Second Try Idol

I dozed off for a bit. When I woke up, the scenery around me felt strangely unfamiliar.

‘How long did I sleep?’

The room was bathed in a bluish light, and the air was oddly cool. It wasn’t a feeling I often experienced, but I quite liked the vibe.

Sitting on the bed in a daze, I looked around the spacious room and gazed out the window where the light streamed in. It felt as if I had entered another world. I chuckled at the thought as it was such a sentimental notion.

I refocused my gaze toward the window and picked up my phone. It was still only 1:30 AM, a time when Yoo-Joon probably went home. Joo-Han would be working alone.

‘Should I grab some beer and head over?’

Since he lived nearby and, perhaps because he was getting older—though he was still only in his late twenties—Joo-Han recently started feeling lonely more often. So, I would tell him to come hang out every time he called me.

“Hyung must be bored, so I should keep him company.”

He often holed up in his studio with no one around.

‘What?’

There were nearly a hundred missed calls.

“...”

The pleasant late night vibe turned into an inexplicable chill.

‘What’s going on? Why so many missed calls?’

Joo-Han, Yoo-Joon, and even In-Hyun and Yoon-Chan had all been trying to reach me for hours.

A tingling sensation crept up my nose. What was this anxiety? I immediately called Joo-Han, but he didn’t answer.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t he picking up?”

Seeing all the calls at once, it seemed they were all contacting me about the same issue. I dialed In-Hyun next without much thought. But the call just kept ringing as he wasn’t answering either.

‘Well, he might be asleep by now.’

By the time I saw the missed calls, the issue might have already been resolved.

‘If there was an issue, he would have sent a text.’

The only message I received was from Joo-Han asking me to call back when I saw his missed call. I figured if they had more to say, they would call back. As I reached for the TV remote, my phone rang.

[Elated Yoon-Chan hyung]

It was from Yoon-Chan. Now that I thought about it, he had also left missed calls.

‘Were they all together?’

Maybe they had a get-together while Yoo-Joon visited Joo-Han’s place, and Yoon-Chan and In-Hyun joined them for drinks. They always reached out when Yoo-Joon and I met even though they knew it often led to awkwardness. But I understood their concern.

“Ha…” I sighed deeply and answered the call. “Hey, hyung.”

- …Jin-Sung.

Hearing Yoon-Chan’s unusually cautious voice in what was obviously a lively, drunken atmosphere made me think he was going to ask if I was coming to join them.

“Hyung? …Is that you, Yoon-Chan hyung?”

However, his voice sounded different from what I expected. The usually clear, youthful voice was now rough and low as he called my name.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Why did he sound like that? I could hear strong winds blowing on the other end of the line. Then, Yoon-Chan started to sob.

What was this unease? The countless missed calls and Yoon-Chan’s sobbing filled me with an overwhelming sense of dread.

“What’s wrong, hyung? Huh? What’s going on?”

“Umm….” Yoon-Chan couldn’t continue as he just kept crying.

I realized he couldn’t speak, so I hurriedly grabbed my things. “Where are you? I will come to you. Text me the location right now.”

I ended the call and rushed out of the house. As soon as I got in the car, I checked the message from Yoon-Chan. But the address made me freeze.

“Why… here…”

Just reading the words made my mouth go dry.

[Shinchon Mary University Hospital Funeral Hall.

Call when you get here. Hyun-Woo hyung was in a plane crash.]

I felt a rush of blood to my face.

“Wait a minute…”

‘Wait, wait… What does this mean? Hyun-Woo hyung in a plane crash? If there was a plane crash, why are you at a funeral hall?’

“Wait… this can’t be…”

‘Why are they telling me to go to a funeral hall? If Hyun-Woo hyung was in an accident, shouldn’t he be in a hospital? Why…’

I couldn’t connect the dots. I didn’t want to. I gripped the steering wheel with trembling hands.

‘Hyun-Woo hyung is dead? No way.’

I tried to stay rational, but tears began to flow.

“No, this can’t be true. Absolutely not.”

Poor Hyun-Woo couldn’t die like that.

However, when I arrived at the funeral hall after rushing there, I saw Yoon-Chan’s face and the name clearly written on the memorial plaque: Suh Hyun-Woo. I had no choice but to accept the reality that Hyun-Woo was dead.

Hyun-Woo's family was crying desperately. They were on the verge of fainting. Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon were behind them, their heads lowered. They seemed to have been shocked to the point that tears didn’t even fall from their eyes. Everything seemed to turn black, as if I were watching a dying screen, with everything moving in slow motion.

