* * *
A week passed, and the broadcasting station only kept saying to wait.
Unlike the others who quickly began their activities once they realized the situation wouldn’t resolve easily after leaving the island, Dansol’s agency waited for the program to resume. When the filming suspension exceeded a week, they started sending Dansol to music shows.
“If I had known, I would have booked all your schedules. We’re the only fools here.”
Gilsung grumbled as he watched Jaegal Minhyuk, a nominee for first place, and Ma Taeoh, who appeared in a mid-show commercial. But the situations were different.
Jaegal Minhyuk hadn’t even promoted his album and was nominated solely based on digital sales, and Ma Taeoh’s commercial was filmed before the survival show started.
Gilsung often placed Dansol on the same level as them. However, Dansol knew his place well. The people he thought he had become close with were actually far beyond his reach.
The entertainment world was clearly hierarchical.
DinoSoul, with its eight members, shared a waiting room with two other teams, totaling eleven people.
“Hyung! Zeus uses two waiting rooms!”
Minjae whispered to Dansol, quick to hear any news.
“When did you go there? Don’t hover around other’s waiting rooms. You’ll get misunderstood.”
“I saw it on the way to the bathroom. Hyung, aren’t you close with Zeus’s leader? Can’t we go say hi?”
“We’re not close.”
“Why not? You must have eaten and slept together!”
“Hey, Minjae. Stop bothering hyung.”
At Woohyun’s rebuke, the young Minjae pouted.
“I heard Zeus’s leader doesn’t even make friends with fallen idols?”
“Stop it! Hyung is already upset about the program possibly getting canceled…”
“Our hyung has become unemployed… We don’t even get unemployment benefits…”
Jiwoong, who had just finished his makeup, joined in.
Dansol, who had been getting his makeup done with his eyes closed, realized then that his younger members were teasing him.
“You brats…!”
“Aaah!”
—
Knock knock.
“DinoSoul, get ready for rehearsal.”
“Yes!”
Dansol felt a slight nervousness at being on stage after a long time.
Nervous, he fidgeted with his name tag all the way down the hallway to the stage.
The name tag, meant to help identify him easily, was so large it covered half his upper body.
“Hyung, doesn’t it seem like there are more people than usual?”
Rehearsals were usually done in front of empty seats. Popular idols might have fans let in early, but DinoSoul, with a fan base the size of a college club, did not fall into that category.
***
“Are they our fans?”
“Doesn’t seem like it… Look, it’s Haven Sorin.”
The audience was filled with other singers. It was known that when new rookies started gaining popularity, other idols would often watch from the stage.
He was not only testing to see if they had the capability to threaten him, but also trying to dampen their spirits.
Rookies with little stage experience often crumbled just from the thought that senior singers were watching them.
“Don’t overthink it and just do what you’ve been doing. It’s the same as in the basement practice room.”
Dansol said to the other members who were tense. It was also a message to himself. Performing live with one ear barely working made his nerves feel on edge.
Soon, DinoSoul’s music started playing. Dansol, as if his face had never stiffened, continued to perform with a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Taeoh was also watching Dansol from the audience. With Zeus members and other idols all coming out to watch Dansol, his anxiety grew.
He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t take his eyes off Dansol dancing in a white box t-shirt.
“I’m going to get his number later. He’s incredibly hot.”
“Hey, didn’t you see how all the alphas are fawning over him? Compared to Jung Daesoo and Jaegal Minhyuk, you’d look like a squid.”
“But I’m still better than Ma Taeoh, right?”
“I could beat him.”
The ones sitting in the front row making lewd comments about Dansol had no idea Taeoh was sitting right behind them.
“DinoSoul!”
Just as Dansol’s performance ended, Taeoh waved at him.
“Wow―, Joo Dansol is amazing!”
Dansol turned his head towards the direction of his name and smiled slightly upon seeing Taeoh.
The ones who had been speaking rudely about Dansol were stunned to realize Taeoh had been right behind them. They were visibly worried if he had heard their conversation.
Looking down at them, Taeoh smirked.
“You think you’re better than me? Do you really believe that?”
Under the overwhelming pheromones of the dominant alpha, they couldn’t move an inch.
Taeoh bent down to make eye contact with the one who had been harassing Dansol. He was a much younger, unknown rookie singer.
“But, who were you again?”
Perhaps he had spent too much time on something not worth his attention.
Leaving the petrified ones behind, Taeoh turned towards the backstage where Dansol had gone.
***
“Hyung! What the heck! You said you weren’t close with Zeus’s leader!”
“I’m not. Minjae, your pitch was all over the place. Don’t mess up like that on the main stage.”
Dansol deliberately scolded Minjae, who was overly excited. The stern tone made the pouting Minjae stomp into the waiting room. The other members hurriedly hid in the waiting room to avoid any potential fallout.
Left alone in the hallway, Dansol sighed at his young brothers’ childish behavior, when a familiar voice called out from behind.
“Dansol.”
“Oh… Taeoh.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah…”
It was indeed an awkward greeting. Despite having lived in the same house, a week of settling back into reality had created an awkward atmosphere between them.
“I sent you a DM, but you didn’t respond.”
“I don’t really use social media. I rarely check my phone either. Sorry.”
Come to think of it, since his regression, he hardly looked at his phone. The old model made his eyes strain whenever he used it.
Dansol needed to distance himself from the world to break the bad habit of looking up hate comments, even though he knew it would hurt him.
He knew that picking at the scabs would only make the wounds worse, so tying his hands was the best solution.
“I didn’t mean for you to apologize…”
“….”
“Uh… can you give me your phone number?”
Taeoh shyly extended his phone. Seeing Dansol hesitate, Taeoh quickly added.
“Jisoo hyung also asked for your number… Can I give it to him?”
However, Dansol quickly withdrew his hand reaching for Taeoh’s phone.
“I… don’t think I can. The company wouldn’t like it.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Sorry. But, Dansol… Are you still uncomfortable because of what happened that day? Don’t take it too much to heart; Jisoo hyung was just being sensitive because he was in pain. He wants to apologize.”
“In pain…? Who?”
“Jisoo hyung. Don’t you know he was hospitalized? He collapsed that day… He might have been discharged by now.”
“….”
Dansol was completely unaware of this. Taeoh was even more surprised by Dansol’s reaction.
“The RO Match community is buzzing right now, accusing PD Choi of overworking him… Didn’t you know that either?”
“Community…?”
“Don’t tell me… The company doesn’t let you see that?”
Taeoh was genuinely worried that Dansol might have signed one of those infamous idol slave contracts.
“That’s not it…”
‘I regressed, but my phone is too small. The internet is so slow it drives me crazy.’
Dansol couldn’t say that, so he searched for an excuse, his big eyes rolling.
“I don’t have data. The Wi-Fi at the dorm doesn’t work well either…”
Taeoh’s suspicion turned into certainty.
* * *
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