Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jinu has many regrets. Shielding Rumi and giving her his soul isn’t one of them, though. That is probably one of the best things he has ever done, up there with becoming an idol. It was only a short time, practically a blink of an eye in his 400 years of life, but at least it ended on a high note.

“Or not,” Jinu, alive, says. He rises from a single bed, swaying like the living dead he is, frantically searching for a mirror in the plain apartment. There’s barely any furniture, cardboard boxes labeled with his handwriting lying haphazardly in every room. He stumbles into one in front of the bathroom door, whatever's left of his reflexes catching the sink before he can crack his head open and forfeit this bizarre… second chance before it even starts.

On the reflection, he sees his face. He has his idol hair, dark strands soft and silky as he cards his fingers through them, combing out the mild bedhead. In the silence, he–

“Wait.” Silence. There’s no voices in his head, no distorted whispers of shame and misery, no Gwi-ma in his ear. Everything is so clear that he can actually listen to his own thoughts, for once.

Jinu wipes tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Hands—his patterns are gone too. He can’t feel any surge of power either, no pink wisps of smoke to readily summon.

He chuckles at the absurdity before letting out a full blown laugh. He’s human. How, he doesn’t know, but he does know who to thank.

“Meow?”

“Wha-” Jinu turns around, finding a very fluffy, white with black stripes, yellow eyed cat, bigger than any cat has a right to be. It’s clearly a cat though, not a tiger, but when it stumbles on the same box as its owner and faceplants on its face, Jinu recognizes him all the same.

“I’m guessing you’re normal now too.” He crouches down and pets Tiger, who immediately flops onto his back, purring delightedly. “So sending a note like last time is not an option.”

Jinu eventually gets up to explore more of the apartment. It looks like he has recently moved in, all his stuff still sealed. After rummaging through three boxes, he discovers what seems to be his phone back in the bedroom, next to the pillow.

Phones still freak him out. He still hasn’t learned all of its functions, but putting his face in frame to unlock it is simple enough. Contacts, Messages, Gallery… Everything is empty, like the phone is brand new. Frowning, Jinu swipes down, somehow opening a new screen entirely with some shocking information on the top left. The date.

“This is not the day after the Namsan concert,” he whispers, “this is four years ago.”

He’s not an idol, then, since Saja Boys was not even a year old at their demise. “I’m younger too,” he realizes. He could see his youth in the mirror, when he thinks about it, but he thought it was just the new body’s lack of stress. He’s had the same mug for 400 years, the rounder cheeks and slightly narrower shoulders is obvious, in hindsight.

“Am I a student?” he ponders. “Did this Jinu have a job? What's my status?”

He nearly jumps out of his skin when a blue light materializes in the air in front of him, forming floating words that make no sense whatsoever.

STATUS ABNORMALITY

[Debut or Die]

You will die unless you debut as an idol within the allotted time.

Time remaining: 364 days

“What the hell?” He swipes through it, hoping the ultimatum would just turn into smoke and disappear. Unfortunately the words stay, shimmering menacingly, moving to always be in his line of sight even when he tries to turn around and ignore it. Is this his divine punishment?

“Oh, I really need to see Rumi.”

Chapter Text

Jinu stands in front of Huntrix’s apartment building, looking up at the glittering glass windows, striking even at night. Yes, it took him the entire day to figure out how to get there. No, he wasn’t forced to walk the last two kilometers. He jogged.

How can he contact Rumi? He entertains scaling the walls for a split second. Yeah, he’s not doing any of that roof hopping, building jumping thing anymore. He takes a moment to mourn the loss of his terribly convenient powers.

“The receptionist it is,” he mutters. He walks into the lobby equipped with his most charming smile, shoulders back and spine straight, projecting as much confidence as he can.

He takes off the hood of his hoodie, showing off those top idol visuals. “Hey,” he says to the smartly dressed lady behind the counter, “I’m a friend of Huntrix’s Rumi. She’s expecting me, but she isn’t answering her phone. Can you call and tell her Jinu is here?”

“Ah, erm,” she flusters, but continues in a professional tone, “I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. If you want to contact an artist, you have to go through their agency.”

Jinu should have expected this. A top one-time daesang-winning idol wouldn’t live in a building with shabby security.

He tries again anyway. “Are you sure you can’t make an exception for me?”

The receptionist’s expression hardens. She clicks the button to the intercom mic. “Security.”

Jinu puts both his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave.” He has less than a year to become an idol, it will ruin his chances if he gets known as a sasaeng fan who tries to get into a female idol’s apartment at night.

Ah. He really should change strategies.

Seeing that he doesn’t have Saja Boys money anymore, he can’t bulk buy albums to get a fansign spot like the last time he wanted to talk to her. Loitering around the area they snuck out to last time is too much of a gamble—there’s no guarantee Rumi will revisit. Hell, it’s four years in the past. Rumi might not remember him at all.

Jinu sulks back to his apartment, making sure to take the right buses this time. “Status,” he murmurs in the plastic seat. He has figured out a few things, at least, like how to summon that weird floating ultimatum, and how saying “close” makes it dissipate into thin air. The most important thing he has to do is find a way to debut as an idol in a year. Easy enough with demon magic, but Jinu has no idea how to achieve that as a regular human. If he can’t get Rumi’s help, he might as well keel over and die. Again.

“Excuse me? Hello,” says a woman in glasses and sweatpants. The bus being practically empty, Jinu has noticed her staring at him for five stops. That itself is not unusual—he gets looks all the time. ‘Twas the life of a handsome man.

“Can I help you?”

She pulls out a card from her jacket pocket and hands it to him. “I’m Ryu Seorin, a writer from TNet. What’s your name?”

Jinu straightens in his seat. TNet… That was the broadcasting station where Saja Boys got their first win for Soda Pop.

“My name is Jinu.”

“Wow, it suits you so well. You seem like you have star potential. Do you, by any chance, have any thoughts about working in showbiz?”

A scout…? Is the universe finally giving him a break?

Jinu nods. “My dream is to become an idol, actually.”

The woman’s face brightens. “That’s perfect! Do you have a company? Oh and, may I ask how old you are?”

“No, I’ve never been signed.” The truth, as Saja Boys didn’t have an agency either. “I’m 21.” That one is a lie.

“TNet building is actually around the corner. If you have time, would you come with me to take a screen test?”

“Is TNet looking to debut idols?” Jinu asks.

She nods. “We are holding an audition program in 10 days, but we have an open slot for one more contestant.”

Huh. “You know what?” He laughs lightly. Maybe he won’t need Rumi to debut after all. Maybe he can meet her at the top, like last time.

“Sign me up.”

Chapter Text

“Wow, it’s crowded.” Jinu whistles. 77 people do seem like a lot when you are a part of them and have to fight for a roughly 1 in 11 chance to debut.

Jinu has done his research. Well, a little bit. He didn’t have the time to fully explore the Idol Inc. rabbit hole with only 10 days to prepare for his audition. All he knows is that the top boygroup Testar was formed from this show, and they have seven members. The following girls season had 9 winners though. Who knows how many members will be in the final lineup of Season 5.

“Next contestant, please come up to the stage.”

Jinu gets up obediently. They called him quite early, considering his last-minute recruit status.

It’s showtime.

“Hello. My name is Jinu. Pleased to meet you all,” he says, smiling and bowing appropriately. He hears the awed hushed whispers and sees anticipation building on the trainers’ faces.

“Wow, you’re so handsome!” says the host. They brought back Youngrin, South Korea’s one-top female soloist, since her Season 3 stint was so successful. “Can you tell us a bit about yourself?”

“Ah.” It’s not like he can say he’s an ex-demon from the Joseon dynasty. This human Jinu is far too boring. “I’ve always dreamed of becoming a singer. It’s an honor to be here.”

Youngrin flips her stack of contestant ID forms with a content hum. “It says here… You’ve never been a trainee?”

“Yes,” he says. There’s a moment of awkward silence. Jinu quickly picks up that she wants him to elaborate. Too bad, he doesn’t know this body’s backstory either. She will have to be satisfied with his short answers. “I’m self taught.”

Being a veteran in the industry, she picks up his cues just as well. “Okay, whenever you’re ready.”

Jinu gets into position, striking a pose that would be familiar to anyone in the audience. Music starts and he turns, syncing his movements to the refreshing bubblegum pop beat. He brings the mic up to his mouth to sing.

“You’re so sweet, you’re so tasty~” He hits the notes, eyes trembling with mirth. This is so fun. “Don’t make this hard and nasty, boy~ Like hard candy, I crush on you~”

Hard Candy, the smash hit summer song that earned Huntrix their first ever Song of The Year daesang nomination, a relic from their debut year. It was designed to be an earworm, with catchy corny lyrics and even catchier dance moves, to propell the group to superstardom as fast as possible. It reminds him a lot of Soda Pop, actually. He even decided to wear a similar striped button-up shirt and jeans for the occasion. With this combination, he’s bound to get Rumi’s attention when the show airs.

As ridiculous as the song is, it’s still a Huntrix song, which means the difficulty is stupidly high in order to showcase Rumi’s vocal prowess. Nothing Jinu can’t handle though.

He nails the high note and finishes the song cleanly. The studio erupts into applause. He bows with a wide smile.

“I sure didn’t expect that song choice!” The middle-aged male dance trainer laughs.

“It’s a very hard song, but you pulled it off,” the vocal trainer says, her eyes sparkling. “Your vocal ability is impressive. Your dance is sharp too. Have you really not had any formal training?”

