Chapter 11: Variety Sense Test
1st Place: Do Seohan
2nd Place: Cha Seongbin
3rd Place: Lee Dokyung
The center evaluation results came out.
I was first place.
I wanted to believe it would happen, but I didn’t expect it to actually come true.
In my past life, I had been growing slowly but steadily, but in this life, I was growing so rapidly that it couldn’t even be compared.
Is this a dream...
If it is, I don’t want to wake up.
I skimmed through the comments with a faint smile.
It’s been a while.
People who were cheering for me were waiting.
–Crazy Byeoseohan, you have to debut.
⨽Do Seohan, go devour K-pop.
⨽Now I get why you’re center. The depth in your dance line is different.
⨽For real.
⨽He’s just a genius in dance control and facial expressions. Isn’t he just a born idol?
⨽ㅠㅠㅠㅠ His skills are insane.
⨽I bet he was an overwhelming No.1 in both views and votes.
⨽Mam-Seohan probably helped too.
⨽Mam-Seohan lolololololol
⨽Can’t escape the cicada’s trap...
⨽Ah I’m dying lololol
–Hey, can’t you tell from the first 3 seconds? He already dominates with his gaze.
⨽But still, he’s just a cute hamster.
⨽No lol Seohan is serious. Our boy is really sincere about being center.
⨽A hamster-type who quietly does everything on his own.
⨽If he stands out this much in just the center evaluation, I think I’ll lose it during the actual broadcast.
⨽I think I found my one pick ㅠㅠ
–The other trainees are good too, but he definitely stands out. He doesn’t feel like a trainee. More like someone on their second life lolol
⨽Feels like he already knows what fans like.
⨽Ah I think I get it lolololol
⨽So true x222222
⨽His expressions are already second-life level.
Wait a second.
“Feels like a second life, huh….”
What the heck, that’s way too sharp?
As I scrolled through the comments, my heart oddly skipped a beat.
“How did they know.”
Of course, they couldn’t have actually known, but still—it shocked me.
Well, either way, it’s a good thing if it’s going well.
As soon as the center evaluation video went up, the view count shot up, so I had thought I might end up standing center.
Since the vote count was crucial, I couldn’t be certain.
But I wanted it.
I wanted to step into that realm I couldn’t even look up to in my past life.
I was grateful to the people who built that stepping stone for me, and while holding on to the pouring comments, I couldn’t let go for a long time.
“Waaaaaah! Centeeeeer!”
Whoa, what a surprise.
I didn’t expect Seo Haim’s energy to be this high.
“Did you finish rehearsing? How was it, standing on stage during rehearsal?”
“…It felt different.”
“Right? Right?? Wow, I nearly passed out right then.”
It’s different. Even though this was my second time here, it still felt new.
A music broadcast site.
There’s a definite pressure that comes with that one phrase.
Only then did I slowly take in the spacious studio at Seo Haim’s words.
The dream stage every trainee wants to stand on—this place was the set of a music broadcast.
Cameras moving nonstop to set up the broadcast, staff members running around frantically and yelling. And us, awkwardly stuck in between like strangers not knowing what to do.
Jin Sehyun handed me a bottle of water and joined us.
At least he looked mentally composed. Maybe because of his normally calm personality—but actually, no.
Shake shake shake shake.
At that level, isn’t it a tremor?
“They said the live show’s starting soon. I’m not that nervous. Maybe because I’ve seen it a lot on TV.”
Shake shake shake shake.
“Is your hand shaking instead of your heart?”
“…!”
Jin Sehyun looked down at his trembling hand like a quaking leaf and gave an embarrassed smile.
“What’s wrong with me?”
At least he was being honest.
Seo Haim had already been stomping his feet in nervousness from earlier.
“Ah, I’m going crazy. I feel like I’m going to die from nerves already.”
“It’s because it’s everyone’s first time.”
They both turned toward me at the same time, eyes filled with confusion.
Everyone’s first time? Isn’t it your first time too?
Did you use to be a child actor or something?
That kind of look.
Of course, it made sense. Since this wasn’t my first time, I felt excitement, but not nervousness.
A place lined with cameras like this wasn’t scary to me.
Honestly, I wasn’t nervous at all…
“Seohan?”
“Y-Yeah…?”
Shake.
“I think you already spilled your water.”
At Jin Sehyun’s comment, I looked down at the floor, now soaked.
He must’ve been watching because I’d been spilling my water from earlier.
I wasn’t any different after all.
“R-Really?”
Ah, I shouldn’t have read those comments before this.
I got all emotional from those supportive comments. Just as I tried to pretend to stay calm with a smile, a staff member called us.
“Stardust Project participants!”
Even if we’re just participants now, someday we’ll be called—
—as full members of Stardust.
So that we can be called that.
“Let’s go.”
I grinned and stepped onto the stage.
My trembling hands soon came to a stop.
Wake up and spread your dreams
You can do it
Take me take me
Reach out your hand
The one who believes in me is you
So don’t hesitate
Catch me
“Great work!”
“Please take care of us!”
“You did great! You really did great!”
“When’s the first broadcast?”
Trainees shouting loud greetings, and staff giving us thumbs up and encouragement as we stood there stiff with nerves.
