Chapter 9: Side Quest
June created chaos as he entered. It was the very first in the history of the show where a trainee didn't show his face. Much less, wear something so cute and feminine. Almost everyone was curious about his identity, and the three other independent trainees were quickly forgotten.
June ignored their whispers and walked to the closest seat.
Number 91.
He picked that seat since nobody else was sitting in the row.
Trainees continued pouring in, yet nobody could top June's first impression. However, his entrance was inevitably forgotten when the trainees from big companies started pouring in.
StarMuse.
Five trainees came in wearing suits. Right off the bat, they were already on a different spectrum from the other trainees. Their image screamed "all-rounders."
DragonFire.
Seven trainees wearing plain white button-ups entered the venue. They were tall and had model-like charms. It looked like they were good at dancing too. One particular trainee, Leo, stood out from them all. June knew that he had participated in the last season. He was one of the trainees who were supposed to make it but was replaced by a trainee from a bigger company who paid for his spot.
Phoenix.
It was the company that Choi Joon-ho used to train in. It's a wonder how he got into a famous company when he had the skills of a mediocre man.
[You're questioning the dead again, host.]
'Oh, shut up, Fu. I'm just telling the truth.'
Two trainees came in—Alex and Hyunwoo. June didn't recognize these people, but maybe the former Joon-ho could. They looked talented, yet they also felt like troublemakers.
Harmony.
A tall, handsome-looking, shy boy came in. He appeared to be the same age as June, but he looked quite clumsy despite his handsome image. Well, Harmony is a relatively new company. Still, they have produced some good solo artists in the past few years, which earned them the image of a good company.
The timid trainee sat beside June.
"Hello, brother," he shyly said. "My name is Jisung, but you can call me Ji. What's your name?"
June merely pointed at his nametag.
"Ah, June! Like the month? I was born in June."
"That's good," June said, wanting to finish their conversation quickly.
"Oh, you have a good voice, brother. You must be good at singing."
June nodded his head. "You look handsome," he complimented.
The shy boy beamed, instantly liking the mysterious trainee with a pink cat mask.
Only twenty more trainees and the room will be filled. More trainees poured in, and Jisung continued talking beside him. For someone who looked shy, he for sure talked a lot with June.
"Oh! It's Prism Entertainment. Someone from their company always makes it to the final line-up. I wonder who it will be this time."
Four trainees came in. Like the other trainees from big companies, they, too, were very handsome.
Jisung gasped. "It's Casper!" he exclaimed.
June glanced at Jisung. "You know these guys?"
"Of course!" he said. "Trainees from big companies already have content posted on YouTube and other platforms. I watched some of their videos, and they're really good."
June nodded his head. He was familiar with idols who had already debuted, but he didn't know that trainees could have fans too.
Crystal Entertainment.
Three guys came in this time, and all the other trainees stood up. June was confused about why they were all standing up, but then he recognized the faces of the people in the group. These trainees have already debuted. Specifically, they were once the idol group RAVEN.
They debuted in 2020 but didn't become popular in Korea. Instead, they made it big in Western countries. However, that wasn't enough to sustain their career, as they disbanded one year later. Now, they came back as an incomplete group to compete in Rising Stars.
"Our seniors," Jisung looked at them with sparkling eyes. "I've always liked their music."
Jaeyong, the leader of Raven, scanned the room and landed on the three empty seats beside Jisung.
Jisung froze when the group started walking toward them.
"What do we do? Do we greet them? Do we bow?" he frantically asked.
"Relax," June told him. "Just sit down."
He pulled Jisung to sit down while RAVEN settled on their seats. At that point, Jisung stayed silent for fear of disturbing the senior group.
June glanced around him and saw only two seats left—31 and 32. At that point, he could only think of one company.
Top Star.
Like the name, they were the biggest entertainment company in Korea. Almost all of their groups are famous both domestically and in the West. Two trainees came in, earning a warm and amazed reaction from the trainees.
Jisung leaned closer to him. "They sent Ren and Zeth. Top Star is really a different class."
"Why?" June asked. "Are they good?"
"More than good," Jisung whispered. "They're the best of the best among these trainees."
June sighed. He knew that talented trainees would make their way to this competition. However, he wanted to know specifically who he was going against.
If only he could see their status window like he could see his.
Just then, a holographic display was shown in front of him. At first, he thought it was one of the LED screens from the show, but when he looked around and saw that no one had noticed, he instantly knew that it was Fu.
'You decided to show up now?' he asked in his mind.
[This is your first side quest. It's called "Status Prophet." See other people's status windows! Do you want to take up this mission?]
'Well, what is the mission?'
[You may only know when you accept. Do you accept this side quest?]
June shrugged his shoulders. Seeing other people's status windows would make it easier for him to know who to avoid and who to team up with.
'I accept.'
[Wise choice. Your side quest is entitled: Heart of Gold.
Comfort a friend. Make use of your touching words to build someone's confidence!
Side quest deadline: 2 hours
Failure to accomplish the side quest will result in skill deterioration. One aspect will be downgraded by one level.]
'What? You never told me about any of this?'
[Good luck, host. Your timer starts now!]