Chapter 130
Chapter 130
Translator: Penny
Chapter 130
It felt like I'd been struck in the head.
The reason I only felt comfortable around Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee in Reve was simply because they were the only relationships I was familiar with.
Gyeon Hajun was a friend I'd known well since our days in Newborn, long before we became teammates.
And Ryu Jaehee was the type of person who idolized me and followed me around—a type I'd grown tired of seeing.
Seo Yehyeon had rightly pointed out my habit of clinging to familiar relationships while rejecting new ones.
Reve wasn't like the groups of people who had gathered around me in the past because they liked me. The members had no reason to cater to my whims.
Come to think of it, even though we'd spent seven years together before the regression, the members I remembered from that time looked quite different from how they were now.
Seo Yehyeon, who had grown so emotionally distant that he wouldn't even speak to me.
Kim Dobin, like Seo Yehyeon, had avoided me.
Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee occasionally wore weary expressions.
The difference between then and now was that I had more余裕 and the damned System kept slashing my Original Intent Score for "fostering discord," making me think twice before speaking, wondering if my words would cause trouble.
When I made a complicated face, Seo Yehyeon sighed deeply.
"Well, you've lived like that for 22 years. It's not something you can change easily."
To be precise, it was 22 years plus another 7, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing it wasn't necessary to say.
"Still, if you try, you can change little by little. I've seen it in myself, and I see it in you too."
Seo Yehyeon seemed embarrassed to say this face-to-face, so he lay back and stared at the ceiling.
"So, if you're confused, just ask before you say anything. Ask if it's okay to say or not."
"But ultimately, the words still come out of your mouth, right?"
"No, it's different. There's a clear difference between direct communication and something that's been filtered through someone else."
Since these words were coming from the person who had caused me the most discord and negativity, I suppose they must be true. If that's what he believes, then so be it.
And just as Seo Yehyeon had changed, I needed to change too. Now that I'd decided to climb to the top with these guys, I needed to get closer to them than I had been before the regression.
The fact that I was now having a proper conversation with Seo Yehyeon, someone who wouldn't even speak to me before the regression, was a huge step forward in my book.
"And Hajun doesn't even know why you two became friends, aside from your voices. He actually thinks you were closer to the KICKS Leader than to him."
I sighed softly and muttered, "This is complicated."
"What is?"
"It's true that our friendship started because of our voices, but that's not the whole reason it lasted."
Technically, I had approached Gyeon Hajun first because I liked his voice.
But we didn't maintain our friendship solely for that reason.
We got along well, surprisingly well.
When I left the underground scene to become an idol, feeling anxious and doubtful about whether this path was right for me, he was the one who kept me grounded with his more mature demeanor.
The reasons for our conflict were truly overflowing.
"If you don't talk, how am I supposed to know, idiot?"
"Why do you keep calling me an idiot?"
"You're the one who's been sneakily calling me 'Hyung, you'—you have no right to say that."
I clicked my tongue at his sharp retort. Tch, caught red-handed.
"Anyway, you two need to talk more."
"We already talked before."
"Talk more! The lack of communication is why the dorm atmosphere is such a mess right now."
I thought we'd talked enough that night when Gyeon Hajun was bedridden with the flu. What exactly was lacking?
Later, I closed my eyes, resolving to have another conversation with Gyeon Hajun once he'd sorted out his thoughts.
Little did I know that today was the last chance for an easy resolution.
Ms. Kim shoved her sibling off the sofa, desperately wrestling for the remote. Today was the broadcast of Introducing My Idol.
Though Reve wasn't appearing as a full group, her ultimate bias, Yoon Eden, was on the show, making live viewing mandatory.
Barely managing to snatch the remote, she immediately switched channels and saw her bias walking onto the set. She sighed in relief and kicked her sibling again.
Ms. Kim swiftly opened the Idol Showcase live chat.
[MC Cheong: Today, we have a very special group as our guests.]
[MC Baek: Let's introduce the project group On Top, who achieved global success!]
[On Top: World on Top! Hello, we're On Top!]
The members of On Top greeted the audience with a resounding cheer, demonstrating the slogan and hand gestures they had practiced in the Making Film.
MC Cheong: Since you all came from different groups to prepare for this special stage, there must have been some conflicts during the process. Do you have any stories about that?
