Jun hoped he was merely dreaming and prayed to wake up from the nightmare. Unfortunately, a night passed, and he woke up on the same bed assigned to him while still a participant.
In other words, he was still in BOI, back to being a contestant struggling for a debut spot.
A face of full despair looked back at him in the mirror after he finished showering absent-mindedly.
"Arghh! I don't want this!"
Jun could not understand why he regressed. He never even thought that it was possible. If miracles exist, why give them to somebody who did not ask for it?
Jun could not really say that he had no regrets. But his idol life was not bad. His group was really popular and could easily sell out a stadium inside and outside the country. They had lots of fans who loved them and their music. There was no major discord among ETM members. So why? What about his family, friends, fans, and properties there? Is there a way to go back?
"Ha ha. This is insane."
Today, he could no longer count the number of times he shook his head in denial.
He felt like he had been sent back in time to receive punishment. Yet he could not remember doing anything that should warrant hate from any divine being. If not believing in god was the reason, there were freak-tons of unbelievers and agnostic people in the world. So again, why him?
A knock came out of the bathroom, so Jun had no choice but to give himself one last splash of water and go out.
"Are you done?"
Because he and Juwon were from the same company and were trainee batch mates, they ended up partnering up for the unit performance, and now they were even roommates in the Greenhouse.
"Yeah." Jun nodded and raised both hands to thumbs up, but his eyes looked away.
Juwon raised his left brow. "You look extremely tired, Jun."
Jun awkwardly laughed. "I could not sleep well. I might be too excited or missing my bed at home."
Jun's cheeks lacked their usual color, but he did not stutter as he made up an excuse. At least, his experience as one of those idols who occasionally lied about their health and mental status helped today. Even if they were not okay, they would say they were.
"We signed up for this," Juwon shrugged, then grinned. "Don't back out just because you can't bear to be away from home for long."
"Come on, let's just eat." Having not adapted fully to being eighteen years old again, Jun had no idea how else to respond to his friend. Honestly, this was one of his worries. 'In the future, this guy will hardly crack jokes and become known as an iceberg. His introverted self is much easier to deal with.'
Twenty minutes later, the two and ten others sat while forming a circle to face each other. Compared to the hall from yesterday, the huge hall inside the building called the Greenhouse was a lot larger and held decors, props, and wall decors reminiscent of a middle-aged European royal garden.
Currently, there are only twelve of them. Yes, twelve.
Yesterday, right after the seventeen qualified participants entered, they toured the so-called Greenhouse, a building with luxurious amenities for trainees. Then, a voting session took place. It was brutal, as the Inhabitants had voted five of them out. These five were now forced to join the seven Failed Participants in a small separate building called the Barren Land.
"24 Dreamers have gathered, but only 7 would have their dreams come true. Now, we have 12 people in the Greenhouse who are closer to accomplishing their dreams."
"How are you feeling right now, dear Greenhouse Inhabitants?"
The voice came from the speaker again.
Nobody answered, and Jun knew the reason.
A bitter smile hung from his lips. Even though he had experienced it already before, he really hated the format where everything was up to the trainees, including voting off of fellow contestants.
But survival shows were always like this. You don't always feel happy when you win because somebody else might have had their dreams trampled on.
'The Barren Land is a sharp contrast to the Greenhouse, which has everything an idol trainee needs and wants.'
"The place... The place is amazing," said Neo in an unconfident tone, as his Korean was not yet fluent. "But I wish... I can stay here with... with JO."
Neo, a Japanese, was ETM's youngest and the most popular member because of his unparalleled dance skills, but right now, he looked nothing more than an insecure kid.
'It seems around this time, he relies a lot on JO and Kato, especially for translation,' thought Jun.
The others voiced their answers, praising the place and accommodation or missing their friends in the Barren Land. Jun kept observing in silence.
That was when the MC interjected, "The producers certainly heard your opinions, dear Greenhouse Inhabitants. Now, it is time to clarify some rules. To stay in the Greenhouse, you must prove yourself by showcasing your skills, wits, and charm."
