"Jun. You have a high fever."
When the boy came to Jun's side and noticed his unhealthy complexion, Juwon placed the back of his hand on his friend's neck and forehead. Frowning, he reproachfully said, "It's you who keeps saying that health is wealth, so why did you overexert yourself? Jun, rest today. I'll get you medicine and something to eat."
No response came from Jun. Juwon grew more worried. He hurriedly left the room for the pantry to request light food and fever medicine from the staff.
Jun was left alone. His tired eyes followed the figure of his roommate, who crossed the doorway without closing the door.
Today, the truth he had just discovered threatened to shatter something inside him.
At that moment, he was sure he was hallucinating.
Jun saw the back of Juwon's mature and older self… and instinctively reached out his hand.
It was the back of his precious former bandmate facing him. Several backs of familiar figures appeared, only seeming more illusory than ever. Watching them go, Jun felt his chest tighten, his heart hammering with a mixture of fear and grief. The sight confirmed the unthinkable: his former ETM bandmates would now only exist in his memories.
'No… no, this can't be real. It has to be a dream. Please… please, let it be a dream…'
....
For two days straight, Jun was bedridden. He could barely function on the first day, and it greatly baffled and worried his fellow Inhabitants since his illness came so suddenly. The mid-check still proceeded, and without Jun there, the rap team received a much harsher rebuke, to the point that Seth burst into tears. On the second day, the same thing happened. Why? Because time rewound to June 11.
On the third day—or technically, on his fourth return to June 11—Jun still felt under the weather, but muddle-headedness had left his brain, and he regained a bit of his senses.
'I must have collapsed due to emotional and mental factors.'
The young man knew himself. He was not weak. Physically, that is. The life of an idol he had endured was tougher and more draining than the life of a trainee in a survival show. Yet it was a life he yearned for again, to sparkle brightly until he matched the brilliance of the brightest stars in the skies of K-pop.
After re-accepting the fact that he could potentially regress anytime and anywhere, he sorted out his thoughts and concluded that his goal was still the same.
Jun would re-debut. He would make sure of it. The obsession in his heart sprouted, and this obsession was to additionally ensure that ETM would see the light of day in this timeline.
The youth headed to the bathroom. After a quick hot bath, he changed into comfortable jogging pants and a white shirt. His hair was not even gelled. He combed it roughly and covered it with a cap.
Today would be another day of trial and error.
He arrived in the practice room. After waiting a bit, his teammates entered one by one.
Before they arrived, he tried to recall the new routine formed before the same-day regression began.
"Guys, since we're done with the lyrics and basic assignment of parts and arrangements, let's start polishing our parts now."
After gathering the three boys, Jun played the music.
"I decided to be Xavi's backing vocalist here."
Jun demonstrated the tune he would vocalize.
After listening, Xavi's eyes flashed with interest. "One more time, I'll rap along."
"Sure," Jun readily answered.
Without musical accompaniment, the two began. Xavi rapped in a low, gentle voice, starting a story. Although Xavi had an accent when speaking normally, it could not be heard in his singing and raps.
At the last two bars of Xavi's verse, Jun softly hummed a tune like a low-octave version of the chorus's first line. He repeated the melody two more times, with a twist on the last note to smoothly transition to the chorus.
Then Daeho started singing. Seth acted as his backing vocal, softly harmonizing with a falsetto voice.
When the first chorus ended, Jun did not continue with his own rap part. He clapped and said, "That sounded good."
"Yeah." Xavi gave a thumbs-up while flashing a cute smile. "I like it."
Jun glanced at his watch and saw about twenty-five minutes before the surprised visitors would spook the room. He puckered his lips, then raised his head. "My rap part is next after the first chorus. After that would be Seth's chorus, followed by the last section, which I and Xavi would jointly do."
He added, "My suggestion is to pepper the second rap verse with vocalization or vocal ad-libs for more color. I'm entrusting this to Daeho. As for the last rap section, both Seth and Daeho would occasionally season it with high notes."
Daeho and Seth immediately focused on the lyrics sheet to check where they could insert their voices. Jun nodded in approval and pointed to a few lines. "Here, here, and here. We can give them a try."
"It doesn't have to be high notes on the second rap verse, right?"
Jun shook his head. "No. Just enough to make it not sound bland with only rap."
He asked the two if they were ready, and when they nodded, he raised three fingers, folded them one by one, and opened his mouth at the last countdown.
....
When Jun opened his eyes and saw "June 11" on the screen, the color drained from his face.
'Not again…'
He sank onto the bed, covering his face, running his fingers through his hair. He had changed everything, yet time mocked him with the same loop.
Should he be glad he had no fever? It didn't feel like it.
Laughter escaped, hollow and bitter. "Ha… ha… ha… cough… cough…"
It took nearly five minutes to calm enough to let go of the bedsheet and stand. He splashed cold water on his face, staring into the mirror, into the exhausted reflection that barely resembled him.
'I guided them. We improved. But it's not enough. Not enough…'
Jun's breath came fast, shallow. His pulse raced. His hands shook.
He took a deep breath and forced himself out of the room, gathering his teammates an hour earlier than before. But dread gnawed at him. Regression could strike again at any moment.
'Again… it's coming again…'
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to lead. He taught Daeho harmonization for the second rap section, the high notes for the last. Seth watched, borderline reverent.
"I feel so good about this. Even if the mentors visit now… I won't be afraid," Daeho said, clapping joyfully.
Jun managed a small smile, but inside, his chest tightened.
Xavi noticed. "Jun?"
Jun shook his head. "Not yet. We still have a long way to go."
The recorder was set. The team performed, voices shaking only slightly.
Actually, it was already the eighth return.
Thankfully, the mentors only frowned lightly this time. Xavi was told to work on diction, and that was it.
When the day ended and the date finally changed to June 12, 2020, Jun stared blankly at the crew-provided phone. He remained under the comforter, silent tears tracing his cheeks.
Minutes passed. He covered his face with trembling hands.
June 11... was finally over.