Chapter 51
“E-emergency!”
The front door to the dorm burst open with a bang, and Kang Ian’s frantic voice filled the living room.
All four scattered members turned their eyes toward him at once.
“Why?”
Baek Doha didn’t even look up from his tablet as he asked, sounding far too used to this.
His fingers continued scrolling on the screen.
“Well, uh… that… who was it? Long hair, cute!”
Kang Ian stomped his feet in panic.
“What? Did you get a crush on someone!?”
Ryu Sian shot to his feet, grabbed Kang Ian by the shoulders, and shook him hard.
Ian’s head whipped back and forth violently.
“You’re not allowed to date yet! Who is it!?”
“No, that’s not it! Uh, what was her name again?”
Smack—!
“Ack!”
Ian collapsed, clutching his calf.
Secret Technique of the Back Scratcher, Chapter 4—!
Calf Whip—!
Rua’s infamous move, the so-called Calf Slice, had struck Ian dead-on.
“Hey! Jin Rua!”
Ian rolled on the floor in tears.
Rua casually wiped the wooden back-scratcher, then slid it behind his back like a blade returning to its sheath.
His face was solemn, as though he had just beheaded an enemy general.
“Don’t say useless things.”
Then he looked around at the members.
“So. How’s the concept meeting going?”
“…….”
Silence fell.
All five men turned their eyes to Rua as if by agreement.
“What? What now!?”
Rua’s gaze naturally drifted to their resident troublemaker, Ryu Sian.
“You’re the one who took Kang Ian out.”
“…So what?”
What, are we not even allowed to take a short drive now?
Rua tilted his head, truly lost. His small shoulders made a slight shrug.
A moment later—
“I wanna do trot! Let me go on <The Trot Eraaaaa>!”
Ian wailed, lying face-down and tugging his hair in despair.
It was the pressure of Round 5—the next crushing weight already bearing down on them.
The competition was brutal.
They hadn’t even had time to savor surviving Round 4 before the semifinals arrived.
<SWITCH>
“Prove your survival.”
The production team’s intentions were clear.
They had to remake stages from two groups that had already been eliminated, and prove their worth.
In other words:
Fight using the weapons of the dead.
From Blaze Seven’s Burn It Up to the trot version of Fire Spark—
Lumis had grown through many challenges, but this one was different.
That morning’s meeting with the production team had included a fateful drawing of lots.
Ryu Sian drew Toy Box.
The exact same song that eliminated Toy Box in Round 3 RE:DEFINE—
‘Starlight’, a B-side track from girl group BLOOM’s 2nd full album Bloom Again.
“We should listen to the original first.”
Ha Jinwoo broke the heavy silence and pulled out his phone.
The familiar intro flowed out as soon as he opened the music app.
♪♬—
A dreamy sound filled the room, followed by a house rhythm that made shoulders move on their own.
But in contrast, the lyrics were calm and lyrical.
Days I walked in darkness
Fading pieces of my dreamsEven when I couldn’t breathe, I believed
In that one star shining far away
Written in part by BLOOM’s member Yuna-byeol, the song told the true story behind glamorous idol stages:
The excitement of the first step toward a dream,
the despair of hitting reality,
and the reason they still couldn’t give up.
“Because we are someone’s light.”
A dedication to fans—
and also a spell idols used to support themselves.
Fans even called it “BLOOM’s growth narrative.”
Not flashy, but solid, with emotions that naturally layered.
It was exactly the story Lumis needed now.
“…It’s good.”
Baek Doha murmured, and the others nodded.
“But… how do we rearrange this?”
Ian scratched his head hard.
‘Starlight’ wasn’t even a title track, yet it went viral later, becoming beloved and strongly imprinted in fans’ memories.
And just weeks earlier, Toy Box had already rearranged it as a high-teen band concept.
Though the result had fallen short, it was still memorable.
“People already have two versions stuck in their heads…”
Jinwoo tapped the floor lightly.
That meant Lumis needed something entirely different.
Beyond the original emotion, beyond Toy Box’s flashy concept—something new.
“The song is one thing,” Doha added seriously, sweeping his gaze over everyone.
“But from now on, we really need to watch everything we do.
Careful—super careful. Especially you, Ian.”
“Yessir!”
Only after Doha confirmed several times did he nod.
Jinwoo cleared his throat.
“Anyway… back to the main topic. The scoring system changed for Round 5, right?”
