Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 130:

What’s going on? Everyone was startled by the unusual noise and listened carefully.

“What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

Outside, people were running around and making a fuss. I flung open the waiting room door and stepped into the hallway, where the staff were scrambling.

“Quick, bring them in!”

“Not that way, the other way!”

The source of the noise was the stage direction, where the rehearsal had been going on until a moment ago. Should I go and see? But could I help with anything? I couldn’t make a quick decision.

Rather than adding to the confusion, I hesitated for a moment when the staff shouted.

“Cast members, please return to the waiting room! The rehearsal will be temporarily suspended due to safety issues!”

What on earth happened? I asked a nearby staff member, who briefly explained in the midst of the chaos.

“There was an accident during the previous team’s rehearsal. We’re cleaning up now, so don’t worry and wait in the waiting room, please!”

Did someone get hurt? Or was it just a simple damage? I was curious, but it wasn’t the atmosphere to dig deeper.

I had no choice but to go back to the waiting room, where everyone looked at me with worried expressions.

“They said there was an accident during the rehearsal and they’re suspending it for a while?”

“What?”

“Did someone get hurt?”

Everyone’s eyes widened as they tried to figure out which group had suffered the mishap.

“It’s either Floss or P2CK before us, right?”

If it was P2CK, the staff would have come to us sooner to request a standby, so it was likely Floss.

“Quick, check Floss and P2CK’s SNS.”

If there was an accident, they might have posted a notice first. I checked the SNS of the two groups.

But of course, there was no way that the accident that happened in real time would be announced.

They both had simple spoilers that they were filming today’s stage, but no specific news of injuries or accidents.

“Which group had an accident?”

As I became more and more convinced that Floss was the victim, a post on one of P2CK’s members’ personal SNS confirmed it.

￣￣￣￣￣

Everyone, be careful ㅜㅜ!

My heart is pounding while waiting

￣￣￣￣￣

This made it clear that Floss had an accident, but it was still hard to tell if anyone was hurt.

With a strangely uncomfortable feeling, I waited until the manager came into the waiting room.

“They said it’ll be delayed by about 30 minutes from the original schedule. It’s not a serious injury, so don’t worry too much and get ready.”

Injury? The manager seemed to say it to reassure us, but it only increased the confusion.

“Are they hurt?”

“Who?”

“Which team had an accident?”

Of course, it was unfortunate for any team that had an accident. But I couldn’t help but care more about one team.

“Huh? You didn’t hear the news? Floss was rehearsing. Yu-geon and Chanhyung fell when a support beam collapsed between them.”

“Floss?”

I couldn’t believe the news of such a shocking accident, when Floss had shown overwhelming skills even in the pre-rehearsal for checking the movements.

“They’re not seriously injured, right?”

I grabbed the manager and asked, worried. I unconsciously remembered Yu-geon’s face, who was guarding his mother’s side with empty eyes at the funeral hall where only adults were bustling.

It must be okay since they said it wasn’t a big injury, right? I couldn’t hide my anxious mind and waited, when I heard the sound of P2CK members moving in the hallway.

“Wow, who would be scared to rehearse?”

“Does that mean today’s main shooting is also delayed by 30 minutes each?”

As they exchanged a word each, I thought it would be better to contact them directly and check.

[Me] Are you okay after the accident? 9:32 AM

[Me] You’re not seriously hurt or anything, right? 9:33 AM

Then, just before the staff came in to call us for the next order, a reply came back.

[H] Thank you for your concern. 9:54 AM

[H] It’s not a big injury, but there was a little accident… I’ll let you know when it’s sorted out. 9:56 AM

‘What do you mean by a little accident?’ Does that make sense? As I glared at the phone screen with a frown, the manager called me.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and wait.”

“Oh, yes.”

I hurriedly moved my steps and followed the other members to the next waiting place.

“Please wait here for the climax!”

As I followed the staff’s guidance, I kept wondering what happened to Floss and how big of an impact it had.

They didn’t tell me properly even though they said it wasn’t a big injury, so there must have been something else going on…

When I looked up at the lighting device in question, it felt like something had shrunk from the ceiling compared to the pre-rehearsal.

‘Is P2CK’s rehearsal going well…’

As I looked up at the stage obliquely, P2CK, who had finished the pre-recording, was adjusting their costumes and choreography to the AR.

‘I need to analyze the stage objectively, but I can’t concentrate because I’m distracted.’

I was about to brush my hair with a troubled mind, when I realized that it was the costume and hair that I had set for an hour today and stopped my hand.

The outfit that I had neatly matched for the main stage preparation looked neat and pretty at first glance.

