From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 78: Schedule from H*ll (2)

Ari comfortably took a seat with his whiteboard while staring at PD Park Ji-ho.

The man had his usual glasses but was wearing a simple long-sleeved black shirt and slacks with no jacket.

"Contestant Ari. Welcome and congrats on your new position as team leader. How are you feeling after the performance evaluation?" The PD smiled thinly, his glasses reflecting the bright lights in the room, and Ari nodded in return while adjusting his snail mask.

"Thank you. In regard to the performance evaluation, I think the judges gave accurate feedback, and our team is currently discussing how best to apply the feedback and improve ourselves before the performance in a couple of days."

"Ah, I see. You don’t have any harsh feelings about the things that were said about your team? I believe that Larry Jackson said you were one of the worst, if not the worst team? Additionally, there seems to be quite a bit of conflict between you and another team member. Can you tell me more about that?"

"There’s not really much to say. I think things were a bit tense because everyone was nervous about the evaluation. I don’t have any bad feelings toward any contestant on the program. As for Larry Jackson’s words, I don’t think I heard him say that." Ari tried to subtly deflect the issue and move on.

He didn’t want to make it seem like he took Caleb seriously in the slightest, and as for bad feelings, the only person he hated was William Forbes who was on a different team.

[Liar.]

[The liar show is on once again.]

[Aren’t you on this program because of your bad feelings toward a contestant?]

NOVA quickly filled his gaze with blue screens, and Ari pretended to adjust his face mask while flicking them away.

He hoped that the PD would skip over the questions, but PD Park Ji-ho continued to dig into it.

"He did. In fact, here’s the clip. Take a look."

PD Park Ji-ho then handed him a tablet that contained Larry Jackson berating their team.

"What do you think about that statement? Do you think that your team was the worst one there?"

Spotting the trap hidden in the PD’s words, Ari deflected it while bringing up his main point.

"I think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as a trainer, it’s their job to give us feedback. All I know is that my team and I plan on working hard to make sure we nail the performance in a couple of days. We actually made a practice schedule with a contract that everyone will stick to it without fail."

Ari turned the whiteboard around so that the police could see it, and PD Park Ji-ho curiously reached out for it.

His gaze quickly swept over the board before his brows lifted with slight surprise.

"This...is quite an intense schedule." Just looking at it made PD Park Ji-ho’s bones tired.

From the looks of it, they would barely get 5 hours of sleep a day. Although the production team planned for the contestants to reach that point, he didn’t think that any contestants would be

"The judges have motivated us to do better, and we’re aiming for being within the top three, so we, as a team, have to put in at least this much work," Ari replied confidently.

[We?]

[WE????????????]

[Did your team agree to this??]

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

Weren’t you the one who gave me the quest?

Plus, even if his team hadn’t, Ari didn’t care.

His visual stats were at risk, and since he had to accomplish the goal one way or another, he might as well get a good Leader edit out of it.

"Top three, eh? That’s quite a bold claim." PD Park asked while hiding a smile.

"It is, but our team will put in the effort to make sure we do it. Each and every person signed on to work their hardest to do so, and I have confidence in them." Ari pointed to the stacked sticky notes filled with names and signatures, and PD Park Ji-ho flipped through them with a Cheshire cat-like grin slowly forming on his face.

He would have to check the hidden cameras in the practice rooms to retrieve this golden footage.

"I see, I see. Well, young people should be bold. Do you really think you can do this with that team?" PD Park asked doubtfully.

He had heard the reviews of the trainers, and it seemed that this team was a lost cause.

"Absolutely. I have no doubt we will be in the top 3." Ari replied with full confidence.

[.....]

[This is shamelessness on another level.]

[You’re lying.]

He wasn’t.

Ari was fully confident.

Specifically, he was confident in raising his dancing stat point and utilizing the Monkey See, Monkey Do skill on the day of the performance.

He also planned on completing the surprise missions by any means necessary and dumping those stat points into dance as well.

PD Park Ji-ho asked him a few more questions and requested the whiteboard, so Ari left it behind.

After speaking with the staff member about getting internet access and getting a list of basic stage props ideas, Ari went toward the A-class practice rooms, peeking in the window as he searched for a head of bright orange hair.

The first room had the wrong team, and the second room only contained Choi Woo-bin, Lee Seung-ho, and Kang Hyuk.

The three boys seemed to be arguing, but since Ari had something to ask, he pretended not to see it, knocked on the door, and opened it, causing them to look over at him in irritation.

"Hi. I’m Ari. I’m looking for Daniel Kim. Do you know where he is?"

"No." Kang Hyuk replied bluntly before looking away.

"Do you know what room he stays in?"

"No."

"Do you know when he’ll be back?"

"No."

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

"Okay. Thank you for nothing. I’ll find him myself."

Ignoring the slightly frustrated boys, Ari left and quickly went back to his own team’s practice room.

His team members were chatting lightly, and it stopped the moment he opened the door.

Pretending not to notice, Ari began stretching as he spoke.

"I’m done with the PD, and he took the whiteboard with the schedule and said he’s looking forward to our resolve in keeping up with it." At Ari’s words, everybody gulped while looking regretful at him.

If only they had listened to Ari’s words, not to make him the leader, they wouldn’t have to participate in this torture when every other team practiced in a normal manner.

"Regarding the basic stage props, any good ideas so far? I brought an idea list so everyone can take a look and discuss it in a bit." Knowing that their misery was just beginning, Ari just continued speaking while waving the paper around.

"Not really. We didn’t really think of something, so can you just decide as the leader? You’ve been deciding everything else anyway and it’s going to be crappy props so who cares. Besides, I didn’t come here to be assigned homework." Sean, a team member with shaggy brown hair, replied, and nobody else said anything, meaning they implicitly agreed. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Rather than being upset, Ari preferred it this way.

That way, he could just pick whatever suited his vision without dealing with snide comments or trying to look good for the camera.

"Okay. When they return, I’ll double-check with the other three and choose something afterward. While we’re waiting for everyone to come back, instead of sitting around, why don’t we practice our vocal parts so I can see if there’s any improvements we can make?"

At the groans that came out of their mouths, Ari just pointed at the door.

Everyone immediately stood up straight while staring at Ari, and he laughed while grabbing the tablet and starting the instrumental.

He fully planned on using the Picky Listener skill, correcting the vocals of everyone here, and pounding the corrections into their heads.

"Sean, let’s start with you since you have the starting adlibs. You have a bad habit of trailing off and forgetting the words, so let’s take it from the top. Deep breath, start singing."

*******

By the time all of D-Class (2) finished their interviews with the PD, they had dark expressions on their faces as PD Park had gleefully told everybody that Ari had proclaimed that their team would rank within the top 3 for this performance.

While they wanted to be angry, other contestants whom they saw mocked them, and when they finally made it to the practice room, they were met with a weird green mask-wearing demon who seemed to say only one word.

"Again."

The grinding of the bones had begun.