Junhyeok: Actually, since everyone here is a leader in their respective groups, there were hardly any conflicts. Whenever the atmosphere got a little tense, we'd all use our leadership experience to ease the tension. That's how things usually went.
Sion: It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but there was one time I came to practice without having learned the choreography due to my schedule. Everyone was so understanding and actively helped me catch up. I was really touched by that.
MC Baek: So, after the project ended, did you guys ever meet up separately? Or do you have a group chat or anything like that?
[Eden: The group chat is still active, but everyone's been so busy that we've only set a date and haven't actually met up yet.]
[Kanghan: That's right. This is our first time seeing each other since the Idol Showcase project team disbanded.]
Mid-conversation, MC Cheong abruptly interrupted to start the balloon-popping game.
Since the balloon-popping game was a mandatory part of the Idol Showcase, Ms. Kim took the opportunity to check her phone while the first two teams played.
'Not even a Reve member, and I'm stuck with the KICKS Leader... Ugh.'
Even when it was Eden's turn, she stared at the screen with a bored expression. But as soon as the Yunseong-Eden team's game began...
[MC Cheong: This is practically an Idol Showcase record! We might see a new record broken today!]
Hearing the MC's exclamation, Ms. Kim rubbed her eyes.
The insane speed at which they were popping balloons made her wonder if they were even human. And the way the two looked so close...
- Are they robots? Do they have magnets in their stomachs? Are they hydraulic presses?
- Wait, why is Yoon Eden pulling so aggressively and hugging him so tightly? Eden, did you really want Hanwoo that badly...?
- The friendship between the two leaders, publicly rivals, has been exposed! You can't hug like that unless you're really close.
└222 If their relationship was ambiguous, they'd end up like Sion and Kanghan.
- The narrative of true friends who reunited after their agencies split, thanks to On Top activities, is insane!
- What's with Yunseong's expression? Why is he smiling?
└It looks more like he's smiling out of shock than happiness, lololol.
└He's probably smiling because their true friendship is about to be hilariously exposed, lol.
- Yoon Eden, the Hanwoo Maniac
- It's all because ᄋ3 didn't buy us Hanwoo...
The comments section of the live stream was exploding. Given the long-standing rivalry between Reve and KICKS, this was hardly surprising.
Eden and Yunseong popped a staggering 26 balloons, securing the Hanwoo prize for their team.
MC Cheong: Alright, let's hear a word from you both to the members waiting back at the dorm!
Eden: Guys, your leader's bringing home the Hanwoo!
Yunseong: I... I somehow ended up with Hanwoo. Yeah...
- Yunseong still looks completely out of it, lololol
- Why is Yoon Eden looking so smug? ㅋㅋㅋ
- That triumphant grin is just too much ㅋㅋㅋ
MC Cheong: Now, let's move on to Junhyeok, the leader of leaders! Do you know the ages of all the members? You have 30 seconds!
[Junhyeok: I'm twenty-six, Sion is twenty-four, Kanghan is twenty-three, and Eden and Yunseong are twenty-two.]
[MC Baek: Oh, are those all correct? Junhyeok didn't get any of the ages mixed up?]
[Sion: Wow, I thought we had another rapper on our team. He got all the ages right!]
[MC Cheong: Then between Eden and Yunseong, who are the same age, whose birthday comes first?]
[Eden: Yunseong's birthday is June 12th, so his comes earlier.]
[MC Baek: So Eden is the youngest member here.]
The two MCs, wearing sly grins, introduced the initiation ritual for the youngest member. Eden nodded with a resigned expression.
When the clip of Eden performing the Gwiyomi Song with forced smiles and trembling eyes appeared on screen, the reactions were sharply divided.
- OMG BabyKitten ㅠㅠㅠ!
- Is this what it would feel like if a tiger acted cute with me?
- 5 plus 5... is that a warning that you're going to split my skull in half?
- Gwiyomi Song final boss unlocked! ᅮᅮᅮᅮ So freaking adorable! ᅮᅮᅮᅮ
- I didn't know it was possible for cuteness and savagery to coexist!
- The fact that you're trying so hard to act natural just makes it even funnier! ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ
For the record, Ms. Kim was the type to be completely captivated by a baby kitten's charms.
Today, the usual troll appeared again: Yoon Eden is not a baby kitten. Yoon Eden is a stern-looking man in his twenties. Please stop infantilizing Yoon Eden! She effortlessly ignored it and continued to diligently post comments on the forum.