‘I wonder what kind of outfit Floss chose…’

Not only was I worried about the sudden accident, but I also wanted to know how the rest of the progress would go.

As I waited with an anxious and restless mind, P2CK finished their rehearsal and came down from the stage.

It was a common stage that I could see anytime I turned on the music show, without any memorable concept.

If I had some mental leeway, I could have seen where it was good and where it was a bit of a learning point, but nothing caught my eye right now.

As I fidgeted with my fingertips, Seong-won suddenly called me.

“Hyung, snap out of it.”

Then I lifted my head and looked around, and the other members were climbing the stairs.

“Please come up for the climax quickly!”

At the staff’s urging, I answered hastily and moved along with the members.

“Yes, I’ll be right there!”

As I stepped onto the stage, I felt more composed than when I was below. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes here. I had to pull myself together.

I glanced at the lights above my head, but they were too bright, so I looked down at the floor again. Soon, the pre-recording preparation began.

“I know you’re nervous, but focus. We can’t ruin our performance.”

Kyunghwa noticed that my mind was wandering and poked my shoulder lightly.

“I got it. I’m sorry.”

With a short apology, the intro started. For the main stage, the background was supposed to have white sand dunes and wave effects like a snowy field.

There was also a plan to scatter white pollen and confetti from the sky, but they were omitted for the rehearsal because of the cleaning issue.

We spent over 30 minutes checking and matching the parts that we had revised together last night.

“Good job, everyone!”

“Thank you!”

As I thanked the staff and got off the stage, I saw Hwijin running around the auditorium.

Our main show was scheduled to start in five hours.

Until then, we had to be stuck in the swamp of endless waiting time. Since I had some spare time anyway… I moved before I finished my thought.

“Where are you going?”

Kyunghwa stopped me, but I answered briefly and ran towards Hwijin.

“Just a sec! I’ll be back soon! I’ll call you!”

Hwijin’s expression was quite dark, which didn’t look like a normal situation. What was going on?

As I caught up with Hwijin, he asked me with a ghostly look.

“Oh, Ise, have you seen Yu-geon?”

“What?”

I was surprised by the familiar name that popped out.

“I can’t find Yu-geon. I’ve been calling him, but he won’t answer…”

“Weren’t you with him all the time?”

I retorted as if he should know better than me, and Hwijin sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“He went to get a quick check-up with Chanhyung… He said he would join us later, but he disappeared and I can’t reach him.”

“What?”

I doubted my ears.

“I can’t find Yu-geon.”

Where did he go?

“Did he get hurt badly or something…”

“No, that’s not it. He didn’t seem to have a broken bone, but he might have stretched a ligament… He said he would go to the hospital, get a simple treatment, and come back, but I don’t know where he went…”

He was injured, but he pushed himself to do the show as planned.

Then the manager of Floss came running and asked Hwijin.

“Did you find Yu-geon?”

“Uh, no. I don’t think he’s in the building.”

“Damn it. Where the hell did he go? He’s trying to mess up everything now, that bastard…”

I didn’t know what his condition was, but he vanished after getting treated.

Now I was worried beyond concern.

“Damn…”

I asked Hwijin, who was only repeating dry hand-washing, what else had happened besides the accident.

“Um… I haven’t been with Yu-geon at all since the accident…”

As Hwijin trailed off, Chanhyung, who was limping with a crutch, appeared and yelled at the Floss manager.

“That bastard is not doing it today! There’s no point in looking for him, don’t waste your energy. Why are you all making a fuss over finding that one guy?”

What does he mean by not doing it? Everyone turned to Chanhyung’s side, annoyed by his irritation.

“He’s not doing it today?”

“That crazy bastard said he won’t go on stage today even if he dies, because he’s afraid he might hurt himself more than a hair on his body. He’s been skipping schedules left and right. He does his solo appearances, but skips the group activities. I was so pissed off by his attitude that I hit him. I told him not to waste our time, he’s not coming today!”

“What?”

It wasn’t just an argument. Everyone’s eyes widened at the words that he hit him.

“What can I do if he doesn’t listen? I’ve been patient enough. Was I the only one who was patient? Why are you looking at me like that when you all felt the same way?”

Everyone was momentarily speechless with shock. Then the question of where he had gone came to mind.

“Where he went is secondary to him not being on stage today…”

“Why is that secondary? If he’s out, and I can’t go on stage either, we have to change the routes for two people. He had a pretty important role, didn’t he? We should fix the routes right away, what’s the point of looking for him?”

Chanhyung’s loud voice rang out sharply.

The atmosphere was… not something I should be listening to. I swallowed my dry saliva and looked around.