Jinu can’t help his red cheeks—damn human biology. He shakes his head shyly. “I practiced a lot since I really liked the song.” It might be his favorite Huntrix song right now, honestly. Rumi wore a cutesy pink and blue altered swimsuit and did a bunch of aegyo in the MV, it’s amazing. He can’t believe he never teased her for her older songs, before.

“Well, consider me impressed. Thank you for your performance,” Yongrin says. “I think my fellow trainers agree on the rank you deserve.”

With one last bow, Jinu exits the stage and climbs up to his announced seat: 1st. He knows he is good, he was the leader and main vocalist of a daesang-winning boygroup, after all, but first place in auditions is still beyond his expectations.

Watching the performances continue from the top of the pyramid, he comes to understand his ranking. The talent pool… most kids here are far from ready to debut. Jinu strategically obscures his mouth to hide a yawn. Hours have passed since the start of filming that even the trainers are getting sleepy, having to grade one boring performance after the other.

“Hello! We are Onyx Entertainment trainees!” bellowed a vaguely familiar voice that clears the fog in Jinu’s head. His eyes widen when he recognizes the tall muscular guy with tan skin and a devastating smile.

“I’m Kang Abby.”

No way.

“And I’m Bae Byungho,” says the shorter guy next to him, still babyfaced but black haired.

No freaking way.

Chapter Text

Jinu gapes, then belatedly remembers the cameras and schools his face back into something more attractive. The music starts—an original song, composed by Byungho. Abby does the intro, his loud, smooth voice filling the studio, before passing the baton to his partner. Byungho takes over with a rap—which he wrote himself, of course—surprising the audience with his deep voice and sharp delivery. Abby helps accent every bar with dance, their movements polished and synchronized.

The climax features a minor voice crack courtesy of Abby, who plays it off well enough. Byungho sticks the landing with soft vocals. The response is thunderous. Jinu claps his hands along with everyone else. The trainers gush over their talent and rave about their well-made song.

“Wow! I can’t believe it has come to this, but I’ve been outvoted,” Youngrin says, then turns to the pyramid of ranked seats, locking eyes with Jinu. “I’m so sorry Jinu, it was very close.

“Bae Byungho places first!”

The human, once a demon called Baby, covers his mouth in shock and starts crying. His strangely less buff than his demon version friend pulls him into a bear hug and wipes his tears, his excitement infectious.

Losing his seat stings, but Jinu plasters on a smile and gives a standing ovation for the camera to capture. He congratulates the sniffling Byungho as he walks down to the 2nd seat. Abby sits down on 7th.

Before the auditions end, one other guy catches Jinu’s eye.

“I’m Park Romeo,” says a guy with a heart shaped face, his hair a brown bowlcut that doesn't suit him at all.

“Tragic,” Jinu mumbles under his breath. He stops styling them for one life and this is what happens. He huffs a little smile. They are so lost without him.

4 out of 5 Saja Boys in the same survival show can’t be a coincidence. Mystery might be here too. Jinu scans the other contestants as best as he can, but even he doesn't know what Mystery looks like under all that hair. Oh well. If that guy is also competing, Jinu will recognize him eventually.

Jinu glances at Byungho in the top seat before looking towards Abby, who is already making friends by chatting to the guys around him. The three of them are sitting high enough to presumably be in the debut cutoff already. He watches Romeo below them, sitting prim on a respectable 16th place.

The question is: does he want to debut with these guys again? Make it a Saja Boys reunion?

Someone taps his shoulder. Jinu looks up to see his unseater. “Jinu-sshi, right? You were amazing. I’m sorry, I really didn't expect they would give me first place.”

“Oh, don’t sweat it. You deserve that spot,” Jinu replies with a gracious smile. “How old are you?”

“I’m 20,” he says, then leans in conspirationally, “Abby would tell you he is 18, but we are the same age. He just doesn’t believe in the Korean age system.”

Jinu can’t help but laugh. “You can call me hyung, then. I’m 21.”

“Jinu-hyung,” Byungho says like he is testing it out.

“Oh, can I call you that too?” says the person directly below Jinu, his body twisting so they can see his bright grin. “I’m Abby. Don’t be formal with me!”

This Abby has “foreigner” written all over him, from his slight accent to his casual dismissal of Korean social rules. He carries himself with a special type of confidence the masses seldom have, Jinu notes. What was it called again? S..swag?

“Sure, you can call me hyung too,” Jinu says.

Like opening the floodgates, Abby contorts into a more comfortable position and starts talking a mile a minute. “Hyung, your singing was crazy. One of my friends back in America is a huge Huntrix fan, you know. She likes to swear up and down that no one can ever cover Rumi’s parts and do it justice. I can’t wait for this episode to air so you can prove her wrong. Your singing stats must be S-rank or something.”

Jinu frowns. “My stats?”

He almost jumps out of his skin when the air in front of him shimmers, words forming and obscuring Abby’s face.

“Yeah, like in a game!” Jinu tries his best to focus on the conversation, but it’s hard to listen to Abby’s long winded explanation. Just another of those modern things that exists, he summarizes. Beyond that, he doesn’t want to know. He just wants a moment to read whatever it is glowing in front of him.

His wish is granted when Youngrin calls for everyone’s attention and talks about transportation to the dorms. Jinu tunes her out and places his full attention on the hovering text.

Name: Cha Jinu

Singing: S
Dancing: B
Physical Attractiveness: A
Charm: A
Traits: Siren’s Song (A) Voice can endure any situation. Ability to move people’s hearts +50%. Effect doubles when singing.

Status Abnormality: Debut or Die (Activated)

Jinu squints. If Abby’s explanation is to be trusted, then the letters are ranks, with S being the highest, followed by A, B, C, and so forth. It makes no sense why S is randomly the highest rank, but whatever.

“Hmm…” Looks like Abby was right about Jinu’s singing being S-rank. He even has a special trait about his voice. Well, he thinks he deserves it after managing to keep his voice all throughout the 400 years enduring Gwi-ma. That’s about as tried and tested as it can get.

Knowing he has the “moving people’s hearts” ability can be useful, but honestly, Jinu has enough pride in his singing and charms that he has always been confident he can do that anyway. So overall, none of this is new information.

“Close,” he mutters. How utterly useless.

“Hyung, let’s go,” calls Byungho, stepping down to join the others in lining up for their respective transportation. Jinu snaps out of it and follows him and the rest of the top 10 to ride a limousine to the dorms. In true dramatic TV show fashion, the lower ranked contestants have to ride decreasingly glamorous vehicles, like chartered buses to just straight up being told to jog on foot.

The residence hall assigns housing based on rank, with 5 people in each room. Jinu quickly takes off his meagerly filled backpack and claims the only single bed available. Fortunately, his roommates don’t mind, but are instead rather excited about the bunk beds. Byungho climbs up to take one of the top bunks. His other roommates find the pile of clothes the program wants them to wear next—a soft pale blue sweater and black track pants—and waste no time distributing them.

After changing, they go to the training hall. To streamline the training process, everyone gets Advanced, Intermediate or Beginner badges for their singing and dancing. As expected, Jinu gets an Advanced for his singing and Intermediate for his dancing. Conversely, Abby gets Advanced for dancing and Intermediate for singing, while Byungho got Intermediate for both.

Romeo gets Intermediate for singing and Beginner for dancing, which means Jinu doesn’t share any classes with the other ex-Saja Boys. The three of them will be sharing their singing class together, though. Jinu almost feels jealous being left out.

“And now, I will introduce the theme song of Idol Inc. Season 5, which you will be practicing for the next 10 days!” the host announces. It’s not Youngrin this time, but some guy in a plain black suit they must have gotten for the less glitzy parts of the show. “This season’s theme song is… Dreaming High!”

The screen behind him lights up and plays a video of the choreography guide. A bit complicated, but perfectly doable. The song itself sounds sincere and hopeful, with increasingly high notes in the middle before the beat drops into a hard hitting dance break.

“Trainee Byungho!” the host suddenly calls after the video ends. “As our first place trainee who has composing experience, what do you think of the theme song?”

“Ah,” he says, startled. Jinu turns to look at him. His ex-bandmate doesn’t look as confident as Jinu expects him to be. “I like the melody. It sounds hard to sing, but I’m looking forward to performing it.”

The host’s wide smile is a little bit creepy. “How about our previous number one, trainee Jinu!” His eyes glint. “Do you think this song is hard to sing?”

Jinu holds his sigh. They are trying to build a rivalry storyline, huh? Too bad Jinu will never see Baby as a rival.

The once leader of the Saja Boys is clearly better.

“It sounds challenging,” Jinu says with a smile. “I will do my best.”

Chapter Text

The training for Dreaming High goes on smoothly. Jinu absorbs praise from the trainers and the other trainees, who come to befriend him in droves. They follow him like ducklings and flock to him at break time. Some of them get touchy and smile too wide, their laughs too high it prickles Jinu’s skin.

At night in the dorms when the mics are off, he pulls Byungho into the bathroom and asks him about it. Byungho stares at him like he’s an idiot for even asking.

“They are sucking up to you,” he says bluntly. “They know you’re a lock to make it into the final group, so they are trying to associate themselves with you. The camera is always on you, so they think being near you will give them more screentime.”

“Oh.” It is pretty obvious, in hindsight. “Wait. Do they do that to you too?”

Byungho scrunches up his face in annoyance. “Not as much as they do it to you, but they are still so slimy it makes me sick.”

Hmm. “Does Abby get the same treatment?”