The system now consisted of:
Judges: 20%
Live audience: 30%
Online voting after broadcast: 50%
This wasn’t just about performing well.
Popularity—fan power—would directly influence the outcome.
“What do you think, Rua?”
Jinwoo glanced beside him.
“…Rua?”
“…Hm?”
Rua finally answered, eyes still fixed blankly ahead, his brows furrowed.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Ah… nothing.”
But he was clearly not himself today.
Normally, Rua always threw in sharp comments—about songs, choreography, concepts.
Now he was far too quiet.
“Is it… because of that girl earlier?” Ian asked cautiously.
Rua shook his head.
I hope she got home safely…
His mind was occupied by the female “trainee” trembling in front of the bar.
He couldn’t shake the image.
At least…
After Lim Jaehoon picked up a sudden call, he shoved the girl into a taxi alone, cursed under his breath, and went back inside the bar.
Ian didn’t see it, but Han Jinseo had appeared soon after.
Well… she probably got home fine.
Rua shook his head.
He didn’t have the luxury to worry about a trainee whose name he didn’t even know.
Rrrrr—
His phone rang. Yoon Taejin.
“Hello?”
Rua rushed into his room.
— Jinseo called. They met her today.
“What?”
— Ha… this is f**ed.*
Rua blinked. It was rare to hear Taejin curse.
— Come to the office tomorrow. We need to talk.
“Uh… okay.”
What happened?
The next day — CLEF CEO’s office
“F**k!”
Yoon Taejin looked like he hadn’t slept a second.
His hair was a mess, and dark circles sagged heavily beneath his eyes.
He looked like he’d lost several kilos overnight.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
Rua asked, for once sounding genuinely concerned.
“How could he do this to me!?”
Taejin was so angry he was nearly in tears.
“What? Who?”
“Lim Jaehoon!”
Taejin slammed his fist on the desk—papers scattered like snow.
“…Are you okay?”
“Yeah… sorry.”
After cursing Lim Jaehoon several more times, Taejin finally began to breathe normally.
“Listen to this…”
His trembling hand placed his phone on the table.
He tapped the screen, and a recorded call began to play.
— Hyung, don’t freak out. You know the Lim Jaehoon sponsorship case, right?
Han Jinseo’s voice came through the speaker, missing its usual cheerful tone.
— They cleared him back then, but it was real. Jung Jeyoon was a high schooler at the time—and he was basically Lim’s right-hand kid.
‘What?’
Rua’s eyes widened.
Years ago, the entertainment industry had erupted over Lim Jaehoon’s sponsor scandal.
As a mid-level manager, he’d been accused of introducing trainees to sponsors.
But evidence was inconclusive, testimonies conflicted, and the case closed without charges.
He lost his job and nearly disappeared from the industry—
until Yoon Taejin saved him, bringing him into CLEF.
Looking back, Taejin had dug his own grave.
— The real kicker? When Lim joined CLEF, he brought Jung Jeyoon with him. That “street casting” story? Completely staged. Lim’s also the one who funneled Jeyoon to VISTA.
— Lucky timing for them. VISTA was looking for a main vocal just like Jeyoon. Lim even told hyung, “Why block a kid’s future,” right?
Jinseo’s voice trembled.
— And the way he talked crap about you… Said you were just a useless babysitter feeding kids rice. I got pissed just hearing it…
Bang—!
“F***!”
Taejin slammed the table again.
The pieces fit now…
Rua leaned back, closing his eyes.
Jeyoon’s sudden departure, the connection between Lim Jaehoon and his cousin Lim Jonghyuk, PD Kang Yoonseok’s subservient attitude, even the trainee outside the bar—
I was naïve…?
While Rua obsessed over music and perfect performances, the industry had rotted.
Maybe it had always been this way.
I just didn’t want to see it.
He remembered the first day he met Lumis.
How he mocked them to their faces.
How he dismissed them as “failed idols.”
How desperately they had fought to survive.
…I’m sorry.
“How am I supposed to face the kids now?” Taejin muttered, slamming the table weakly.
Yes—Taejin was the one hurting most.
He had been betrayed by someone he trusted, and his mistake had even dragged down the kids.
“What do you mean ‘how’?”
Rua slowly opened his eyes.
“You endure it.”
Cold words, typical of Rua—
but his gaze was sharper than ever before.
He didn’t yet know.
Soon, Lumis would become the talk of the nation—
Not for the reason they wanted.
