A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 250

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Initial Intentions Episode 250

Rev’s 555th meeting was held.

The topic was ‘What concept should we go with for the second preliminary round.’

Although it was clearly my personal survival show, the members’ active participation created the illusion that Rev had all gone on a group survival show together.

Kim Dobin, who was the first to enthusiastically raise his hand high, strongly voiced his opinion.

“Since we went with fresh for the first round, I think we should go with sexy this time!”

“Rejected, rejected!”

I also shouted rejection with veins bulging in my neck.

If it were the finals with an audience, maybe, but I didn’t particularly want to show my sexy side in front of Yongcheol Hyung who would be judging.

Of course, it was obvious that Yongcheol Hyung wouldn’t particularly want to see my sexy concept either.

“I object.”

Ryu Jaehee raised his hand with an unnecessarily serious face.

“I think sexy is still too early to show. We should save sexy as our trump card and go with cute this time.”

“For example?”

“We need to discuss it from now on. What kind of cute look suits Eden Hyung.”

As soon as Ryu Jaehee finished speaking, Seo Yehyeon immediately raised his hand.

“How about shorts with a marine look?”

Perhaps still annoyed after hearing the harsh truth that the pass necklace didn’t suit me, Yehyeon’s suggestion showed a clear determination to somehow recommend the outfit that would suit me the least.

“Even so, there should be some reasonable limits. What if the producers press FAIL because the fashion is too unsightly and Eden Hyung gets eliminated?”

Ryu Jaehee shook his head firmly. I was torn between whether I should feel offended or nod in agreement since it made sense, and ended up missing the timing to get angry.

“Right, honestly, Eden Hyung wearing shorts with a marine look would be an eyesore…”

Haha, Doby. Have I been treating you too kindly lately?

Finally catching the timing, I lightly wrapped my arm around Kim Dobin’s neck and gave him a neck massage, causing him to frantically tap the floor in surrender.

As soon as I released my arm, Kim Dobin rubbed his neck and suggested an alternative.

“How about going in animal pajamas? Wearing the black cat pajamas that hold the top 1 spot for the most incomprehensible nickname fans call you.”

“That’s beyond being an idol, that’s being crazy. Who goes to a survival show in pajamas…”

I trailed off remembering the Pajama Man I saw in the first preliminary round. I guess there are people like that. But at least that person wasn’t wearing animal pajamas.

“If it gets too excessive, it’ll look like we’re desperately trying to get attention and hurt our image, so let’s keep it moderate. Just to the level that would be fan service for fans watching DTB.”

I leaned back comfortably against the sofa backrest and threw out my requirements. Too much would create an unlikable image.

“We don’t necessarily have to express idol-like qualities only through outfits, right?”

While all sorts of opinions were pouring out, Gyeon Hajun, who had been quietly listening, finally opened his mouth. Since it seemed like it would be much more helpful than the opinions Kim Dobin or Seo Yehyeon were giving, I focused and listened carefully.

Gyeon Hajun always found answers, so this time too he would guide me down the right path.

“For example, dyeing your hair light pink.”

“Ah, like during ?”

“Yeah, slightly lighter than back then. That would match well with a cute concept, wouldn’t it?”

Now that I heard it, it made sense. Even if not through outfits, I could prove I’m an idol with flashy hair colors, couldn’t I?

Kim Dobin muttered beside me.

“Pink Eden Hyung is less cute and more like… a villain who got the wrong pink hair dye dumped on him…”

Right, as someone said, it’s better than being a villain who accidentally fell into Barbie World.

* * *

Unlike the first preliminary round where elimination and advancement were decided after just 3 seconds of listening, the second preliminary round required listening to 60 seconds of rap for judging, so it was conducted over two days.

I was selected for the second day. A text message arrived with the time and date, along with a warning that spoiling results through SNS or other channels would result in not only disqualification but also legal action.

“The color will fade more by tomorrow, right? It will, right?”

As I lightly tugged at my hair, which was still dyed a slightly deep color to be called light pink, and muttered, Seo Yehyeon asked me with mild concern.

“Even though it’s the second preliminary round, is it okay to not prepare rap and only worry about clothes?”

“Hyung, you know winnowing, right? You know, putting grain on a winnowing basket and shaking it to separate the chaff. The first and second preliminary rounds are exactly like that.”

While refining the lyrical punchlines I had roughly scribbled in my phone’s memo app, I explained using an easy-to-understand analogy.

“Up to the second preliminary round, rap skills matter, but it’s also about picking useful guys who could create good broadcast moments. As long as I don’t mess up the lyrics, I absolutely won’t be eliminated, right?”

Well, even if I mess up the lyrics briefly, they’ll probably keep me. Instead, they’ll constantly mention some guy who did well in the second preliminary round but got eliminated, saying I got through because I’m an idol with broadcasting station backing while that guy with no connections fell, and I’ll get cursed at like hell.

Even though I have no such backing either…

Neither Jiwon Hyung nor Yongcheol Hyung are the type to judge me leniently just because of personal connections. If anything, they’d judge more strictly.

After washing my hair once more, I got a satisfactory hair color on the day of the second preliminary round.

The concept I chose for this second preliminary round was reverse charm.

While it would be difficult to relax my eyes and create a languid atmosphere in front of Yongcheol Hyung, smiling gently wasn’t hard.

