When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
"..."
There was a time I wanted to say this line.
But experiencing it again… it was fucking awful.
I blinked my heavy eyelids a few times and slowly sat up.
The fluorescent light was off, but sunlight streamed through the window, so the room wasn't too dark.
That's when the smell of disinfectant hit me, and I noticed the IV line hanging heavily from my arm. It finally clicked—I was in a hospital room.
The first thing I did was look for my phone to check if anything serious had happened while I was out.
"...Ugh."
It was neatly placed on the small nightstand next to a fresh water bottle.
Just then—buzz. My phone vibrated.
When I turned it on, I was flooded with missed calls and messages checking in on me.
The one at the very top read:
[Shady Bastard: You alive?]
It was a text from Min Jiheon.
Come to think of it, Jiheon's first-aid must've worked pretty well.
The pounding headache was gone, and I could move my body relatively fine.
It felt like everything was returning to normal.
Still feeling a little out of it, I skimmed through the messages.
It didn't seem much different from the last time I passed out. I turned off my phone, closed my stinging eyes, and pressed my palms over my eyelids when it vibrated again.
[Shady Bastard: Looks like you're alive. Congrats on making it back, lol.]
"…Made it back?"
[Shady Bastard: You were out of it for a while, I was freaking out….]
[Shady Bastard: You didn't see anything weird, did you?]
Something weird?
Ding!
[Clear the game through idol activities to earn a new life!]
"Ha!"
The moment I saw that, my mind snapped back into place.
"—Fuck."
Seo Hojin!
My heart started pounding like crazy. My vision spun, and it felt like my brain had completely shut down. I quickly called up the system window, the one I believed held the most answers.
"…Hey, hey!"
Is my little brother okay?
"What happened to my brother?"
Anxiety crept up from my feet like cold water.
I rubbed my face with both hands.
"Fuck, is he really there alone?"
Is he crying by himself?
I wanted the system to say something—anything—but all it showed was the same message:
"Clear the game through idol activities to earn a new life!"
Seo Hojin.
I bit my lip and stood up.
At the very least, I had to check on the Seo Hojin in this world with my own eyes to calm down.
"Ugh!"
As I moved toward the door, something tugged painfully at the hand holding my phone. I looked back and saw the IV line stretched taut.
I was about to pull it out when the door slid open.
"Oh!! You're up…."
Seong Jiwon, who looked startled at first, softened into a gentle smile. But when he saw my hand clutching the IV needle, his face immediately turned pale.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"Move for a second."
"No, Hoyun! Just calm down for a bit!"
I must not have regained full strength because my grip was still weak. I tried pulling it out, but Seong Jiwon panicked and tried to stop me.
Buzz. Buzz—
That's when a call came in.
[Little Shit Brother]
"...!"
I checked the caller and quickly picked up.
[Hyung? Hyung?! You're awake?]
A voice filled with worry—similar to mine, but somehow warmer.
It was really Seo Hojin.
[I just finished class! I stopped by this morning, too….]
…He was sniffling a bit, but it was definitely him.
[I'm on my way to the hospital. Why do you keep collapsing lately? Are you overworked? Being an idol isn't for just anyone, huh….]
Yeah, work's been fucking brutal.
I went unconscious, met a being that looked like you when you were young, watched the world collapse, and got in another accident.
Even though I died, all I can think about is how you'd be left behind alone.
Still—funny thing.
Just hearing my brother's voice—
[Hyung?]
—I felt relieved.
Even that annoyingly clingy tone of a grown-ass man… fucking hell, it calmed my racing heart.
I started thinking about what that small being had told me: to share a meal with this Seo Hojin.
"Should I buy you dinner?"
The words just slipped out of my cracked, hoarse voice.
[Huh?]
"Let's go eat something seriously good. When are you free?"
[Why all of a sudden…? Wait, why?]
"Just. I want to eat with you."
[…What the hell, why are you being all creepy?]
Hojin stammered, clearly flustered.
He grumbled about how a patient shouldn't be thinking about food and should just eat hospital meals and recover. Then, like always, he started rattling off his schedule.
[Midterms are almost over… maybe the day after tomorrow… No, tomorrow's fine too.]
"Alright."
[Ah?! Wait, can you even eat solid food yet?!]
"Shut up, my head's ringing."
Hearing him freak out made me scold him, but strangely, that eased my nerves even more.
[Seriously, what's going on? Did something happen?]
"Why's a grown man clinging to his brother like this?"
[Wh-what~?!]
Before he could stumble any further, I hung up.
My heart, which had been pounding like crazy, returned to its normal rhythm.
"Seo Hoyun, get it together."
Even if the other me died in that world, my mission hadn't changed.
The system had clearly stated:
Clear the idol game, and you'll be given new life and can return to your original world.
I didn't know what this was or why I'd been brought back, but… it didn't matter. This was a second chance—and that was enough for me.
"I have to finish this and go back."
If I was so worried about the Seo Hojin I left behind, I just had to complete the game and return.
In the end, if I'm worried about my brother, that means I need to give this idol thing everything I've got.
"Then I'll do it."
No matter how fucked up it is.
With a clear goal in mind, instead of panic, a strange fighting spirit rose in me.
"Hey, Seong Ji…won…"
Only now did I have the composure to remember Seong Jiwon. I turned my head to apologize, but then my thoughts short-circuited.
Tears were streaming down from his brown eyes.
"…What… are you doing?"
"Can't you tell?"
I mean, yeah, I can.
"…Why are you crying?"