“All the top rankers get some, to an extent. It’s been pretty bad for our other roommates too.” Byungho takes out his toothbrush from its case and squeezes the toothpaste tube a little too violently. “I wouldn’t worry about Abby. That guy has the ability to make everything about him, when he wants to. People crowding him would just make him look better.”

Jinu leans back on the wall and smiles. “Have you known him for long?”

Byungho gargles and spits before he answers while washing his hands. “Two years ago, when he started training in Seoul. Can’t get rid of him since.”

Two years. Before the plan, in the 400 years where they roamed doing Gwi-ma’s bidding, Jinu only knew the other Saja Boys in passing. Oh, it’s those other demons who liked music enough to sell their soul. Gwi-ma would talk to Jinu about them, saying he took their voices as payment, aren't you glad I let you keep yours?

When Jinu came up with fighting the huntresses’ music with their own, to make a group that could rival Huntrix, he already had them in mind. The Saja Boys were only active for a few months, and even then they didn’t really interact much. Baby and Mystery had songs they’ve always wanted to sing, so preparations were quick. Coordination was easy with demon senses and reflexes. Jinu and Romance took care of logistics, while Abby handled the demon army. They had a goal and a shared understanding, but the voices in their head made it hard to open up and communicate. It was just easier to be alone, as the proximity just amplifies the amount of Gwi-ma’s influence in the room. Some of them struggled to keep their human form on some days, and Mystery couldn’t even articulate words when he wasn't singing.

Jinu tries to laugh but it sounds weak and wistful, even to his ears. “What if I tell you you won’t be able to get rid of me either?”

The shorter trainee’s gaze is sharp and calculating. “In a let’s-be-friends-forever way, or are you proposing we become allies and make it through this show together in one piece?”

“How about both?”

Byungho looks at Jinu’s outstretched hand, then raises his head to meet his eyes. He seals the handshake.

“You’re not so bad, hyung,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind debuting with you.”

“Then we have a main rapper and main vocalist already.” Jinu smiles. “Now get out, please. I need to pee.”

Reevaluations go on without a hitch. They call the trainees in age order, making Jinu among the first dozen to perform. Damn, these kids are young.

Jinu receives a platinum badge for his efforts. He watches the rest of the trainees come up and perform the same song one by one, some struggling and some shining. When the staff hands Byungho his platinum badge, Jinu wonders. He wishes he can see other people’s stats too, not just his own.

The air shimmers in front of him next to Byungho in his line of sight, making him flinch and earning him a few weird looks. Jinu bites his lower lip, preventing it from turning into a scowl. He thought he needed to say something to summon the weird floating text!

Name: Bae Byungho

Singing: B-
(Rapping: A)
Dancing: B+
Physical Attractiveness: B
Charm: A
Traits: Bird’s Eye View (C) A keen eye. Ability to see the big picture.

“Huh.” It explains why he is so perceptive.

Jinu follows the applause in the room and smiles at the right times, while in reality he is busy scanning other trainees for their stats. He gives up two trainees in, after forgetting all their information as soon as he finishes reading. There’s just too many to check, it’s not sustainable. It’s better if he scans only a select few case-by-case instead.

On the stage, Abby gets ready and starts his performance. Jinu narrows his eyes.

Name: Kang Abby

Singing: B
Dancing: A+
Physical Attractiveness: A
Charm: B
Traits: Scene Stealer (A) Takes the attention of an audience forcefully. Ability raises charm stat by 5 levels and effect lasts for 3-5 seconds at a time.

“Isn’t that too good?” Jinu says, genuinely surprised. Byungho was right, he doesn't need to worry about Abby at all. As if further confirming it, the trainers all praise his performance and assign him a platinum badge.

Romeo is a little bit younger at 19 years of age. His performance is a level below the other Saja Boys that have performed before him. Jinu recalls he auditioned with a guitar, but this time, the trainers don’t give bonus points for extra skills.

Name: Park Romeo

Singing: B
Dancing: C+
Physical Attractiveness: C
Charm: A
Traits: Customer Service (B) Increases viewer satisfaction in accordance with personal confidence.

Romance has always been the most vain out of all of them. It looks like not finding his personal style yet is seriously affecting his performance… Jinu will have to tell him to get rid of that bowlcut as soon as possible.

He watches Romeo dejectedly accept a silver badge. The boy didn’t even perform that bad, as awkward as he was. He hit all the notes and kept up with the dance. The trainers were not wrong when they criticized how unsure his expressions were, but still, Jinu is annoyed. Call him biased, but he made sure to clap extra hard when Romeo exits the stage.

Once again, Jinu feels 77 is way too many people. How will they even distribute the screentime? Forever later, the reevaluations end with the final trainee receiving almost no response and a bronze badge. Ouch.

Jinu is just glad that it is over. When are the first eliminations again? If he has to sit through another 77 solo performances in a row, forget debuting, he might just do the honors himself and try scaling the walls to Rumi’s apartment.

“I’m the director in charge of filming the theme song of Idol Inc. Season 5, Dreaming High,” a tired-looking man with glasses and a 5 o’clock shadow says into a mic, introducing himself. “Please follow all instructions from the staff and let’s do our best.”

The trainees, all in matching preppy schoolboy uniforms, clap their hands and get into position. The previous day’s reevaluations set has been overhauled into a configuration of three massive platforms. Jinu stands next to Byungho who is the center—the main benefit he received for placing first in auditions and would have only lost if he failed to earn platinum in reevaluations.

Because he is such a good dancer or perhaps to balance out Jinu’s height, Abby stands at Byungho’s right, the three of them forming the performance’s main triangle. Jinu keeps in mind Abby’s Scene Stealer trait and dances harder. Good thing all of the platinum badged trainees are guaranteed their own solo shot. They will release the theme song first, airing it at the end of next week’s Music Bomb.

Jinu makes sure to angle his face right for the ending shot and wipes off a confetti from his shoulder for good measure. He wishes he can see Rumi’s face when she watches it for the first time.

Chapter Text

A few weeks after they completed the Golden Honmoon, Rumi does not expect to be shaken awake by a frantic Bobby. Huntrix is still supposed to be on hiatus after the Idol Awards debacle, all they have in their schedule is couch and spa. Rumi has been using the break to distract herself from remembering how her grand situationship ended. She stayed up all night with the girls binging the drama episodes that had piled up while they were busy saving the world.

She deserves this sleep. She needs it.

“Rumi, get up! You were supposed to be at the shop 15 minutes ago!”

She can’t even open her eyes. “Wh-wha?”

“Prerecording for Music Fix! I can’t believe all of you overslept. C’mon, we are already late!”

Rumi doesn’t know what’s happening, but she pulls herself up and gets ready on autopilot with the speed and grace of a seven year veteran idol. She meets Mira and Zoey in the van, both snoring into the seats. Bobby breaks several traffic laws driving them to their makeup shop. Rumi spends the next hour back in dreamland while the staff gets her face and hair ready. It’s when she is standing on stage wearing, of all things, a neon crop top and lycra high waisted shorts, that she realizes something is seriously wrong.

When the backtrack starts, all three huntresses can only stand in shock as Square Up plays—their spring comeback single after their second Song of The Year win. A song from four years ago.

Bobby and the Music Fix staff look dumbfounded. Rumi quickly recovers.

“We are so sorry!” She bows deeply. “Please excuse us for five minutes!”

She drags the girls to an empty backstage corner while their manager does damage control. Zoey’s hair is a sharp chin-length bob, while Mira’s pinkish red hair has a brown moneypiece for bangs. Rumi swipes her signature purple braid over her shoulder, looser and starting lower on her head, reminiscent of her mother’s.

“I’m trying not to freak out, but,” she starts, “what the hell is going on?”

“Obviously, we are in the past,” Mira whispers back. “I blame demons.”

Zoey’s glittery eyes are wide with panic. “But we sealed the Honmoon! There’s supposed to be no more demons!”

“Okay okay, we can figure that out later.” Rumi takes a deep breath to gather herself. “For now… Do you guys still remember the lyrics and choreo to Square Up?”

After somehow making it through the prerecording with an embarrassing amount of retakes, Huntrix has to go to a radio show schedule before they can come back to the company, where Celine proceeds to scold and lock them inside the practice room.

“Don’t come out until you can perform Square Up in your sleep,” she says as she closes the door. The three girls lie down in front of the ceiling-to-floor wall mirrors, defeated.

“It’s been out of our concert rotations for a while, give me a break,” Mira groans into the floor.

“This is the ‘later’ I was talking about,” Rumi says, grudgingly sitting up. “How are we in the past? I saw the threads earlier. The Honmoon is intact.”

“Yeah, there’s not even any demon sightings that Celine is making us practice instead,” Zoey adds.

Mira perks up. “Wait, do you still have your patterns?”

Rumi takes off her jacket. Patterns adorn her shoulders, but no more than that.

“Okay, so demons still exist,” Mira says. “What kind of demonic power can rewind time like this though?”

“That’s assuming this is time travel and not an alternate universe, or us being in a coma and this is our consciousness sharing a dream,” Zoey says.

“I don't think even Gwi-ma had the powers to do any of that,” Rumi points out. From what she has gathered, demon powers include things like teleporting, transformation, corrupting whispers and persuasions, not time or dimension travel. “And the Honmoon cut off his soul supply. He wouldn’t have the juice to do anything big, or he would have tried something like this a long time ago.”

The girls moan in frustration. Rumi buries her head in her hands. “How do we come back to our time?”

A beat passes.

“We can try asking Celine,” Zoey suggests.

