EPISODE 15

Meanwhile, Bok-Soong's bias.

Back at the dorm, Baek-Ya was lying on his bed while looking at the responses to the music video, when a comment caught his eye.

- As soon as I saw their faces, I immediately felt "They're going to succeed."

└ With those visuals, they can't become failed idols.

However, the thought of the person involved was slightly different.

'I'm not sure about that. Since it actually happened. Becoming failed idols.'

Because he saw it firsthand.

Baek-Ya clearly remembered the days when DASE was known as the 'failed idols'. Moreover, the name of the newly popped-up quest was strangely annoying.

'I will succeed… it says.'

A rare grade sunfish. On top of that, the fact that it could be further reinforced was ridiculous.

'If I don't succeed then… will it be the death ending for becoming a failed idol?'

In the first place, just because he succeeded in the quest did not mean that DASE would be successful. It was obvious from the fact that there were only penalties in case of failure and no huge reward even if he succeeded.

The quest was merely an oxygen respirator that kept his body alive. Even now, the stress index was steadily building up.

The sunfish was dying.

'Then there has to be criteria for success. But what is it?'

As soon as he questioned it, there was one thing that frighteningly crossed his mind. It was the so-called formula of successful idols.

'The success of a new idol group is determined within a year.'

That means that if the group didn't win first place on a music show within a year, DASE would become failed idols again. And if that happens…

"No!"

Baek-Ya kicked his blanket and sat up. Unlike Ji-Han, who was already asleep, Yu-Yeon, who had just entered the room, looked at Baek-Ya with startled eyes.

"You scared me. Were you dreaming?"

Yu-Yeon closed the door and approached Baek-Ya whose pale face became clearer the closer he got. It was not apparent in the darkness, but Baek-Ya's complexion did not look good.

'Looks like he's been pushing himself too hard.'

Yu-Yeon gently sighed and placed his hand on Baek-Ya's forehead.

"What's wrong? You don't seem to have a fever."

After watching the music video together, DASE followed their scheduled activities as planned. Even so, all they did was get stuck in the same practice hell.

However, he could see that Baek-Ya was working especially hard today. He was always hardworking, but today, it felt a little different.

He looked more anxious than usual.

'Is it because he's nervous?'

At that moment, he remembered how Baek-Ya was shaking before the release of the music video. Yu-Yeon tilted his head slightly and examined Baek-Ya's face.

On the other hand, Baek-Ya, flustered, felt his entire body stop functioning. With a pale complexion, that little frightened head of his was occupied with thoughts slightly different from Yu-Yeon's.

'Since when has he been there? Did I speak out loud? Since when?'

Whether it was about the death ending or being a failed idol, those were the words that shouldn't be exposed to Yu-Yeon.

"Um… Did you hear?"

"Well, you mean how you shouted, hyung?"

Yu-Yeon removed his hand from Baek-Ya's face and smiled teasingly.

"Yeah, I heard. Do you think the members would wake up from that much? You'd have to be louder."

"It's not like that. I was just thinking about something else for a second…"

Baek-Ya averted his gaze and scratched his neck.

'This hyung is definitely thinking about something useless again. He's the type to unnecessarily worry about things.'

Yu-Yeon, coming to that conclusion by himself, once again raised his hand over Baek-Ya's forehead.

Smack!

This time, however, his action was a little different. With the sound of a smack, Baek-Ya's body helplessly toppled backward. Suddenly on his back, Baek-Ya looked up at Yu-Yeon with widened eyes.

"Hey! That hurts!"

"You crybaby. How does that hurt? Stop overthinking and just sleep. Hyung, you worry way too much."

"What do you mean I worry…!"

"You were probably worrying about the stage."

Baek-Ya's mouth tightly closed as Yu-Yeon had hit the nail on the head.

"See? Have I or have I not told you that you just have to do as you've practiced, hyung? You really stubbornly don't listen. And there are still two days left. We have enough time."

"What's with your manners of speaking towards your hyung-"

"Ugh, you smell like a boomer. Just go to sleep."

Sensing that he might hear nagging, Yu-Yeon quickly stood up. He didn't forget to pull the blanket to completely cover Baek-Ya to keep him from moving.

"Ack! You're really…!"

"Yu-Yeonie is off to sleep~"

Baek-Ya, highly irritated, glared at Yu-Yeon as he huffed.

* * *

//TN: Kim Yu-Gyeong ➝ Kim Yu-Kyung

[Kim Yu-Kyung: Morning has dawned. Everyone, please open your eyes.]

[Kim Yu-Kyung: (Photo)]

[Kim Yu-Kyung: I'm currently waiting on my knees.]

[Shin Jae-Hyun: Isn't it at 8 pm?]

[Shin Jae-Hyun: There's still like 20 hours left you crazy punk.]

[Shin Jae-Hyung: (Photo)]

There were two photos that were sent immediately after the time hit midnight.

"What's this…?"

The current time was 4 am.

As soon as he woke up, Baek-Ya dazedly checked his cell phone and found the messenger piled up. There were selfies of Yu-Kyung and Jae-Hyung kneeling in front of the TV.

"These guys are crazy."

Looking at the time, it seemed like they had sent it right at midnight. Baek-Ya silently snickered at the sight of his friends who seemed more excited than he was.

