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 2
Summary:
Meeting a top idol is a lot harder when you are just some random guy.
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 3
Summary:
Season 5 of Idol Inc. starts. Enter Jinu, and some other familiar faces.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.
Notes:
So I decided to feature season 5! This means that it will be completely different than the season 5 in the novel. For manhwa readers, don't worry, I won't use the two prominent characters from this season of Idol Inc. so this fic will (mostly) be spoiler-free.
Chapter 4
Summary:
Jinu comes to terms with the inevitable Saja Boys reunion. Meanwhile, auditions wrap up and the theme song is revealed.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.”
Notes:
Okay, some choices had to be made in this chapter. I hope I did okay with injecting some life into the boys.
Honestly I'm writing as I go, everything is based on vibes lol. Your comments have helped me through this so thank you very much!!
Chapter 5
Summary:
From reevaluations to theme song filming, sprinkled with a bit of Saja angst.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.
Notes:
I will finally get to write Rumi POV next chapter 😭
Chapter 6
Summary:
Back to the start of the timeline reset, Huntrix POV.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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?”
Notes:
I'm sorry for the cliffhanger but I can't fit Jinu in this chapter haha...
Square Up styling and concept is based on AOA Heart Attack! A fun and flirty, not so badass sports concept.
Chapter 7
Summary:
Huntrix watches the Idol Inc. Season 5 theme song.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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?”
Notes:
One more Rumi chapter before we go back to Jinu!
Chapter 8
Summary:
Rumi can't sleep and ends up poking her head into the rabbit hole.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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 1043These 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.
- Bae Byungho
[Byunghoaegyo.jpg]
[Byunghofull.jpg]
Center + Aegyo + Surprisingly mature body- Cha Jinu
[Chajinushoulder.jpg]
[Chajinufull.jpg]
Crazy crazy handsome- Kang Abby
[Fatherwink.jpg]
[Fatherburstingjacket.jpg]
Hot foreigner (My personal favorite)
2923👍|👎334
- [+827, -5]
Bulk buying Cha Jinu’s stocks- [+601, -43]
OP-yah you have taste- [+544, -2]
This season is already fun ㅋㅋ can’t wait for it to air- [+438, -39]
God combination- [+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
- [+565, -4]
Hurry up and debut- [+441, -28]
He should be the final number one- [+397, -2]
How come such a handsome and talented kid have to be in such a shabby place- [+384, -0]
F*ck Idol Inc. you got me again- [+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.
Notes:
We go back to the regular programming (Jinu) next chapter ^^
Chapter 9
Summary:
Jinu's brief break and back to Idol Inc. for the first mission filming.
Notes:
Mild Debut or Die Novel Spoiler Warning:
I borrowed some happenings and one character that did appear in the novel (Chapter 272, if you wanna read it), but I didn't include the two important things revealed in that arc. Still pretty spoiler-free in my book, but a warning just in case!
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 10
Summary:
The trainees divide into groups for the first team mission.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.”
Notes:
And so it begins! For manhwa readers, there will be minor novel spoilers for the concept of Testar's Better Me. I won't go into the details, though!
Chapter 11
Summary:
Testar Team B prepares for their performance.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.
Notes:
Yes, I did struggle on this chapter lol. I hope it's okay.
The performances are next chapter!
Chapter 12
Summary:
Someone wins an audience spot to watch the first team match.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
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.
Notes:
Probably will be the last chapter for a while— until I figure out the Idol Inc. timeline lol
Chapter 13: Interlude: Park Moondae
Summary:
Park Moondae wakes up in the past. Again.
Notes:
MAJOR DEBUT OR DIE NOVEL SPOILER WARNINGS. I recommend you skip this chapter if you haven't read the Debut or Die novel at least upto chapter 300. Manhwa readers beware!
Moondae will appear again in the story, this is just a little interlude of how he is handling the situation on his end. As always, I will note spoilers if I have to write them in.
Chapter Text
When Park Moondae wakes up four years in the past, he takes all of 15 minutes checking the date, status window, and the memories of each of his members—none of them remembers—before deciding, fuck this. He turns off his phone and goes back to sleep.
“Moondae,” Chungwoo shakes him awake almost an hour later. “VTIC Cheongryeo-sunbaenim came here looking for you. Should I tell him to come back later?”
Moondae sighs. At least that answers the question of who else is in this. “I’ll meet him.”
He grabs his phone and throws on a hat and jacket. VTIC’s leader is standing at the door, looking somehow put together even though he is the one who rushed to the Testar dorms at ass o’clock in the morning.
“The actor refused to let me in, by the way,” he says in lieu of a greeting.
“Sejin-hyung is a smart and sensible man,” Moondae says. His senior snorts. Together, they walk to Cheongryeo’s apartment, since freaking out in a cafe somewhere will probably put them in the news.
“No one else remembers?” he asks when they both have settled on the couch.
“Not even Ahyeon,” Moondae confirms. “And since my status window is back, Keundal is also…”
“I see,” Cheongryeo says.
“Weirdly enough, my Status Abnormality is deactivated,” Moondae informs, “which means I don’t have a time limit to figure this out. Silver linings.”
“The system sent us back and then possessed someone else,” the ex-regressor summarised. “Have you checked on your friend?”
“Gold 2? No, I just woke up.” Bzzt, bzzt. Moondae takes out his phone. “He just messaged me: HYUNG MINE IS DEACTIVATED I AM FREE. FUCK GOING ON IDOL INC FOR THE THIRD TIME.”
“Then it really did hop on a fourth person,” Cheongryeo says. “If they are anything like you two, we’ll know who they are in a few weeks when Idol Inc. airs.”
Testar’s main vocalist nods. “After we find them, we can force the system to put us back in the last timeline. I don’t know how you did it, just thinking of reliving the same life again makes me want to kill myself.”
Cheongryeo smiles in a way that makes him look like the serial killer he is. “I did that, once. Doing that just made me reset again, of course, so I didn’t see the merit of trying again.”
A ball of white fluff skitters into the room, careening into Moondae’s leg. He picks the dog up and sets it on his lap, where it yawns and goes back to sleep.
“At least there’s still Kongi,” Cheongryeo says, with a softness only reserved for his beloved dog.
“He has the right idea too,” Moondae says, carding through soft fur with one hand. With the other, he sends a message to the Testar group chat. He closes his eyes. “I’m borrowing your couch. It really is too damn early.”
Chapter 14
Summary:
Huntrix watches episode 1 together.
Notes:
Double update! In case you can't read the interlude, here's an actual chapter ^^
By far this chapter was the hardest to write, as I didn't want to repeat too much.
Chapter Text
The first episode of Idol Inc. Season 5 airs on a Friday night, a 3-hour special on Tnet. The three huntresses sit on their couch in pajamas, blanket over their feet and mountains of food ready on the coffee table. Zoey is holding a new Mystery sign she created just for this occasion, simpler than the LED one with just copious amounts of glitter.
Rumi chews a handful of popcorn robotically. Anxiety builds in her stomach. The night Zoey came home from the first team match, she told them about the rumors she heard from another fan. They called Bobby and had him confirm the story with the building’s staff manager. With an apology from the receptionist and a promise not to keep them in the dark about suspicious fans next time, the matter is pretty much solved— for now. Rumi couldn’t reveal her relationship with Jinu, so there’s not much they can do. She has prepared a statement already in the event the story leaks into the discussion pages, but that’s really a problem for Future Rumi.
Jinu coming to visit her the very night of the time travel confirms a few things. First, he did travel back in time with memories of the previous lifetime. Second, he is not a demon anymore. Demon Jinu could have skipped the front desk and poof onto her balcony, or at least jumped up there with supernatural athleticism. Somehow, Jinu came back as a normal human.
For whatever reason, he also decided to participate in the most controversial idol survival show in the country. Why the rest of his demon posse are also in the program is unknown. Zoey is convinced they are also human, though. She has searched them up on the internet and found living records, like audition videos posted years ago or currently inactive Instagram accounts. There’s Facebook pictures posted by Abby’s mom of a family trip to Hawaii, his middle school yearbook photo being circulating online, not to mention goofy screenshotted snaps his American friends shared on Twitter. They found active accounts of Baby’s older sisters, one a dentist and the other a photographer. Mystery’s parents are even prolific classical musicians. After combing through the 77 trainees listed on TNet’s website, they are pretty sure Romance is Park Romeo, who posts song covers on his Youtube channel. The only one without any online presence is Jinu, whose past is like a ghost’s. Rumi bets that it's just him being chronically offline, though.
Her hand fidgets on the blanket, wishing she has something solid to hold on to, like a mic or a sword. She refuses to hold the Cha Jinu hand fan Zoey got as a freebie, though. The resident maknae stayed a few hours too long chatting with fellow fans outside the venue after the first team match, including the legion of Cha Jinu fans there. When she told them her roommate was a huge fan who didn’t manage to get a ticket, they kindly stuffed her arms with freebies to take home.
It’s ridiculous, but Rumi didn’t have the heart to throw the items away. She totally didn’t put up a poster or two on the walls of her bedroom.
“Ooh, it’s starting!” Zoey says, as the water purifier ad ends and the screen shows a still brief disclaimer. The girls straighten a bit and pay attention.
The show starts with a montage of the previous successful seasons, culminating in 'Who will be next?’ over dramatic music. The 77 trainees enter the venue, faces in awe as they see the stage setup. In front of the stage is the judges' panel and then the pyramid of ranked seats.
“They just reuse the same set every year,” Mira says.
Rumi shrugs. “Why fix something if it’s not broken?”
The host, Youngrin, and the trainers enter the venue together, to the enthusiastic applause of the contestants. After a brief introduction and encouraging words, the auditions finally start.
The girls sit through several performances ranging from underwhelming to alright. No one has wowed the judges yet, and everyone is getting bored.
Then, like an angel coming down from the heavens to answer everyone’s prayers, Cha Jinu walks onto the stage.
Rumi gasps. She has lost count how many times she has streamed his Dreaming High fancam, but Jinu, alive and whole, still takes her breath away. He is still as beautiful as the first time she met him in that alleyway. A bit more boyish, a lightness to his shoulders that was not there before.
He introduces himself before it cuts to a confessional shot.
'Self- taught Independent Trainee, Cha Jinu'
Jinu: Due to personal circumstances, I never had the chance to audition for a company before.
Off Camera Interviewer: Why did you join Idol Inc.?
Jinu: An Idol Inc. staff scouted me on the bus ten days ago. I felt it was fate, so I prepared hard as soon as I got home.
'How will his performance be?'
A familiar tune starts to play, a backtrack Huntrix knows too well. Blood drains from Rumi’s face.
Mira stands indignantly, pointing at the TV. “Don’t tell me he’s singing-”
"You’re so sweet, you’re so tasty~
Don’t make this hard and nasty, boy~
Like hard candy, I crush on you~"
“Rumi, I’m sorry,” Mira says, “but I have to kill your boyfriend.”
Rumi is too struck by horror and fascination to register what her friend just said. She watches Jinu execute a complicated little hip turn before belting her high note perfectly.
“Oh my god, I never knew I needed to see Jinu covering us!” Zoey gushes, clapping her hand on her Mystery sign. “Do you think he watched the music video? You look so cute there, Rumi!”
“He did this on purpose,” the purple haired girl says as soon as her voice works again.
“He wants your attention so bad,” Mira agrees.
They watch the judges assign Jinu to sit at the very top of the pyramid. The next couple performances were a blur. The editing frames it as 'Will there be someone who can steal Jinu’s number one ranking?', a montage of trainees failing one after another.
Romance suspect, Park Romeo, is highlighted a bit there for his humble 2000-something Youtube channel subscribers. He has the same heart shaped face as the flirtatious demon, but his demeanor makes the girls question their hypothesis.
Rumi narrows her eyes. “Why does he act like…”
“A loser?” Mira suggests.
“That’s mean, but yeah, well,” the main vocalist tries to find the right words, “he’s just so… awkward.”
“My confidence would be shot too with that bowlcut,” the pink haired girl snarks.
“His skills aren’t as good as before, maybe he’s nervous?” Zoey wonders. “It could be because he’s physically younger now, but the others don’t have as much of a gap.”
Mira shrugs. “Maybe we got the wrong guy.”
The other girls agree. It’s only episode one. There’s plenty of time to watch the guy interact with the sure Saja Boys before coming to a conclusion.
Speaking of other Saja Boys, the narrative culminates in the form of two trainees from Onyx Entertainment. As the familiar figures walk up to the stage, the screen cuts into footage of their respective backstories. Confessional interviews set in their company’s practice room, clips of Baby in the middle of composing a song, pictures of Abby in America.
“Wow, production must really like them,” Rumi observes. They got the most in-depth edit so far, even compared to trainees from bigger companies. Onyx is mid-tier, at best, producing more solo artists than anything, usually of the alt or hip hop genre.
Their performance doesn't disappoint, even with Abby’s minor mistake. The show cuts to commercials before revealing their ranks. When it’s finally announced, the edit adds a lot of replays to Baby’s shocked and then crying face.
“Do you think he deserved to dethrone Jinu?” Zoey asks.
“Well, he did sing the better song,” Mira says. “Composing his own must have been the thing that put him over the edge.”
“Hard Candy isn’t that bad,” their maknae defends, “it’s catchy!”
“That’s the problem,” Mira groans. “It takes me forever to get rid of it from my head every time we do a concert, and now I have to endure it sung by Jinu?”
“We will stop putting it in our setlists this year, at least. I think the Waterbomb Hard Candy–Square Up–Wave Lines summer medley will be the last time we perform it,” Rumi recalls to console her.
“Oh yeah, festival season is coming up-” Zoey stops talking as the show wraps up the audition phase, panning to all 77 participants seated on the chair pyramid. “Wait, it can’t be over. They didn’t give Mystery a single second of screentime!”
“Brutal,” Mira quips. She checks her phone. It’s been almost three hours since the episode started. On screen, they are wrapping up by playing the trainees the song they have to learn for reevaluations. Their expressions range from nervous to confident as they watch the choreography guide video on the LED screen. The segment ends with a close-up of Baby’s face and the caption 'How will he defend his center position?', before the camera zooms out to include Jinu in the shot, framing a brewing rivalry.
The screen cuts to the Dreaming High official video, airing on TV for the second time. Rumi has it memorized by the frame with how much she has seen it. With the new information, Jinu’s shoulder wipe hits her even harder. It’s so blatant. He is so stupid, she wants to punch him in the gut and kiss the smirk off his face.
They show the week one rankings next. As there are still two more episodes and an entire team mission until eliminations, week one standings don’t actually mean anything. Predictably, Jinu and Baby are rank 1 and 2, though.
“To be honest, I’d be surprised if anyone manages to knock Jinu off first place until the end,” Mira says.
“That’s what everyone thought about Cha Eugene!” reminds Zoey. “He ended up second in the finals, and even got third place once!”
“Yeah, but that’s due to external factors like Park Moondae’s past and the hate voting minus points,” Mira argues. Rumi giggles to herself at how immersed her friend is, even though she likes to act unphased.
“As long as they behave, Jinu and Baby are locks to debut. Abby looks promising too,” Rumi says.
“Behave, huh.” Mira turns off the TV after it finishes showing next week’s previews. Lots of sweat and tears for reevaluations. Fun. “Let’s see if he gets into any more trouble after the sasaeng allegations.”
Chapter 15
Summary:
Social media reactions for episode 1.
