Chapter 3 : Huh (3)

After Pony disappeared, I was left alone to organize my thoughts. I hadn't considered that the woman would wake up during this time.

"Um."

"Huh!"

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, I suddenly remembered I was in a hotel. I rolled my eyes, not knowing what to do.

'Should I greet her?'

As I desperately tried to think of a solution, the woman woke up from the bed, smiled slyly, and said:

"Last night was good."

Huh?

"Don't worry about your debut."

Huh?

"You're quite bold."

Me?

I couldn't react to the woman's incomprehensible words. Seeing me frozen, she laughed awkwardly and continued:

"You have a handsome face, so you didn't need to do this. Even now, I don't understand why you did such a foolish thing."

What did I do?

"Well, I must be crazy for accepting this."

At that moment, a speech bubble appeared next to the woman.

[Honey Entertainment Director Cho Yeon-ju, 33 years old]

This woman is a director? Wait, before that, that speech bubble is Pony's. Pony must have done this. The speech bubble looked exactly like Pony's, so I quickly realized it her doing. And it turned out to be useful information for me.

What I thought was a one-night stand had a different meaning. Listening to her, it seemed that Honey Entertainment was the company I belonged to. And having slept with the director meant…

'Oh no! Was last night's sex a form of lobbying?!'

It was a clear crime scene.

"Um…!"

"From now on, let's forget about this. And don't do this again. You have a face that speaks for itself. Even if you can't sing or dance well, you're a visual center. So, next time we meet, let's act like we don't know each other. I'll do the same."

Leaving me in confusion, the woman coolly got up and went into the bathroom. I was left feeling like a shy bride on her first night.

"Wow."

This feels really dirty. Anyway, she's quite the woman.

'What is this situation? What kind of development is this?'

I wish someone could explain the plot clearly. I slept with a beautiful woman, and in the morning, she tells me she'll put me in the debut team. What is this? It's clearly lobbying.

Slam!

"Huh!"

She hadn't been in the bathroom long before the door swung open. She came out, casually wrapping a robe around herself, and started getting dressed without a care.

"Oh, by the way, even if I recommend you, if you cause any problems, you can be removed from the team at any time. So, behave yourself. On the other hand, if you don't cause any big problems, you won't have any trouble debuting."

Slam!

Click.

The door closed.

"...."

Is she gone? She's really gone, right? Silence filled the room.

"Ha ha ha."

I tried to laugh to shake off the emptiness. My mind was still a mess. So…

"To sum up, that woman is the director of Honey Entertainment, and I slept with her? From what she said, it seems like she's putting me in the debut team. This is clearly lobbying."

Pony said she made this new body for me, right? But how did the situation turn out like this? This must be part of that bastard's plan. But there's no one around to complain to; Pony is gone.

"She set up this situation and just told me to collect coins before disappearing. What a jerk!"

She won't come back just because I call her now. She emphasized that I have to have sex to call her.

'She set this up so I can debut. So, as long as I don't quit, I can debut?'

Is debuting as an idol this easy? She threatened that if I didn't debut successfully, she would dispose of me, which made me angry at Pony. But now, seeing what she had set up for me, my heart melted.

'I should apologize to Pony when I see her next.'

She said she would dispose of me if I didn't debut, which still makes me angry, but I haven't done anything right either, so let's call it even. Besides, the path to debuting as an idol, which seemed impossible, has opened up, so I feel relieved despite the lingering discomfort of having to lobby with my body.

'Am I really going to debut as an idol?'

It still doesn't feel real, but I can't stay confused forever.

'First, I need to take a shower.'

My crotch felt damp.

••••••••

Pony's arrangements didn't stop at the director of Honey Entertainment. In the pocket of the clothes I was supposed to wear, there was a phone. Inside the phone were my home address, password, practice schedule, and the address of Honey Entertainment. It was as if she was telling me to adapt without being confused.

'She really prepared everything well.'

I also found out more about myself.

『Name: Jin Hae-sol

Age: 20

Education: High School Graduate

Occupation: Honey Entertainment Trainee (C Class -> Debut Team)

Family: None』

"So, I'm an orphan. Well, it's a made-up identity, so it's better not to have a family. I don't want to call some strange woman 'Mom.' It's better to be an orphan. That way, I don't have to worry about anyone's feelings. Besides, according to the memo, Pony put a hypnotic suggestion on the people at Honey Entertainment to make it seem like Jin Hae-sol has been a trainee for a while. However, since it was difficult to adjust detailed memories, it was set up so that I don't have any close friends even though I've been a trainee. And I'm about to move to the debut team from C Class."

"This is actually convenient. It's easier to adapt when you don't know anyone. Pony really thought of everything. The director of Honey Entertainment must have done this to get me into the debut team."

"Now, where do I go? Is this my address? Is this really my house?"

I'm in an unfamiliar world. If I have nowhere to go, I'll become a homeless person. I can only trust that Pony has prepared a place for me to live. I decided to go to the address listed under personal information.

'I'm getting a lot of stares.'

When I stepped out of the hotel, I saw that everyone around me was a woman. Seeing the streets, I realized this was not Earth but a different world.

'Wow, there really are no men. This is amazing.'

The 9:1 ratio is no joke. Most of the women passing by were staring at me. I didn't think just walking down the street would be so burdensome.

'Should I take a taxi?'

I tried to use public transportation, but the stares were so intense that I gave up.

'Is this the struggle of a handsome man? I should be grateful for the attention, but I can't even bow. It's scary.'

Young women were staring at me or stopping to look at me. In a world where men are rare, seeing a handsome man is a rare opportunity. Of course, I hadn't adapted to this world yet, so I was terrified by the women's stares.

