Chapter 7: The Future Starts to Change (1)

I would never forget the profound shock I experienced when I first entered our new accommodation. The memory of it remained vivid, both six years back and now.

"Wow,” Park Yoon-Chan exclaimed as he placed his luggage down. The new place was a stark contrast to the villa we had previously lived in. It was much cleaner and considerably more spacious.

"There are only four of us now, and we will be living in such a nice place?" Goh Yoo-Joon pondered aloud, seemingly in disbelief.

On the other hand, the manager’s enthusiasm was palpable. "Of course! This will be your home for a while before you debut. It has to be clean and comfortable."

Compared to the living situation the other members had experienced after debut, a 605-square-foot apartment didn’t seem exceptionally large. However, for us, who had previously resided in the small villa, it was hard to imagine a better accommodation than this.

The manager instructed, “Take a look around and choose your rooms. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Without paying much attention to the manager's words, I distanced myself from the others who were eagerly exploring the living room. Then, I wandered around to check out the rooms. This particular room was very memorable to me as it was the first and last place I had stayed in as part of the debut group. All of a sudden, memories that I desperately wanted to erase flooded back, evoking a tingling sensation of pain on half of my face.

'I made it back here,'

I thought to myself, a mix of disbelief and nostalgia coursing through me. This was the place I never thought I'd return to—the daily life and space I had lost... I was overwhelmed by everything, and a surge of emotions welled up inside me.

“Suh Hyun-Woo, what are you doing here? Are you really planning to stay in this room? Hey, let's get a bigger room.” Goh Yoo-Joon approached, checking out the room while grumbling. I didn't turn to look at him, unsure of how to hide my emotional turmoil.

“I like it here," I stated.

However, Goh Yoo-Joon insisted. “Oh, come on! Let's get another room. There is a bigger one on the other side.”

“Why are you telling me this? If you want the bigger room, just go,” I replied, subtly urging him to make his own decision. After that, I placed my luggage down in the room.

Goh Yoo-Joon, seemingly resigned, put his luggage on the bed opposite mine. "Hey! We should share a room, of course. Are you planning to room with another member? Are you abandoning your friend, you jerk?"

Despite his words, I could tell that he was glancing enviously at the other members in the living room. They were now playing rock-paper-scissors to determine who would occupy the biggest room.

All of a sudden, Goh Yoo-Joon suggested, “Hey, should I go represent us in the rock-paper-scissors game? Let's get the big room if we can."

“Go ahead, give it a try."

Honestly, this room was the best in this house. It had a decent size and didn’t feel cramped. I remembered Park Yoon-Chan and Lee Jin-Sung complaining about other rooms, mentioning issues like excessive sunlight or the smell of cigarettes wafting up from the apartment below.

Goh Yoo-Joon then grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the living room. "Hey, Suh Hyun-Woo. Don't you trust me? Let's go. I'll get us the biggest room.”

Following that, I heard Lee Jin-Sung arguing. "To be honest, isn't it better to have the smallest room all to oneself? Joo-Han hyung can have that room to himself, while Yoon-Chan hyung and I can share the big room."

"No, Yoon-Chan is quiet, so he and I should share the big room," said Joo-Han.

"I... I actually want the smallest room for myself, hyung."

In the living room, Joo-Han and Lee Jin-Sung were squabbling over who would share the big room with Park Yoon-Chan. It was evident to anyone watching that Park Yoon-Chan preferred the small room all to himself, but neither Lee Jin-Sung nor Joo-Han seemed willing to yield or compromise.

Joo-Han pointed out. “You have never shared a room with Jin-Sung, have you? He snores loudly. I could never get a good sleep with him in the room.”

Lee Jin-Sung retorted, “You think you were quiet when you were asleep? I was just tired, that’s all.”

“I was tired too, you know.”

