I blinked at the absurd words coming from the youngest member's mouth. My blurry vision sharpened, and I could finally see his face clearly.
"Jaehee, did you get younger?"
"What's wrong with you, Hyung? Have you really lost it?"
I stared blankly at his youthful, almost childlike face. The youngest member shook his head, clicked his tongue, and hurriedly called for Gyeon Hajun before dashing out of my room.
I barely had time to question his unusually friendly behavior, considering he'd been sulking and refusing to speak to me yesterday, before I urgently scanned my surroundings.
First, the hard mattress beneath me was definitely not the plush, king-size mattress I'd bought for my new house. The bed itself was also only about a third of its usual size.
The room was cramped, with peeling wallpaper plastered haphazardly across the walls. The floor was covered in a literal yellow linoleum.
Finally, I realized where I was.
It was that goddamn basement apartment we'd lived in during our early days as a flop idol group.
This can't be real.
I slapped my cheek hard, wondering if I was dreaming. It stung like hell. This wasn't a dream.
I rushed to the mirror. My reflection showed a face that couldn't have been older than my early twenties. My eyes trembled slightly in the mirror.
Basement apartment, regression, debut day.
It seemed I had regressed.
And to the worst, darkest period of my life—when we were a flop idol group. No, since we hadn't even debuted yet, I should say the period when we were about to become a flop idol group?
First, I needed to figure out what that system window was all about. What exactly was this "Original Intent Score"? And why had I been brought back?
"St... Status Window," I muttered under my breath, half-expecting nothing to happen. But as soon as the words left my lips, the translucent blue window I'd seen earlier sprang open before my eyes.
[Original Intent Restoration Project for Idols Who Have Lost Their Way!]
[Target: Yoon Eden]
[Information]
[Age: 20
Position: Main Rapper, Leader
Skills: Rapping, Lyrics, Composition, Production]
[Original Intent Score: 94]
[※The Original Intent Score decreases based on the severity of actions or words deemed inappropriate for an idol.]
[※When the Original Intent Score reaches 0, you will start over!]
※ To complete the project, you must meet the mandatory conditions.
Mandatory Condition: Having disappointed 30,000 fans, now delight 30,000,000! (0/30,000,000)
What the hell is this...? Did they really regress me back to my debut days to rediscover my original intent?
And why do I suddenly have to please 30 million people when I only disappointed 30,000? How many times over is this inflated?
"Fuck! My Cheongdam-dong house! My hundreds of millions in royalties! My savings account! My Ferrari!"
Clutching his curly hair, he rolled around on the floor, overwhelmed by the injustice of it all.
All his wealth had vanished overnight! He hadn't even spent a single night in his Cheongdam-dong house! Not even one night in that 3 billion won mansion!
[Profanity detected.]
[Original Intent Score -2]
Even amidst this chaos, my Original Intent Score was steadily decreasing. I winced, feeling the sharp, stinging pain.
Can't you cut me some slack? How am I supposed to not swear in this situation?!
"Wow, did our Leader have some kind of prophetic dream? Did we hit it big? Can we take this as a sign that we're about to blow up?"
The Eldest Member, who was wearing a face mask even at this hour, poked me as I writhed on the floor.
Hit it big? More like we're going to flop. Thanks to our clueless company, we won't hit it big for at least three more years. And...
"Why are you suddenly acting so friendly... Well, I guess you could."
He scowled and reflexively retorted sarcastically before scratching his cheek and changing the subject.
Ah, right. Since it's before our debut, that drinking incident never happened.
"Can't even pretend to be friendly with your own group members? Seriously, what a piece of trash."
Seo Yehyeon shook his head and clicked his tongue as he left the room.
Unbelievable. Who's the real piece of trash here?
How much effort did I put in to make that mediocre singer, dancer, and rapper not stand out like a sore thumb on our tracks and stages?
It all started when that guy got drunk at a group gathering and started ranting at me, telling me not to tear down people's self-esteem like that.
I need to be blunt to shock them into fixing things. What did I even do wrong? Tsk. Do I have to consider everyone's fragile feelings now?
And to make matters worse, our debut stage is in just a few hours.
We've performed our debut song a few times at concerts and in our own content, so I roughly remember the choreography formations and movements. But over time, quite a few dance steps have been omitted, making it impossible to go on air like this.
As rookies from a small agency just starting out in the entertainment industry, we can't even dream of pre-recording our music show performance. If we mess up, the mistake will be permanently broadcast on national television—forever branding us as the guys who screwed up their debut stage.
"Hey, Dobi! Do you have the dance practice video on your phone?"
I called out to the Fourth Member, our main dancer, as I walked into the living room. He immediately rushed over, grumbling as he held out his phone with the video playing.
"Ah, it's not Dobi, it's Kim Dobin. Why are you calling me by a house-elf name that my grandfather gave me, Hyung?"
Wow, I still can't get used to this. Kim Dobin actually arguing back and grumbling instead of just clenching his jaw and turning away when called Dobi.
Seeing how the members were treating me, it was clear I had really returned to the past.
I scratched my head and turned up the volume to replay the video. Maybe it was because of my experience, but I picked up the choreography easily after watching it a few times.
"Let's run through it one last time here before we go?"
With the music show only a few hours away, there wasn't enough time to go to the practice room. We roughly rehearsed the formations in the living room, then I wiped the sweat dripping down my face and collapsed onto the floor.
"Wow, it's hard to believe our debut stage is just a few hours away."
"Isn't it Yehyeon Hyung's face that's getting our music show videos a million views on YouTube?"
Unlike the other members, whose faces were filled with excitement and nervousness about their debut, I, the only one who knew the group's future, couldn't help but feel indifferent.
The terrible song and awful styling completely overshadowed even his good looks.
