Idol in a Gender-Reversed World

[Crazy.]

"Yeah?"

[Why is this happening?]

"...What's going on?"

[No, seriously!]

Pony started flying around wildly in circles.

"What's going on? How much did it go up? Why aren't you saying anything?"

I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like nothing had gone wrong.

The light felt warm, not unpleasant at all.

It even seemed like something good had happened for me, but Pony's reaction was strange.

'Is this jerk mad because things are going better than expected? Does he have a stomachache or something?'

[Ugh! I'm so mad!]

I quickly grabbed Pony.

[Eek!]

"Do you really hate it that much when I do well?"

**[What is this! Let me go now!!]

The speech bubble grew larger, emphasizing the words.

But it was just a speech bubble.

Besides, Pony was like a tiny bug.

"Tell me what happened right now. Don't keep it to yourself."

[Ugh!!]

"Staring at me like that won't scare me. Hurry up! We don't have time. How much did it go up?"

I didn't know when the teacher would arrive, so I couldn't waste time here.

[It went up 2.32%]

"More than 2%? Didn't you say it doesn't usually go up more than 1%?"

That was just a few minutes ago.

[Exactly!! That's the normal situation! What's happening now is totally abnormal!]

When it went up by 0.09%, my footwork noticeably improved.

But if it went up by 2.32%, that's a huge increase, isn't it?

I wanted to confirm my increased ability right away.

But while I was distracted for a second, Pony escaped my grasp and started flying around me again.

"Stop it! Don't fly around anymore. Use the last coin for something. Sing instead of dance."

Since the dance went well, I decided to use the last coin for singing.

I had briefly considered adding more to the dance, but I didn't regret choosing singing.

After all, the plan was to grow steadily, wasn't it?

Since an unexpected breakthrough had happened, the dance skill seemed enough for now.

Instead, I'd cover up my still-lacking singing ability, even if I couldn't improve it.

[Hmph, don't expect another breakthrough. That was an extremely rare event. A miracle like that happening twice is impossible!]

Pony's body sparkled, and the light absorbed into my body.

[See! This is the normal situation. Hah!]

"How much did it go up?"

[Your singing skills increased by 0.12%]

"0.12%? That's it?"

Compared to the 2.32% increase, 0.12% was a tiny number.

But Pony huffed and got angry.

Honestly, I had said it just to tease.

[Are you complaining because of good fortune? This is NORMAL! Ugh, I'm so mad. Now you have nothing else to do, right?]

"Wait! Where are you going? You're leaving after using the coins? I still have so many questions!"

[Do you think I have nothing better to do? Oh, right! I almost forgot. You can't wear condoms, can you? They keep tearing when you try to use them, right? It'll always be like that. Remember your mission.]

"What? Hey! Wait! Hey, hey!!"

Pony vanished after saying only what it wanted to say.

Left alone, I blinked in disbelief, staring at the spot where Pony had been.

"Damn, it said what it wanted and just left?"

I'll never let this slide!

I will make Pony pay for this rage.

By the way...

'Can't use condoms? This is bad.'

I knew Pony wanted me to get women pregnant.

But I didn't expect that it had cursed me to not be able to use condoms.

The two condoms that tore so easily in the motel weren't a product flaw after all.

'That bastard, when I see it, I'm going to get revenge.'

I buried my frustration and anger deep within my chest and made sure to remember this!

"Hey!! You're here. What were you doing?"

"Oh, Woo-yeon. Why?"

"The teacher is here!"

"Oh! Let's go."

The vocal trainer I had in the morning was even more harsh than Hwang Sung-man. No one would praise my skills, but it wasn't just me; she criticized all the trainees indiscriminately. From my perspective, the new dance moves were being followed well, but she didn't seem satisfied with that either. Throughout the class!! She kept spewing harsh words at the trainees. So, being late to the practice room was absolutely not an option.

"Why aren't you coming in quickly?"

"Oh! Sorry."

As soon as Woo-yeon and I entered the practice room, Vocal Trainer Rose followed. The trainees call her Teacher Rose, which is her stage name; her real name is different. Very few people know her real name. There's a rumor among the trainees that Teacher Rose has a complex about her name. Of course, I heard this from Woo-yeon.

"Did you practice?"

"Yes." 

"Oh, really?"

Teacher Rose, remembering the morning class, singled me out. I answered loudly without thinking. I realized too late that I had been caught, but her finger was already pointing at me to come forward.

"Let's see how much you've improved in just a few hours."

This feels like stepping on a landmine.

•••••••

In the morning class, I was criticized for everything except my tone. My pitch was shaky, and my pronunciation needed improvement. My breathing was a mess. Having no training, I sang with my raw throat and had to learn diaphragmatic breathing. The road ahead seemed so long that Teacher Rose sighed, saying she didn't expect to teach someone like me. Normally, one would learn the basics in B or A class before joining the debut team, but I had skipped all that.

"Is this possible? Just a few hours ago, you were singing with your raw throat, and now you're doing diaphragmatic breathing so well?"