"You're awake?"

Just then, he could sense someone's presence nearby. Ji-Han entered, ruffling his wet hair.

"Ah, Ji-Han-ah. Did you already shower? You woke up really early."

"Well, I couldn't sleep."

Ji-Han stood still and shrugged his shoulders.

Upon asking if it was okay to turn on the light, Baek-Ya quickly nodded. Both of their faces slightly frowned at the sudden brightness.

"Did you get some sleep?"

"It feels like I did and didn't at the same time…"

Ji-Han laughed at the ambiguous answer, asking what that even meant. In truth, just like Baek-Ya, Ji-Han had also had a restless sleep. So, it seemed like there was only one person in this room who managed to sleep soundly.

"Han Yu-Yeon. Wake up."

Yu-Yeon was still submerged in the dead of the night. Ji-Han pulled away the blanket and started to poke his cheek with his finger.

"Uungg…"

Yu-Yeon, with his eyes still closed, made a pained groan. Baek-Ya, wearing a 'serves you right'-kind of expression, smirked with one corner of his mouth lifted.

"…What the? What's with that evil expression."

"Me? No? Ha- has everyone in the next room woken up?"

Baek-Ya suddenly stuttered. The strength in Ji-Han's hand, which was poking Yu-Yeon's cheek, weakened as Baek-Ya clearly tried to change the subject.

"It seems like they're also still asleep there. Can you go wake them up?"

"Sure!"

However, just as Baek-Ya was about to leave the room, Nam-Kyung's voice resounded throughout the house. Very boomingly.

"Come on, riiise and shiiine! Min-Sungie, Ji-Hanie, Yul-Mu, Baek-Ya, Chungie, Yu-Yeonie!"

It was so loud that even those who were already awake were startled.

"Let's go debut!"

The day for DASE to show themselves for the first time in front of the public has arrived.

* * *

- Today's weather summary (Frozen the Movie.jpg)

- It's record-breaking cold. The moment I stepped outside I wanted to go back in.

- Finally, the debut stage ♡♡♡ #DASE #Baekya #Minsung

There were several posts on social media mentioning the cold weather.

Over the past few days, Bok-Soong had gained a fair number of followers. She was eagerly waiting for 8 o'clock to come around in her warm dorm room while eating tangerines.

The tablet that she begged her parents to buy was also fully charged.

'Perhaps, all of this wasn't just a coincidence but a sign from the heavens for everyone to witness Baek-Ya's debut stage through a live broadcast.'

Bok-Soong, who had perfectly prepared her Gayo Daejeon snacks, went to look at her friend's timeline during intermission.

Si-Yun's Wife has been active, as if she was alerting the nearing time. The last retweet was three minutes ago.

- I suddenly fell in love with Si-Yun in the Black and White Song Battle last year ㅠ He was legendary (Si-Yun's stage.gif)

//TN: I think it refers to a Japanese New Year's Eve song festival called Kouhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle)

- 2X1231 Black and White Song Battle (1) #AIM (Stage video)

- Mstation Gayo Daejeon, Part 1, Part 2, cue sheets (cuesheet.jpg)

And there, Bok-Soong gained some useful information. It was the broadcast cue sheet.

The image quality was a little bad, perhaps because the staff took it secretly, but it was still identifiable.

"DASE is 16th."

They were almost at the end of Part 1. It was an unexpected order for fresh rookies who had not even made their debut yet.

'Is this the power of ID…!'

Despite acting otherwise, each agency had a broadcasting station they had close ties with.

It could be recognized from the fact that the company frequently featured its artists on a particular broadcasting station, or the broadcast content and order were subtly edited to focus on those artists. This seemed to be the case with DASE.

'Indeed. They're at the class where they can make their debut at the end-of-the-year stage where the entire nation would be watching.'

She had a strong feeling that they would definitely leave a mark. However, she saw the word 'Imjingak' written in small letters on the right.

"What's Imjingak?"

Every year, she watched award shows for actors, but it was her first time watching an end-of-the-year concert. Bok-Soong decided to look up the word that seemed familiar.

[Imjingak]

Then the posts started pouring out.

- It's 21 degrees below zero in Paju today. Mstation's exile name list revealed (Cuesheet.jpg)

└ BB9, DASE, FlowerMoon, Blossom

└ It feels like minus 30 degrees though. They're going to freeze to death. (Black ribbon emoji)

- There's an idol group whose ★debut stage★ is in Imjingak? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ #DASE

- Announcement of winners for Mstation's military cold winter camp #Imjingak #Gayodaejeon (Imjingak stage.jpg)

Bok-Soong could not hide her confusion.

'Cold winter camp? Exile name list? What does all this mean?'

Bok-Soong quickly pressed on the attached photos. It was a collection of images of groups of singers shivering outdoors.

Moreover, even their breaths were clearly visible in the still photos. Just looking at the photos made her feel cold.

"The f*ck?"

It was not just any performance; it was their debut stage. Even if it was carried out in a greenhouse, just the fact that it was done outdoors meant that there were higher chances for accidents to occur.

And on top of that, the sensory temperature was 30 degrees Celsius below zero!

The few existing DASE fans grabbed the back of their necks from bafflement.