WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 6

[Warning!!! : Encounter with someone with a higher Network level. Stamina will deplete 30% faster!]

[Eloquence increases! Overwhelm your opponent!]

“What are you going to do if a reporter writes an article about this?”

Well, though I wasn’t a reporter right now.

However, my eloquence and my proficiency in pointing fingers I honed as a journalist never left me.

……However, the moment Hyun Jiwoo looked at me, cold sweat suddenly started to pour out of me.

I could feel my stamina depleting rapidly.

This was bad.

Encountering someone with a higher level resulted in a ruthless depletion of stamina.

“……What……? Are you perhaps an extra?”

As soon as Hyun Jiwoo realized that I was someone unrelated to him, he softened his expression and used an extremely polite form of speech.

He truly knew how to act before different people. How cunning.

“Violence isn’t the answer.”

“Are you perhaps acquainted with my stylist?”

“Does that matter?”

“Are you a reporter?”

“If that were true, wouldn’t that be the worst case scenario?”

I squeezed up the corners of my mouth and smiled as casually as I could.

“I’m Yuyoung from WEEKANIZ. Ah, you might not know me though, because I’m just a poor struggling idol. I’m also pretty idle these days…… So, I came out here for a breath of fresh air, then I saw that there was a filming set here, so I came over to see if I can find some familiar faces.”

“Ah…… I see. Hello. So, have you found any familiar faces?”

I did. I did.

The corners of Hyun Jiwoo’s lips trembled slightly. 

“Yes. I sure did. You’re here, actor Hyun Jiwoo. Who in Korea doesn’t know you?”

“Thank you. But what to do? The shoot is about to start.”

“Yes, by the way. Actor.”

“……?”

I shrugged my shoulders one more time before opening my mouth once again.

“What’s done in the dark will come out to the light. Something like that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It means just that. Oh, are you okay? Look at you covered in dirt.”

I gave a vague response to Hyun Jiwoo’s question, as I cautiously helped up the stylist.

Then I saw a familiar figure in the grass.

That bastard, I knew he would come.

How could he ignore a scoop of this magnitude with his temper?

However, if I play the hero too much, it might seem suspicious.

I should now make a quick exit.

My legs felt weak.

I put as much strength as I could muster into my staggering legs and walked away slowly.

* * *

[ Notoriety level: 70

Notoriety Keyword : No contact]

[ Congratulations! You have erased ‘Power abuse’ from the Notoriety Keyword list.

Reward: Network level +2, Karma points +50]

<‘Hyun Jiwoo abuses his power against stylist’ ft. WEEKANIZ’s Yuyong>

<Yuyong appeared at the scene of ‘Hyun Jiwoo’s abuse of power’...... and came forward to stop it.>

<From ‘Abusidol’ to ‘Kindol’...... the story about Yuyong’s ‘reversal’>

This……

The quality of this article wasn’t very good, but it was still exploding

While it had the effect I somewhat expected and wanted, it still was quite scary how strong this article’s effect was.

KMY:……WEEKANIZ’s Yuyoung supported me greatly while I was going through a really difficult time.

This wasn’t just some community post, but a proper article with a reporter’s actual first and last name under it, risking his reputation.

Public opinion about Hyun Jiwoo immediately fell to the ground and exploded.

The stylist, who had been through a lot in the past, seemed determined to make full use of this opportunity and even held a press conference.

KMY: I know that Yuyoung-ssi has suffered greatly because false rumors and articles about him doing something similar were spread around the public. However, that day Yuyoung-ssi went out of his way to personally help me during that day. Thanks to him I was able to avoid greater suffering.

Q: What is your relationship with Yuyoung-ssi?

KMY: If you're asking if we are in ‘that kind of' relationship, I can assure you that there is nothing between us.

Q: Why was Yuyoung-ssi at the scene?

KMY: I only know that he usually takes walks around these parts to catch some fresh air.

It wasn’t easy for a non-celebrity to deal with these reporters.

