Reunited with My Ex-Boyfriend on an Idol Survival Show - CHAPTER 15

How did it feel to prepare a song from your former company?

The sharp question froze Seha in place. He slowly turned his head toward Dohyuk, who held a script in his hand.

Sure enough, Dohyuk gently shook the script when their eyes met, confirming that it wasn't an impromptu question, but one prepared in advance by the production team. It was likely a question designed to highlight him as an independent trainee from ON Entertainment for editing purposes.

'I need to answer this well.'

Having been given this opportunity, he couldn't afford to waste it. Seha swallowed hard and slowly raised the microphone, his hand trembling visibly even from a distance.

"First of all... I was incredibly honored to cover a song by my seniors at ON Entertainment, whom I've always respected. And, and..."

Seha, momentarily speechless, glanced around at his teammates to buy himself some time. They were all focused on comforting Yoon Youngjae, who was sobbing uncontrollably, paying no attention to Seha.

"I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to my A Team members, both seniors and juniors, who trusted and followed this inadequate leader."

After delivering these somewhat formulaic remarks, Seha passed the microphone to Team B. His hands were still trembling. He wasn't naive enough to think he wouldn't face such questions, but hearing them in person sent his anxiety skyrocketing.

The members and leader of Team B shared their thoughts in turn. Just like Yoon Youngjae, there was a participant in Team B who was also weeping. Seha watched him with a worried expression, his own face twisting in sympathy at the man's heartbroken sobs.

'I think I understand why he's crying like that.'

Seha had experienced similar emotions himself. When you desperately strive for recognition, pushing yourself to the brink, there are times when the dam finally bursts.

'Survival is cruelly harsh, isn't it...'

Everyone was so desperate, yet soon, a stream of eliminations would begin. Perhaps Yoon Youngjae and the others instinctively sensed today might be their last performance and were saying their goodbyes. Seha thought with a calm expression.

A few minutes later, Dohyuk stopped the interview at the production team's signal. As the two teams responsible for the ON performance turned to leave, the audience began to shout one by one.

"Seha, you did great!"

In that moment, a voice mixed with the cheers melted Seha's frozen composure. The encouragement was that fervent.

"On Seha, you worked hard! We'll definitely get you to debut!"

He never imagined that the voices of an anonymous crowd could be so comforting. You did great. You worked hard. To some, these might be cliché words, but to Seha, they carried profound weight.

Until now, Seha had walked alone toward his debut. But now, there were people who would push him forward and determined to make his debut happen. This realization filled him with overwhelming joy.

Forcing down his surging emotions, Seha turned to look back. Even though he was already walking offstage with his back turned, the sight of his fans waving their hands at him without pause would forever remain etched in his memory. Seha knew this for certain.

Tears threatened to spill again, so Seha tilted his head back to calm himself. After a deep breath, he lowered his gaze, his vision landing on Dohyuk.

"......"

Ryu Dohyuk was staring intently at Seha's legs, completely motionless.

He finally snapped out of his daze when both teams performing "ON" had left the stage and the production crew gave the signal.

─────────

"We're heading to the dormitory."

The first round of competition was over. Seha boarded the now-familiar tour bus.

After changing into the trainees' uniforms, he seated Yoon Young-jae—whose condition had deteriorated alarmingly—next to Ryu Dohyuk. Seha then took a middle seat with the remaining team members.

The team's mood was somber. It stemmed from the live voting results they'd checked in the waiting room after the competition.

Seha had overwhelmingly received the most individual votes within the team. Nearly 200 out of 500 audience members had chosen On Seha as MVP. However, since fewer than 30 audience members voted for the other team members, Team B, which was composed of mid-to-upper-tier trainees, ultimately received more votes overall. In other words, they had lost.

"They must have been expecting benefits," Seha muttered, glancing at Yu Minhyung slumped in the seat beside him. He sighed heavily.

All his teammates except himself were ranked in the lower-middle tier. This meant they needed to win the competition and secure the benefits to avoid elimination in the first ranking announcement. Their faces were etched with anxiety.

"Still, Seha-hyung, I'm sorry for acting so selfishly at first. Youngjae-hyung probably feels bad too."

"It's okay. We still managed to put on a good performance in the end."

So they do realize they were being difficult at the start, Seha grumbled inwardly.

In the renewed silence, Seha stared blankly out the window. The night sky, now pitch-black, mirrored the heavy atmosphere inside the bus.

─────────

As they arrived at the dormitory, the exhausted participants gradually fell asleep after showering. The hallway was eerily quiet, even though it wasn't a day off. And Ryu Dohyuk...

