Chapter 53

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Moondae hyung as the leader?”

“Yes.”

At Gold 2’s question, Kim Raebin nodded seriously. His absurdly serious face reminded me of the team members’ reactions during the second team match.

‘Stop it.’

I didn’t want any more comedy screen time.

However, Kim Raebin continued firmly before I could stop him.

“First of all, he is calm, has good insight, and takes good care of those around him.”

“Oh.”

Keun Sejin was scratching his chin. Next to him, Seon Ahyun nodded vigorously.

“Th-that’s right!”

Enthused by the reaction, Kim Raebin poured out his words like rapid fire. It seemed like he was getting swept up in his own logic.

“Above all, I think his quick judgment is his greatest strength as a leader. Seeing these aspects, I believe he will demonstrate great competence in situations requiring comprehensive creativity.”

“…That is true.”

Swept up in the atmosphere, Gold 2 nodded with a blank expression. Surprisingly, Lee Sejin was also quiet without much to say.

‘This actually worked?’

While observing the situation with a sour look, I suddenly realized it was a good opportunity.

‘Wouldn’t being a leader be good for getting screen time that makes me look desperate?’

It was the final stretch anyway, so it was all or nothing. I thought it would be fine to try being the leader, even if it meant some extra work.

“I don’t mind doing it. Are you guys okay with it?”

“O-of course!”

As Gold 2 shouted in response, perhaps feeling a bit guilty, the team members laughed amiably. I also let out a small chuckle and settled the situation.

“Then I’ll give it a try. I look forward to working with you.”

“Ooh~!”

“Congratulations~”

I received applause and pinned on the leader badge. The ‘L’ on the cheap metal badge glittered.

‘It’s not bad.’

Since Kim Raebin would write the lyrics and Seon Ahyun would choreograph, there wouldn’t be too much of a burden.

‘I just need to be a bit careful with Lee Sejin.’

I only hoped that the ‘Sounds Right Now That I Hear It’ trait, which I had used a few times in the previous team match and then forgotten, would live up to its rank this time.

Ah, speaking of traits, I finally leveled up. It was thanks to gathering my 1,000th practice points while practicing for the last team match.

‘I barely raised my level by doing both singing and dancing.’

I clicked my tongue and summoned the status window for the first time in a while.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Gunwoo)]
Level: 13
Title: None
Singing: A
Dancing: C+
Appearance: B+
Talent: B-
Traits: Infinite Potential, Sounds Right Now That I Hear It (C), I Want To Be Center (C), Bacchus 500 (B)
!Status Abnormality: Debut or Die
Remaining Points: 1

‘I barely held back from putting it into dancing.’

With C+ stats, following the choreography modified by the Seon Ahyun and Keun Sejin duo was hell. I wanted to make it clear that I was on the verge of breaking my plan to save one spare point, as I didn’t know how the situation might change.

And there was one more thing I had saved.

[Ripening of Fame!]
1,000,000 people remembered your existence!
: Hero Trait Draw ☜ Click!

‘One million people.’

It was a staggering number. It hit home that the number of people who remembered ‘Park Moondae’s’ name, face, and characteristics had grown to an astronomical figure. Actually, I didn’t save this draw because I wanted to. I had achieved it during the ranking announcement, and I just hadn’t had the chance to pay attention to it until now.

Anyway, I would try spinning it now. As I skillfully gestured to the status window, the slot machine began to turn. And it stopped on a silver slot.

[Trait: ‘Imperturbability (B)’ Acquired!]
The mind is not shaken by external impulses.
: Mental shock -50%

‘Not bad.’

It was a trait needed in the situation of becoming a leader. It would help me not get pissed off. I was reasonably satisfied.

However, another popup appeared.

[You can only possess a total of 3 traits!]

[Sounds Right Now That I Hear It (C)] ◀ Delete
[I Want To Be Center (C)]
[Bacchus 500 (B)]
[Imperturbability (B) new!]

What?

‘You balance it like this?’

Of course, it would be strange for a game system to allow me to have an infinite number of traits. I suppressed a sigh and scanned the trait list. First, ‘Infinite Potential’ wasn’t there.

‘It seems it’s non-deletable and isn’t counted at all.’

According to the current popup, the maximum number of traits I could possess was three. Since I had four traits including ‘Infinite Potential’ until now, this was likely correct.

‘Hmm.’

After thinking for a moment, I chose what to delete.

[Trait: Imperturbability (B) has been deleted!]

It was a waste since I had just gotten it, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘I already have uses for the others.’

‘I Want To Be Center (C)’ was too valuable to discard because it adjusted the talent stat. Although its rank was lower than ‘Imperturbability (B)’, it had an effect on visible numbers. And at the point where I was the leader and teamed up with Seon Ahyun again, it was too risky to discard ‘Sounds Right Now That I Hear It (C)’. Moreover, I had no intention of discarding ‘Bacchus 500 (B)’ regardless of what came out. This was practically a health potion in an RPG. I had to keep it until the end.

‘Then only Imperturbability remains.’

It was a bit of a waste, but what could I do? Since I wasn’t particularly emotional to begin with, it wasn’t a big blow anyway.

‘I’ll go with this.’

As soon as I turned off the status window, I heard excited voices around me.

“Captain Moondae! So, what do we do first?”

“Park Leader! Captain Moondae!”

“…….”

Wow, I already have nicknames. Although discarding Imperturbability was the right decision, I had a feeling I would regret it throughout this practice. I ignored the rising sense of skepticism and proceeded with the meeting.

“First, I think we should decide on a concept.”

The final practice began like that.

* * *

A few days later, while Park Moondae was devoted to the final stage practice in his unexpected role as leader, Episode 11, which included the ranking announcement, was aired outside.