Harsh critic Teacher Rose. Even she was praising me in the afternoon class. In the morning, she saw me as a hopeless case, but now she was praising me. The change in her attitude was thanks to the 1 coin I used to improve my singing with Pony. 0.12%. Just looking at the number, it seems insignificant. It's like the probability of drawing a rare item in a gacha game. But when applied to reality, the effect was enormous. I, a complete beginner who couldn't even grasp diaphragmatic breathing, was now doing it naturally.

Whisper, whisper-

The trainees started to stare at me. Woo-yeon, who had seen my level in the morning class and knew I hadn't practiced much, was shocked and wide-eyed.

"You must have been really hurt by what I said in the morning class. I didn't expect you to practice so hard. You all should learn from this. To debut, you need tenacity. The entertainment life is not easy. Even if you don't have the skills, if you have tenacity and pride, you can work hard and achieve results like this. But without tenacity, you can't survive in this industry."

'Here we go! Teacher's Rose lecture skill!'

"Many people debut and then collapse mentally and disappear. I'm being harsh on purpose. When you debut, you won't even think about what I'm saying now. If you can't handle my harsh words now, you don't deserve to debut. Remember that, all of you. Be tough. Be tough."

Hearing this, one would expect to see determination in their eyes, but most of the trainees didn't. They were indifferent or seemed annoyed by the nagging. They probably weren't like this at first. But after spending too much time as trainees, their sharp edges had worn down, and their determination and tenacity had faded. However, not all hope was lost. Some of the trainees seemed to be affected by her words.

'Only these kids will survive.'

My eyes aren't that sharp, but among the debut team, there were a few who I thought would make it. For example, Woo-yeon, who is next to me, is one of them. She is the one who deserves to be an entertainer. Even I, a mere trainee, can see that, so Teacher Rose, who has taught many trainees, must see it too. A look of disappointment briefly crossed her eyes as she looked at the trainees.

"Come in. Let's start the class."

I quickly moved to my spot among the trainees. As I took my place, the trainees I had greeted yesterday poked my side playfully, expressing their envy. Even though I was less skilled than them, being praised by Teacher Rose was something to be envied. The class started. Before the class started, the praise she had given me vanished, and the harsh criticism began again.

"Don't you exercise? How can your pitch be so shaky with just this much? How are you going to sing and dance at the same time?!"

"Singing is not a joke! Even practice should be done as if it's a real performance, pronouncing every word clearly!"

"Don't you have teeth? Do you need braces? Why is your pronunciation so bad? Don't you know Korean?"

"Stop!! Stop! My ears are going to rot, so stop!"

"Just because you can hit high notes doesn't mean you can sing well. If that's what you think, go do rock music. Kid!"

After the class ended and Teacher Rose left the practice room. I collapsed, my legs giving out.

"Are you okay?"

"No. I don't think I'm okay."

Is this normal? Do I have to learn singing like this? She could have taught these things more gently. There's a saying that a kind word can repay a thousand debts, but Teacher Rose could make hundreds of enemies with just one word.

"It's normal to be mentally drained after your first class with Teacher Rose. Even though I'm used to it, sometimes I still get upset and cry."

"Is this really normal? Do other places teach like this?"

"The atmosphere of the class depends on the trainer's style. But Teacher Rose is so skilled that everyone endures it. When you're learning, you think, 'Do I really have to do it like this?' and you cry and pour out your heart, but the results are so good that you can't complain. Bad habits are corrected, and you can hit high notes you couldn't before."

Woo-yeon said she must have cried about 100 times in Teacher Rose class and patted my shoulder.

"Still, you're amazing. At least you didn't cry. Raise your hand if you didn't cry the first time you had a class with Teache Rose!"

Woo-yeon suddenly shouted, but none of the trainees raised their hands.

"Is that true? Everyone cried?"

"Yes, definitely."

"I feel like my nose is bleeding even though my eyes are open."

"There was even an incident like this. Teacher Rose has a scar on her side, right? Of course, I didn't see it directly. But rumor has it that it was a stab wound from a trainee who had a mental breakdown during her class."

"Wow, really?"

Those who haven't taken her class might not understand, but having taken her class, I could see how that might happen.

"It's true. The female trainees went to the bathhouse with Teacher Rose and were shocked to see the scar. When they asked about it, she casually said that she had been stabbed and that the culprit was one of her trainees."

"Wow~ Teacher Rose is really amazing. Even after going through something like that, she still teaches this way?"

"That's why she's amazing in many ways."

Talent and personality don't go hand in hand. The consensus is that Teacher Rose gained skill at the cost of her personality.

'She's surrounded by incredible rumors.'

Gulp-

Somehow, I swallow hard. She used to be a singer and has maintained her figure through consistent self-care. Compared to the idol trainees, her face is plain, but her body is incredibly healthy and toned, unlike the excessively thin trainees.

'Healthy glow and toned body!'

It's possible... but after a moment of thought, I decided to give up.

'There are plenty of other women.'

Do I really need to deal with someone like her?