The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Articles that announced our official debut in the U.S. began to pour out by the boatloads. This was as planned by my members and I a couple of days ago. Since the beginning, everything progressed just as we expected them to. We had a company-wide celebration for entering the Billboard Hot 100, and Yoo Won-Dong participated in the celebration. He appeared to be getting along with his employees well these days and the atmosphere never got tense or awkward.

And since the big boss was there, I thought I could tell him my plans straightaway.

“Director, I think we can think more seriously about our activities in the US now,” I brought it up as a passing idea that I just thought of by myself.

“Huh? What are you saying, Tae-Yoon?” Dong-Jun pretended to be interested and took the role of supporting me. “Debuting in the US? But now that we entered into the charts, I do think it is time to shake up the waters a bit. If we do just a bit more…”

Do-Seung and Woon soon naturally joined us and added a line or two.

“I heard that our music is popular among highschoolers in the U.S.”

“My cousin is studying in the U.S., and she says it’s a trend to film Tiktaktok videos with our song. It was cool to hear what’s happening there from an actual resident.”

And though nobody ordered him to, Yeon-Hoon also intuitively added his opinion about our debut in the U.S. “Oh yeah! I heard that it’s going viral in the U.S. for real! I heard that everyone who likes K-Pop in the U.S. is already listening to our song. If we debut in the U.S. right now, it could make things interesting.” This was his personal opinion that we didn’t force him to say.

Since our goal was to spread articles about our debut in the US rather than actually doing the deed, I felt a little bit bad for Yeon-Hoon who just genuinely wanted to go to the U.S. But of course, I just justified our actions, thinking that we could really debut in the US after finishing all the missions later.

After hearing all of our opinions, Yoo Won-Dong looked to be pondering for about a minute. Yet, that one minute pause was obviously just a fake to show his hesitation, and he seemed to have already made up his mind. How could I miss this old fox twitching the edge of his lips in joy after hearing us?

“Your opinions and mine are finally aligning! I also thought we should prepare for you guys’ debut right now! And...don’t be surprised. We already reserved a show time from the Jimmy Box show for you all in the US.”

“…Huh?”

“…Hm?”

“Jimmy…Box?”

“Wow! That’s amazing! You are the best, director!”

“Hahaha!”

The Jimmy Box Show? I didn’t think things would become official so fast. How could he have gotten us a show time airing in the middle of the most popular talk show in the U.S. just two days after we entered the Billboard Hot 100?

“I connected with some people working in overseas businesses in the Jaeil Group. You know the saying, if you just go through three links in your connections, you can reach everybody? Hahaha!”

No matter how wide one’s connections reached, it seemed only possible for Yoo Won-Dong to reach something like the Jimmy Box Show with just three links. Nevertheless, it wasn’t difficult for us to get approval for our U.S. debut because that is what Yoo Won-Dong wanted more than anything. However, I feared that the situation would get bigger than what I imagined.

Two days after that celebration, Next Wave spread news through journalists about our debut. All the news had pretty much the same content. It was that we were going to leave the country next month for our official U.S. activities. Though the exact day wasn’t decided, we would be embarking for the US any time soon. The only fixed event in our schedule was the Jimmy Box Show. After finishing that schedule, we could go around a couple of nearby radios and return to Korea.

Yet, I convinced Yoo Won-Dong to not write the exact dates of our U.S. activities.

“Director, let’s not reveal our date of departure and return.”

“Why?”

“It makes us look big, like we have a lot of things going on in the U.S.”

“…Oh.”

Though it wasn’t a very solid reasoning, Yoo Won-Dong liked my explanation, and articles stated that our departure and return dates were undecided. Fans had many different opinions about our U.S. debut.

Some people thought we should strike the iron when it was hot while others worried that we would return to the nation after buzz about us had died down and we would come back to an awkward situation where we were no longer relevant. Others were simply pissed that they couldn’t see us in the same country anymore and so on.

All the fans’ responses had a point. Of course, since we weren’t really debuting in the U.S., we would quickly return to Korea after finishing our activities there but for the Korean fans, it could feel as if they had lost us. I monitored the Korean fans’ responses about the U.S. debut and put down my phone.

“Tae-Yoon, what are you looking at?” Dong-Jun sat beside me and asked.

“Comments about our U.S. debut,” I replied.

“Aha. Many people are talking about it, but honestly, I thought it would be good for us to go around now…we just need to do a good job so we won’t disappoint the fans.” The current Dong-Jun was the normal Dong-Jun who didn’t have memories of a regressor.

I looked around the inside of the car. Ms. Seung-Yeon and Ms. Hyuna were conversing in the front. Most of their conversation was about our next day’s schedule or what they were going to eat.

“Should we eat the mushroom kalguksu* in Yeouido tomorrow?” [1]

“Sounds amazing. Did you see me salivate just now?”

“Hahaha! We have to eat it tomorrow.”

