From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"It's finished," Ren said, entering the room around late afternoon.

"You've finished it? I thought you'd be done later," Daeho asked with wide eyes. "You really are a genius."

"What more can we expect from Ren? He's always dependable!" Jangmoon exclaimed.

Ren pursed his lips. Back then, those comments would have made him feel proud. But right now, he merely felt pressured. However, he still tried his best to smile.

Ren didn't want to be criticized for being too uptight anymore.

"It's just a rough draft," Ren said, sitting on the floor.

"You've already done enough," June said. "Let's listen to it."

Casper nodded, also sitting on the floor as Ren opened his laptop and clicked the audio file.

There was no doubt that the team was expecting a lot. Ren has a lot of producing credit under his belt. As a trainee of Top Star Management, it has been rumored that he sang plenty of demos for great hits, too. Truly, he had a knack for good music.

So, when a gritty beat came from the laptop's speakers, the other four trainees in the room didn't know how to react.

Jangmoon, being a very transparent person, looked at his teammates, wondering if he was the only one who thought the song was…substandard.

The beat that flowed through the speakers was nothing short of wonky and out of place. Instead of the vibrant, bubbly pop sound they had envisioned, it felt more like a disorganized nursery rhyme gone wrong.

June pursed his lips to hide his emotions. Again, he wasn't skilled in music production, and Ren was probably years ahead of him with his experience alone, but as a normal listener, it sounded…bad.

A sigh of relief was heard in the room when the beat finally stopped. Ren then looked at them with wide, almost teary eyes. "So, how was it?" he asked.

The four of them didn't speak for a while. However, as Ren continued gazing at them in a pitiful state, Jangmoon quickly spoke.

"It was—It was great!" he exclaimed. "It's…alternative...and different! Like my sister. She's not a ray of sunshine. Instead, she's a ray of UV light! That's how I feel about the song."

"It's bad," Daeho bluntly said, causing Ren's shoulders to slump.

"I know," Ren sighed. "It's bad. I can't even lie."

Jangmoon sighed. "Oh, thank god. I thought you were going to insist that it's a good beat."

Casper massaged his nose bridge. "Are you alright, Ren?" he asked.

Ren held back his tears as he nodded. "Y—yeah," he stammered. "Just…I don't have any inspiration to produce anything. I didn't want to disappoint you, guys, but I don't think I can do this. I'm so sorry," he said, on the verge of breaking down.

June looked at Ren and inferred that there must be something else going on with him. However, he didn't want to pry further since it seemed like Ren would burst into tears if June asked him right now.

"Hey, it's alright," he said, tapping Ren's back. "It's still the first day. We also can't just rely on you for making the song."

Ren let out a deep breath. "I'm really sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize," Casper said.

"Yeah," Jangmoon agreed. "If it makes you feel better, I can't produce anything for shit! I can't even play that piano game well—the one where you click the black tiles. I've been stuck on the beginner level for 2 years!"

"I'm sure we can come up with something," Daeho said. "There's someone else who has experience in producing here, right?" he asked.

"Right," Jangmoon chuckled. "It's not me, though."

"I haven't tried it, too," Casper said. "Arranging? Yes. But composing and producing is a skill I am yet to learn."

"We're on the same track," Daeho added. "I'm not that big on technology, too."

"And you, June?" Daeho asked.

June remained silent.

He only recently learned how to change his username on Navel! How would he know the basics of sound engineering?

***

In a small clinic in the heart of Gangnam, Doctor Kim leaned back against his leather chair.

He hasn't had patients ever since he started live-streaming, yet he wasn't complaining.

Truth be told, being a livestreamer brought him more money than being a doctor.

He looked at his face in the camera and smoldered. His perfectly coifed hair, the result of meticulous care and a discreet hair transplant, framed his face that was done by a more skilled plastic surgeon.

"Hello, my lovely viewers," he purred, his voice practically oozing honey. "I'm back from my snack break."

- OMG! You're as handsome as always, doctor!

- I was waiting the entire time!

- Are you still taking requests today, doctor?

"Why, yes, of course!" Doctor Kim exclaimed. "That's the point of my livestream, isn't it? Just send 100 hearts, and you'll be granted the privilege to send me pictures of a certain artist, and I'll determine the areas where they had plastic surgery."

- TowerNose: I'm still broke from my rhinoplasty, but I'll send a hundred hearts because I'm really curious about Steel from Rising Stars. His nose is way too high for a Korean man.

The doctor adjusted the lapel of his immaculate white coat, casting a quick glance at the digital ticker that displayed the names of the generous souls who had sent their love.

"TowerNose has sent in a request! Hmm, Steel from Rising Stars? Well, it seems I've already covered quite a lot of trainees from them on this livestream. But rules are rules!"

"Let's see," he said, pulling up two pictures on the screen—one was Steel's predebut picture, and the other was a screenshot from the latest episode of Rising Stars. "Well, from the first glance, we can already tell that something had happened here. Steel had definitely undergone a rhinoplasty procedure to refine his nose's appearance. The overall contour appears quite harmonious, with a well-balanced bridge and dorsum. The surgeon has skillfully addressed any dorsal humps, providing a smoother transition from the forehead down to the tip. Ideally, we'd like to see a bit more definition in the tip region, perhaps a slight increase in projection and refinement of the nasal lobule."

"But it's official, my lovely viewers. Steel is also a plastic!"

- I knew it! I've seen him clean his nostrils with cotton swabs in one of the episodes. He definitely can't clean it carelessly like the rest of us.

- Damn, you even pay attention to that?

- TowerNose: Ew! He's a plastic!

- Didn't this dude say he just got a rhinoplasty?

"Oh my! What do we have here?" Doctor Kim asked, his eyes shining as he stared at his new heart balance. "Someone just gifted 1,000 hearts! And it comes from the user 'PlasticJune.' Send your photo, user. I'll give you a very detailed description for your generosity!"

Doctor Kim looked at the pictures sent to his account, and a wide smile appeared on his face. He flashed his teeth, looking whiter than Mr. Klin's tiles.

"What do we have here? June from Rising Stars?" he said, showing the pictures from the livestream.

- What the heck? That's June? I've never seen that photo of him.

- It looks like him, though!

- He's very handsome now. Did he really look like that back then?

"Let's talk about June, shall we? June, June, June. What can I say? Do I even have to analyze this? His face is mostly plastic!"