Jung Dajun sighed over and over, his face dark. His expression, filled with melancholy, twisted faintly as if the mere act of recalling that day caused him pain.
“...It was really hard back then.”
He muttered gloomily.
“...Everyone was watching the video you edited, hoping they’d come to their senses safely. You could say the entire country of Korea was shaken up in support of you, Hyung. But in the end, you never woke up from the coma. While we were cleaning up the aftermath... well, as you know, we disbanded a year later.”
His unkempt blond hair fell messily over his forehead.
“We couldn’t even promote together anymore. Everyone split up and went solo. Jiwon-hyung and Sunghyun-hyung stayed at the company and appeared on variety shows, but Ichae-hyung—guess he didn’t want to stay in Korea—he went back to the U.S. I tried going solo and found some success, but... I still miss the days with The Dawn.”
He gave a lonely smile and carefully peeled an apple with a knife.
“...Not many people remember The Dawn now, do they?”
“......”
“I miss you, Hoyun-hyung.”
A long silence fell.
I accepted the plate he handed over and frowned at the apple slices he’d carved clumsily into a rabbit shape.
“Wait.”
“Yeees~!”
“So, in your dream, I was dead?”
“...U-uh, I don’t know. You were in a coma, so maybe you’ll wake up eventually?! It was an interview a year later, so maybe a few years later—!!”
“What a damn detailed dream you had...”
As I leaned back, chewing on the apple, Jung Dajun suddenly jumped on top of me.
“Gah!!”
“Thaaat’s what I’m saying!!”
Coughing from the sudden weight crushing my stomach, I watched as he ignored me and started pounding his fists down with fake, loud sobs that made him sound suspiciously like a certain rapper.
“Do you know how awful that dream was?! Hoyun-hyung, do you know how much we all suffered while you were asleep? Waaaah! I had nightmares like that every single day!!”
What is he, a sea lion? Wailing like that?
Since I couldn’t exactly scold him for being emotional, I let the maknae have his tantrum. Soon, he stopped and slowly raised his upper body. Sure enough, the blanket he’d been lying on was perfectly dry.
When I pointed at it with my finger, Dajun pouted and looked away.
I sighed and shoved the unidentifiable “rabbit” apple into his mouth.
“See? I’ve been reflecting too, that’s why I’ve been quietly cooped up here for four days straight.”
“‘Quietly’ you say... huh? Wait, where are you going all of a sudden?!”
I bit into another slice of fruit, slipped into my slippers, and opened the wardrobe. Pulling out a black leather jacket—no idea whose it was—I threw it on just as Sung Jiwon and Kim Sunghyun entered through the door.
Startled, they blinked rapidly, checked the hallway, and hurried inside.
“What’s this? Seo Hoyun, are you going somewhere?”
“Are you okay? Still hurt? What’s so important that you’re going out?”
“The doctor said I was healthy enough to be discharged.”
Even after all the post-checkups, not a single abnormality showed up. I lightly smacked Kim Sunghyun, who muttered that the jacket was his.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”
These past few days had been a blur. Between company meetings and discussions about our next steps, I hadn’t even managed to see the one person I really needed to.
Kim Sunghyun crossed his arms, giving me a long, doubtful look.
“I get that you’re frustrated, but... it’s dangerous out there.”
Honestly, he wasn’t wrong.
The company had released an official statement that was vague enough to “assess public reaction.”
The problem was, that ambiguity only made the rumors spiral out of control.
In the end, not wanting to worry the fans any further, I wrote a long, handwritten letter to Noeul.
“And if you don’t rest... um, the fans are gonna get really mad...”
“......”
Right.
[Hoyun-ah, the company already posted an announcement. Go to sleep.]
[Why are you holding a pencil? Who writes three pages by hand in the 21st century?]
[So old-school, Hoyun-ah.]
[If you dare to act fine and send another message in a few days, I swear my blood pressure will explode;;;^^!!]
[We’re professional ignore-the-sick-specialists, don’t worry about us.]
[We already love you so damn much, don’t rip our fragile hearts, just go live your life.]
[Do nothing. Just breathe. Roll around and hang out with friends. Don’t work. Get lost!!!!]
Yeah. The reactions were ferocious.
Kim Sunghyun must’ve seen them too, because his voice softened with concern.
“Right... well, you probably have people you need to talk to. Just watch out for reporters... and don’t take too long.”
I replied with a faint smile.
He’d been the first to cry when I woke up, but at times like this, he was reassuring as hell.
“I’ll go.”
“Ah, Hoyun-ah. It’s still really cold outside. Take this.”
Sung Jiwon removed his blue scarf and handed it to me, hesitating.
“You know... outside, Ichae and Hojin were fighting again...”
“Again?”
Not surprising.
As I adjusted the scarf, Sung Jiwon gave a sheepish smile.
“Ichae’s been... well, kind of weird with you lately.”
An awkward silence fell over the hospital room, but I nodded.