“Yeah, maybe she knows something. That’s going to be our best bet,” Rumi says. She has mixed feelings about her adoptive mother, but this situation is more important. Besides, she wants to see the look on her mentor’s face when she reveals her bandmates know about her patterns and are okay with it. “But if she doesn’t…”

Mira groans. “Ugh, I can’t believe I have to go through the last four years all over again.”

“Oh!” Zoey exclaims, excitedly. “At least we’ll know what will be popular this time around! Maybe we can one-up VTIC and Testar and sweep the daesangs!”

“We should start with practicing for Square Up,” Rumi decides, rising to her feet. She pulls the other girls up. “C’mon. Although our dorm is not a penthouse suite yet, I want to sleep on my bed tonight.”

Before they know it, three weeks pass in a whirlwind of promotions. They found time to ask Celine in the middle of it, a simple, “Hey, have you ever heard of time travel or alternate dimensions? Is that a thing demons can do?”

She told them to stop being ridiculous, that there are no such things. She told them to stop watching so many dramas and to still be vigilant, even though they have established the Golden Honmoon by winning Song of The Year at the Idol Awards last time.

Huntrix looked at each other with wide eyes. They didn’t achieve the Golden Honmoon on the last timeline, but apparently they did here. It means the current lack of demons isn’t because of the Honmoon they created after defeating Gwi-ma and the Saja Boys. The girls have been thrust into a more unfamiliar reality than they thought, and there seems to be no way back.

“We’re doomed,” Mira says on the couch. Music Bomb is airing on TV. Huntrix has stopped their music show performances but they are still nominated and predicted to win first place. It's the right thing to watch and take a picture to thank the fans when they do.

“No we are not. Testar’s new release is just a concert remix, so they’re not even nominated,” Zoey says, her phone camera ready, just waiting for the seven member boy group to finish their special stage.

Mira sighs. “That’s not what I mean.” Rumi gives her a bowl of tteokbokki to cheer her up. The taller girl nods in thanks and starts stuffing her face.

They announced Huntrix’s Square Up as the winner for the week, completing their triple crown. Zoey captures the moment and takes a selfie of the three of them smiling wide and doing cheek hearts. Rumi helps with the caption and posts it on the official Huntrix account after a brief review with Bobby.

“Ah! No matter the timeline, I love our fans,” Zoey gushes, reading the lovely comments piling up in real time.

On TV, the Music Bomb ends and the screen fades to black. White text appears in a flurry of sparkles, accompanied by dramatic music.

Shareholders! Do you remember your idol stocks?

This April, we are opening the market again!

“Oh wow, more of this nonsense,” says Mira, TV remote in hand, about to press the power button. Zoey snatches it and stops her.

“No! It’s that fifth season. We were so busy last time with comebacks and fighting demons that I missed all of it. It was so juicy too, I need to see everything!” Her eyes were shining. “And you guys should watch it with me!”

The other two girls relent and sit on either side of their dark haired bandmate, who is vibrating in place in excitement. The TV shows Youngrin, looking devastatingly handsome and elegant as always, saying a few opening lines before the camera pans to a massive three stage setup. Lights turn on one by one, coloring the silhouettes in purple and blue.

The camera zooms in to the trainee at the center of it all, finally turning to face the audience. Black hair, young-looking with pinchable cheeks but surprisingly broad shouldered. Zoey gasps.

“Am I tripping, or is that Baby Saja?”

Chapter Text

The three Huntrix girls go from slouching to sitting ramrod straight on their couch. Zoey leans in first, pointing at the TV, her bandmates following suit when the two trainees flanking Baby turn around next.

“What the fuck.”

“Jinu?!” Rumi’s heart beats loudly in her chest.

“And fucking Abs Saja next to him,” Mira exclaims.

The three Saja Boys lead the performance; the survival show’s theme song, Dreaming High. It’s overall a mediocre song, elevated by what clearly sounds like Jinu’s recorded vocals hitting all the high notes.

With the amount of trainees, only the privileged and lucky ones get screentime. Mira seethes as the camera catches Abby’s smirk during a powerful bit of arms sequence. Rumi is stunned silent looking at a younger, fresh faced Jinu, brightly singing about dreams. Then Zoey shrieks.

“That’s Mystery!!! He’s there too!”

Briefly, the screen captures a young man with delicate features looking downwards, his gaze hidden but forehead wholly exposed, his hair dark brown and the same length as Jinu.

“How can you even know that?” Mira asks in disbelief.

“It’s the mouth, the same exact shape!” Zoey squeals as she explains. “And the dewy skin. I can recognize it anywhere!”

The song reaches its climax with the middle stage rising up, zooming in to Baby rising in the center podium. He executes a complicated solo dance break that the rest of the trainees follow a beat later. Zoey claps her hands as the last chorus comes in. The boy she identified as Mystery gets into the shot one more time before the song ends, confetti bursting from the ceiling.

The camera zooms back in to Baby puffing his cheeks and giving a heart, as it is the center’s right to get an ending fairy shot. A few other trainees with platinum badges get their turn next before Abby, who simply winks into the camera knowingly—like he knows he has just secured a legion of fans ready to open their wallets for him within the span of one performance.

Jinu’s shot is last. He smiles with his head tilted as he, familiarly, brushes a stray confetti off his shoulder.

Rumi doesn’t know what to think. That move… it can’t be…

“Did Gwi-ma send them four years early on the boyband plan or what?” Mira sneers, shutting the TV off as the channel has gone to an ad break anyway.

“Why would they join a survival show, though?” Zoey says, still bouncing with excess energy. “They look so different! Brown and black hair! Except Jinu, i guess. He looks the same.”

“He does,” Rumi says. Well, not entirely. He looks somehow younger, cheeks a bit fuller and frame a bit smaller, even though he’s supposed to be a 400 year old demon, frozen in time from the moment he got dragged to the underworld. The black hair and gentle eyes are still the same, though.

“Ugh, they’re still so hot,” complains Mira, burying her face in a pillow. The other girls commiserate with a nod.

Zoey busies herself on her phone. “Oh! It starts airing on Monday. There are individual fancams! We can vote to send a coffee truck and the stock buying is now open too! 10-pick!”

Her bandmates shoot her a look. “Zoey.”

“Come on, you already know my credit card details from last season,” she mumbles, then smiles brilliantly. “Okay, all done!”

“Zoey!”

She pouts. “I’m just being supportive!”

“They’re demons,” Mira says, “we shouldn’t help them destroy the Honmoon!”

“But what if they’re not anymore, in this timeline?” Zoey shoots back, hands on her hips. “There’s no reason for them to start from the bottom when they could just come in again, sing Soda Pop, and sweep the daesangs all in two months!”

Rumi frowns. “You’re right.” She puts her hands over her shoulders, touching the patterns through the fabric. “We don’t know much about this timeline yet. Maybe…” She doesn’t want to let herself hope, but- “Maybe we shouldn’t assume and try talking to them first before taking any drastic actions.”

Mira snorts. “With that shoulder wipe move, Jinu probably remembers everything.” Rumi looks at her in surprise. The red haired girl raises an eyebrow in response. “What, you think I don’t remember how you first met? I was there.”

“It can be a coincidence,” Rumi points out, but it sounds weak even to her ears.

“Knowing Jinu? Has anything that guy done ever been not on purpose?”

“His fancam has a hundred thousand views already, that was quick,” Zoey says while glued to her phone. Rumi’s phone pings inside her pocket, then a second ping sounds at the same time with Mira’s. “There! I sent you the link. And the link to stock buying in the group chat!”

“You can just say vote, you know. No need to get immersed in their gimmick,” Mira says, but reaches for her phone anyway.

Rumi can’t help but to also take hers out and open the video. Jinu, in all his 4K definition glory. She presses like before the ad even finishes loading.

“I never knew his family name was Cha,” she muses.

On the couch, Mira is on TNet’s website from the link Zoey sent. “There’s profiles of all the boys here. Cha Jinu, 21 years old, independent trainee. Training duration: zero. Hobbies are playing the bipa and singing, favorite artist is Huntrix.” She rolls her eyes. “Oh, he for sure remembers.”

Rumi pauses the fancam and looks at Mira with wide eyes. She feels a bit faint, hands clenching with hope. “He’s trying to get my attention.”

“Yeah," Mira agrees. "The question is, how are you going to respond?”

Chapter Text

It’s past midnight but the fearless leader of Huntrix is tossing and turning on her bed, a certain someone running through her mind, sleep evading her. She sighs and gets up, turns on the lights and taps on her phone.

Over six hours have passed, sufficient time for Dreaming High to marinate in the public’s consciousness just enough for the initial impressions to solidify. As she expected, the reactions are explosive. It tends to be, when the Saja Boys are concerned.

The theme song official video is trending no.1 on Naver. Many trainees are also trending, with Baby’s fancam at no.2 and Jinu’s at 3, then Abby further down at 15. She checks Twitter and sure enough, #IdolIncS5 is the hottest topic, with people already picking their favorites. She sees many newly made fan accounts and can’t help but follow Cha Jinu Updates on her private account. You know, just to stay informed.

She opens the entertainment forums next, internally wincing because 99% of the time, this is a terrible idea for idols to do. Rookie Rumi made this mistake once; reading nameless people discuss her nepo status and nitpick her looks along with everything she did. It took some time and her bandmates’ support for her to recover and learn to ignore the haters.

Fan wars and petty nitpicking are usually popular posts, but now it seems like Idol Inc Season 5 is the only thing people are talking about. She taps the day’s top post, already with hundreds of comments.