I quickly grabbed a tissue and handed it to him, but Seong Jiwon shook his head and pushed me back onto the bed.
'Why is he being so dramatic?'
Can't someone pass out for just a day?
Besides, I seem fine now.
"Hyung, we're here! Hoyun-hyung is awa—!"
The members burst into the room all at once, probably just back from practice, still in their training outfits.
Jeong Dajun, who met my eyes first while I was awkwardly perched on the edge of the bed, started crying immediately.
"Hyung! I thought you were going to die!!"
"What are you talking about? Don't exaggerate. Why would I die?"
Well… I did, technically.
But I kept my mouth shut, thinking that mentioning it wouldn't help his mental state.
Seong Jiwon was sniffling with his hand over his eyes, and Kim Seonghyeon had his head down, shoulders shaking.
A bunch of grown men crying together—what a sight.
I opened the water bottle on the drawer and drank it down in big gulps before speaking.
"Why are you all being so dramatic? I just took a nap."
"…What?"
The members stared at me in disbelief.
'What is it?'
"Wait a sec."
I frowned in confusion at their reaction, and the members exchanged glances. Then Kim Seonghyeon raised his right hand.
"Seo Hoyun, do you know how long you were unconscious?"
"…How long?"
"Almost two days."
Now that he mentioned it, I hadn't even checked the date or time while looking at my messages.
I quickly checked my phone. It hadn't even been a full two days since Kang Ichae's mentor performance.
"…Wow, I really did sleep a lot."
I mumbled awkwardly, trying to laugh it off, and the room instantly turned into another emotional mess.
"…Come on. Seriously. Anyone would think I almost died."
Though, again—I did.
Seong Jiwon bit his lower lip for a moment and then said softly:
"Hoyun-ah, you did almost die… Your heart stopped for a moment."
"…Koff, cough!"
I immediately started coughing, choking in surprise.
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
My heart stopped?
'Shit, they found out about that too?'
"D-Did anyone outside…?"
"The company worked really hard to cover it up. People just know you collapsed and were taken to the hospital."
A story scarier than any ghost tale.
If a headline had popped up like, 'Idol S from X group collapses with heart failure during teammate's stage performance', no matter how much of a PR genius I was, there'd be no salvaging that.
"Damn, guess I got my bad luck out of the way."
"…You!!"
"It's fine. I don't have any chronic illness. Just stress."
Can stress stop a heart?
I wasn't sure, but at times like this, denial was the only weapon I had.
"…Hyung…"
Trying to lighten the heavy mood, I cracked a joke, but Jeong Dajun started trembling.
"…Are you stupid, hyung?! Do you even know how worried we were after you were rushed to the hospital? When they called saying you collapsed here, we all turned completely pale…"
"Okay, okay, hang on."
Kim Seonghyeon gently stopped him, calming him down.
"Maknae, that's enough. Seo Hoyun just woke up."
"..."
"Hey. Do you need anything?"
"Thirsty."
I was just rolling my eyes around, reading the room, when Kim Seonghyeon threw me a life vest in the form of a question.
"And hungry."
I didn't really have anything else to say. Honestly, there was nothing else I could say.
Kim Seonghyeon seemed to understand that. He nodded silently and stood up.
"Wait here. I'll check if you're allowed to eat yet."
"Thanks, baby."
"Ugh, you asshole…"
Swearing under his breath—something he rarely did—Kim Seonghyeon let out a helpless chuckle, patted my shoulder, and left the hospital room.
"Jeong Dajun, stop crying and come here."
"…Sniff."
Always taking care of him.
'Such a softie.'
Jeong Dajun glared at me with a pout, then stomped out of the room behind Kim Seonghyeon.
"Sniff!!!"
"…."
He was very upset.
And before walking out, he even snorted one last time at the door.
Eventually, the returning leader grabbed the loitering maknae by the scruff of the neck and dragged him away, putting an end to the situation.
Even Seong Jiwon, who had been quietly crying the whole time, left without a word.
'Why does it feel like I'm a criminal on trial or something?'
Still, after talking with Seo Hojin and seeing the members' faces, I felt oddly better and flopped back onto the bed.
"You're not leaving?"
Just one person remained—standing there with a blank face and making me feel slightly guilty.
"..."
Kang Ichae just stared at me in silence.
"You really mad?"
When I asked quietly, Kang Ichae rubbed his jaw for a while, then suddenly asked,
"You're not curious?"
"…Huh?"
"Who brought you here. You're not asking."
My body stiffened for a second.
I couldn't even blink as I looked at him, but Kang Ichae's eyes dropped to follow the long IV line.
"For someone who cares so much about public image, you're not wondering whether it was a fan who found you, or a staff member. That's not suspicious?"
"..."
I couldn't say a word.
'This guy's like a damn ghost.'
Kang Ichae was smart and perceptive, but more than anything, he was sharp and instinctive.
'His intuition is like some wild animal's.'
Even though he could be a little hot-tempered, he had been making an effort to get along with our difficult team. I felt a bit bad.
"Kang Ichae, I mean—this is…"
"I told you a million times. Don't make people worry."
He said he didn't care what I did behind the scenes, as long as I lived healthy and happy. So just talk to us.
Creak.
Kang Ichae stood from the chair and stepped closer.
As I squirmed and tried to inch away on the bed, he braced himself against the headboard with one arm and looked down at me.
'…Crap.'
"Hey. You know…"
As soon as I saw his serious, expressionless face, cold sweat broke out.
"Are you… trying to provoke me?"
I'm screwed.
This guy's eyes were gone.