From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"It's you," Lee Sik said, looking into June's eyes.

"I've finally found the right voice for the words I have written," he continued.

June frowned, feeling confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The words written on the paper are the words I wanted to say to my father for a long time," Lee Sik explained, looking a bit emotional.

"At first, I wanted to add another verse to the performance—a second bridge, if you call it. However, like I said, I couldn't find the right voice. But now that you're here, I believe the world is ready to hear it—this special verse."

June stayed silent as he read the written lyrics once more. He knew Lee Sik was a great writer, but these lyrics were on another level.

"Are you willing to sing it for me?" Lee Sik asked, hope heard in his voice.

June smirked as he looked up from the lyric sheet and stared into Lee Sik's eyes.

"I will be honored."

Lee Sik smiled, patting June's back. "Alright, so here's how it will go."

***

It was late in the evening when the veteran singer and the rookie idol finished with their practice. Unshed tears were seen in their eyes, both of them unwilling to reveal their vulnerability.

In the end, none of them cried because of their pride despite the overwhelming feelings brewing in their hearts.

"I knew you were the right voice for this song," Lee Sik commended, already feeling fond of the nonchalant idol.

At first, Lee Sik didn't see his charm. However, as they practiced together, he realized that the young man was cute—similar to his son at home.

"Thanks," June said, feeling good about being complimented.

He definitely appreciated compliments about his voice the most, even during Rising Stars.

Although being called handsome was a great ego-booster, nothing could compare to how people complimented him for the one aspect he was very proud of.

"However," Lee Sik said, causing June's smile to drop.

"Even though your vocal techniques are nice, I believe you still have room for improvement," he continued.

"And these are?" June asked, genuinely curious.

"I can't pinpoint it since I'm not a vocal coach, but I think you're still not fully comfortable with singing. Your voice is well-rounded, but your skills are…plain?"

"Plain?" June asked with raised eyebrows.

That was the last thing he expected to hear about his voice.

He had to admit that it hurt his pride.

June was pretty confident with his voice because he received so much praise when he was in Rising Stars and and in their debut stage.

So, having his voice called plain, especially by a veteran, made him rethink his perceptions about his skills.

"Why don't you find another person to sing it then?" June asked, standing from his seat and sulking like a little kid.

Lee Sik chuckled and pulled him back to sit down.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. As I said, your voice is perfect for the song. You don't have the best technical aspects, but you sing with so much emotion, which makes the listeners forget about these flaws. If it weren't for my sensitive ears, I also wouldn't have heard such blemishes," he explained.

"I believe you're a great singer," Lee Sik continued. "You also sing with the most emotion out of everyone in the current line-up. However, I also believe that a great singer will sing with emotion without compromising any of the technical skills. Do you know what I mean?"

June sighed and nodded in defeat.

As much as his pride was hurt, he had to admit that Lee Sik was right.

Although his skill had improved a lot because of his own efforts, June had to admit that most of it was because of Fu's level-up system.

Sure, he sounded great for his level, but sometimes, he just didn't know how to actually execute the technical vocal abilities because it was already inherent in his system.

"What do you suggest I do then?" June asked.

Lee Sik gestured for June to wait before bringing out something from his wallet—a small piece of paper of some sort.

"Here," Lee Sik said. "This is the calling card of the vocal coach that helped me when I was in a slump."

June stared at the calling card and found it quite strange. It wasn't the usual sleek and sturdy cardboard cut into a pocket-sized piece.

Instead, it was made out of toilet paper?

"Magic Mama?" June asked, staring suspiciously at Lee Sik.

The veteran singer chuckled before patting June's back.

"I know it sounds pretty strange, but I assure you that you won't regret going to her place. It's located in Seoul, so you might want to visit her when you have the time," he said.

"Can I visit her tomorrow?" June asked, curious about the vocal coach.

"Don't you think that's too soon? We have a performance in two days."

"It's alright," June said, nodding with conviction.

He had a little bit of free time after EVE's practice tomorrow, and he wanted to improve his vocal skills before the actual performance.

"Well, I can give her a call and tell you're dropping by. Will that be alright for you?"

June nodded.

"Great," Lee Sik smiled. "I'm glad someone's so enthusiastic to meet her. I've referred a few artists to her, but you were the only one who was up for the challenge."

"Challenge?" June asked.

Why would going to a vocal coach be a challenge?

Lee Sik waved his hand. "Don't think about it. She's great! She's one of the reasons why I'm still relevant in the industry after so long."

June, although still a little bit suspicious, decided to let it go.

How bad could 'Magic Mama' be?

"I think it's time for us to go now," Lee Sik said, glancing at his phone. "My manager's calling already."

June nodded. "My manager's sleeping in the lounge room."

"Poor guy. See you on the 31st, June. I'm looking forward to our stage," Lee Sik said, standing and holding out his hand for June.

"Me too," June said, taking Sik's hand and squeezing it tight.

With that, the two of them separated and went to their respective managers.

Indeed, Jay was sleeping on the expensive leather couch, his saliva pooling on the black material.

June shook him awake, causing him to assume a fighting stance.

"It's just me," June deadpanned. "Let's go."

"Oh," Jay said, wiping the saliva from his face. "What took you so long?"

"I had to do some extra practice," June said.

"That's alright then," Jay said. "Let's go home. I'm beat after all that gossipping."

The two of them made their way to the parking lot while making small talk.

They entered the car, and Jay immediately played his favorite rap songs on the radio.

Meanwhile, June opened his phone since he wasn't able to check it all day.

His eyes widened when he saw multiple notifications from his Navel account.

June opened the app and hoped he had reached 100,000 followers because of the selfie he posted.

However, he quickly became disappointed when he saw he was once again ratioed for his latest post.

- People are using AI to make them look like artists now. This is scary!

- It doesn't look like AI, though. Maybe he just really looks like June.

- This is AI-generated.

- When are you going to stop impersonating June?

- I hope you accidentally slip into a manhole and never get discovered.