I might need to keep an eye on her. She sure is quite a character.

In any case, with one of the Notoriety Keywords gone and my Network level raised, it seemed like everything ended without a hitch.

Except for the fact that my stamina was reaching its limits and was almost completely dried up……

That day after I confidently ran my mouth like that I immediately escaped as if I was being chased, fearing that reporter Kim might follow me. 

I quickly took a shortcut to the road and managed to flag down a taxi in under 10 minutes.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like I was spotted.

And now, even a day later, I still felt completely drained, unable to muster up even the tiniest bit of energy.

Those Network levels shouldn't be taken lightly.

However, just because people had higher Network levels didn't mean that I couldn't meet them, albeit the penalty for it was extremely harsh, to the point that I could die if I wasn't careful.

Wasn't I basically a sunfish at this point?

“Haah…… I'm so exhausted.”

Still, I had to think about my next steps now.

The second notoriety keyword.

[Notoriety: 70

Notoriety Keyword: Hiatus]

Honesty, when looking at ‘Power abuse’ and ‘Hiatus’ I naturally assumed that the former would be more provocative.

However, even after I resolved the ‘Power Abuse’ matter, my notoriety was still at 70 due to ‘Hiatus’.

That could be…… due to an internal issue not an external one.

Something like a serious problem between the group and the fandom.

I turned on my cell phone and accessed ‘Pings’, a social media platform popular with K-pop fans.

I was quite familiar with it because I had to monitor various social media platforms during my days as a reporter. 

I went to my profile and frantically scrolled down.

Oh? Come to think of it, I didn't even have to log in.

It seemed like I was logged in automatically.

This was Ahn Yuyong's profile.

Right, they say there wasn't a single idol who didn't at least keep an eye on some social media platforms……

The same went for Ahn Yuyong.

The most recent post right at the top reads as follows.

<@ Aren’t idols pitiful……? Look at how much they get criticized for things they didn’t even do.>

What was that?

“……A second account?”

I didn’t feel comfortable peering into someone else’s darkness like that.

And besides the content, the most pitiful part about it was:

“……’0’ shares.”

A relentless response of no responses.

You were living in quite the harsh reality, Ahn Yuyong.

Afterwards, I searched for his name using the search bar.

<@ So, is Ahn Yuyong really not in a relationship with that stylist?>

└ Yeh, there’s nothing between them.

└ How is that even possible?

As I had expected, those guys seemed to be quite interested in that kind of gossip.

Well, since I had nothing to hide, it didn’t really bother me that much.

They didn’t seem to be genuine fans either. These trivial comments probably wouldn’t affect the number of negative comments either.

Upon further search, there weren't actually that many results for ‘Ahn Yuyong’, so I decided to search using his stage name.

As far as I knew, WEEKANIZ’ concept was that each member represents a day of the week.

As such, their stage names were closely related to that concept as well.

[Wolyong] (Monyong)

As soon as I hit enter various posts popped up one after the other.

<@ Wolyong that crazy bastard. Looks like he’s trying to show off even after he ruined that group live broadcast.>

……As I expected.

The fan community was brutally honest.

<@ Wolyong so, why did you even go to that reservoir? Did you go to fish for compliments? Fans are begging you to post an update on your situation, and you just went on a casual stroll to some reservoir?>

<@ Wolyong Wake up…… You were the one who gave us fans the most updates. Aren't you thinking about your fans who are anxiously waiting to hear about what you're up to or even about what you ate today……?>

<@ Wolyong I was moved by that beautiful news story, but as a fan, I have some mixed feelings about having to hear from you like this>

Ah, right.

Even though it had only been three days since I woke up in this body, in reality, the group had been on a hiatus for about a month now.

So it was only natural that the fans were pretty furious.

Amidst all that, I also came across some honest posts that seemed to voice the fans’ real needs.

<@ Wolyong there’s nothing wrong with being involved in such things…… but honestly, just get active again>

So what kind of activity was I supposed to do on my own?

