From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show



"That's right," Minjun said. "That's why I didn't like you back then, bro. You always looked scary coming home with bruises."

"Cuts and bruises?" June asked. "How did I manage to get all of that?"

"Did you have amnesia or something?" Minjun retorted. "Of course, we wouldn't know. You're the only person who can answer that question." 

"Minjun," Grandma scolded. "Be more polite."

Minjun clicked his tongue and continued eating. 

"I also don't know, dear," Grandma said. "But I saw you hanging out with some of the bad kids around the neighborhood. Well, it didn't look like you were hanging out with them. It just seemed like they were asking you to do their errands."

"So, a push-over?" Minjun interrupted. 

"Well, if you put it that way, then yes," Grandma said. "As I said, you were a quiet kid. Very polite too. However, it appeared like you didn't take care of yourself very well. You were as skinny as a pole, and your under eyes were as dark as night. I wanted to give you some meals once, but it looked like you didn't want to be approached."

"So, Joon-ho's a good kid?" June asked. 

Grandma chuckled. "You're talking about yourself in the third person?"

"Uh, sorry," he said. "So, I was a good kid?" he quickly clarified. 

"Yes," Grandma smiled. "You were. You definitely hung out with a bad crowd, but I never saw you do anything particularly bad."

"Good," June muttered. Then, he doesn't have anything to worry about. 

It didn't seem like Choi Joon-ho was capable of evil things like how Alex and Hyunwoo were insinuating. 

"Well, I'm done," June said, carrying his empty plate and quickly washing it on the sink. 

"I'll watch a show on your new TV, okay?" he called out before lying down on the carpet and catching up on some basketball games. 

Not long after, Minjun joined him. He sat on the couch and started playing some games. 

Then, June suddenly remembered his first mission: Make an SNS account. 

"Hey, kid," June said, turning the volume of the TV down. 

"What?" Minjun asked, not looking away from his phone. 

"Do you know how to make an SNS account?"

Minjun finally lifted his head. "You don't know how to make an SNS account?"

"No," June honestly said. "I don't have one."

"You don't have Navel?" he asked. "I saw you scrolling on it a while ago."

June was familiar with Weibo when he was still in China, and he learned that Navel was the Korean version of that. 

However, he didn't know that you could make an account on those two platforms. He thought it was merely for big celebrities and news sites. 

"No," he said. "Don't you just scroll on it or something? It's a news app, right?"

Minjun turned off his game and massaged his temples. "You're really an old man. You don't even know this stuff?"

June clicked his tongue, bringing out his cracked phone from his pocket. "Just show me, won't ya? I want to make an SNS account."

Minjun shook his head and repeatedly clicked his tongue. "I swear—Grandma is better than you. She even has her own account here."

"She does?" June's eyes widened in surprise. 

"Yes," Minjun responded. "Now, come here. I'll show you how to get started." 

June went closer to Minjun and handed him his phone. 

Minjun clicked his tongue as he opened the very old, very heavy device. "Maybe I should ask my dad to buy you a new phone," he said. 

"Then, do that, will ya? Your big bro is struggling over here."

Minjun shook his head. "Maybe if you give me Little Meow Meow's sign. But right now, you should stick with this ancient phone."

June clicked his tongue. "Give it to me. Just teach me or something so I know what  to do next time."

"Fine," Minjun grumbled. "Go over to 'Sign Up' and click the button."

June followed his instruction well. This was simple enough for him to understand. 

"Then go ahead and fill out that important information. Afterward, show me when it's done," he said. 

"Okay," June said, taking this seriously. Technology had always been his weak feat, and even as Jun Hao, he often asked help from Mei Ling to navigate his phone. In the end, it was still too hard for him, so he merely used it for texting, funny videos, and news updates. 

"Name...Age...Birthday..." 

Name: June

Age: Twenty-one

Birthday: December 23, 2002

Sex: M

Those were easy enough. June answered those questions in a breeze. However, when it came to the "username" part, he became stuck. 

"Hey, kid. What's this?" he asked, pointing at the "username" portion.

"You don't even know what that is?" Minjun asked. 

"No," June retorted. "Stop asking me questions. Just help me, kid."

Minjun shook his head. It was strange how a young adult like June didn't even know how SNS works. 

"It's a username. It's what other people see when they're interacting with you."

"Ah, so my name?" June asked. 

Minjun sighed in frustration. "They already asked for your name, dimwit. It's the username. Something creative and fun so that other people will be interested in interacting with you. You're going to be a celebrity soon, so make sure to make it good, okay?"

"Okay," June said, determined to come up with a good username. 

'June.'

Username has already been taken.

'June Choi'

Username has already been taken. 

'IdolJune.'

Username has already been taken. 

'JuneTheGreat'

Username has already been taken. 

'JuneJulyAugust'

Username has already been taken. 

'TheRealJune'

Username has already been taken. 

"What the fuck?" June cursed, getting frustrated because of his numerous failed attempts. 

"Hey, you cursed!" Minjun exclaimed, but June ignored him. 

"

It doesn't want me to have a username," June whined. "It's always taken. Why the hell are all the ones I like taken?"

Minjun sighed and grabbed his phone, and looked at his recent username titles. 

"Ew, lame," Minjun said. "Because these are so generic. Other people have already taken it."

June frowned. "What's your username then?"

Minjun smiled and opened his Navel account. It was named 'MinMin.'

"What?" June exclaimed. "That's it? Mine are so much better than that. 

"My 25,000 followers don't think so," Minjun said, proudly zooming in on his follower account. 

"Why'd you have so many?" June asked in disbelief. 

Minjun shrugged boastfully. "What can I say? They like my updates." 

June sighed in frustration. He grabbed his phone from Minjun's hand and typed in 'JunJun.' 

Username has already been taken. 

This became an ongoing battle for June. It felt like this was more intense than the XX battle from Rising Stars. 

'June_RisingStars'

Username has already been taken. 

'June_the_RisingStar'

Username has already been taken. 

'KittyIdolJune'

Username has already been taken. 

'JuneTheIdolOnRisingStarsWithThePinkCatMask—

The username is too long. 

'FuckThisApp'

The username contains explicit words. 

With a collected sigh, June tried once again. 

'June_Idol_Rising_Stars_Kitty' 

Username has already been taken. 

"Oh, come on!" he screamed. "How is that even fucking taken?"

Minjun watched him in amusement, popping some popcorn in his mouth. 

This has been going on for well over fifteen minutes...to thirty...until it finally came.

Username approved.

He sighed in relief and plopped down on the carpet when it was finally done. 

Minjun raised his eyebrows and picked up his phone to look at the username June had created. 

'Hi_ImKittyJunexxR1s1ingSt4r5'