Chapter 11: Survival Begins on the Waves

“Wow, I can’t believe all these people are contestants…”

Kim Chan looked around the dockside clearing with his mouth agape.

The area was packed with boys around his age.

Managers from the agencies weren’t allowed past this point.

From now on, only the actual contestants would remain as filming began in earnest.

Everyone had gone all out with their looks.

Hair colors were all over the spectrum.

Kim Chan absentmindedly touched his own hair, which had been bleached twice to achieve this light brown shade with a faint gray tint.

It was a trendy color these days, but even so, he could already spot three or four others with a similar tone.

“I think a lot of people have hair colors like mine. Maybe I should’ve just gone fully gray…”

“It suits you, so it’s fine.”

Roy patted Kim Chan’s back twice, trying to cheer him up.

He still vividly remembered how Kim Chan cried when his scalp started stinging during the bleaching process.

“Hyung, your hair color is always so cool. How is it this pitch-black when you haven’t even dyed it?”

Kim Chan, cheered up by Roy’s words, reached out and gently played with Roy’s hair.

Some contestants had dyed their hair black, but none of them could compare to Roy’s naturally deep shade.

“I get it from my mom.”

Roy didn’t know who his father was.

From as far back as he could remember, his only family had been his mother and younger sister.

“If it’s your mom, she must be insanely pretty. You have to introduce me someday.”

“Sure.”

Roy didn’t bother mentioning that his mother had passed away.

Knowing Kim Chan’s personality, if he found out, he’d feel bad and spend the next week sulking with guilt.

***

“Everyone, please gather over here~”

A man holding a megaphone called out to the contestants.

He wore an earpiece and had a STAFF badge pinned to his chest.

“From now on, we’ll be moving in groups of ten by boat. Please grab your things and line up here, two by two.”

A total of one hundred contestants had made it through the first and second auditions.

With all the people who’d come to see them off, the area around the dock was as crowded as Gangnam Station on a weekend.

“Doha hyung, you need to open your eyes now. We’re about to get on the boat.”

“…Yeah.”

Just like Kim Chan, Lee Doha had changed his hair color.

In the sunlight, it shimmered with a subtle blue hue over black.

Even though Do Minkyung had spent the morning styling it perfectly, Lee Doha was now slumped against Roy’s shoulder, one side of his hair completely flattened.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Kim Chan grabbed Lee Doha’s shoulder and shook him.

Maybe it was too sudden.

Still half-asleep, Lee Doha blinked as he took his bag from Roy.

“H-Hyung…! The camera’s getting closer…!”

Even among so many contestants, some always stood out due to their looks.

Lee Doha, drowsy and dazed, caught the attention of one of the filming staff.

As the black camera drew nearer, Kim Chan’s cheeks flushed red.

Lee Doha snapped his eyes open.

His double eyelids made his already large, clear eyes look even bigger under pressure.

“You must be really tired. Do you usually sleep a lot?”

“Yes.”

“Are the three of you from the same agency? You don’t seem to be talking to anyone else.”

“Ah, that’s right! We’re definitely looking forward to saying hello to everyone else soon~”

Lee Doha’s earlobes turned red—just enough to notice if you were paying close attention.

Roy raised one eyebrow at the unexpected reaction.

He was used to seeing Lee Doha sleepy or sharp while practicing, never this nervous.

Back during agency shoots, Lee Doha never seemed fazed.

But in front of a broadcast camera, it seemed different.

“You guys seem cheerful. That’s great to see.”

The staff member made a polite comment and turned to the contestant standing behind Kim Chan.

The three of them were near the end of the line.

It looked like the staff were going down the queue, getting interview shots of each participant.

“Whew, whew. Seeing the camera really makes it hit home—we’re actually filming…”

Kim Chan pressed a hand against his thumping chest and smiled at Roy.

“Look forward. It’s almost our turn.”

***

While the interview continued, the long line ahead had shrunk considerably.

When Kim Chan nearly lost his balance, Roy casually grabbed his arm and steadied him.

“This way. Please step aboard.”

“Okay.”

Kim Chan stepped onto the boat first, followed by Roy and Lee Doha.

The boat looked like a fishing vessel, with an open deck on all sides except for the control room.

“Please put on a life jacket, everyone.”

A staff member handed them each a life jacket.

They sat down in a row starting from the inside.

“Hello~”

“W-Wow… It’s the ocean.”

Other contestants began boarding behind them.

Everyone greeted each other with awkward smiles.

Some looked genuinely excited, their faces full of anticipation.

Others clearly looked scared.

“Wait a minute… We’re literally floating on the ocean right now…”

One more person had joined the ranks of the frightened.

Kim Chan, face pale as a sheet, clung to Roy tightly.

Roy, who had ended up awkwardly squeezed between Lee Doha and Kim Chan, pushed Kim Chan away.

