Chapter 2: The Loser's Comeback (2)

　　I was spiraling in circles over the impossibility of it all when the door violently swung open. An elegantly dressed middle-aged woman burst into the room like a hurricane.

　　Soft brown hair flowed down her shoulders in immaculate waves, and her porcelain skin was perfectly clear, the complexion of someone who had never experienced a single day of grueling hardship. Aside from the faint, graceful smile lines crinkling around her eyes, there were barely any traces of time on her face.

　　She was impeccably styled in a tailored designer suit and diamond earrings that caught the harsh fluorescent light. Hooked over her arm was a handbag that looked astronomically expensive, even to my untrained eye that knew absolutely nothing about luxury fashion. In a word, everything about her screamed old money.

　　"My baby!" she gasped, rushing over. "Oh my goodness, do you have any idea how worried I was?"

　　Mom. Is there any word more foreign to me than that?

　　"Are you feeling better? The nurses said you were having trouble remembering things! For heaven’s sake, what an absolute disaster."

　　Even as my eyes darted around, desperately searching for an opening to reply, she bulldozed right on without stopping for a breath.

　　"You only slipped on the stairs, yet you’ve been unconscious for days. I swear, I’m going to have to hire a shaman to ward off this awful luck. And don’t even get me started on your attending physician! That ridiculous man had the nerve to tell me to relax because there was no severe external trauma, only to turn around today and claim you have memory loss! What has he been doing this whole time if he couldn’t even diagnose you properly from the start?"

　　Her tone was abrasive and laced with sharp irritation, but beneath the wealthy-matron bluster, her desperate, fierce affection was palpable. It seemed Lee Kanghyun had grown up wrapped in far more love and protection than I had ever assumed.

　　Then again, it made sense. He had always carried himself with that specific brand of arrogant ease. He was never intimidated, no matter what room he walked into, moving with the brazen confidence of a boy who had absolutely nothing to fear in this world. He never even broke a sweat when his immature antics inevitably landed him in the middle of a tabloid scandal.

　　I had always secretly admired how he managed to maintain such unwavering self-love despite being so selfish and self-righteous. It made sense now. The unshakable foundation of that massive ego was his parents’ relentless, unconditional support.

　　"My poor baby," she cooed, brushing a stray lock of hair from my forehead. "So what exactly do you remember? Do you even know your own mother’s name?"

　　Forget your name; I didn’t even know this guy had a mother. I couldn’t exactly bring myself to be that honest, though.

　　"I… don’t remember anything," I shyly murmured.

　　"Oh, you poor thing. My sweet boy, my heart just aches for you," she fussed, looking like she might cry. "You’re even speaking to me politely all of a sudden. It breaks my heart."

　　Ah, right. The real Lee Kanghyun probably talked back to his mother like a brat.

　　A wave of awkwardness washed over me, but since suddenly shifting my tone to match his arrogant personality would only look more suspicious, I settled for offering a harmless, sheepish laugh.

　　"Look at how your cheeks became hollow after being cooped up here for just a few days. This simply won’t do. I’ll have the finest herbal tonics brewed and sent over immediately."

　　I blinked rapidly, completely clueless on how to respond to such aggressive coddling, but it didn’t matter. She just kept right on chattering.

　　"Still, it’s a blessing you finally woke up today," she sighed, patting my hand. "Otherwise, you almost would have missed that recording you’ve been looking forward to."

　　"Recording?" I echoed instinctively.

　　Her eyes went wide, and she stared at me in horror. "Oh my word, do you really not remember that either? The idol survival show you auditioned for?"

　　Five years ago. Lee Kanghyun. Idol survival show.

　　Those three keywords alone struck my brain like a bolt of lightning. I didn’t even need to ask for further clarification. Given the timeline, there was only one possible show it could be.

　　Pick Your Fantasy. It had been a highly publicized, ruthless survival program. A massive reality show where ninety-nine idol trainees were thrown together to compete against one another until only the final nine were left standing to achieve their dream of debuting. The monster rookie group born from that bloodbath was P.KISS. And among them, Lee Kanghyun’s final rank had been fifth.

