RAT Chapter 5 (Part 3)

So, coming back to what I said earlier—the benefit of being with a major company is that they don’t hesitate to spend money on a stage.

Even for just a few seconds of an opening, we could afford to hire a full choir.

“Ah—ah ah—ah—ah ah—”

“Ah—ah ah—ah—ah ah—”

As the backing singers, dressed in capes like a church choir, began their chant, the stage was dark except for me—lying alone in the center.

The other members sat turned away, their faces hidden. I smiled up at the overhead camera, reaching my hand toward it, then slowly rose to my feet.

During practice, my lack of core strength had always made my jaw shake at this part, but this time, I clenched my teeth and endured. Fortunately, it went off without a hitch.

Then came the front walkover.

As I spun and passed the other members, they began to rise one by one, like wind-up dolls brought to life.

Overall, the choreography wasn’t that difficult, but I added short bursts of complex acrobatics throughout to make it look hard.

Only Moon Taeyoung and I could pull them off, so it meant burning myself out a bit—but if it made the stage memorable, that was fine.

Really, it was.

For an idol to exist as an idol, fans are essential.

And for a group like ours—caught in an awkward, in-between position—there aren’t many chances to attract new ones.

I even drew a beauty mark on my face for this, didn’t I? Do you think there’s anything I wouldn’t do at this point?

With that in mind, most of the choreography was built around symbolic pair dancing.

While Jin Yoorim sang the chorus, Eden and I performed beside him—grabbing at his arms, pulling him close by the shoulder, then letting him go.

It was clearly a calculated move, but given how good both Jin Yoorim and Eden looked, I figured it would work.

“If from the start, we were never meant to touch,
If that’s how it was set to be,
I’m breaking the rules,
Crossing the line—!”

The moment Jin Yoorim’s long-awaited part began, the crowd erupted in a scream.

Whether it was because I pretended to kiss Jin Yoorim’s hand, or because Eden wrapped his arm around his shoulder, I didn’t know—but either way, it was bound to become a hot topic. That alone made me satisfied.

And finally, at the end of the first verse, I sang my only line, then turned my back and smiled faintly.

“This is a drama no one knows the ending to,
So why don’t we start again?”

Alright. Let’s restart the game, you lovely, twisted regressors.

The moment we stepped off stage after D.I.Y.’s set, Kim Dojun started crying.

Moon Taeyoung pulled him into a hug, patting his back, then looked at me and shook his head.

After holding back through all those rehearsals, I couldn’t help but laugh this time.

“What are you two doing? What’s this supposed to be?”

“Yeoul. Now’s not the time…”

“Why not? Because Dojun’s upset? It’s fine for him to cry because he’s frustrated, but not fine for me to laugh?”

If he cried because he worked hard and was upset about messing up, I could find that cute—maybe even admirable.

I still wouldn’t understand it, but I’d at least take it as a sign of progress.

But that wasn’t the case. He hadn’t practiced enough to be that frustrated.

And more importantly, this was backstage—where artists and staff were constantly coming and going, waiting for their turn on stage.

Considering the MCs had just introduced D.I.Y.’s stage as being “produced by their leader, Park Yeoul,” this situation could only make me look bad.

Even if Dojun really was crying out of shame for his mistake, that wasn’t how others would see it.

People would just say, “He only messed up because Park Yeoul suddenly changed the choreography.”

Especially since I was the one who’d taken center stage for the most difficult part of the routine—it was the perfect setup for someone to say I’d ruined the performance out of personal greed.

Thinking things through is always better than acting stupid, but turning your frustration into blame for someone else just because it’s easier than facing yourself—that was disgusting.

I could let almost anything else slide with a smile, but not this.

Not when it came to the stage.

If this is how it’s going to be, why keep doing this?

No—why do I keep becoming an idol, over and over again?

The words “Wouldn’t it be better to just quit?” almost left my mouth, but before they could, Eden pulled me back.

“What, are you expecting Yeoul-hyung to apologize or something?”

“……”

“Wow. Seriously?”

He laughed like a maniac and clapped his hands.

Even the people who’d been pretending not to watch turned their heads for a moment—only to quickly look down again. Perfect bait.

