Reunited with My Ex-Boyfriend on an Idol Survival Show
Chapter 4
SYNOPSIS AND CHARACTER INFO
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The second official event of the Reloading Project was a profile photoshoot and production announcement.
The participants gathered before dawn, dressed in the program's official group uniform, and lined up before the cameras. As soon as one person's shoot finished, the next immediately stepped up, the setup adjusted, and then the next. The process moved with factory-like efficiency.
This outfit is kind of ridiculous, Seha thought, scratching his cheek awkwardly. It had been ages since he graduated high school, and seeing himself in this uniform-like group attire felt absurd.
"Wow, Hyung! You really look like an idol!" Park Yushin from ON Entertainment shouted, admiring Seha after his setup was complete. Other participants secretly stole glances at Seha as well.
Amidst the bustling studio, Hyun Sion remained preoccupied, fidgeting with the hem of his uniform.
"Is the outfit uncomfortable?" Seha asked.
"It just feels awkward. Like a school uniform."
"Ah..." Seha groaned in understanding. Sion's discomfort with the uniform immediately made sense.
Unlike Seha, who had graduated from high school, Sion had obtained his high school equivalency through the GED. At the company he was with before transferring to ON Entertainment, he was expelled on his very first day of high school.
I think he was jealous of me going to school. Whenever I came to the practice room in my uniform, he would stare at me like he was trying to see right through me.
When Sion first joined ON Entertainment, Seha had wondered, Why is he looking at me like that...? But after learning Sion's story, he started talking to him a few times. That's how they became friends.
"B grade filming, let's go!"
After sending Sion off for his shoot, the remaining A grade members in the waiting room gradually approached Seha and struck up conversations. Thanks to them, time passed quickly.
"Good work, everyone!"
"Move along, move along!"
Seha and the other A grade participants finished filming and boarded the large bus for transportation. As they were the last group to finish, the bus was already mostly full.
Ryu Dohyuk, who had joined them at some point, was sitting in the front seat, his chin resting on his hand as he gazed out the window. He exuded the air of a homeroom teacher leading a school trip. Though he usually looked so young, in this moment he looked surprisingly like a grown man.
"Hyung, I saved you a seat here!"
Seha, who had been stealing glances at Dohyuk, reacted to the familiar voice. Sion waved his hand, pointing to the seat next to him—a two-seater right in front of the very last row.
The back seats are so uncomfortable...
The bus ride to the production announcement filming location would take over an hour. Seha suffered from severe motion sickness. Enduring over an hour in the back row would be sheer torture.
As Seha hesitated, Dohyuk spoke in a voice too soft for others to hear, his indifferent gaze still fixed on the window.
"Just sit here, okay?"
"...Here?"
The "here" Dohyuk was referring to was the seat next to him.
Being in the front row, it would likely reduce motion sickness, but that wasn't the real problem. How could he sit next to his ex-boyfriend for over an hour?
"What? Is sitting next to me even more nauseating?"
"Ah, well..."
"If not, just sit properly. You get motion sickness so easily."
During filming, he had acted like they were strangers, but now that there were no cameras on the bus, he was being completely unreasonable. Dohyuk took his eyes off the window and patted the seat next to him, signaling him to sit down.
Motion sickness versus sitting next to my ex...
Neither option was appealing.
Seha glanced back and forth between Ryu Dohyuk and Hyun Sion, who was craning his neck like a meerkat, waiting for him. In a small voice, he replied to Dohyuk.
"...Thank you, but I'll sit over there. You don't need to worry about my motion sickness anymore."
We're not on those terms anymore, he added quietly as he walked past Dohyuk and settled next to Sion.
Seha stared at Ryu Dohyuk, ignoring Sion's attempts to fasten his seatbelt. The seat Dohyuk had offered seemed to be occupied by another participant prone to motion sickness.
Soon, the bus, now full of participants, started its engine.
'I can't believe he still remembers my motion sickness.'
Seha had assumed Ryu Dohyuk would have forgotten everything about him after their breakup. Yet here he was, still remembering. Still, asking me to sit next to him was a bit much, wasn't it...?
His thoughts raced. A wave of nausea began to rise, and his stomach churned. He hastily cracked the window open and closed his eyes.
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The bus arrived at the filming location. Following the staff's instructions, the cast members began disembarking one by one. Seha, who got up with Sion, glanced out the window. The area outside was swarming with reporters and Homepage Masters eager to capture the contestants.
Homma (Homepage Master) are K-pop fans who take and share high-quality photos/videos of idols
"Hey, hyung!"
Seha had momentarily looked away, and now Sion's voice reached him from a distance. He must have been swept forward by the crowd of contestants rushing to exit the bus.
"I'm fine! Go ahead!" Seha shouted, joining the line. As he slowly stepped off the bus, the warm late spring air hit him like a wave.
Anything was better than the stuffy air inside. Seha took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air.
"Excuse me, just passing through!"
"Uh-oh...!"
Another contestant, who had fallen behind the group, brushed past Seha. Momentarily losing his balance, Seha's body swayed precariously.