I remember the music video, which was clearly low-budget, had disastrously low views.
Since the song and styling are exactly the same as before, there's no way the miracle of a sudden surge in popularity could happen again, right?
But what does it mean that when the Original Intent Score reaches 0, we start over? Does that mean it refills to 100? If so, this whole score deduction thing is pointless.
With a listless gaze, I stared blankly into the air, lost in thought, when a notification pinged and a blue Status Window popped up before my eyes.
Dead Eyes detected.
Original Intent Score -1
Utterly dumbfounded, I stared ahead with hollow eyes as my Original Intent Score continued to plummet.
I panicked at the endlessly spawning Status Windows, as if a loading error had occurred. The pain of being repeatedly stabbed with needles surged through me.
It seemed that losing Original Intent Score also meant experiencing pain.
Blinking through tear-blurred vision, I finally managed to focus, and the relentless Status Windows vanished.
In that instant, ten points of my Original Intent Score had been wiped away.
This is ridiculous. Even zoning out gets my Original Intent Score docked for having "Dead Eyes"?
As the time for our music show appearance approached, we left our dorm and crammed ourselves into a cramped car, following the instructions of the manager who had been assigned to us during our debut days.
Back then, we were in such dire circumstances that we couldn't even dream of having a celebrity van, let alone a Carnival.
What else could you expect from a small entertainment company that had never even managed actors before, let alone idols?
"Ugh, this is so cramped I'm gonna die."
Forbidden phrase 'Ugh, this is so' detected.
Original Intent Score -1
Profanity detected.
Original Intent Score -2
Ouch, isn't this going too far? If even "Ugh, this is so" is a forbidden phrase, what am I supposed to do? Live without speaking?
Our debut stage went smoothly, without a single mistake. Of course, the reaction was exactly the same as before my regression—nonexistent. We were once again branded as a "flop idol group."
And the Original Intent Score, which started at 100, plummeted faster than I'd anticipated.
Even staring blankly into space out of exhaustion counted as "Dead Eyes," deducting points. The mere utterance of "Ah, seriously" triggered penalties. Casual profanities like "bastard" or "I'm gonna die" in everyday conversation also cost points. There was no way to maintain the score under such strict conditions.
After just three days and appearances on three music shows, I had successfully reduced my Original Intent Score to zero.
The seniors' gossip about my lack of rookie-like enthusiasm also contributed to the deductions. What could I do? Inside, I was a seasoned idol with seven years of experience.
The sharp sting I felt every time my Original Intent Score decreased never got any easier to bear.
Oh, nothing's happening?
So this damn Original Intent Score is something I can just ignore.
I kicked off my shoes at the entrance and strode across the living room toward my room. Suddenly, my throat constricted, and I clutched at my neck, collapsing to the floor.
I couldn't breathe. My mouth gaped open, and saliva dripped from my lips as I gasped for air.
Gyeon Hajun rushed to support me, slapping my cheeks repeatedly.
"Eden! Yoon Eden! Wake up!"
"What's wrong with him all of a sudden? Call an ambulance, quick!"
My consciousness slowly faded. The last thing I saw was the frantic faces of my members shaking me before darkness swallowed my vision.
How much time had passed?
"...Hyung. Eden Hyung!"
At the sound of the voice calling me, I slowly opened my eyes. The ceiling I had seen just before collapsing came into view.
The only difference was that I had collapsed in the living room, but now I was lying in my room.
The members must have moved me while I was unconscious, I thought with relief. But then the youngest member's cheerful voice pierced my ears.
"Hyung, how can you oversleep even on our debut day? Seriously, your mental fortitude is something else."
"...What?"
My voice trembled involuntarily. I frantically grabbed my phone to check the date.
August 8th. Reve's debut day.
Could it be that "starting over" meant...
"Fuck, this can't be happening!"
Vulgar language detected.
Original Intent Score -2
As soon as I clutched my head and cursed, the system pounced, slashing my Original Intent Score along with the pain.
I stared blankly at the Original Intent Score, now back at 100, before erupting in a frantic shout.
"Get out! Just get out of my sight!"
"Hyung...? What's wrong? Are you freaking out because of your debut today?" Ryu Jaehee called out cautiously, but I was in no state to worry about the youngest member right now.
Trapped in this endless loop of time, a suffocating terror washed over me. What if I was doomed to remain trapped here forever, driven mad by this endless repetition?
I felt like I was going to lose my mind from sheer injustice.
Had I done anything like those other senior and junior members? Drugs? Gambling? Drunk driving? Visiting hostess bars?
Why are you doing this to me? Why, why, why?! What have I done to deserve this?!
Is it such a crime to just want to make the music I love?
I couldn't even remember how I'd gotten onto the debut stage. The relentless pain stabbing through me made my entire body ache.
Standing in my stage outfit, microphone in hand, I saw a warning-red Status Window flashing before my eyes like a dire omen.
Whether it was because I was staring blankly into space, unable to focus, or because I was mindlessly muttering curses, my Original Intent Score had plummeted to single digits.
Gyeon Hajun's part ended, and my turn was approaching, but instead of rap lyrics, only ragged breaths escaped my lips.
The members glanced at me, their faces etched with alarm as they noticed my deteriorating condition.
Stage error detected.
Original Intent Score -7
⚠ Original Intent Score has reached 0! ⚠
As the song approached its climax, a sudden, excruciating pain overwhelmed me, far worse than before. The microphone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor.
Clang!
The loud crash echoed across the stage, accompanied by a sharp, piercing noise. I felt my body slowly tilting sideways.
My vision gradually blurred. Though I could hear the music and static blaring in my ears, and feel frantic hands shaking me, I couldn't open my eyes.
As the heart-wrenching pain intensified, my consciousness plummeted into complete darkness.
It was his second regression.
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