Notes:
Bonus chapter because I couldn't fit this into the narrative of the last chapter lol
Chapter Text
Cha Jinu Seriously (892)
Views 305341 | Recommendations 1044
[Chajinusingep1.jpg]
[Chajinuhardcandyturn.gif]
[Chajinueseat1.jpg]
He’s a main vocal ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Where are the kids who were swearing at him, assuming he can’t sing just because he’s handsome? Go buy his stocks as apology, you punks
2509👍|👎52
- [+1565, -14]
Genius-dol - [+1041, -25]
But he really is the best vocalist in the show ㅋㅋㅋ - [+876, -11]
Because of his face I was ready to defend him if he sucks, but it turns out I have nothing to worry about - [+784, -2]
First Moondae and now Cha Jinu. Idol Inc. has the best scouts in the country lol how did you find these kids?? - [+465, -237]
Are the trainers blind? Only Youngrin has sense. Cha Jinu should have been number one
Bae Byungho deserved it (632)
Views 85341 | Recommendations 557
[Byunghocomposing1.jpg]
[Byunghocomposing2.gif]
[Byunghoaudition.gif]
[Onyxtraineesaudition.gif]
He performed an original song he composed himself and did it perfectly.
[Byunghorap.gif]
He is good at aegyo but his low tone rapping is totally cool, a total reversal
Cha Jinu was good, but isn’t Bae Byungho also deserving?
[Byunghocrying.gif]
Byunghoseat1.jpg]
Look at him cry. Stop with the hate, he had no control of his rank. This cutie didn’t expect number 1 at all
1709👍|👎327
- [+865, -24]
He is my type… cutie rapper with a deep voice… Byungho-yah noona will buy your stocks - [+621, -13]
His song is really good. I hope he releases it - [+548, -111]
Maknae composer rapper from the same agency as a Korean-American main dancer… Idol Inc. is just reusing their script from Season 3 - [+421, -56]
Their positions don’t even overlap. Cha Jinu and Bae Byungho, let’s debut together - [+365, -332]
It’s only been 1 episode but the Cha Jinu fans are already f*cking annoying
My pick didn’t get even 1 second (18)
Views 469 | Recommendations 6
[Cryingmeme.jpg]
I sat down for 3 hours just to get nothing. F*ck Idol Inc.
59👍|👎1
- [+25, -0]
I feel you OP - [+24, -0]
F*ck Idol Inc. - [+20, -16]
They spent 10 minutes waxing poetry about Cha Jinu while my kid got 2 seconds f*ck - [+16, -1]
OP who’s your pick?
↳ [+2, -0]
Lee Minjung! He is currently ranked low but he is very handsome and lovely. His voice is amazing and he plays the piano. Please give him lots of interest!!
TNet Official Youtube Channel
Playlist: Idol Inc. Season 5 Rank Evaluation
View Count🔻
[Full Version] What can’t he do? The birth of a genius center! Contestant Bae Byungho @ Idol Incorporated Season 5
[Full Version] A face and voice straight out of a manhwa 😍 How is he not a trainee?? Contestant Cha Jinu @ Idol Incorporated Season 5
[Full Version] The most elegant guy is here! A lifetime of ballet experience 🩰 Contestant Chae Seodam @ Idol Incorporated Season 5
[Full Version] Gap moe final boss! A quiet boy from Japan 🇯🇵 Contestant Kiyotaka Rin @ Idol Incorporated Season 5
[Full Version] Beastly 💪 trainee from America 🇺🇲 The best proportions in the industry! Contestant Kang Abby @ Idol Incorporated Season 5
Load more videos
zee @missmystery 30m
guys please look at my fav!! i promise u hes the cutest guy ever
[Embed video: [Full Version] Diamond in the rough? World’s Shyest Boy! Contestant Lee Minjung @ Idol Incorporated Season 5]
↳ sara is watching IdolIncS5 @baebaebh
worlds shyest boy is crazy… tnet did him dirty
↳↳ zee @missmystery
😭😭😭 pls buy his stock
↳↳↳ sara is watching IdolIncS5 @baebaebh
dw oomf i gotchu. Plenty of spots in my 10pick
↳↳↳↳ zee @missmystery
love u 😘
↳ r @notryume 🔒
Zoey go to sleep its 3am
↳↳ zee @missmystey
and what are you doing up at 3am huh
zee @missmystery 1h
my 10pick rn
[Attached picture: a screenshot from TNet trainee stock buying website—10 headshots of trainees forming a pyramid shape, notably with the top being Lee Minjung, 2. Cha Jinu, 3. Kang Abby, 4. Bae Byungho, 5. Park Romeo]
↳ zee @missmystery
stock buying pro tip: if u have a less popular fav, vote him along with the most popular trainees so u dont accidentally vote someone in instead of ur fav
↳↳ no1 jinho fan @choijinhos
omg ur a genius
↳↳↳zee @missmystery
not my first rodeo 😤 btw if ur really greatful buy minjungs stocks
↳ abs👅 @abbyforabby
fellow abby supporter heyy!!! whos your no.1?
↳↳zee @missmystery
im so glad u asked! his name is Lee Minjung. wait let me post his audition video (tnet didnt air it at all 😭)
Chapter Text
“Had a good break?”
Jinu, still sitting down, turns his face up to Byungho, standing and already moving to join the others going to the next filming site. They just finished taping all 72 trainees' reactions to the first episode, and individual PR shooting seems to be next.
“Yeah. I made a hat for my cat, but my bird keeps taking it! I already made one for him too,” Jinu answers him, a fond look on his face thinking of the two critters who have stayed with him the longest, through hundreds of years and even across lifetimes. He takes longer strides until he catches up to the younger trainee. “How about you?”
Byungho narrows his eyes judgingly. “Oh, I had a great time. But maybe I could have been grievously injured in a house fire, and you wouldn’t have known because you didn’t check your messages. At all.”
“Ah.” Jinu winces. “Sorry. My phone died and I just… forgot to charge it?”
The other boy is in disbelief. “Hyung, how old are you? As a gen Z, you should have spontaneously combusted after an hour without a functional smartphone.”
Jinu shrugs. “I didn’t have a phone growing up.” Which is the truth.
“I’d call you a boomer but even boomers have phone addiction these days,” Byungho says. “You’re more like, a guy that fell out of a historical drama or something.”
Jinu almost chokes. “I’m glad you think I’m handsome enough to have fallen straight out of a drama,” he manages to quip back.
The shorter trainee rolls his eyes as they enter the conference room, already set up with festive furniture and a variety of items like they are going to have some kind of party. The male host stands in the middle with a mic and cue cards. The trainees are free to line up without rank or badge hierarchy, for once.
“Hello everyone! I bet you all already know what we will be doing today,” the host says as soon as filming starts. “Tonight, at 8 pm KST on TNet’s Official Youtube Channel, you will be facing investors from all around the world. Here, you can introduce yourselves through a live broadcast!
“You are free to do any concept you like for your stream,” he continues to explain. “Also, remember how you were allowed to bring one item from home? To help the shareholders know you better, I encourage you to showcase that item sometime in your stream.”
Jinu’s eyes widen. This is perfect.
“Your PR broadcast also comes with an added mission,” the host adds. “While streaming, you will also be promoting various items produced by T1. From food, toys, to electronics, your mission is to utilize these products to advertise your appeal, not only as an idol but also as an advertisement model and spokesperson!”
The trainees buzz excitedly. Jinu claps while looking around the room, his suspicions soon to be confirmed.
“The conference room has been set up so pretty today. If you look closely, there are small circular gold stickers on the items all around you, just like this,” he says, raising his mic and pointing to the sticker on it. “You have 15 minutes to pick one or two items with a sticker from this room to be your collaborative item. Think carefully about what will work for you, but act quickly because this is a free for all.”
72 boys tense into postures ready to bolt, their eyes flickering wildly to all corners of the room. Jinu glances down.
“Are you ready? Your 15 minutes start… NOW!”
The room descends into chaos. Calmly, Jinu walks to the host.
“Excuse me,” he says, crouching next to a table. The host steps back and Jinu starts rolling the rug that was underneath him. Right where the host was standing is a small, golden sticker.
The host laughs. “Very clever! Are you going to take my mic too?”
Jinu smiles and shakes his head. “I’ll need both of my hands for what I have planned.”
He goes to an empty corner and waits out the rest of the 15 minutes. He sees Abby snatching up a set of dumbells another trainee failed to pick up, and Byungho guarding a bouquet of balloons with the viciousness of a stray cat. Romeo headed straight for the guitar but got outran. He is now trying to find something from the drawers the other trainees left alone, for some reason. Minjung… Jinu can’t spot him within the pandemonium. He hopes the guy is alright.
“Time’s up!” the host cheerfully exclaims. “Everyone must use the products they are holding right now.”
The once organized room looks like it went through a hurricane. The boys line up again, some excited and some dejected. Jinu lugs his rug to his designated broadcast room and starts preparing.
Idol Incorporated @idolinc_ 20m
Attention, shareholders!
Tonight, on Thursday at 8 pm KST, our new variety of stocks will be introduced to you all, live on TNet’s Official Youtube Channel! Don’t miss it for the world~
#dreaming_high_idolinc_livestream
↳ min loves judan @ero_tica
NOBODY CAREEEES
↳↳ shin jaehyun color your hair pls @bestleaderchr
wait oot but ur the guy from the VTIC reads thirst tweets video. a celebrity.
↳↳↳ min loves judan @ero_tica
😘 its in the username babes
↳ pink hair eugene @chachasliding
omg theyre doing this again. if u use the contestants as free ppl labor again istg
↳↳ yulgi pretty @centeryulgi
ur expecting common decency from idol inc??
↳↳↳ pink hair eugene @chachasliding
touché
↳ cha jinu no.1 @jinumarryme
cant wait to see whatever jinu is advertising sell out lol
↳ byungho no.1 @baebhmom
my wallet is ready to ask byungho to do more aegyo
↳ zee | BUY LEE MINJUNG STOCKS @missmystery
AAAHH its time!! I cant wait ❤
↳ moondae solo when @onlypuppy
they might as well discontinue this segment since no one could ever top moondae’s legendary mukbang
↳↳ fox moondae supremacy @foxnotpuppy
fr. so many trainees just copy him and do boring ass mukbangs ever since. no originality whatsoever.
Notes:
I have to cut this chapter here because the PR streams might get too long haha.
Tbh I still have no idea what Minjung will do and what items he got so. Suggestions are welcome!
Chapter Text
“There was once a condemned soul
And a demon king, whom he owed
He fed the king’s flames
Grew his embers into blaze
The world trembled as he raze
But then a girl sang some songs
Showed him a world that lies beyond
But the fire has spread, the flames consuming
Threatening the girl who set him free
And will he let the fire spread out?
Is it the end of her now?
Flaming king with a rumbling roar
Will he let the fire spread out?
I used to sing bedtime stories to my sister like this,” Jinu says with a chuckle. He is wearing an oversized cream sweater, billowy sleeves cradling a string instrument. He bows to the camera.
“Hello everyone, I’m Cha Jinu. I’ve been playing the bipa for a very long time. This, here, is a family heirloom,” he says, patting the worn instrument lightly. “We were allowed to bring something from home and use it on the stream, and it just felt right to bring this old thing.”
He moves his hand from it towards the floor, drawing attention to the surface he is sitting cross-legged on. “T1 has graciously lent this fluffy blue rug for me to sit on,” he says, smiling as he cards his fingers through the synthetic fibers. “I like it because it reminds me of my cat. Let me tell you a story about him.”
He plucks at the bipa and opens his mouth to sing once again.
“In the belly of the beast
Dark shadows stretches thick
The whispered growls of a newborn
Glowing eyes that spoke of scorn.”
[PR Live] Contestant Cha Jinu
Live Chat 👤10.2KLea Park this is crazy ㅠㅠ
Xin99 CHA JINU CHA JINU CHA JINU
Sleepey his voice is so dreamy
Digdeep21 thats a funny looking ukulele
Forever35 a guitar?? Cha jinu can play the guitar?
Park Seo how did idol inc find this man
William N cool story bro
Mira wow he’s not even being subtle
Hungry4u that’s it?? what happened to him and the girl
Tikitica expectation: he sells you stuff, reality: cliffhanger
Letsgetl0ud oh its a bipa. and its his
Pinktrix the rug lol
Snowwydei JINU IS A CAT DAD
Mira sister come get your man
Catmommy please make an insta and post pics of your cat!!
Ghastlys he dgaf about the PPL 🤣
Fairydust2 yes tell me more stories with your glorious voice, king
Jinius so many viewers wow! over 10k
“And those are some of my favorite stretches!” Abby grins as he straightens up, hands on his hips. “Remember to always warm up before a workout to prevent injury! Even for reps that don’t seem dynamic like this, it’s always a good idea to first wake up your muscles a bit.”
He reaches for the first set of dumbbells on the floor and gets into position. “This is a comfortable weight for my bicep curls. Make sure to have proper form,” he says, walking towards the camera for a more close up view. “Keep your shoulders back and lean forward a bit. As you curl, try to move your elbows as little as possible. Don’t push up with your wrist. When you’re on the way down, don’t let your forearms fall at once. Control the fall gently to a nice tempo, like this.”
[PR Live] Contestant Kang Abby
Live Chat 👤9.0KAlishayla yall hear sumn
R Kim i’m sure he is being very informative
Mira …
Simone96 all day, all night, everywhere
Corncobs guys is it hot in here or is it just me
Gachagal typing this with 1 hand rn
Jim8877 EVERYONE PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL.
Chungwooism i love how he is showing no skin in a tracksuit but still manages to flash his abs at the slightest stretch
TonyL Supporting you from LA!!
Fitnessing dont skip leg day bro
Nomnom arms
Kangaroo BARK BARK BARK WOOF AWOO
Decode11 is ur name abby bc u have abs
“Today, I will be playing Superstar T1Stars.”
On camera is a tablet on top of a desk, two elegant hands framing it. An app is open, a rhythm game released by T1 containing the songs of the artists under their entertainment label. A finger selects a high tempo song from Mirynay’s debut album. The contestant’s face is not shown at all.
“Let’s see if I can beat the Piano Tiles high score I set on my phone.”
[PR Live] Contestant Lee Minjung
Live Chat 👤6.9KKimberlee what the hell 😂😂😂
National Zeeographic minjung pls show us your beautiful face ㅠㅠ
National Zeeographic although your hands. fingers. Pretty.
Imagine33 which trainee is this did he even appear in the show
Firefingers why is he so good??
Dorito898 dude chill
LetsDDD all perfect run on that song wtf
34Rizzem35 thats the highest combo number ive ever seen in my life
National Zeeographic Minjung!!! You did so good!
Blobbob thats gotta be a world record
Chae Day very good with your hands. I see.
Mira sorry girl I still dont get the appeal
Osuking respect. I will vote for you
Beat123 cant even see this guys face but he has so much aura
“For a straight line, I find that it’s easiest if I steady my hand by putting it on a surface like this, then move my forearm, not my wrist.” Romeo draws a clean swipe with dark brown liquid eyeliner. “It took me a lot of practice to stop my lines from being shaky. I’m still not so good with my left. I’m much better at putting makeup on other people.”
He adjusts the fluffy pink headband keeping his hair from his face. “My mom raised me alone. Her old job required brutal overtime, so we didn’t have a lot of time to spend together. I used to wake up early so I could watch her get ready.”
He picks up a small blending brush and starts smoking out the lower line. “Later, ‘getting ready’ became an activity we did together. She’d let me help pin her hair and apply her makeup.” He laughs lightly. “This experience came in handy when I did theater and some band gigs in high school."
[PR Live] Contestant Park Romeo
Live Chat 👤7.2KLimKee your skin is so good
Gran3dee ethereal brown eyes fr
Miaomiao he’s quite handsome
Stove Top that eyeliner could cut a bitch
Ahyeah T1 makes makeup??
Horridog dont get me wrong he is selling this but idk if i would trust T1’s formulation lol
Die2367 ew a guy doing makeup
Melani ur so good lol
Love999 aww your mom must be so proud of you!!
