Chapter 4 - Do You Know How To Drive?

"Hm? About the pizza thing? Oh right, you weren't there," Wen Dong rubbed his chin and spoke quietly.

"You see, I went over to check on baby Ping Ping, cause you were out of town. He happened to be at Suu Jin's home so I decided to bring pizza with me. Everything was fine when I got there and I enjoyed hearing this little guy singing so cutely," Wen Dong pinched Ping's dimpled cheek, "Then I said we should eat and when I was bringing it over, I tripped and the pizza flew like in a movie! You can guess where it landed…"

"Smacked my cousin in the face and slide down his white clothes. Ah Jin was so mad, my uncle and aunt had to intervene before he killed Ah Dong," Ping finished and Shun shook his head.

"Now I know what not to do. Thanks Ah Dong," he smiled but felt sympathy for his friend.

"Glad to help," Wen Dong laughed and watched the last of the trainees singing.

The ding sounded and Shun looked to see the completed task marked off.

*Congratulations. You earned points*

'Oh! I earned points? What does that do?'

His manager clapped and he quickly joined everyone before the adults. They bowed saying their goodbyes to the recruiters and they all stared at the managers.

"What are you all looking at?"

"Manager Quang Zhi, will they recruit anyone?" One of the fellow young male asked.

"Ha! None of you! No one was chosen. You all needed too much work! No one, no one representing Zhi Mei studio," the mustached man groaned and plopped onto the chair.

Ling Mei patted her friend's shoulder and looked over at the young trainees. Sighing, she smiled at everyone and believed what Quang Zhi and herself were doing was helping these young kids. Yes, they were going against the bigger studios, but she was certain they will create big hits with a group of boys.

"Listen. Manager Quang is right. They were not very happy with what they saw," she stated to see the crestfallen faces, "But! They did say they will come around again. This was just to see any potentials. The next time would be the last time so do you best, work hard, and represent our studio!"

"Yeah!" The students clapped and shouted, pumped up by her speech.

"The studio is opened to you, but be sure to clean up after yourselves."

They thanked her and she looked at her friend. They walked out and into his car. They just sat in the parking lot with the clipboard in their hands.

"You lied to them," Quang Zhi stated.

"Yup."

"Be honest, Ah Mei. We only have 2 I can see even making it, but that hope was crushed."

"I agree," Ling Mei sighed and looked at the list of names, "Listen. What I said to the boys were not all lies. They need to work hard and prove to others that they can become an idol group. The recruitment process is going to take at least a few months before they began filming. I will speak with Senior Ken."

"You're gonna bribe him? No. We are not-"

"No. I will only ask politely."

"…"

"Don't worry, Ah Zhi. Now, let's go eat. I am starving," she patted her stomach and glanced at the list of contenders again. She would do her part. They just need to do theirs.

Back at the studio, some boys were singing and others were dancing. Wen Dong had Ping to help with his singing, and although Shun would like to join, he needed more help with dancing.

"You said you wanted help from Tee, right? Go ask him," his friend stated and he just blinked at him.

Facepalming, Wen Dong did the next best thing.

"Brother Tee! Ah Shun needs your help. He dances too much like a wet noodle!"

Flushing from that statement, he punched his friend in the arm playfully. Glancing over to the boy looking at him and waving him over, he already knew he was going to be beyond sore. This guy wore a baseball cap over his hair and had changed into sweats and a baggy t-shirt.

"I watched your dance," the man said, "It really was horrible."

"I know," he groaned, "Help me get better, please?"

Tee laughed to himself and went step by step with him. Every time he thought he was positioned right, Tee would tsked at him and repositioned him correctly. This happened the entire time until it was getting late.

"Get rest. Tomorrow we will practice again," Tee stated and waved him goodbye as he headed out of the studio.

Shun was a prince. He was no dancer.

The floating square appeared.

*Current dancing ability 2%-> 3%*

Well… at least he flatlined and didn't get worse. Walking over to Wen Dong and Ping Ping, they left the studio together.

"Oi, gege," Ping spoke up, "Please tell me you remember where you live."

"…"

"Do you know how to drive?"

"…"

"Geez, it's like he forgot everything," Wen Dong mumbled, "I'll drive you home, Ah Shun. You got your phone?"

"…"

Wen Dong shook his head and noticed Shun did not grab his bag. Retrieving it for his friend, Dong looked through the bag and pulled out the phone.

"You have it. Alright, and…" he dug around and found the keys, "Good thing you didn't forget your keys."

Hugging Ping goodbye after Wen Dong dropped the boy off, he was very thankful for his friend. Honestly, if Xiong Shun did not make any friends, he would be on his own in this new world. He would be lost and most likely dead.

The floating square appeared.

*New task. Do you wish to read it?*

"Yes," he whispered under his breath sitting in the metal box on wheels.

*Find the golden goose*

"…"

'When can a goose be golden?' He frowned and leaned back on the cushioned seat.

Music was playing around him and he turned to look at his friend. He wondered what was so special about becoming this idol person and why people wanted to be one.

"Wen Dong," he spoke up, "Why do you want to be an idol?"

His friend glanced at him with furrowed brows and he felt the metal box turned.

"You really have lost your memories," Wen Dong murmured before clearing his throat.

"Ah Shun. I have known you since we were in elementary school. You were the one who was obsessed with being an idol and got me to join you. So, I guess I want to be an idol because of you."

Shun saw the man shrugged and sent a grin his way before focusing on the road. He found his cheeks warming from those casual words because…

'To choose your role because of a friend… you must love him,' Shun thought and smiled, 'How lucky.'

The metal box pulled to a stop and he got out holding his bag.

"Thank you, Ah Dong."

"No problem. I'll pick you up tomorrow so don't forget to charge your phone," his friend smiled and waved goodbye.

*Bonus completed.*

"Bonus?"

*Earned points.*

"I don't understand you, witch," he sighed and walked around. Holding the key in his hand, he glanced at it and saw numbers on one of the keys. His face brightened and he looked for the same number on the doors.

"14… 14… found it!"

He pushed the key into the hole and the door opened. Smiling, he entered and locked the door behind him. Looking around the area, Shun saw how small everything was. The walls were empty and it looked as if no one lived in this home. Frowning to himself, he continued down to open a door along the hallway.

"Hm, a potty? What does this do?" He pushed down on the silver handle and heard the loud noise, startling him. The water swirled down before filling back up. Doing it again, he couldn't help being amazed by the magic of this world.

'It must be magic! How else can water turn in such ways?!'