I can't fall, I can't fall. If I do, I'll be immortalized on the internet as the "Falling Star" of the press conference, the "Clumsy Villain"! Seha desperately chanted inwardly, but it was no use. Just as he braced for the inevitable fall, he squeezed his eyes shut.
"...Huh?"
A large hand suddenly gripped the back of Seha's neck, yanking him upright. A cool, refreshing scent wafted from behind—Ah, it's the scent from Ryu Dohyuk... Seha unconsciously focused on the pleasant aroma brushing his nose.
"You should watch where you're going."
Dohyuk's voice snapped Seha back to reality. Startled, Seha jerked away from him. As the host, Dohyuk should have been leading the procession, so Seha didn't even consider that it could be Dohyuk who caught him.
"I missed the procession because I had to catch you, Mr. On Seha."
Dohyuk was right. While Seha had nearly fallen, the other participants had already moved far ahead. Only Dohyuk and Seha remained near the bus.
"There's no helping it," Dohyuk said with a shallow sigh, continuing, "You don't mind being in the same shot with me, do you?"
"No, Dohyuk..."
"It's not like it would hurt. Hyung is someone who can take and discard as he please."
Leaning in, he whispered into Seha's ear, "Riding on your ex's popularity isn't such a bad idea, right?"
His icy and deep voice reverberated through Seha's core. The more Seha spoke with Dohyuk, the more he felt himself crumbling.
Noticing Seha's stiff posture, Dohyuk placed a hand on his shoulder, kneading the muscles as if to relax them. Soon, he smirked at Seha's flinching reaction and casually finished, "Smile, Seha. This isn't some dating show. Even if you act all desperate, you'll only end up losing out."
At that moment, Seha felt... like he wanted to die.
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Dest (@ydest), a renowned Homepage Master for the top idol group Deneve, had no interest whatsoever in the Reloading Project. Following the three members active schedules was exhausting enough, requiring more bodies than she possessed.
Moreover, she knew all too well the fate of those who became obsessed with their favorites on idol survival shows. She had witnessed her closest friend collapse from grief after her favorite failed to debut.
Never again will I get attached to a survival show contestant, she vowed, determined to boycott the program entirely for fear of developing any affection.
Exclusive: Ryu Dohyuk Confirmed as Assistant for Reloading Project... Contestants Preparing for Dorm Life
Yes... that was her plan, until she learned that Ryu Dohyuk would be the assistant, or rather, the "host" of the show.
Who was Ryu Dohyuk? He was the child actor who played the young male lead in the very first drama Dest ever watched.
And that wasn't all. Like they say, other people's children grow up fast. Before she knew it, he had blossomed into the main lead of Dest's life drama, finally dragging her—a die-hard fan who had been holed up in her room obsessing over him—into the offline world as her first ultimate bias.
Now, of course, she was completely immersed in the world of K-pop and rarely followed dramas or movies anymore. Yet, she still made every effort to attend Dohyuk's fan meetings and stage greetings.
'Dohyuk's hosting a survival show for male idols?'
Though officially titled "host," the assistant for the Reloading Project was actually a central figure in the program. They would live with the trainees and act as their leader.
Moreover, the assistant's attire was a suit. Even outside award ceremonies, she could still see Ryu Dohyuk in a suit on TV?
[Entertainment] 'Reloading Project' Season 2 to Hold Production Announcement Conference... Ryu Dohyuk to Participate
"Mmm, Dohyuk-ah... Your nuna is coming..."
Dest clenched her fist and started contacting her fellow Homepage Masters.
- Anyone going to the Reroject press conference?
- You said you weren't going.
- Dohyuk's going to be there.
- I have to see Dohyuk...
- I bet Dest will go see Dohyuk and end up catching another one.
- ㅋㅋㅋ As if!
- I'm too busy with other schedules right now.
- I'll just take a picture of Dohyuk and come back.
...Right.
Dest, who had scoffed at the very idea, found herself there.
"Dohyuk-ah! Over here!"
She expertly raised her camera and caught Dohyuk as he stepped off the shuttle bus. But then, a beautiful contestant stumbling in front of him caught her eye. The contestant was smaller than Dohyuk.
And Ryu Dohyuk, who was known for his extreme aversion to physical contact—a professional actor who avoided even minor skinship with his co-stars unless it was absolutely necessary for a scene—was now casually catching the contestant who had nearly fallen and even touching him?
"Uh..."
While she stood frozen, Canon in hand, Dohyuk, who had been massaging the participant's shoulder, whispered something in his ear. He then pointed to Dest's camera.
In that instant, Dest's lens captured a shot filled with Dohyuk's bright, refreshing smile and the participant's radiant, cheerful grin.
On Seha.
The embroidered name on his name tag was visible. On Seha. Even the name felt warm. Dest murmured the name as she pressed the shutter.
A gentle breeze stirred, causing On Seha's honey-colored hair to flutter slightly. Dest's mouth fell open involuntarily. Her heart seemed to drop with a thud. Instinctively framing the shot, she murmured, as if entranced:
"I'm screwed..."
In that moment, she added trainee On Seha to her treasure chest.
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