SenorChang gay
Nobinnie a theater kid… i knew it
Hiramen romeo lore dump!!! im so happy
Derpderp nobody asked lol
“Listen up, I got the feeling, spice it up–” Byungho stops rapping for a moment and takes a deep breath of helium from a balloon. “This is my time to shine, pick it up! Set the floor on fire, burn it up~”
“Oh wow, my voice. This is pretty fun.” He laughs as the effect runs out, eyes turning into crescents. “Let’s try an entire verse of high pitched rap! And oh, maybe Dreaming High chipmunk version!”
[PR Live] Contestant Bae Byungho
Live Chat 👤7.7KBaebmom please do some aegyo
Pinkberry byungho!! my baby!!
LibertyFever his voice 🥺
Halo678 he seems so happy lol
Yewonnie so precious
Raebun hes having so much fun by himself
Superbae1 he dismantled the PPL bouquet but its ok, byungho is prettier
Cinnamum when u r happy… im happy
Onekitty2 dreaming high high ver ㅋㅋㅋ
Slowstar yeah just do anything you want
[Time is up! Likes and views will be added. The top 31 contestants with the highest points will get extra 5 minutes of broadcast time. Shareholders can now donate a minimum of 10,000 won to ask a contestant a question. All donations will be given to charity.]
“Oh, we got the extra 5 minutes,” says a melodic voice over a paused game screen. There’s over 300 perfect combos. “Donations for questions are open now–”
National Zeeographic donated 20,000 won and asked: Please show us your face!!
The view wobbles for a bit before it stops. “Ah, I don’t know how to adjust the camera. I’m afraid I’ll break it if I try to move it…”
The hands are still gone from the screen. Loud groaning sounds and a few breathless huffs later, the previous setup is back, unchanged.
“I can try moving the desk but I think this one is bolted down,” Minjung says dejectedly. “I’m very sorry, National Zeeographic.”
National Zeeographic donated 20,000 won and asked: Aw… It’s okay, Minjung! Then, can you sing us a song? Your voice is so beautiful!!
His smile sounds clear through his voice. “Thank you, National Zeeographic. Hmm…” A pause. “Your tainted whispers, painted guise~ Feel my voice pierce through the lies~”
His hands are surprisingly expressive as he explains, “That’s the bridge for Huntrix-sunbaenim’s Square Up. Jinu-hyung hummed it a lot, so I asked what song it was and listened to it. It’s very catchy.”
National Zeeographic donated 10,000 won and asked: ASHFHWKJSBFDJXIPGFH
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what that means. Did you mistype?”
Beautyqueen donated 15,000 won and asked: Drop the skincare routine, King
“Thank you for your donation, Beautyqueen,” Romeo says. As he talks, he organizes the makeup back into the provided case without breaking eye contact. “I double cleanse, use toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen. At night, I also use vitamin C. So nothing too complicated!”
Juliette donated 10,000 won and asked: Romeo, why is your name Romeo? If that’s not too weird to ask!
“Hello, Juliette. Why is your name Juliette?" he asks with a small laugh.
“My mom was a lit major, her thesis was on English classics. It became a hobby of sorts, for her. My sperm donor didn’t like it when she brought him to watch musicals. He was a super strict and traditional Korean guy. When he ran out on his pregnant girlfriend, my mom named me Romeo out of spite.”
He hums thoughtfully. “His story is a tragedy, but at least he had the strength of will to fight for who he loved. I think that was the part that resonated with my mom the most.”
14TheTeam donated 50,000 won and asked: Take it offfff
Abby laughs, his shoulders shaking from the force of it. He smirks and takes off his tracksuit jacket slowly, emphasizing each inch of skin revealed. As a bonus, he wipes a bit of sweat from his brow with the bottom of his shirt, causing the chat to go wild. A slew of donations come in without a single coherent sentence attached to them.
He shakes his head. “Never say I never indulge you guys.”
Maythe4th donated 10,000 won and asked: Do you miss America?
“Of course I do,” Abby says, after the notification popups have calmed down. “I dream about New York pizza, sometimes. I miss going to basketball and baseball games too.”
Bearbeware donated 10,000 won and asked: You don’t miss your family and friends?
“I thought that goes without saying!” He laughs. “I facetime them a lot on breaks. I’m fortunate to have made lots of friends here in Idol Inc., too. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. I have never felt lonely in South Korea.”
AandB donated 12,000 won and asked: Who did you get close to while filming Idol Inc.?
“Ah, I got close to my roommates and team members. You probably know my roommates from episode one already, but the first team mission groups are still a spoiler!” He winks mischievously.
“Also, before the show, I didn’t think I could get even closer to Byungho, but somehow this program brought us together like never before,” he reminisced. Moving closer to the camera, he cups around his mouth and whispers conspirationally, “He has been so much clingier. He has invited me to hang out at his house every time we are on break from filming.”
Abby takes a few steps back with a grin. “Don’t tell him what I told you!”
Happymeal donated 10,000 won and asked: Do you have any siblings?
“A lot of people found my sisters’ social media already,” Byungho grumbles. He looks at the camera with a serious expression. “If you don’t like me, please don’t write about it on my sisters’ pages. They have their own lives. I don’t want to burden them with mine.”
Baebmom donated 20,000 won and asked: Byungho, do some aegyo for noona, please!!
Byungho cups one hand and raises it beside his cheek. He smiles and holds the pose for a few seconds before cupping his other hand to match, then switching to finger hearts.
“Thank you for the support, noona!”
Babystar donated 20,000 won and asked: Which of the trainees are you closest to?
“Well, obviously Abby,” Byungho answers.
Feels Crafting donated 15,000 won and asked: Besides Abby!!!
He tilts his head and pouts as if he needed some time to think of an answer, and not just doing it for optics. “If I had to pick one, Cha Jinu-hyung,” he says. “He’s a good roommate and a considerate hyung— when he answers my messages anyway. He’s the only chronically offline person I’ve ever met. That’s actually pretty cool of him, though.”
Feels Crafting donated 15,000 won and asked: Why didn’t you answer Byungho’s messages?
Jinu laughs. He set his bipa aside before lounging more comfortably on the rug. “He tattled to you guys,” he says. “I forgot to charge my phone, that’s all.”
Catmommy donated 20,000 won and asked: Jinu I love you! Please post pictures of your cat!!
“I’d have to ask Byungho to help me set up my social media first,” he jokes. “I have been meaning to make one, I promise! I just always forget!”
Inhyukim donated 10,000 won and asked: You keep forgetting ㅋㅋㅋ Are you an old man?
He sighs. “First Byungho calls me old, now it’s you guys. My image is unsalvagable.”
Purple donated 30,000 won and asked: What happened to the soul and the girl in the story with the flames?
“Thank you for the donation,” Jinu says, his eyes lingering on the donor’s username.
“The soul sacrificed himself to save the girl. She went on to live her life as it was before she met him. As for the soul,” he pauses, “hm, I’m not sure about him yet. Does he deserve a happy ending, after all the terrible things he has done?”
Purple donated 30,000 won and asked: Of course he does. He deserves to be free.
He looks to the camera with gentle eyes. “Perhaps the sacrifice qualifies him enough for a second chance,” he agrees. He says one more thing before the stream cuts off.
“Thank you, Purple.”
Notes:
This chapter took waaay too long to write and format 😭
I hope you enjoyed the crumbs here! Next chapter will be a little bit special~
Chapter 18
Summary:
Moondae finally has time to binge the first three Idol Inc. Season 5 episodes.
Notes:
Surprise Moondae chapter! I thought about who would be the most invested in these episode recaps and yeah. It's him. This one is for the DoD fans.
SPOILER WARNINGS: Some Debut or Die novel spoilers concerning Seodam (specifically a thing from chapter 276) and a mention of the system's reality bending shenanigans, I don't remember when but probably around chapter 370+ (aka my favorite arc... I can't help it lol). Overall, I tried to keep it vague though. If you have read the Interlude: Park Moondae chapter, then this is about the same degree of spoilery.
Feel free to skip this chapter if you're concerned with those spoilers. This is basically a recap with Moondae's thoughts and insights to the time travel and system. Plotty, more POV Outsider-esque if you're only well versed in KDH.
We are going back to Jinu next chapter 😉
Chapter Text
The glaring elephant in the room is Chae Seodam’s disappearance from Idol Inc. contents. Only a couple people posted their firsthand account of the first team mission performances— their reviews vague to prevent spoiling anything— so the public hadn't noticed he wasn’t there. The staff must have vetted the lottery winners thoroughly to prevent even a single Seodam fan from entering the venue. The lack of angry posts from disgruntled fans succeeded in masking what happened.
Missing from the PR livestreams is impossible to cover up, though. Even between all the fuss people make about Cha Jinu and his bipa or his friendship with Bae Byungho, the absence of the number three most popular trainee does not go unnoticed. Some people theorize that he got exempt somehow as a punishment or benefit, or perhaps he was sick and couldn’t film on that day. It has become one of the trending topics for the discussion boards, rife with conspiracy and insults towards the program.
Moondae has his own hypothesis of what happened. Though he has to admit, he never expected Idol Inc. Season 5 to be so different this time around. Not one, but two trainees ranking higher than Chae Seodam? Both of them were not participants in the previous timeline too. He is pretty sure of this, since the likes of Cha Jinu or Bae Byungho would have been impossible to forget.
The question is: which of them has the system? Moondae bets it’s Cha Jinu, judging from his very familiar scouted to join and 10-day audition preparation period, which matches with the date the previous system holders jumped back in time. Unlike Moondae in his Idol Inc. season, this lucky bastard seems to have come out of the womb with the looks and skills of the perfect idol. Unless something goes terribly wrong, he is a lock to debut, most likely as rank 1. With the help of the system and knowledge of the future, he would have to be a real idiot to mess up.
On the other hand, Bae Byungho’s existence simply does not make sense. He even checked with Cheongryeo on this one, who with all his nosiness and connections confirmed that Onyx Entertainment did not have Bae Byungho or Kang Abby as trainees in the previous lifetime. The fact that they exist and had applied to Idol Inc. on time can’t be explained by the Butterfly Effect, since the timeline diverged after.
Moondae thinks they are most likely reality constructs made by the system, much like how the system imitated his dead parents before in one of the realities it created. There are holes in this theory; they are much too visible and present compared to the researcher couple in Antarctica Moondae could only contact by phone.
But if they are real people, then what he is dealing with is not just simple time travel. These anomalies imply a much more complicated situation that he has never encountered before. Or Cheongryeo too, for that matter. That bastard who he hasn’t seen since ‘Day 1’ because he left on a world tour.
Moondae sighs. Testar is on a rare break today. The members are all occupying themselves in different ways, most of them out of the dorm but some are resting in their rooms. For the past five hours, Moondae has been binging the two Idol Inc. episodes he has let stack, sprawling on the couch with a cozy blanket over his pajamas.
The second episode finishes without much fanfare. Chae Seodam’s screentime was brief throughout reevaluations, almost like he got edited out.
“Moondaemoondae~ You’re still not finished?”
“Episode 3 is just airing,” Moondae answers Big Sejin, who proceeds to flop next to him without any concept of personal space.
“As expected, you’re tough enough to voluntarily relive your past trauma,” he teases. “Anything to monitor future competition, right? At the rate Cha Jinu is going, we are in serious trouble for sure.”
Moondae snorts. “But he’s not the guy you’re worried about.”
Sejin gives him a lopsided grin. His eyes glint with sharpness, as usual. “You know me so well, Moondaemoondae~”
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him after this episode, though,” Moondae says, gesturing to the screen. The trainees are greeted by three Mirynay members and gathered to form teams for the first team mission. Park Minha singles out Bae Byungho and announces the twist.
“Elimination? Just like that?” Sejin says in disbelief. “This is diabolical. I feel so sorry for that Byungho kid. Winning center is a punishment in Idol Inc.”
Moondae can only nod solemnly. He still hasn’t forgiven the PDs for forcing him to pick between the prize money and adding one more member to Testar, back when he won first place in the finale.
Byungho: –there is someone here I don’t want to debut with.
Byungho: The trainee I'm pushing out is Chae Seodam.
The editing is as dramatic as one would expect for a scene like this. Many replays, reaction shots, and a hilarious still of a gaping Cha Jinu stuck in the middle of the two trainees.
‘Participant Chae Seodam has been eliminated!’
Minha: Chae Seodam-trainee, please leave the auditorium.
‘But…’
Seodam: Wait!
“Is he for real?” Sejin asks in horror, as the guy straight up reaches past Cha Jinu to grab Byungho’s mic. “He is already dead, why is he insisting to dig his own grave here?”
Moondae understands the sentiment. Chae Seodam is supposed to be a manipulative and calculating bastard—it takes one to know one, after all, and the two Testar members have admittedly those same qualities. It’s just that other than not being literal scum of the earth, they also would never be caught being so sloppy.
“He’s frazzled,” Moondae says. They watch Seodam press Byungho to tell everyone the reason for his choice, and tell them he does. Misogyny and having a girlfriend? It’s over.
Sejin pulls out his phone from his sweatpants pocket. “I’m buying Bae Byungho’s stocks.”
“He might need it,” Moondae says. “He’s probably getting a lot of hate right now.” Chae Seodam does, or perhaps did, have enough fans to rank third. Some hardcore delusional ones will stay regardless of what controversy he gets into, such is the nature of idol fandoms.
“You’re right. Some are praising him for exposing Seodam, but there’s a lot who are bashing him, calling him an opportunist, and asking for proof,” Sejin says as he does a cursory browse on social media. “Oh, I’d retweet this one if I weren’t a celebrity: ‘Refund the money we spent on Se*dam if you were going to eliminate him anyway.’ Hashtag IdolIncRefund.”
Moondae nods. “Valid.” He wants to check the internet too, but the episode is back from the ad break. Like the previous drama never happened, the trainees pick the artist they want to cover for the first mission and the teams are formed blindly from there.
“Cha Jinu picked our group,” Sejin notes.
There’s a cute moment when Byungho whines about not being in the same team as Cha Jinu—it seems like they weren’t lying about being close in the PR broadcast.
With this budding friendship coming to light, Cha Jinu’s fans are likely to help Byungho’s fans weather the storm until internet sleuths are able to dig up Seodam’s InHeart account. It only took them a few days, in the last lifetime. If Seodam had taken initiative this time and deleted his tracks more meticulously, well… Moondae isn’t above getting his hands dirty and posting the screenshots himself. Securing those proofs was one of the first things he did after he got used to the current timeline. Fuck Chae Seodam.
Each competing teams’ preparations are highlighted before the live show. Byungho’s team has the misfortune of covering Huntrix’s Hard Candy, which Cha Jinu already performed flawlessly in his audition. The kid is thrown into a group of older trainees who pull the age card to dismiss all his ideas and advice. He even has to fight for the rap part against a vocalist with no rapping experience.
He looks frustrated all throughout practice but clamps his mouth in the confessional booth, refusing to say anything incriminating. Smart kid.
Maybe it’s Moondae’s high standards from being a data seller in one life and a professional top idol in a few others, but he finds their performance to be quite terrible. Byungho did what he could with his part, but the other team members didn’t pull their weight. Luckily for them, the other Huntrix team also has terrible team synergy and performs even worse on stage.
The T-Holic teams make a good effort, but they lack the stage presence required to be memorable. Saint U teams are next and they are the best so far, both giving solid performances.
Sejin gives colorful commentary and reactions throughout the performances, but Moondae is getting tired. He has been at this for what, six and a half hours now? He has seen all of TNet’s storylines and editing tricks before that even masterfully manufactured practice room drama bores him to death. At this point he just wants to see the confirmed anomalies and Cha Jinu perform then go to bed.
A second breath of life is injected into Moondae and the onsite crowd when the VTIC teams take the stage. One of the Onyx Ent. anomalies, Kang Abby, is taking on Cheongryeo’s main dancer role in Night Sign. His style is completely different from the VTIC leader; wilder, groovier, less of the KPop trained perfect lines and more improvised flourish. There’s a few moments where he looks at the camera and completely steals the show. It reminds Moondae of Eugene’s Black Hole ability, just concentrated in small, strategic bursts instead of being overpoweredly active all the time.
