Right after Ji Hyo took his seat in the middle row, the massive LED wall behind the stage flickered to life with a deep bass sound that echoed across the empty venue. The lights dimmed slightly and a company logo flashed onto the screen in bold letters:
"Artemis Entertainment."
Ji Hyo turned his head slightly, curious. A group of trainees—five of them—walked onto the stage, all dressed in matching black and red training jackets. Their steps were in sync, and the way they looked around showed that they, too, were awe-struck by the sheer size of the set. Even though they tried to act confident, their nervous glances betrayed them.
The LED changed again.
"Emerald Dream Entertainment."
A single trainee entered this time—tall, lean, with his ash-gray hair tied back in a loose bun. His name tag read "Yun Seok." Ji Hyo noticed how composed he looked, giving off a certain charm as he walked across the stage and climbed to the mid-level seat labeled 27.
Then came another name.
"LUSTER MEDIA."
Two trainees stepped out this time, one of them immediately recognizable to those who followed the first season of the show. A murmur spread among the seated trainees.
"Wait—isn't that Han Min-jun from the first season?" one whispered.
"Yeah, he ranked 13th last time… just missed debuting."
Han Min-jun had a quiet but imposing presence. His eyes scanned the stage like he already owned it. Some of the other trainees stiffened upon seeing him. The fact that someone who had already trained under the survival show system was here again made others feel on edge. If he ranked 13th before, wouldn't he have a huge advantage now?
Another logo—"Thorne Industry Trainee Academy."
A group of four girls entered, strutting with confidence. Even though this was the boys' season, these girls were the special MC trainees chosen to host or participate in the show's initial segments. One of them, a pink-haired girl named Rara, waved sweetly toward the camera, earning some low giggles from the production crew.
Meanwhile, on the mid-row seat near the center, Ji Hyo remained oddly still.
He didn't realize it, but almost everyone who walked in had already taken notice of him.
Even with a facemask, his presence was magnetic.
His dark hair framed his sharp eyes, and his stare—focused, unwavering, lost in thought—gave people chills.
Some even slowed their pace while passing him.
"Is he… glaring at us?" a trainee from Crystal Beat whispered.
"I don't think so… I think he's just... like that?"
None of them dared to sit beside him.
There was something about him—something cold, powerful, and unreadable. His energy made people hesitate, intimidated.
But Ji Hyo wasn't aware of any of this.
He wasn't paying attention to anyone else.
He was too caught up in something else entirely—
[Reminder of This week's task]
[Objective: Perform "Baby Shark" as your class evaluation stage.]
[Penalty: All IDOL TRAITS will be downgraded to F — except Visual and Presence]
[Reward: Choose one trait to be upgraded by 3 ranks.]
Ji Hyo closed his eyes slowly.
He sighed.
Not this again.
He clenched his fist on his lap, trying not to explode.
"Can I back out?" he whispered through gritted teeth.
It's a cliche challenge. Think of it as free viral potential.
"Free humiliation, you mean," Ji Hyo muttered.
He wanted to disappear into the seat. If anyone saw him right now, they'd think he was mumbling to himself like a lunatic. In reality, he was mentally screaming at his system.
But the system didn't budge. He remembered the conversation clearly—it was just yesterday.
Ji Hyo stood in the middle of his apartment's makeshift studio, arms crossed, staring at the screen.
"Out of all songs, Baby Shark? Why?" he asked incredulously.
[Because it's unexpected. And everyone knows it.]
[You want attention? Make waves. Be remembered.]
"I'll be remembered for becoming a meme."
[That's still fame.]
Ji Hyo sighed again and sat at the piano.
Fine. If he had to do it, he was going to do it his way.
He tried different styles: acoustic, jazzy, even trap. But nothing felt right.
Then it hit him. He layered some low bass beats, warped the melody into a grungy hip-hop rhythm, and slowed down the tempo. He added claps, distortion, a dark synthline—until the once-childish tune turned into something edgy, haunting. He didn't change the lyrics much, but he sang them in a sultry, heavy R&B tone that could make even the cheesiest lyrics sound like an art piece.
