Reunited with My Ex-Boyfriend on an Idol Survival Show - CHAPTER 8

The official team missions for the Reloading Project were scheduled to be presented after the first broadcast. With the premiere looming, many trainees took advantage of the short break to leave the dorms.

Hyun Sion and the other two members of ON headed to the company to receive group feedback there, likely to discuss their appearance, attitude, and future concepts based on the first episode's footage.

Jei's gone too...

As expected of a major agency, Seid also called out two of its trainees.

Although most participants had left the dorms, Seha didn't return to his family home. As a result, the four-person room he shared was now practically his private space.

How am I supposed to face Mom?

Seha's family consisted only of his mother and younger sister. His mother had always been his biggest supporter, but when he told her he'd been eliminated from the second debut group, she cautiously asked, with a worried tone, if he might consider living like other kids his age.

Of course, he was grateful for her unwavering support. But that very day, Seha packed his bags and left home. He hated himself for clinging to his idol dream despite his mother's suggestion, and he felt embarrassed and guilty whenever he saw his younger sister, who was always at the top of her class.

In truth, he hadn't even told them he'd been kicked out of ON and was participating in the Reloading Project. They kept in touch regularly, but he couldn't bring himself to reveal the truth.

If he failed again... he couldn't bear to show that to his family. No one would be unaffected by seeing their eldest son, their older brother, fail three times.

Se Eun isn't interested in this kind of thing anyway.

Unless he brought it up first, there was little chance his mother or younger sister would find out.

Returning to the family home at this point was out of the question.

Watching the first episode alone isn't so bad. Who knows how it’ll be edited anyway.

With renewed resolve, Seha turned on the phone he'd gotten back for the vacation. He searched for the Knet broadcasting app in the app store and waited for it to install.

Ding! A chat notification popped up unexpectedly. Seha frowned, puzzled, and checked the message.

.
Are you waiting for the broadcast, hyung?
.
I'm sending this in case you fell asleep from exhaustion.
.
(Photo)

It's Sion.

He didn't recognize the name because his contact was saved as ".". The photo he sent was of him and the other trainees from Group A, all making V signs.

Yeah, Sion, I'm waiting to watch too.

It's good to see the kids are doing well.

Group A was a select group of ON trainees considered most likely to debut. Seha had spent several years in Group A and was close to all the younger trainees in the photo. He felt guilty about leaving ON without saying proper goodbyes, but seeing them doing well made him relieved.

.
Since Hyung is appearing, all the kids said they want to watch it.
.
We're all waiting in the conference room together.

Seha held a significant position in Group A. As the leader of his younger members, who ranged from one to seven years younger than him, he had built up considerable influence. Sion's message unexpectedly brought tears to his eyes.

After closing KaKaoTalk, Seha opened the newly installed Knet app as if seeking refuge. Just as he did, the advertisement ended, and the opening song performance began playing.

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The footage was longer than anticipated. In particular, the judges' praise from the initial A-Grade evaluation was broadcast almost verbatim, with minimal editing.

Seha had worried about it being completely cut, as it had happened to individual contestants in the previous season and other survival programs. But now, he finally felt relieved.

But...

One thing still bothered him. The intent behind the cuts featuring Seha was too obvious. Even in scenes involving Ryu Dohyuk, the editors kept showing Seha's reactions.

I don't want to be linked to him like this...

Who would want to be mentioned alongside their ex?

It was already happening frequently since the production press conference, and now the editing was practically encouraging it. Seha let out a weary sigh. Feeling parched, he grabbed his tumbler and stepped out into the hallway.

The distance from Seha's room to the water cooler in the center of the hallway was considerable. The other rooms, usually bustling with activity, were now eerily silent due to the break.

Soon, the clear sound of the water cooler filled the hallway. As Seha quietly held his tumbler under the trickling stream, a cool, refreshing scent suddenly wafted from behind him. A large figure loomed over, casting a shadow over the machine.

"You didn't go home?"

A voice both familiar and unfamiliar.

Seha instinctively knew who it was. He retrieved his tumbler and turned around. Dohyuk stood there, his hair still wet from a recent shower. Seeing him in this unkempt state made Seha feel like he had been transported back to their student days.

"How's Se Eun doing?"

Dohyuk uttered the name of Seha’s younger sister. The moment he said "Se Eun," Seha glared up at him with eyes that had grown even sharper, though the look held little actual threat.

"You are so popular. Why the sour face?"

"You..."

"Ah, is it because of me?"

It had been years since their breakup. Seha could tolerate Dohyuk still hating him. But the fact that he still remembered his sister's name...

"It's uncomfortable when you act like this when we're not even together anymore."

"I don't see what's so uncomfortable about it."

"Bringing up my sister's name. If her name gets dragged into this..."

Dohyuk's smug expression twisted momentarily. Clenching his jaw as if suppressing a surge of emotion, he spat out the question:

"Is it really that unpleasant?"

"Well..."

"You make me sound like some bastard who'd peddle Se Eun. It's disgusting."

"We're not the only ones here. Her surname isn't common, making her easy to identify."

Dohyuk placed his hands on his hips and let out a hollow sigh.

"Sorry for being so sensitive, but don't get involved next time. Ideally, I'd prefer you stop mentioning her altogether."