…Fine. I’ll just go along with it until we reach Imjingak. After that, I’ll restart. The next version of me can figure out what Eden’s and Jin Yoorim’s regression goals are.

“Dojun.”

“Hyung. Don’t.”

“…Ha. And what exactly do you think I’m going to do?”

“Anything. Just stay still. Unless you want me to lose it too.”

I’d only meant to ask if he still wanted to stay an idol, but apparently Eden had misunderstood—he really thought I was going to apologize.

Even when I waved the hand he was gripping, he didn’t look back at me, his eyes fixed instead on glaring at Kim Dojun and Moon Taeyoung.

Off to the side, Jin Yoorim stood frozen, watching me with a look that hovered somewhere between anger and relief. When our eyes finally met, his face went pale.

…What should I do?

I didn’t actually want to apologize, but when my dear regressors acted like this, it made me want to provoke them even more.

Just as I was about to call out to Kim Dojun again, a group that had been pretending not to notice us suddenly rushed over.

“…Hello, sunbaenims.”

“Oh—uh, hi. Wait, Young-ah, hold on—!”

They were the members of W.orbit—the group that performed Orbit, the very song we’d just covered. They’d been glancing our way ever since we came backstage, so I figured they’d talk to us eventually… I just didn’t expect it to be now.

Apparently, neither did they. They smiled awkwardly, bowing their heads in unison.

“Young-ah, please—be nice, okay?”

“Is it still an option not to say anything at all?”

As they gently scolded the member who’d been staring holes into me, they nudged him to bow again, urging him to say his greetings properly before leaving.

That was probably Go Young.

He was W.orbit’s practical producer, but he was better known for debuting straight from an audition program—without ever going through a trainee period.

Not because of his skill, but because of his raw, blunt way of speaking—completely unidol-like.

“Um—”

Maybe that’s why, the moment he opened his mouth, the rest of his members all sighed at once.

“My heart’s racing… Can I just run to the bathroom real quick?”

“No. You wouldn’t come back.”

“Kyowoon-hyung, we stick together till the end.”

The tension that had been sharp enough to burst softened a little at their dramatic reactions.

As the quiet backstage area began to fill again with murmurs, I looked steadily at Go Young.

During my regressions, W.orbit had always been one of the successful groups, but the members themselves changed slightly each time.

Especially this lineup—they weren’t particularly social, so I didn’t have much information on them.

…Well, whatever he was about to say, it was probably better than the headline “D.I.Y. breaks into a fight backstage after year-end performance.”

Tilting my head with a small smile, I said, “You could’ve said it nicely, you know. Our group isn’t done yet. And we’re not going to be.”

Sensing my gaze, Go Young, who’d been getting nagged by his team, composed his face and looked straight at me.

“Wow… That somehow makes it sound worse.”

“Let’s just trust him for now. If it goes south, Harang, you grab him and run.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

Even as the members whispered and teased behind him, Go Young stood firm—expression calm and voice steady—as if he couldn’t care less about their chatter.

“How many years left on your contract?”

“…Huh?”

“Six years? That right?”

Yeah, I take it back. Maybe it would’ve been better if D.I.Y. had just made a scene instead.

I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand at the unexpected question, while the rest of W.orbit—frozen by Go Young’s bombshell—slowly came back to life.

“Wow. I was kidding, but I guess it really was the last straw, huh.”

If sitting down on the floor in disbelief counted as “coming back to life,” sure, I’d allow it.

While the others tried awkwardly to joke their way out of the tension, one member who’d stayed stiff from the start sighed and helped the one on the floor back up.

“Young-ah, you said you’d be polite.”

“I was.”

“I mean, I know what you meant, but still…”

He gave up halfway through scolding him and turned to bow slightly toward me instead.

That must’ve been Yooho—the leader in this timeline.

He was famous for composing all of W.orbit’s title tracks. Another member you’d only see in this version of the group—meaning, I didn’t know much about him either.

I lifted a hand to stop the D.I.Y. members, who’d instinctively tried to step forward when W.orbit approached.

A fandom as strong as W.orbit’s could crush ours without effort.

It was unlikely they came here to mock us right after we’d bombed our stage—but asking about contract terms before even saying hello wasn’t exactly “normal” behavior either.

