The Idol Royalty

Enjoy the Magic. ETM.

It was composed of seven talented young members.

A popular fourth-generation K-pop boy group that shook the world with their debut three years ago during the global pandemic.

The group was a product of a failed idol survival program. But they immediately rose in popularity because behind them was the biggest K-pop company in the country.

Thanks to being the 'sons' of an entertainment giant, they quickly became legends by being the only rookie group awarded the Rookie of the Year award 3 weeks after their debut.

Following that, they consistently produced hits, amassed a substantial following, and instilled into the minds of everyone that they were here to stay and reign.

They won dozens of first places in various music shows, which was impressive because the general populace preferred girl groups. They broke a few records. They bagged a lot of trophies from several major year-end ceremonies.

Three years after their debut, they solidified their position in the top three of their generation and within the top ten of all current active boy groups. Many predicted they would vie for K-pop supremacy in the next few years once the current K-pop Kings retired.

In short, ETM is a group full of potential. They have a fantastic future ahead of them. In the K-pop world, each member's name is like a bright star and is envied by others from groups with lesser popularity.

So...

"I don't understand this..." A trembling voice softly murmured.

Park Seo-jun, or simply Jun, a member of ETM, blankly stared at the digital display above the door of the conference room.

Suddenly, when he opened his eyes, he was in this place. He could not make sense of everything around him, and a strong feeling of dislike and dissonance overwhelmed him. Where is this? He knew it was normal to feel tired after a hectic practice schedule. But was it normal to feel this dizzy? 

The giant screens surrounding the spacious room displayed a negative number in three directions.

-4

Below it, Jun could see the date and time written in small fonts.

'May 25, 2020.'

With the loud background music playing, Jun took nearly a minute to escape from the daze. His breathing was erratic.

In front of him was a stage and on it stood three handsome boys nervously waiting.

'May 25, 2020? How?'

Jun nearly laughed out loud as he slowly shook his head. His eyes wandered, and finally, he realized he was seated among several handsome youths dressed casually. They were all familiar faces. He saw a few carefully raising their hands or exchanging meaningful glances with each other.

It took him only a few seconds to remember this moment. Jun, after all, could easily name this one of the most tense moments he had experienced when he was eighteen.

Yet... that was the problem. Jun was eighteen years old THREE years ago.

Was he dreaming of a not-so-distant past?

The pain he felt when he secretly pinched his thigh made him doubt the idea for an instant. He then panicked. He could hear and feel his heart beating loudly, almost drowning out the unsettling BGM played by the production team. When he touched the armrest of his chair, the coldness of the metal felt too vivid to be a product of imagination. 

What the hell was happening?

"... That person is quite good." With a sigh, the young man beside him raised his hand to vote.

Wincing in pain after another strong pinch, Jun felt dizzy. He asked himself, 'Is this not a dream?'

Thankfully, the lighting was dim, so nobody noticed, but Jun's face right now was pale.

The words his seatmate said registered late in his mind. 

"Jun, I think that guy named Hyeon-ju is someone we should watch out for."

Years ago, his seatmate and future bandmate, Juwon, also seemed to react the same way. 

To not appear too awkward, he just nodded.

In his foggy memories that slowly began to clear up, Jun started to remember bits and pieces of the more minor details.

Everything and everyone was the same, from the positions of each participant to the reactions of the performers who just finished their stage. Only Jun was different as he failed to react the same way he did when he was in this exact situation years ago.

"Jun. Look," Juwon called him out as he pointed at the LED display on their right. The young man's free hand tapped Jun's shoulder.

"From -4 to -5," he softly muttered. 

Wordlessly, Jun looked at the display. His survival instincts were telling him that there were cameras pointed at him and that he should act as naturally as possible. But what could he do? His hands were still shaking faintly. 

There was no emcee on the stage right now. In fact, the emcee was nowhere to be found. With nobody explaining it to them, no one of them knew what the negative number meant except for him.

More than an hour ago, the emcee's voice from the speakers only greeted them briefly and then told them to perform and evaluate each other.

Only participants like them were present in the vast hall. There was no assistant to help set up the stage, in-ears, or music. 

The participants had to do everything by themselves. Every after a stage unit performance, there would be no judges to cast votes or give pieces of advice. The performers had to wait for their fellow participants to raise their hands if the performance impressed them.

The atmosphere on the set was very tense and stressful. The pressure and confusion felt by the ones inside pushed away every objectiveness in their minds as they subjectively judged their peers. 

Jun exhaled cold air and looked around again.

'This is definitely BOI.'

Best of Idols, aka BOI. It was the idol-producing series slash survival show that aired during the pandemic. 

The show's rating was not good because of the timing, format, and various reasons. Nonetheless, the survival show proceeded without a hitch because of the uncaring attitude of the sponsors who confidently threw money into it.

Next to Jun was Juwon, the group's future visual member and lead rapper. Four seats to his left was ETM's center and main vocalist, Sujin. On stage right now was the group's lead vocalist, Hyeon-Ju.

On the farthest right, the future leader, Min, was sitting a chair away from the main dancer and most famous member of ETM, Neo. The last member, an Australian, Xavier, who shortened his actual name to Xavi, was three seats away from Juwon and still raising his hand.

A middle-aged voice echoed throughout the hall after the last group of performers got off the stage.

"Congratulations, dear participants, for completing your stages today. Regardless of the results, you have just successfully taken the first step that will lead you closer to your dream, and guess what? No one is more admirable than someone who dares to pursue his dreams."

The startled boys bowed in different directions because they had no idea where the voice came from. Speakers surrounded them in all directions. 

Jun kept his eyes on the giant monitor. 

"Now, the seventeen people who qualified through the voting process that you carried out among yourselves, please walk towards the elevator that would bring you to the Promised Garden. As for those who did not qualify, don't worry. Your journey has not yet ended. But please exit through the small door behind you."

Now, the atmosphere has turned weird and unpleasant as the sounds of crying from some participants contrasted with the smiles of the others.

Earlier, everyone took turns performing. If it were not their turn, they would have to watch their peers and vote if they thought it was up to their standards. If a performer failed to get twelve votes from the twenty-four contestants, they would be labeled 'Failed.'

Seven were confirmed to have failed. 

In the next few moments, Jun watched these seven depressed teenagers walk out of a door behind the seats. Some had tear stains on their faces, while the others wore gloomy expressions. 

Nobody liked losing, especially in a survival show where it could easily lead to a lack of screen time or elimination. But they had to move since the emcee prompted them. 

"Jun, let's go." 

Juwon again tapped his shoulder before following the sixteen people already in the elevator. Now Jun remembered. Because he and Juwon were skilled and performed early, they easily got a 'Pass.' 

"Okay." For the first time, he found his voice, which sounded younger than he was used to.

The gaze he turned at the logo of BOI when he fetched his bag was full of doubts and hesitation. Then he followed the other boys who, in his memories, had also turned three years younger. 

Jun could not say that he was in his right mind, though. 

He would whisper these few words in a desperate prayer for every step he took. 

'Please...'

'This is not real.'

'Please, let this be a dream.' 

...

All night long after their accommodation was arranged, Jun hoped he was merely dreaming and fervently prayed to wake up from the nightmare. 

Unfortunately, a day passed, and he woke up on the same bed assigned to him when he was still a participant.

In other words, he was still in BOI, back to being a contestant struggling for a debut spot.