Eden: I'm a textbook stern leader. There's no room for cuteness in our team.
- Stern leader who secretly lets his younger members win? ᄒᄒᄒᄒᄒᄒ
- He's 2% short of being truly stern, you know? ᄏᄏᄏ
- (Looks-only) Tiger Leader
This was a perfect example of how Yoon Eden's "tough exterior, soft interior" concept had worked brilliantly.
The highly anticipated final segment: Random Play Dance!
From the very first beat, the On Top members moved in perfect sync to their hit songs, as if they had rehearsed together beforehand. Their flawless choreography drew gasps of admiration.
Eden's dance skills shone brightly even beside Junhyeok, the main dancer of Revolution, who was renowned for his exceptional talent. A certain Ms. Kim couldn't stop smiling proudly.
As Come to My Universe transitioned into One Chance, the overwhelmingly positive comments shifted.
- Ah, Sion looks so nervous.
- Sion messed up!
- Isn't Come to My Universe their biggest hit? Even if One Chance was more popular, wouldn't they naturally perform a performance track for Random Play Dance?
- As expected, ㅋㅋ Our Leader never compromises his beliefs ㅋㅋ
- I saw people criticizing Eden for being clueless on the Syndrome forum.
└ㅈㄴ Ridiculous;;; If their leader hadn't messed up, this wouldn't have happened.
└Yoon Leader said it was a song about overcoming a slump. Now that I think about it, it's even more infuriating.
-Still, the two involved ended it amicably, haha. Let's move on too, haha.
After the broadcast ended, Ms. Kim quickly posted on social media:
Dream♥Daydream @revedream
Anyone have GIFs of 2E's Gwiyomi Song?
Eden @edden
Replying to @revedream
I made the GIFs, but I'm hesitant to share them widely. I'm not sure if it would be good for 2E...
Dream♥Daydream @revedream
Replying to @edden
Why? Isn't it cute?
Eden @edden
Replying to @revedream
Daydream, you seem to have lost your objectivity... Maybe you should watch your J 애교 once to regain it...
"Damn it, they should have edited that out."
"But that was the highlight! How could they edit that out? Seriously, Hyung, you were way too aggressive."
"You think that Hanwoo you ate came for free?"
"I didn't know you had to hug your estranged friend so aggressively to get it. Now you're being shipped as besties with your ex-friend."
"I know that, you brat! Ugh, can't we report this as harmful content?"
"Even you think it sounds ridiculous, right?"
"...Yeah."
After the broadcast of Idol Showcase, the atmosphere in the dorm grew even heavier.
I had completely forgotten about the broadcast date and was at the studio, so I couldn't stop the members from watching it live just to see my aegyo.
And my desperate struggle for the Hanwoo was vividly conveyed to the members, especially Gyeon Hajun, in full 3D.
Gyeon Hajun wasn't avoiding or ignoring me, but whenever he looked at me, he seemed lost in thought. I could only hope that his contemplation would lead to a positive outcome.
"I'm going to the studio," I said.
Fortunately, I had a perfectly legitimate refuge: the studio. While the song was nearing completion, it wasn't just about escaping.
Originally scheduled for April, the mini-album had been pushed back to May, resulting in a digital single comeback being scheduled for early March.
This meant I had homework: I needed to finish my song and present it to the CEO before he could bring in some garbage track.
I opened my DAW, propped my chin on my hand, and clicked the mouse absently.
The lyrics are... well, how should I put it? They sound like a friendship anthem that middle-aged men in their 40s and 50s would sing arm-in-arm at a karaoke bar after a few shots of soju.
That was Ryu Jaehee's assessment of the lyrics.
The melody seems decent, but it's so outdated. Should I rework it or not?
I decided to listen to the demo first and then decide. I texted Ryu Jaehee to come to my studio for a guide recording.
Normally, I would have asked Gyeon Hajun, but our relationship wasn't the same as before, so I chose otherwise.
It was only a ten-minute drive, but Ryu Jaehee still hadn't arrived after thirty minutes. Just as I was about to call him, I heard the sound of the door lock being unlocked.
As the door opened, I swiveled my chair around and asked, "What took you so long? Did you get stuck in traffic or—"
My words caught in my throat as I saw the face of the person unwrapping the scarf that had been wrapped tightly around their jaw.
"Sorry I'm late," Gyeon Hajun said calmly from the doorway.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny