Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 4: Tutorial Quest (2)

The booting sound that seemed somewhat sci-fi soon stopped and nothing happened.

‘What’s going on? I thought something amazing was about to happen.’

I expected something to proceed smoothly, but… I rubbed my eyes at the status window that disappeared in vain and looked around.

‘Did something go wrong?’

I quietly brought some tissues and cleaned up the vomit. But there was no sign of anything for the next 10 minutes.

As I waited patiently, I saw a mirror on the opposite side of the bed.

The face of the young man reflected in the mirror looked awkward.

‘He’s handsome… Really handsome.’

I thought I wasn’t too bad in terms of appearance, but celebrities were on a different level.

As I stared at myself in the mirror, my empty stomach growled and demanded food.

“What should I eat?”

My body, which was much younger and lighter than my original one that was over forty, moved as I exerted some strength.

It didn’t seem to be in a very healthy condition. But being young was nice.

I seemed to have some basic ingredients.

OK. I checked the fridge.

I opened the cabinet to see if there was any decent ready-made food.

Various canned foods, instant rice, and ramen filled the cabinet.

“Let’s see, do I have tuna?”

I checked the labels of the cans and found a can of tuna and some seaweed and placed them on the counter.

I had tofu, red pepper powder, kimchi, and garlic…

Do I have garlic?

I went to the fridge and opened it.

There was some sliced garlic that looked like it came with some delivery food. Fortunately, it was a bit soft but not rotten.

“He must have bought kimchi from a good place. It looks nice.”

I salivated as I saw the deliciously fermented fresh kimchi in the fridge.

Koreans always had a rice appetite.

Even if their nose was broken, they had to eat rice first.

That was common sense.

There was nothing more appetizing than eating hot rice with spicy and sour kimchi stew.

For dessert, adding some noodles to the stew and boiling it like jjapaguri was also a great meal when hungry.

‘Well, I’ve decided on the menu. Let’s get started.’

Like the other kitchen utensils, the knife and cutting board were in a brand-new condition.

I lightly washed them with some detergent and placed them on the counter.

I felt excited as I saw the prepared counter.

I had a poor relationship with my family, and I broke up with my fiancée because of my family’s interference.

The only thing that kept me going with some energy was this rice appetite.

I opened the sealed container with kimchi and the smell of fresh kimchi rose up.

“What a smell.”

This well-fermented fresh kimchi was delicious when eaten with ramen or grilled with pork belly.

I was eating alone, so this much was enough.

I chopped half of the fresh kimchi into small pieces and put them in a pot with some tuna oil.

The kimchi sizzled in the oil and filled the kitchen with a pleasant smell.

“Hmm… It’s a studio, so I shouldn’t spread the smell.”

I quickly turned on the hood fan.

The smell went away and the air became fresher.

I minced some garlic with the handle of the knife and added it to the kimchi that was cooking slowly.

I also added a little bit of sugar.

The real taste of kimchi stew was the sourness. I didn’t want to lose too much of it.

Since the tofu would release some water anyway, I added a little less water.

I stacked the ingredients and boiled them. Then, it started to bubble and emit a familiar smell.

I added the tofu first as I watched the kimchi cook, and then seasoned it with some soy sauce.

That was it.

The noodles came to mind naturally. Unfortunately, there were pasta noodles in the cabinet, but no glass noodles.

“Glass noodles… I should buy some later. I can make japchae with them.”

I topped it off with some tuna that I had squeezed out of some oil earlier.

I drooled.

I simmered the soup a little more while I heated up some instant rice in the microwave.

There was always a way to survive if you kept your mind clear, even if you entered a tiger’s den.

I would think of something if I filled my stomach.

‘Let’s eat.’

As I was about to put the shiny rice in my mouth with the red and sharp soup, a loud voice rang out.

“Hey, Cheon Ise, open the door! Do you want to drive me crazy!?”

He sounded like he was in his thirties.

Of course, it was a man’s voice that I had never heard before.

“What’s going on? What’s the matter?”

I put down the rice spoon at the unexpected visit and the door shook again.

“Open the door quickly! If you don’t open it in 10 seconds, I’ll call someone!”

I ran to the front door without knowing what was going on and grabbed the handle.

He was pushing so hard from the other side that I could feel the recoil through the iron door.

“Do you want to see me die of anger!?”

If I opened this, I would be the one who would die, not him.

A sense of crisis flashed through my mind as I hesitated.

The status window popped up again.

[Tutorial 1. Blend in perfectly with Cheon Ise – Event> Manager’s visit]

[Do you want to start?]

[Yes]

This time, the only option was [Yes].

Since it wasn’t a situation to argue about why there was no ‘No’, I hurriedly pressed the [Yes] button.

[For a natural adaptation, we will provide you with a TIP without deducting points for this one time.]

“What?”

Before I could prepare, the surroundings turned black and white and time stopped.

At the same time, the past conversation between Cheon Ise and the man outside the door started to play in my ears.

‘Hey, did you eat late-night snacks again? The comeback is right around the corner, don’t you care about your management?’

