Chapter - 52화 (52/150)
The next morning, the members woke up early for choreography practice with Zeus, and they had to endure the awkward air hanging between Woo Hyun and Dansol.
"Ah... hyung! Where did you buy this? It's really good!"
"Cheongdam-dong."
"Ah... is that why...? It tastes even better...! Woo Hyun-hyung! Why aren't you eating? You like meat."
"I'm fine. You eat more."
Minjae tried to lighten the mood by grilling and eating the beef Dansol had brought first thing in the morning, but all that lingered around the dorm was a chilly atmosphere.
"It's already damp as hell and now it's cold too... better not act up today, Minjae."
Jiwoong, fresh out of the shower, said that as he grabbed a piece of meat Minjae had grilled with his hand. Minjae nodded like he agreed.
But the tension between the two didn't end even at the joint practice with Zeus. This time Woo Hyun looked really nervous, repeating mistake after mistake.
"Can we rest a moment before continuing?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Sure. Damn, it's been a while since I danced—this is rough."
After watching Woo Hyun repeat the same mistake in the same section, Dansol spoke up just an hour into practice. In truth, everyone had been reading the room, waiting to see who would say it first.
Thankfully, the Zeus members agreed readily. Dansol grabbed Woo Hyun by the wrist and dragged him out into the hallway.
"No, we can just keep going."
"Rest first."
"I said I'm fine—let's just go."
"Ha... you keep messing up the same part."
"Fuck...."
At Dansol's firm tone, Woo Hyun seemed like he had nothing left to say. He stomped off.
Everyone in the practice room knew the two were arguing outside, but when Dansol came back in, awkward, he made up an excuse that Woo Hyun probably had to use the bathroom urgently.
Dansol pulled himself together and apologized to the Zeus members.
"I'm sorry. Because of us..."
"It's fine. We've got someone who hasn't fully memorized the choreo either."
One of Zeus's rappers, smiling pleasantly, chuckled and pointed at someone.
"Hey! I just came from filming a drama, cut me some slack! You messed up earlier too!"
It was Dohyun, Zeus's center. According to Minjae, he was the savior who carried Zeus back when they had no recognition in the beginning.
"Dansol! That bastard had no schedule at all yesterday and he still messed up!"
Haha—Dansol forced an awkward smile. Dohyun spoke to him like they'd known each other for ages.
"Hey, hey, don't act like you're close with Dansol."
"Why? We are close."
"Us? When did we ever meet? This is the first time today!"
"Dansol, I've watched RO-Match Survival so many times. I watched it so much my internal intimacy is maxed out."
Haha. For the first time, Dansol thought Taeohh's outgoing personality was pretty manageable.
Trapped among extroverts whose MBTI first letter you could guess without trying, Dansol only lifted the corners of his mouth awkwardly. That was when Minjae crept over with his phone.
"Hello, sunbaenim! I'm Seo Minjae from DinoSoul. If this wouldn't be rude while you're talking, I'm such a huge fan—could I please ask for one photo?"
"Ah! Of course! Let's take it together!"
Dansol's jaw dropped at Minjae's politeness, something he'd never seen before.
After that, it turned into a "let's all take photos" mood, and Dansol ended up taking awkward pictures with several Zeus members. Maybe you had to be this friendly to debut at Zeus's company—despite being strangers, they slung arms over shoulders and linked arms without hesitation, and Dansol's head spun.
Just then, Woo Hyun came back in and saw the scene, and his face hardened.
Taeohh, who knew something had happened between Woo Hyun and Dansol, stepped in first and spoke to Woo Hyun.
"Woo Hyun! We were taking pictures—come over here too!"
"I'm fine. Should we... start practice?"
Maybe he was going through some late-blooming puberty, because Woo Hyun chilled the practice room again.
After that, everyone did the choreography while watching Woo Hyun's mood.
Dansol didn't like Woo Hyun's attitude. It was humiliating, and he felt ashamed.