Park Moondae’s fans, of course, enjoyed the footage where Moondae met VTIC. Especially after seeing Cheongryeo answer in an interview that ‘all the questions and answers between himself and Park Moondae were identical,’ some fans of VTIC also joined in and enjoyed the broadcast excitedly.

– Moondae got shy after meeting Cheongryeo-nim [Video]
– Did you see Moondae jump up in surprise when the VTIC member came in? T_T Oh my, was our puppy surprised?
– No, it’s so cute how he makes a comment every time he picks a song, but Cheongryeo is doing the exact same thing lol.
– Even the content of the comments is similar… Ha… They have good chemistry. Won’t they do a variety show together later? T_T
– No, where do you think you’re comparing your ugly Moondae to VTIC?
– I’m a Cheongryeo fan, but please ignore this low-level troll. Moondae-kun was so cute~
– Yes, thank you T_T

As the program reached its latter half, the fans, who had gained experience, showed they were no longer shaken by most trolls.

– Who is the participant whose idol psychological test completely matched our leader’s just now?
– Park Moondae (21, Main Vocal) Nickname Moondae-deng, likes chicken feet. He’s a cute participant who always works hard T_T [Multiple photos]
– Oh, thank you. I’ll buy his stocks~ haha.
– Whoa, thank you. Our first week is free. We’re having a chicken gifticon event if you certify after purchasing T_T [Link]

The atmosphere of warm sharing was broken the moment Park Moondae’s ranking was announced.

– ?
– Did they just call Moondae?
– 6th place.
– Crazy.
– He dropped.
– Is this real?

With Park Moondae’s current momentum, they had naturally expected him to be at least in the top 3. After momentarily denying reality in confusion, the fans were soon filled with anger. It was anger toward themselves.

– lol this is ridiculous. Is Moondae in a position to be like this?
– He makes a legend out of every stage and has a flood of new fans, but he dropped? lol… Ha…
– No, the stock himself brings all sorts of good news every time, so why the hell did his ranking drop? lol This is because the fans were lazy. Moondae did nothing wrong.
– Other than the evil editing at the beginning, what controversy does he have? Does he lack skill? Is his face not good?… It’s none of those. You can clearly see him doing everything well and caring about it, so this shouldn’t happen.
– It’s already annoying enough that those desperation-judges are talking nonsense lol. I’m going crazy.

Even in the early morning after the broadcast ended, this atmosphere did not subside. Instead, it became calmer.

– I can’t sleep.
– In reality, Keun Sejin reversed it. Due to rumors, stock selling momentarily increased significantly, but if you exclude that, the ranking changes?
– So you’re saying Moondae was originally 7th?
– Ah, I’m really at a loss for words.
– Honestly, this stage wasn’t one where his ranking should drop. If anything, it should have skyrocketed.
– Even though Moondae is in the main vocal position, his individual cam views and likes combined were 4th. This is truly an nonsensical situation.
– Have you seen what the other participants’ shareholders are doing? We’re the only ones who have been acting so cautiously, trusting only in the stocks.

And all these opinions converged into one.

– If it goes on like this, Moondae might be eliminated. Let’s wake up.

Thus, in the dawn just before sunrise, Park Moondae’s fan sites were all burning up. Only one thing was stuck in their minds: ‘We’ll show them something!’

* * *

“The outside air is fresh.”

I came out of the filming site after a long time. Next to me, Keun Sejin muttered in a rarely gloomy voice.

‘Has it been a week?’

Due to unexpected maintenance issues with the dormitory and the filming set, the participants unexpectedly gained a short two-day break. It was ten days before the final and three days before the next broadcast. aired one episode in the form of a talk show with the surviving participants instead of the regular broadcast the week before the final. Of course, that was also a live broadcast.

It was a relief to have a short time to rest before that. Although I was a bit worried about the amount of practice, I would probably work myself to death in three days anyway.

“Is Moondae staying at Ahyun’s house this time too?”

“Ye-yes!”

During the break, I ended up being indebted to Seon Ahyun again for a short time.

‘I don’t want to do anything.’

Playing the leader… consumed more calories than expected. I immediately followed Seon Ahyun. He said his parents were coming to pick him up again.

“Hyung!”

I heard the voice I had heard every day for the past few days again from behind.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“If you don’t have any special schedule for the two days, would you like to go see the advertisements the fans put up for you this time?”

“Hmm.”

I wanted to answer immediately that I didn’t. However, out of courtesy, I was at a loss for words.

‘It is about time I go see them once.’

If they spent money to put them up and the person himself didn’t even certify it, they would lose energy. But I wanted to go alone. However, if I refused and went alone, my relationship with Kim Raebin would worsen.

‘This isn’t some dating sim…….’

It was a bit absurd, but there was no choice.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

“…! Yes!”

Kim Raebin nodded with an excited expression. Then he took out his smartphone and began to work on something diligently.

“The route where we can see the most advertisements effectively… how about something like this?”

I looked into the screen Kim Raebin was holding out. A map with lines drawn over subway routes appeared. It seemed he had overlaid the movement path on a map marking the stations where my advertisements were placed. Sure enough, the related text at the bottom said…

[Park Moondae Subway Advertisement Latest ver (27 stations)]

“…….”

27 stations? Every single one of them was a place with high foot traffic, marked with circles.

‘Is this… possible?’

It wasn’t even a VTIC global fundraising birthday advertisement; was it possible for one person to have ads in 27 stations? Keun Sejin, who was looking into his own smartphone next to me, patted my back.

“Hey, you have one more than Cha Yujin! Subway ads! You’re number one!”

“Oh… Hyung, congratulations.”

“…….”

Exactly what happened during the week we were practicing?