‘I spit it all out, okay? I just have to chew and spit, right? I only swallowed some lettuce. You’ll see when I check my body fat tomorrow!’

‘You said that last time and ordered tteokbokki with Seonwoo!’

‘Ah~ Really. I lose my appetite just by hearing your voice, so stop nagging me. You’re living off our parents’ money and being annoying.’

[This is the end of this TIP. If you need more information later, you can purchase it by paying points.]

“Points?”

He suddenly said something that sounded like partial monetization. As I asked him in confusion, the surroundings returned to their original color.

“Open it now, or else. 10, 9, 8…”

Why did they all love countdowns so much?

I obediently grabbed the handle and pulled it inward.

Clank-.

As soon as the door opened, a man shoved his body inside. He was casually dressed in a hoodie and jeans.

“You bastard, you’re the reason I’m going to die, die!”

He was not handsome, but not ugly either.

He was a well-groomed man in his thirties.

From the conversation I had heard earlier, I guessed he was the manager of the group that Cheon Ise belonged to.

And I also remembered clearly that he had clashed terribly with Cheon Ise over his diet.

Not to mention that Cheon Ise had ranted about his parents’ money. He really had a great personality.

‘… What should I say?’

My mind was blank as I stammered an answer.

“Wh-what’s going on? Why are you here all of a sudden…?”

[Congratulations! You have received points as a commemoration of starting your first activity as Cheon Ise. +10]

Congratulations and whatnot.

The manager in front of me looked like he was about to strangle me.

I had no time to think. I quickly backed away.

“What’s wrong? Did you think I wouldn’t come looking for you after you sent me that text and turned off your phone?”

“Huh?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I retorted. The manager furrowed his brows and slapped me.

“Where do you get off? You sent this, didn’t you?”

The manager wiggled his large finger and tapped the screen a few times before handing me his phone.

On the large messenger screen, the message that the other person had sent was magnified.

[I’m sorry for everything, hyung. I think I’m beyond saving. Please tell the members I’m sorry when I die.]

‘Huh…’

I didn’t know much about him from the brief text.

But from what I had heard, he was a scumbag who lived recklessly. But when he was about to die, he seemed to have a weak heart.

If it was someone else’s problem, I would have clicked my tongue and said he should have behaved better in his life. But…

This is my problem now.

“Oh… that. I just felt depressed all of a sudden…”

Of course, I knew that this message was not something that could be easily dismissed.

The manager’s face crumpled as if he was drawing a thousand characters.

“Hey, you can’t say that now…! Do you know how scared I was when I thought you were trying to kill yourself?”

The manager closed the front door and barged in. I retreated as if I was running away from him.

“But what? What are you doing here?”

The manager looked around the house with an angry expression.

He seemed to be checking if Cheon Ise had done anything bad.

I had cleaned up the residue that Cheon Ise had eaten as a poison, but his body had desperately vomited out.

‘He wouldn’t go through the trash, would he?’

I followed the manager cautiously, keeping an eye on him.

I never thought I’d be searched by a young punk at this age…

It was absurd and ridiculous. But right now, I wasn’t Lim Hyun-seong, but Cheon Ise.

The manager was sniffing around like a drug-sniffing dog when he saw the shiny food on the table and his eyes lit up.

“Did you bring a girl over while I was gone?”

What nonsense.

I was startled and glanced at the translucent status window.

Pposili was sticking out his tongue and tilting his head.

Mind your own business.

Anyway, it was a baseless misunderstanding. I couldn’t understand how he came up with that idea.

“No? Why are you suddenly talking about girls?”

“Why? Did you plan to kill me with a question mark today?”

“No!”

I quickly hid behind the table, avoiding the manager.

“Don’t you remember when you got caught playing with the vocalist of Bluemist after cooking for her? Did you lose your memory after the accident…?”

‘Ah… He had a history.’

I didn’t know the details, but the explanation made me guess that there was some kind of incident.

No wonder the kitchen utensils that he didn’t seem to use were well stocked.

It made sense that the kitchen was like that if he had a girlfriend who cooked for him or asked him to cook.

“It’s not like that this time. I was just hungry and wanted to cook for myself.”

Whether the manager believed me or not, the one who set the table was Lim Hyun-seong inside Cheon Ise.

“You think you can cook anything with your own hands? Why are you so obedient and answering well today? Are you hiding something?”

The manager’s casual remark irked me somehow.

It was probably because of Cheon Ise’s reputation that he had built up over time… But I felt uneasy in my heart.

“It’s true. Do you want some too?”

I watched awkwardly as the manager continued to doubt me and opened the closet and the bathroom.

“Ugh… No way… He’s the kind of guy who can’t cook anything by himself… Will the sun rise from the west tomorrow…?”

I quickly took the stew back to the induction and boiled it vigorously. Then I took out a new instant rice and put it in the microwave.

“Sit down there, I’ll heat it up for you right away!”

If he didn’t believe me, well… Changing the subject was the best thing to do.

Feeding him and shutting his mouth was the best defense and offense.