Abby seals his team’s win with a legendary wardrobe malfunction. It dawns on Moondae that this guy is really, really good. Not only is he captivating on stage, his outgoing personality makes him a great character and team player too. He would be surprised if this guy doesn’t make it into the final lineup.
Maybe Cheongryeo had put a curse on Sangun because that song is still impossible to cover, at least by undebuted hopefuls. Though they did worse than Chungwoo’s Mountain Heroes team, they still did better than both Mirynay teams who performed next.
At baseline, survival shows are just not fair. The editors try to salvage the two low skilled teams by giving them a pitiful edit, so at least they have that screentime going for them. Still, Moondae winces at the two teams sobbing as their combined low audience votes are revealed backstage.
The Testar teams are, predictably, saved for last. Team A does a decent rendition of Better Me. It doesn’t hold a candle to Testar’s live performances, of course, but Moondae still feels a strange stirring in his chest watching trainees cover their song.
Sejin is also looking at them fondly. “Ah, that concept was so fun. I hope we can get to do something like that again someday.”
Moondae voices his agreement. He doesn’t tell his friend that the chance will come by them again, in the future.
Cha Jinu’s team is up next. He gets a fantastic leader edit, mostly focusing on him successfully coaxing a super shy trainee, Lee Minjung, out of his shell. The scolding from the trainer becomes praise as Minjung nails the performance, outshining even Cha Jinu, in Moondae’s controversial opinion.
“Cha Jinu was a solid foundation for the team, but that Minjung kid took all your killing parts, Moondaemoondae,” Sejin observes.
“They are setting him up as the leader pick for the final lineup,” Moondae says. It’s a different edit from what Chungwoo got in their Idol Inc. season, but the essence is still the same.
Sejin says, “They made him look pristine, too. Almost bland actually, but his face helps.”
Moondae has war flashbacks to how Idol Inc. depicted him as a weirdo in the early episodes. “The world really isn’t fair.”
The episode ends with no ranking reveal, just an announcement that the stock market will close at midnight tomorrow. Moondae turns the TV off. He reaches for his phone on the table and goes straight to the discussion boards.
“Don’t stay up too late monitoring,” reminds Sejin. “You know how much the hyungs hate it when you do that.”
Moondae sighs. Old habits do die hard.
“Alright,” he says. He can monitor tomorrow. Reactions are best after you give them time to marinate anyways.
Chapter Text
Jinu feels like he has been floating since the PR livestream—an accurate description, since he does know what floating feels like. Unlike regular demonic floating, this lightness also applies to his heart as well as his steps. He has been humming Golden for days, smiling more than some previous 100 years combined. Going up, up, up. He’s having a moment, warmth bubbling to his throat.
He did play a new version of the tale he once sang for Gwi-ma in hopes of the clip reaching her. Rumi answering less than 15 minutes later was beyond his expectations.
Purple—a simple name, but it suits her. Her donation questions confirmed not only does she remember him and everything that happened, she forgives him too.
Honestly, it's too much. He shakes his head. That part of her frustrates him. She is much too kind. Even back when he just betrayed her at the Idol Awards, or when he was in the middle of luring a stadium full of people into Gwi-ma’s flames, she was still defending him, set on setting him free.
He doesn’t deserve her. Who does, really? When he imagines himself as a selfless being and thinks of letting her go, something red, hot, and burning spreads in his chest. Picturing a mere mortal holding hands with the powerful and most beautiful half-demon… It makes him want to hurl.
Gwi-ma got one thing right: Jinu is selfish. Even in the human vessel he has right now, he is itching to consume, to possess her. She is his. No one else can understand her like he does.
He is hers, too. He has given her his soul, and he is ready to give her whatever is left in this life, too.
The first step to that is making sure he has more than 300-something days to give her. Jinu sighs as he sits down in the section with all the other independent trainees. Minjung is next to him, still looking down, hands gripping his pants. They are wearing the school uniforms they wore for the theme song performance.
Romeo comes by and sits behind Minjung. He is not signed to an agency either, Jinu notes. Though he is trying his best to hide it, his heart shaped face looks nervous, his posture tense.
Jinu endeavors to break the ice. “Hey, I loved your Saint U stage. Romeo, right?” he says, torso twisting to face the ex-Saja Boy he has interacted with the least.
He jolts in surprise, bowing in a hurry. “Yes, Cha Jinu-sshi.”
“Just call me hyung,” Jinu says warmly. “We are all friends here.”
“Hyung,” Romeo tests. “I didn’t think you’d know my name.”
“I’ve been rooting for you.” Jinu winks. The kid’s cheeks flush as he stutters his thanks.
Abby pats Jinu’s shoulders as he and Byungho unnecessarily pass them to get to their section, sitting together smack dab front and center. Jinu grips his hand and returns his grin. This little interaction has a high chance of making it to the final cut for the next episode.
A few minutes later, the male host comes on stage to the muted applause of all the trainees in the studio, a mic and cue cards in his hands. He greets them and cheerfully tries to dissolve some of the elimination day tension—keyword: tries. It’s a futile effort.
“Before we announce the trainees moving on to the next round, there’s one more thing I need to tell you all first,” he says. “The results of the first team mission; the trainee with the highest number of votes from the onsite audience that day.”
72 boys look at one another. The editors will probably pan to the popular trainees and overlay the common speculations whispered.
“With an overwhelming 288 votes,” the host says, “congratulations to Kang Abby!”
Said trainee’s jaw slacks in surprise. Byungho shakes him as everyone else claps their hands.
“With his charming voice and sexy dance moves, Kang Abby-trainee succeeded in stealing the hearts of the shareholders," the host narrates. “Because of this, he is safe from elimination and will receive a benefit for the next mission.”
Jinu wishes he was seated close enough to congratulate his friend directly. A standing ovation will have to do.
“And now we will announce the trainees that survived this round, starting at rank 39 and counting down. Rank 40 will be announced last,” the host informs. “The second contestant advancing to the next round captivated the shareholders with his sweet voice through a girl group song performance. Rank 39 goes to…
“Park Romeo!”
Jinu’s eyes almost bulge out in surprise. He quickly stands up and offers the teary-eyed Romeo a hug. He continues applauding as the kid walks to the stage, a hand covering his mouth. Jinu sits back down with his mouth set in a grim line.
This is a major oversight. 39 is too low. He can’t believe Romeo is so close from being eliminated.
He glances at Minjung in worry. Anxiety has completely overtaken the shy boy. Together they react appropriately in autopilot as names keep being called. They have passed thirty. Jinu’s hands are clammy as he claps.
“Rank 28 is… Lee Minjung!”
Jinu throws himself to hug the shell shocked trainee.
“Before episode three, Lee Minjung-trainee was in the danger zone. His brilliant performance of Testar’s Magical Boy went viral and catapulted him to this season’s biggest jump in rank so far, from 62 to 28.”
34 whole spots… He did that in one day. Jinu is so proud.
“I want to thank everyone who believed in me,” Minjung says on the podium. “My fans and my teammates, other trainees too who gave me the confidence I needed to feel it myself.”
Jinu applauds extra hard. They really did it. The other Saja Boys are definitely safe, so they are all moving on to the next round.
“Ah, this is crazy,” Abby starts his speech when he is eventually called. He made it into the top four, a sizable jump from last week’s eighth. “Thank you all, truly. I have been having so much fun here in Korea. I will continue to work hard and keep your trust.”
When it is time for the top two to be announced, Jinu and Byungho are predictably called up to the stage. Jinu grasps his hand for a second as they walk together.
“Introducing your number one choice,” the host says, “between Cha Jinu, an independent trainee who received lots of love from the shareholders all around the world since his audition, and Bae Byungho, Idol Inc. Season 5’s center who captivated everyone with his overflowing talents. The first place contestant…
“Will be revealed after the break,” he says with a wink, to the grumbled protests of some of the seated trainees. It’s a necessary bit of footage for the episode, but they don’t actually need to wait for commercials to finish airing while filming. The host continues right away.
“Here, on Idol Inc. Season 5 first ranking announcement… rank 1 goes to… Cha Jinu!” he exclaims. The room erupts in applause and cheers. “Which means Bae Byungho has placed second.”
Jinu immediately bows low. He waits for a few beats before pulling Byungho into a tight hug. “Congrats,” he whispers. He releases his octopus arms and composes himself to speak into the mic.
“When I decided to audition, I never thought I would receive such overwhelming support,” he lies. As the leader and center of the rookie-daesang sweeper and national phenomenon Saja Boys, of course he knows his worth. They had amassed 50 million fans with one song.
“Thank you to my fans, the trainers, my team, everyone,” he emphasizes each group with appropriate pauses. “I will make sure to repay your love with better performances.”
He bows in a 90⁰ angle again to finish his speech. He passes the mic to Byungho. The shorter trainee takes a deep breath.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported me. Even though I’m still lacking in many aspects,” he says, “even though I’m still immature, and have a lot of room to grow. I love you all.” He ends it with his now signature cheek heart aegyo. He doesn’t forget to bow before joining Jinu, who has been waiting for him so they can climb the pyramid ranking seats together.
Jinu slings an arm over the younger trainee’s shoulders. Jinu stops to hug Minjung and greet Romeo and Rin on his way up, along with nodding to the other trainees that make eye contact. As they reach the top ranks, Byungho practically jumps into Abby’s arms. Jinu laughs and waits his turn to hug the muscular trainee before trekking back up. Gazing down, he settles on the first rank throne again for the second time this season.
Four trainees are announced as the candidates for the last remaining spot. Jinu perks up as Desperate and Rapper Silver are shown to be two of them. Rapper looks grim while Desperate has his head buried between praying hands.
The host announces Rank 40’s name. Desperate sobs as other trainees surround him, telling him not to cry. He stands up and gives a very tearful speech.
As filming wraps up, Jinu climbs down from his perch to join the others bid goodbye to the eliminated contestants. He gathers with his Magical Boy teammates to cheer up Rapper, the only member who didn’t make it.
Their time as a team was brief, but Jinu still feels the familiar twist of regret in his chest. It would have been nice to have all six survive. In a way, he has failed as a leader.
The overflowing emotions in the room prick tears at Jinu’s eyes. He slides an arm around Minjung next to him and pulls him closer.
This time, he will not fail his boys. Not again, not ever.
Notes:
...and that's 1/4 ranking announcements done lmao
Chapter Text
“Hello everyone! Long time no see,” greets Youngrin with a bright smile as she enters the room, black hair perfectly styled in waves, wearing a smart black jumpsuit. The forty trainees cheer so loud it sounds like no elimination has happened at all.
“Today we will pick the teams for the second mission,” she says into her mic after everyone has settled down. The room has no special setups except for a simple table, long with a variety of shapes on top of it entirely covered by cloth. A large glass box filled with capsule balls is also set up on the side next to Youngrin. The trainees are lined up based on their recently announced ranks, wearing black training T-shirts the program provided, stickers with their names stuck on but without their metallic badges.
“As a result of the previous mission, one trainee will have the benefit of forming his team first,” she announces. “Kang Abby-trainee, please come here to the front.”
Abby throws two fists in the air, raucous cheers from the boys surrounding him. He walks up and accepts a mic from the staff.
“The way this works is through a ‘relay pick’ method. You can only pick the one trainee you want to be teammates with the most, and then the trainee you picked will choose his desired teammate and so on,” Youngrin explains, “all without discussing with each other. So choose wisely!”
“Aside from Kang Abby, I will select the other teams’ first members at random from this box,” she says, patting the glass. There is a hole at the side big enough for her arm to reach through. “The lucky trainees whose names are inside the selected capsules will take turns picking their teammates.”
She gestures to the trainee standing in the center of the room. “As part of his prize, Abby’s team doesn’t have to take turns. His team will pick first until it reaches five members,” she says. “Kang Abby-trainee, please pick your first teammate.”
Abby grins. He makes a show of dramatically squinting on his tippy toes, one hand on his hip, drawing laughter and hopeful eyes. “Every team needs a main vocalist.” He smirks. “I choose Cha Jinu-hyung.”
Everyone claps their hands politely at the predictable choice. Jinu accepts the mic from Abby and spends no time declaring his choice.
“Park Romeo.”
At the back of the room, the 39th ranked trainee gapes in surprise. He walks through the cheers of the other boys, most of them happy for him but also envious.
“Great choice!” Youngrin comments. Her eyes glint mischievously. “I’m sure we are all curious why.”
Jinu laughs. “He has caught my eye since the auditions. I like his voice.”
“Thank you,” Romeo says, caught off guard and blushing. He receives Jinu’s mic as the older contestant goes to join Abby to form the first line behind the table.
“Hyung, I thought you were going to choose Byungho!” Abby whisper-shouts as Youngrin banters with Romeo. “You do know the second mission is always song rearrangement, right?”
“Wh-wha,” Jinu stutters. He whispers back, “Then why didn’t you pick him?”
“I wanted to mess with him a bit! And I want to be in the same team as you too, hyung,” the younger whines.
“We can still have Byungho on our team,” Jinu points out. There are still two spots left. If composing skills will come in handy for the mission, then Byungho should be the obvious choice.
It is not the choice Romeo goes with.
“Yoon Taehoon,” he says instead.
Jinu recognizes him. Ranked 7th, he is an undeniably pretty guy with soft features and tousled, longer auburn hair past his nape. At 23 years old, he is one of the older trainees in the show and was the leader for Romeo’s Saint U team.
“Lee Jincheol.”
The last trainee to round out their team is also not Byungho. Jinu hears Abby curse under his breath. The rank 16 trainee is a lanky guy with trendy large rimmed glasses and floppy black hair. Jinu remembers him as part of the same Saint U team.
He greets the new additions as they line up behind him. They exchange polite nods and bows. Although it’s not the Saja Boys, their team is still composed of talented members with high ranks—sans Romeo. Jinu counts that as a win.
He watches as the lucky trainee whose name Youngrin reads from the first randomly selected capsule quickly picks Byungho. After six other capsule trainees have chosen their first teammates, it’s finally Byungho’s turn to pick.
For the last twenty minutes, he has been glaring daggers at Jinu and Abby, both who can only sheepishly gaze apologetically in return. His eyes are determined as he calls out, “Lee Minjung.”
Jinu wants to tackle Byungho in a hug. This is perfect. It settles his worries seeing the two together. Minjung will be taken care of under Byungho’s wing.
With all Saja Boys in their teams, Jinu zones out. He does note that Minjung picks Rin, though. That is good. Rin is a great teammate and will also be attentive to Minjung.
When everybody has their teams, Youngrin repositions herself and directs everyone’s attention to the mysterious table. She holds the cloth with both hands from the middle and pulls it up and away with flourish.
A sleek designer wallet. A signed copy of a fantasy book. An ornate dagger. A tennis racket. Two matching clay sculptures of a cat and dog. A sparkly tiara. A chess set. A toaster.
“On this table, there are eight different items owned by eight different artists, legends in their own right. Each team will have to pick one item. The owner of the item will then choose one of their songs for the team to rearrange and cover,” Youngrin explains. “As part of his benefit, Kang Abby’s team will pick their item first. All of you have 5 minutes to discuss with your team members which item you will choose.”
“So, what should we do, guys?” Abby starts as they form a huddle.
“That dagger,” Jinu says, “it’s a relic.”
It’s an old, intricate thing, with bejeweled carvings along the hilt, fit for a wealthy noblewoman. A self defence weapon easily hidden between folds of hanbok, back in Jinu’s palace days. It belongs more in a museum than in an idol’s personal collection—unless said idol is a hunter.
“We should pick it,” Jinu says confidently. He is trembling with excitement, buzzing on his feet. Did Rumi apply to see him? He can imagine her as a mentor, strict and lovely. Rearranging a Huntrix song? He can totally do that.
After a brief back and forth, the others are convinced. Abby comes forward and chooses the dagger.
