Trapped in the Idol Universe

Team Earth was the weakest corps in Star Hero, made up of twenty-eight D-grade members and four F-grade members.

As befits a team gathered from lower ranks, morale was abysmal.

“Just watching this is exhausting.”

“It’s hot.”

“There’s no way we’ll finish the summit in one day.”

“It feels like they just want to wear us out. Let’s just do it half-ass.”

Roy agreed with what everyone was saying.

But then....

“Ugh, cough, cough!”

“What’s wrong? Do I smell like someone without friends to you?”

ShiX.

He couldn’t bring himself to turn his back on those pitiful F-grade members.

“Still, we have to climb, so why don’t we at least gather and talk a bit?”

Roy clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Yes? Everyone~”

Clap! Clap!

But everyone just sighed as if they’d rather die than participate. The only people moving were the Fs.

Do these people really ignore me because my rank’s low?

Here Roy was an F among F-grade—he’d scraped through prelims with the absolute lowest score.

They were already dissatisfied with the ranks they’d been given; there was no way anyone lower than them would willingly follow someone beneath them.

This wasn’t low self-esteem talking but a rational inference based on experience.

Isn’t school a small society?

As an unofficial F and the official outcast of Seoul Awakened High, Roy had been through this kind of thing more than once.

Still—don’t you care about your image?

There were guys who acted like rank was everything; when teachers were around, they at least pretended to be decent.

Besides, the cameras were rolling now.

This is going to be broadcast nationwide—are you really going to behave like this?

Did these people even know how the voting worked? Didn’t they know public votes counted for seventy percent?

Or did the Wilderness prefer people with ruined personalities?

Roy was fairly shocked. If the audience really preferred rotten people, they’d have to change strategy immediately.

He glanced sideways to check the faces of the production crew filming them.

One of them was Junseo, and the corner of his mouth was trembling as if he found the situation absolutely hilarious.

Smile...?

In this confusing moment there was one thing that would please a broadcasting PD above all else.

When they were certain the ratings would go up.

Roy judged that Junseo found the situation extremely entertaining.

So there is still some common sense in the Wilderness.

If so, using this situation to their advantage was part of being a seasoned idol, wasn’t it?

They’d even been handed an image-making opportunity on a silver platter; refusing it would be disqualifying for an idol.

Since he’d been given the leader role anyway, he decided to take it seriously.

Roy put on an angelic mask and smiled brightly.

“I checked the hiking map, and the difficulty seems different for each peak.”

The lowest peak had a rough, steep course and was actually quite difficult.

Whereas the higher peaks had gentler paths but required long detours, so they took much more time.

So the downside was the heavy physical burden if they were to return within the time limit.

“Still, I think it might be better to try the lower courses first, even if they take a bit longer.”

Roy was gently coaxing the team to get them to participate.

From somewhere a brusque voice cut in.

“You think you know anything?”

The tone was laced with contempt.

When they turned, a big-built man strolled over with a swaggering gait.

“You’re F-grade Lee Roi. I get that you’re excited to wear that leader hat, but have some sense, okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh dear. Was my speech too complicated for our little friend to understand?”

The man’s sneer made the group with him burst into laughter.

Roy’s gaze landed on the man’s name tag.

[Jo Yeonil / D]

He was D-grade and yet talking down like that.

To Roy’s eyes there wasn’t much difference between D and F, but the D-grade attitude was something else.

Still, he’d just decided to try being a good leader.

A survival program gathers all kinds of people. This wasn’t surprising.

“Why, Mr. Jo Yeonil?”

“Huh?”

The small one answered back boldly, and Jo Yeonil let out a derisive chuckle as if amazed.

“Kids these days are something else. Nothing phases you, huh. Little one, have you ever climbed Mount Hwangya?”

For a moment Roy wanted to snap back, “Have you ever seen such a big baby?” but too many eyes were on them.

Image is life on a survival show.

Roy bit back his retort and lifted the corner of his mouth instead.

“It’s my first time.”

“Figured. Usually you tackle this kind of thing when your stamina is top notch and finish it in one go. But what would an F-grade know?”

He swept his arm to indicate there were many who couldn’t finish the gentle course within the day.

Especially the four of them, he added with emphasis.

“Understood. So Jo Yeonil thinks we should take the lower peak despite the risk? Others—”

“Small one, why do you keep saying ‘sir’ after every sentence? Can’t you understand plain talk? This isn’t an opinion, do as I say.”

Ah. So this bastard was a villain.

You started that “sir,” didn’t you, siX.

He’d tried hard not to judge by appearances, but it turned out another villain proved that physiognomy was a science.

