanted to learn the choreography.

[Dance: Heart Attack

Do you want to learn?

Y/N]

Like the other trainees, I moved my hand slightly to pretend I was practicing the dance and naturally pressed “Y.”

Predictably, it didn’t go smoothly.

[You lack the necessary Intelligence and Wisdom to learn the choreography.]

Not only was Intelligence lacking, but Wisdom too.

How difficult could it be?

More importantly, if it was insufficient, why did they even ask in the first place?

While cursing at the system inside my head, a pop-up window appeared one after another.

[You can force an attempt to learn the impossible choreography by consuming luck. The first penalty for a failed attempt will be waived.]

[Dance: Heart Attack

Do you want to force the learning?]

Y/N]

If they’re waiving the penalty, why not give it a try?

You’d be a fool and a pushover not to!

I pressed “Y” without questioning or hesitating.

[Dance Learning Forced Attempt Failure!

Luck -1]

And it failed in an instant.

Well, that’s to be expected.

I didn’t have high expectations for this terrible game in the first place, so I wasn’t very disappointed.

Even though they waived the penalty, they still reduced my luck…

So, they originally cut my luck and gave me a separate penalty as well?

[Dance: Heart Attack

1 more forced attempt to learn is possible.]

[Dance: Heart Attack

Do you want to force learning?

Y/N]

I decided to listen to Jena’s explanation that was still ongoing, and then decide whether to force yet another learning.

“All of you will perform this song on the M-Stage.”

“Wow” and “Whoa” were among the amazed reactions from the trainees.

Even if they had seen it in previous seasons and it wasn’t news to them, their reactions seemed very genuine.

“However, trainees who do not even possess the minimum skills cannot be allowed on stage.”

At those words, tension spread throughout the room.

“Over the next three days, you will practice this song in groups, focusing on your shortcomings, and then receive additional evaluations with A, B, C, D, and F grades. Of course, the higher the grade, the more parts you’ll have. F-grade trainees will be deemed unqualified to perform on stage and will instead serve as dancers below the stage.”

Essentially, F-grade meant not being able to perform on stage.

They were saying they’d help improve our skills while also baiting us with attention.

It was crucial for beginners like me to improve our skills as soon as possible.

And since the evaluation wasn’t based on overall skills but just one song, there wouldn’t be any disadvantage for me, who received the system’s favor.

I should be able to avoid an F if I practice really hard.

With that in mind, I pressed “Y” on the selection I had been holding off.

Since it was possible to forcibly learn the dance only one more time, if I didn’t try now, it would bother me later.

Penalty? What could it be? Just deducting some experience points, I guessed.

[Critical!]

“!”

[Dance Learning Forced Attempt Success!]

A thrilling sense of ecstasy spread from my head to my toes.

This is why we play these terrible games!

For that one moment when it acted like a godly game out of 500 terrible attempts!

[Dance List:

– Dancing Catallena: 91.65%

– Heart Attack: 0.01%]

The dance was added to the list.

Of course, the comprehension was rounded down to 0%.

But since the choreography was now in my head, I should be able to raise it to at least 50% if I practiced non-stop during the remaining time.

While I was pushing and pulling with the system, trainees were receiving and putting on vests of different colors according to their groups.

Han Jihui’s group was red, Seok Suyeong’s was blue, Lee Changyeon’s was green, Ju An’s was black, and Mook Hyeseong’s was yellow.

I also received a bright yellow vest and put it on over my T-shirt.

Next, practice sessions began in various corners of the tight set.

First, the trainees practiced the first verse freely among themselves, and once the choreography was somewhat in their heads, the mentors would come and observe the dance for each group.

“Can’t they even give us a break?”

Amid it all, a group of particularly talented kids gathered in one corner, and I noticed that their name tags had an “H” for “Han Jihui.”

I, too, awkwardly moved my feet and swung my arms while practicing, squeezing myself in between the two groups of trainees: half of them were practicing, while the other half was completely zoned out, watching the dance video on the screen.

Thanks to my forced learning, although my movements were clumsy, I didn’t miss the timing and was able to dance along.

And once again, it was really difficult.

With my pathetic stamina, I felt like I would collapse before finishing the dance.

“Did you memorize the entire choreography?”

After dancing a few times, Ban Yohan, who looked somewhat tired, approached me and asked.

“You memorized everything?”

Upon hearing that, Kim Junwu, standing next to me, asked incredulously.

“Yes. You seem to have been dancing to the music without missing a beat. Did you really memorize it all?”

“Well, I did, but it’s still difficult to get it right.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Aren’t you a genius, a genius? How did you memorize it all so quickly?”

Kim Junwu made a fuss.

No, I was not a genius, just an ordinary level 11 Intelligence player. You are all NPCs in this game world.

Ban Yohan, who didn’t know anything, asked innocently.

“We’ll choose a team leader later, so you can apply then.”

“Are you sure you want to entrust the team’s future to me?”

“Uhm, well, uh… um……”

“Hahaha….”

“Why can’t they just say it?”

Having brought up the topic, Ban Yohan trailed off at the end while Kim Junwu pretended to watch the screen and laughed emptily.

Didn’t you think I was reliable?

Even though I may look less mature and had no muscles in my arms, I’d already served in the military in real life, you know?

Wait a minute.

The military…?

Does that mean I have to return to the military if I can’t get out of here?

Crazy.

I got goosebumps.

Since the game’s name is Pick your HEART!, debuting here must be the clear condition or at least one of them, so I must debut no matter what.

I was determined to debut, even if I had to inhale all the smoke from a burning birch tree or hang onto a flying phoenix!

[You are determined more than anyone else in this place.

Willpower +5]

“Let’s work hard!”

“Suddenly?”

“Let’s debut!”

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were that hurt….”

“Let’s go, Team Mook Hyeseong!”

“…Yohan, this guy’s eyes are a bit weird.”

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

“Why are you like that too, Yohan?”

“We can do it!”

“We can!”

“…Well, I don’t care. We can do it!”

[The group “Team Hyeseong” is created.

(Temporary group leader: On Raon)]

[Team Hyeseong is moved by your determination. A random buff is applied to the group members.]

[For 1 hour,

Stamina +10

Intelligence +10

Willpower +20

(Target: Team Hyeseong)]

The trainees of Team Hyeseong clenched their fists.

“Suddenly, I feel like I can do it!”

“I didn’t understand anything before, but now I think I know at least as much as Teacher Mook Hyeseong’s enigmatic smile!”

Hey, that’s just something you didn’t know.