Youngrin gestures to the door. “Who does this dagger belong to?” she exclaims. Jinu doesn’t dare breathe. His heart is in his throat in anticipation.
Clicks of heels sound, steadily becoming louder, approaching from a distance. The door opens and a familiar figure steps into the room.
“Everyone! Please welcome KPop legend, Celine from the Sunlight Sisters!”
Notes:
🤣
Chapter 21
Summary:
The teams decide their artists and prepare for their performances.
Notes:
Sunlight Sisters positions that I decided:
Ryu Miyeong (Rumimama) = Center, Visual
Celine = Leader, Main Vocal
Chapter Text
Greying hair still in its signature waves, severe eyes, a face that has just gotten more elegant with age. She has long graduated to become the CEO of HM Entertainment, trading sparkly pastel crop tops for stylish suits, tailored to perfection. Still, there’s a clear strength in the way the retired huntress moves, every line of her body radiating power.
The Cold One, they used to call her. The huntress with the icy blade. Demons who miraculously escaped death spread tales in the underworld: The Fast One is impossible to outrun; The Vicious One fights dirty; The Cold One doesn’t hesitate.
Jinu himself has never met the Sunlight Sisters. He wrote a few sonnets inspired by their stories, over the years, but it was just that: second, third, or fourth-hand accounts of death by popstars.
He does remember one odd day when Gwi-ma summoned him to sing, the demon lord uncharacteristically happy enough to throw a party. If his memory and math is right, that day had been a few months, at most, after Rumi’s birth, which means Jinu had likely unknowingly took part in the celebration of her mother’s death.
He doesn’t like to think about that.
The woman in front of him right now was the one who took Rumi in and raised her to become the perfect idol and fearsome hunter she is today. Jinu has done his research. Young Rumi started idol training at 12 years old and debuted at 18. The nepotism allegations her haters swear she is synonymous with. How Huntrix is just Sunlight Sisters 2.0, with Celine passing Rumi both her and Ryu Miyeong’s torches, making Rumi the leader, main vocalist, and center of the group out of connection and not merit.
The only position she didn’t get was visual because she’s not as pretty as her mom, some antis like to say. Nepotism can’t fix an ugly face. When he was active in Saja Boys, Jinu took one look at those posts and quickly dismissed them. No need to take words of observation seriously from obviously delusional people. Demons didn’t even lie to themselves about that.
Rumi had grown up beautiful but with an insecurity about her patterns so deep her shame manifested and spread, eventually to her entire body. This is the part of the story Jinu knows first-hand. In hindsight, it makes sense why. Growing up under the watchful eyes of The Cold One must have been so much pressure.
Jinu wonders if Rumi’s friends had gone back in time too—and if they hadn’t, if she had told them yet about her patterns. Since the other Saja Boys don’t remember anything, maybe the time travel is a Jinu-Rumi thing, or it can be a hunter-Honmoon thing that Jinu just got sucked into. Does Rumi have the same floating words telling them she would die if she didn’t become an idol in a year, or is she exempt because she already is one? Nothing makes sense.
At least the retired huntress doesn’t seem to have the other lifetime’s memories. There’s no recognition in her eyes, and Jinu of the Saja Boys is as memorable as someone could get.
“The song I want you to cover is Thousand Voices,” Celine says after a brief introduction. “It was a pre-release single before our second album that never got the success it deserved, in my opinion. I look forward to how you will remake it.”
Straight to the point. Jinu bows with his team and Celine leaves the room, just like that. So anticlimactic. He wonders how much TNet had to pay her to be here, or if Huntrix got any perks from the station in exchange for her appearance.
Getting Celine is good for their team, though. After their center’s death, the Sunlight Sisters permanently disbanded and the remaining members have disappeared from the public eye since. Celine does show up in the media as CEO and Huntrix’s executive producer, but only at press conferences, never on TV. Being assigned a song by her will put a spotlight on their team.
It takes another hour for the other teams to meet their artists. Byungho’s team bets on reverse psychology and picks the tiara, which turns out to belong to the daughter of half of South Korea’s top 90s hip hop duo. He gives them a cult classic song that has been sampled hundreds of times through the years, making Byungho so animatedly happy he clings and shakes the silent Minjung beside him.
Finally, free practice period starts. Jinu’s team gathers in a circle to discuss their game plan.
“We should pick a leader first,” Abby begins. “I was thinking Jinu-hyung.”
“I nominate Taehoon-hyung,” Jincheol says. “How about you, Romeo?”
It dawns on Romeo that he is the tiebreaker. He bites his lip. “Ah. Taehoon-hyung lead us well last time, so,” he finishes lamely.
“Are you okay with that?” The oldest trainee in the team asks Jinu.
Suddenly, the division is clear. This team is not made of three Saja Boys and two Saint U but the other way around. At this point, Romeo barely knows Jinu while he has spent the previous round with Taehoon. Something cold and heavy dropped to Jinu’s stomach at this fact.
“Of course,” he says. He hates that he can’t say otherwise without looking irrational or impolite. Not only does the guy have proven leadership chops in the first round, he is also older than Jinu’s regressed human body by two years.
Jinu tries to control his face as Romeo sticks the leader sticker on Taehoon. He cheers and congratulates the guy like everyone else.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think I’ve heard this song,” the newly crowned leader says. “Let’s listen to it together first.”
He navigates the iPad device perfectly, pulling up a fan-uploaded concert video of Thousand Voices. The song doesn’t have a music video and doesn’t look like it was promoted on music shows, either. From the other results, it seems like Thousand Voices was swallowed up by the Sunlight Sisters’ own title track that released shortly after, that one becoming a massive domestic hit. Jinu spots one recommended video of Huntrix covering it on one of last year’s year end Gayo.
Thousand Voices, overall, is a pretty albeit plain song. It is essentially a ballad. In the video, the three members wear flowy white dresses paired with skinny jeans and chunky accessories. They take turns singing with a hand mic on different parts of the stage, the choreography very minimal. As the song progresses, they begin to sing together, harmonizing beautifully. Jinu can imagine the Honmoon rippling with renewed strength above the crowd as they all belt out the last chorus.
The trainees’ faces are grim when the video ends. One thing is clear: this song will be very hard to adapt as a boy group performance. Jinu entertains the possibility that maybe Celine did recognize him and Abby and decided to assign them this song out of spite.
“That was very beautiful,” Taehoon claps his hands and says, more for the cameras than anything. “What do you guys think?”
“We’ll have to make the choreography from scratch,” Abby says.
“I can sing it,” Romeo carefully says, “but I do think we would have to change it a lot. We can’t let it stay just a ballad.” He doesn’t say it sounds old fashioned and would be too boring compared to the other teams’ assigned songs, but they were implied. “We should think of a concept.”
Jincheol nods. “Maybe add a rap, too.”
“How about you, Jinu?” Taehoon prods at the silent member.
“Maybe we should split the parts first,” Jinu says, holding up the lyric sheet. Although as vocalists, he and Romeo will do fine, the others aren’t as inclined. The song is quite tame by hunter standards, but the harmonies will take some time to perfect, especially for the three weaker vocalists in the group.
“Good idea, hyung,” Abby says. Jinu can tell he is anxious about that, too. "Your voice would be perfect for Celine-sunbaenim’s main vocal parts!”
Jinu stays focused on the papers in his hand. “Actually,” he says, “can I be subvocal 2?”
The other boys look at him in surprise. “I want to sing this part,” he explains, pointing to the prechorus. Originally, it was Rumi’s mother’s part. “I think Romeo would be great as the main vocalist.”
Taehoon frowns. “I don’t know…”
“I’ve had the chance last round, but Romeo hasn’t,” Jinu insists. “Since we have full control of the arrangement, this is a great chance to show off our vocals on our own terms.”
“We’ll do the harmony all together at the end, right?” Romeo asks.
Jinu nods. “I’ll support and help you.”
Romeo swallows his hesitation. “Then I’d like to be main vocal, if that’s okay with everyone.”
“Of course it’s okay! “You’ll do great, man,” Abby assures him. “I’m thinking of going more of a contemporary dance route for the choreo. The lyrics use strings as a metaphor for voices a lot, so maybe we should use a prop, like a long fabric or something.”
“That’s a great idea,” Taehoon says. “Jincheol, can you help Abby with that?”
“Sure. We still need a concept, though,” reminds the bespectacled trainee.
The leader hums. “There’s two routes we can take: we either completely modernize the song, or keep the retro vibes.”
Jinu chuckles. Modernizing a song obviously referencing the Honmoon sounds like the Huntrix route. The Sunlight Sisters had a different sound that he is sure they shouldn’t try to erase. If anything, they should amplify it.
An idea pops into Jinu’s head. “The other teams will all modernize their songs. Why don’t we take the opposite approach,” he smirks, “and go older?”
Chapter 22
Summary:
A long due conversation.
Notes:
This was a delicate chapter to write, filled with my headcanon of the *gestures at air* whole situation. Tell me what you think, haha
Chapter Text
“Beautiful, beautiful.” Light flashes with every click of the shutter. “Tilt your head a little–yes, that’s it. Perfect.”
Rumi follows the photographer’s instructions, slightly changing her pose every few beats. She moves on autopilot, the previous timeline’s seven years of experience shining through.
“And that’s a wrap!” announces the photographer. Rumi bows and repeats “Thank you for your hard work!” to everyone involved. The army of stylists whisk her away to the dressing room, dissolving her makeup before leaving her alone to change into her own clothes. She has just buttoned her jeans when a familiar ringtone sounds.
Celine
Rumi, are you busy? Do you want to get lunch with me today?
Her eyebrows raise to her temples. She exits the room and texts back.
I just finished the W photoshoot
Sure
Where do you want to eat?
Your favorite
[Sent location]
See you there.
Rumi taps on the link. It’s the fancy fine dining place Celine always takes her to for special occasions, located on the top floor of a 5-star hotel. It’s an older establishment, well renowned with two Michelin stars and a panoramic view of Seoul’s skyline. Their privacy policies make them a favorite among celebrities and other top 1% citizens. As for the food… Rumi likes it well enough, but calling it her favorite is a stretch. The portions are rather small for her appetite.
Nevertheless, she texts the Huntrix group chat the change of plans and tells the assistant manager driving her around today the same. Bobby is with Zoey today, accompanying the maknae for an outdoor variety show filming just outside of town that will last all day.
While stuck in traffic, Rumi puts on her wireless earphones and streams Jinu’s Magical Boy individual cam video. She has each frame memorized by now and can begrudgingly recite the lyrics in her sleep. She hums along to Jinu’s chorus part, trying to distract herself from the memory of the last time she talked to Celine one-on-one.
She rubs her patterned shoulders under her hoodie. There is no point in prolonging the inevitable — she has to face her adoptive mother sooner or later. There are things she has to set straight.
After arriving, she takes the elevator straight to the restaurant’s floor. She takes off her hood and that is enough for the hostess to quickly lead her to a VIP room. Celine is already seated, looking pensively to the skyline behind the glass windows, golden threads of the Honmoon threading through the buildings and thrumming with power.
“I’ve ordered the usual for us,” she says as Rumi sits down. “All the courses at once, so we won't be disturbed.”
“Thanks,” the half-demon says. A waiter enters the room right after her, pushing a serving trolley filled with trays upon trays of food. Tiny bite-sized caviar-topped appetizers on plates smaller than the ones used for banchan, numerous delicately cooked entrees, two specialty cocktails. The waiter leaves when their sizable table is covered from end to end.
Rumi picks up her utensils and starts with a tofu salad-thing. “You don’t usually ask to meet so suddenly. What’s the occasion?”
Celine hums. “Remember that boy group that debuted the same year as you? The one who achieved the rookie grand slam.”
Rumi cringes internally. “You mean Testar?”
She has nothing against those guys, really. They’ve interacted plenty over the years and they are decent guys. Still, the fact that it was Testar and not Huntrix who swept all the rookie awards that year hurt her pride. The explosive popularity of Idol Inc. Relisted! carried to Testar’s debut, giving them a leg up with the public and a massive fandom even against Huntrix’s legacy status. Most awards shows give out two Rookie of The Year trophies — usually divided by gender — so they both got their share, but Testar did emerge victorious the shows that only awarded one, making them the top rookie overall.
“Yes, them,” Celine confirms. “That survival show they were from had been asking me to guest every season, but I had always rejected them. I didn’t want to help other groups when the Golden Honmoon was still incomplete,” she says. “But this year, since you girls have sealed it, I… They wanted to highlight the Sunlight Sisters and I got nostalgic about the old days. So I thought, why not? and filmed for it the other day.”
Rumi can’t believe her ears. She almost screams through the soundproofed walls. “You what.”
“I didn’t think you’d be upset by this,” Celine says with a frown.
Rumi backtracks. “Oh I’m not upset,” she assures, her voice high pitched and wavering. “I’ve just been watching the new season with the girls! Did you mentor? Can you give me some spoilers?”
“You know these things always involve an NDA,” Celine scolds. “You should also spend less time watching TV and use the time to work on your next comeback instead. Have you girls finished the arrangement for the Waterbomb performance coming up?”
“We have our comeback song done. Zoey sent it to A&R a couple days ago.” They have four years worth of songs memorized, so all they had to do was recall one. Internal voting resulted in the girls’ favorite, How It’s Done, getting moved up in the pipeline. “We are also done with Waterbomb preparations.”
Celine daintily eats another canape. “Great work. Just because the Honmoon is now sealed, doesn’t mean you can slack off.”
Rumi swallows her second plate of entrees. “I wasn’t planning on it.” Music is not just a duty to her. Even with the restrictions that come with idol life, she does genuinely enjoy her job and wants to release more music for their fans. Happy fans, happy Huntrix.
Also, if Testar wins a daesang this year and Huntrix doesn’t — when she and her girls have actual knowledge of the future, which they didn’t have to win one last time — Rumi might just do something reckless in embarrassment.
Speaking of something she was embarrassed about–
“Celine,” she starts, putting down her chopsticks with trembling hands. She clenches both fists in her lap. “I want to wear something sleeveless for Waterbomb.”
“No,” her mentor says without looking up from her octopus entree. “You know you have to keep your patterns hidden.”
“The fans will just think it’s a tattoo. People will talk about it but it will blow over,” Rumi reasons. She adds, “Mira and Zoey already know.”
That gets Celine’s attention. “You told them?”
“They found out.” Not in the best way, but not a lie. “I shared everything after. They are cool with me being half-demon.”
Celine’s eyes burn with cold fury. “You were sloppy and you think spreading it even more would be wise?” Her voice rises. “What if it destabilizes the Honmoon?”
“But we already sealed the Honmoon,” Rumi counters, her blood boiling. “You’re the one who always said everything would be fixed with the Golden Honmoon, but my patterns still exist. Do you expect me to cover up my shoulders my entire life? To keep lying to my friends, to live a lie?”
“Your life is not a lie, Rumi,” her mentor says softly. “You are your mother’s daughter; a hunter. You are not a demon.”
Through the tears welling up in her eyes she sees clearer than ever, the realization sinking to her stomach. “I’m both, but you don’t see that. You have never seen me as my own self,” she states. “I’ve always been my mother’s daughter to you.”
Memories flood through her mind. “You have braided my hair since it was long enough for one. You never let me cut it. You taught me to manifest a sword, out of all weapons,” she says. “You even think this is my favorite restaurant when I have never said that. Did my mother like to come here when she was alive?”
For a moment, Celine is stunned silent. “No, Rumi, no,” she denies after she finds her words. “I love you.”
“But not all of me,” Rumi says. This part, she already knows.
Her adoptive mother says nothing as she stands up. “I’m sorry, but I’ve lost my appetite,” she says. “Don’t contact me until you can accept me for who I am.”
Celine doesn’t stop her from leaving. Rumi doesn’t look back.
Chapter 23
Summary:
The aftermath and Waterbomb day.