Of course, they all knew their stay here would be up to their performance. The boys nodded.
"Take a look at the monitor in front."
Like a signal, the MC's words made everyone turn their heads and gaze up. Lyrics of a song flashed on it, numbered by parts.
Since the signal song, aka the survival show's theme song, played simultaneously, everyone focused on listening to it. Some expressed admiration, and some closed their eyes.
Befitting a song created by the current K Pop Kings producer, it had a very beautiful and memorable tune and arrangement. The lyrics sung by the guide vocals were telling about them, the participants who were running towards their dream debut.
"Fate compelled me to step forward
To stand in front of the door of my long-awaited dream
There's a little flame inside me
And it has brought me here with you
It's lonely, there's no place to lean on
It breaks my heart that there's no place to stop
But after meeting you, I realized it immediately
The purpose of waiting and enduring is for this fateful encounter..."
'... Wow. The nostalgia,' thought Jun, who closed his eyes. Like the others, his head moved to the powerful beats.
Somehow, the song managed to set his chest ablaze. The heart that was depressed over the unwanted regression warmed up instantly to the song that defined his BOI days.
A quote he once read said, 'The best memories are always remembered by heart,' and he could not help but agree. Jun's lips involuntarily curled into a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm anxious, but even, so let's do our best
Because it's our chance
The countless footsteps made and sweat shed in the past are saying this...
Ooooh, be my friend, walk with me, let's all run to reach our dreams
Woah, oh, please give me your hand and promise
Woah, oh, The doors of the future have opened
And I can see the days promised to us
You and I, We can fly
You're another me, I'm another you
Let's push open the door to the other side...
Oooh, ooh, run for our dreams..."
It was a solid song about a newly found friendship with a captivating melody and catchy beats. Back then, he could not believe such a song was given to this program.
Jun could not help but look at Neo, reminded of an awkward instance.
The emcee's voice came from the speakers surrounding them, "The theme of this mission is 'Friendship and Dream', although some of you only met yesterday, companionship is never something that could be measured by how many days you know each other. Given this concept, you would have to perform this song in front of the judges in seven days."
After the outro, the participants finally remembered to read the lyrics posted above.
Then, they immediately noticed.
"Wait... Look, guys. Part One is in charge of the intro, chorus, and ending. He has way more lines than the others." Min pointed out.
"Parts Two, Three, and Four have many lines too."
"No. Up to Part Seven."
The first one who replied was Hanada, another Japanese fluent in Korean. The second was Kim Dae-Ho. Both were trainees who failed to debut and were absorbed by mid-sized agencies. Of course, this happened in Jun's previous life.
Sujin, the boy who resembled the main vocalist of the current top boy group KAISER, grabbed the back of his neck. "If my eyes are not playing with me, Parts Eight to Twelve only have one line each. Someone, please help me cross-verify."
"What?"
"Wait, it is real..." Dumbfounded voices echoed, after which Jun failed to trace the source.
The choreo played after, replacing the lyrics on one of the huge monitors. Seeing the labels on the dance formation and the number of times each person was at the center, the boys' facial expressions became even more indescribable.
"In several formations, Parts Eight to Twelve are rarely at the center..." said Min again.
Somebody corrected, "... No, look again. They never get to stand in the middle at all."
These words once again gave them goosebumps. The place became completely silent when the song ended.
Line distribution had always been controversial, regardless of whether it was a group of trainees or veteran acts.
Some people would get more lines. Some would get less.
Some people would get to dance and sing in the middle more than thrice.
Meanwhile, others would hardly have any center moments.
Management agencies always say it was for the sake of the theme or concept. Critics-wannabe would say it was obviously because of differing abilities among members, and then, of course, there would be fan wars.
For real though, there could be numerous reasons, but the fact remained that it was an unfair line distribution.
"Haha. Right off the bat, it is so stressful already," Juwon clutched his head and awkwardly smiled next to Jun. "Is this normal?"
The program blatantly showed them on their second day in the Greenhouse what reality was. And they did it exactly when they thought nobody was expecting it.