The Final Broadcast
The door opened, and Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun stepped into the house. Both were wearing bright, cheerful smiles as they looked at us.
How long had it been since the final? They didn’t seem tired at all, bags of convenience-store snacks dangling from their hands while they laughed.
“We made it!”
“Why only the two of you for the party? Parties are way more fun with a crowd!”
Especially Na Jae-hyun, who had shown up today in a shirt that read “Survived the Wild Jungle” printed across the white fabric.
“That cost how much?”
Na Jae-hyun slipped his hand into the pocket of his flower-patterned pants and grinned.
“Twenty-eight thousand won.”
“Th-that’s…”
Won Ji-an, standing behind me, simply blinked in silence. At this point he looked like he had already reached the realm of arhat.
“Why is Won-woo so quiet?”
“Yeah, Won-woo hyung seems really weird today.”
Even though it looked strange, it wasn’t strange at all. Our bodies had swapped.
But from the perspective of the two who didn’t know the truth, the only possible reaction was to feel profoundly out of place.
Since they had no way of understanding the reason, all they could do was mutter that something felt off. Swapping bodies was the kind of thing that happened in movies or dramas.
‘So, no matter how strange it felt, there was no way it would ever be exposed in reality.’
Still, I decided to stay cautious and welcomed them inside.
A party in this dark, dingy basement? I had my doubts, but they didn’t seem to care.
“We bought balloons too.”
“Balloons?”
“Yeah! We can’t skip them for a party.”
Lee Hae-won started blowing up the colorful balloons in the corner.
I was about to say I hadn’t planned on a full-blown party, but before I could finish, the balloons were finished one after another.
‘…Haha.’
They were ridiculously fast.
Lee Hae-won had such good lung capacity because he was the one who sang.
The bright, cheerful balloons that didn’t match the basement at all were stuck to the wall.
“Let’s take a photo to commemorate our gathering!”
“Ah, even photos…?”
With the camera shutter sound, we took a picture together.
It was on a whim. The moment the camera was pointed at us, we had no choice but to smile.
“Hm?”
At that moment, Na Jae-hyun, who had been checking the photo, noticed something strange and spoke up.
“By the way, Ji-an hyung, why is your forehead swollen?”
“Ah, this?”
I glanced sideways at Won Ji-an.
“It’s nothing.”
I swallowed the sigh.
Since our bodies had swapped, hitting me was basically self-harm—he had said it repeatedly.
No, rather, because it was his own body, it was easier to hit.
“Anyway, did you watch the final re-broadcast?”
Lee Hae-won handed us a convenience-store bag containing cola and cider.
“If you haven’t watched it yet, how about watching it together? I’m curious how it turned out.”
Thoughts flooded through my mind.
I wonder… can I watch it again with a clear head now?
Of course, watching how I debuted as myself would be strange, but…
“Watch it today?”
“Yeah!”
Lee Hae-won’s mentality was once again enviably healthy.
If it were me, I would have waited until later and watched it again.
“…Yeah. Let’s watch it again.”
In the end, I couldn’t resist and agreed to re-watch the final broadcast.
***
With the tablet Na Jae-hyun had brought fixed on the table, we turned on the re-broadcast.
And with the pizza laid out on the floor, we watched it together.
[Dream Stage Season 2! Today, the great one will come to an end.]
From the very first moment, my stomach churned. It was probably PTSD.
“Haha…”
Still, pretending not to be bothered, I ate a slice of pizza and smiled.
[Who will become the final top nine and debut? Please keep watching till the end.]
The MC on screen held up a cue card and shouted the lines with passion.
Then the voting VCR passed quickly, and the opening stage began. The moment my face appeared, Na Jae-hyun laughed mockingly, pointing exactly to the side next to me.
“Won-woo hyung is really handsome.”
Lee Hae-won agreed and chimed in.
“Exactly. Wow, how did a person’s face turn out like that? It’s a sculpture.”
‘…I’m going crazy.’
Won Ji-an inside me was frozen with a face that said he had no idea how to react.
I didn’t know what reaction to make and just stood there looking awkward. Still, under the pressure to say something, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Yeah. You’re handsome.”
At that moment, Won Ji-an spoke.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
‘…Huh?’
Everyone turned their heads with eyes that couldn’t believe it.
“I’ve heard ‘handsome’ too many times, so I’m starting to get tired of it.”
I was shocked.
Was he planning to commit suicide now? But why commit suicide inside my body? Or was it some newly invented revenge method?
The corners of my mouth that had barely risen due to poor expression control were twitching.
“Won-woo? Oh, your confidence is sky-high today?”
I grabbed his shoulder to stop him, but the words didn’t stop.
“Of course. Who am I? I’m Do Won-woo. The most handsome man in the world.”
Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun burst into laughter at the same time.