“Why is Hyun-Woo hyung…”

Why was he framed and surrounded by those ugly flowers?

“Jin-Sung…”

“This isn’t right.”

I couldn’t breathe. My legs gave out, and I couldn’t move.

“No, no, why? Why, hyung, why?”

“Jin-Sung….”

Yoon-Chan sighed deeply with a ghastly pale face and helped me up. “We need to say goodbye to Hyun-Woo hyung.”

“No, no, no!” As my voice began to rise, people around us started to look at me with sympathetic expressions.

Yoon-Chan sighed again as he gripped me tighter and guided me forward. “Come on. Let’s go.”

After stumbling and barely able to stand, I found myself in front of the photo. Then, I collapsed to my knees. “He can’t just leave like this. This is too cruel… How can this happen…?”

It was all my fault. If it weren’t for me… If Hyun-Woo hadn’t been in the spotlight because of me, this wouldn’t have happened.

I called out to him until my throat was raw and my voice barely more than a whisper. I couldn’t let him go. Not like this. This was too much. Too cruel.

“How could this happen?”

“Jin-Sung. Jin-Sung, please calm down.”

Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon couldn’t endure watching me despair anymore. They grabbed my shoulders and tried to lift me from the floor.

The tears wouldn’t stop. How could they expect me to stop? They were crying too, their eyes swollen and red.

If there was a God, he was heartless. How could he take away such a kind person in this way?

No matter how much I cried, Hyun-Woo’s regrets wouldn’t be eased. His dreams wouldn’t be realized. He wouldn’t come back. I would never meet him again. He left without achieving anything. The realization was unbearably painful.

***

[It’s not your fault, Jin-Sung. Please, call me when you feel better.]

Yoon-Chan was concerned about me, so he sent messages every day.

Not my fault? How could it not be my fault? Whether it was my fault or not, the fact remained that Hyun-Woo wasn’t coming back. Whether it was my fault or not…

[Are you eating?]

Yoon-Chan sent me another text. Seeing that only he was messaging me, I knew that Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon were struggling just as much as I was.

I hadn’t eaten a single meal, and all my schedules were canceled. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. Unless Hyun-Woo came back to life, my life would never return to normal.

“What should I do? What can I do…?”

I wanted to see Hyun-Woo right now. Right this moment.

“I miss you so much, hyung.”

I really missed him. Now, I could only see that gentle yet cold person in pictures.

“What should I do?”

If I could bring him back, I would do anything.

I buried my face in my knees, not knowing how long I stayed like that. It took a while before I noticed something strange. A blue light was shining in my room that should have been dark.

‘What is that?’

I frowned as I looked up and saw a blue window hovering in the air, like a hologram used in concerts. Something like this wasn’t supposed to be in my room. I got startled and backed away. The blue window flickered and displayed white letters.

[First Condition: Be Ready to Sacrifice]

-Players have been chosen. You will receive hints about the quest.

‘Sacrifice? Players? Hints? Quest?’

It was like seeing a quest window from a game in real life. What on earth was this? No matter how hard I stared, I couldn’t make sense of it. Had I finally gone mad? Was I hallucinating?

As I stood there dumbfounded, my phone suddenly started ringing frantically. It was Joo-Han, who hadn’t contacted me since the funeral.

“Hello?”

- Jin-Sung, where are you?

“Huh? Uh… at home.”

- Come to my place right now.

Joo-Han’s voice sounded incredibly urgent. Everything felt so surreal and horrifying. But my body moved on its own. The moment I heard Joo-Han’s voice, the strange blue window and everything that had happened flashed through my mind.

‘It definitely said players.’

The text window said players, plural. If I was a player, there had to be more than one. If the members related to Hyun-Woo were also players… If Joo-Han had called me, thinking of me as a player too… This could be a chance, probably the one and only opportunity to bring Hyun-Woo back.

I quickly got into my car and headed to Joo-Han’s place. As if to prove I wasn’t crazy, my phone started buzzing with calls and messages from the members.

Driving felt like navigating through a fog. Every red light and slow car was an obstacle between me and what could be my last hope. My thoughts raced. If there were players, if there was a quest, did this mean there was a way to bring Hyun-Woo back? The thought was both terrifying and exhilarating.

When I finally pulled up to Joo-Han’s place, I could see the tension on his face even before I got out of the car. He practically dragged me inside, his grip firm and unyielding.

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