Team Leader, You're an Idol Now - Chapter 18
“Hello, Pan Entertainment trainees. I’m PD Mu Myeong-Yong, and I’ll be in charge of your reality show.”
PD Mu, who had been seated beside the CEO, spoke. The trainees applauded and sat down.
“Everyone. You’ve heard of 24-hour reality cameras, right?”
The cameras filming the trainees from the front of the podium came into view. Several VJs were present.
“From now on, directors will be following you around. Cameras have already been installed in your dorm and practice rooms as well.”
‘You could’ve at least told us when you were installing the cameras.’
Woo-Gyeom nearly felt faint remembering the moment he walked out of the bathroom. He desperately hoped nothing had been captured clearly enough to air.
‘Should I start maintaining my body in advance?’
As he unconsciously brushed his upper body, the PD continued.
“But this program isn’t just a reality show. You’re still the planning team, right?”
“Yes.”
“We’re a survival reality program. You’ll be competing to determine the debut lineup.”
Whispers began around the room. Woo-Gyeom straightened and refocused.
PD Mu deliberately furrowed his brow, putting on a serious air—exactly as Woo-Gyeom had suggested.
‘He’s supposed to take the lead and carry the weight.’
If the show was going to look harsh, it would be better for rumors to spread that the PD was ruthless. The CEO, seated beside him, simply maintained a stern presence.
‘The agency CEO needs to look strict, but still like he cares about the group.’
He couldn’t appear completely heartless or like a psychopath throwing kids into hardship.
Woo-Gyeom carefully managed his expression and listened.
“The first stage will be individual performances. We’ll bring in judges to rank you. Of course, the entire process will be broadcast.”
The cameras started moving, trying to capture nervous expressions.
‘They want reactions.’
Woo-Gyeom gasped slightly on cue.
After dragging out the tension, PD Mu added,
“And those rankings will have a very, very significant impact on determining who gets eliminated.”
“The lowest rank will be eliminated.”
The CEO finished the sentence.
Final elimination suddenly felt real.
‘We knew this was coming, but when it’s put right in front of you, it hits differently.’
Woo-Gyeom lowered his gaze.
The survival format would cut members faster than expected.
‘Individual stage, then team stage, eliminate one. Next stage, eliminate another… Wait. They didn’t mention team stages?’
When he’d met with them before, team battles followed immediately after the first ranking—and viewer voting would begin then. But that wasn’t included in the announcement.
‘We need to move considering all variables.’
By pure skill, you could roughly line them up.
‘Before debut, the standouts were Yu-Chan with insane dance skills, Raul with sharp rap, and Min-Jae who’s well-rounded…’
But evaluating a stage had many variables.
Someone could sing well but lack charm. On the other hand, if you weren’t terrible, charisma could cover weaknesses.
‘Charisma is basically potential, the ability to express yourself.’
And if viewer voting was involved, visuals couldn’t be ignored.
As Woo-Gyeom calculated, the PD suddenly brightened.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you the program title.”
Even the trainees lost in thought looked up.
“Our program is called N.A.P—New, Absolute, Player.”
“We hope you become idols who change the landscape of the music industry.”
Cut!
The slate clapped shut. It was time for individual mic fittings and contract signings.
A writer’s voice guided them from the side.
‘Now.’
Woo-Gyeom glanced at the distant boom mic, then approached Dan-Woo and Raul. While the camera lights were off, he subtly turned his back.
“What?”
Dan-Woo, quick as ever, checked the surroundings and nudged Raul to turn slightly too.
“After individual stages, it’s team battles. Do well individually. And be careful what you say once you’re mic’d.”
Woo-Gyeom whispered.
“How do you know that?”
“I went to the meeting. Just do well. Smile a lot on camera.”
Raul looked deeply worried. He knew he didn’t naturally come across as warm.
“Trainee Seo Dan-Woo!”
A writer called.
“Yes!”
Dan-Woo answered brightly and went forward.
Raul hadn’t even been mic’d yet but had already clammed up.
‘You’re worried? So am I.’
Woo-Gyeom smiled awkwardly in silent agreement.
***
Back at the dorm, the silence lingered. The cameras were awkward—and everyone was worried about saying something wrong while mic’d.
‘And for a “reality” show, look at the writers just sitting there.’
Woo-Gyeom glanced at the writers in the living room.
In his past life, writers usually gave notices and left.
‘I’ll have to bring that up later.’
He entered his room and checked camera placements. Watching the cameras physically track movement was strangely fascinating.
“What are you doing?”
Raul asked as Woo-Gyeom kept shifting his waist.
“Look. It follows me.”
Whirrr—
When Woo-Gyeom moved again, the camera zoomed in.
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
They both stared, impressed.
As Woo-Gyeom turned to leave, Raul suddenly froze.
