* * *
The next morning, the members who woke up early for dance practice with Zeus had to endure the awkward tension between Woohyun and Dansol.
“Hey… Hyung! Where did you buy this? It’s really good!”
“Cheongdam-dong.”
“Oh… Is that why…? It tastes even better…! Woohyun hyung! Why aren’t you eating? You like meat.”
“I’m fine. You eat more.”
Minjae tried to lighten the mood by grilling the beef Dansol had brought, but the dorm remained filled with a chilly atmosphere.
“It’s already so damp and now it’s even colder… Better not mess around today, Minjae.”
Jiwoong, who had just come out of the shower, grabbed a piece of the grilled beef with his hand and said. Minjae nodded in agreement.
However, the tension between the two didn’t end even during the joint practice with Zeus. Woohyun, appearing nervous, kept making mistakes.
“Can we take a short break?”
“Yes, please.”
“Sure, it’s been a while since we danced, and it’s tough.”
Dansol, seeing Woohyun making the same mistake repeatedly, spoke up an hour into practice. Everyone had been waiting for someone to say something.
Fortunately, the Zeus members readily agreed to Dansol’s suggestion. Dansol grabbed Woohyun’s wrist and led him out to the hallway.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s keep going.”
“Take a break.”
“I said it’s fine, let’s go.”
“Sigh… You’re making the same mistake over and over.”
“Damn it…”
Woohyun had no response to Dansol’s firm words and stormed off. Everyone in the practice room knew they were arguing outside, but Dansol awkwardly re-entered, claiming Woohyun had an urgent bathroom need.
Dansol apologized to the Zeus members.
“Sorry about that. Because of us…”
“It’s okay. We have members who haven’t fully memorized the choreography either.”
Zeus’s rapper, who had a pleasant smile, chuckled and pointed at someone.
“Hey! I just came from a drama shoot, cut me some slack! You messed up too earlier!”
He was Dohyun, Zeus’s center. According to Minjae, he was the one who saved Zeus during their early, low-profile days.
“Dansol! He had no schedule yesterday and still messed up!”
Haha, Dansol laughed awkwardly. Dohyun spoke to Dansol as if they were long-time friends.
“Hey, don’t act so familiar with Dansol.”
“Why? We’re close, aren’t we?”
“We? When did we become ‘we’? It’s your first time meeting him today!”
“Dansol, I’ve watched RO Match Survival so many times. My internal familiarity with you is maxed out.”
Haha. Dansol found Taeoh’s outgoing personality surprisingly bearable for the first time.
Surrounded by extroverts whose MBTI types were easy to guess, Dansol awkwardly smiled, while Minjae stealthily approached them with his phone.
“Senior, hello! I’m Seo Minjae from DinoSoul. If it’s not too much trouble, can I take a picture with you? I’m a huge fan.”
“Ah! Of course! Let’s take one together!”
Dansol was shocked to see such a polite side of Minjae. Soon, everyone wanted a photo, and Dansol awkwardly took several pictures with various Zeus members.
It seemed Zeus’s company only debuted such friendly members; even strangers were easily linked arm-in-arm, leaving Dansol dizzy.
Woohyun returned, his face hardening upon seeing the scene. Taeoh, aware of the situation, approached Woohyun first.
“Woohyun! We were taking pictures. Join us!”
“No, thanks. Shall we start practicing?”
Woohyun, seemingly going through a late rebellious phase, chilled the atmosphere again.
Everyone continued practice, keeping an eye on Woohyun.
Dansol was displeased with Woohyun’s attitude. The situation was embarrassing and mortifying. Woohyun’s lack of manners in front of Zeus, who were seniors by two years, angered him.
DinoSoul was being carried by Zeus’s stage both in terms of seniority and popularity.
Minhyuk had requested Dansol be placed in the center, but that was only for the segment featuring “The Gumiho.” Zeus had to coordinate their choreography with not just DinoSoul but other groups as well.
After some time, they aligned the choreography, but another issue arose.
“Um… Woohyun, you’re not planning to have that expression on stage, right? It’s more like you’re about to kill someone than an anguished Gumiho…”
Taeoh, who was paired with Dansol for the choreography, pointed this out to Woohyun, who immediately shot a cold glare at Taeoh’s hand on Dansol’s shoulder.
Their gazes collided in midair as if they were about to fight. Everyone held their breath, watching the two of them, and then, Woohyun lowered his head first.
“Ah, I’m not feeling well… I’m sorry.”
Thankfully, Dansol felt relieved. Woohyun had been like a ticking time bomb these past few days, ready to explode at any moment.
From that point on, Woohyun maintained a polite demeanor until the end of the dance practice, as if he had become a different person.
Is he no longer angry?
Dansol thought about having a deep conversation with Woohyun once they returned to their dorm.
But before they even got into the car, Woohyun picked a fight with Dansol again.
“Are you close with that guy?”
“What…? Who are you talking about?”
“Ma Taeoh. Are you close with that jerk?”
“Why are you picking a fight again? We just work on the same program… He’s just a good colleague.”
“Ha… damn it.”
Honk, honk.
Right then, Gilsung, who was pulling out the car, honked at the members standing around, but the two of them remained where they were. Dansol, feeling frustrated, snapped at Woohyun.
“What the hell is your problem? Seriously… Instead of worrying about insignificant things, why don’t you focus on your dance practice more? Do you even have the right to criticize me?”
“What?”
“Hyung… let’s just get in the car.”
“Yeah, Dansol hyung. You’re not usually this angry. Why are you suddenly saying such harsh things…?”
The more the younger members tried to intervene, the angrier Dansol became.
“You think what I said is harsh? Do you really think that? That guy constantly yells at me, calls me ‘you,’ and even curses at me, but you think I’m the one being harsh?”
“You know that’s just how Woohyun hyung is…”
With those words, Dansol felt the string of nerves he had been holding tightly snap. Of course. Nothing had changed.
Joo Dansol, who had always sacrificed and suffered, hadn’t changed even after returning.
Because that’s just how it is.
“Hyung, go ahead with the others. I’ll make sure to be back in time for rehearsal tomorrow.”
“Wha… what! Dansol! Where are you going!”
With no place to return to, Dansol pulled his cap down low and ran out of the building before Gilsung could catch him.
Running through an unfamiliar neighborhood until he was out of breath, Dansol felt a sense of déjà vu. The scene of his last moments flashed through his mind.
He had run like this back then, too, but he hadn’t managed to escape and had returned.
Maybe, in this life too, he couldn’t change the flow of his fate. Dansol felt like his running was as meaningless as a hamster running on a wheel.
After running for a while, Dansol remembered that he had left his bag, which had his wallet, in the car.
All he had on him was his phone and the crumpled emergency ten thousand won bill hidden in his old phone case. He had no choice but to go into a nearby PC room.
Passing by the indifferent part-timer at the counter, Dansol sat in the farthest corner and turned on the computer. He leaned back in the cushy PC room chair.
What am I even doing? Sitting among people noisily typing away on their keyboards, Dansol, feeling self-conscious, started clicking around on the familiar portal site.
“I’m curious, let’s take a look…”
Before his return, checking the insults directed at him on the portal site had been part of Dansol’s daily routine. He knew the address by heart and could find it without using the search bar.
[RO Match Survival in Island Portal]
Taking a deep breath at the familiar main screen, Dansol vowed never to look at it again, but old habits die hard.
Click, Dansol opened Pandora’s box.
* * *
*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*
Dangz when will you leave Ur group bestie
hes gonna be surprised by what he reads about himself now