I was nothing special.

A shut-in. A chubby, ordinary girl who blended into the background like a shadow. Easy to ignore. Easier to mock.

The world never ran out of ways to remind me I didn’t belong. Cruel jokes in hallways. Laughter that followed me home. Words sharper than blades, carving deeper than bruises ever could. 

Bit by bit, I shrank into myself until there was nothing left but silence and the weight of my own loneliness.

That night, I decided I’d had enough.

The chair creaked under me. The rope swayed above. My room was still, suffocating, as if the world didn’t care whether I breathed or not. And maybe it didn’t.

Then—music.

It came from the neighbor’s stereo, muffled through the thin walls. A single voice cutting into the darkness.

A voice that shouldn’t have reached me, but did.

Strong. Raw. Alive.

It wrapped around me like a hand pulling me back from the edge. The lyrics told me not to hide my light. That even if it flickered, it still burned.

I gasped, stumbling from the chair, clutching my chest as though those words had physically struck me. Tears blurred my vision, but for the first time in forever, they weren’t from pain—they were from something I thought I’d lost.

Hope.

That voice saved me.

His voice.

Eric. The lead singer of AUREA—the boyband that would one day become gods in the music world. To me, he wasn’t just an idol. He was my lifeline.

And then . . . years later, when he died, the world mourned. I mourned. The one who saved me, the reason of my life, was gone, ripped from life far too soon.

I thought it was over.

But fate had other plans.

One desperate wish, one shattered night, and when I opened my eyes—I was ten years in the past. Before the world knew AUREA. Before Eric was swallowed by fame. 

Before his voice was silenced forever.

I’m just Emy—ordinary, clumsy, and invisible to most. 

But this time . . . it’s my turn.

Eric saved me once.

Now, I’ll save him.

No matter what it takes.

I sat across from him, arms folded. "Idol stuff? The mysterious kind where fans chase you with glowsticks or the depressing kind where the company treats you like a robot?"


"Oh." I nodded wisely. "Then you, my friend, need two things: food and unsolicited pep talks."


He laughed—soft, genuine. "You haven't changed."


"I've leveled up," I corrected proudly. "I'm a manager, producer, songwriter, and part-time hacker now. Basically, a multi-classed chaos mage."


Ren shook his head, smiling, but his eyes stayed heavy. "I'm glad that you're still the same at least."


Ren looked away, his usual calm cracking for just a moment.


"It's just . . . the others. Eric, Kai, and Lance. They've changed."


He paused, fingers drumming lightly on his knee before adding, "Honestly, I probably would've changed too . . . if I hadn't seen you again."


Chapter 57 - The Idol Next Door