“Where do I change?”
There wasn’t a blind spot anywhere.
Woo-Gyeom laughed awkwardly.
Raul started rearranging things around his bed.
‘It’s probably already filmed anyway.’
Soon the writers called everyone to the living room.
“Everyone to the living room!”
“We’re filming the intro. Fix your hair or makeup if you need to.”
Woo-Gyeom immediately dashed to the bathroom and grabbed wax.
‘I take back what I said about not liking writers. If we filmed the intro like this, we’d be doomed.’
Now relieved, he returned and sat slightly back—but in the most visible position.
‘This distance is easiest to capture.’
The small TV was already on.
‘Did they already buy ad slots?’
He watched the tail end of a variety show.
It wasn’t prime time yet.
‘Before the news. Before dramas.’
Not peak viewership.
‘Well… how much trust can a PD whose last show flopped really get for a rushed program?’
The trainees gathered. The variety show ended.
The writer lifted a sketchbook:
Big reactions. Watch the commercials closely.
Five minutes later—
[The talk of the town—]
[A trainee who appeared like a comet. Who is he?]
The screen went black, text flying in like shooting stars. Then fade out—
Woo-Gyeom’s face appeared.
“Hello. The idol who flips the game. I’m Baek Woo-Gyeom from Pan Entertainment. Please give us lots of love!”
Close-ups of him making cheek hearts. His clear smile.
‘Wait… did they rip footage from another show?’
Woo-Gyeom was startled. Somehow, PD Mu had used footage shot by another PD.
[The idol who changes the landscape is coming to you!]
[Cold-hearted debut survival reality “N.A.P,” premiering Month X, Day X]
Boom.
The teaser ended.
“Wow!”
“We’re really going on TV…”
Some trainees jumped up.
Woo-Gyeom felt slightly embarrassed seeing his footage used alone.
“Good work. Tomorrow we’ll shoot teasers. No practice.”
“Yes!”
‘As the broadcast date approaches, they’ll probably release proper teasers.’
Profiles needed re-shooting. An official homepage needed building.
‘A lot to do.’
The writers packed up.
“We’ll start filming from your salon trip early tomorrow morning. Please take care of us!”
“Please take care of us!”
After they left, trainees scattered—except Weakling, who lingered near Woo-Gyeom.
“Must be nice. Getting a solo teaser and all.”
The tone was pure sarcasm.
‘What’s his problem?’
It wasn’t particularly damaging, but since they were mic’d, he had to respond.
Woo-Gyeom looked confused.
Dan-Woo cut in.
“Yeah, right! Just walking around and getting solo shots like that!”
He playfully poked Woo-Gyeom’s side.
Woo-Gyeom laughed loudly.
“Come on, I didn’t even do anything.”
“If it wasn’t for you, would we even be filming this? That smile was legendary!”
Dan-Woo exaggerated his laugh to lighten the mood.
‘He caught on.’
Woo-Gyeom and Dan-Woo laughed louder than usual.
Right in front of the camera.
‘Just like that. That’s perfect, Weakling.’
Woo-Gyeom hoped that moment wouldn’t be edited out.
* * *
At the same time, Sebit nearly screamed while leaving work.
“Gasp!”
People glanced at her.
‘The teaser’s real?!’
She’d been on SNS on the subway. Notifications were exploding.
Her friends had already seen the teaser before her.
YOU CRAZY? TURN ON THE TV—WAIT WTF IT’S AIRING @KimSebit
You insane lucky bastard, you picked a golden stock, your boy’s debuting
Sebit screamed internally.
‘Ahhh! Where is it? Where did they upload it?!’
She found the station’s account.
[The Idol Who Changes the Game, N.A.P Teaser]
Her hands trembled as she clicked.
Woo-Gyeom’s face appeared immediately.
Her heart nearly burst.
‘That smile… just like I remembered.’
She’d posted his photos expecting good reactions, hoping people would recognize him at debut.
But she never expected him on broadcast.
‘I thought the company wouldn’t let him appear anywhere pre-debut…’
The JD idols she used to stan were locked away like jewels.
‘A reality show?!’
She silently thanked every god and the agency CEO.
‘The stock I picked is a jackpot… insane.’
She replayed the teaser and logged into Woo-Gyeom’s fan page.
No official promotion posts yet.
‘……’
She downloaded the teaser from YouTube.
There wasn’t even an official homepage yet.
‘……’
With seasoned fangirl instincts, she could tell this broadcast had started chaotically.
But she didn’t care.
‘Homepage? Who cares. Just debut. Just appearing on TV is enough.’
She uploaded the teaser with a simple caption:
First broadcast in 3 weeks.
Reactions poured in immediately.
Sebit opened her calendar and started counting how many vacation days she could use.
She was so excited she didn’t even notice she’d passed her stop.