When he played it back…
It was weird. It was crazy. But it was... good.
He actually smiled.
And now, back in his seat, as the memory returned, Ji Hyo smirked to himself.
But to the other trainees who had just seen him gritting his teeth in frustration and now suddenly smiling without warning—
It looked terrifying.
One of the rookies from Radiant Soul, a boy named Kwon Elias, turned to his friend and whispered, "He just smiled…"
"And?" his friend asked.
"I swear he looks like a villain from a drama."
Another trainee across the pyramid muttered, "He's definitely not normal…"
As more and more groups entered—each smaller company trying to make a good impression—one thing remained consistent:
No one dared to sit near the mysterious masked boy in the center.
They all knew this:
Whoever he was…
He was already making waves.
The contestants then shifted their attention back to the stage as the LED wall lit up with a loud pulse, revealing a powerful and familiar logo in gold and black:
CubeX Entertainment.
A quiet tension swept over the entire pyramid. Whispers broke out like a ripple across the trainees.
"CubeX?"
"They're finally showing their hand..."
"Wait—could it be them?"
Ji Hyo turned his eyes to the stage as well, curious. But despite his interest, the icy, intimidating aura around him still didn't fade. He remained seated, his posture upright, legs crossed, gaze sharp and unreadable behind his black mask.
Then they came out.
Three boys, all dressed in sleek, clean white tracksuits lined with CubeX's signature silver stripes. They moved with the grace of seasoned performers, their faces calm but radiating confidence.
Even the way they walked was synchronized, like they had done it a hundred times before.
And instantly—waves.
Some of the trainees leaned forward, wide-eyed.
"Oh my god, that's Jin Tae-yoon!"
"No way! And beside him… that's Haruto—the CubeX ace!"
"The third one… Evan—the half-Korean, half-Australian guy. His vocals went viral last year!"
Ji Hyo blinked. He could see the reaction from everyone else—the subtle panic in some, admiration in others—but he was just... confused. He didn't recognize any of them.
It wasn't that he didn't care. It's just... he rarely opened his social media.
He barely followed K-pop updates unless it had something directly to do with his training. The names, the rankings, the viral covers—none of that mattered to him.
He focused more on internal growth, on polishing his own skills.
The result? He missed the entire fandom craze surrounding these trainees.
The three CubeX trainees walked across the stage and took their seats somewhere in the top 20s, not claiming number 1, but sitting in positions that screamed confidence without arrogance. Jin Tae-yoon smirked a little, scanning the crowd like a lion entering his territory. Haruto simply adjusted his jacket and leaned back casually. Evan smiled lightly and waved to the camera with ease.
They were obviously used to the attention.
Ji Hyo tilted his head slightly.
He watched them for a while before muttering under his breath,
"Are they… supposed to be famous?"
[Yes. CubeX is notorious for high-quality trainees. Those three are highly ranked on online forums and fan votes. You're looking at three potential debut members.]
Ji Hyo gave a quiet hum.
He didn't feel threatened. Just curious.
He had no prior impression of them. He didn't hate them.
He just… noted how composed they were. Their steps, their gazes—these guys were trained to command attention.
But Ji Hyo didn't flinch.
Even as Haruto's eyes briefly locked with his, even as Jin Tae-yoon's smirk shifted into something colder the moment he noticed Ji Hyo's isolated position in the middle of the pyramid—Ji Hyo didn't look away.
His icy gaze stayed locked.
Haruto narrowed his eyes.
Jin Tae-yoon's smirk deepened slightly.
The other trainees saw it. That strange moment.
Two strong presences locking horns without a single word exchanged.
"Is that… a challenge?" one whispered.
"Who is that guy in the middle?"
"He hasn't said a word since we entered…"
Ji Hyo leaned back in his seat again, unaware of the tension his very presence created.
All he thought was, "I should probably memorize their names later… in case we have to battle."
[A smart move.]
And yet again, Ji Hyo remained an enigma to everyone.
A mysterious figure wrapped in silence and cold charisma, clueless to the idol gossip, and yet, already standing at the eye of the storm.