Chapter 1
[DAZE Disbands, Puts an End to 6 Years of Group Activities]
“Huh?”
At the completely unexpected headline, Hayan froze.
The hand that had been roughly drying her wet hair stopped midair. The damp towel slipped from her fingers and fell onto the sofa, soaking it.
She reread the article. She even checked if it was some fake clickbait site. But it was an official report. It ended with the agency’s formal statement.
[Hello, this is DIP.
We would like to deliver our official statement regarding the future activities of our artist, DAZE.
DAZE, who has received much love over the years, has decided to disband following the expiration of their exclusive contract on November 11. The members—Hayan, Heera, Minsu, and Catherine—will now walk their own separate paths.
This decision was made after in-depth discussions and mutual agreement between the members and the company. We sincerely regret bringing this news to the fans who have supported DAZE.
We ask that you continue to show interest and encouragement to the members as they begin new journeys outside of DAZE.
Thank you.]**
“Ha… Hahaha….”
They say when a person is hit with too much shock, all they can do is laugh. Hayan collapsed onto the sofa.
“‘In-depth discussions between both parties’… what bullshit.”
She was the main subject of that disbandment article.
And it was the first she was hearing of it.
She didn’t bother hoping it was false information or that someone was impersonating the company. Even if she ran to the agency right now, nothing would change.
I knew it would end like this…
To make things worse, the comments under the article stabbed at her already sinking heart.
- They hadn’t disbanded yet?
- Who even is DAZE, you nerds?
└ The group that Shin Haemi was in.
Who even is DAZE?
DAZE was the group Hayan had belonged to.
DIP Entertainment’s ambitious girl group, formed through their in-house survival program—nicknamed PaPoWorld.
“The final member ranked 5th to debut is trainee Moon Hayan.”
PaPoWorld had been an intense whirlwind of messy emotions.
The show averaged around 6% ratings and was considered a huge success. The company’s senior male idols were already very popular, and since this was their first girl group, DAZE received plenty of attention at debut.
Yes—at debut.
After that, everything fell apart.
The company lacked proper planning and management.
The members lacked skill and relied on lip-syncing.
The songs were so bad you had to wonder how they were approved.
Terrible hair, makeup, and styling.
And despite surviving a brutal competition together, the members maintained purely business-like relationships.
If she tried listing every reason the group fell into ruin, ten fingers wouldn’t be enough.
Even when she wanted to change something, Hayan couldn’t speak up at the company.
They’d ignore me anyway.
Why would they listen to an idol who barely brought in any interest and only wasted electricity at the company? After the early days, they barely received attention.
Well, except when scandals happened.
[DAZE’s Haemi ♥ T Chase’s Sunghyun, “A Thrilling and Heart-Pounding Romance”]
Hayan still remembered that chilling headline.
Right. So thrilling.
Shin Haemi, the group’s main dancer and center, had withdrawn from the team dramatically in their third year.
She had never dropped below 3rd place during PaPoWorld and remained the most popular member even after debut. As a rookie, she was caught in a dating rumor with a top-tier male idol.
His group topped the charts within an hour of every comeback. Being triple million-sellers was nothing new to them. Of course the scandal exploded.
Back then, Hayan had turned pale and asked her:
“Is the article true?”
Haemi just stared at her.
“Think whatever you want.”
Even then, Haemi spoke politely, as if drawing a line between them.
They had lived in the same dorm and spent countless hours together, yet the distance between them never shrank.
Her shameless attitude. Always causing trouble. While other members made one mistake, she made five. That earned her the nickname “Oh(5) Haemi.” Another nickname was “This Month’s Haemi” because there was always some issue surrounding her.
Why was she like that?
Not just Haemi. The other members too.
Why were they all like that?
After Haemi left and redebuted as a solo artist, the others slowly distanced themselves from the group as well.
Catherine returned to her hometown in the United States.
Hong Heera quit being an idol and became a producer at another company.
Jeon Minsu also quit and switched to acting.
What’s the point of figuring it out now? The team’s already ruined, and we’re all torn apart.
Still, they were like tiny pebbles stuck in her shoe—constantly bothering her. She couldn’t help lingering on them.
Hayan picked up her phone.
“Ha…”
Her messenger notifications and ringtone had been going off nonstop. It was the most attention she had received in years.
She declined another unknown call and went straight to her contacts.
[DIP Shin Haemi]
The name hadn’t changed since their trainee days. The same applied to the other members.
I thought someday I’d change it to something more friendly.
At least she had hoped they’d become proper business partners.
After the group activities slowed down, they barely contacted each other privately. The members probably wouldn’t even realize the disbandment article was out until much later.
Fine. It’s over anyway. I’ll just ask her. Why she acted like that.
Her career was ruined. Debt was piling up. She had nothing left to lose.
Hayan pressed the call button. After a couple rings—
“Hello?”
That familiar voice.
“……”
She had planned to yell at her. To vent. To say something.
But now that the moment came, she couldn’t speak.
What’s wrong with me?
Regret clogged her throat like something stuck. It pressed painfully against her chest.
Now that they weren’t even in the same group, she thought she could speak honestly.
She was wrong.
“……”
“Hello? Unnie? Are you there?”
“……”
Three seconds felt like three hours.
Just as Hayan gave up and was about to hang up—
“%$#@#%%$@@#@!~!!”
“What—what is that? Hello? Shin Haemi?”
A strange noise blasted through the phone. It didn’t even sound human.
“Huh…?”
Her consciousness began to fade. Bright lights flashed before her eyes. Everything warped from the edges inward.
And then—
Black.
The strength left her hand. The phone slipped and hit the floor.
“Ugh…”
Hayan opened her eyes.
Her head throbbed so badly she couldn’t even remember what she had been doing before.
“Where am I?”
She looked around.
The wallpaper. The layout.
It looked familiar.
“!”
Her gaze landed on a cup. A very distinctive one with large cat-ear decorations on the handle.
She had received it as a trainee. It had broken shortly after debut. She remembered being devastated because she liked it so much.
“Why is this here?”
Turning it over in her hands, she finally realized—
This was her old studio apartment from her trainee days.
She grabbed her phone and quickly checked her schedule.
[Fight for DI-World – First Filming Day (D-DAY)]
“!!!”
She checked the date over and over again, thinking it must be a glitch.
But nothing changed.
Everything was real.
How?
She sat on the bed and clutched her hair.
To summarize…
She read an article about the group disbanding. Heard a strange sound over the phone. Lost consciousness. And woke up on the first filming day of PaPoWorld…?
…As if.
It made no sense.
But the circumstances clearly pointed to that.
And time was still moving.
By the past’s standard.
Or was it the present now?
Ding!
“Ah!”
A bright notification sound rang out. A blue screen suddenly popped up in front of her.
Startled, she nearly fell backward.
Clutching her racing heart, she slowly read the text floating before her.
It said—
Go through and become a final debut member of DAZE.
Do you accept?
[Yes / Yes]
