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Chapter 497

“Are you okay?”

I should just kill… No, I don’t even have the strength to kill.

You b*stard.

I’m sprawled out in LeTi’s VTIC exclusive practice room.

Seven hours. That’s how long I’ve been practicing choreography with Cheongryeo.

Isn’t this guy insane?

There’s barely time left before the stage, yet we spent seven hours just for one performance? 

The best part is that it didn’t seem like it was going to end today. It’s like some kind of extreme PT, pushing people to their limits and then just barely letting them catch their breath.

This guy would have made a fortune as a coach. Wait, saying that to someone who’s already made a fortune is pointless.

My brain is not working…

I caught my breath.

TeSTAR isn’t exactly a group known for slacking off in practice. It means we often go all out with our practice hours. But cramming an entirely new choreography with unfamiliar dance moves in such a short time is a different story. I couldn’t help but think about <Idol Inc.>, where I first seriously learned to dance at that age.

I silently lay down, staring at the ceiling. A strange fluorescent light was shining.

Hmm?

I opened my mouth without thinking. “Did Sunbae-nim remodel the lighting?”

“Hmm?” Cheongryeo, who was flipping and replaying the songs, answered as if puzzled. “Yeah, I did, but that was 3 years ago.”

“Oh.”

And then it hit me. In my memory, the practice room of LeTi that I had trained in for nearly a year wasn’t this place. That wasn’t reality.

It was the ceiling I saw when we were trying to win the grand prize as ‘Wishze,’ a hybrid group mixing members of VTIC and TeSTAR. It was the experience of debuting with those VTIC guys in a virtual world created by the system in Ryu Gunwoo’s body.

That just slipped out without thinking.

And it seemed like Cheongryeo noticed that part too.

“Is it similar to when you debuted, Junior? It could be. I fixed that too.”

A ridiculous explanation followed, saying, “When you make something multiple times, a standard specification and formalization are bound to happen.”

I chuckled. “Is there efficiency even in the practice room?”

“Of course.”

Considering he even figured that out, I couldn’t imagine how experienced he must be. It’s obvious, but in terms of experience and information, no one can really compare to this guy. Hmm, as expected.

I thought VTIC would decline a bit after their military hiatus. I need to prepare more rigorously.

From the rookies who debuted with capital by benchmarking us to VTIC, who haven’t lost their form, TeSTAR is really caught in the middle.

We can’t afford to be complacent just because we won Daesang.

I drank some water and quickly organized my thoughts for the next album. It was then that Cheongryeo sat down next to me.

“Junior, your ability to learn choreography is quite good.”

Of course.

“If you can’t pick it up at this level, you should quit.”

“Haha.”

It doesn’t seem like Cheongryeo is laughing because it’s funny. Maybe Cheongryeo has had the experience of working with someone who couldn’t keep up at this level.

It must have driven him crazy because it wasn’t up to his standards. You can tell just by looking at this guy’s status window. He is already at the extreme, having honed his talent to the limit stats, and he must be confident in his routine. So, he wouldn’t have treated anyone who couldn’t keep up with the training he was assigned as a person.

Hmm…

But you know, I suddenly had a question and called someone over. This is the only guy I can have this kind of conversation with.

“Keundal.”

[Yes?]

“…”

That was quick. I thought the reply might be delayed since it’s during work hours, but to get a response this fast… Anyway, after chatting a bit about what’s been going on, I brought up the main topic.

About the potential stats displayed in the status window…

[…?? Oh, you mean your Infinite Potential trait? That’s not something given by the system. It’s something you originally had…]

No, that’s not what I meant.

[Huh?]

It’s about the status window that appears for other people, not just me.

The limit stats are shown in parentheses next to the stats. It’s an indicator of that person’s limit. Let me give you an example.

[Dance: C- (B)]

Here, the ‘B’ in parentheses is the limit. That’s why only those with talent can make a living in the arts and sports. It’s all about talent. And this is what I’m curious about.

