The Genius Idol is a Joseon Scholar - Chapter 9: fancam
The status window, which had been spinning around in a dizzying swirl, slowly came to a halt.
[Deep Sleep]
[You will be able to sleep soundly for a week.]
[Experience maximum recovery with minimal sleep time!]
“Ooh…”
It was Gunja’s first time encountering a special achievement, but the effect of the reward was simple. It would allow him to have a perfect, restful sleep.
[Would you like to activate the reward?]
After a brief moment of consideration, Gunja selected [No].
While deep sleep was always beneficial, it wasn’t necessary at the moment. Soon, when the intense group training began, he would need to push himself by reducing sleep, as all idols were made through such grueling processes.
“I’ll save it for later.”
As he closed the status window, thinking he’d store the reward for later, another message appeared.
[Special Achievement Unlocked.]
[You have unlocked ‘First Fan Service’.]
[A reward will be granted.]
It seemed there was still another reward waiting. Wondering what this reward might be, Gunja’s eyes widened as he read the message.
“What is this?”
[Sweet Chocolate]
[You can pull out chocolate from your pocket whenever you wish.]
[Remaining chocolates: 5]
“Haha, what an odd reward.”
Chocolate was a word he had never heard before. Was it some kind of food?
Curious, he reached into his pocket and indeed felt something. It was a small ball-like object wrapped in gold foil.
[Chocolate]
[A sweet snack. Eating it makes you feel happy and energized.]
The status window helpfully explained that chocolate was a sweet treat. It seemed similar to the rice cakes and sweets he had enjoyed in his childhood. Gunja chuckled as he unwrapped the gold foil.
“A snack is a snack, after all.”
When he was just a snot-nosed kid, Gunja had a particular fondness for sweet treats. Memories of his days wandering the marketplace came flooding back. Yet, he had given up such indulgences at the age of fifteen.
“These are things only children eat…”
Gulp.
“!?!?”
Gunja’s eyes widened in shock as he popped the chocolate into his mouth.
—
The trouble started after he had his first taste of chocolate.
For the next week, Gunja scoured every convenience store and foreign snack shop, hunting for more chocolate.
“I’d like to buy all the chocolate in this store.”
“Uh, you mean, all of it?”
“No, just one of each…”
The first chocolate he had tried was an utter revelation. Could such a delicious treat really exist in this world?
However, no matter how many stores he searched, he couldn’t find anything that matched that first experience. The same product was nowhere to be found.
“Chang, there’s nothing like the chocolate you gave me!”
In the meantime, he couldn’t hold back and ate another piece, so now there were only three chocolates left in his status window.
I must ration these carefully.
Gunja made up his mind and headed to the gym.
He was gradually getting used to the physical training there. Just the other day, after washing up, he noticed a small lump of muscle forming on his arm.
“Ooh, are you the bicep? How small and precious you are!”
Gunja was beginning to understand why people willingly subjected themselves to the torture of those gym machines.
“Master… No, my teacher! Look! My arm seems different, doesn’t it?”
But the devilish Instructor Lee A-Rong seemed more interested in Gunja’s cheeks than his arms.
“Hmm, I’m not sure about the arms.”
“Teacher, how could you not notice this?”
“Sir, what’s going on with your cheeks?”
“My cheeks? What do you mean?”
“Why do they look so plump?”
“Uh?”
“You look like a squirrel right before winter hibernation. You definitely didn’t look like this a week ago.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that…?”
“Sir, what have you been eating lately?”
Gunja’s heart sank. This guy is definitely the devil. How could he so easily see right through to his innermost secrets?
Instinctively, Gunja wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, desperately trying to explain himself.
“N-no! I haven’t even touched chocolate!”
“Wait, who said anything about chocolate?”
“Oh no!”
“Aha, so it *was* chocolate, huh?”
Instructor Lee A-Rong approached with a sinister grin.
“Chocolate?”
“That, uh, hold on a moment…”
“Chooocoooolaaate?”
Lee A-Rong’s thick muscles bulged and rippled one by one as if they were trying to show off. Disgusting! Gunja just hated them instinctively.
“Master, this is terrifying!”
But there was no escape. The sight of those squeaky chest muscles somehow drained all the strength from Gunja’s body.
Lee A-Rong effortlessly lifted Gunja up and carried him over to the dreaded machine—the very one Gunja despised the most.
“Not the squat rack, please!”
“Well, who told you to snack and get all puffy?”
“Squats make me dance against my will!”
“Perfect, since you’re training to be an idol, right?”
“!”
“Now, let’s give those legs a real workout!”
“You… you monster!”
“Oh, how did you know I like being called that?”
“Aaaah, please, no!”
“Let’s see how long that ‘please’ lasts! Ready, and… one!”
“Uaaah-.”
Soon, Gunja’s desperate scream echoed throughout the room.
As expected, this place is definitely the Uigeumbu*!
[T/N: Uigeumbu was the royal law enforcement body responsible for prosecuting treason and moral crimes based on Confucian principles in Joseon dynasty, korea.]
Yu Gunja’s parents, Yu Sangheon and Jo Yeonsoo, were feeling complicated these days.
Their son, who used to stay cooped up in his room, suddenly started going to the gym.
Of course, it was a positive change, but they couldn’t help but worry because he was suddenly working out so intensely. Especially on the days he did leg exercises, it pained them to see him do the “Sunguri-dangdang Sungdangdang” dance as soon as he stepped into the house. [T/N: The sunguri dance refers to some comedic dance that is done with wobbly legs. I couldn’t find an english equivalent]
“Gunja, are you okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry-.”
Although Gunja told them not to worry, the couple couldn’t help but be concerned. Their son, who had never been interested in exercise, suddenly became addicted to working out, training his body every day.
After heading to his room, they started hearing music. As always, it was idol music. Was he practicing dancing?
“Honey, it seems Gunja is really serious this time.”
“It seems so.”
They were filled with both joy and concern.
The joy of finally seeing their son find a goal.
The worry that he might burn out if he keeps pushing himself too hard.
They were curious about many things, but the couple refrained from asking. They had once intervened in their son’s life and deeply regretted it.
So, they decided not to ask any questions, no matter how curious they were.They wanted to leave any decisions up to their son.
However, they couldn’t help feeling curious.
One day, while Gunja was out for his workout, Sangheon Yu and Yeonsoo Jo decided to clean his room and casually glanced at Gunja’s desk.
It would be a violation of privacy to rummage through his things, but just a quick glance at what was in plain sight should be okay, right?
“…Huh?”
However, looking didn’t reveal much.
On the desk, they saw these notes:
[T/N: Gunja wrote all this in Chinese instead of modern korean.]
Currently Training for Dance
-
- – Lower body strengthening
-
- – Attendance at Uigeumbu
-
- – Demon Lee Seonsaeng (Teacher Lee)
-
- – Severe Muscle Pain
“No, what is this…?”
Tomorrow’s Goal
-
- Isolation
-
- Wai Bu Dance
-
- Dance YouTube Watch
He wrote in his diary, but I have no idea what any of this means.
Why are there Chinese characters here?
And why are the Chinese characters so amazingly well written?
In any case, our “accidentally saw it while cleaning” plan was a total failure. We had no idea our son was writing his diary in classical Chinese.
“I guess we have no choice but to ask him directly.”
“It seems that way.”
It was the day they finally decided to ask Gunja directly.
“Father, Mother.”
“Huh?”
“I have something to tell you.”
Once again, Gunja was the one to initiate the conversation.
Though they didn’t show it, the couple felt relieved. It was much better for their son to bring up the topic than for them to have to pry.
What could he possibly want to talk about?
Maybe he’ll say he’s decided to become an idol and ask them to send him to a dance or vocal academy.
Or perhaps he’ll say he wants to join an idol agency.
Then again, he might simply ask for an allowance increase.
They were ready to hear anything. They were confident they wouldn’t be surprised no matter what he said.
That was until Gunja spoke.
“I have passed the audition for <Idol training Simulation>.”
“What did you just say—!?!?”
“A-audition? You auditioned for *<Idol training Simulation>*?”
“Yes.”
“A-and you passed?”
“Yes.”
“So, you’ll be staying at a training camp now?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll be on TV soon?”
“That’s correct.”
After finishing his words, Gunja carefully observed his parents’ expressions.
Should I have told them earlier?
But I wanted to share the news after I had actually achieved something.
If I had mentioned that I was auditioning and then failed, wouldn’t they have been greatly disappointed?
However, seeing his parents’ shocked faces upon hearing the news of his success, he felt a twinge of regret.
If I knew they’d be this surprised, I should have told them earlier…
“Gunjaaa—!!”
“Congratulations! This is incredible—!!”
But before Gunja could stop his thoughts, his parents hugged him tightly.
“We’re sorry, we didn’t even know you were auditioning.”
“If we had known, we would have helped you more.”
“So, you passed the audition without any help from us or even attending an academy?”
“Exactly! Anyway, our son is talented.”
“Well, he is handsome too.”
Fortunately, his parents did not get angry, but hugged him tightly and expressed their joy with their whole body.
They said they didn’t help him, but that was nonsense.
He understood all too well how much their support had meant to him. Knowing that the people you cherish are cheering for your dreams is a truly happy thing.
“I’ll be starting the training camp in about a month.”
“I see.”
“Will you two be okay with that?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Are you okay with me being on <Idol Training Simulation>…?”
At Gunja’s question, the two of them answered excitedly, as if he were asking the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course! Of course, it’s okay!”
“We fully support you.”
“If you’re okay with it, why would we ever object?”
“Gunja, Dad’s getting a little excited right now. What should I do?”
“Honey, should we make a banner too?”
“We need to make business cards and hand them out!”
Even though it was Gunja who had passed the audition, his parents seemed even more thrilled. Seeing them genuinely overjoyed made Gunja smile naturally. It felt like his dream was really being supported.
However, there was still one more thing he needed to bring up.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“Sure, tell us anything.”
“Well…”
“Oh, come on, what is it?”
Gunja scratched his head sheepishly, embarrassed. Even though he had made up his mind, actually saying it out loud wasn’t easy.
But it was a necessary step. After all, hadn’t he worked so hard just to reach this moment?
“Please film a fancam of me.”
“A f-fancam? When?”
“I’d like you to do it now, please.”
With that, Gunja stood up with a determined expression.
A fancam refers to a personal video recording of a dance performance. It’s almost a rite of passage for those preparing to become idols.
Gunja needed to get used to this format. After all, every evaluation at <Idol training simulation> would be based on fancams.
For the past week, he had been practicing the Wai bu(???), Isolation(??????), and basic footwork while watching videos despite his sore muscles.
-
- 1Isolation is a kpop dance form. you can look it up on youtube. I couldn’t find more info on the Wai bu part.
Now, he was going to show them to his parents and have them evaluate his performance.
Doom-chit, doo-doom-chit—
Soon, the music started, and Gunja stood with his legs shoulder-width apart.
“Here we go, here we go.”
Gunja nodded his head lightly, giving a small shout of encouragement, and then finally began to move his body.
Thump! Thud!
Almost at the same time, his parents’ mouths dropped open.
Translator