And then there was one who pretended to cry about how “tragic” it was while staring at us with open curiosity.

Two others had their eyes locked on my members like they were observing prey.

So basically, no one had any intention of stopping Go Young.

I tilted my head again and smiled faintly, trying to look a little thrown off.

“But, um… why do you ask, sunbaenim?”

“You only do arrangements? Haven’t started composing yet?”

“…I plan to stay an idol, you know.”

“Right. That’s what I meant.”

I thought maybe he liked the song and was asking if I’d switch to producing full-time, so I answered that I had no plans to quit performing.

But his look—like he couldn’t understand why I’d even say something so obvious—made me laugh out loud.

He didn’t seem to get why I was laughing, either.

While I wiped my face to stop myself from grinning, the other members began whispering.

“He’s laughing? Think there’s a chance we can revive this collab somehow?”

“No, if you want that, someone better shut Young-ah up right now.”

“Then why don’t you do it?”

“I don’t want to deal with the fallout later.”

They kept talking like that—voices low but their eyes fixed not on me, but on the D.I.Y. members standing just behind me.

Still, the fact that none of them tried to actually stop him was kind of impressive.

Go Young waved his hand dismissively, as if brushing off their noise, and refocused on me.

“I heard something.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard some agencies deliberately push just one or two members of a group—mph!”

“Okay, Young-ah, seriously, stop right there. Please. If you say one more word, we’ll never be able to fix this.”

Yooho clamped a hand over Go Young’s mouth and bowed quickly in my direction.

“I’m sorry. He didn’t mean anything bad by it. It’s just—your performance really… stood out. That’s all.”

“Ah…”

While I was still deciding whether to accept that apology, Go Young pulled Yooho’s hand away and looked straight at me again, blurting out:

“No, but that doesn’t make sense. Hyung said the same thing too.”

At this point, I couldn’t help but be fascinated. This was a group three years into debut? Really?

I leaned in close and asked softly, “Do you actually believe I arranged and staged everything myself?”

“You didn’t?”

“Haha… No, I did. Yeah, I did.”

Forgetting to act polite, I tilted my head slightly, studying him.

This person—who either seemed completely insane or simply too raw for the industry—was oddly interesting.

“I want to hear your original songs too. You really haven’t started composing yet?”

“Hey, Young-ah, my songs not good enough for you?”

“Hyung, shut up. Don’t even joke like that. It pisses me off.”

As I stepped closer to Go Young, W.orbit’s leader, who had been watching us the entire time without breaking eye contact, suddenly pulled Go Young toward him.

And thanks to that perfectly timed interference—
I realized something.

Keeping my eyes fixed on Go Young, I smiled again as if I hadn’t noticed the wary looks around us.

“Sunbaenim.”

“Yes?”

“I… actually do compose music.”

“Ah, I thought so. What kind of style? Something similar to this arrangement—”

“But, I’m… a bit shy with strangers, sunbaenim.”

“…You’re shy? Just like that, all of a sudden?”

“Yes. I suddenly feel really embarrassed.”

My voice carried an easy laugh, and at that, Jin Yoorim—who had been watching everything from a distance, pretending to stay uninvolved—hurried over and grabbed my shoulder.

“Hyung, what are you doing? Park Yeoul, what the hell do you think you’re doing—!”

He seemed to have completely forgotten that we were in front of seniors, or that we were surrounded by staff in the backstage area of a major broadcast.

But honestly, if you were going to react like this, you shouldn’t have pretended not to know me in the first place, should you?

Without sparing Jin Yoorim a glance, I curved my eyes prettily and smiled again.

“So, could I have your number?”

Go Young frowned a little at that—but thankfully, his answer was what I wanted.

“Say it. I’ll memorize it.”

“Uh…”

“You don’t have paper or a pen right now, right? Want me to say mine first?”

“It’s 010-2908-17xx.”

“I’m 010-4801-58xx.”

“Sunbaenim. You said you’d memorize mine.”

“I did. 2908-17xx. But you won’t pick up if it’s from an unknown number, will you? …Would you?”

“Ha ha…”

He’d probably been an idol longer than he could even remember, but the look on his face—pure disbelief, as if asking ‘Are you out of your mind?’—made me laugh again.