No matter what you do, it’s impossible to overcome that, right?

Is it impossible for a person to grow beyond that stat limit?

“…”

After a moment of silence, a timid popup appeared.

[Probably…?]

Then, an explanation followed, [Actually, I just changed the system’s judgment so you could see it…]

In the end, it means that the value was calculated by the system.

Hmm. I furrowed my brows. It was at that moment.

[Survey available!]

“…!”

Next to the chat popup from Keundal, suddenly, a status window popup appeared.

What the…?

[Help: You can customize the function through feedback from the survey.]

“…”

So… did it pop up to promote itself because it heard its name? Are you saying you can let me know if it’s possible?

I stared at the status window popup. It shone like an advertisement banner, as if it was begging to be clicked, but…

Do you think I would do it?

If you were me, would you fall for that?

Without hesitation, I closed the popup.

As soon as I collect the system fragments from that guy, you’re going to get scrapped.

That’s the right answer.

And as I nodded to myself,

“You’ve rested enough, right? Get up.”

“…”

For the record, I only lay down for five minutes.

Whew. I held back a string of curses as I got up.

Yeah, max stats or whatever… My dance stat is still B+ for now.

Fine, I can’t whine about not being able to do it at this point.

Let’s push it as far as I can.

Let’s do this.

* * *

That night, the door to TeSTAR’s new dorm opened weakly. Beep- click. And then a somber voice was heard.

“…I’m back.”

It was Park Moondae, with a hood pulled over.

“Oh, Moondae…?”

“…”

Why does he look like that? Lee Sejin, who was about to greet Park Moondae cheerfully after taking out a pack from the fridge, was taken aback.

However, Park Moondae simply replied, “I practiced.”

What kind of practice could make Park Moondae end up like this? This is the same friend who would stay up all night practicing, following along diligently, and monitoring without sleep. Seeing Park Moondae looking so worn out, like a soaked rag, was unfamiliar and somewhat solemn.

Wait a moment. Lee Sejin suddenly realized what Park Moondae had been doing.

“You were practicing the features for Cheongryeo, right?”

“Yeah.”

Who asks someone to feature and then treats them like one of their own company’s trainees?

Does he not know his limit? Although recent events had slightly softened the evaluation of Cheongryeo, he was still another group and a subject of caution. That’s why Lee Sejin was even more displeased.

I should have opposed it more strongly.

So, he deliberately put his arm around Park Moondae’s shoulder and shouted cheerfully. “MoondaeMoondae~ Aren’t you being too generous? Why are you going all out like this?”

It was at that moment.

“…I agree.”

“…!”

Bae Sejin, who had been enjoying the solitude of his room, quietly came out to the living room and supported his statement. Lee Sejin was slightly taken aback. Why is he doing this all of a sudden?

“You don’t have to do it, but you’re doing it anyway.” Bae Sejin continued speaking firmly.

That’s right. He found VTIC Cheongryeo uncomfortable. The decisive factor was the shocking fact that he had suddenly attacked Park Moondae at the beginning of their debut, but that wasn’t the only reason.

He’s strange… Cheongryeo had a unique atmosphere about him. Even though they rarely talked, he could sense it just from his observations.

There were moments when Cheongryeo felt like someone without emotional context, as if lacking empathy. It was reminiscent of the psychopaths Bae Sejin had portrayed.

Being naturally sensitive and perceptive to others’ attitudes, Bae Sejin felt it even more keenly. This impression didn’t easily fade, even with the objective fact that Cheongryeo had helped in the system’s virtual world or during the building collapse incident. It was inevitable, not knowing that this gap was caused by the countless restarts over an extremely long period.

Hmm. Anyway, Lee Sejin looked at the now-serious Bae Sejin and decided to change the atmosphere again.

Come on, Moondae won’t listen to us if we get serious here. 

“Do it more lightly.”

