The filming complex for Aether: Idol Paradise looked nothing like the modest audition hall Jibeom had walked into weeks earlier. Massive LED walls, polished floors that reflected the studio lights, and rows of cameras already in position gave the entire space the feeling of a carefully constructed dream. Staff members moved with practiced urgency, headsets on, clipboards in hand. Jibeom barely had time to take it in before someone grabbed his arm and steered him toward a confessional booth.
The questions came rapid-fire. Name. Age. Motivation. What he hoped to show the world. Jibeom answered as briefly as he could, voice steady but unremarkable. When the producer finally nodded and told him he came across as "surprisingly likable," he simply bowed and let himself be herded toward the main set.
Eighty seats waited in neat rows beneath the lights. Trainees of every background filled them—foreign faces, familiar ones from mid-tier companies, even a few former idols who had somehow found their way back into the survival circuit. The air hummed with quiet tension and the soft rustle of practice clothes.
Jibeom found an empty seat near the middle and sat down. The trainee beside him looked up only briefly before dropping his gaze again. He was tall, with honey-brown hair that fell neatly across his forehead, a clean jawline, and soft, almost puppy-like eyes that seemed permanently uncertain.
Jibeom decided to speak first.
"Hi. I'm So Jibeom. What's your name?"
The other boy offered a small, careful smile. "Jung Ryunwoo. Nice to meet you."
While they exchanged quiet greetings, Jibeom opened his system view.
[Stats]
Jung Ryunwoo
182 cm
21 y/o
Vocals: C+
Dance: B
Rap: A (S-)
Visuals: A-
Stage Presence: C- (B)
[Traits]
"I Believe in You!" S Rank
The more friends around you all stats reach their potential more
The numbers alone were impressive. The trait was something else entirely.
They kept talking in low voices. Ryunwoo's answers were short, but every smile he gave was the kind that made people want to protect it. When a camera lingered on them for a moment, Jibeom felt a small spark of satisfaction. At least they looked friendly on screen.
"Hyung," Jibeom asked quietly, "are you under a company?"
Ryunwoo's shoulders tensed. "Not anymore. I… couldn't debut. Stage fright. But I still really wanna be an idol and show that my training meant something…"
Jibeom glanced at the Stage Presence ranking again and understood. A new window appeared almost immediately.
"Help Ryunwoo with his confidence before the show ends!"
Reward: 2 stat points, one draw ticket
Jibeom blinked at the quest, then decided not to overthink it. There would be time later.
The producers called for silence. Filming had officially begun.
The first stretch was mostly introductions and filler conversation. Then the mentors walked out.
TJ, main rapper of the hard-edged group RipJaw. Kim Soojin, main dancer of NewDream, one of the biggest girl groups in the industry. Solo vocalists Gina Lee and Won Jihoon, both household names. And at the center, MC Sim Seoyoon—former center of the previous survival show NYX: Choose Your Idol, a program still haunted by rigging rumors.
Seoyoon smiled for the cameras and explained the first evaluation. Every trainee would perform a prepared piece. The mentors would assign ranks from A to D—twenty trainees in each. Placement would determine positioning for the signal song and serve as the first public measure of their skill.
Jibeom quietly spent his remaining stat point on Vocals, wanting every possible edge.
The early performances were mostly unremarkable—C ranks, a few Ds, the occasional solid B. Then the three trainees from Sky Media, ReJoy's own company, took the stage. Even before they started, the air changed.
[Dylan Ji]
176 cm
20 y/o
Vocals: B +
Dance: B-
Rap: C
Visual: B+
SP: A-
[Lee Gun]
179 cm
21 y/o
Vocals: B
Dance: B+
Rap: B-
Visual: B
SP: B-
Jibeom kept looking in amazement until they said something that interested him.
TJ asked the oldest trainee there "You were on a survival show prior to this one right?"
The trainee quickly answered "Yes sir." Jibeom decided to look at his stats and was surprised
[Yasumoto Koki]
178 cm
24 y/o
Vocals: B
Dance: A+
Rap: B-
Visuals: A-
SP: A
Traits
"We will win" Rank S
When activated boost team efficiency by 75% making everyone better
"Perfect Leader" Rank A
Team cooperation increases by 25%
They performed ReJoy's high-energy track "Ricochet" with the kind of polish that only years of company training could produce. All three received A ranks on the spot. Soojin's praise for Koki's dancing and presence was especially pointed.
Soojin says "Koki your dancing is probably the best in the competition and your stage presence are amazing and you are an adequate vocalist and rapper. Dylan you are very well rounded and your stage presence is also well. Gun you are also well rounded but you need to work on your stage presence a bit.
The next set of Trainees all got C or B until they got to Limit Productions. Two trainees in particular drew every eye in the room.
Taegeon's voice was almost unfair—clear, bright, and emotionally precise. Grisha, tall and sharp-featured, moved like the choreography had been written for his body alone. His presence pulled focus without effort. Both were placed in A rank immediately. Even Ryunwoo, sitting beside Jibeom, looked quietly stunned.