Watching their ongoing bickering, I thought to myself that perhaps it would be better to just tell them to take a small room each. But then again, the small rooms didn’t seem very appealing, given their lack of windows for ventilation and the lingering musty smell.

Park Yoon-Chan asked, “Ah... What about Hyun-Woo hyung and Yoo-Joon hyung? They used to share a room, right?”

Lee Jin-Sung let out a deep sigh after hearing Park Yoon-Chan's words and shook his head. "Hyun-Woo hyung and Yoo-Joon hyung will definitely share a room. They are best friends."

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Watching the situation unfold, Goh Yoo-Joon decided to take matters into his own hands. He stepped forward, shoving his hand between them for the rock-paper-scissors.

"Right. Hyun-Woo and I will take the bigger room. Let's settle this with rock-paper-scissors. Ready, set, go!"

Before Lee Jin-Sung and Joo-Han had the chance to protest, the game was already in motion. After a series of ties, a winner finally emerged triumphantly.

Jin-Sung shouted, "Yes! I got the biggest room with Yoon-Chan hyung!"

Joo-Han sighed in defeat, clearly disappointed. "Ah! Why?"

Amidst the mix of emotions, I pulled Yoo-Joon aside.

Since I wanted to move on from the commotion, I suggested, "Let's just unpack our things."

Yoo-Joon hesitated, his eyes lingering on the prize he had just lost. "Wait, just hold on a sec."

"Why wait? Let's go."

I gently tugged at his arm, and Yoo-Joon allowed himself to be led away to our designated room. Even though it was the room we got from losing rock-paper-scissors, a sense of gratitude and contentment washed over me as I realized we would be spending the week here.

We unpacked quickly. Most of our items were hand-me-downs from our seniors, which meant we had only a handful of clothes and personal items to sort through. As we organized the living room, it started to feel more like a real home. When we were all done, we sat side by side on the couch, savoring the quiet atmosphere of our new dorm.

"It is so quiet here."

"Yeah, it feels different. Kind of melancholic."

As we were accustomed to noises and chaos, we would need some time to adjust to this new, tranquil environment.

After a while, Joo-Han stood up, stretching languidly before making his way to his room.

In a tired and heavy voice, he said, "I am too tired, so I will take a nap first. Wake me up when manager hyung arrives."

"Okay, have a good rest."

It dawned on me then just how drained we all were. The excitement and adrenaline from the debut group audition had temporarily overshadowed our fatigue, but now it was catching up to us.

Once Joo-Han left, Goh Yoo-Joon started to text the other trainees. Meanwhile, Park Yoon-Chan and Lee Jin-Sung switched on the TV and started browsing through channels in search of something to watch.

As I felt the weight of the day finally settling on my shoulders, I said, “I am going to bed as well."

"Mmm-hmm."

I left Yoo-Joon, who was half-heartedly responding to me while glued to his phone, and made my way to my room. As I lay in the dark and silent space, my mind started to race. I was back here, on the cusp of my debut once again.

The day that changed everything was looming on the horizon, the day when my life took a drastic turn. The day of the lighting accident was approaching.

I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way to save both Jin-Sung and myself from harm. If I tried to save Jin-Sung, history might repeat itself. However, if I chose to save myself, I would be leaving him to face a potentially grim fate.

'I have to prevent that from happening.'

I needed to devise a plan to safely navigate the upcoming day.

'How did the light fall that day?'

I pondered, straining to recall the details of that chaotic moment. It felt like that part of my memory was blurry. My anxiety mounted as I mulled over the situation, but eventually, my fatigue took over.

I closed my eyes while taking deep breaths, trying to calm my racing thoughts.

'It will be fine.'

Lying in bed worrying wouldn’t change the situation. I had to stay positive and focus on the present

***

"Wake up. Suh Hyun-Woo, Goh Yoo-Joon, get up."

‘When did I fall asleep?’

Someone was shaking me awake. The touch that roused me was gentle and careful, and the only one with such a touch would be the timid and kind-hearted Park Yoon-Chan.

