A Blank Slate Regression For The Idol That Lost His Original Intention

He wore a black shirt buttoned to the top, gray slim-fit slacks, and a beige trench coat.

 

His black hair, styled with a parted perm, partially revealed his forehead in a comma shape.

 

[“A secret I couldn’t tell you, confessed in your absence. Do you know my habit? Always preparing for the end.”]

 

The close-up shot revealed a tear mole under his right eye.

 

“His outfit today is amazing. How does he manage to outdo himself every time?”

 

Kim Mo-yang, overwhelmed, covered her mouth in awe. Her sibling casually remarked,

 

“Wow, he’s really good at rapping.”

 

“Right? My baby is the best! I’m telling you, he’s the top of Korean hip-hop,”

 

Kim Mo-yang responded, brimming with pride.

 

“Why do you call him your baby? You didn’t give birth to him, did you?”

 

her sibling teased, clicking their tongue in mild disapproval. But Kim Mo-yang was too engrossed in the long eyelashes framing Yoon Eden’s downcast eyes on the screen to notice.

 

[Stupidly, I habitually estimated

 

The kind of ending we would meet.]

 

The camera shifted back to Seoraon as Yoon Eden finished his part and stepped aside. Kim Mo-yang, feeling a pang of disappointment, posted her thoughts about the brief 25-second performance on social media.

 

—

 

“Sorry….”

 

Seoraon, or rather Onsera, as she preferred to be called, signed album after album, bowing slightly in apology. These were albums Ryu Jae-hee had given him in anticipation of Seoraon’s performance, loaded with gifts in both hands.

 

He had considered throwing them away but thought better of it, fearing it might tarnish his initial intention.

 

Plus, the guy buzzing around him like an annoying mosquito, pestering him to get autographs, was hard to ignore.

 

“It’s okay. I’m grateful you like me this much,”

 

Onsera replied as she finished signing the last album. known for her lack of expression, had seemed momentarily stunned when Yoon Eden pulled out the stack of albums from a shopping bag and asked for his autograph.

 

“My little brother is a huge fan of you….”

 

Yoon Eden mumbled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, cursing Ryu Jae-hee internally for putting him in this embarrassing situation.

 

He thought he should have brought that persistent guy along for a one-on-one fan meeting with her, sparing himself the embarrassment.

 

After gathering the signed albums back into the shopping bag, Yoon Eden bowed his head again.

 

An awkward silence followed, as their conversation had only involved pleasantries exchanged during the autograph request and Seoraon’s preference for being called by her real name.

 

“Thanks for the featuring and today’s performance.”

 

“No, thank you for inviting me,”

 

she replied, her face unchanged.

 

“Actually, Ji-won thought it would be better not to include the rap, but I insisted on it because I wanted to try it out,”

 

she said, her mouth curving into a slight smile for the first time. Relieved that he hadn’t made a bad impression, Yoon Eden also smiled.

 

“Looking forward to the year-end stage.”

 

“I’ll be counting on you too!”

 

Upon returning to the dormitory after securing Onsera’s agreement for the year-end stage, Ryu Jae-hee, his eyes sparkling, rushed over.

 

“Here’s your gift,”

 

Yoon Eden said, handing over the shopping bag. Ryu Jae-hee, caressing the signed albums with a look of awe, swore eternal loyalty to Yoon Eden.

 

“But, hyung, about that photo with Seoraon on Insta, do you mind if I Photoshop my face over yours?”

 

“Do you think that’s acceptable? Are you insane?”

 

Yoon Eden replied, pushing him away. He logged into Instagram and searched for raon’s account.

 

The latest feed featured a selfie of Yoon Eden and Seoraon taken earlier with Seoraon’s phone.

 

◎west_raon

 

(photo)

 

♡⌕⇗

 

ujjj and others liked this.

 

west_raon We won 1st place on Music Camp with ‘A Certain Ending’ ☺☺☺

To my Joyfuls, you know I always love and appreciate you, right? ♥ Thanks so much to Eden for the great stage!

 

#raon #ACertainEnding #Joyful #Feat. #Reve #Eden

 

View all 15,027 comments

 

Without a personal account, Yoon Eden seemed to have been tagged with hashtags.

 

[☺ Fans reached 30,000!]

 

[Reward: +20 Starting Heart, Item Choice]

 

Seeing the notification that he had reached 30,000 fans, he mumbled, “Should I become Seoraon fan too?” wondering if this sudden surge of emotion was fandom or loyalty.

 

—

 

“Hello? Eden, what’s up? It’s been a while.”

 

“Yeah, Joonbum hyung, how have you been? I was wondering if you had some time.”

 

“Why? Are you treating us? You know I was just joking.”

 

Though he spoke casually, Yoon Eden could sense the anticipation in his voice and responded cheerfully,

 

“Well, since you got me the featuring gig, I should repay the favor.”

 

“You can’t say that and expect me to refuse.”

 

As the laughter died down, Yoon Eden added cautiously,

 

“By the way, hyung, is it okay if Yong-cheol and Sang-yeol hyung join us?”

