Chapter 7: Level Test (2)

　　"He’s honestly prettier than my sister."

　　"I think I have a crush on him. And I’m a straight guy."

　　"Is he made of CGI? Virtual idols are huge right now… there’s no way a human face actually looks like that."

　　The whispers rippled through the room as he stood in the center of the studio, slowly scanning the remaining empty seats. This wasn’t some exaggerated reaction put on for the cameras. The awe was so genuine that I could even hear a few guys swear under their breath in disbelief.

　　Filming wasn’t even close to being over, but having lived through this once before, I knew exactly how the premiere of Pick Your Fantasy would be edited.

　　First, they’d start with a slow-motion close-up of his sneakers stepping onto the stage. The camera would slowly pan up to highlight his incredible proportions, splicing together footage from every conceivable angle to showcase his otherworldly looks.

　　They’d layer a choral, angelic track over the footage, throw in some sparkling visual effects, and cut to the other trainees looking like they were about to faint. Finally, they’d insert a solo interview with one of the more overly energetic contestants.

　　"I mean, he was so handsome it didn’t even feel like he was human. I swear I saw a literal halo behind his head. Were you guys shining a secret spotlight on him?"

　　In reality, Sung Yijun possessed a noble, untouchable aura that was entirely his own. Though he always wore that soft, gentle smile, no one dared to treat him carelessly. His presence was so intense that some guys joked, "I’m scared I’ll get exorcised if I mess with him, so I’m not even gonna try."

　　"Do you think he’s going for the number one seat?"

　　"Probably? With a face like that, his skills have to be insane, too."

　　Having seen this play out before, I knew exactly what Sung Yijun would do next. Rather than fighting for the golden chair, he would find an unassuming, leftover spot. He was a pacifist at heart, and he absolutely loathed being the center of unnecessary conflict.

　　"You don’t think he’s coming up here, do you?" The trainee in seat ninety-seven glanced my way and muttered under his breath. The empty spot he was referring to was right next to me—seat ninety-eight, painted the same bleak black as my own.

　　With most of the room already full, the fact that the only empty seat in my section was the one right beside me had been subtly bothering me. It honestly stung a little, making me wonder if guys were actively avoiding me because I looked unapproachable. Regardless, if it meant Sung Yijun sat next to me, I was more than happy to take the social hit.

　　After standing in the center of the studio and scanning the crowd for a long moment, Sung Yijun tilted his head, flashed a radiant smile, and started walking in my direction. He really was coming for seat ninety-eight.

　　"Hello."

　　"Hey, hi."

　　He dipped his head, offering a gentle greeting to both the guy in seat ninety-seven and me. I had literally just seen him shortly before my death, but strangely enough, it felt as though we were reuniting after a lifetime apart.

　　I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and immediately caught a whiff of Sung Yijun’s signature scent—something clean, warm, and comforting. It made my heart pound even faster. Feeling dizzy and starstruck by another guy at a critical moment like this… I must be going insane.

　　"You really are so handsome."

　　"Really? Thank you. You’re very handsome yourself, Yongki."

　　While I fought to keep my cool, Sung Yijun chatted amicably with Yongki in ninety-seven. I spent a moment just savoring that honey-smooth voice, which sounded exactly as incredible as I remembered, before finally mustering the courage to speak up.

　　"You must be pretty nervous, coming out here to represent your agency all by yourself," I said.

　　His head, which had been turned toward Yongki, slowly shifted back to me. Those radiantly sparkling eyes, framed by long, perfectly curled eyelashes that looked like they belonged on a doll, were exactly as I remembered, filling my chest with a sudden, nostalgic warmth.

　　"Ah. Right."

　　Huh? What was that tone?

　　After tossing out a response that bordered on freezing, Sung Yijun instantly turned his back to me and resumed his conversation with Yongki. Unable to hide my bewilderment, I stared blankly at his broad shoulders for a long time.

　　It had only been a fleeting moment, but I knew with absolute certainty that he hated me. Though a polite smile remained fixed on his lips, the second I caught that cold, detached look in his eyes, I knew.

　　I had no idea what was going on, but I was clearly already on Sung Yijun’s blacklist. The Sung Yijun I knew wasn’t the type to show unprovoked hostility. Frankly, I didn’t even know if he was capable of malice.

　　He was so genuinely pure that even his haters struggled to find anything to criticize, usually resorting to throwing around ridiculous terms like "good-boy complex" just to have something negative to say. That alone spoke volumes.

　　Did they know each other before I hijacked this body? Lee Kanghyun, you crazy bastard… what the hell did you do?

　　"Oh, looks like the next person is coming out."

　　To think someone in this world was actually hated by a literal angel. And to think that someone is me…

　　While I wailed internally, consumed by a deep sense of injustice and sheer bewilderment, the filming marched on.

　　Toward the end of the lineup, the murmuring in the studio spiked the moment a participant with prior debut experience made his entrance. He marched straight for the golden sofa and challenged the occupant to a battle for the number-one seat.

