The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 65

“Until the next filming for the ranking announcement ceremony, trainees are now free to leave the dorm. Think of it as a reward vacation! We hope this will be time for you to eat with your families and see your friends!”

That was the first thing that greeted us the next day when we barely woke up from our deep sleep.

Until now, 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 had tried its best to keep participants confined within this massive dorm.

If they gave too much freedom, there was a possibility that trainees would leave without permission or spoil future broadcast content.

From that perspective, it was a sufficiently reasonable decision.

But now, judging that the probability of unexpected variables appearing had somewhat decreased as this journey rushed toward its final stages, they announced that leaving the dorm was permitted.

‘Cerberus will be happy about this.’

When staying in the dorm, he had to maintain transparency constantly.

I thought he’d be jumping around excitedly when he heard the news that I was returning home.

And my prediction was spot on as always.

{Ah, finally I can run around freely like this!}

“You look incredibly happy.”

{Dog treats taste great, Master!}

“You might get addicted to those if you keep that up, be careful.”

{This kind of addiction is sweet, so it’s fine!}

As soon as we arrived at the one-room apartment, Cerberus happily barked while excitedly tearing into dog treats.

I opened the windows wide to ventilate the stuffy air.

Suddenly, the street noises felt much louder.

The house felt strangely quiet.

‘Maybe I got too immersed in that atmosphere over there.’

Come to think of it, the most recent time I slept in this one-room was also with the 〈ISL 2〉 kids.

‘Let me just sleep more quickly.’

Leaving Cerberus to tear through five whole dog treats, I lay down on the bed to catch up on the sleep I’d been lacking.

But the very next day, the peaceful atmosphere of my one-room apartment was completely turned upside down.

* * *

[Yu Ha-woon: Brother Si-hwan…… Are you available for a call by any chance?]

“…?”

When I opened my eyes, there was a message from Yu Ha-woon sent at 7:30 AM.

A private message, not the group chat.

And unlike usual, there wasn’t even an emoticon attached to the end of his message.

Wondering what was wrong, I called him first.

The phone barely rang twice when.

[Brother Si-hwan!]

“Oh, Ha-woon. What’s going on?”

[Brother, this is a total SOS! It’s serious!]

My brow furrowed slightly at Yu Ha-woon’s unusual tone.

Could something strange have happened as soon as he returned home?

“What’s the matter? Did something happen at home? Your parents?”

[Well…… it is about home, and it is about my parents.]

What on earth could have happened to make him speak in such a serious voice?

[Actually, Brother, no one’s home right now!]

“Huh?”

[Mom and Dad thought I wouldn’t be coming home for a while, so they went on a trip to Europe for over a month! So there’s no one at home and it’s a complete disaster!]

“……”

A Europe trip.

I felt quite embarrassed for imagining all sorts of serious scenarios by myself.

After sighing and running my hand through my hair, I managed to ask in my usual voice.

“So your parents went on a trip. Then you’ll have to stay home alone. Isn’t that actually good? You can rest comfortably.”

[That, that’s true too. Um…… Brother, this might sound really selfish!]

“Yeah.”

[The house is too big, so I get too lonely when I’m alone!]

What kind of nonsense is this now?

Just as I was wondering how big his house could be to warrant such words, Yu Ha-woon sent an image through private message.

When I checked the image.

‘……A super-sized penthouse in Hannam-dong, that makes more sense.’

Turns out Yu Ha-woon was the young master of an incredibly wealthy family.

Being alone in a house so large that almost ten of my one-rooms could fit inside would certainly feel quite lonely.

That’s when I started getting an ominous feeling.

[There’s nothing particularly fun to do at home…… and I left most of my stuff at the agency and the 〈ISL〉 dorm, so my room is completely empty too.]

“That’s unfortunate.”

[So, so, Brother Si-hwan! If it wouldn’t be rude, could I stay at your place for a bit during this vacation? If you’re next to me, I won’t be lonely and time will pass much faster! Oh, and we can practice songs in real time too!]

And that feeling became reality in less than a minute.

I sighed deeply again and looked around.

……There wasn’t a single reason to refuse Yu Ha-woon. No one else lived in my place, and I was also feeling a bit lonely after being soaked in the dorm atmosphere.

So I just accepted it without much choice.

“Alright.”

[Really? I can really come?]

“I said yes.”

[I’ll come right now! I wrote down your address when we all gathered at your place last time, so I’ll take a taxi and come right away, Brother!]

“Be careful on your way.”

Just like that, Yu Ha-woon hung up and flew over in a taxi.

“Brother!”

“Don’t run, walk slowly—”

“I bought chicken! Oh, Cer, hi! Long time no see!”

After setting down the bag containing chicken, Yu Ha-woon immediately ran over to Cerberus.

I had told him in advance that Yu Ha-woon was coming, but.

{Master, I’m getting a bit tired of this.}

‘Why are you like that again?’

{I thought I could finally spend some quiet time! Why did this human come again!}

Cerberus was grumbling quite a bit in his mind.