Notes:
Minor Debut or Die spoiler warning with Testar and VTIC's summer comeback information (the date and album/song titles).
Chapter Text
The lights are still on when Rumi enters the Huntrix apartment. Her bandmates are lounging on the couch, watching one of Zoey’s turtle compilation videos while eating takeout teokbokki and fried chicken. The maknae is particularly ravenous, eager to recharge from a long day of filming.
Mira notices Rumi’s presence first. She turns her head to the eldest, busy toeing off her sneakers. “What kept you so late? What did Celine want?”
“Oh, I walked around after lunch,” Rumi says. She takes off her hood and faces her friends. Mira gasps.
“You cut your hair!” she exclaims.
Zoey snaps her head mid-bite to look, her eyes widening. “Rumi, that length is so cute on you!”
The purple haired girl blushes at the attention. The trip to the salon was an impulsive decision, but it’s one she doesn’t regret. “I feel so light now,” she says, brushing the locks which end just a bit over her shoulders. “I was so used to the braid that I didn’t realize how heavy it was.”
Mira whistles. “Never thought I’d see the day when you would have shorter hair than me, but stranger things have happened.”
“The fans will go crazy!” Zoey laughs, but then turns serious. Cutting off so much hair is not a small decision. “Are you okay, Rumi?”
Rumi can feel her waterworks coming back. She burrows herself in the couch and the comfort of her bandmates as she recounts what happened at the restaurant. By the end of her story, the three of them have used up half the tissue container with tears and snot.
“There, there.” Mira, though sniffling herself, pats her back. “Let it all out.”
“Celine will come around,” Zoey says gently after she blows her nose. “In the meantime, you have us. We will always be on your side.”
Rumi wipes her face and hiccups through her sobs. “I love you guys so much,” she says, though it comes out as gibberish.
“And we love you too.” Mira smiles. Zoey just starts crying again.
It’s midnight when the tallest member of Huntrix turns off the TV, Rumi curled up fast asleep between her and an equally unconscious Zoey. Mira covers her friends with a duvet and cleans up the snacks. She gives them one last fond look before turning off the lights and going to bed in her own room.
Moondae doesn’t know what possessed him to sign Testar up for Waterbomb. He could be resting now instead of staring into space inside the waiting room.
Though it's not his first time regressing, this is the first time his team and circumstances stay the same in the new reality. He already knows they will release a hit song and album that summer, so all he had to do was tell Raebin of his ‘ideas’ and all their preparations have been fast-tracked.
The resulting extra free time had him checking out the reactions for Idol Inc. Season 5 so much, his members gave him an intervention. They have decided to enforce screentime restrictions on him. Moondae would have still been reviewing last night's first ranking announcement reactions if not for the disappearance of his phone, hidden somewhere by Bae Sejin since this morning.
Moondae can only take so much boredom, so when their manager floated the Waterbomb gig, he convinced his members to accept it. Considering the concept, it would have been better to perform there after they release their upcoming The Ocean of Wonder album, but Moondae can’t wait that long. That jerk Cheongryeo told him VTIC will still hold their comeback on July 2nd, so Moondae pulled some strings to push back Testar’s comeback date to a week after. They did well last time releasing Promise on July 5th, but the extra cushion should give them better results.
Also, the less he has to share a music show stage with Cheongryeo, the better. That guy is too nosy to not monitor the Idol Inc. situation, but the asshole isn't sharing any of his thoughts in their correspondences. He only ever sends pictures of his dog and cryptic answers with that annoying ^^ emoji.
If Moondae remembers correctly, the Idol Inc. final lineup should debut around that time too. It’d be wiser to avoid Cha Jinu & Friends’ debut, but there’s only so much time before summer ends. The other day, he saw an article that said Huntrix will coming back soon too. The summer comeback rush is simply unavoidable.
He sighs into his seat and closes his eyes. There’s not enough time for a nap, but he can dissociate in darkness, at least.
“Guys!” Eugene suddenly slams the door open, Raebin behind him trying and failing to reel him back by the collar. They are fresh faced from a bathroom break.
“You won’t believe it!” says the American excitedly. “Rumi-sunbaenim cut her hair!”
What. The others echo Moondae’s thought out loud. Sirens blare in his head.
Huntrix’s Rumi is famous for never cutting her hair in the previous timeline. From debut to contract renewal year, her purple braid just kept getting longer and longer. The color was consistent too, which made fans and fellow idols alike worry for the health of her scalp.
Why is she suddenly sporting — as Eugene reports — shoulder length hair? This change should not have happened. There’s no way Testar choosing to perform at Waterbomb resulted in this Butterfly Effect. Huntrix’s position is not so insecure that they would need this stunt just because Testar decided to participate in the same festival.
He needs to check something.
“I’m going to the bathroom, too,” he says lamely, standing up and exiting the room before anyone can reply.
According to the time table, Huntrix will be performing soon, so Moondae heads right behind the stage. Thankfully, the flurry of busy staff members ignore him. He plasters himself to the artificial wall, half-hiding behind stacks of equipment. Huntrix are lined up on standby, their expressions focused on the performance ahead.
In the middle, their leader Rumi’s hair is indeed shockingly short. It’s still purple, so at least there is still some right in this world. Moondae has to do a double take at what she is wearing; a halter neck top and jean shorts, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that her shoulders are exposed. She was quite famous for this too — so modest no one has seen a peek of her shoulders, and later her entire upper body. Public speculation of her long-sleeved tops, jackets, and turtlenecks hiding tattoos even got so loud, it forced her company to release a statement denying it.
Well, that seems to be another corporate lie. Purple jagged vine-like patterns adorn her shoulders, clear as day.
Two reveals in one event? Something is not right.
He has checked Huntrix’s stats before, back in their rookie days when he was scouting all competition — his choices were to win the one chance at Rookie of The Year or literally die, after all. But this… this abnormality might as well be the same level as Bae Byungho’s existence.
Trusting his gut, Moondae summons the status window.
Name: Ryu Rumi
Singing: EX
Dancing: B+
Physical Attractiveness: A
Charm: S
Traits: Soul Harvester (S) Receives power from fans’ energy.
Except for a few level improvements, the KPop powerhouse’s stats are the same as in her rookie year. Even that ominous-sounding S-ranked trait Moondae never understood has always been there. The other Huntrix members also have this trait. They are perfectly nice people and no one ever died in attending their concerts, so Moondae figured it can’t be as bad as it sounds.
Reading further down, his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. There is a second trait he has never seen before.
Demoness (S) A creature from the underworld.
What. The. Fuck.
He blinks, but the word ‘Demoness’ is still there. Described as being from the underworld. If he wasn't wearing eye makeup, he would have rubbed his eyes.
Suddenly, the trait Soul Harvester sounds very, very concerning. He scans the other Huntrix members, just in case.
Name: Moon Mira
Singing: B+
Dancing: S
Physical Attractiveness: A+
Charm: A
Traits: Soul Harvester (S) Receives power from fans’ energy.
Name: Shin Jooeun (Zoey Shin)
Singing: B
(Rapping: S)
Dancing: A
Physical Attractiveness: B+
Charm: S-
Traits: Soul Harvester (S) Receives power from fans’ energy.
Moondae wants to sigh in relief, but he can’t. He wants to confront them, but he has had enough of his soul being pulled out and shoved in bodies and timelines by the system. He has no intention of angering an actual demon.
“I thought you were going to the bathroom.”
Moondae’s soul almost jumps out of his skin anyway when Big Sejin materializes behind him. Testar’s tall main dancer slings an arm over his shoulders.
“Ooh, you were spying on Rumi-sunbaenim’s new look,” he teases. “She’s very pretty. Does our Moondaemoondae have a crush?”
Moondae doesn't deign that question an answer. “Let’s just go back,” he says. He didn’t wake up today expecting to encounter anything more supernatural than the system. If Moondae has to pick the one thing he is good at, it would be surviving. He has never been above begging for his life. “Please.”
Chapter 24
Summary:
Huntrix sets up an ambush.
Notes:
Long time no update! This chapter was kicking my ass so much that I started a new fic haha (you can check out we are standing on different stages if you want! Another Rujinu fic with an AU twist 😉)
Actually no new spoilers in this chapter. I haven't read the Debut or Die novel beyond 500-something, so I just made up the Testar Year 7 events mentioned in this chapter.
Chapter Text
“This has been Huntrix! Thank you everyone!”
The crowd roars, empty waterguns being flailed around as Huntrix bows and waves goodbye. Rumi blows kisses to the direction of the plastic bag-protected DSLR cameras that have obviously been filming her. 4K fancams of idols dripping wet always rack up views on Youtube. All that combined with her short hair and mysterious tattoos? Viral would be an understatement.
“Girls, you were amazing out there,” Bobby greets them backstage, holding a tower of fluffy towels. “Rumi, the internet is blowing up about your new look! Pictures of you are everywhere, you’re trending no.1 on NAVER! The fans are loving it!”
“Thanks, Bobby!” they chorus, taking a towel each and wrapping them to their soaking wet bodies. Mira takes an extra one to wrangle her dripping hair. Rumi’s new short cut is now slicked back and plastered to her neck. Adrenaline is still pumping through her body. She feels so alive, so free.
“The reception for your tattoos is decidedly mixed, but it’s tipping towards positive,” Bobby adds, his phone pulled up to scroll through social media. “Most of the fans think they are temporary, though. I’d rather we don’t deny or confirm it, keep it a mystery for a while longer. What do you think?”
Rumi grins. “Of course. You know best, Bobby.”
“Yeah, Bobby! You’re the best manager ever!” Zoey gushes. Mira nods. They are so lucky to have him throughout both timelines.
He blubbers at the girls’ continued praises as they walk back to the Huntrix waiting room. Not having a lock, he keeps watch outside the door as the girls change into dry clothes.
Mira faces a wall as she peels off her hot pink swimsuit, the cutouts snagging at her curves. “What are we going to do about the rat?”
Being seasoned hunters, all three of them noticed immediately that someone was watching them while on standby. It took no effort for them to quirk their head a bit and catch the sight of Testar’s main vocalist sneaking around in the shadows like a pest.
Zoey kicks off her heavy jorts. “Why did he do that? Do you think he’s a demon?”
Rumi thinks about the freak accidents Park Moondae became a victim of in the last timeline — a demon would have been able to avoid those easily. She shakes her head.
“He’s always been a crafty one,” Mira says, thoughtful. “He’s pretty famous for his poker face, right? But when he was watching us, he looked gobsmacked, like he just discovered something big. I think he recognized your patterns, Rumi.”
“He knows something,” the leader agrees, “and we need to figure out what.”
“Or, we can always just ask him,” Zoey points out. “Drop a few hints to test the waters, see if he acts weird.”
Mira pulls on a pair of jeans with a hum. “Knowing how careful he is, if we do that, he might just run away.”
“So we ambush him,” Rumi says.
The other girls turn to her and nod decisively. Back in dry clothes, they gather by the vanity and scheme under the combined noise of three hairdryers.
Their plan is simple: bait Park Moondae with a collab offer. Huntrix has always kept to themselves, never having a joint stage with other idols so far in their careers, which makes the offer extra lucrative. A mixed-gender duet between top groups’ main vocalists is bound to get a lot of attention. Since both groups are coming back soon, it would be the perfect stage to drum up public interest.
Bobby is a miracle worker, so he manages to set up the meeting less than a week later. The rep from T1Stars, Testar’s management company, is very enthusiastic about the entire deal. Apparently, Testar’s comeback preparation has been coming along so smoothly that they have the free time. The girls suspect Park Moondae tried to reject the collaboration but got overridden by his company.
Friday, a few hours before the second team mission of Idol Inc. airs on TV — it’s perfect. Bobby even manages to secure them home turf, so the girls can lounge in one of the HM Ent. practice rooms with a mountain of snacks while they wait for their prey to reluctantly walk into their trap.
Befitting of his pristine reputation, the door opens 10 minutes before the set meeting time. Park Moondae comes in wearing a cap, a pair of joggers and a hoodie. He jumps when Mira closes and locks the door behind him. Zoey puts away her bag of chips.
“Moondae-ssi.” Rumi does remember her manners. The guy is 2 years older than her.
He slowly backs away sideways, avoiding running into Mira at the door. Panicked eyes flicker in calculation. Notably, he’s not staring at Rumi’s exposed shoulders, bared by a dark tank top. If anything, he looks to be reading something invisible in the air.
“Don’t kill me,” he says, "I can explain.”
The girls raise their eyebrows. This is going smoother than they thought it would. Rumi puts her hands on her hips. “And what is it that you can explain?”
He sighs. “I’ll tell you everything. I’ll cooperate, so don’t suck out my soul or anything like that, okay? I have had enough near-death experiences already.”
The huntresses share looks as the guy takes off his cap and sling bag. He sits down on the floor, getting as comfortable as someone can be while being stared down by three very intimidating KPop superstars.
Zoey shrugs and goes to sit cross-legged in front of him. Rumi follows in a seiza. Mira opts to keep standing, arms crossed in front of her chest.
“Disclaimer: I have never and will not suck anyone’s soul out of their body,” Rumi opens the conversation.
It’s Moondae’s turn to stare at her apprehensively. “I don’t know if I can trust the words of a demon.”
“First of all, I’m a half-demon, not a full demon. My mother was human,” Rumi feels the need to correct. “Second, how do you know that?”
Moondae blinks twice. “Oh, okay. So demons do exist, they can suck out souls, and they also procreate with humans. Somehow, this does not even make the top 5 the weirdest days of my life.”
“You’re only figuring that out now?” Mira asks in disbelief. “I don’t buy it. You stalked us backstage at Waterbomb and know things you shouldn’t. I want an explanation.”
“It’s a long story,” he says.
“We have about three hours until the new episode of Idol Inc. airs, so you better start talking, mister,” Zoey says, jabbing a finger in his direction.
“You’re also watching– Nevermind. I already said I will tell you.” He exhales, shoulders relaxing. “You probably won’t believe me, though.”
“Try us,” Mira says.
He resigns to his fate. “It might sound like the plot to a common manhwa, but this is the truth. I have this ability to view people’s stat windows, like in a video game. I have had it since seven years ago, when I woke up with…a parasite. I call it ‘the system’. It gave me an ultimatum: to debut as an idol in one year or die. That’s why I joined Idol Inc. and fortunately got to debut in Testar.”
Rumi shelves the many questionable parts of that story to focus on the most important tidbit. “Seven years ago? That’s– You went back in time too?”
Moondae nods sagely. “I suspected you three did as well, or at least just Rumi-nim. Did you cut your hair because you were bored of seven years having the same look?”
“That’s none of your business,” Mira replies.
Zoey looks intrigued. “What is ‘the system’?”
“Like I said, it’s some kind of parasite. It’s sentient and supernatural, with reality bending powers, including time travel. When I got sent back, I figured it was that thing having a tantrum again,” he explains.
“But for once, I wasn’t the one who triggered it.” He raises his hands defensively. “I was busy filming one of those deserted island variety shows with my members. The production team stranded us on an island and didn’t let us have our phones for weeks.”
The girls all catch that. “For weeks?” Rumi asks, which he gives a nonverbal confirmation to. “So you don’t know about the Saja Boys.”
He frowns. “Who are the Saja Boys?”
“They were a 5-member rookie boygroup that swept the Idol Awards within just two and a half weeks after their debut,” Rumi says. “Their song was called Soda Pop. Are you sure you haven’t heard of it? It went beyond viral.”
“Two weeks? That’s impossible,” he scoffs. “Testar skipped and most of VTIC was in the army. That’s the definition of an ‘empty house’. Huntrix had it in the bag.”
Rumi reminisced how perfect the timing was for Golden’s release. Back then, it did feel like the universe was aligning for them to seal the Honmoon. Testar having a very public disagreement with a PD from Idol Award’s broadcasting station early in the year, VTIC’s Judan enlisting to join Chaeyul and Sinoh in the army…
“It’s possible because they were actually demons who put some kind of demon crack in their music to make it suuuper catchy,” Zoey explains.