"What if I don't want to?"

"What?"

"Your logic doesn't make sense. If we're nothing to each other, why are you giving me orders? Technically, I'm your senior, and I'm starting to wonder if a junior like you should be acting this way."

Dohyuk turned his head to avoid Seha's gaze and retorted sarcastically, "But unlike you, I'm not someone who only cares about himself. So I won't give you orders over something so trivial."

"Ryu Dohyuk, what I meant was..."

"Enough. You should mind your own business too, hyung. If we're not involved, stop ordering me around."

With that, Dohyuk swept his wet hair back and headed to his dorm. Left alone by the water cooler, Seha gasped for breath in a daze, only returning to his room when the broadcast was nearly over.

Why does Ryu Dohyuk act like this? Why does he keep talking to me with eyes that seem to hate me to death? It was impossible to understand why he would bother speaking to someone whose very presence irritated him.

He'd be better off just coldly ignoring me. Every time I talk to you, I...

No matter how confrontational Ryu Dohyuk’s tone was, memories of the sweet times with Dohyuk surfaced, leaving Seha helplessly on the verge of tears every single time.

Seha felt hurt by his drastically changed attitude, yet he also understood it perfectly, which made him feel even more sorry.

I don't even know how to treat you anymore...

After closing the door, Seha shuffled toward the bed with zombie-like steps. He collapsed weakly onto the mattress, turned on his phone, and checked the broadcast.

Just in time, the real-time rankings for the first round of voting which had begun after the opening song's release, were being revealed.

4th: On Seha

3rd: Cha Dohun

2nd: Woo Jei

1st: Hyun Sion

Sion was leading by a significant margin in the interim tally. The center effect seemed to be working perfectly.

Still, 4th place...

It was rare for an individual trainee to rank as high as 4th in the interim tally. This was likely thanks to the popularity of the photos from the production announcement conference with Dohyuk, which had spread his name widely.

With his pale cheeks flushed crimson, Seha buried his face in his pillow, overwhelmed with emotion. For a fleeting moment, he even forgot his argument with Dohyuk.

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[Today's Biggest Twist in Reloading Project!]

(Link: <Reloading Project!> A-Grade Trainee On Seha's Solo Practice Performance - "Night Day" / Original Song: Flood)

On Seha...

Why is he so good at singing...??

[103 Comments]

No seriously, his face just didn't scream "singer" at all.

└ ᄅᄋ(Real / It's true)

└ ᄅᄋ

└ ᄅᄋ

└ Women are falling for this "underdog" left and right... How are you going to take responsibility for this, On Seha?! ㅠㅠ

└ On Seha: Should I... take responsibility?

└ ㅠㅠ No... I'll take responsibility, oppa.

I've been keeping quiet to avoid spoilers, but On Seha was always the top performer in ON Entertainment's monthly evaluations. My younger sibling used to be a trainee there before leaving, and they told me he was even considered leader material among the debut group contenders. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ If I hadn't seen the evaluation video myself, I wouldn't have believed it. But after watching it, I'm completely convinced.

└ Did ON lost their persimmon? Why didn't he debut?

Persimmon is considered good fortune. There's a Korean proverb "A persimmon I cannot eat" (못먹는 감) that is used to describe a "dog in the manger" attitude. It refers to someone who wants something they cannot have and decides to ruin it for others so that no one else can have it either.

└ Seriously, even "On" is in his name. He's got the “On” silver spoon, dang it.

[Woo Jei and On Seha are the only confirmed Royal A-Grades]

They're the only two who maintained their A-Grade during the re-evaluation.

The female version of Reloading Project had three Royal A-Grades. Sigh...

[14 Comments]

└ Isn't Hyun Sion practically a Royal A-Grade too?

└ Yeah, he is. ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ I'm a skill-focused fan, so I'm sticking with these three from the start!

[ (Behind the Scenes) Guys... the preview was just clickbait ᅲᅲ]

Ryu Dohyuk was just acknowledging someone from his own agency.

On Seha was talking to Hyun Sion and his ON juniors.

Looks like they're not actually close.

[9 Comments]

└ Ugh, I fell for Knet's clickbait again!
 If they're not even close, why was Dohyuk so comfortable with Seha at the press conference?

└ Did they get close during training camp?

└ On a side noted, am I the only one shipping the Hyun Sion x On Seha pairing?

└ Who wouldn't fall for a younger guy who, when facing demotion from A to B, says, "I knew you'd choose me, hyung"?

└ But he ended up getting promoted back to A, right? And he became the center? A younger guy who gets both his hyung and the center position, talk about killing two birds with one stone!

└ Do they have an official ship name yet?

└ (Anonymous) Hyun Sion = 쑌, On Seha = 월

      쑌ssyon 월wol
└ I get 쑌 for Sion, but why 월?

└ It's because of the joke "On Seha" reversed is "On Sesang" (meaning "the whole world"). So it becomes On > 월 < 

└ They really came up with a complicated and ugly ship name. That's what makes it a real survival show!
Did the Ryuwol hype just come and go...?

└ Just make up your own stories! It's ok, I still can't let go.

└ Ugh, the Ryuwol hype will return! Time to start holding out. Starting today!

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