And whenever the two talked about food, Dong-Jun always intervened. “Wow! So bad! How could you think of going to eat kalguksu without us? You are betraying us!”

Dong-Jun always felt left out if he wasn’t included in a conversation about food.

“They are going to have a meal during their break time. Don’t stop them. This is the employee abuse they talk about happening within companies.” And it was always Do-Seung who provoked Dong-Jun at times like this.

“Are you seriously talking about ‘employee abuse’ for something like this? Why do you talk so meanly?” Dong-Jun didn’t back down and retorted.

“We will also pack you guys’ share! How about it? Won’t that solve everything?”

“We will specially ask them to add a lot of beef and pack it. You have to ask for extra servings of beef twice in that place to have a good amount.”

Ms. Seung-Yeon and Ms. Hyuna smoothly died down the atmosphere that was getting heated, and Dong-Jun’s face perked up while Do-Seung just let go of the matter.

“Wow, I just ate a bite of the noodles just now. The mushroom kalguksu is amazing.”

“Don’t eat too much of the kalguksu and have an upset stomach again. We are out of digestive medicines in the dorm now.”

These daily conversations brought me more peace than any other background noises.

“Woon, what do you think about this t-shirt? Isn’t it pretty?” Yeon-Hoon asked Woon.

“You already have five of those shirts in the house.”

“…That’s true.”

“Rather than prints, why don’t you buy shirts with more details like this. Or ones that just have a simple logo?”

“But…ones with fancy printings like this catch your eyes better…!”

“…I think your sense in choosing clothes is a bit strange.”

“W—Woon…?”

“Ah, sorry. Was I too blunt?”

“I thought I was talking to Do-Seung for a second.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“…Why do you have to pick on me all of a sudden, Yeon-Hoon?”

“Ah, haha! Sorry Do-Seung!”

“…”

I leaned into the car seat. It was night when all of our schedules were over. Listening to my members’ conversation from the car’s back seat was my day’s only healing time. I didn’t have to think, calculate, or worry about anything during this time. These were the small moments that I had desperately yearned for before my regression. To have these moments forever, I was willing to give up anything.

The car headed to our dorm at a speed that was neither too fast nor slow. Eventually, it entered the parking lot and stopped in front of our apartment’s basement entrance.

“You all did so much today too. Go in and have a good rest.”

“And everyone, don’t forget to watch the fifteen minute video for conversational English before you go to sleep!”

“We are going to test you twenty words tomorrow morning so please, please memorize them!”

Because we were going to do more activities in the U.S. from now on, we were also going to study English.

“All right!”

“See you tomorrow everyone!”

“Really good work today.”

“Be careful on your way back~”

My members took their luggage and went inside their rooms. I was the last one to get out of the car after Ms. Hyuna and Ms. Seung-Yeon left.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Another day passed smoothly just like that~”

“Let’s have a good sleep~”

We stretched our stiff bodies in front of the entrance door for a bit.

“You guys, could you go up first?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I have something I need to buy in the convenience store. I will join you soon.”

“Ah, then, let’s go together. I also have something to buy.”

“What is it?”

“Spicy Hot Chicken flavored ramen.”

“Park Dong-Jun!”

“…That was my plan but I just canceled it. Why don’t you go alone? Do you have a hat?”

“Yes, don’t worry. It’s just the convenience store in front of the house.”

“Then, we’ll go up first, Tae-Yoon!”

“Be careful~”

My members went past the entrance door first and got inside the elevator. Since the elevator was right on the basement floor, they immediately moved up to our dorm. I looked behind and searched the parking lot then.

Diagonally across the basement entrance, I saw a familiar car that I didn’t notice at first because it was covered by a large pillar. It was a white rusty looking car that I saw the truck driver run away in. Since I never saw a car like that on this side of the parking lot, I knew the car belonged to a nonresident.

Moreover, the thick tape wrapping around the back side mirrors were traces of what happened in his last escape. I took a step away from the entrance and walked toward the car. I gulped with my drying throat.

It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t scared. I was also human and could instinctively detect danger. There was a clear sense of bloodlust in this place. All the hairs in my body stood straight from the piercing antagonism filling up this space. And the moment I took another step—

Boom!

Bzzzzz—!

I heard something heavy hit a metal sheet and an electronic device buzzing.

Psssh—!

Spark!

“...The hell?”

All the lights inside the basement parking lot turned off. It seemed he had completely crushed the electric circuit that supplied electricity to this place. Because a bright place suddenly went dark, my eyes couldn’t adjust, and I couldn’t make out anything in front of me. I didn’t think activating Insight would do much in this situation. I simply had to hope that my eyes would eventually adjust to the darkness, and I could at least spot a person’s silhouette inside it.

I quickly moved. If I was in a dark place, I could make my eyes adjust faster by bringing it to a darker place. By the time I thought my eyes became used to the darkness and I looked forward—

“…Fuck.”

The bastard was already right in front of my face.

1. Korean noodle dish ☜