What did they want me to do all alone?

Right now I was lying alone in a three person dorm room.

Ah, there was Chae Ire.

Our youngest member, who seemed completely unfazed by this whole situation.

He was also the only one who knew my circumstances.

I was the leader, outwardly anyway.

It was only right that I took care of my own business myself.

……Honestly though, I had to force myself to have these composed thoughts.

‘I’m too lazy to discuss everything with him, so I should just do it myself……’

……These were my genuine attempts at decision making.

Besides, Chae Ire didn’t actually know that much about me.

It would be rather awkward if I bothered him with unnecessary questions and ended up raising his suspicion.

Namely, about the fact that I was actually a complete stranger and that I had only been an idol for three days.

I also felt awkward speaking before a camera, so I couldn't really bring myself to do a live broadcast……

Regardless of these worries of mine, I had gotten quite some offers after that incident.

Most of them were interview requests from various media outlets, which I politely declined.

I only did that to put out an urgent fire not to start an even bigger one.

If I spoke up, I would only receive more criticism.

“Hey, what’s up?”

I casually tried to brush off Chae Ire's question.

“Just wondering how they choose these headlines.”

“What are headlines?”

“……Titles.”

Damn, one of my occupational habits again. 

Besides the interviews, there were one or two things that were worth considering among them.

It was a contact from another drama of a different broadcasting station airing in the same time slot as Hyun Jiwoo's Thursday drama.

They were requesting me to sing the OST.

―Yuyoung, are you going to do it? I was just going to say yes, but I wanted to check in with you first if you're okay with it.

“Hmm……”

The manager who conveyed this news to me seemed excited.

As far as I knew, Yuyoung wasn't exceptionally good at singing.

If he had been I would have included him in the list ‘Idols with voices sweet as honey’ I compiled for a special for Lunar New Year and Chuseok.

Even my vocal rank right now was…… ‘C’.

Even if I put all the stat points I had gathered up until now into vocals it wouldn't be enough.

It would be better if I didn't do this. I obviously would only receive criticism for it.

Ah, besides the major Thursday drama OST request, there was one more thing.

It was a request to sing the theme song for a new RPG created by a small game company.

The pay was three times less, so if I had to choose one, the drama was clearly the better option.

“……Wait, but this drama…”

It felt strangely familiar.

Of course, it would. I should have watched it during my lifetime before.

However, strangely, I felt a chill going down my spine.

What kind of drama was this again……?

“……”

I jumped up from the bed.

―Yuyong. Why aren't you answering? Are you going to do the OST?

“Yes, but not for the drama.”

―Then what else? That stupid game?!

“Yes.”

―Why?

“……I'll explain later.”

Sorry, I might never actually get the chance to explain it to you properly.

That drama.

I knew that it would completely fail around episode 10 due to violence issues. How should I explain that to him?

―The pay for the game is also lower.

“Yes, but…… Let's be honest. Objectively speaking, I'm really not that good at singing, but I have a pretty good feeling about that game.”

―A good feeling……

Hearing my words without a single basis, the manager answered me with uncertainty.

When I fell silent, as if I would refuse any attempts of his persuasion, he eventually hung up.

“Sigh…… We almost went from Kindol to Brutidol. Just imagining how those journalists would roast me over the fire is terrifying.”

I sighed and admired my own good memory.

Anyway I should quickly work on improving my vocal skills.

At least to a basic level.

……Should I go to a karaoke bar?

I opened the shop out of habit, as if peering into a kitchen cupboard.

[<Moderate Advance Payment> : You can apply a +50% buff to only one desired stat for a specific amount of time, - 50 points]

……It was said that you can buy effort with goods now in the 21st century.

I needed to spend all my karma points I had.

However, that game was worth it.

I actually played a bit of it myself.

It blew up because a member of a popular boy group, Mintae, mentioned the OST and with it the game at one point. 

It literally skyrocketed.