"...Huh?!"

As I slowly opened my eyes, I found a big, rugged face hovering close to mine. I took a sharp breath, quickly pulling my face back and sitting up.

"Hyung! Ah, seriously! What are you doing?"

It was the manager, and his face was uncomfortably close to mine.

‘What a grotesque situation to wake up to.’

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing'? I woke you up. Now Yoo-Joon, wake up too."

The manager moved toward Yoo-Joon, bringing his face in close and gently shaking him awake.

"Ah!"

Yoo-Joon, much like me but with even more intensity, yelled as he woke up.

"What is happening so early in the dorm, hyung? Ah, I’m blind now."

"You guys are too much. I came to pick you up, so hurry up and get ready. We have a meeting soon."

The manager calmly left our room, and judging by the similar screams from other parts of the dorm, everyone was being woken up in the same manner. One of the notable changes since we became the debut group was the increased involvement of our manager.

In the past, he had felt more like a teacher or an assistant looking after all fourteen of us. But ever since we joined the debut group, there was nowhere we could go without our manager's intervention.

...Honestly, it wasn’t a pleasant change.

"How was your first night in the new dorm? I wonder if everyone was too tired to enjoy it."

All the group members in the car glared at the manager, their faces full of discontent.

"The shock of seeing your face up close first thing in the morning has clouded every other thought."

The manager retorted with a hint of mischief in his voice. "But it did wake you up perfectly, didn't it?"

"One of these days, one of us will have a heart attack from the shock. You might want to reconsider this wake-up strategy."

After being attacked consecutively by Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon, the manager finally offered an apologetic smile. However, thanks to our manager's unique wake-up call, we avoided rushing to the company with disheveled hair and groggy faces.

When we arrived at the company's conference room, the A&R (Planning) team greeted us.

"Welcome. Did you sleep well? Was the new dorm clean and satisfactory?"

"Good morning. Yes, it was so nice it took us by surprise," Joo-Han responded, representing our group and conversing smoothly with the planning team leader.

As all the group members took their seats, the team leader spun the pen in his hand and gave us a light smile.

"Good. We have been discussing how to best harmonize each of you."

"Harmonize?"

"Yes, we believe that assigning roles, even temporarily, will aid in practice and other preparations,” the team leader explained, marking a spot on the document he was holding.

"Roles like the leader, main vocalist, main dancer, and sub-vocalist."

It was finally the time to determine our roles. I found myself biting my lip, feeling the anticipation rise as I focused on the team leader’s words.

‘

Which roles would be assigned to each of us? Wasn’t this the aspect I emphasized the most during my audition?’

The team leader continued to lecture on the importance of roles as he was seemingly aware of the tension in the room.

"Leader, main vocalist, main dancer, and sub-vocalist. The roles each of you take on will significantly influence the group’s musical color."

Even though these assignments were temporary for now, there was a high likelihood that we would debut with these roles. I then glanced around the room, noticing the anxious anticipation on my fellow members’ faces as they awaited the announcement.

"Let’s start with Joo-Han as the leader, and Jin-Sung, you will be the main dancer. Since you dance well, we will push you in that direction."

"Yes!" Jin-Sung’s face lit up with excitement, thrilled to have secured the role he desired.

Joo-Han, on the other hand, simply nodded as if he had seen it coming. Neither of them seemed overly surprised, likely having anticipated these roles.

While I was smiling at the excited Jin-Sung, the team leader suddenly shifted his gaze to me.

"And, um, Hyun-Woo."

"...Yes?" I replied, caught off guard. Normally, it wouldn't have been my turn yet; Yoo-Joon’s name should have been called before mine.

'Could it be?'

I wondered, my heart starting to race as I met the team leader’s ambiguous expression.

With a reassuring smile, the team leader eventually spoke, “Hyun-Woo, let's try having you as the main vocalist."