Rather, imagining Yongcheol Hyung’s face as he’d be shocked or disgusted seeing me like that was even enjoyable.

The knit vest was hot to wear in May, but it was essential for completing the well-behaved look. Thanks to the knit, the jingling of the pass necklace was also reduced.

I folded the loose dress shirt sleeves a couple of times to secure them and grabbed the most important thing for this second preliminary round.

“Okay, preparation complete.”

After getting my makeup done, I put on round silver-framed glasses without lenses on my face.

[Don’t I look kind of like a model student?] 8:10 AM

[Seo Yehyeon- What exactly do you think a model student is] 8:11 AM

[Kim Dobin- You look like a delinquent who stole a nerd’s glasses] 8:12 AM

[Ryu Jaehee- You should use thicker lenses so your eyes look blurry to soften your impression] 8:13 AM

[Gyeon Hajun- Not at all] 8:14 AM

As soon as I sent a selfie wearing glasses to the group chat, I clicked my tongue while reading the replies that arrived one after another. Jun, aren’t you being too cold?

The broadcasting station’s car divided the participants and took them to the studio where filming would take place.

I received a sticker with my name written on it, stuck it on my top, and sat on a chair in the backstage waiting room. There was a monitor in front of the waiting room where we could watch the stage.

While looking around to see if there was anyone I knew, I spotted a familiar face and immediately bowed my head.

“Senior, hello.”

The man who had been blinking and staring at me intently at my greeting seemed to recognize who I was a beat later, let out a silent exclamation, and returned my greeting.

“Ah, hello.”

It was BT, Revolution’s main rapper. I think his real name was Lee Taebeom. Since I had expected that they wouldn’t eliminate all the idol rappers in the first round, today’s encounter wasn’t particularly surprising.

“How is Junhyeok Senior doing?”

When I asked about Revolution’s leader who had worked with me on ‘On Top’, he adjusted his beanie and nodded.

“Junhyeok Hyung is doing well. Come to think of it, you did a year-end special stage with Junhyeok Hyung before, right? I’ll pass along your regards.”

Several layers of gold chain necklaces around his neck jingled along with the pass necklace. Just looking at his outfit, he looked the most rapper-like among us.

Relieved that our concepts didn’t overlap, I scanned the surroundings again looking for people I knew, then shifted my gaze upward to the shadow cast over my head.

“Well, well, look who it is?”

A sarcastic greeting poured out as if he’d been waiting.

“Long time no see?”

Wondering who the hell was acting familiar with me, I narrowed my eyes and asked.

“Who are you?”

The guy seemed quite upset, gritting his teeth, so I glanced down at his name tag.

‘G-TE’

Who the hell is this really.

“This past-tense bastard… Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?”

When I blinked with a blank stare, the guy covered the mic attached to his clothes with his hand and muttered grimly.

There were many people from my underground days with whom I didn’t get along, but there was only one guy who called me “past-tense.”

Same age as me.

And a guy who was terrible at rap.

Ever since hearing my pure question of curiosity about why he raps, he’d been grinding his teeth and picking fights with me whenever he saw me.

“Huh, is that you Hyeongjin? You changed your rap name? As I remember, it used to be Unseek or something?”

“It was Unshark!”

“Same difference. Anyway, I almost didn’t recognize you because your rap name changed.”

I swallowed the words that I almost didn’t recognize him because he had aged so much.

“Look who’s talking, you’ve become a full-fledged idol while I wasn’t looking.”

Choi Hyeongjin sneered as he looked me up and down. His unchanged attitude was truly welcome. I thought using this guy would make for good broadcast material.

Isn’t the conflict narrative between guys who originally didn’t get along a timeless hit? Though to call it a rivalry structure, our Hyeongjin’s skills are rather… well…

“Why? You recommended it to me. To become an idol.”

Of course, from that bastard’s perspective, it was sarcasm, not a recommendation.

“Thanks, because you recommended my career path, I decided on my future dream without any worries and even achieved it.”

And you should be grateful to me too. I’m personally creating broadcast material for a guy who would normally be nothing.

Seeing that he was quite frustrated that I wasn’t getting scratched but rather scratching him instead, his face twisted again. I chuckled and got up, lightly patting the shoulder of the guy who was shorter than my shoulder.

“But Hyeongjin, Unshark is better than G-Tech.”

That last comment must have really gotten to him, as he forcefully hit my shoulder and sat in the chair farthest away from me. Of course, he was the one who staggered.

After watching the previous six or seven performances and giving appropriate reactions, my name was soon called.

I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to see BT and Choi Hyeongjin’s stages too, but finishing quickly and going back to the dormitory to rest wasn’t bad either, so I grabbed what I was holding and went from backstage to the stage, receiving applause.

Below the high stage, the producers were seated. In front of each table where they sat, there was a screen that displayed FAIL and PASS.

Yongcheol Hyung’s mouth fell open when he saw me. I gave a fresh wink toward Yongcheol Hyung. Well, Yongcheol Hyung had never seen me in such a well-behaved, model student outfit before.

Standing with my back to the screen showing a timer counting 60 seconds, Moltic, one of the producers, grabbed the microphone and spoke to me.

“Are you ready?”

“Ah, wait a moment. Let me prepare myself mentally.”

I turned around and put the rabbit hat I brought on my head.

Okay, mental preparation complete.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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