The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 1

The cold December air, with visible breath puffing out.

It was already freezing with temperatures dropping below minus 5 degrees Celsius, but imagine getting up at 3 AM to go film something.

You’d feel that terrible bone-chilling, body-aching sensation.

“Wow, brother! I had so much fun! All the sleepiness from earlier completely disappeared!”

“I still can’t believe it. Were those people in front of the stage really our fans? They waited in this cold weather just to watch our short pre-recording?”

“Adrenaline is exploding throughout my body! I feel like I could dance for another 3 hours right now!”

These young men heading toward the KBC broadcasting station parking lot spoke as if they couldn’t feel the cold at all.

Instead, they were bouncing around, freely expressing their vigorous energy.

I rubbed my eyes, which had become stiff from wearing contact lenses, and pressed down on the head of our youngest member, Lee Kyung-hwan.

“Settle down, kid. If you keep jumping around like that, you’ll step on my feet again.”

“Aw, too bad. I was sneakily trying to pretend to misstep and stomp on your foot.”

“You wait until we get back to the dorm.”

“Ooh, scary. You’re acting like a total old fogey.”

The youngest, still caught up in the lingering excitement from the stage, continued to playfully fool around with his spirited antics.

Witnessing my deepening sigh, our leader Hwang Sung-hu sent me a wink with an expression that said ‘hang in there just a little longer.’

“Bear with him, Si-hwan. You know how meaningful today’s first music show recording was.”

“Of course I know.”

“So let’s just let the kids run wild for now. They’ll pass out as soon as they get in the car anyway.”

“I’ll try to be patient since you said so, brother.”

Do I really understand what that first music show performance meant, where I burned every muscle in my body just moments ago?

Could there be anyone who felt that moment of emotion more desperately than I did?

I’m the one who spent a full six years as a trainee under Black Hash Entertainment, a fairly prestigious mid-to-large-sized agency.

I was the trainee personally cast by the Black Hash Entertainment CEO at the early age of 15, and the trainee he cherished most.

They conducted training while giving me high praise, saying I wouldn’t fall behind any other idol in any aspect—singing, dancing, looks, or acting.

They cherished me so much that they even established a policy that I absolutely couldn’t debut until members who matched my capabilities were ‘perfectly’ assembled.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the CEO’s feelings. It was probably like parents wanting to arrange the best partner for a cherished child they’re sending off to marriage.

But as one year passed, then two years, and eventually six years went by, only the frustration of ‘please just let me debut already’ kept building up.

Then finally, when the last member, youngest Lee Kyung-hwan, joined, a five-member debut group was formed, and I was able to debut in front of the public as the group called ‘Black Shot.’

I still vividly remember the moment when my voice, handling the killing part in the final verse, rose up into the studio air.

Because I had desperately wanted this and worked harder than anyone, grinding my bones, today’s debut stage was precious itself.

The moment I got into the van that our manager had pre-warmed, it felt like the reality of finally becoming an official idol was covering me even more clearly.

“Ah, now I can finally relax a bit.”

“Si-hwan, what did I tell you? I said they’d collapse as soon as they got in the car, right?”

“You’re really right.”

“Hehe… brothers, I’m going to sleep first. Wake me up when we get to the dorm.”

“It only takes 30 minutes to get to the dorm. Just sleep when we arrive.”

Cha Gang-hyun clicked his tongue at Lee Kyung-hwan, whose eyes were already half-closed.

But seeing him cover his younger member with a blanket, he was a total tsundere.

“Everyone must have been really nervous since it was the first recording today, so get some good rest even if it’s just a nap. You all worked hard.”

Our manager, noticing that the vitality that had briefly settled in our bodies after the pre-recording was gradually fading, spoke while smoothly turning the steering wheel.

I didn’t fall asleep right away and looked up at the still dark sky, thinking for a moment.

I had achieved my dream debut.

I wonder how my fellow trainees who changed countless times over six years are doing.

What is the kid who entered Black Hash Entertainment with me in the early days doing now? When things were tough, we still supported each other and endured. You should have just held on a little longer and debuted with me. Bad guy.

Do music show pre-recordings always have to be done at dawn like this? I heard that once you have some experience, your turn gets pushed back later. When will I be able to perform the closing stage?