And then, with Eden joining in this time, I was dragged back toward the D.I.Y. members whether I liked it or not.

“We need to go back to our seats now. We’ve already taken too long.”

The excuse was that we had to return to the artist seating area for the broadcast, but honestly, my face was one that couldn’t afford to be caught on camera right now.

…So. What now?

How do I make the two people who love me fall in love with each other instead, this time around?

What is this~?
[Photo of TV screen.jpg]

No, seriously, what IS this????
What the hell IS this????

↳ ? Isn’t that your living room?
↳ lmao are you t-type or something???
↳ hahahahahaha
↳ looks too deliberate to be fake though…
↳ you’re the worst, damn hahahahaha

↳ The photo’s so blurry you can’t even tell what’s going on;;
↳ At least we can feel the panic though, lol
↳ Wait, did I forget my glasses for a sec;
↳ Looks like a half-blink reaction pic

↳ Okay but seriously, what is it?
↳ Isn’t that from the Music Festival? The timing matches perfectly.
↳ Yeah, I checked—one guy’s hair color matches too.
↳ Oh my god;;;; It’s Park Yeoul??? Park Yeoul dyed his hair???
↳ So that is Park Yeoul? Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU…

↳ It’s D.I.Y.’s leader, Park Yeoul!!! And please don’t ask why only you guys knew about him—because even we fans are in total ??? mode rn hahahaha
↳ He’s not even a rookie—1 year in, 3 comebacks—and he still feels like a stranger… that’s Park Yeoul???
↳ I’ve followed D.I.Y. since debut and I still didn’t recognize him lol
↳ Wow you guys are insane; how did you keep quiet about a silver-haired, ethereal-looking guy with a tear mole under his eye??
↳ 222 exactly like when did y’all stop being true otakus??
↳ We didn’t know either, okay????
↳ hahahaha no but seriously, he feels like a different person;; who is that;;
↳ Our boy has a tear mole??

↳ Did you not see from the start? Shame on you…
↳ He literally killed the camera, okay.
↳ And our hearts, too;; damn;;
↳ Half-up hair + silver + tear mole;; Park Yeoul went feral;;
↳ Plus he started the stage lying down and reaching toward the camera holy shit
↳ Honestly, hearing people talk about anyone other than Yoorim or Eden feels weird, but—who is this cold, dark-eyed beauty?? The Park Yeoul I know is a soft, kind leader?? Who is this??? I mean, I’m grateful, but…???
↳ My current mood lmao I’ll take it gladly but… who ARE you??? hahaha
↳ Guys;;; can you chill with the “who is he” and start promoting him instead
↳ 222 yeah post some pics, I’ll stan, I swear
↳ 3333 they literally said they’d stan and you’re not taking advantage???
↳ we want to promote him but… it’s Yeoul… sigh…
↳ ? What’s wrong with him? Why???
↳ ??? he’s literally the one idol with no scandals lol

[Click ‘See more comments’ to continue reading.]

Girls, W.orbit’s fansite master just dropped a preview photo!!!

She said it was too good to keep to herselfㅠㅠ

[ParkYeoul_eyesclosed.JPG]
[ParkYeoul_turning_back_and_smiling.JPG]

She went to monitor the stage since they covered W.orbit’s song, and now she’s crying over it…
↳ omg will she upload the HQ version???
↳ probably since this is just the preview??? please…ㅠㅠ
↳ meanwhile our own fansites have nothing lol
↳ Yeoul’s fansites are probably too emotionally destroyed to post right now hahaha
↳ yeah they’re all crying collectively lmao
↳ haha but honestly, same, I would’ve cried too if I’d seen that live
↳ Yeoul fans probably started crying the moment he appeared in that reindeer hat during rehearsal
↳ that was me… lol
↳ 22222
↳ His face… literal perfection…
↳ Silver hair is such a risky color but it suits him too well
↳ I’m obsessed with the half-up hairstyle
↳ and that tear mole…
↳ but that’s drawn on, right? He didn’t have that before?