 

“Why, is it awkward to see me alone?”

 

“No, it’s not that I find it awkward, but I owe those two as well….”

 

The truth was that he didn’t want to endure Kim Joonbum’s endless boasting alone.

 

Sang-yeol hyung was needed to cut him off. But he was also genuinely grateful to the other two—Yong-cheol for lending him a studio and Sang-yeol for helping refine his lyrics.

 

After setting a date, the three of them gathered at a famous Korean beef restaurant known for its expensive meat.

 

Although Kim Do-bin had given him a strange look, making Yoon Eden feel uneasy, he decided to ignore it.

 

Yoon Eden focused on grilling the meat, while Kim Joon-bum continued his self-promotion and boasting, with Sang-yeol hyung interrupting frequently out of boredom. Yong-cheol hyung simply ate.

 

“Hey, Eden, I noticed you’ve improved a lot in rapping. At this rate, you might even surpass Rikei,”

 

Sang-yeol said, taking the meat Yoon Eden handed him.

 

“No way, I could never match Rikei… You’re overestimating me,”

 

Yoon Eden responded with a modest smile.

 

“Come on, stop pretending to be humble. I can see you’re enjoying the praise,”

 

Sang-yeol hyung teased.

 

“Actually, G1 hyung said the same thing, that my rap style has matured. He even gave me his personal number,”

 

Yoon Eden said, waving his phone with a grin.

 

Kim Joonbum patted his back, exclaiming,

 

“Wow, G1 gave you his number? He must really like you. It took me about twenty meetings to get it.”

 

The conversation then shifted to Yoon Eden’s new studio, equipment, stories of underground conflicts, and a crew splitting due to ‘Transit Love.’ After spending 300,000 won on Korean beef, they moved on to the second round.

 

“Hey, let’s call everyone for the second round!”

 

“Yeah, when else will we all get together? Eden’s gonna be a top star soon, and we won’t see him as often!”

 

The second round was at a familiar bar, a regular spot before their relationships had soured. As he scanned the familiar faces with a resigned expression, Yoon Eden nudged Yong-cheol hyung and whispered,

 

“… Hyung, are we draining resources from a flea?”

 

“Don’t worry. They’re not going to make you pay for everything,”

 

Yong-cheol reassured me.

 

As I bowed and greeted each person who approached with friendly familiarity and patted my back, I tried to gauge when my Initial Intention would decrease due to excessive drinking. Just as I was about to take a sip, a blue status window appeared before me.

 

[Excessive drinking detected.]

 

[Initial Intention -1]

 

Can’t I even have a single drink in this situation? They should at least give me a warning beforehand.

 

As I placed the soju glass down, feeling a jolt of discomfort, Yong-cheol hyung, who was sitting across from me, wiped the corners of his eyes with an oddly sentimental look.

 

“Ah, it feels like just yesterday when this kid was running around in a school uniform, and now he’s buying us food and drinks…”

 

“What are you talking about, Yong-chul? When we first met, he was already taller than you. And I’ve never seen Yoon Eden in a proper school uniform. How messed up is your memory?”

 

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me Yong-cheol? I’ve got a cool stage name, D.I, but you keep using Yong-cheol, damn it!”

 

His face was flushed red; he must have been already drunk.

 

“Damn it, what’s with this perfume smell? It’s disgusting. Get rid of that nasty scent.”

 

“Ah, sorry. I accidentally put on my sister’s perfume. Hey, Eden, does it really smell that bad?”

 

Park Ki-jung, who was sitting to my right, nudged me, asking about the drunk Yong-cheol hyung.

 

“No, it’s just a women’s perfume scent. Ki-jung hyung, please understand. Our Tae-hoon hyung isn’t used to women’s perfume because he’s never been around women.”

 

“Yoon Eden, you’ve grown up a lot, huh?”

 

Of course, I had. After returning from being twenty-seven before the regression, there were hardly any people here older than me.

 

‘Looking at it now, everyone seems so young.’

 

Although their faces all looked about four years older than their actual age, I refrained from drinking alcohol due to the Initial Intention restraint, sipping on soft drinks instead and kept these thoughts to myself.

 

As the gathering began to wind down, I noticed the drunken people staggering around. It was quite a hassle to stay sober among a group of intoxicated people.

 

If you’re drunk, someone will eventually take you home, but staying sober means you have to take care of them and get them home safely.

 

Before, I was always the one getting drunk and needing support, so I had no idea how much of a hassle this unpaid labor could be.

 

After finally getting Park Ki-jung, who could no longer stand on his own, into a cab, I could finally return to the dormitory.

 

Even though it was late fall, nearing winter, I was soaked in sweat, a testament to how much effort I had put in. As I waved my sweat-soaked clothes, I cringed at the subtle lingering scent.

 

“Ugh, my clothes reek of perfume.”

 

Did that hyung pour the perfume all over himself?

 

When I got back to the dormitory, it was already early morning, so I quietly entered, careful not to wake the other members. As I did, I made eye contact with Kim Do-bin, who was just putting a water bottle into the refrigerator.

 

***

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