“Wow, he said it himself.”
“What kind of personality was this?”
“Ah, but it’s true that you’re handsome. It’s only right for Won-woo to say that.”
I naturally touched my eye corners.
‘Please… stop!’
The words that I would never say normally were coming out from Won Ji-an.
But Won Ji-an didn’t stop. He was in full outburst. It seemed like revenge for the body swap without permission.
After the opening stage ended, a short VCR came on. It showed Won Ji-an crying while reading a letter.
“…”
“…”
Watching it like this, it felt again that he had suffered a lot.
Then the first stage of the final mission began. The sound of heartbeats echoed, and Won Ji-an’s intro dance and Hyun Si-woo at the center appeared.
“Wow, the vocals are so pretty?”
“Yeah. It’s good to watch again.”
I watched the noisy reactions of Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun and smiled quietly.
“You sing really well.”
Then Won Ji-an’s head turned sharply from the side.
What are you doing? The eyes said.
“Why are both of you like this? Why did your confidence skyrocket?”
Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun were mocking us alternately.
So, we who had entered each other’s bodies started an absurd and childish revenge praising each other.
“I look really handsome today.”
“No, I look more handsome. Especially today’s singing skills are insane.”
“No, I went crazy.”
“It’s me who went crazy. So lovable.”
The heads of the two watching our conversation moved like meowing cats.
Probably to others, this seemed like excessive self-praise.
“What did you two eat wrong?”
In the end, this childish revenge ended quickly, and we focused on the broadcast again. Emotional scenes passed on the screen.
Normally, I would think they were artificially created emotions…
‘Still, it’s emotional.’
On this day, I decided to forget such thoughts and fully enjoy it.
Since we survived. With friends. Nothing is happier than that.
Watching us laughing and having fun, a desire arose. I hoped this moment would never end.
“Now Won-woo is coming out!”
In the next stage, my appearance appeared.
After the first intro, as we entered the chorus part, the cheers grew louder.
Following that, Lee Hae-won holding the balloon and playing vigorously from the side.
‘Now the bridge part.’
I was curious how my high note would come out through the broadcast.
‘…It’s fine.’
Fortunately, the high note came out well.
I was afraid because I didn’t know how it would be broadcasted live, but it seemed to have been pulled out well, so I was satisfied.
“Won-woo is amazing.”
“Yeah.”
Na Jae-hyun imitated my high note and laughed.
Of course, the target of the mockery was not me, but Won Ji-an who was in my body. Won Ji-an became a frequent target of mockery without any reason.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Since situations that were funny kept happening, it was hard to hold back laughter.
Won Ji-an showed a face saying ‘It’s all because of you’.
[Dream Stage Season 2 is about to end. The trainees standing here have worked hard walking the path so far.]
So, all the stages ended, and it was time for the final ranking announcement.
As expected, before the announcement, they showed reactions of the trainees one by one. Among them, Won Ji-an’s face appeared on screen.
‘Even watching again, the expression…’ A pale, ashen face. Anyone would feel worried.
Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun who were laughing and reacting also couldn’t laugh at this moment and suppressed their laughter.
At that time, Won Ji-an had no choice but to be like that. Since it was the final ranking announcement, it was no different from announcing a death sentence.
“You’ve worked hard, Ji-an.”
All eyes were on me.
‘Oh.’
I unconsciously said it out loud and was surprised.
It was an unconscious remark without considering the fact that I was inside Won Ji-an’s body.
“Yeah, you’ve worked hard.”
“Yeah. You worked hard, Ji-an.”
But fortunately, the two didn’t notice. It seemed they thought it was said to themselves.
‘Sigh.’
I was holding my startled heart when our eyes met with Won Ji-an. It was a face saying ‘what kind of idiot is this’. Actually, even if he looked like that, there was nothing to say.
So, the rankings were announced in order, and my appearance came out saying my feelings.
“You really look like an idiot crying.”
Won Ji-an muttered.
Although the words were like that, the expression was genuinely pitiful.
“I want to debut together, Ji-an.”
As I watched the feelings again, I felt awkward and just stared into the distance.
And at the announcement of the last 9th place, Won Ji-an’s appearance that seemed about to collapse appeared, and Lee Hyo-seop’s name was called.
‘At this time, I swapped bodies.’
The atmosphere changed instantly, visible on screen.
Won Ji-an who seemed about to cry suddenly became calm, and Do Won-woo had an expression close to shock and disbelief.
“……And here.”
Annoyingly, suddenly a chair rose and a 10th place seat appeared.
“Haha.”
Even watching again, it’s a funny production. Who planned it.
Watching it now, I could laugh, but at the time, it was really thrilling. It was like dying and coming back to life.
“Still, it’s fortunate.”
Won Ji-an said while looking at me.
“To be able to debut together.”