บท 3: You Are Terrible
Shun had never felt so happy to see the sun shining on his face. Sighing, he felt the pull on his arm from Ping and followed with a laugh. This place… this place was definitely not his home. He had never seen buildings this high and decoration outside of the walls. The ground was hard, not like dirt, and people were everywhere! The smell! So many strange smells entered his nose and he itched to decipher what they were.
Honk! Honk!
His eyes widened and he stared at the noise.
'What contraption was this?! There was a man inside the metal box! Did he need help?!'
Before he could do anything, the… the thing made a noise and rolled away. His ears picked up chatters from around him and people holding a rectangular item to their ears. Some were even staring at it and… was that someone in the rectangle?
'Is that person trapped?!'
"Miss you. I'll call you back later."
"Alright. Bye."
He blinked and itched to grab the phone to save the man, but he saw the female smiling as she walked away. He was… so confused. This… He needed to understand this world and fast.
*Stress level 66% -> 73%*
The floating square stated and he took deep breaths to calm himself.
"Hm? Ah Shun? Are you okay?" Ping asked and he patted his head. He offered a smile and a nod as they entered a building.
The smell of something delicious filled his nose. Chicken, duck, beef, his mouth was watering and he looked up to see the pictures of meals. So many choices to choose from! Wiping the drool from his lips, he followed his friends and ordered the same thing Wen Dong had. They went to sit at a metal table and chairs by the window.
'This world certainly use a lot of metals…'
"Ah Shun," Wen Dong looked at him, "You sure you're okay? That dance you did… It is like you are learning it all over again! Noodle legs," his friend stood up and should him what noodle legs looked like.
"I forgot the moves," he shrugged and remembered his task, "Maybe I should get lessons from Tee."
"That is a good idea."
Shun perked up remembering his other task.
"And maybe singing lessons from Suu Jin."
"Suu Jin?" Wen Dong frowned and looked over at Ping Ping, "You think your cousin will teach Ah Shun in singing?"
"Cousin?" His eyes widened before he smiled at the boy, "Please Ah Ping. No wonder you sing so good."
The boy grinned and pulled out the rectangle.
"Let me ask. You should get lessons too Ah Dong. We want to make it together, right? You need more help than Ah Shun."
"I… agree," Wen Dong dropped his shoulders and their meals came.
Quickly eating their soup due to their loss of time, they ran back to the studio to see two new people standing beside the managers.
"Today is a lucky day! We have recruiters, Juno and Fire here looking for talent for the new idol competition. I am sure you all heard of it?" Manager Quang Zhi explained and chatters exploded in the room.
Waving the children down, he called for each group once more to show their singing skills and dancing skills. For Shun, singing was okay for him, much better than dancing. He did his best to not have noodle legs and arms, hoping he completed that task the floating square presented. When he was done, everyone was quiet.
Panting from the exert of energy, he bowed as thanks, following everyone else who had done it prior, and he stepped back. He waited and saw the manager Quang Zhi taking notes. The recruiters were whispering to one another, also looking at the clipboard.
"Xiong Shun," Fire spoke up, "You are terrible."
'Ouch…'
"Do you not know your left foot from your right? Let me ask you, do you even want to be an idol?"
'Not really,' he thought but was reminded by the memory of blinking red from the floating square, 'Witch. You will not win.'
"Yes. I will work hard Ms. Fire. I will not stop until I become an idol. It is what I am destined for."
Shun finished and made sure to stay confident with all eyes on him. Dear Lord did he hate the attention.
"Then practice harder on your dancing," Fire stated, "Your singing is good and you look like an idol, but if your dancing isn't improved, then there is no hope for you."
"I understand. Thank you, Ms. Fire."
The woman nodded and they called for the next person. Letting out a deep breath, he went to sit in the back with the others. The floating square appeared and he heard the ding.
*Confidence 16% -> 18%* *Current dancing abilities 3% -> 2%*
'You got to be kidding…'
"You weren't that bad, Ah Shun, but… Ms. Fire is right. Maybe you'll do better tomorrow? Let's practice together," Wen Dong offered and he thanked his friend, accepting his offer. Ping came over with a grin and squeezed in between them.
"Ah Shun! Good news! My cousin said he would help!" The young boy whispered excitedly.
"Really?! What, what does he need from me? Coins?" He asked and Ping dipped his brows with a confused face.
"Huh? Like quarters? No. He doesn't always have time, but he said as long as I think you are worth it, he will try. So, of course I said yes! You are my gege," Ping snuggled up against him and Shun was reminded of his youngest sister.
["Big brother," she hugged him tightly, "Will you teach me to be smart like you?"
"Who says I am smart? I think you, little one, is much smarter than me."
Her laughter was the best thing to make his heart melt. He loved her. He hoped she would never grow up.
"Come brother! Let's go play!"]
"You are so kind to me, didi," he hugged the boy back.
"I know, I am the best!" Ping grinned and turned to Wen Dong, "Ah Dong, Ah Jin said no to you. Sorry. I tried begging, but he said you would just waste his time."
"Oh gawd, is he still mad about the pizza thing? I knew that man held a grudge," Wen Dong mumbled.
Ping patted the poor guy's arm as comfort and Shun saw the floating square again.
*New task added. Would you like to check available tasks?*
"Yes."
"No worries, gege. I already told him you said yes," Ping smiled brilliantly at him and he patted the boy's head.
'Okay, so I better be careful when speaking to this magic thing,' he glanced at the words on displayed.
*Learn the pizza situation from Wen Dong or Suu Jin*
That was the newly added task and he breathed out in relief. This was a simple one.
"Ah Dong, can you tell me what happened?"
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