[Entertainment] The Platinum Bermuda on Idol Inc S5 (1578)
Views 327534 | Recommendations 1043

These three at the center were just crazy. I took close-up screenshots from the theme song video and full body versions from their fancams. Talented kids should debut so please support them.

1. Bae Byungho
   [Byunghoaegyo.jpg]
   [Byunghofull.jpg]
   Center + Aegyo + Surprisingly mature body
2. Cha Jinu
   [Chajinushoulder.jpg]
   [Chajinufull.jpg]
   Crazy crazy handsome 
3. Kang Abby
   [Fatherwink.jpg]
   [Fatherburstingjacket.jpg]
   Hot foreigner (My personal favorite)

 

2923👍|👎334

1. [+827, -5]
   Bulk buying Cha Jinu’s stocks
2. [+601, -43]
   OP-yah you have taste
3. [+544, -2]
   This season is already fun ㅋㅋ can’t wait for it to air
4. [+438, -39]
   God combination
5. [+252, -198]
   Am I the only one who thinks the center doesnt fit ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Cha Jinu should have been center

“Wow, they’re fighting already,” Rumi says, tapping back out of the page. She picks a Jinu business post next.

A crazy handsome trainee came out on Idol Inc S5 (595)
Views 205541 | Recommendations 864

[Chajinushoulder.gif]
It’s the one next to the center, Cha Jinu

[Chajinu.jpg]
[Chajinupromo.jpg]
He even looks good on his profile headshot and promo pics

[Chajinubiodata.jpg]
What’s crazy is that he is an independent trainee. Our country’s entertainment companies are blind for never scouting him. But despite having no training experience he has a platinum badge

[Chajinufancam.gif]
He wrote that his hobby is singing, but look at his sharp moves

[Stockreceipt.jpg]
[Coffeetruckvoteconfirm.jpg]
Anyway I will be supporting him

 

1032👍|👎27

1. [+565, -4]
   Hurry up and debut
2. [+441, -28]
   He should be the final number one
3. [+397, -2]
   How come such a handsome and talented kid have to be in such a shabby place
4. [+384, -0]
   F*ck Idol Inc. you got me again
5. [+26, -514]
   You guys haven’t heard his voice, yet you overrate him this much already

Rumi adds another downvote to the last comment and turns off her phone. It’s not good to jump headfirst into that rabbit hole.

She lies down and closes her eyes. Jinu is alive and he most likely remembers her. This is more than she ever hoped.

She can go search for him now somewhere in Seoul. Even without doing that, they will inevitably pass each other in the halls of a broadcasting station. They will both stand in a line one day for a music show ending. Benchmarking the previous Idol Inc. groups’ successes, she will meet him on the year end award shows too.

Rumi knows she should be patient. A senior idol trying to meet with a blazing hot trainee, someone who still hasn’t debuted yet? She can’t afford the scandal. If Jinu is serious enough to go to an infamous survival show just for the chance to become an idol again, she doesn’t want to be the cause of him not debuting. She knows from Zoey that there have been plenty of cases where a trainee free falls from the debut lineup when they were revealed to be in a relationship. She doesn’t want to mess up his second chance at life.

Rumi turns off the lights and pulls her comforter over her head. She will float a guest judging position to Bobby later. She misses him so much, she doesn’t know if she can wait for much longer.

Chapter Text

The first thing Jinu does after all the trainees get sent home for a one week break is collect Tiger back from his landlord, a cat-loving ahjumma who was nice enough to take him in on such short notice. He spends the day giving the massive cat belly rubs and binging Huntrix’s Square Up promotion videos. The song wasn’t that good comparatively to the others in their discography, but he does like how Rumi gets to rap a lot there.

He hums as he goes about his days, resting his voice and sore muscles. He takes Tiger for walks, laughs with tears in his eyes one day when a magpie perches on Tiger’s head and refuses to fly away. He buys materials to make Bird a hat the very same day. Bird doesn’t like being indoors and hangs out on the balcony railing most of the time. Jinu installs a container of food and water out there like a responsible pet owner.

Often, he gets messages from his Idol Inc. roommates. They had to teach him how it worked—Byungho giving him a disbelieving look all the while. They put him in something called a group chat where they shared news articles and reactions of the show. He tries to read them and reply, but he really doesn’t like touching his phone if he can help it.

Byungho messages him directly a few times, outside the group chat. He asks Jinu for calming song recommendations, which is mildly odd but Jinu is always happy to recommend some Huntrix ballads. He also figures out how to send voice messages and plays Byungho old lullabies on his bipa, which he found in one of the boxes. The shorter trainee calls him a fanboy and an old man before sending a picture of a cartoon lion holding a ‘Thank you’ banner.

The break ends too quickly. He entrusts Tiger to his landlord again and says goodbye to Bird before going back to the Idol Inc. dorms. The room is empty when he arrives. Five minutes later, Byungho comes in yawning while dragging a comically large suitcase.

“Wow, hyung. What did you bring with you?” he says in surprise, gesturing to the case propped up against Jinu’s bed.

Jinu looks up from where he’s unpacking on the floor. “Welcome back, Byungho,” he says. “Oh this?” He gestures to the case. “They told us to bring one item from home, so I brought my bipa.”

The center sets his things in the corner. “Damn, I just brought my lyric notebook. Maybe I should’ve packed something flashier.”

A while later, their other roommates come in one after the other. Pleasantries are exchanged as they unpack and change into their filming clothes.

“I’m nervous about the first mission,” Rin says as Jinu helps him put on the name sticker provided by the show on his belly. He’s a quiet Japanese kid who ranked 4th in auditions, but messed up in reevaluations and got gold.

“Well, I’m pumped!” exclaims Seodam, one of the oldest trainees in the show. He has the plus point of making Jinu feel less like an old man, but has the big minus of being extremely annoying. The 24 year old guy’s modern dance experience earned him 3rd place and a platinum badge, which he pins on his shirt. “Didn’t you guys read the news i sent in the group chat? Mirynay will be guesting today!”

Mirynay, the winners of the last season of Idol Inc., is a currently trendy girl group. On their season, the previous winners Testar also guested to show support and help build viewership. Jinu doesn’t have an opinion about it. If a girl group had to guest, he wishes it had been Huntrix, though.

From where he is standing, Jinu can see Byungho’s eyes rolling to the back of his skull. “Let’s just go,” he says, leading the way out. They go to the filming area and line up based on their badges as directed by the staff, platinums in front and bronzes on the very back. The trainees stand facing an artificial wall almost spanning the entire width of the room, concealing the other side from them. There’s white fabric covering the middle of the wall. On the side, there’s a closed up booth that one has to go through to get to the other side.

“Good morning everyone!” A feminine voice exclaims as three girls enter the room. The boys gasp and shout in excitement, Jinu following their lead to pretend to be shocked at an occurrence that was already announced in the news.

The three Mirynay members are very pretty in their smart blouses and high waisted skirts. They all speak into handheld mics as they introduce themselves as the MCs for the day.

“Are you all ready for the first team evaluation?” asks Jung Yulgi, the final 1st place of her season. The trainees answer her with hyped affirmation.

“You will all be divided into groups of six! You will compete head-to-head with another group, performing songs by the same artist. The winning groups will get the benefit of an extra 3000 votes for each trainee!”

The trainees applaud appropriately. Jinu frowns as he does the math in his head. Four trainees have dropped out over the break for varying reasons, but that still leaves 73, an odd number when divided by six…

“Trainee Byungho!” calls Park Minha, her season’s runner-up. Byungho accepts the mic from the staff with a cautious expression.

“As the center of the theme song Dreaming High, you have an additional benefit,” she says with a peppy tone, but her eyes are apologetic. “You can pick one trainee, any trainee out of the remaining 73, to be eliminated, effective immediately.”

Suddenly Jinu is glad he was pushed out of the 1st place seat. He turns to Byungho amidst the pandemonium. The other boys are loudly whispering in shock and nervousness. The center’s eyes are shaking but he bites his lip and steadies himself.

“Do I have to?” he asks, though the answer is obvious. The producers want the program to be filled with tension and excitement, after all. Jinu is impressed by how evil this twist is.

“Yes, you do,” Minha confirms.

Byungho takes a deep breath and glances at Jinu. Jinu tries to send as much encouragement and reassurance as he can through his eyes.

“I think everyone here is very talented and deserves a chance to debut,” Byungho prefaces carefully. “That being said, there is someone here I don’t want to debut with.

“The trainee I'm pushing out is Chae Seodam.”

There’s loud gasps. Two of the Mirynay members cover their mouths with their hands. Jinu too can barely contain himself from gaping at his friend’s bluntness. Next to him, the guy mentioned is pale as a ghost.

“Chae Seodam-trainee, please leave the auditorium,” Minha announces.

“Wait,” he says, reaching past Jinu to grab Byungho’s mic. “I’ve always treated you well. Tell me the reason why.”

Sensing great television unfolding, one of the staff quickly hands Byungho a new mic. Jinu steps back and watches the drama unfold.

Byungho raises an eyebrow. “Do you want me to tell everyone here?”

“What are you talking about? I thought we were friends,” Seodam says angrily.

“Fine,” Byungho says. “The way you talk about women creeps me out. You keep messaging me over break bragging about your model girlfriend and giving me dating tips I never asked for.”

Jinu glances at the PD sitting on the side, his face beaming like he just won the lottery. An assistant next to him signals at the Mirynay girls.

“Chae Seodam-trainee, please leave the auditorium,” repeats Minha.

Seodam nods, his face red, and leaves with his gaze lowered. A collective breath of relief releases as he exits the room.