“They were a demon boyband,” Moondae deadpans.
“They were,” Mira confirms. “They also brought on a demon apocalypse, so yeah. That might have been what triggered this ‘system’ of yours into action.”
“I didn’t have my phone for two weeks and I missed an entire demon apocalypse,” Moondae mutters. “Yeah, sure. Why not.”
“Well, technically we prevented the demon apocalypse from succeeding, so you didn’t actually miss much,” Rumi says.
He raises his eyebrows. “Okay, I know I’m the one who should be answering questions, but you can’t expect me to ignore the elephant in the room here. You three clearly aren’t normal idols. I need some clarification on that.”
Mira summons her gok-do, making Moondae jump the second time in the last hour. His eyes widen at the iridescent, gleaming, curved weapon that materialized out of nowhere.
“Demons exist, so us demon hunters exist too,” she summarizes.
“Our job is to stop demons from stealing human souls!” Zoey adds. “We sing songs to strengthen the barrier protecting everyone from the underworld.”
The girls lets him have a moment to process. He eyes Mira’s weapon warily. “Do hunters put some kind of magic in their songs too? Has Testar been fighting against supernaturally-laced music on the charts all this time?”
“Nah, our songs are just good ol’ singing and expensive production.” Mira smiles frighteningly, the glow of the gok-do casting a light to the outer planes of her face. “Not our fault your songs were never good enough to win Song of The Year.”
Faced with a gleaming blade, Moondae calculates his odds, and decides to not back down. “Maybe if you had sold more albums, you’d stop losing to us for Artist of The Year. Oh wait, you lost to a rookie the one year we were skipping.”
“Why you–” Rumi and Zoey restrains their taller bandmate from skewering the most popular member of one of the nation’s top boygroups, right there in their practice room — that’d be one nightmare incident to explain. Mira reluctantly disperses her weapon. Testar’s main vocalist scoots backwards but stays seated on the floor.
Rumi changes the subject. “So, this ‘system’ is supposedly the thing that threw us all back in time. This is also not your first time experiencing this.”
“Yes,” Moondae confirms.
“So you know how to revert it. You can send us back to the original timeline,” Rumi says.
He shakes his head. “That’s the problem: the system isn’t possessing me anymore,” he says. “When it bent time, it also jumped into someone else.”
“How can we trust you are telling the truth?” Mira bites out.
“Do you think I want to replay the next four years all over again?” Moondae sounds desperate. “I liked that timeline. I’ve fought for it. Bled for it. I’ve gone through so many trials to keep it intact, and the system just spat at my face again.”
Rumi frowns. “Then how do we know who it is possessing now?”
Moondae sighs and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “The system always gives the same first ultimatum to their host: debut as an idol in one year or die. If you have seen the original season 5 of Idol Inc., you should know that there are contestants that didn’t take part last time.”
All three girls’ eyes widen. Rumi gasps. “Jinu.”
“You know him,” Moondae says, observing their reactions. “He’s the most likely host of the system right now. Who is he? How do you know him?”
“He was the leader of the Saja Boys. Rumi’s demon situationship,” Mira answers before anyone else can. Rumi makes stilted dying whale noises in the background.
“The other Saja Boys are also in this season of Idol Inc.,” Zoey informs.
“Let me guess,” Moondae drawls, “two of them are Bae Byungho and Kang Abby.”
“Ding ding ding!” Zoey mimics the ‘correct’ sound effect from her favorite variety show.
“I knew they were an abnormality, but I didn’t expect demons,” he says in wonder.
“Well, we actually don’t think they are demons anymore,” Rumi says. “Somehow, your system made them human, with families, backstories, and everything.”
He looks unsurprised. “Yeah, it does that.”
“So… is the plan to get Jinu and make the system inside him turn everything back to normal?” Zoey asks. “How do we even do that, by the way?”
Moondae cringes. “It will take some trial and error, but I’ll figure it out. We just need his cooperation.”
“Oh, Rumi knows all about cooperating with Jinu,” Mira teases, ignoring Rumi’s slaps of protest to her arm. “He might even get jealous that another guy is singing a duet with her.”
“Oh yeah, we have about an hour left to figure that out,” Moondae says grimly, his expression back to betraying nothing.
“A mashup of Testar and Huntrix songs, maybe?” Rumi throws out.
He shakes his head. “That’d take too long to make. We should just do a cover.”
“Cover each other’s songs?” Rumi asks. “But that won’t be a duet.”
“Actually,” he says with a quirk of his lips, face still flat but eyes flashing mischievously. “I was thinking of doing a little throwback. Do you know VTIC’s debut song, Goodnight Sweetie?”
Chapter 25
Summary:
Huntrix watches the newest episode of Idol Inc.
Notes:
Sorry for the wait! I've been pretty stressed with irl stuff (politics, job hunting...) that it shoved me into a block. I also planned to cover a lot in this chapter, so much that I ended up splitting this into two, so there will be one more chapter before we go back to Jinu! Hope you enjoy this one 😊
Chapter Text
They move to the Huntrix studio to actually work on the collaboration. Mira and Zoey stay with the two main vocalists to help arrange the song. Like all VTIC releases, Goodnight Sweetie has their signature vampiric dark and sexy sound. They decide to slow down the dance song’s tempo to a power ballad, but keep the seductive vibe.
Rumi has her guitar out, strumming out the rearranged melodies as they go through each verse. Although he has little to no composing skill, Park Moondae is surprisingly useful. He has an incredible ear. It almost seems like a superpower how he can always pick out the right sound and direction for a song.
For the actual singing… Rumi hasn’t sung a duet with any other guy except Jinu, so she has a very small sample size to compare the experience to. With Jinu, singing was effortless. The words just tumbled out of her mouth, and he harmonized with her like two puzzles slotting perfectly together. They made up an entire song on the spot that night before the Idol Awards. With him, Rumi felt she could have done anything. Together, they were free.
Comparatively, Moondae is a similarly capable vocalist. Working with him is easy because he also has the singing skills to keep up with her. Moreover, he has a clear view of the song he wants to sing and pursues it with the intense focus of a bloodhound. Although he doesn’t know much of the technical terms, his years upon years of experience shows up in his efficiency.
They run a bit late finishing the backtrack recording. Her friends leave first to set up the snacks for the Idol Inc. new episode premiere, while Rumi and Moondae pursue perfection in the booth. She didn’t plan to put in so much effort in what was just supposed to be a silly excuse for an ambush, but recording with a vocalist on her level has lighted up a competitive fire she hasn’t felt since the Saja Boys stole Golden’s first music show win.
“Thank you for the hard work, Rumi-nim,” he says after the session is over. His phone is out, saving her number under ‘Huntrix Rumi’. “Please contact me if there’s any development in the things we talked about.”
She nods, slipping her phone back into her sweatpants pocket. “Feel free to ring us if there’s anything on your side, too, or if you just happen to have demon problems. Thank you for your cooperation, Moondae-oppa.”
He shivers, a full body shudder. “Please never call me that again.”
Rumi giggles as she sees him out. Now alone, she tidies up her things before heading to the Huntrix dorm, a car and an assistant manager ready at the parking lot to drive her.
Finally, she has a quiet moment to process all the information she got in the last few hours. A mysterious entity called ‘the system’, the fact that Jinu will literally die, again, if he doesn’t debut within a year of getting possessed…
Rumi has voiced her worries about that, in the practice room before they packed up to the studio. Jinu had endured 400 years of Gwi-ma’s whispers in his ear. That system’s possession sounds eerily similar to the demon lord’s mark. What does it actually entail?
Moondae assured her that auditory communications is not part of the system’s modus operandi. The system stays passive 99% of the time, only giving game-like objectives the possessed one has to clear, with the penalty of failing being death. He himself has only encountered visual aids to better understand its ultimatums. He offhandedly mentioned a case where the system didn’t give any hints at all to someone it possessed, quickly waving it off since Jinu competing in Idol Inc. is a sign of him having some awareness.
Still, Rumi worries. She probably shouldn’t — Jinu is tough and cunning. She should trust him more to get through this — he’s already doing insanely well on the survival show. Knowing him, he has a 50-step plan already cooking in that stubborn head of his to solve…whatever the system’s deal is.
Moondae said he could handle the system and return them to the last timeline. After pondering about it more, Rumi is not sure if that is the best course of action. The current reality has many things to like. Not only is Jinu alive and free from Gwi-ma in this one, the jump also reversed the Saja Boys’ victims’ fate. Thousands of people are not yet missing or dead because of Gwi-ma. Reliving the last four years of her life seems like a bargain to get to keep all that.
Clenching her hands throughout the elevator ride, Rumi has decided. If Park Moondae wants to turn reality back to the way it used to, he will have to go through her. She is sure Jinu and her girls will agree and stand beside her on this.
She enters the dorms with renewed determination. Slipping off her shoes and throwing her hoodie off onto the mantle, she walks to the couch area filled with chewing noises and the ambient sounds of a commercial break.
“Oh my god, oh my god! Rumi!” Zoey calls, bouncing on the cushion, her torso twisted to the purple haired girl, face stretched in alarm. “They announced the stock selling already!”
Thoroughly distracted, Rumi shelves her previous thoughts for later discussion and joins her bandmates on the couch. “That’s when people can pay to subtract votes from the contestants, right?”
Zoey nods furiously. “TNet is truly evil! People are already piling on each other! My timeline is in chaos!”
In the middle sits Mira, who has already changed into her favorite polar bear pajamas. “You missed the team selections. Abby got to pick first and chose your boyfriend, who picked Romance. They flubbed by not picking the one trainee pushed by the show for having composing skills,” she summarizes.
“Byungho is in the same team as Minjung, though!” Zoey adds. “They picked their item and got their artist alrea– Ah! The show’s back!”
They snap their attention back to the TV. The shot pans to a full item selection table before the screen cuts into two, the other side showing the items remaining. It’s Jinu’s team’s turn to pick.
‘One item in particular catches Cha Jinu’s attention’
Jinu: We should pick it.
The confident close-up of his face in the team huddle cuts to an insert shot of an intricate dagger. Rumi blinks at the familiar sight.
“I’ve seen that,” she says. “It was owned by a second generation hunter, I think.”
She is pretty sure it’s the same dagger she has seen growing up, displayed in a glass case in a corner of Celine’s weapons room. Her mentor, who she hasn’t spoken to since the day she cut her hair, is a big weapons collector.
Celine is one of the only hunters in history that are proficient in multiple weapons, her favorites being the dual swords ssang-geum and a wicked-looking scythe. She had personally trained Rumi with the sword, and then Mira with her spear and Zoey with her daggers. She’s a total nerd about it, really.
Though a hunter’s weapon is made from the energy collected in the Honmoon, this never stopped Celine from using her disposable income for tracking down precious sharp-edged relics to hoard in a suspicious room little Rumi was forbidden to enter until she was deemed ‘old enough’. She’s especially interested in pieces that have anything to do with the hunters legacy, the dagger currently shown on TV being one of them. It’s a rare side of her mentor that crosses the line of duty into indulgement; a side of her that’s more human than legend. A side Rumi wishes Celine had shared with her more.
Rumi bites her lip, trying to contain the melancholic sadness creeping up inside her. She misses her adoptive mother.
“Cute. He must have thought the dagger meant us,” Mira says as the boys on screen locked their choice on the dagger. They all know who is coming next. As Rumi braces herself, a hand covers hers, warm and reassuring.
Ah, Rumi really loves her girls.
‘The owner of the mysterious dagger is…’
A montage of the Sunlight Sisters performing their hits come on screen, their era evident by the lower quality footage despite efforts to remaster them. The clip finishes with a close up of young Celine singing in a pink and blue top with two pompoms in her hair, a series of text detailing her achievements flashing to existence around her youthful face.
Cutting back to the set, the now CEO Celine enters the room to raucous applause and shocked faces. The hand above Rumi’s shake as her tall friend almost doubles over in laughter, her other arm pointing at the TV.
“Look at his face! He’s as white as a sheet!”
Rumi can’t help but chuckle at the shot of Jinu, wide eyes filled with regret. Even though the gnawing sadness is still lurking inside her, her chest feels lighter.
“I still can’t believe she agreed to appear.” Zoey giggles. “How much did they pay her?”
“Do you think he’s met her before?” Mira questions.
Rumi frowns. She has never thought about that before. Now she is curious. “As a demon? He never said.”
The scene ends in a cliffhanger to move on to the other teams picking their items along with their respective artists' reveal. Later when the teams break off to sit on the floor and start their preparation, the edit flashes back to reveal their song assignments. When on-screen Celine briefs Jinu’s team, Zoey squeals.
“That’s my favorite Sunlight Sisters ballad! Though I have at least 5 favorite Sunlight Sisters ballads,” she exclaims then adds quickly. Little quirks like these make it no wonder why she is such a good rapper.
Rumi is less familiar with the song. Celine actually never plays any of her own discography at home. Rumi had to search up the previous hunter trio’s music by herself as soon as she was allowed a phone and internet connection. As a result, Zoey is much more well-versed in Sunshine-fandom than the daughter of one of the members.
Fortunately, the show refreshes her memory for her. A short clip of a Thousand Voices performance plays, a scene she recognizes to have been ripped straight from the Fifth Anniversary Special FanCon at KSPO Dome CD. Having the lyrics to every Sunlight Sisters song ever released memorized, Zoey sings along happily from the other end of the couch.
Unlike Huntrix’s maknae, the trainees look distraught. Rumi understands. A female act’s ballad without a group choreography? It’s a nightmare scenario for a group of boys to adapt.
Before starting discussions about the song, they decide to pick a leader first. Rumi frowns. The editing for this part is bizarre at best and manipulative at worst. Jinu seems to be the main character, disproportionately getting more focus than anyone else in his team, even when he ultimately fails to become leader.
“Rejected by one of his own,” Mira comments when Romeo throws his vote to Taehoon over Jinu. “Ouch.”
A stone-faced close-up of Jinu with his mouth slightly twitching downwards gets amplified with zooms and sound effects before it cuts to a confessional shot.
Jinu: I was disappointed by the results. It means I am still lacking as a leader.
Jinu: I will try my best to think of a theme and lead the team to victory.
Rumi cringes at his words first before noticing something odd with how he looks in the confessional booth. Hair matted with sweat, his practice shirt a different design than the one he is wearing the shot before. The pieces click into place in her brain.
“This footage is from the first team mission,” Rumi says, utterly disgusted.
With uncharacteristic calculating eyes, Zoey nods. “You’re right. He’s all sweaty, it’s probably from after his team got scolded by the dance teacher.”
“I can’t believe I’m seeing the day Jinu gets evil edited,” Mira says.
The trainees’ discussions move on to dividing the parts for the song. Unexpectedly, Jinu declines being the main vocalist. The edit pivots the focus to Romeo a bit as Jinu recommends him instead.
Even though this part of the story is clearly setting up a Romeo growth arc, the girls choose to latch onto a glossed-over detail: the part Jinu insists on singing.
“The pre-chorus?” Zoey stands up. “Rumi! That’s your mom’s part!”
Rumi can feel her cheeks warm. Beside her, Mira lets out a low whistle. “He’s one smooth demon, I’ll give him that.”
Zoey sits back down. “That’s two birds with one stone! He’s working hard to raise Romance’s ranking.”
“He needs to do a lot more for that,” Mira says, gesturing towards the ugly bowlcut amplified by the zoomed-in shot on screen. It really is tragic, even more when they know of his full potential back when he was a demon.
The focus shifts back to Jinu when the team goes with the concept he proposes. Despite Taehoon being the official leader, Jinu takes lead of the preparations. The boys all defer to Jinu for the final say in everything, trusting that he has a clear vision of what the stage should look and sound like.