'How am I going to walk down the street in the future? Mandatory self-quarantine?'

Even the taxi driver was a woman. Of course, there are female taxi drivers on Earth too, but in this gender-reversed world, everything felt new and strange. When I finally got home, I found a building with the same structure as my original house.

"This is the right address… Right? It looks exactly like my old house."

Did Pony really think of everything? I hurried inside and found that the furniture and layout were exactly the same as my old place. Even the front door password was the same! I should apologize to Pony again.

"Wow, the service is great."

It feels like I'm back home, not someone else's house. I even have a slight feeling that this is still Earth. I haven't felt much discomfort since my body changed.

'It doesn't look used. It's all new.'

However, it wasn't an exact replica of my old place; the furniture was all new. I ended up with all new things.

"A computer!"

Is the computer new too? I checked the computer with excitement. It's new, but…

"If you're going to give me a new one, at least make it a good one."

The computer looked old. It wasn't very powerful, and the brand was unfamiliar.

"What a waste."

The icons and names were different, but the basics were the same, so I could adapt easily.

'This world is similar to Earth, so it should be easy to adapt. The map is the same as Earth's…'

But the names are different, which is confusing. The company logos, subway names, regional names, and even the capital city have different names. But considering I'm in a different world, this level of difference is acceptable.

'What's similar to South Korea? At least I don't have to learn a new language.'

The president is a woman, the congressmembers are women, and the CEOs of big companies are women. It's a world dominated by women. But where are the men?

"I'm curious about the men."

I wondered if I could see men on an internet broadcast. In gender-reversed novels, the most common job for men is streaming. Men might find it hard to deal with the stares of so many women, so they might do a lot of streaming.

"Wow, there are so many women."

When I searched for "internet broadcast," several sites came up. I entered one of the most popular ones, and it was clear that streaming is very popular here too, with an enormous number of broadcasts.

"What should I search for?"

I've seen female streamers before, but I've never searched for male streamers. It feels gross, but I searched for "male streamer."

"It's coming up?"

Is this the first time I'm seeing a man in this world? I clicked on an ad and entered the room.

["Wow, thank you! Sisters. Hehe"]

Click.

X to pay respects.

"Shit."

I shouldn't have clicked that.

••••••

I'm an idiot. Male streamer? I should have searched for "male idol"! Besides, I'm supposed to become a male idol.

"Phew…"

And when I searched for male idols and saw their performances, I realized something.

"Yes! Thank goodness!"

Fortunately, male idols in this world are not much different from those on Earth. The only difference is that there are fewer men, so women are more active in society. The concept of masculinity hasn't changed to femininity, and femininity hasn't changed to masculinity.

["Kyaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!"]

"Wow, they're not even BTS. They look so average, why are they screaming like that?"

They're clearly lip-syncing, and their dancing is sloppy.

"This one is flailing around on his own. Oh, he messed up his hands."

["So cute!!!!!!!!"]

And the women are going crazy over it.

'Is this cute?'

Wow, being an idol is nothing special. Living as a man in a gender-reversed world. It's so easy. I don't have to worry too much. From that moment on, I diligently researched idols in this world on the computer. Surprisingly, Honey Entertainment is a very big company. It's one of the top three entertainment companies.

'Wow, this is like a light novel. An ordinary office worker becomes a male idol in another world?! Damn, how did my life turn out like this.'

A wave of self-loathing washed over me. Since men are rare, any man who debuts as an idol automatically gains a fan base. Being born a man means you're destined to receive love from women. That's why even small entertainment companies debut any man as an idol. But Honey Entertainment, known as an entertainment powerhouse, only debuts those who can become global stars. That's why the competition is fierce. You can't just debut because you're a man.

[Does anyone know about Honey Entertainment debuting a male idol group?]

As I searched the internet, I found many posts about Honey Entertainment, including some that seemed to be talking about the group I was supposed to debut in.

- I hope Jeong-tae debuts this time ㅠㅠ

└ Honey Entertainment is so competitive. You need to be good at both singing and dancing ㅜㅜ

└ Honey Entertainment has its own style.

- Who will make it to the debut team among the trainees?

└ It's about time they should be finalizing the lineup, but it's weird that it's not happening this time.

└ I'm a Honey insider, and there's a rumor that one of the new trainees will be added to the debut team.

└ That's impossible. Honey Entertainment wouldn't do that. Does that guy have a powerful background?

└ Are you really a Honey insider?

- I hope they do a debut reality show! Honey Entertainment's debut reality shows are the best.

- Let's guess the candidates. I think Jun is a sure thing.

└ Jun is a must!!!!!!!!!!My baby♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

└ Heart emojis are cringe ㅡㅡ

└ I think Mino!

└ You're crazy. Why would Minho be included?

└ Yeah, Minho doesn't fit.

└ Don't underestimate our Minho! He's such a good dancer!!

- Is Jecki a sure thing too?

└ Jecki is a given. If he's not in the debut team, the rookie group is doomed ㅋ

└ The leader is a must. Of course.

"Oh, this is valuable information."

These comments were very useful to me. It's amazing that even before their debut, the names of the trainees are known to the public.

"So, Jun and Jecki are definitely in the debut team."

I should try to befriend them when I meet them. Since I'm debuting without any skills, my image among the trainees won't be good.

"How many groups have disbanded because of internal conflicts?"

There have been idol groups that failed because they bullied a member. I can't let that happen to me.

'I'm too old for that. I'll make sure to befriend everyone.'

I'll show them the survival tactics of a 30-year-old man with top-notch social skills.