“Okay!” The third Mirynay member, Sung Haerin, claps her hand to call for attention. “Let’s reveal the artists for the first mission!”

Chapter Text

“Let’s reveal the artists for the first mission!”

Yulgi yanks the flimsy fabric, revealing twelve artist names printed on individual cards, stuck on in the middle of the wall.

T-Holic
VTIC
Testar
Huntrix
Mirynay
Saint U

“Three boy groups and three girl groups,” Jinu hears Byungho mutter next to him.

“Each trainee will go inside the booth and pick an artist, then go to the other side of the wall. Therefore, you won’t know who your teammates will be before you pick an artist yourself,” Haerin’s face is mischievous as she explains. “Each artist can be picked by a maximum of 12 trainees. After that quota is full, they won’t be an available option anymore.”

Minha speaks next. “We will start from the center. Bae Byungho-trainee, please pick a fellow platinum trainee to choose next before you go in the booth.”

Byungho walks to the front, still looking a bit frazzled. Minha hands him the mic. He manages a smile as he says, “Kang Abby.”

Abby whoops loudly, garnering laughs and breaking some of the tension. He disappears to the booth after picking one of his roommates. Jinu tries not to read too much into it when he ends up being the last platinum trainee to be called forward.

“Kiyotaka Rin,” he calls for his gold badged roommate before he goes into the booth.

Jinu has had ample time to think about which artist to choose. He picks up a card confidently out of the six stacks on the table. The staff inside tells him to say his reasoning to the camera.

Jinu holds his card with two hands, showing what he chooses to the lens. He smiles gently. “I think it would be an honor to perform sunbaenim’s song.”

The staff gives him a thumbs up and lets him walk out to the other half of the set, where the trainees before him have lined up under different artist banners. He joins the one other trainee who has picked Testar before him.

Byungho, standing in the line next to his under the Huntrix banner, looks at him with wide, betrayed eyes. “Hyung!” he whines, unintentionally acting cute. “I thought you were going to pick Huntrix!”

“I already sang one of their songs for my audition,” Jinu points out. People like variation. He masterminded the concept and sound change from Soda Pop to Your Idol for a reason. “Wait. Did you want to team up with me?”

Byungho sighs. “If I knew, I would have picked something else.”

Not a direct admission, but Jinu’s heart warms, still. “You’d kill their raps though,” he says to cheer him up.

The shorter trainee waves him off. Side by side, they watch together as the room fills up. Jinu hugs Rin when the boy joins him under Testar’s banner. Across the room, Abby chats with trainees with similar manly images who also picked VTIC. His team fills their quota first, followed by Huntrix. When the silvers start to trickle in, Romeo chooses Saint U.

By the time it’s the bronzes’ turn, Jinu’s team only has one slot left. He claps politely when a lanky trainee awkwardly walks up to them and fills it. Jinu distantly remembers him as the last trainee to be reevaluated.

Somehow, there’s something about him that has Jinu curious. He wills the floating stats to appear.

Name: Lee Minjung

Singing: A
Dancing: B+
Physical Attractiveness: A
Charm: S
Traits: Daydreamer (B) Busy in their own world. When activated, self immersion +150%.

Jinu frowns. The distribution is different, but those are similar grades to his own. Higher than Byungho or Abby’s, who both got platinum. With stats like these, how did Minjung do so badly he only got bronze? Is there more to- Oh.

Status Abnormality: Stage Fright (Activated)

Deathly afraid of crowds. All stats decrease by 2-5 levels according to audience size.

Jinu winces. Judging from how skittish Minjung is just standing there, the poor kid must be struggling constantly while filming this show, with around 100 people in the room at all times and his every move recorded by cameras. Jinu feels compelled to help him but thinks against it. It will be counter-productive if Minjung ends up on another team. But if they do end up on a team together… This is something Jinu has to fix.

The last person joins the last remaining slot in Saint U, ending the artist selection. The Mirynay girls enter the trainees’ side of the wall with mics and cue cards ready.

“Please look at the back of your cards,” Yulgi announces. The trainees flip their artist cards in confusion. Jinu looks at his, white and empty. “Back in the booth, each stack has been shuffled. Everyone of the same artist, if the back of your card has an Idol Inc. stamp, you are Team A. If it is empty, you are Team B.”

The platinum trainee that joined before him shows him his stamped card. Their line breaks into two.

“I’m so happy we are in the same team, hyung,” Rin says as Team B gathers. Jinu voices his reciprocation. Aside from Rin who is basically a platinum, Jinu has his work cut out for him with three silvers and Minjung. He glances at Team A, which has a platinum and five golds.

A few of the staff wheel in a long table, six clear boxes filled with round capsules on top of it. The trainees stop strategizing to stare. Haerin raises her mic. “Please send one trainee from your team forward to randomly choose the song your team will perform.”

“Anyone want to do it?” Jinu offers. With how unlucky his life has been, he doesn’t want to be the one sent.

Sensing the opportunity for screentime, one of the silvers quickly volunteered themselves. The rest of the team watches as the Mirynay girls guide each team’s representative through the process. Abby does a funny good luck ritual before picking VTIC’s Night Sign, his team cheering with relief as at least it’s not one of VTIC’s mega hit songs. The other VTIC team looks terrified when they get Sangun.

Byungho opens his capsule and glares at Jinu after he reads what’s inside. Jinu almost laughs. He can’t wait to see Byungho’s Hard Candy performance.

Testar teams are next. Team A’s platinum guy picks first: Better Me, which leads to a mini celebration ceremony filled with gun shooting gestures. Jinu’s team representative makes a show of exaggerated facial expressions while rummaging through the box. Desperate, Jinu notes. Silver pulls out Magical Boy, which from the title sounds like a daunting concept to pull off.

Jinu did a lot of research before debuting the Saja Boys, but he was more focused on studying the broad trends than remembering every song he went through. Honestly, they blur together after a while. Except for Huntrix’s discography which he had paid close attention to as a demon, he doesn’t recognize any of these songs— at least not by title.

Jinu looks to his other teammates’ for their reactions. Rin appears determined and Minjung terrified, but they always look like that. The silvers plaster smiles as they clap their hands, which are equally unhelpful. Jinu wonders what kind of song he has to work with.

After everyone gets their songs, the Mirynay girls say goodbye. The staff dismantle the wall and booth so the trainees have the entire room to divide for each group. Testar Team B finds a cozy corner and sits down in a circle. Apparently, the first order of action is picking a leader.

“I nominate Jinu-hyung,” Rin immediately says. Better someone he already knows than the unknown silvers and bronze. He reasons, “Team A’s platinum is leading too.”

It’s true. Across the room, Team A’s platinum is demonstrating a bit of choreography, a round ‘L’ sticker stuck on his chest.

The silvers agree with Rin. “Yeah, you should lead, hyung,” Desperate Silver says. Jinu feels annoyed that this guy is calling him so comfortably when this is their first conversation with each other.

Nevertheless, being able to set the pace will make everything much easier. Jinu makes sure to check on the last member of their team, though. “What do you think, Minjung?”

“I agree,” he softly says, his gaze to the floor. Jinu will have to work on the kid’s eye contact.

“Then it’s settled. Thank you for your trust,” Jinu says. He bows to his teammates’ applause. Rin sticks the leader sticker on his sweater.

Jinu smiles earnestly. “I'll make sure we will have the best performance.”

Chapter Text

Rin operates the device called an iPad, playing Testar’s Magical Boy official music video. It’s a dreamy song, the mood instantly set from the start by the melody of a music box. Testar’s number one, Park Moondae, opens the song with his crystal clear vocals. The deep house beat was trendy at the time and not so much now, but the production sounds expensive enough that it doesn’t come off as old fashioned.

The song is not hard to sing. The chorus is bright but not too high, and the bridge is in a low tone. One of the highlights is a melodic rap, which can be tricky to pull off but still doable.

The problem lies in matching the quality. This being Testar’s debut song makes comparison easy. Their direct seniors also went through the trials and tribulations of Idol Inc. before releasing this song not even a year after they auditioned. They have a standard to live up to, and as expected of one of the nation’s top boy groups, that bar is very high.

Jinu holds his team’s part assignment sheet. He looks at his members and takes inventory of what he has to work with. For vocals he is the strongest, with Minjung at full stats just behind him. Rin is an all rounder but is best in dance. One of the silvers is a rapper, while another has a pleasant deep voice but not remarkable at anything. Desperate prides himself as a vocalist, though his dancing is better than his pitch.

“I want the opening part,” he says.

Jinu hums. “Let’s all try it. The opening is the most important part. We have to nail it to successfully set the tone for the entire song.”

Rin, sharp as a tack, quickly agrees. “We should pick the parts based on who suits it most.”

Desperate is clearly annoyed, but with the other silvers nodding along he has no choice but to follow. Jinu winces when he starts singing off pitch.

Rap Silver declines trying. He has no interest in the opening and says he wants the rap verse, which no one contests. Deep Silver tries out next. Though he sounds fine, his tone doesn’t fit the part. Jinu offers him the bridge instead, which he happily accepts.

Rin’s voice is clear and stable. He did the best so far, but it’s still not right. “I sound too plain,” he says, self-aware. What a refreshing guy.

Of course, Jinu’s singing is perfect. He finishes to the praise of Rin and the two less desperate silvers. Jinu doesn’t really want this part, though.

“Minjung, it’s your turn,” he nudges the boy.

Minjung flinches, snapped out from whatever daydream he was having. Still not meeting anyone’s eyes, he frowns. “You should take the part, Jinu-sshi.”