Jinu: I am a bit of a control freak. (laughs)
‘From the arrangement, choreography, to even the costumes, Cha Jinu works hard to create the best stage.’
Jinu: I want to change the intro part instrumental.
Jinu: Abby-yah, I think this part should be looser. Maybe have the formation change from this line?
Jinu: Is there any chance we can get matching jungchimak?
“Wow, he’s almost as much of a perfectionist as you,” Zoey says to Rumi.
“Isn’t this the natural minimum amount of effort the fans deserve?” The purple haired girl defends herself.
Mira snorts. “You really are a born idol. As for that guy, he is clearly a schemer.”
Although they are showing plenty of footage of the boys practicing, their actual concept stays mysterious up until the day of the dress rehearsal. Before it’s their turn to come onstage, the trainees get fitted with beautiful colorful hanbok. Rumi giggles seeing Jinu squinting, inspecting the garments for historical accuracy. Beside him, Abby is bending and moving his muscles to test the range of motion allowed by the side slits of his coat. He nods in satisfaction and gives Jinu a thumbs up.
Deciding it’s acceptable, Jinu walks over to the other ex-Saja Boy, sitting cross-legged on a makeup chair. From behind, he puts hands on his shoulders, looking straight at their reflection in the mirror.
Jinu: Romeo-yah.
Romeo: What is it, hyung?
Jinu: I really think you would look better without bangs.
Romeo: Really?
Jinu: Yeah. Growing your hair out a bit would flatter your face shape too.
Romeo: Hyung — don’t take this the wrong way — I didn’t expect this from you, but you’re surprisingly opinionated about things like style and fashion.
Jinu: Ah, I’m sorry. Is it a bother?
Romeo: No, no. You’re right. Changing my hair will work better for our concept too.
Jinu: Honestly, I thought of getting all of us to wear long black wigs and have it all tied up into a topknot. It feels like too much, though. I already asked for a specific type of hanbok from the production team.
Romeo: It’s almost a pity. We’d both look good with long hair.
“I already know Jinu works harder than the devil, but damn,” Mira says as they all watch Romeo transform.
A hairstylist works her magic following Jinu’s instructions, defluffing Romeo’s locks and to sleek perfection. Visible-forehead Romeo looks like a different person. Because of the short length, his hair doesn’t frame his face as well as when he was Romance, but it’s already a huge improvement from before.
They stitch the before and after looks side by side to end the makeover scene. Beyond the superficial, Romeo’s face is brighter. After the stage rehearsal ends, the trainers compliment him for the newfound confidence.
The show cycles through the other teams' preparations before airing the performances. Byungho is the leader of his team, his teammates trusting him with full creative control of the rearrangement. He works demonically fast, intensely focused on changing the assigned old KPop song into a bonafide anthem. Working with Rin, he even adds a dance break section filled with stunts that has Minjung practice stepping on top of a few other members. Zoey squeals at the implication that Minjung will again get a killing part.
When it’s time for the stages to start, the girls are beyond excited. Youngrin stuns in a three-piece, checkered retro suit as she announces the first performers. It's showtime.
Chapter 26
Summary:
Huntrix watches the performances for the second team mission.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Mira gets up to pop a second bowl of popcorn, leaving her bandmates to ooh and aah at a performance with trainees she has zero interest in. With eight teams, it’s taking a while for the ex-Saja Boys to take the stage. Unlike Zoey who has everyone’s names memorized and Rumi who claims she is only watching the show for Jinu, but secretly catalogues the other high ranking boys into a tier list of ‘best potential Jinu bandmates’, Mira is a total casual. She has watched an Abby fancam or two, yes, but she hasn’t voted once. As far as she is concerned, if the Saja Boys want to debut, they can do it without her help. She is watching the show because she needs to keep an eye on these ex-demons, not for leisure.
It’s also something to bond over with her girls. There’s few things in the world more entertaining than watching the ever-’hot and respectful’ Saja Boys struggling. It brings her great satisfaction to see Jinu and his smug face go through the trainee hoops he once skipped altogether, no matter how easy he still makes it look. Having the chance to tease Rumi every time he is on screen more than makes up for it.
She tosses the kernels in the bowl with salt before taking it back to the couch. Her girls are getting all technical discussing the last team’s arrangement, those nerds.
Rumi has moved over to the middle in her excitement, so Mira slides into the empty end of the couch. The Mira-Rumi-Zoey formation, as nature intended.
“What, did they really butcher the song that bad?” Mira opens as she puts the popcorn bowl in the middle of the table.
“It wasn’t bad,” Rumi says, “but it’s such a missed opportunity, they could have done more with it.”
Zoey nods. “In Testar’s season they did things, like, a superhero concept. So far every team has been playing it safe.”
Youngrin: For our next performers, please welcome: Team So Noisy!
“Well, looks like the main event is here,” Mira says over the loud cheers coming from the sophisticated speakers connected to their TV. Five guys walk in wearing colorful hanbok, head held high and dignified. Their leader — the one who isn’t Jinu — counts to three and they bow elegantly as one.
The crowd goes wild. Such screams in a studio that size must have been deafening.
Suddenly, Jinu raises a slender hand and puts a pointer finger over his lips. Entranced by the sudden movement, the audience quiets.
Jinu: Ssh! So Noisy.
He ends it with an exaggerated pout, a clear attempt at aegyo. Abby next to him bursts into laughter first, followed by Youngrin and then everyone else. Mira can’t help but snort herself. What a way to introduce themselves.
Youngrin makes them introduce the song and talk a bit about how it felt meeting Celine. Abby gushes about the experience before the topic moves on to what came after.
Youngrin: Yoon Taehoon-trainee, I’ve heard that Cha Jinu-trainee had taken over the preparations.
“Oh wow, they went there,” Mira says.
Taehoon: I’m very grateful for Cha Jinu-ssi. All of our members have worked hard to prepare for this performance, so I hope everyone can enjoy it.
“See, TNet?” Zoey says into thin air, “It’s been five seasons. He’s not an idiot. You’re trying to make it happen but it’s not gonna happen.”
Youngrin lets the boys go. The lights dim and the scene cuts to a shining blue moon on the black LED screen. The camera zooms out to reveal a stunning interconnected silhouette of the boys, framing Abby in the middle with their arms linked by fabric, forming a crescent shape. A moon.
The original intro melody plays but the instrument is different. The synths have been replaced by what has to be Jinu’s bipa, haunting in its simplicity.
“When night comes, only clouds in my vision~” Abby flicks his body with every note, dancing a traditional number as he sings, light and airy.
Other instruments trickle in, one by one giving more body to the song. The formation collapses into two lines, the sparkly blue translucent fabric held in each trainee’s hand a pretty direct reference to the Honmoon.
Mira snorts. Rumi’s boyfriend really has no subtlety. Doesn’t he realize Celine being involved means she will likely watch this performance? The retired hunter will surely get the reference. A random trainee masterminding a homage to something he is supposed to know nothing about… Knowing he was a demon, Mira would have thought it mockery instead, if she weren’t already aware of his lovesick motive.
Whatever Celine’s reaction will be, Mira doesn’t want to deal with the imminent fallout. Rumi can take care of that.
The leader sings the verse, his voice thin compared to the original. Mira has heard that his ranking is high, mostly based on his soft looks. Not her type, but she can admit the guy looks pretty with the hairpin in his hair.
When Jinu replaces him in the center, the difference in their stage presence is so stark that it’s laughable. The outfits he picked for them are a lot to handle, a lesser performer can easily drown in all the fabric. Eyes fully immersed in the song, the ex-demon wears the hanbok like it was second skin, swishing the long sleeves expertly.
Mira glances at Rumi, the purple haired girl’s eyes glued to the screen. She’s blushing. Mira can’t fault her, as that’s a damn good look for her guy, all made up but somehow looking natural. The modern haircut aside, the fact that 400 years ago Jinu might have worn clothes like this is certainly doing things to her dear half-demon friend.
“I never knew love, never knew hope~ In a bind by my own doubts, I didn’t know my own strength,” Jinu croons. Both of his hands are wrapped in fabric, two trainees on each side surrounding him. “The skies are rumbling, rumbling, I keep on running, running,” he builds up the song.
“Then I hear a voice, it’s my salvation~” Romeo comes into the center to sing the chorus. It’s a seamless transition from Jinu, his voice holding up to standard even with the tricky high notes he has to hit. Aside from adjusting it to a male key, the new arrangement for Celine’s parts didn’t change much at all.
The new hairstyle looks good on him, framing his sharp feline features in a way that awful bowlcut never did. He smiles as he delivers the next lines.
“Strings of light surround me, showing me a path I've never seen before~ When I hear you, my world bursts into color~”
Mira squints. Romeo didn’t just smile. That’s the first smirk she’s ever seen him crack in this damn show. Romance the demon used to toss that around like cheap liquor — smirking in his ending fairy shots, smirking to the squeals of his fangirls, smirking at Mira. She knows what it looks like. She knows, because she smirks the same way. It’s an automatic response by her body when she’s feeling herself; when she knows she’s hot and in good condition that day, giving her enough of an ego boost to enjoy the stage without any worries about what the cameras are capturing.
“I hear a thousand voices, thousands of voices~” Romeo belts out the climax successfully. He was the Saja Boys’ lead vocalist for a reason.
The tension lowers as the guy with glasses converts the second verse into a rap. It flows to Abby, who rap-sings the end with one arm holding Jinu, giving the camera bedroom eyes for a split second that has Mira laugh incredulously at the perfect timing. Jinu takes over from there, the same pre-chorus lyrics sung with a bit more vibrato and breath, conveying how the emotions have heightened since the first go-around.
Romeo sings the chorus again but he is not alone, Jinu doubling to add depth, then surprisingly Abby joins in to complete the hunter- certified three-part harmony. Breath stolen from her, Mira can only cover up her awe with a scowl. It has always been so infuriating how these boys can sound that good.
The performance ends with Abby in the middle again, but instead of the other boys framing him in a circle, they have intertwined the fabric to their arms and bodies, connecting all of them in one carefully straight line. Zoey stands up and gives them a standing ovation along with the enthusiastic demands for an encore from the crowd.
The shot cuts to a brief close-up of each team member. Romeo has found his angle, somehow looking prettier than the leader-guy shown before him. It will make a great thumbnail picture for his fancam — Mira can see it going viral already. Jinu looks like he just stepped out from the palace for a midday stroll in the Joseon Dynasty, so composed he barely looks out of breath. Meanwhile, Abby’s chest is heaving with exertion, his tan skin glowing healthily as he ends the segment with a cute, boyish smile. Mira suddenly has the urge to punch something.
While reaching for a vacant pillow, she glimpses Rumi wiping her eyes with her sleeves. Mira raises her eyebrows. “You okay?”
“Yeah, it was just beautiful,” her friend says, voice breaking into chuckles. “He’s so thoughtful and stupidly handsome. Why am I tearing up?”
“You’re having one of those ‘I saw someone so beautiful I cried’ moments,” Zoey sagely explains. “Which is totally valid after watching that performance.”
Mira doesn’t cry, but the stage is branded into her mind nonetheless. She won’t be able to recall what the next two teams did. The only reason she pays attention to the last performance is because Zoey demands it, pulling out another custom Mystery sign she somehow had time to make for this occasion from behind the couch.
Mira opens another can of beer and takes a swig. Everyone in this team is wearing black, military-style coats. As the center, Minjung has a purple sash pinned with a fancy brooch. He looks nervous as always, Byungho as the leader fielding the questions that come his way. That kid has only determination in his eyes.
The performance starts with Byungho rapping the intro alone in front of the formation of boys. The original song was by a rap-focused boygroup, a hiphop concept debut track about working hard to reach the top becoming a sleeper hit because of the catchy hook. Byungho joins the formation and another guy pops out of it, rapping his piece. Despite the provocative lyrics, their gestures are military-stiff. Somehow, it suits the song perfectly.
The blond kid that was on Jinu’s team the round before leads the chorus with a cool marching choreography. Mira gets what this team is going for. They try to cover the fact that they are only five people with flashy big moves and stage presence, but this type of performance would have been better with an army of backup dancers.
The climax has Minjung raised up by four people as he hits a high note, Byungho who rapped before it the only one in front, crouching low and bending at the waist. It looks like they scrapped the stepping-on-others choreo shown in their practice footage, since Minjung kept losing his balance. Mira nods in approval. It’s always good to explore new avenues instead of risking injury. This version suits a five-member setup much better anyway.
They all struggle to catch their breath when it ends. It truly was an intense performance. If she were there onsite, she would have felt moved to vote for them.
The trainees all gather after the audience goes home to view the results of the onsite voting. To no one’s surprise, the top two teams are Jinu and Byungho’s. They’re keeping the winner a secret until the next elimination day, of course.
“The winning team benefit is probably exemption from the stock selling votes, like in previous seasons,” Zoey says. She has already pulled out her phone, logging into her Lee Minjung stan account and retweeting his moments dutifully. “I’m minus-voting that nasal-voiced prick. How dare he talk shit about Minjung when he was just trying his best? If it’s so easy doing stunts while singing live, he should’ve volunteered for it,” she grumbles under her breath.
Mira picks up her empty beer can and throws it in the trash. She shares an amused look with Rumi as they clean up the rest of the table.
“Uh, Rumi?” Their maknae says after a few minutes of scrolling, her expression still and her voice full of nerves. “You might want to see this.”
Notes:
Surprise Mira POV! Byungho's team performance concept is based on Seventeen's Fearless.
Pages Navigation
berryciider on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 12:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 02:11PM UTC
Comment Actions
LurkingRabbit on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 12:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 01:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
Ayelen (Guest) on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 12:32PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 01:34AM UTC
Comment Actions
Remonalin on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 01:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 02:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
flwryong on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 02:40PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 01:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 1 Tue 24 Jun 2025 03:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 01:26AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 02:09AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 25 Jun 2025 02:27AM UTC
Comment Actions
Kuroe_dono on Chapter 1 Sun 29 Jun 2025 03:22AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Mon 30 Jun 2025 07:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
AlwaysInProgress on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Jul 2025 02:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Jul 2025 08:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
AlwaysInProgress on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Jul 2025 04:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
Mellowyoon on Chapter 1 Wed 02 Jul 2025 11:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 02 Jul 2025 06:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
Stalpra on Chapter 1 Thu 03 Jul 2025 04:20PM UTC
Comment Actions
PiquantTraveler on Chapter 1 Fri 04 Jul 2025 06:06PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Jul 2025 04:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
Reinalix on Chapter 1 Sat 05 Jul 2025 12:31PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Jul 2025 04:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
nix_nacs on Chapter 1 Tue 15 Jul 2025 10:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Wed 16 Jul 2025 04:05AM UTC
Comment Actions
stavaresofficial on Chapter 1 Sat 02 Aug 2025 11:41AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Sun 03 Aug 2025 07:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
Charientist on Chapter 1 Sat 09 Aug 2025 02:59AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Sat 09 Aug 2025 06:17AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 09 Aug 2025 06:40AM UTC
Comment Actions
Charientist on Chapter 1 Thu 14 Aug 2025 08:33PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Fri 15 Aug 2025 06:11AM UTC
Comment Actions
dayeongi on Chapter 1 Mon 22 Sep 2025 07:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 1 Tue 23 Sep 2025 01:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
flwryong on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 09:51AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 11:54AM UTC
Comment Actions
DaphneTheAdipose on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 10:44AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 11:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 09:55PM UTC
Comment Actions
jadeyiu on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 10:58AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 11:58AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 3 Wed 25 Jun 2025 09:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 12:34AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 05:09AM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 09:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 05:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 05:38PM UTC
Comment Actions
invufinity on Chapter 3 Thu 26 Jun 2025 10:50PM UTC
Last Edited Thu 26 Jun 2025 11:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fyifae on Chapter 3 Fri 27 Jun 2025 05:02AM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation