Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 2.2
If there was one good piece of news, it was that I remembered one set of winning lottery numbers from my previous life.
I couldn’t remember exactly when I bought the ticket or which draw it was, but I was certain it would be about two years from now. At the time, I matched four numbers and won 50,000 won, so I had memorized the entire first-prize combination out of regret. If I started safely buying one ticket per week about a year and a half from now and used those numbers, I would eventually win first place. Then I could use the money to help my parents with tuition and living expenses—a true act of filial piety.
But right now, just getting into college felt like a better way to be a good son, so I was studying much harder than I had in my first life. Thankfully, in both my previous and current life, I wasn’t hopeless at academics. My grades followed my effort, so long as I put in the work. Of course, I wasn’t exceptionally smart, so I wasn’t ranked first in the entire school, but I was consistently first in my class.
[And the number-one trainee who will debut in The IDol’s final lineup is…!]
Even the TV my mom was watching was talking about being “number one.” Naturally, my gaze shifted toward it.
On the screen was a celebrity who had held the “Nation’s MC” title in my previous life and still did so in this one, building up tension as he prepared to announce the winner.
“The IDol?”
“Yeah. It’s a show where they pick idols. Mom and I only watch this these days. It’s so fun.”
“Oh, so these guys are DIAI.”
“Huh? You know DIAI, oppa?”
“No.”
Those idols on screen were from a boy group that debuted when I was about forty-eight in my previous life. DIAI was a group formed from the program The IDol.
And the reason I knew this was because Lee Ji-eun used to be a fan of ‘our Hyun-joon’ from that idol group—until a few months later, when she “switched over” (her words) to YEARZ, a group that debuted under the so-called legendary major agency CZ Entertainment.
“Where did Hyun-joon go? You totally cheated on him.”
“Hyun-joon is my ex-husband now.”
“Wow, poor Hyun-joon, he totally got dumped.”
Since “our Hyun-joon” had become “our Jae-heon,” I used to tease Ji-eun, saying Hyun-joon got dumped.
“Could Jae be Hyun-joon……?”
“Huh? Oppa, what did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Huh? But I don’t see Ji-eun’s former favorite idol anywhere in that lineup. Is it because he hasn’t debuted yet and I just can’t recognize him without the idol styling?
“But you know, when I look at those kids, I think even our son could become an idol.”
“Eh? Oppa? Mom, you’re so biased!”
“Mother, please say things like that only when it’s just us.”
“Why~? Myeong-hyeon, you’re tall and handsome like those boys too.”
“You only think so because I’m your son. Nobody else does. I’m not even popular.”
“How would you know if you’re popular or not? You went to an all-boys middle school, now you’re in an all-boys high school~”
If I had gone to a coed school, it would’ve been a disaster. Even in all-boys schools, the popular kids never stop dating. And those who are destined to be popular later are already well-liked even among their male classmates.
As for me? I was probably just an extra, like “Extra #9,” whose existence no one even noticed. At least being first in class gave me a bit of presence.
“Anyway… Idol life is totally impossible for me.”
Me? An idol? That would be impossible, even if I were reborn again.
“How old are you, student?”
“Who are you?”
A scammer? Their timing was almost impressive.
If I were a real teenager, maybe I would have thought, ‘What if I really do have an idol’s face?’ and been tempted. But after living a combined sixty-nine years, I wasn’t falling for something like this.
“My name is Ji Myeong-hyeon. I go to a Korean high school. I already told you I’m a student —do you know that any crime committed against a minor is treated with the utmost seriousness?”
In my previous life, I became a government employee around forty and was assigned to the school violence response team at the Office of Education. We rarely got cases like that, but if we ever received a report of a crime where an adult targeted a student, we didn’t hesitate — we reported it to the police on top of our internal process, no questions asked.
“My goodness, what did you say your name was?”
I gave a stern warning with a serious expression, but was this scammer still just a kid? He didn’t flinch at all—in fact, his eyes lit up like a madman who had just found something. What? Was there something strange about the name Ji Myeong-hyeon?
Ji Myeong-hyeon. The name was oddly ordinary. My previous life’s name was so plain that I used to think this one was unusual, but the longer I lived with it, the more I realized it was just as ordinary.
Ah, but wait… What was my name in my previous life, again?
“Student, I don’t usually go first, but… do you know CZ?”
What the—
While I was momentarily distracted, the scammer had somehow closed the distance and grabbed me by the shoulder.
This guy was dangerous. If I had actually been a naive kid, I might have jumped for joy the moment I heard the “C” in CZ. After all, no one would expect even a scammer to impersonate someone from a major entertainment agency.
“……”
“You know it, right?”
“Huh? What’s that………………?”
“Huh? Where… Ah!”
So I used an old classic trick.
I pointed far off as if I’d seen something, and when the scammer turned his head to look, I shook off his grip and bolted.
No—I ran for my life.
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Clearwaters
Lollll. Good boy our Myeong-hyeon@ Beware of scammers children!