* * *
โI really donโt want to die!โ
โI donโt want to die! I donโt want to die!โ
โHyung!โ
โDyingโฆโ
โHyung!!โ
Dansol opened his eyes to the musty semi-basement lodging of the old DinoSoul.
It was a cramped space that fit four bunk beds, leaving no room to walk.
โHyung! Are you sick?โ
Minjae, the youngest, wiped the sweat off Dansolโs forehead.
โWhy am I hereโฆ? Did you die too, Minjae? Is this hellโฆ?โ
โWhat are you talking about? Did you have a dream? Who said anyone died?โ
โNoโฆ I was definitely in a car accidentโฆโ
Dansol jumped up and looked around, and Minjae spoke.
โYou were so nervous yesterday you even took sleeping pills. Hyung, you shouldnโt take those anymore. They make you act weird.โ
As Minjae said, there was still a slight haziness lingering.
Is this a dream?
No, the memories of the past few years are too vivid for that.
Then maybe this is some kind of unconscious state.
Certain it was a dream, Dansol banged his head against the wall.
โOw! Ow!โ
โHyung! Are you crazy? Woohyun hyung! Hyung, come here!โ
While Dansol was banging his head against the wall, Woohyun entered through the front door, and Minjae urgently called him.
โAh!โ
Seeing Woohyun, Dansol reacted as if heโd seen a ghost.
โHyung? Whatโs wrongโฆ?โ
โAh! Let go of me! Is this not a dreamโฆ? That canโt beโฆโ
Suddenly, Dansol looked at Woohyun as if he were a bug.
As Woohyun awkwardly reached out to him, Dansol cowered in the corner, mumbling to himself.
โHyungโฆ?โ
Tears welled up in Dansolโs eyes.
There was no way it was a dream.
Dansol was sure of it because he still couldnโt hear well out of his damaged ear.
But his forehead throbbed where heโd hit the wall.
If this isnโt a dream, then have Iโฆ possiblyโฆ come back?
Dansol lifted his head from his knees and looked at the bag Woohyun was holding with a puzzled expression.
The day before they went on air, Woohyun had given Dansol a gift.
Before that incident, Woohyun had been the member who got along with Dansol the best.
โDid youโฆ by any chance, bring me clothes in that bag?โ
โHuhโฆ? How did you know, hyung?โ
โWowโฆ I really came back.โ
โCome back where? But hyung, how did you know I brought clothes for you?โ
He couldnโt possibly have forgotten.
There was a participant in Omega wearing the same clothes as Dansol.
From the first meeting, the editing framed them as rivals, maintaining this narrative until the show ended.
โI just found out somehow. I appreciate the thought, butโฆ I donโt need it.โ
Woohyunโs mood quickly soured at Dansolโs oddly cold response.
โWhat! I bought it especially for youโฆโ
โNo thanks, itโs too flashyโฆ It doesnโt suit me. Butโฆ do I really have to appear on that showโฆ?โ
โWhat are you talking about?โ
โAre you crazy?โ
โWhatโs wrong with you, hyung?โ
Even Yoonsung, who had been in another room, rushed in to respond in unison to Dansolโs random remark.
The membersโ eyes were shining intensely.
Even though he knew it was a ridiculous thing to say, Dansol had sworn countless times that if he could go back, heโd grab the company president by the collar and never appear on such a show again.
He had never wanted to participate in a show that categorized people like that in the first place, but he had foolishly listened to the scammer of a president.
But before he could even get to the president, his members had already stopped him.
Because they had so little recognition, even Dansolโs individual schedule had everyone excited.
Jealousy and rivalry among members required a certain level of recognition.
After all, Dansol was the only one who booked schedules outside of music shows for DinoSoul.
When Dansol came out after washing his face to clear his head, the members took turns guarding his room.
โHeyโฆ Iโm not going to run away. You donโt have to guard meโฆ!โ
Trying to find the right moment to escape, Dansol shouted in embarrassment as if he had been caught.
โHyung, you donโt usually wash up on your days off. This is very suspicious.โ
โHyung, you know Zeus, right? Their center ran away too because it was so hard. Itโs common for the member who supports the group to have such moments. But if you run away, can you at least do it after you appear on the RO Match Survival in Island?โ
โHaโฆ Yoonsungโฆ Zeus was shooting dramas, movies, and variety shows while doing music broadcasts. I have no schedule and live in peace. Look, the calendar is empty. I even slept 13 hours yesterday.โ
On the living room whiteboard, proudly labeled โDinoSoul Schedule,โ there were fewer scheduled days than the number of red-marked holidays.
โThatโs trueโฆ But I heard you turned down the gift Woohyun gave you! Someone as materialistic as you would never do that! Somethingโs fishy.โ
Did I really used to be like that?
Dansol reflected on himself at Yoonsungโs words.
He did like flashy clothes and accessories.
But he had gotten used to dressing inconspicuously during his years in hiding and had forgotten.
โThatโฆ thatโs because my style has changedโฆโ
โAre you suffering from actor syndrome?โ
At Yoonsungโs words, Minjae ran over with rubber gloves still on.
โHyung, you canโt be like this already! Even if youโve won over housewives aged 40 to 50 overnight, youโll be old news once the next drama comes out.โ
โOur youngest has been studying the market diligentlyโฆโ
โI had nothing else to do since I was always at homeโฆโ
Thinking it was a compliment, Minjae blushed and twisted his body.
Meanwhile, Yoonsung grabbed Dansolโs hand.
โHyung! Please do well, okay? I really want to be on that crazy idol showโฆโ
โMe too, me too! I want to be the ending fairy! I even prepared a pose. Wanna see?โ
As Minjae panted heavily, playing hard to get, Yoonsung clung to him persistently.
โThat thing you do for 10 seconds? Hey, even cold water has an order! I want to go first!โ
โHey, keep it down. I have to leave early tomorrow, and if you guys keep making so much noise, my skin will suffer.โ
After a while of discussing their desires wildly, Yoonsung and Minjae finally stepped back at Woohyun’s nagging.
Naturally, unlike Woohyun, who treated Dansol indifferently, Dansol flinched in surprise every time he saw Woohyun.
What made it even more uncomfortable was the fact that Woohyun and Dansol had shared the same room since their trainee days.
After Minjae and Yoonsung left, a heavy silence filled the small room.
โThe others?โ
โHyunwoo, Jiwoong, and Yeongyu are doing short-term part-time jobs. Jacob is taking an English tutoring session.โ
โOhโฆ I see.โ
Due to their impoverished lives, quite a few members secretly took on part-time jobs without the agency’s knowledge.
Minjae and Yoonsung were minors, and Woohyun came from a well-off family, so he didn’t need to work part-time.
Dansol, too, used to do short-term part-time jobs like the other members before filming a daily drama.
โUmโฆ Hyung, Iโm sorry.โ
โHuh? What for?โ
โAbout the clothesโฆ I know you have your own taste, but I bought them without thinking. I didnโt know your preferences had changed.โ
Dansol was taken aback by the unexpected words.
Over the past few years, the only image of Woohyun that remained in Dansolโs mind was that final moment.
Hadnโt he sneered at Woohyun for making donations right before dying?
Perhaps I turned this originally kind boy into such a cruel person, Dansol wondered.
โOh, itโs okayโฆ Even though your family helps, you probably donโt have much money, so I feel bad.โ
Just because he had some leeway, it didnโt mean he had to help out.
โI feel bad tooโฆ since youโre the only one struggling, Hyung. So, please accept this. Itโs not new; I bought it for myself but couldnโt wear it because itโs too small.โ
What Woohyun handed over was an ordinary black tracksuit.
Dansol then realized how much he had come to hate Woohyun, just as much as the agency president.
He felt a strange, uneasy sensation.
When Dansol couldn’t say anything due to a lump in his throat, Woohyun shyly placed the clothes in Dansolโs hands.
โWhen you go there, you’ll have missions tooโฆ The stylist-noona said not to wear the sponsored clothes carelessly. Your tracksuits are full of holes and your knees are sticking out. If you wear those, youโll get looked down on.โ
Dansol couldnโt bring himself to tell Woohyun that no matter what he wore, he was already looked down upon.
He might seem impressive to the members, but in a place full of top actors and popular idols, Dansol was just a toy to be torn apart.
The younger members didnโt know this and supported Dansol excessively.
โWhat should I doโฆ Why did it have to be the day before the broadcast? Why couldnโt I have gone back to before I became a trainee?โ
Using the excuse of needing to leave early, Dansol went to bed but couldnโt fall asleep easily.
He couldnโt bring himself to run away, leaving behind the members who had such high hopes.
โYeah, letโs just go on the showโฆ They might be disappointed if I get edited out completely, but theyโll understand. Itโs better than being criticized and disbanding, right?โ
As a child, Dansol, who had craved love due to his parentsโ absence, wanted to become an idol because he liked the attention.
But after experiencing something close to a curse, with malicious comments and piercing stares, he only wished for one thing.
For the world to forget about him.
When he realized he had returned to the past, he thought maybe a god who pitied him had given him a gift.
He felt sorry for the members, but Dansol had no intention of barely surviving the survival show like before.
The next morning, the manager woke Dansol, who had been tossing and turning all night.
They had to leave early to stop by the salon for makeup and hair.
After rubbing his sleepy eyes and getting fully ready, they left the shop at 7 AM.
Before the regression, Dansol had been 30 minutes late to the first shoot because the manager took a wrong turn.
Maybe it was from then on that he fell out of the producersโ favor.
โLetโs just get there 5 minutes early, no more, no less.โ
Dansol’s eyes widened at the spot where the manager had previously gone astray.
โHyung, itโs not straight ahead, you have to turn right here. And could you please update the navigation system?โ
โOhโฆ really? Haha, Iโve been so busy that I couldnโt update it.โ
While Gilsung was a good person, he was a terrible manager.
Dansol had kept in touch with him until the end because of his easygoing personality, but there was a frustrating side to him.
โI got confused because itโs my first time here. Sorry. But Dansol, have you been here before? Thereโs nothing here but a deserted islandโฆโ
โIโฆ I came here before. As a pre-visitโฆ or something.โ
โHaha, pretending not to care but you came for a pre-visit? The President would be pleased.โ
โAh! Please donโt tell the President!โ
Dansol avoided Gilsung’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
When the agency president was mentioned, Dansol’s expression hardened, but Gilsung just thought it was out of embarrassment.
Dansol looked out the window and saw the island that would be the background for โRO Match Survival in Islandโ. (It is called RO Match because its meaning is Romance match but taken only the RO from romance to make it RO Match.)
At the entrance of the island, connected to the mainland by a bridge, was a sign in English, proving it had once been a famous tourist spot.
Chunmong Island, located at the end of the West Sea, was a picturesque island with a clear sea, tidal flats, and mudflats.
It used to be a tourist spot and had residents, but for various reasons, they left, and it became a deserted island visited only by occasional fishermen.
Though it became famous again after the broadcast, Dansol never wanted to set foot on it again.
โDamn, what bad luck. I get a second chance at life, only to end up on this wretched island twice.โ
Dansol lightly banged his head on the car window.
The spot where he had hit the wall last night throbbed, reminding him this wasnโt a dream.
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love this novel
I don’t know who meal
Wow I expected know
Dansol, it’s not your fault wooyun was wicked๐ญ, he did that all on his own. Someone who knew you were the victim but still blamed you, he’s clearly trash๐
Nice
Thanks for the chapter ๐
Nice
Knowing all his members treat him wrong after this show… He must have felt extremely uncomfortable with them ๐