　　Because the program had been a nationwide phenomenon, the fandom’s loyalty toward P.KISS was fanatical. The group skyrocketed to the ranks of top-tier idols the literal second they debuted. Their album sales obliterated industry records day after day, and they unconditionally dominated every popularity ranking and trending chart in existence. Throughout their three-year active period, they had absolutely no rivals. They were practically untouchable.

　　"That’s…" I trailed off.

　　I knew that program better than anyone. There was no way I could ever forget it. After all, out of those ninety-nine desperate boys gathered for a chance at stardom… one of them had been me. Granted, my final rank had been tenth, and that devastating near-miss had marked the end of my idol career, but still.

　　"When is the recording?" I asked, my pulse pounding in my ears.

　　What if whatever higher power out there had granted me one final chance? What if I was brought back to this exact moment, laid in this exact hospital bed, so I could finally seize the idol debut I’d spent my entire life dreaming of? I was in Lee Kanghyun’s body, one that had already proven it had what it took to win over the public. Wouldn’t a second attempt be even easier?

　　I waited for her answer, barely able to suppress the frantic anticipation swelling in my chest.

　　She waved a dismissive hand. "Well, let me think… was it in two days?"

　　The ballooning hope in my chest popped, deflating instantly.

　　No way. Only two days left? That’s nowhere near enough time to prepare!

　　I don’t have a song picked out, and I haven’t finalized an outfit. Furthermore, I’m trapped in a hospital bed with no discharge date in sight. What the hell do I do?

　　It would have been a massive help if I could dig through my memories and recall what song Lee Kanghyun had performed for his initial evaluation, but my mind drew a complete blank. It was a chaotic taping with nearly a hundred participants. Unless it was one of the few truly exceptional, viral stages, remembering every single trainee’s solo performance from five years ago was mathematically impossible.

　　"Could we try contacting the agency?" I asked urgently. "Actually, no, wait—I need to do it myself."

　　"Sweetheart, are you sure you’re up for this?" she asked, her perfectly threaded brows furrowing in concern. "You’re recovering from a head injury. Wouldn’t it be better to just withdraw and aim for the next opportunity?"

　　But there was no "next opportunity." This era was a unique gold mine. The industry had been suffering from a severe drought of massive boy groups for years, and the general public was starved, eagerly waiting for the emergence of a definitive "group to stan."

　　Bursting onto the scene like a comet, Pick Your Fantasy captured the nation’s undivided attention. The raw talent and striking visuals of the cast drew massive ratings right from the premiere, and thanks to the cutthroat editing and entertaining variety segments, the hype only snowballed into an unstoppable avalanche as the weeks went on.

　　But where there is blinding light, there are deep shadows. As Pick Your Fantasy monopolized the spotlight, everyone else suffered the fallout. Every survival program that aired afterward was ruthlessly mocked and dismissed as a cheap knock-off. Any rookie group brave enough to debut during that timeframe suffered the humiliating fate of being endlessly compared to P.KISS.

　　The next three years would quite literally belong to P.KISS. As someone who knew the future better than anyone else alive, I absolutely could not afford to miss this window of opportunity.

　　"I want to do it, no matter what it takes," I said, meeting her worried gaze. "For some reason… I just know it has to be now."

　　If I looked at this objectively, I had to be insane. My brain was probably severely damaged from taking a sports car to the chest, and I was just lying in a ditch somewhere, suffering from delusions of grandeur. That was the only thing that made sense. But even if this was all a hallucination… Even so, there are some dreams you just never want to wake up from.

　　Startled by my unwavering resolve, my… no, his mother stared at me for a long time. The worry in her eyes slowly melted away, replaced by an expression of fond pride as she flashed me a warm, gentle smile.

　　"All right. If that’s what you want to do, then you should do it."

　　"Thank you for understanding." It wasn’t exactly something I needed permission for, but knowing I had at least one person on my side was surprisingly reassuring. Perhaps it hit me even harder because in my past life I had competed on the show entirely alone, as an independent trainee without an agency backing me.

　　The first evaluation for Pick Your Fantasy, the level test, required contestants to perform in groups based on their agencies. Independent trainees like my past self performed solo, while the others took the stage alongside fellow trainees from their respective companies.

