Trapped in the Idol Universe

Meanwhile, the butler, having parted ways with Abangmyo, threw himself even more into Inhart to soothe his loneliness.

Now that he’d gotten Roy’s permission, he went on an all-out release of unpublished photos, posting stories several times a day. Roy had begged him again and again to make sure to post them as stories.

As a result, 1SecondNyang’s Inhart follower count hit one million in record time for an awakener.

‘Roy said to post the one-million-celebration photo as a feed post....’

Following the manual a former top-tier idol had given him, Hojin just now uploaded a new feed post. No sooner had he posted the photo than the café app’s notifications buzzed nonstop. It was the 1SecondNyang keyword alert.

[Title: 1SecondNyang Inhart 1M Celebration Photo]

(Roy mirror selfie.jpg)

ㅇㅇㅇ

But honestly, if you’re celebrating a million, shouldn’t you release a million photos..?

└ She’s underage... everyone get a grip...

└ I came back from lunch and it’s 1.02M lol the speed is insane

└ I already see transfers being sold

Monitoring the comments with a proud smile, Hojin spotted an unfamiliar phrase.

‘Live viewing?’

The muggle, who only knew how to post photos on Inhart and didn’t know real fan culture, tilted his head. After some thought, he decided to reply—but then hesitated as a long-ago trauma resurfaced.

In the butler’s toddler days, he’d simply followed his mother’s advice to ask whenever he didn’t know something. Yet someone he didn’t even know had shamed him for being a “princess who can’t type,” and he’d received a dressing-down. Hojin’s face still burned at the memory. How much it had hurt his young heart....

Determined not to become a “finger princess,” Hojin opted to research further. Fortunately, this was a hot topic, and he quickly found the information he needed.

[Title: Suhiro Live Participation]

They haven’t posted audience notices yet, right? Am I just not finding them..??

[Title: Suhiro live participation? How do you do that?]

I thought I saw a post saying where live viewing was available, but I can’t find it againㅠㅠ Can anyone go if they apply?? 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

└ Thx!!

In the second post, Hojin discovered a link and tapped the heart. It led to Inhart. A pre-recording announcement must have just appeared, with a post explaining how to participate. It seemed you had to follow the official account, then upload a broadcast verification photo with the event hashtag; winners would be chosen by lottery for audience spots.

‘That’s easy.’

Relieved that even a muggle could follow the steps, Hojin hearted the post and returned to his feed. He happened to be rewatching Episode 2 at the time—a perfect opportunity. Hojin dashed to the TV, paused it on Roy’s appearance, stretched out his arm so his face would be in view, and snapped! The angle was decent, and the selfie turned out surprisingly well. He uploaded the impromptu selfie to 1SecondNyang’s account with the hashtag.

‘I hope I get picked.’

Closing the Inhart app, Hojin headed to the academy with a fluttering heart.

[Title: ButlerKim who..?]

(Hojin broadcast verification selfie.jpg)

Butler, you never told me I was handsome;; I feel a bit distanced....

└ Wait, Hongdae??

└ Yes boyfriendboy, my millennial ideal, I remember clearly

Hojin’s dark past began to resurface.

✧

At that time, Roy was about to begin the first team training. There were two training rooms at the filming site, shared in rotation by multiple teams, so time was limited. Each team was allotted only three hours of room use—but they could still strategize freely outside that period.

“Our team’s training time is from 4 to 7.”

The training slots were fairly drawn, and true to his luck, Roy had snagged the optimal window.

“Wow. Seriously, Roy, your luck is unreal.”

Anna admired, giving him a thumbs-up.

“Ahem. I told you to trust me.”

Roy shrugged his shoulders cockily. Other teams would have to train either half-asleep or post-lunch groggy—but we had a great slot. Seated at the head as team leader, Roy pulled his chair close and said,

“So, we still have plenty of time before training. I think it’d be good to come up with our strategy.”

He looked at Seohyunwoo, who sat silently.

“Hyung, when you trained in your guild, how did you do it?”

Seohyunwoo was the only guild member among us. His cold eyes above the mask stared through Roy as if reading his mind.

‘Why ask that?’

Had Roy been rude? He’d just been curious about actual guild training. From Seohyunwoo’s perspective, it might have seemed like Roy was fishing for guild know-how. Just as Roy prepared to smooth things over, a low voice echoed through the meeting room.

“Pair.”

“Pair?”

Of course he knew—the same body once called a pair-choreography master. Every year at awards season he and Yeonwoo would prepare pair dances, leaving knees and backs aching. Sliding, pulling, and contorting each other’s bodies—embarrassing in practice, but on stage the fans’ cheers made it exhilarating. Lost in memories, Roy heard Seohyunwoo continue.

“In guild, we usually operate in pairs. To complement each other’s weaknesses.”

Roy knew Seohyunwoo’s “pair” wasn’t flirtatious—it was tactical.

“So if we move in pairs, how should we divide up?”

Seohyunwoo scanned the team, grabbed a notepad and pen from the table, jotted something down, and handed the note to Roy. It listed his recommended pairs.

“Wow! You really recommend these?”

Seohyunwoo only nodded once.

“As expected of Pluton...! Everyone, let’s give him a round of applause!”

Roy led the clapping, and everyone joined in, the mood turning warm. Rumor said Seohyunwoo barely spoke and hated socializing, but he didn’t seem that way now. Instead, it looked like Taeeon and Yeonwoo were the ones struggling to fit in. Roy heard them mutter softly as they clapped.

“Ham, don’t you feel like he’s... different?”

“Different? You mean Roy?”

Gasp. Had my aura changed so they could notice? Perhaps I could no longer hide my S-rank presence. Roy shuddered and scooted away from them—but Yeonwoo wasn’t talking about Roy, he was talking about Seohyunwoo.

“I’m losing it. Does he not understand anything? You think I’m talking about him?”

“No? Oh, you mean Seohyunwoo-ssi?”

“Yeah. His vibe is totally different now.”

In the last shoot, Seohyunwoo had ignored every question, so Roy had thought the Third Guild’s nose was arrogant. Yet now he answered well and even took initiative—just as Gwakhyeol said, maybe Roy really had the beauty-king magic. Conscious of the others, Roy quickly changed the subject.

“All right, we’ll read through Hyungwoo’s suggestions, then if anyone has better ideas, speak up.”

The rookie of Pluton, Seohyunwoo’s recommended pairs were:

Anna raised her hand.

“Did you consider compatibility? I’m not so sure...”

Her point was valid—Yeonwoo preferred long-range attacks while Anna excelled at close combat; Taeeon and Gyebokji likewise had opposite styles. Roy began to wonder:

‘Did he really account for our compatibility?’

Roy looked to Seohyunwoo expectantly.

‘Please explain...?’

But Seohyunwoo’s gaze was intense, almost fierce. The moment Roy asked him to explain, it felt like he’d leap across the table.

“Um... well...”

Of course, Seohyunwoo might not have meant anything by it. Yet Roy couldn’t help but feel self-conscious, given the rumors. Externally the Pluton Guild was an information guild, but whispers said they were actually an assassination guild. Roy had no choice but to persuade the team himself.

“How about we try it once, then adjust as we go? Hyungwoo’s still our only experienced member.”

And so Team Roy’s first training session began.