From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

Despite the fine dust warnings in Seoul, the air felt completely pure on Christmas day.

Or it might just be their delusion since they wanted a perfect celebration.

Nonetheless, despite the cold weather and fine dust in the air, couples wearing matching outfits roamed the streets, all looking lovey-dovey with each other. With pretty snacks in their rugged hands, the men fed their girlfriends as if their lovers' arms were amputated.

The scent of love filled the air, and in this glorious celebration, individuals were expected to spend it with their significant other.

However, since the group of girls had an impossible set of standards because of their love for idols, they were stuck with each other's company in a cheap fast-food chain.

"I thought you said that couples wouldn't be here during this day," Bora groaned, popping a fry in her mouth.

"That's what I thought," Wei scratched the back of her neck. Then, she looked around the place, looking apologetic for suggesting it to them.

"But we're surrounded by couples. Sorry, guys," she apologized.

Soo-min waved it off. "It's alright. That's not our real focus, anyway. The most important thing is—we finally got our albums!"

Jia looked at the pile of albums in front of them and sighed dreamily.

"They took so long, but they're finally here," she said, almost hugging the plastic materials.

"We should have just bought some from the actual store," Nari said. "Who knew pre-ordering online would take three weeks to arrive at our address?"

"There's no use," Bora said, her mouth full of greasy fast food. "The album's sold out everywhere. Azure clearly underestimated EVE's power since they understocked the albums despite them having a million pre-orders."

"That's true," Nari agreed. "OCTA still has albums on the shelves, and they essentially had the same amount of pre-orders as EVE. Maybe that's also the reason why EVE's album sales are lower than theirs."

Jia clenched her fist and banged it on the table, causing the couple next to them to jump in surprise. The young couple then noticed the mountain of albums on top of their table and quickly gestured to move to another seat.

"Those fucking bastards. They're underestimating my babies just because they're rookies! I would never watch a show from Azure again," Jia ranted.

"Damn, girl," Bora raised her hands. "You don't need to go that far."

Jia clicked her tongue. "Every corporation is trash. However, Azure is trashier than others. Have you seen the issue with EVE's manager?"

"Yeah," Nari shivered in disgust. "I can't believe he was collecting their socks. SOCKS! I mean, I would also like a collection of their socks, but not to THAT extent!"

Bora shook her head. "I'm going to disregard the last sentence you said, but yeah, Azure is known for their shitty management. I mean, it's not the worst, but it's definitely not good at all. I think it's also the reason why GIRLS' EVOLUTION and BOYMYSTIC haven't broken the top K-pop idols' records."

"EVE has the potential to do that, though," Soo-min said. "Let's hope their management actually does something good for them."

"Let's not talk about the company anymore," Nari said, halting their conversation. "We have these beautiful albums before us. Let's start opening them!"

"I stayed off of Navel to avoid the spoilers for their photocards," Jia said. "I really hope I get June's photocards."

"Me too," Bora said.

Soo-min, Nari, and Wei also nodded in agreement, causing Jia to raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"You're also aiming for June's photocard?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Bora responded. "You already know that June has my heart along with Casper and Ren. You're probably the bigger fan among the two of us, but I'm not going to trade June's photocard once I get my hands on it."

"And how about you guys?" Jia asked, turning to her three other friends. "I thought June wasn't even in your bias lists!"

"He grew on me after watching Quiz God," Nari shamelessly admitted.

"I don't know. I just started feeling sparks after their Abracadabra performance," Wei admitted.

"You finally have decent taste in men!" Bora enthusiastically clapped.

Wei chuckled and shook her head.

"And you?" Jia asked, turning to Soo-min. "I thought you were a loyal Zetherealist. You said you'd die on his ship and only on his ship."

"That still stands," Soo-min said. "But like Nari, my mom started liking June after Quiz God. She scolded me for buying plenty of EVE's albums, but now, she's practically begging for June's photocard."

Jia sighed and massaged her temples. "So, you're telling me—I can't trade photocards with you guys anymore?"

"Well, if I get a duplicate of June's, I'll give it to you," Bora said.

"Yeah, me too."

"Me three!"

"I'll do that too."

Jia sighed in relief, looking at the pile in front of them. They bought five albums each, which meant they had twenty albums right now.

June's photocard will definitely be among them, right?

Wrong!

Jia was currently on her third album, and she had gotten most of the members at this point, but not June!

"Bingo!" Bora exclaimed, pulling out the very first June photocard of the night.

The others looked at her with envy, wanting to get his photocard too.

"Let me see," Jia exclaimed, trying to get it out of her grasp, but Bora shook her head and pulled her hand back.

"No touching," he said.

Jia clicked her tongue and stared at June's photo. The other three also stared at it with wonder.

"Wait," Nari said. "Is it just me, or is this photocard…shitty?"

Jia immediately pushed Nari's shoulder, causing the latter to chuckle.

"I'm not talking about June! He looks very handsome. I'm talking about the angle. It's actually a miracle that he looks this good with this type of photo," she clarified her statement.

"Hmm, now that you've mentioned it, you're right. This is how my parents take pictures," Bora said.

Jia observed the photo and couldn't counter their statements.

Indeed, June's photo was the epitome of Generation X's selfie style.

The phone was way too close, at a downward angle, and it was obvious that he was staring at the phone screen and not at the camera.

"If you don't want it, then I'll gladly have it," Jia said.

"No way," Bora said. "The fact that he took the photo like an old man already makes it more special!"

Jia sighed in disappointment as she stared at her two remaining albums. She still has a shot with these two!

Again, she was wrong.

As her friends opened their last albums, it seemed like a holy spirit had granted their wishes and given all of them June photocards.

"My mom's going to be so happy with this," Soo-min smiled.

"It's the same one as Bora's!" Nari exclaimed. "I'll treasure this forever."

"This one's taken in the same angle, but he's wearing a different outfit," Wei chuckled.

"I think he only took it at one angle," Soo-min said, giggling to herself.

Jia groaned in misery, squeezing the last album in her hand.

"This is my last chance!" she exclaimed. "I better get his photocard."

"We're rooting for you," Bora said, still eating.

"You'll definitely get it," Wei said, assuring Jia.

Jia, with a determined expression, opened the album. The photocard quickly fell out, so Jia looked away and covered it with her hand.

Back then, she thought her friends were crazy for spending so much money on a piece of hard paper with a printed picture of an idol.

Oh, she ate her words really quickly.

She let out a deep breath and finally removed her hand from the photocard, revealing her last chance of the night.

"It's…"

"...blank."

Bora chuckled, some crumbs falling from her lips.

"I think you got a defective one."