Of course, it was partly because the show would launch a boy group and the cameras were still rolling, but it didn’t feel bad at all.
“Thank you, I’m Do Seohan!”
I also gave hasty greetings as I caught my breath.
The stage ended safely.
Performing live on a music broadcast like this, even if it’s a cable channel, was a situation that required enduring tremendous pressure.
And in this life, I had to stand as the center.
It’s a position that receives the most attention, but if you don’t fulfill your role, you receive double the criticism.
Standing in that heavy position, I had successfully completed the stage.
What is this feeling?
My hand was shaking so much I couldn’t speak properly.
It wasn’t fear. It was closer to a thrill I hadn’t felt in years.
It felt like I had finally returned, after wandering far, to the place I was meant to be.
“I want to… keep running.”
I wanted to keep running on stage.
My first stage completed, surrounded by countless cameras, receiving cheers from the crowd.
I knew better than anyone how rough this path would be.
So if I hadn’t felt this feeling at all, I might’ve given up on this life already.
But in the end, I had come back to this place.
Because I wanted to stand on stage again.
Just when I was basking in this overwhelming emotion with a smile on my face.
“Do Seohan! Do Seohan!”
“Yes?”
At the sound of a sudden urgent voice, I turned my head.
The woman who came running had a flashy outfit that didn’t seem like she was from the music show staff. She started speaking quickly, forgetting not to shove her mic in my face.
A reporter?
“I’m Reporter Han I-hyun from TBN! Just a few questions, if you don’t mind!”
“Yes, hello! I’m trainee Do Seohan!”
Since this was the TBN music broadcast site, it wasn’t entirely strange that a reporter was here.
But her voice had a strange, acting-like tone, so I asked back.
“Um… what kind of questions?”
“A variety sense test!”
Excuse me?
“We’ll just do a quick variety sense test before you go!”
No, this was obviously something our program prepared.
W-What kind of amateur acting was this?
“A variety sense test?”
What in the world had the production staff prepared now?
A variety sense test, she said.
I wondered if we had done something like this before.
Still, if it had been something like a one-on-one interview, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember it.
I must not have done it before.
“Hm… I see.”
You might think that everyone gets to do these interviews as part of the show, but in reality, only the favorites who the PDs like get screen time.
Hmm.
I get the gist now.
Since I didn’t have much presence in the beginning, I probably didn’t get to do interviews like this before either.
Anyway, if I could get a bit of screen time, that was great.
Whatever the test was, I was ready to do my best.
I sat stiffly and waited for the questions.
“We’ll begin!”
“Yes!”
“Please tell us your mindset going into the Stardust Project.”
I held the mic and opened my mouth.
“I think saying I’ll do my best is too cliché. So instead, I’ll show you a performance with no regrets!”
“A performance with no regrets—how cool.”
“Thank you!”
But.
Something felt off.
“Trainee Do Seohan, what are your hobbies?”
“I like… movies and stuff.”
“What about horror movies?”
“Nope. I never watch those. Never.”
What the?
She said this was a variety sense test, but the questions were all boring.
It really felt more like a legit interview that would be published in an article.
Also, I didn’t know why, but the questions felt weird in another sense.
“You can’t watch scary stuff?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m scared of that kind of thing…”
Why did she keep digging in this direction?
Reporter Han I-hyun kept smiling as she tried to coax out a reaction from me with her questions.
Of course, one possibility briefly crossed my mind.
No way. No way.
This can’t be some hidden camera prank, right? Like they’d suddenly jump out and scare me or something?
But I quickly dismissed that idea.
To my knowledge, that kind of segment never existed in the original Stardust Project.
Maybe it was just a regular interview, and they were trying to draw out natural reactions from me.
As expected, Reporter Han I-hyun didn’t make any strange moves.
Instead, she simply led into the self-introduction segment with a loud voice.
“Finally, please show us a 1-minute self-introduction!”
Phew. I was a bit nervous, but thankfully nothing happened.
I shot up from my seat and confidently began speaking.
So this was the variety sense test?
A 1-minute self-intro. Honestly, I’d done this so many times that it felt familiar by now.
“Hello, I’m trainee Do Seohan from Doubles Entertainment. My strengths are my fearless boldness and my spirit. And lastly, my confidence. I’ll show you all my charm without being afraid of anything.”
Thirty seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Ten seconds left.
“To wrap up, I’ll sing a part of my song.”
A line from the signal song I’d practiced over and over.
I shouted out with bold vocalization, pouring all my impact into that one line.
Shout it out with confidence—
“Look at me—You know it alrea—huh?”
But something felt wrong.
It was like a breeze brushed past me.
Too close to be just a normal breeze.
“What’s wrong? Is something happening?”
“Ah, n-no. I’ll wrap up! Thank you for watching my video…!”
What was this chill I felt?
It was a prickly sensation, like someone grabbing my leg.
I thought it was just my imagination—but I realized too late that it wasn’t.
Grab.
Ah. Ah. No way. This can’t be happening.
Ah. Ah. Ah….
“…!!!!”
Uuuuuugh!
I let out a voiceless scream as I tumbled forward.