“I’m the leader. I’ll hear my team’s opinions and follow the majority—”

“No? I’m right. Do as I say!”

And he kept cutting people off.

The urge to tell him, “If you want to lead so badly, why don’t you be the leader?” rose up in Roy’s throat.

Should he spit it out or swallow it?

As Roy glared at Jo Yeonil debating whether to speak, Jo Yeonil mocked him as if he were ridiculous.

“Training to the point of exhaustion? Why would we do that? Let’s hurry up and rest. Finish today.”

“Training’s supposed to be hard.”

“I’m being considerate of you. Are you pretending not to get it, or are you really that dense?” 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“Considerate?”

“Yeah. Do you even think you can make it up there?”

Jo Yeonil’s gaze landed on Gwakhyeol, who was clearing his throat.

“He said it’d be hard but doable.”

“Pfft! That guy can barely make it, yet you think he’ll climb? F-grade?”

“Aren’t F-grades awakeners? We all passed prelims the same way and gathered here.”

More than anything, Roy thought, the ranks they’d been given weren’t even the real measure. It was like he himself was hiding his S-rank.

He didn’t mind Gwakhyeol being dismissed. They’d only just met—nothing more, nothing less.

But being lumped in and dismissed just because they shared the same rank—that he couldn’t tolerate.

“You don’t even know what my real rank is.”

“An F is an F no matter what. Kid, not all awakeners are the same. Didn’t they teach you that at school?”

“No. They didn’t.”

“Is that so? Well, you’ll learn today. Listen to me.”

Jo Yeonil strode forward and blocked Roy’s path.

A textbook thug type.

A guy who used physical superiority to threaten and establish dominance.

Most people would be flustered in this situation.

But Roy wasn’t. Why?

Spend a year in the bottom of the entertainment industry and you’ll be hollowed out of everything but grit.

Guys who tried to bully others like they were something—he’d seen them countless times; it wasn’t even funny.

“Then how about a wager? To see if an F is really just an F.”

Team Earth training, day one.

The D- and F-grade contestants split into two teams and declared they’d fend for themselves.

✧

There are many kinds of leaders.

Empathic leaders.

Hard-working leaders.

Perfectionist leaders.

Self-sacrificing leaders.

Dictatorial leaders.

Roy had encountered many leader types in his past life.

First, the empathic type.

The kind who understands team members’ feelings, soothes and cajoles to lead them. That wasn’t him.

Roy was born with a fiery temperament and was terrible at matching anyone’s metaphors. The only person in all worlds he’d ever try to understand was Roze.

Next, the hard-working type.

Someone who knows they’re lacking as a leader and works to fill those gaps. Not his fit either.

Why?

Because I’m S-rank.

For now the world was unfairly smothering him and his skills were locked, but that’d be fixed before long.

Next, the perfectionist.

The type who pushes everyone until they’re flawless.

Taeeon fit that mold.

With that kind face, he never once let things slide.

Thinking back to Taeeon in his past life—matching arm angles, jump heights—made him solemn.

That had been hard back then...

But Roy acknowledged Taeeon’s effort had helped Shooting Star succeed.

Still, he didn’t want to demand the same pain from these Fs.

Perfection must be demanded according to the person, and these Fs in front of him were....

“Cough, cough! Father—cough!”

“Gwakhyeol-nim, your face is green...!”

“Gwakhyeol-nim, are you from the magic world? I watched that movie Wicked yesterday and the main character’s skin was green.”

Hope springs eternal.

So what about the self-sacrificing leader?

Sacrifice your body for others’ sake—what nonsense.

Roy never did anything that left him at a loss.

Ah, except for Roze, of course.

Finally, the dictatorial leader.

Jo Yeonil was exactly that type. His word was law and the only correct answer. He demanded absolute obedience and tried to control everything.

Roy personally thought that was the worst type.

So what kind of leader was Roy?

“I’ll show them what I can do!”

Reactive.

The type who fuels will with provocation or competitive spirit.

This type’s combat power skyrockets the more anger accumulates.

Roy clenched his fist and swallowed his rage as he eyed Jo Yeonil.

Just wait and see.

He wanted to use this chance to prove even the Fs could do it and flatten that guy’s arrogance.

But how am I supposed to knock that guy down?

Just then, the production crew, who’d had enough of the escalating tension, stepped in.

Junseo mediated and proposed a new plan: split D and F for training.

At the time Roy thought Junseo’s surprising suggestion was noble and blurted an automatic “call,” but looking back it was a big picture move to draw out more provocative moments.

A little split can sometimes be a good catalyst.

They’d been played—again.