“That’s right. Save your energy for our album, Moondae~”

“Of course.”

That’s it! Lee Sejin cheered inwardly as Park Moondae nodded agreeably. However, Park Moondae wasn’t finished speaking.

“I’ll do what I need to do.”

“…”

Hey, then how are you any different from Kim Raebin, who works through the night? Before saying anything to Kim Raebin, who was his roommate, he felt Moondae needed to reflect on himself.

Fortunately, next to Lee Sejin was Bae Sejin, who was ready to get angry on his behalf.

“That’s right, do it within reasonable limits!”

“Yes. Well… I have been practicing within the limits of my health.” Park Moondae answered calmly. And then he muttered quietly. “That’s even more annoying.”

“…?”

“It’s nothing.”

Park Moondae silently reflected on the state of his body, which had been exquisitely overworked. But soon, he shrugged his shoulders. 

“And it does help. This is my first time doing this kind of choreography. And… there’s something I need to get once it’s over.”

“Get?”

“Yes. There’s something I need to obtain.”

Park Moondae nodded and smiled. It was a surprisingly fulfilling smile.

“I think our own content turned out to be quite fun this time, but it might be a bit less mainstream than before.”

“Hmm?”

Ryu Seorin would balance it to be provocatively exciting, but Park Moondae concluded that this was more for the niche audience.

Since it requires brainwork for mystery, it’s hard to watch lightly. But to connect it with the next album’s teasers, it has to be somewhat symbolic and meaningful, which makes it even less lighthearted.

At least we balanced it out with some horror elements to keep it appealing to the masses. That was only possible because it was late summer, early fall.

So, in short,

“We need to make sure the next album also appeals to the masses.”

To take care of both National Pride and mass appeal

Park Moondae grinned. “We’ll get something useful out of it.”

A grand plan was forming in his mind. Although soon after, he ended up being dragged into the bedroom by his namesake, who scolded him to get some rest…

A few days passed like that. And finally, after the grand reveal of TeSTAR’s own content. The day of the first stage performance shoot featuring Park Moondae and Cheongryeo arrived.

* * *

VTIC, especially Cheongryeo’s fan community, was buzzing with energy during his solo album activities. Since Cheongryeo had scheduled quite a few broadcast appearances for this album promotion, there was plenty of buzz.

-Jaehyun, thank you for your crazy schedule

-ㅠㅠㅠ Chaeyul said he watched Jaehyun’s stage. Seriously, VTIC is the foundation of K-pop relationships…

-How can you not like the god-idol Shin Cheongryeo, who works like a cow at this stage of their career and still hits a career high?

-Shin Jaehyun’s fan sign event response was insane (video)

In this atmosphere, the news of Cheongryeo’s appearance on the program <Nice to Meet You> was initially just another part of the album promotion activities. There were even rather cold evaluations like, ‘It’s okay if he doesn’t appear since the program’s rank is low.’ Still, most people were pleased with the schedule itself and were happy that they had more time to see Cheongryeo’s performances. They were also delighted by the news article stating that the audience application had reached an all-time high.

Naturally, some community members won tickets to attend.

– I can’t believe I got tickets to see Cheongryeo… I’ll take my mom and bring back a review, lol.

└Congrats, congrats.

└So jealous.

└How did you get in?

But that afternoon…

–Whoa

-Hey, Shin Jaehyun

–Haha

–Wow

The people who had promised to post reviews of the live recording started leaving brief, spontaneous reactions in real time. The fans who were glued to the community at that time to read the audience reviews were all bewildered.

Jaehyun??

-???

-What the…

-What’s with the reaction right now?

It was a few minutes later. Finally, a proper review of the broadcast was posted. And then…

-Insane!!

It didn’t take long for Cheongryeo’s fan site to be filled with screams and chaos.

these Chs are commissioned if you want your series to be translated you can contact us at discord for your favorite series.

Reed chapter first at Utoon.net