'I saw him leaving earlier.'

Without even changing out of his suit, Dohyuk left the dormitory wearing only a mask and a hat, as if he had been urgently summoned.

'Did he went to see that person who called him "darling"? They're probably together by now.'

Seha shook his head, recalling the message he had glimpsed earlier that day. Water dripped from his still-damp hair, which he hadn't properly dried after his shower.

Don't think about it. Don't think about it. He was already feeling unsettled by the team's loss, he didn't want to make things worse. Just don't care about it...

'But how can I not care? He's still my ex.'

If he's rushing off so urgently just because he was called, he must be deeply in love. Dohyuk had always been kind to me, so he must be showering that same kindness on his current partner. An inexplicable ache settled in my chest, even though I was the one who had coldly kicked him to the curb.

"Haaah..."

He let out a sigh so loud it echoed through the break room, drawing a soft chuckle from someone. Footsteps grew closer.

"You're going to make the floor cave in with those sighs, On Seha."

The footsteps belonged to Dohyuk, who was concealing a bag of unknown contents behind his back. He looked intently at Seha and gestured with his chin.

"Come with me for a moment."

But Seha remained rooted to the spot, hesitant to follow. The lingering sting of the word "darling" still lingered. It felt awkward to speak with Dohyuk, who had likely just returned from seeing his lover.

When Seha didn't follow, Dohyuk turned back. Leaning casually, he pointed at Seha's knee with his index finger and said, "Come quietly before I tell everyone you're hurt."

"How did you know...?"

"I'm not answering questions."

With that, Dohyuk resumed his long-legged stride, occasionally glancing back to make sure Seha was keeping up. They eventually arrived at the private quarters assigned to the "Assistant," unlike the trainees' rooms, this one even had a small sofa.

"Sit."

Dohyuk half-forced Seha onto the plush-looking sofa. After a moment's hesitation, Seha yielded to Dohyuk's strength. He'd always been strong, but now... he seemed like Hercules. Moreover, the room was filled with Dohyuk's scent, making Seha feel strangely disoriented.

Turning his back on Seha for a moment, Dohyuk rummaged through his bag before approaching with antiseptic, cotton, ointment, and bandages.

He personally rolled up Seha's tracksuit bottoms, which reached his ankles, to his thighs. After examining the wound on Seha's knee, he frowned. Dohyuk had already soaked the cotton with antiseptic and began dabbing at the injury.

"Ugh..."

"Drama queen."

Seha flinched at the stinging sensation, and Dohyuk chuckled derisively. Embarrassed, Seha bit his lip and stifled a groan. He only spoke after Dohyuk stopped disinfecting the wound.

"Where did you get the medicine?"

"...Assistants get all this stuff as standard issue. You wouldn't know since you're just a contestant."

Dohyuk's brief pause made Seha stare at him with a puzzled expression.

'Even when he talks, he's always.....'

Is he acting like this because he wants to draw a clearer line between us because of his girlfriend? Seha wondered inwardly, his mind racing. Dohyuk, oblivious to Seha's turmoil, continued applying ointment to Seha's wound and then covered it with a bandage. The bandage featured a cute cartoon character.

After firmly pressing the bandage to secure it, Dohyuk asked, "How did you get hurt?"

"I just fell while going out to buy medicine earlier. How did you find out I was injured?"

"...I saw your knee when you were leaving after the competition interview, Hyung. It was visible through the tear in your pants."

He has a sharp eye. Given the stage concept, everyone else had assumed it was just part of the makeup. Seha's eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise. Dohyuk glanced at him and then spoke with a tone of warning, "Behave properly. Taking care of your teammates won't guarantee your debut. Don't you see them as competitors?"

"That's my problem to handle."

"You always say you'll handle it yourself, but what's the conclusion? Getting eliminated from the debut team? Oh, don't tell me you're doing this because you want to fail here too? Hyung, why are you even—"

"......"

"Why is it only in these situations that you don't prioritize yourself?"

Silence descended. Seha quietly repeated Dohyuk's sharp words to himself before slowly opening his mouth.

"First off, thanks for applying the ointment. Thanks to you, I won’t get a scar. But Dohyuk..."

"...What?"

"Have you always been this harsh with your words?"

The words, carefully considered before being spoken, froze Ryu Dohyuk's face for a moment. His complexion turned as pale as ice.

"I'm leaving now."

"Wait—!"

Before Dohyuk could stop him, Seha had already left his room. Dohyuk made no attempt to follow.