‘Seeing how many random thoughts I’m having, I must be pretty sleepy too.’

My drowsy mind naturally led me to dreamland.

I wanted to savor the feelings of my debut day a little longer.

I closed my eyes, resting my head against the window, thinking about going back to the dorm and having trivial chatter with the members.

Never dreaming that the night sky I saw before falling asleep would be the last scene I’d see in this world.

* * *

I felt like I was inhaling acrid smoke.

Along with that strange scent, I felt the sensation of something tickling touching the tip of my nose.

‘We didn’t have a cat in the dorm.’

I slowly opened my eyes.

Then I had no choice but to stare blankly around me without saying anything.

A scene I’d never seen in my life.

Reed fields stretching endlessly under an ashen sky.

It seemed a gentle breeze had blown, making the reeds in front of me flutter.

‘But there’s no fire around, so why does it keep smelling acrid?’

No, that aside.

Where exactly is this place?

I was definitely in the van heading back to the dorm.

Everyone had relaxed on the way back and gradually fallen asleep.

I couldn’t understand why my soft bed had disappeared and this reed field was greeting me instead.

I unconsciously took a step forward.

No matter how wide I opened my eyes and looked beyond the horizon, I couldn’t see where this reed field ended.

‘I’ve never had such a weird dream in my life. If it’s a dream, I wish I’d just wake up quickly.’

How long had I walked?

No matter how much physical training and exercise I usually did, I didn’t have two hearts to walk endlessly across this vast plain without getting tired.

When I was getting out of breath and stopped walking.

“Soul number 10,453,678, please come forward.”

Am I hearing things?

An unknown voice whispered in my ear.

When I just stood still without any movement, the voice came again in a slightly frustrated tone.

“Soul number 10,453,678, I said come forward.”

It definitely seems like they’re calling me.

But come forward? There’s just a reed field in front of me.

When I suspiciously took one step forward, the scenery instantly changed.

The plain that had only been brown reeds disappeared, and a space with gleaming black tiles was created.

I, who had been standing upright on two feet, was suddenly seated in a hard wooden chair, and in front of me was a high judge’s bench that exuded a majestic atmosphere like you’d see inside a courtroom.

On top of three large chairs rising behind the judge’s bench, masked people were staring right through me.

Even though I couldn’t see their eyes, I could feel their gaze burning my flesh.

The woman who had been pacing beside the chair I was seated in spoke in a voice with much less irritation.

“This is today’s final judgment. We will now begin the verdict for soul number 10,453,677.”

“Ah, wait a moment. There’s something unusual written here.”

When the judge sitting in the center seat raised his hand, the woman who seemed to be handling assistant duties hurriedly flipped through papers and said.

“Ah, that’s right. This soul was probably harvested directly by the Judge himself. That’s why he said he would personally come to deliver the verdict now.”

“I arrived on time.”

Now I couldn’t determine whether this was just a common weird dream or not.

I stared with my mouth agape at the large-bodied figure that instantly materialized from the shadows.

Like the judges sitting at the bench, he was wearing a mask, but it wasn’t just an ordinary mask.

The mask decorated with silver plates and gold ornaments that gleamed even in dim light clearly indicated tremendous authority.

“This is a soul I must handle personally, so you all may leave now.”

“Thank you, Judge.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow.”

After bowing to the one called Judge, the masked people instantly disappeared.

The Judge slightly turned his head toward me and shrugged his shoulders.

“You seem to have a face that needs additional explanation.”

“Ah, yes.”

“First, tell me how much you’re aware of. The content I need to explain will vary accordingly.”

How much am I aware of?

I feel like I shouldn’t just say I thought it was a simple weird dream and walked through the reed field without thinking.

I tried hard to think.

“Um, well. So, you said you harvested my soul?”

“That’s right.”

“Then that means I’m dead right now?”

“As expected, you don’t know anything. Those salary-stealing guys didn’t even give you proper guidance. Sigh, can’t be helped.”

The Judge sighed and waved his hand.

Then hazy smoke poured out, and some image took shape within that smoke.

I stared into the smoke and was left speechless.