Kim Taegeon
173 cm
18 y/o
Vocal: S-
Dance: C+
Rap: D
Visual: B+
SP: B+
Trait:
"Voice of an angel" Rank A
All group vocal training increases by 15%
His eyes are glued to Taegeon as he is suprised to find such a amazing vocalist but then he notices the other boy. Grisha was a tall guy with black hair and clearly was European in some way. His presence was hard to describe, it was cool and icy but it immediately dragged you in with no warning as he does a slight smirk or looks at you with his sharp handsome eyes, he had a unique raspy tone while still having some depth to it that pulled you in and that's not even achnowledging his moves which were big and smooth instead of the more sharp and precise style of someone like Koki.
Grisha Tseng Chung
182 cm
16 y/o
Vocal: C (B-)
Dance: A+ (S)
Rap: B (A-)
Visual: A
SP: A (A+)
Trait:
"Boring…" SS Rank
All stats improve 25% quicker but cap sooner unless you keep motivated
Jibeom kept looking at Grisha amazed by his stats as they were remarkable.
Soojin spoke saying "You are one of- if not the best dancer in the competition and your rap and stage presence are extremely good especially as you are a one year trainee, it is obvious you will go extremely far and Taegeon your vocals are incredible, especially when vocals are often an afterthought nowadays."
Grisha and Taegeon were immediately put into A rank after their ground breaking performance with Taegeons vocals and Grisha's Presence and Dance they were remarkable and even someone as amazing as Ryunwoo was impressed beside him which amazed him as well.
A couple more trainees passed with some memorable Bs and some others until it was the individual trainees time to go.
Ryunwoo went up first. His self-written rap and choreography showed clear talent, but nerves ate at the edges. His voice wavered. Expression flattened. He stumbled through a transition near the end. The mentors were kind but firm: the skill was there, the confidence was not. He received a B and returned to his seat looking smaller than before.
Jibeom bumped his shoulder lightly. "Hyung, you're too good not to debut. If you ever need help with the stage stuff, just say the word."
Ryunwoo's answering smile was small but real.
Later, a Chinese duo—former members of a disbanded group—took the stage and reminded everyone how high the ceiling truly was.
Jibeom took a look at their stats and realized that they are amazing as the mentors began speaking to them.
Gina starts speaking "Wang Xulan you speak english and korean, correct?"
Xulan answers quickly "Yes I do." They than ask what they'll perform and they naturally chose one of their songs and do extremelly well. Jibeom checks their stats and was again suprised
LongXulan
184 cm
22 y/o
Vocals: A
Dance: B
Rap: C-
Visual: A
SP: B
Wu Jin
178 cm
20 y/o
Vocals: B-
Dance: B-
Rap: B
Visuals: A
SP: A
The judges spoke with Gina saying "Xulan you are an exceptional vocalist and dancer and Jin your stage presence is incredible although you can still improve in other things. I can tell you guys are debuted idols."
By the time Jibeom's name was called, the room felt heavier.
"Individual trainee," Won Jihoon noted in his usual flat tone. "Vocals listed as primary strength?"
"Yes, sir."
Seoyoon gave the signal. Jibeom slipped on the in-ear monitor and began.
The Unique Vocal Color trait carried him. His tone stayed warm and stable even while moving, every note landing cleanly. The dance was still imperfect—upper body a little stiff, transitions a fraction late—but it was no longer embarrassing. When the final beat hit, he was breathing hard, but he had not fallen apart.
The mentors conferred briefly.
"Your vocal color is exquisite," Jihoon said first.
Gina Lee nodded. "It feels like a warm hug. I don't know how else to describe it."
Soojin was more measured. "The movement is still a bit clunky, especially through the upper body, but you're improving in the right direction."
They settled on a B.
Jibeom returned to his seat lighter than he had left it. A moment later, a tall shadow leaned forward from the row behind. Grisha tapped his shoulder once.
"I like your voice," the younger trainee said carefully, Korean still slightly careful around the edges.
Jibeom answered in English. "Thank you."
The smile that appeared on Grisha's face was small and rare. Beside him, Taegeon watched the exchange with quiet amusement, like an older brother pretending not to be proud.
Seoyoon took the center again and explained the final ranking system: fifty percent mentor evaluation, twenty-five percent domestic votes, twenty-five percent global votes. The ranks were locked with surprisingly little last-minute reshuffling. Then she announced the signal song.
"Paradise With You."
Upbeat. Heartfelt. Vocally demanding. Choreography that would punish anyone still carrying stiffness. There would be a full stage performance with individual fancams, followed by a street performance to build early momentum.
Finally, the trainees were told to stand. Dorm assignments would be four to a room. The mentors would also serve as instructors for the harder sections of the song.
As the staff began organizing them into groups, Jibeom glanced once more around the massive studio—at Ryunwoo beside him, at the monsters of talent already marked as favorites, at the cameras that would follow every step from now on.
This was no longer preparation.
This was the real beginning.
End of Chapter 4