“...Yeah. I’ll talk to him.”
Can’t avoid it forever anyway.
Sung Jiwon looked like he wanted to say more, but Dajun clung to him, insisting on coming along, so he dropped it. I ruffled Dajun’s hair, stuffed my phone, wallet, and a handful of candy from the table into my pockets, and left the room.
As I walked down the corridor toward the elevators, raised voices echoed through the hall.
“—Hey! Kang Ichae! Did you just swallow your sense of manners and boundaries with your rice?!”
That was Seo Hojin.
And from the sound of it, he was furious.
“Now that you’ve got your memory back, you don’t see anyone anymore, huh?”
“I don’t. What are you gonna do about it?”
“...W-what?! You— you do know I’m older, right?!”
“Ha! Ha! Hahaha! Shouldn’t you be the one on your knees, begging me for mercy right now, Hyu~~ng?! Guess it runs in the family, that need to be called ‘Hyung,’ huh?!”
Those two had been at each other’s throats every day lately. I stood there, curious how far they’d go this time, until Hojin finally exploded.
“I totally regret it. I must’ve lost my mind. How could I have ever played IRIX with you of all people?!”
“I regret it too!! I wasted my good will hanging out with a friendless loser and dropped my rank because of it!!”
“How’s that my fault?! That’s just because your skills suck!!”
Just listening to them made my IQ drop.
Panting, Kang Ichae finally noticed me and twitched his eyebrow. Instead of looking away, he met my gaze straight on, curling his lips into a crooked smile.
“...Oh, so now that you’re feeling better, your attitude’s completely different. A few days ago, when you were sick, you were clinging to me so desperately.”
“...That’s—”
“Why so bold now? What if I tell him what you were planning? What you were about to do...”
“What was I about to do?”
“......!!”
Taking a step forward, I asked quietly. Hojin flinched hard.
‘There it is.’
Feeling guilty, huh?
I could already guess what my brother had been trying to pull even without hearing it. I slung an arm around his shoulders and spoke softly.
“Hojin.”
But maybe the tone came out more threatening than I meant, because his shoulders stiffened instantly.
“Apologize to Ichae.”
“...Ichae, I’m sorry.”
“And to me.”
“...I apologize, Hyung. I’ve committed a grave sin.”
Even after the apology, Kang Ichae narrowed his eyes, clearly dissatisfied, gazing lazily at us.
What now.
“You should apologize to me ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) too.”
“......”
Finally acknowledging my presence after ages, Ichae spoke in a strange tone—somewhere between irritation and hesitation.
I held out a candy.
“Want one?”
He stared at me for a while, then bumped my shoulder and walked off, his expression unreadable.
Hojin, still watching him disappear into the hospital ward, scratched his head and unwrapped one of my candies without asking.
“I don’t get him. How long’s he gonna keep avoiding you like that?”
“......”
Right. At least you two fight.
These past few days, Kang Ichae had treated me like I was contagious.
Aside from the time right after I woke up, when he’d mumbled something into my shoulder, this was the first time he’d actually spoken to me.
Hojin kept glancing toward the direction Ichae had gone, then changed the subject.
“...Hey, Hyung, are you really okay?”
“What about?”
“...You said you started a new game. How is it? I’m just a little worried. Something about the settings seems off. Our relatives have been posting about you nonstop...”
Well, that’s true.
As I’d emailed to Ichae—and later explained directly to Hojin—I’d started Eternal Idol Tycoon, which inherited the save data from Nugu Idol Tycoon. Thanks to that, I could keep my “idol” role while retaining everyone’s memories.
The downside was that all the extra settings Hojin had added got scrambled.
Now, no one remembered that I was once a PD, but they still acted as if the emotions from those days lingered.
Old broadcasting staff who’d known me as a PD somehow found out and sent me sudden “comfort” messages. Relatives were posting nonsense online and calling the company nonstop.
There were already plenty of people spouting garbage about me, so one more group didn’t make much difference.
What actually worried me was—
“Should I sue them?”
...this.
I stretched Hojin’s cheek hard.
“Ow!!! That hurts!!!”
“It’s supposed to hurt.”
“Wh—what—!!”
He huffed but didn’t dare fight back.
He wasn’t that fragile kid anymore—the one who used to get crushed by every word from our relatives. He’d grown up. I was proud of him, even if I still worried a little.
I patted his now-slimmer cheek.
“When a relative approaches you, what do you say?”
“...‘Please get lost’?”
“No—‘Run for your damn life.’”
Because if I see them, I’ll kill them.
I dropped my arm from around his shoulder and started walking lazily ahead.
“What, where are you going?”
“Yeah.”
Wrapping the scarf tighter, I glanced out the window. Despite the heavy snow, the area in front of the hospital was crowded with reporters hoping to catch anything worth a headline. I wasn’t the only one they’d been hounding these past few days.
“To take turns slapping faces.”