“You can call me hyung,” Jinu allows the respectful kid, but doesn’t take his suggestion. “I want to hear your version, though. Everyone sang it differently, so just try your best.”

The younger trainee nods slowly, closes his eyes, and starts singing. A sweet and airy voice, with vibrato at the right places. The voice is a bit thin—Jinu checks Minjung’s stats and sure enough, the status abnormality is active and lowered his singing skill to B, even with only five other trainees and a few cameras surrounding him. He still sounds amazing, though. More than that, he 100% suits the part.

He also sounds familiar. Jinu narrows his eyes and raises one hand over them, like he is going to rub off the peach eyeshadow the show’s makeup artist put on him that morning. In reality, he is obscuring the top half of Minjung’s face, imagining silver long bangs in its place.

Oh.

Feeling significantly more awake and stupid, Jinu robotically claps his hand along with everyone else on the team, even Desperate.

“That was amazing! I think I like yours the most,” Rap Silver says, which Deep Silver quickly seconds. Rin looks impressed and throws his vote to Minjung, too. Jinu can only smile at the boy-who-used-to-be-Mystery’s reddening face.

“I think we are all in agreement,” Jinu says, writing ‘Lee Minjung’ for the opening part slot. After further discussions, he writes Minjung for the ending too. Rin gets the prechorus and Jinu the chorus, while Deep and Desperate share the verses.

“Now that that’s done,” Jinu says, standing up, “let’s start learning the choreography. C’mon, we have a lot to do before the trainers check on us tomorrow.”

They stand in a line facing the dance trainer, sweat dripping from their temples. Rin did a great job teaching the choreography. No one missed any major moves when they showcased it, which is already more than Jinu expected after only a day of practice.

The trainer sighs. “You memorized the choreography, but you were not telling a story. There was no intent, no energy,” he says, staring them all down. He glances at his clipboard before he points with his pen. “The center for the beginning and ending— Minjung.”

The boy’s head snaps up. “Y-yes?”

“You were looking down the entire time,” the trainer scolds. “The opening lyric is talking to the audience, but you didn’t make eye contact even once. It doesn't matter how good your dancing and singing are if the message of the song is not delivered.

“Cha Jinu, you are the leader for this team?”

Jinu's impeccable posture straightens up even more. “Yes.”

“Think about the details. What’s your vision for this song? From your fingertips to the tips of your toes. Expressions, the emotions. How you interact with each other in the dance, what you want to convey to the audience,” the trainer advises. “Fix it before the next dance class.”

Jinu bows and thanks him, his teammates following his lead. They walk out of the room solemnly.

“It’s almost lunchtime. Go take a break, guys,” he says. He needs to gain some energy back too. The silvers break off from the group to get to the dining hall early, while Rin excuses himself to get something from the dorms. Minjung stays, standing awkwardly.

“Do you want to come with me?” Jinu asks. The boy nods, so Jinu puts an arm around his shoulders and guides him to a place Byungho talked about last night. Apparently Abby discovered it on the first day of filming after missing one too many turns trying to find the restroom. A blindspot room, with no cameras or mics.

It’s clearly a storage space, a shoebox of a room with no windows and filled with miscellaneous items. A bit cramped and dusty from disuse, but one of the lights still works. Surprisingly, Byungho and Abby are already there, sitting on a broken chair and leaning on a discarded desk, respectively.

“I thought you would still be at practice,” Jinu says, closing the door behind Minjung. The Huntrix and VTIC teams haven’t had their classes yet, as they’re scheduled to see the trainers in the evening.

“And I thought I told you to come alone,” Byungho hisses with a pointed look at the boy that came with Jinu.

“Minjung is cool, don’t worry about it,” he assures. Being a fellow ex-Saja Boy is enough credentials, and it’s not like Minjung of all people would blab to anyone. He barely talks as it is. “I vouch for him.”

Byungho scowls but Abby just shrugs. “Our team leaders dismissed us for lunch early. Mine was hungry, while Byungho’s probably sensed his homicidal urges rising and decided to let him go before he killed anyone.”

“Death would be a mercy for them,” Byungho mumbles under his breath. Jinu can feel Minjung shivering with fright without being physically in contact with him.

“People call me over the top, but this guy is the real drama king,” Abby says with a smile, pinching his labelmate’s cheek. He laughs when he gets a cat-like hiss in reply. “How about you, Minjung-sshi? Is Jinu-hyung a hardass?”

The boy looks surprised at being addressed. “No, hyung has been really nice,” he says.

“That’s good.” Abby nods. “Hey, how old are you anyway?”

“Oh, I’m 20.”

The muscular 18-year-old beams. “You’re a hyung too, then!”

Jinu frowns and raises a hand. “Wait. Why did you perform last on reevaluations if you’re not, like, 15 or something?”

Minjung looks away with his cheeks red. “I got so nervous I was throwing up in the restroom when my turn came, so they slotted me back in at the end.”

“That sucks,” Byungho says. “Your voice is actually super nice. In your audition, you said you have been playing the piano for 12 years, right?” Minjung nods. “Be more confident. You’re a lot better than some of the idiots on my team.”

“Byungho doesn’t compliment just anyone, so you must be really good, hyung,” Abby says.

“He is,” Jinu says. Can raising his self confidence cure his status abnormality? Jinu checks Minjung’s floating stats and is disappointed by ‘Stage Fright’ still being active. Unlike ‘Debut or Die’, Minjung’s blaring red status has no indication that it can be removed. Is it permanent?

Minjung looks down to his hands pressing together. “I feel fine when it’s just me in a room, singing and dancing or playing the piano alone. But when other people look at me, I feel so anxious. Crowds are even worse.”

Abby furrows his eyebrows. “Are you afraid of other people judging you?”

Jinu expects Minjung to nod, but he shakes his head instead. “No, it’s more like… I don’t like being seen. It feels like needles on my skin.”

“Then why be an idol?” Byungho asks. It’s harsh, but it’s a fair question.

“I love performing,” Minjung says. “My mother took me to a Kpop concert once, when I was little. I liked how the stadium filled with the fans’ energy.”

Now it’s Byungho’s turn to frown. “Then maybe you just need to be more delusional.”

“Byungho!” Abby snaps.

His labelmate ignores him and keeps talking. “You’re already delusional as a baseline, wanting to be an idol and joining this crazy show when you have acute social anxiety,” he says. “Then why not go a mile further? Just pretend no one is watching you.”

Minjung’s trait, Daydreamer, clicks in Jinu’s brain. “What Byungho means is that, maybe, you should just focus 100% on the song. Immerse yourself in it until you can’t feel people’s gazes on you anymore.”

Minjung tilts his head. “Immerse myself?”

“Yes,” Jinu says. “The dance trainer’s advice. Your vision of what the song is. What you are conveying with your singing and dancing.”

Abby relents. “That’s not a bad idea. Basically get in the zone,” he finishes in English.

“Like I said, be delusional,” Byungho says, wanting to have the last word.

Minjung looks thoughtful. “Thanks for the advice,” he says with a small smile. “You high-rankers are friendlier than I thought you would be.”

“No, I eat souls for breakfast. Be scared of me,” Byungho deadpans, almost giving Jinu a heart attack. Then a loud gurgling growl sounds through the room.

“Maybe scary on a full stomach,” Jinu teases. Byungho gets up from the broken chair, his face flushed. Minjung covers his mouth and giggles. Abby laughs as he flicks off the lightswitch and closes the door of the secret room behind them.

Chapter Text

“AAAAAHH!!”

Rumi and Mira jump up from their spot at the couch and kick open Zoey’s room, materialized weapons in hand. Instead of a demon that somehow broke through the Honmoon and ambushed their maknae, they find her squealing and jumping at her phone.

Rumi sighs. “Zoey…” She disperses her sword back to the threads, Mira doing the same with her polearm.

The black haired girl turns to them excitedly. “I just won the lottery!”

“The lottery?” Mira’s eyes almost bulge out. That’s a lot more crazy than a surprise demon attack.

Zoey nods excitedly. “Idol Inc.’s first team match audience lottery,” she explains, eyes sparkling. “I can’t believe they picked me! There were so many entries!”

“Wha- You can’t go! Someone could see you,” Mira says.

Zoey brushes off her concern. “Relax, I applied with my Korean name and I’ll use a disguise! No one will know.”

Rumi is still stuck at the beginning. “...There was an audience lottery? You will see Jinu?”

“I sent the application link to the group chat,” their youngest points out.

Mira sighs. “You send a gazillion things to the group chat, Zo.”

“So you mean… I could have seen him earlier than as the third mission guest judge,” Rumi says slowly.

Her friends turn and look at her with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Rumi,” Zoey says. “You can have my ticket, if you want.”

“She can’t, these things will verify your ID,” Mira points out. “Sure, maybe if Rumi disguises herself enough-”

Huntrix’s leader takes a deep breath and exhales. She unclenches her fists. “It’s fine, guys. I can wait a few more weeks. You go have fun, Zoey.”

Their youngest smiles sadly. “Alright. You can always enter the second mission lottery when it opens.” Her smile turns cheeky. “That's why you guys should click on the links I send you.”

Rumi and Mira glance at each other, lips twitching upwards. “No promises.”

Bobby drops her off in front of the filming studio, a crowd already by the doors even though she made sure to come early. Her bandmates helped her get ready; Rumi styled her brown wig while Mira picked out the most nondescript clothes possible. She needs all the anonymity she can get, since she’s bound to stand out with her very sparkly, very inconspicuous LED Mystery sign. She spent the last week DIY-ing the thing using Youtube tutorials on the floor in front of the couch and her bandmates judgemental stares.

“Who are you here for?” A girl with a Bae Byungho decorated fan asks as they wait in front of the stage, waiting for the filming to start.

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked.” Zoey beams and flips her sign to the right-side out. “He’s my one-pick!”

“Wow, that’s… shiny,” the girl says, impressed. “He's an obscure one. I should keep an eye on him. I’m Kim Yewon.”

“I’m Shin Jooeun!” Zoey says. She can’t believe she is making friends already. All while spreading her Mystery-agenda, too!

They chat a bit more until the stage lights come on and the host steps out onto the stage. He’s the same guy they’ve had in previous Idol Inc. seasons, the non celebrity host with the obnoxious fake smile the fandom hates. He opens with the usual pleasantries before the show starts and he starts reading from his cue cards. Zoey almost jumps out of her skin when he announces the Huntrix teams are performing first.

“A girl group, and at that, Huntrix? It’s going to be tough for the contestants,” Yewon whispers next to her. Zoey doesn’t think she has a big ego but she has to agree. Their songs, especially Rumi’s high notes, are notoriously difficult to pull off. There’s a reason why this is the first time their songs are being performed on a survival show, even though they have been popular for a few years now.

The trainees enter the stage. Zoey and her newfound friend gasp when they see Baby. He bows and does aegyo obediently as the host leads the introductions. His team is performing first. Their song is Hard Candy, one of Huntrix’s older songs. Zoey grins. Mira absolutely hates it. It’s going to be a blast when they watch the episode together at home!

She can’t help but cringe as the trainees sing the equally cringy lyrics. Their gestures and techniques are amateur, and the adapted girl group dance doesn’t help. Maybe the trainees should have changed the concept into something more bearable instead of keeping the summer vibes with the sailor school uniforms.

Zoey looks forward to her part, though, an entire rap second verse that surely Baby will cover. Sure enough, he doesn’t disappoint. The audience screams when the others part to let him take over the stage with his deep voice. He hits each syllable cleanly, projecting Huntrix’s coolness rather than overfilling the song with cuteness like the other trainees did. Hard Candy is very different from the badass music Huntrix likes to release these days, but that does not mean that it necessarily has a cute concept. The lyrics are still about fighting demons, after all. Out of his team, Baby is the only one who connects with the lines he is spitting.

The audience visibly winces when the main vocalist’s voice cracks as he tries to hit the climactic high note. He keeps a disappointed face until the end of the song, then cries about it at the post-performance interview. Zoey only votes for Baby using the device the staff handed out, as the later team’s performance misses the mark even more.

“Not really a good start,” she comments.

Yewon nods. “Only Byungho did good, everyone else was playing catch up with the song.”

The next to perform are the T-Holic teams. The modern twist to their classic songs are entertaining, but none of the trainees stand out to Zoey. Continuing with another older group, Saint U teams perform next. The first team does a sexy concept, while the second team goes the dreamy route. One of their vocalists impresses Zoey enough to press vote.

“How many people have you voted for?” Yewon asks her as they wait for the next teams to come in.

“Two."

Yewon raises her eyebrows. “Wow, you must have high standards. I’ve voted for at least one guy in every team so far.”

“Ah.” Zoey can’t help her professional insight. Flaws stick out to her more than the average viewer. “I guess so. Oh look, VTIC teams are performing next!”

The first VTIC team performs Night Sign in dark colored suits, their hair slicked back and styled with gel. Overall, they do a decent enough job technically, but Abby completely steals the show when a button from his jacket pops off, revealing his sculpted shirtless body beneath, all in one particularly strong raised arm movement. Shrieks ring all throughout the audience. Zoey’s eyes metaphorically turn into popcorn for her to feast on.

In the aftermath, Abby sheepishly wraps up his body as the host jokes the stylist might have planned this— as Abby is the only member of his team to not have gotten a shirt on underneath.

Zoey’s brain is still too fried to process anything when Team B performs. Honestly, she does not remember a thing. They are wearing traditional clothes though, so maybe their song was Sangun? She shrugs. Team A will surely win by a landslide anyway.

Mirynay teams are next, an artist which stands out like a sore thumb next to the other veteran top groups already covered, but that is just the perks of being an Idol Inc. alumni. Zoey will bet all her money on the last teams covering Testar.

Both Mirynay teams are visibly uncomfortable performing girl group songs. The first team is awkward, while the second overcompensates by doing too much flourish that does not fit the song.

In hindsight, the Saint U teams might have done the best out of the three girl group teams. Huntrix teams were not terrible, they just shot themselves in the foot by choosing the hardest girl group of the three to pull off. Between them, the Mirynay teams also seem the least skilled. Maybe they have a lot of low grade trainees?

After hours of filming, some of the audience are tired, but no one dares to walk to the back to take a break. The production team is smart to have saved the most anticipated team for last. The screams are the loudest of the day when the Testar teams come in, squealing and shouting specifically when Jinu struts onto the stage.

Zoey herself shrieks when she sees Mystery on the same team next to him. She raises and holds up her Lee Minjung sign from where she had it resting against her legs. Jinu spots her immediately, then taps Minjung's shoulder to show him. Minjung stops staring at his shoes and looks at the blaring LED sign with his name and face on it in surprise. He waves his hand with a shy smile. Zoey squeals.

The Cha Jinu fangirls double their effort to get their signs noticed by Jinu. A consummate professional, he bows his head towards each of them with a smile sweet enough to make Rumi jealous.

“Ew.”

Zoey reluctantly looks away from Mystery with a jerk of her head. “You don’t like Jinu?”

Yewon scowls. “Don’t let his looks fool you. My friend works at Huntrix’s apartment building and she said he is a Rumi sasaeng.”

Zoey can’t believe her ears. “What?”

“Yeah. He went all the way there to meet her, even lied that she was his friend,” Yewon says.

“Maybe it’s a misunderstanding…?” The rapper tries to salvage Jinu’s reputation. She hasn’t seen this story posted online, at least. Maybe it’s not real, but she needs to tell Rumi ASAP either way. “I think we shouldn’t assume things until we hear the full story.”

Yewon rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I just hope Byungho wins number one at the end.”

Before they can talk further, the lights dim and the instrumental for Better Me starts playing. Team A is wearing camouflage and parts of shooting gear, the screen behind them showing scenes from a cyberpunk wasteland. Zoey admits they are pretty good. They clearly practiced a lot to nail the powerful choreography. Their vocals aren’t as good as their dancing, though. The main vocalist strains when he tries to reach Park Moondae’s high notes, and their center is a pale imitation of Cha Eugene. They still finish their stage cleanly.

The main event is next. The staff hurry to set the props and adjust the fog machine. Chatter turns to silence as a music box begins to play and purple lights shine on the foggy dark stage. A spotlight reveals Mystery (!!) standing in the center, the rest of the Team B trainees surrounding him while crouching, arms intertwined.

Mystery opens his mouth. “I will meet you tomorrow~ I’ve been thinking about it all day,” he sings, looking straight at the audience, straight at Zoey. She feels so much euphoria she doesn't know if she is still breathing, her body prioritizing keeping the sign up instead.

He looks up towards the ceiling, his eyes melancholic. “Have a dream, blue as the day~”

The background screen changes to a sunny blue sky with the lyrics, in time for the fog to disperse and the lights turning a normal color. The stage suddenly looks bright as Mystery finishes his intro and they transition into the first verse.

The trainees that sing next sound a bit shaky, but they were passable considering their skill level— something that can only be attributed to Jinu’s iron fist rule. The blond trainee singing the prechorus dances the best and deservedly has a lot of time in the center.

“Cast a spell~ Make a wish come true, true, true,” Jinu croons, perfectly hitting all the notes. “Dive into the future quietly~”

He repeats the chorus, his pleasant voice filling the studio. Zoey sees a few girls tear up. The entire team moves as one unit, enhancing whoever is singing or rapping. The dark background and lone spotlight comes back briefly for the bridge, before the song explodes back into the final chorus.

“Cast a spell~ Make a dream come true, true, true,” Mystery sings the closing lines, Jinu echoing and harmonizing in the background. The formation reverses into the one at the start, with everyone’s arms intertwined and Mystery standing alone, reaching his hand up towards the spotlight.

“Fall into the dream, blue~”

There is a beat of silence before the audience erupts in applause. Each trainee looks into the camera for their ending fairy moment, except for Mystery who holds his final pose and stays like that until Jinu half-hugs him, jerking him back into reality. He looks surprised by the applause and shouts for an encore. Zoey screams his human name hoarse and shakes her sign above her head.

The trainees line up and bow before the host comes back with Team A. Both teams say their final pieces, giving pleading looks while the audience votes. After that, the host quickly wraps up the show.

The crowd is still buzzing with excitement as the staff instructs them to leave the venue in an orderly fashion. Some run out to catch the bus, while others hang around to chat with the other fans.

“Your pick did amazing,” Yewon says as they exit the building together. “I think I’m becoming a fan. Byungho is still my number one, but I’m going to buy Minjung’s stock too.”

“Ah!! Thank you so much, he’s so underrated that I worry for the first elimination,” Zoey says.

“Don’t worry. He will rise after that performance,” Yewon assures. “He will probably get lots of screentime for the mission preparation too, since he was chummy with Cha Jinu.”

“See?” The disguised idol says. “Jinu can’t be that bad.”

Yewon scoffs. “Maybe if Byungho likes him, then I’d change my mind.”

Zoey giggles. Jinu and Baby? She has no idea.