　　Since I already knew who would win the face-off, I pretended to watch the drama unfold while my mind raced with entirely different thoughts.

　　Sung Yijun and Lee Kanghyun. In my past life, the relationship between the two of them hadn’t just been bad; it bordered on toxic.

　　Of course, Sung Yijun had been completely innocent. Lee Kanghyun had been the sole, unprovoked aggressor.

　　Maybe it was bitterness over Sung Yijun constantly monopolizing the number-one spot, but the Lee Kanghyun of the past had been blatantly jealous of him. He’d gone out of his way to torment Yijun, mocking him right to his face. It was so notorious that every single trainee on Pick Your Fantasy knew about it.

　　And after all that, they still ended up debuting in the same group. I could only imagine how much Yijun must have suffered in silence.

　　He had never come to me to explicitly badmouth Kanghyun. But whenever he recalled his time promoting with P.KISS, he’d wear this deeply uncomfortable expression. It was obvious that Kanghyun had played a massive role in making Yijun absolutely sick of the entertainment industry.

　　But what if their bad blood had started even before the cameras started rolling for ‘Pick Your Fantasy’?

　　Unless they knew each other before the show, the Sung Yijun of this timeline had no reason to hate me right now. There had to be some sort of connection.

　　What could it be? Were they at the same agency in the past? But I’d heard Kanghyun only had six months of trainee experience. Yijun had reportedly been at DGN the whole time before moving to Miracle. Did they go to the same school?

　　The same training academy?

　　Damn it. If I had to possess someone, couldn’t I have ended up in Nam Woosung’s body? Or literally anyone else? Why did it have to be Lee Kanghyun, a guy buried under a mountain of terrible karma? What a complete mess.

　　As I continued to secretly grumble to myself, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.

　　[Independent Trainees]

　　The moment that final title flashed on the screen, chills went down my spine. My heart pounded so violently I could feel the pulse throbbing in my palms, but I desperately controlled my expression to keep it hidden.

　　I kept my eyes glued to the nametags of the independent trainees as they walked in one by one. I carefully read each name: Na Taejong, Yang Jinseok, Jung Youngjo… and Ha Yulkwon.

　　"They might be independent trainees, but they’re seriously good-looking."

　　"Wow, this lineup is no joke."

　　The whispered reactions around me completely failed to register. I was too overwhelmed by sheer confusion.

　　Park Seowoon wasn’t there. He was nowhere to be found.

　　"I’ve seen that face somewhere… isn’t he a Youtuber?"

　　"Whoa. Jung Youngjo… that guy was on Gimme the Money."

　　In the past, there had been four independent trainees, including me. But back then, there had been no trainee named Ha Yulkwon. It seemed he had taken the final remaining spot in my place.

　　If someone had entered Park Seowoon’s body two days ago and unilaterally bailed on the filming, the number of participants should have dropped to ninety-eight. There was no way production could have found a replacement in barely a single day.

　　Yet the participant count was currently at a perfect ninety-nine. This meant that the Park Seowoon of this timeline had never even applied for ‘Pick Your Fantasy’ to begin with. Or maybe he had already been eliminated in the preliminaries.

　　Where exactly is he? Does someone named Park Seowoon simply not exist in this world at all?

　　"Welcome, to all ninety-nine trainees gathered here."

　　The show’s progression continued even as my thoughts chased each other in endless circles. Having been staring blankly at the screen, I only snapped back to reality when the surrounding cheers grew deafening.

　　For now, I needed to focus on the recording. If I got caught up in my own thoughts, the cameras would just capture hours of footage of me looking needlessly grim, making me the perfect target for malicious editing.

　　Besides, brooding over it alone wouldn’t yield any answers. The right move was to check my old apartment as soon as filming wrapped.

　　"Shall I introduce myself first? I am J, and starting today, I will be your friend and mentor."

　　Since no one actually appeared on stage, leaving only a voiceover paired with subtitles, speculative whispers erupted across the studio.

　　"Doesn’t that voice sound super familiar?"

　　"Huh? I think I know who it is."

　　Why in the world did people actively seek out spoilers before watching a movie or show? When you already knew everything, watching it unfold was just utterly tedious.

　　Barely stifling a yawn, I brazenly acted like my eyes were sparkling with anticipation. Meanwhile, J’s voice continued.

　　"Does anyone happen to know who I am?"

　　Yes. I know. You’re Jo Youngwoong, the main vocalist of X-Catcher.

　　Though they were disbanded now, X-Catcher had once been the boy group that defined an entire era. Jo Youngwoong, their main vocalist, was incredibly famous, to the point where he was still actively promoting as a solo artist today.

　　The Pick Your Fantasy production team had managed to snag someone of his caliber as a mentor, so they obviously wanted to milk his reveal for all it was worth. I understood where they were coming from.

　　The problem was that not only the mentor, but the entire lineup of trainers was insanely stacked. Knowing they had brought in top-tier dancers and vocalists and would undoubtedly spend forever excitedly introducing every single one of them…

　　The rest of the shoot ahead felt dauntingly endless.