But then he noticed Kim Chan’s hand trembling faintly as it held onto his arm, and he stopped moving.

“Are you okay?”

Roy had often encountered the sea even on the As Continent.

Back when he wandered across the vast lands with his master, the sea was nothing new—he had even fallen asleep atop boats before.

A small fishing boat like this one was just a little uncomfortable, not particularly scary.

As Kim Chan began to calm down a little, Roy turned to check on Lee Doha—only to see that he had somehow already closed his eyes.

“He… Doha-hyung can fall asleep even in this situation? With all the monsters lurking beneath us…”

The ocean was a paradise for monsters.

If it weren’t for the ship being specially reinforced for the contestants’ safety, the monsters would’ve already swarmed them.

Each time a wave rocked the boat, Kim Chan flinched as if monsters were attacking the vessel.

“We’re departing now.”

The voice from the control room announced their departure.

Spray rose from the tail end of the boat as it slowly pushed forward, carrying ten contestants and the filming staff.

There were three cameras set up on the deck.

As if determined not to miss a single reaction, the cameras busily captured every contestant’s face.

‘When are we getting there…?’

Roy tried to clear his mind and simply waited for the boat to reach their destination.

For some reason, even Earth was quiet today.

On one side, Kim Chan’s hand was still shaking as it clung to Roy’s arm.

On the other, Lee Doha’s head was weighing down Roy’s shoulder.

***

“Please disembark carefully~”

“We’re finally here.”

“This way, please. The island is currently overflowing with monsters.”

“What?!”

Kim Chan’s voice rose in panic just as he was letting out a sigh of relief from having escaped the monster-filled sea.

Another contestant, whose cheeks were puffed out from snacking, widened his already round eyes in shock.

At the docking point, a tunnel enclosed in a transparent barrier came into view.

“Uh, over there…”

Kim Chan, half-awake, grabbed onto Lee Doha’s arm and stepped into the tunnel first.

It was so narrow that two adult men could barely walk side by side.

Just as Roy moved to follow them, he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.

“I’m alone… C-Can I go with you…?”

The boy with soft, fluffy peach fuzz was shorter than Roy.

Roy, who was used to looking up at others, silently looked down at him.

“It’s… it’s scary…”

The boy’s large eyes were brimming with tears.

It looked like just a light poke to the cheek would make them spill.

“Sure.”

Roy gave a simple reply and continued walking.

“T-Thank you! My name’s Lee Hajun…”

His tearful expression softened a little.

Hajun moved a step closer to Roy and began chatting nonstop.

Beyond the transparent tunnel, all sorts of monsters appeared and vanished in turns.

“Eek…! That’s my first time seeing a monster that close…!”

A monster that looked like a wolf ambled near the tunnel.

“How old are you?”

“Oh! I’m fifteen… What about you, hyung? You are a hyung, right?”

‘He’s even younger than I expected.’

There was a full seven-year age gap between them.

“I’m twenty-two. Name’s Hwang Roy.”

“Roy hyung…”

Hajun repeated Roy’s name several times, rolling it around his mouth like candy.

“Roy hyung! Hurry up, come on!”

Kim Chan had reached the end of the tunnel and turned around, waving Roy over.

“Thanks.”

At the end of the tunnel, Hajun let go of Roy’s sleeve.

“Just follow the staff over there.”

One of the staff members waiting near the entrance began leading the contestants in a specific direction.

“Roy hyung, look over there!”

Roy followed Kim Chan’s pointed finger.

Floating in the air was a banner that read: [Vote for Your Hunter Idol!]

“According to what the CEO told me, today’s supposed to be an individual skill test. I don’t know how many stages there’ll be, though.”

‘Status window.’

Roy opened his status window and began to ponder.

[Hwang Roy (22)]

[Vocal: D+]

[Dance: D]

[Acting: F]

[Lyrics: F]

[Composition: F>]

‘Still a long way to go.’

He glanced at Kim Chan, who was cheerfully chatting beside him.

If Kim Chan had a status window, his vocal skill would probably be at least S-rank.

‘Doha would probably get an S in dance.’

Compared to them, Roy’s dance looked more like a flailing jellyfish than an idol’s performance.

‘Roy, you’re still moving your joints like you’re mashing them around. Idol dancing may look easy, but if it’s not sharp and precise, you’ll just seem like an amateur.’

That was what his dance trainer, Jung Hojun, had told him.

And he was right—Roy still had a long way to go.

‘The higher the rank, the more experience points you need. It increases exponentially.’

At the bottom of the window, his experience bar read 280.

To raise his dance from D to D+, it had taken 200.

He briefly considered raising his dance stat again, then closed the window.

‘In this survival program, my role is to show dramatic growth.’

Both Kim Chan and Lee Doha already had the natural talents of an idol.

Though their Hunter abilities hadn’t been verified yet, both were S-rank.