　　Each format had its pros and cons. A solo stage carried immense pressure and a heavy burden, but it also meant you could choose the song you were most confident in. Simply put, it was "go big or go home." Those who nailed it bathed in twice the spotlight, but those who failed suffered double the humiliation.

　　On the other hand, performing as a team meant you could blend in with the others, which was a double-edged sword. You could fake a decent-looking result just by hitting the synchronized choreography, but your chances of catching the public’s eye shrank proportionally.

　　I couldn’t quite recall what song Lee Kanghyun had chosen, but I definitely remembered that he belonged to an agency. The company was named Victorious — Victory for short. Including him, there were three trainees from that label competing on the show.

　　Finding the contact info for the other two is my top priority right now.

　　"Looking at the schedule, next weekend should work," my mother suddenly announced, pulling me from my thoughts.

　　"Work for what?" I asked.

　　"To set up a dinner with the executive producer."

　　"What?" Did I hear that right?

　　"From what I hear, the producer for that program happens to be an alumnus of your father’s university."

　　While I gaped like a fish, struggling to process that, she casually continued. "Shouldn’t we meet up beforehand to put in a good word? Just to ask him to look out for our boy."

　　Her face was the picture of peaceful benevolence. She didn’t seem to feel the slightest inkling that this was highly unethical, which only left me feeling more flustered.

　　"You don’t have to worry about a single thing. Mommy will take care of it all."

　　I knew full well it wouldn’t stop at just "putting in a good word." Adult networking was never that benign. While shaking hands and politely asking the man to look after her son, she would undoubtedly be sliding a thick envelope of cash under the table. I was absolutely certain of it.

　　"No, you don’t need to do that," I urged. "Survival and elimination are decided by viewer votes anyway, so…"

　　"Oh, sweetheart. Do you really think your mother doesn’t know that much?" She laughed, waving a manicured hand with elegant dismissal. "Whatever happens, you need screen time. And it’s even better if they edit it so the audience only sees the prettiest, most flattering sides of you."

　　So that was it. That was how the Lee Kanghyun of the past managed to debut.

　　Looking back, there had been plenty of glaring discrepancies. The Lee Kanghyun I’d observed during our months at the training camp was a selfish, self-centered brat. Yet, the version of him broadcast to the nation was proactive, cheerful, and bursting with leadership. In reality, Lee Kanghyun was a pathetic slacker entirely devoid of talent who didn’t even bother to try; on TV, he was portrayed as a hardworking underdog with a heart of gold.

　　I’d always thought the halo effect through favorable editing was a bit extreme, but I had just written him off as a typical case of being a producer’s favorite. I never dared to imagine that actual money and valuables were being exchanged behind closed doors.

* * *

　　—I only picked Lee Kanghyun for his face at first, but the more I watch the show, the cuter he gets. He doesn’t look it, but he’s surprisingly reliable and seems to have a great personality.

　　—It honestly pisses me off whenever people bitch about Kanghyun getting too much screen time, ugh. Our boy just has great variety talent, which is why he’s shown so much on screen. What do you want them to do about it? Stay mad, bitches.

　　—"Producer’s Pick" my ass. Have you really never seen a trainee get favored by the edit? Go complain to the fans desperately squeezing out forced praise for that other guy instead. I get sick to my stomach every time that bastard’s face pops up.

　　—Look, if you’re that desperate for your fave to get screen time, go lobby with the ‘Ma-d’ PD directly instead of wasting time hating on someone else. Why the fuck do you keep picking fights with my poor boy? Are you really that jobless?

　　—Wow, anyone who didn’t know better would think Kanghyun got down on his knees and begged the executives for more screen time. I can’t believe we live in a world where it’s a crime for a kid to be pretty and loved by everyone. It’s so absurd.

　　—Yeah, yeah, whatever. Your fave is still gonna get zero screen time next week anyway. Go ahead and whine on Twitter all day long, see if that changes anything.

　　A few social media threads I’d read in my past life flashed through my mind. I suddenly wondered where all those people who had so fiercely defended Lee Kanghyun, completely ignorant of the ugly truth, were now, and what they were doing.