……Thinking about it, investing in their stocks might actually be better for me.

[Warning: Any cash transactions done by the player are strictly prohibited by the system!]

Well, I refrained from investing in things like stocks for now, because if I failed as an idol it would be game over for me anyway.

<Yuyoung, are you really not doing the drama OST? It's really popular…… I haven't mentioned it to the CEO yet, but if he hears that you refused this offer, your contract will definitely get terminated.>

I sighed at the manager's desperate text message.

“Looks like our manager is pretty desperate. Hyung, are you really not going to do it?”

“Yeah, well, I'm not sure.”

“Is it because it isn't a morning drama? Haha.”

“……Sorry, I missed my cue to laugh.”

I shook my head and got up.

Ah, I also replied to the manager's message.

<Just wait and see. You'll know after two weeks.>

I knew it was a pretty immature response……

……But this would lead to the truth, so what else should I have done?

First, I had to go to a karaoke bar.

And two weeks later.

「Hello. Boy Street's Mintae here~ Today, I want to recommend you all a very fun game.」

<Ahn Yuyong, you're amazing. Did you know? That drama completely bombed lol>

The manager sent me a text message with a completely different vibe than two weeks ago, but his level of tension was still the same.

The events that I had expected were unfolding one after the other.

Recording was the biggest issue actually.

However, I somehow managed to get through it by using that buff item.

After using the item, I felt my throat opening up, and my voice and vocal cords seemed to get strengthened.

It was a really fascinating experience.

So this was what it meant to be good at singing.

I even received a lot of compliments by the staff of the recording studio which I had never received before.

“Yuyoung-ssi. Is it really true that there's nothing between you and that stylist?”

“Yes. Nothing at all.”

“I also had quite the bad feeling about that guy, Hyun Jiwoo. By the way, Yuyoung-ssi, you sing quite well, don't you? Your basic vocalization and rounding are very neat. It doesn't seem like you're struggling with the high notes either…… looking at you again, I can't believe that you had such talent inside of you.”

“Haha, I practiced a lot.”

“Even if it's just a mobile game, we received a lot of investment. It won't fail.”

I knew that this producer wasn't all that famous, but he was consistent with his work.

Since he seemed like a stable and earnest person, I thought that he might be of help to get me some quiet work.

Hmm, anyway.

As I thought more about investing into my stats, my desire grew to focus on my vocals and become the God of karaoke.

The real me couldn't even hold a proper note after all.

On the day the song hit the 3rd place in the music charts, the manager grabbed my hand with excitement as soon as he saw my face.

“Are you able to predict the future, or something?”

“Haha, there's no way I could do that……”

The manager laughed happily, seeming as if he wanted to throw me into the air.

I gave him an awkward smile while busily searching through social media with my hands.

<For @Mintae to actually recommend this kind of crappy game and Yuyoung singing for it…… Even after following idols for a long time one can never know them well enough>

└ But the song is good tho, right? It’s refreshing lolololol

└ Yeah, and it has a unique charm to it. Maybe because he's an unpopular idol

<Mobile Game King of Deway, number of users increased by 110% in just 2 weeks>

It seemed like an article I had read before.

Well, getting praise was one matter, but……

Even with all this fuss, my notoriety didn't go down by a single number.

[Notoriety : 75

Notoriety keyword : OST]

Even the keyword changed to OST after it got mentioned more.

The articles were all praising me, and I was already publicly known under the nickname ‘Kindol’.

However, I just couldn't feel good about all this.

I had this uncomfortable feeling.

Then, the manager who was driving me suddenly opened his mouth.

“Yuyoung.”

“Yes?”

“By any chance…… Are you interested in going solo?”

“……What?”

Ah, no way.

“Well, this is probably the reason why the CEO wants to see you today as well actually. Just keep that in mind. Don't panic.”

“……It was the fans.”

“Pardon?”

The main culprits who contributed to the raising of my notoriety.

……As expected, my worst enemies were actually in my own camp.

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