↳ Moles can appear naturallyㅇㅇ
↳ Out of nowhere, right under his eye though? lol
↳ ?
↳ Even if it’s drawn, what’s the problem?
↳ The problem is… my heart stopped beating..
↳ valid; king behavior;
↳ sigh…am I the only one annoyed that we’re losing it over another group’s fansite pics?
↳ oh… maybe
↳ nope, just you lol

↳ The way this fandom goes silent is actually impressive hahaha
↳ lol not even the HQ, just the preview… I can’t
↳ yeah okay bye we’re not going far though
↳ hahahahahahaha

↳ I thought D.I.Y. fans were quiet but guess not??? hahaha
↳ Right? They were just pretending to be calm;; love it though hahaha
↳ “YeoulLikeTheSea” fansite dropped previews….

[YeoulKissing_Yoorim’sHand.JPG]
[Yeoul_FaceCloseup.JPG]

↳ …………..
↳ Is Park Yeoul actually insane????
↳ Yeah, pretty sure he is
↳ Holy shit this crazy bastard, my heart physically hurtsㅠㅠㅠ
↳ how can he smile like that while doing that;;;;
↳ how did anyone even manage to take this shot??? I would’ve dropped dead on the spot???

↳ “BeTheOcean” fansite also posted previews!
[Yeoul_Reaching_Hand.JPG]
[Yeoul_Turning_Spin.JPG]
↳ lmaooo this fansite cried over getting a bad seat but apparently it was perfect for this shot hahaha
↳ tbf yeah, those sitting front and center couldn’t catch that angle anyway
↳ I may have lost ticketing, but sitting at home eating tangerines while watching both clips makes me the real winner
↳ don’t cry…
↳ ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ imagine seeing Park Yeoul glowing under the stage lights in person…

↳ okay but isn’t this messed up? Dojun apparently cried after his mistake, and you D.I.Y. fans are acting like nothing happened???
↳ 222 exactly;;; you guys look like psychopaths;;;
↳ And apparently Dojun messed up because of Park Yeoul?? Everyone else is mocking your group while you’re celebrating??
↳ Why is it Yeoul’s fault that Dojun messed up?
↳ idk man; just what people are saying;
↳ “He redid the whole stage last-minute and caused this mess” blah blah
↳ the nerve lol
↳ Some fans smh

↳ haha lmao are they even D.I.Y. fans? Yeoul fans are a whole different breed hahaha
↳ yeah they switch up depending on who’s being dragged
↳ exactly; when Dojun gets hate, “we’re all D.I.Y.,” but when Yeoul does, suddenly “your Yeoul” hahaha

↳ but seriously, I’m not trolling, I’m genuinely asking—how was Dojun’s mistake Yeoul’s fault? please explain that logic;;
↳ ? he’s the one who rewrote and rearranged everything last minute, isn’t he?
↳ so you’re saying they should’ve done the original version for a year-end stage?? when every other team rearranged theirs too??
↳ also, why are we even busy right now? promotions are over
↳ uh, because idols are always busy? album prep, rehearsals, filming, etc?
↳ lmao maybe you don’t know because Yeoul doesn’t do solo gigs
↳ 222 exactly hahaha
↳ then why didn’t Yoorim or Eden mess up? They were busier and had new parts too.
↳ literally, Eden had more new rap lines than anyone else hahaha
↳ sure, blame Yeoul for someone else missing their cue, okay then…

↳ Dojun-ah… do you actually want to be an idol? please just practice…
↳ facts lol

↳ The fandom atmosphere right now is insane hahaha
↳ ??? : stirring chaos in the group chat
↳ At this point, it’s The “Everything Is Yeoul’s Fault” theory

↳ Who said Yeoul fans were quiet hahaha
↳ quiet ones are the scariest when they snap lol
↳ ugh stop romanticizing your toxic stanning;;
↳ if you can’t attack the message, attack the messenger… nice try

↳ man I was hyped about Yeoul’s legendary stage, but now I’m pissed we can’t save the full video because of Dojun’s screw-up, and the fandom’s fighting like idiots
↳ guess people thought we were pushovers lol Yoorim and Eden fans get sympathy while we’re out here ready to fight lmao
↳ Yeoul literally has a tear mole on his face now, you think we’re scared of anything??
↳ 222 come at us we don’t care
↳ 3333 bring it on

[Click ‘See more comments’ to continue reading.]