He was angry too—angry at Woo Hyun for acting rude in front of Zeus, who were two years their seniors. DinoSoul, whether by seniority or popularity, was basically being carried on Zeus's stage.
Minhyeok had asked for Dansol to be center, but that was only for the "gumiho" segment. Zeus had to match choreography not only with DinoSoul but with other groups coming after them too.
As time passed, the choreography started to come together, but then something else became the problem.
"Uh... Woo Hyun, you're not going to make that face on stage too, right? You don't look like a tragic gumiho—you look like you're going to... go kill someone."
When Taeohh pointed that out, Woo Hyun's eyes turned cold.
Woo Hyun was staring straight at Taeohh's hand wrapped around Dansol's shoulder.
The two men's gazes collided in the air like they were about to fight.
Everyone held their breath watching.
Then Woo Hyun bowed his head first.
"Ah, I'm not feeling well... I'm sorry."
Thank god. Dansol let out a quiet breath. For the past few days, Woo Hyun had felt like dynamite ready to explode.
Only then did Woo Hyun act like a different person, keeping a respectful posture until the practice ended.
Did his anger cool off? Dansol decided he'd talk to Woo Hyun properly once they got back to the dorm.
But before they even got into the car, Woo Hyun picked a fight with Dansol again.
"Are you close with that bastard?"
"What...? Who are you talking about?"
"Ma Taeohh. Are you close with that bastard?"
"Things were going fine and now you're picking a fight again. We were on the same program... he's just a good colleague."
"Ha... fuck, seriously."
Honk, honk.
Right then, Gilseong had pulled the car around and honked at the members standing there, but the two of them didn't move.
Woo Hyun kept sighing like he was suffocating, and Dansol snapped.
"What is your problem? Instead of wasting time on something that doesn't even matter, go practice your choreography more. You think you have the right to talk to me like that?"
"What?"
"Hyung... let's get in the car first."
"Yeah, Dansol-hyung. You're not usually someone who gets this mad. Why are you saying such harsh things all of a sudden...."
The more the younger ones tried to stop him, the angrier Dansol got.
"My words are harsh? You really think that? That bastard calls you 'hey,' 'you,' even swears at you—and you think I'm the one being harsh?"
"You know Woo Hyun-hyung's always like that, though... even you know that."
At that, Dansol felt the tightly held thread of his nerves snap.
Of course. Nothing was going to change. Ju Dansol, always the one who sacrificed and suffered—regressing didn't change a thing.
Because that's just how it was.
"Hyung, you take the others and go first. I'll... make it to the rehearsal on time tomorrow."
"H-huh! Dansol! Where are you going!"
With no family home to run to, Dansol pulled his cap low and bolted before Gilseong could grab him, sprinting out past the building.
He ran through an unfamiliar neighborhood until his breath caught in his throat, and déjà vu hit him. A scene from before he died flashed in his mind. He'd run like this then too. But he hadn't escaped—he'd gone back.
Maybe even in his returned life, he couldn't change the bigger current of fate.
His running felt like turning a wheel in place—meaningless.
Only after running for a long time did Dansol remember he'd left his bag—with his wallet—in the car.
All he had now was his phone and the ten-thousand-won emergency cash he'd crumpled and hidden inside his old phone case.
With no choice, Dansol went into a nearby PC bang.
He passed the part-timer who greeted him blandly and sat in the most secluded seat.
Leaving the computer desktop on, Dansol sank back into the cushioned PC bang chair.
What was he even doing?
Sitting still among the people hammering away at their keyboards felt awkward, so Dansol started clicking through familiar portal pages.
"I'm curious... should I look just once...."
Before his regression, checking the hate posts about himself on the portal every day had been part of Dansol's routine.
He'd even memorized the site address, so he could get there in one shot without using the search bar.
{RO-Match Survival in Island Portal}
Facing that familiar main page, Dansol took a deep breath.
He'd sworn he wouldn't look—but once a dog eats shit, it doesn't stop.
Click.
In the end, Dansol opened Pandora's box.
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