Idol's Technique That Never Fails - Chapter 1

“As an idol, of course, and as a producer, you’ve achieved great success.”

Jung Haewon, who had been estimating the next schedule in his mind throughout the counselor’s words, looked up.

“Oh, I didn’t hear it. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. What I just said was, uh. Haewon has achieved great success not only as an idol but also as a producer. It’s ongoing. However, where do you think this anxiety stems from?”

The counseling was veering off course.

The client was a rather demanding individual. 

Understanding the depths of this client, who had achieved difficult success, was usually a challenging task.

Moreover, the schedule was tight, and there wasn’t much time given to the counselor.

The client pondered for a moment before responding.

“I’m not anxious. Being busy is just a good thing. I think prescribing a sleeping pill would suffice.”

“Hmm. Usually, when you say that, I guess you’re prescribed right away?”

“No. I received the prescription after getting scolded a lot.”

Even then, without receiving much more information, the client stood up from the seat. 

The counselor said,

“If you keep doing this, we’re just wasting our time.”

“Hmm.”

“You seem to worry a lot about what others think.”

“That’s true.”

Jung Haewon sighed deeply and continued,

“People around me are still worried about me periodically because they worry excessively.”

He said so, wondering how to convince others that he was mentally strong.

After a while, the client asked the counselor,

“This might be a bit of a strange question.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you happen to believe in an unchanging love?”

The counselor wore a puzzled expression at the question but soon responded.

“No. All emotions change.”

“I believe there is.”

The client smiled sincerely. 

That smile held no intention of captivating anyone, yet it possessed an inherent human charm that naturally drew others in. 

He continued speaking,

“I didn’t believe in it when I was younger, but now I do. It’s a very important change in my life.”

Saying so, the client left the counseling room.

Despite maintaining a discreet personal schedule, there were paparazzi waiting across the hospital. 

In the heart of the city, on a large billboard visible with just a slight turn of the head, fans’ self-funded concert advertisements featuring him were passing by.

Wherever he went, his face was recognizable, and everyone knew him.

***

I had a long dream. 

A dream where I thought my life was already ruined, but in addition to that, it ruined someone else’s life as well.

In the dream, I knew I wanted to stand on stage, yet I pretended not to recognize that longing. 

Why was I so afraid to challenge the stage that once coldly rejected me?

I couldn’t completely leave the entertainment industry on that topic either. 

Perhaps, if I had started a new life somewhere outside the entertainment industry, I wouldn’t have ended up in such ruin.

In the dream, I established an entertainment company and was entangled with a girl group named ‘Square’ that didn’t make it.

I, of course, made those kids suffer for years and die from overwork.

Ah, seriously.

It was a dream without hope or dreams. 

If I had known this would be the ending, I would have suppressed my fears and stepped on the stage again.

But, was that… really a dream?

It’s so vivid that it’s confusing.

“Oh! You ugly!”

I barely escaped from that nightmare thanks to the pounding sound of music.

The dream was so vivid, and I was still half-asleep, so I was terribly confused about what was a dream and what was reality.

For the past two months, I’ve been drinking during the day and night, attending work gatherings twice a day, and drinking so much that alcohol flows through my veins instead of blood. 

It’s impossible to grasp the situation properly.

With my head swimming from alcohol and sleep, I couldn’t lift it, but I heard someone talking about me nearby as if I was still asleep.

“The idol chosen by the public? That survival show that caused a frenzy two years ago?”

“Yeah, that one. Apparently, that’s where he behaved like a complete jerk and gathered hate comments from viewers. Chief Kwak was working there at the time. He took him in because of that guilt, you know.”

“Oh, that explains why that twenty-year-old…”

“Because bringing in a guy who dropped out of high school due to hate comments and locked himself in his room for two years might cause trouble if we just put him straight into the military, so they’re trying to create a person out of him for now.”

“Jungtae seems impressive. I would never let a twenty-year-old shut in near a steering wheel.”

“He’s just really good with people.”

I lifted my head when my story had come to a certain end. 

Well, summarizing my life so impressively… 

There’s not a single wrong word. Ha-ha.

But seriously, how did my celebrity self trust a twenty-year-old shut-in who was a recluse for two years with a steering wheel? 

Maybe it’s not just about being good with people but drinking too much…

Anyway, the dream is so vivid that I still can’t distinguish it from reality. 

It’s too vivid to be a dream, and most importantly, it was so detailed. 

I felt a very strange sensation, given that I didn’t have that much creativity or intelligence.

Could it be something real… like a premonition?

No, wait a minute.

Does that mean I got spoiled about ruining my life?

As my mind became increasingly complicated, five years before my death in my dream, Jungtae, who died of a heart attack, took the microphone and shouted, 

“If you can’t do it in one shot, you can’t get married, Oh! You ugly!”