But when Yu Ha-woon soon pulled out smoked salmon treats from his bag, his attitude immediately changed.

“I heard dogs really love these! I wonder if Cer will like them too?”

{Master, this human is really a good human!}

It was a strange phenomenon where someone’s reputation could change instantly just by bringing treats.

I asked while taking out the folding table.

“Do your parents usually travel this often?”

“Since I’ve been living at the agency most of the time, I was rarely home anyway. So they’ve been taking spontaneous trips quite frequently.”

Well, a family wealthy enough to live in a Hannam-dong penthouse could certainly afford to take impromptu trips like this.

And not just nearby, but all the way to Europe.

“Oh right! I couldn’t sleep last night so I was looking around online by myself, you know? And this kind of post was trending on social media, Brother! Look at this!”

Last night…… I went to bed straight at 11 PM, so I don’t know what public opinion suddenly surged.

When Yu Ha-woon handed me his phone, a best post from IdolNet appeared.

[BEST: But guys, I’ve been finding this suspicious for a while, and it appeared on the homepage too + 3328]

I think we’ve been so obsessed with the trainees that we’ve been overlooking one fundamental problem

Usually all survival programs tell you how many people will debut in the final group when they start, right? Even looking at ISL, Season 1 announced in the episode 1 preview that “Who will be the 11 winners” (photo) But strangely, no matter how much I try to remember Season 2, there was no content related to member count at all

……But when I accessed the homepage today, there’s something new at the very end of the main banner that I haven’t seen before, whether it’s a new ad or what

(Homepage main banner screenshot)

Do you see this? 〈Your precious money can become someone’s hope.〉 As far as I remember, this kind of banner wasn’t there until last week?? But it suddenly appeared starting today, so it’s a bit suspicious, with member count & money, what is KNet plotting again…….

After reading the entire post, I returned the phone to Yu Ha-woon.

“It definitely makes sense. We also haven’t been told exactly how many people will debut while filming the program, right?”

“Right, right! So I was also wondering why they’re not telling us how many people will debut? I was thinking about that when exactly this kind of post was on the best board. What do you think, Brother? Do you also get a strange feeling?”

A suddenly appearing banner related to money.

Actually, there’s no special message being conveyed through the banner. Even at this moment, someone’s money sponsorship is helping a trainee survive.

This has been an ongoing truth since the ‘sponsorship’ system officially opened.

Why would the production team suddenly post this kind of advertisement now when there’s not much broadcast time left?

People’s reactions were also divided in various directions.

“There are many opinions saying we’re just overthinking it, and also many opinions saying there might be a way to determine member count related to money.”

“I honestly don’t think KNet would complicate things even with member count, but since they won’t clearly tell us how many people will debut…… it’s become the perfect situation for excessive speculation.”

“Right, I honestly don’t get how they’d do anything with money and member count, but since we haven’t received notice, we naturally end up thinking like this.”

While browsing through posts uploaded to the community, we continued chatting about the next filming and episodes 9 and 10 that were about to air.

Certainly, having gotten used to living with others, time passed really quickly with Yu Ha-woon around.

‘Well, it reminds me of the old Black Hash Entertainment days, so it’s nice.’

Seeing Yu Ha-woon, who never lost his lively atmosphere, reminded me even more of Black Shot’s youngest member.

If my memory hasn’t deteriorated…… I probably roomed with that friend in the dorm too.

It was a few days filled with complex emotions in many ways.

And finally, Friday arrived when 〈ISL 2〉 episode 9 would air.

“Brother, how about chicken again today?”

“I’m fine with it—”

“Then that’s great! Actually, I already ordered it, hehe.”

Oh, and additionally, my diet during vacation was literally exploding with calories.

Yu Ha-woon, who had suddenly become a freeloader, thoughtfully ordered luxurious delivery food every evening without hesitation.

Yesterday was also chicken, the day before was pizza, and today we returned to chicken again.

Still, since I ate, I had to exercise accordingly, so I devoted an hour to core workouts.

After finishing my workout and taking a clean shower, when I came out.

Buzz! Buzz!

Seeing the name on my phone, I had a premonition about the future that was about to unfold.

“Oh, Ha-ru.”

[Brother, have you been doing well?]

“I’ve been doing well. How about you, Ha-ru?”

[I’ve also been resting well, seeing my parents’ faces after a long time. Oh, it’s not a big deal but.]

“Yeah.”

[Today’s the broadcast day, right? I was wondering if we could watch it together at your place like last time……]

Yu Ha-woon, who had been quietly eavesdropping on my call from the side, rushed over as soon as Chae Ha-ru’s name came up.

“Brother Ha-ru!”

[Oh, is that Ha-woon? Is Ha-woon at your place right now too?]

“……He ended up staying here during vacation.”

“Brother Ha-ru! Come watch today’s broadcast with us! I already ordered chicken.”

[Boneless by any chance?]

“Of course!”

[I’ll come right now.]