“This… is…”

“Yes, it really became tragic. Human world time, December 3rd, 202X, 3:21 AM. Six humans including you, Ryu Si-hwan, all died in an unexpected traffic accident. Humans call it this—drunk driving. A drunk-driving truck rammed into the car you were riding in, causing major casualties.”

“……”

Normally, words of denial should come out.

It would be strange to keep listening to this ridiculous, absurd story.

But no words came out of my mouth.

I could only stare blankly at the image containing the blazing black van and the 119 vehicles surrounding it.

They even kindly showed me the license plate of the charred black van.

Even after staring at it for several seconds, it was definitely the license plate of the van we used to ride in.

The smoke the Judge created seemed to have high-performance AI installed, trying to eliminate my doubts as accurately and quickly as possible.

Now, following the license plate, it even showed me my corpse with arms bent at strange angles.

“Urgh!”

“Oh my, oh my! Let me apologize. This damn thing doesn’t move according to my will, so it unintentionally showed you something terrible.”

When I dry heaved and almost vomited, the Judge frantically waved his hands and dispersed the smoke.

‘…So that’s why there was an acrid smell in my nose this whole time.’

Seeing the completely burned black van, I understood.

The air I had inhaled just before dying was still remaining in my lungs.

I really didn’t feel any reality to it, but when I briefly saw my strangely twisted appearance, everything seemed to shatter.

I struggled to control my violently churning stomach and managed to utter one sentence.

“Am I really dead?”

“Yes, human life is truly beautiful yet cruel. For someone with such a bright future to become a member of the underworld in an instant.”

“Then this place is…?”

The Judge nodded once.

It was a moment when his already gleaming mask stood out even more.

“A place where the souls of the dead gather to determine their destination. The Asphodel Plain of the underworld.”

To think that the concept of the human world and underworld actually existed.

I thought it was just simple mythology or story material.

“Originally, my subordinates you saw earlier would determine where the dead should go. But when special souls like you, Ryu Si-hwan, come, I step forward like this. When someone with a beautiful future faces death unjustly, or when there are situations where divine punishment must be received even after death.”

“In my case, please let it be the former.”

“Haha, it seems you’ve quickly overcome the shock. Your case is naturally the former. I haven’t looked deeply into the human world, but I heard that the profession called ‘idol’ in that world is truly honorable.”

Of course it is.

How much hardship did I endure to stand on stage as an idol?

I practiced during time I could have played with friends, couldn’t eat what I wanted, and couldn’t even have a normal school life.

I had desperately wanted to become an idol enough to give up all of this, but to die so futilely on my debut day. What kind of trick of fate is this?

“So I’ll give you a choice with my special authority as Judge.”

“A choice?”

“Originally, souls have no right to choose. It’s automatically determined based on how they lived their lives. If they lived a life of wrongdoing, they go to hell. If it was just ordinary, they go to the Asphodel Plain, and if they lived a beautiful life, they go to heaven. But if someone like you were unjustly robbed of the right to live a good life, I provide choices.”

The Judge spread both hands and spoke slowly.

“First, as compensation for having your life unjustly taken, I can let you spend your remaining afterlife in heaven forever.”

“……And?”

“Second, I can let you go to hell and create an opportunity for ‘reincarnation.'”

Reincarnation.

Did I hear that correctly?

“Did you just say ‘reincarnation’?”

“Yes, the privilege of being reincarnated to Earth in a different worldline with your previous life’s memories and appearance intact, so you can live a new life. But it definitely won’t be easy. Hell isn’t as lenient a place as you think. Anyone who enters hell receives work assignments, and the conditions for reincarnation are only met when that work is performed perfectly for the designated period.”

“Then if I just endure quietly in hell.”

I can feel my voice trembling.

“Are you saying I can reclaim my life?”

To my question, the Judge only nodded silently.

“Soul, now I can ask you again.”

“……”

“Will you go to heaven and take eternal rest? Or will you voluntarily leap into hell to gain the opportunity for reincarnation?”

If it’s certain that I’m really dead.

If everything unfolding before my eyes is reality.

And if I can really seize the opportunity to live life once more.

I’ll do anything.

I’ll struggle in the deep abyss to reclaim my stolen life.

I inhaled and opened my eyes wide.

And answered with an unwavering voice.

“I’ll go to hell.”