It was Kang Ichae.
At the same time, things got busy below. The sound of trainees scrambling and running echoed up as they recognized his voice.
Kang Ichae glanced briefly down the stairs, then looked back at me.
He wore tight black slacks and a round-neck cropped short-sleeve top that connected to the pants. A black choker was wrapped around his neck—it felt too simple to be a full stage outfit.
"You came to see the funny, cheerful rapper, huh?"
Damn, good ears.
Kang Ichae, chewing gum with that thug-like attitude, stepped up and placed one foot on the stair, tightening the laces on his boots.
"Hyung, Ichae has sharp instincts."
"...Huh?"
I casually responded, biting the inside of my cheek to hide my tension.
Sweat trickled down my back, but my complexion was covered up well with makeup.
"But I'm really uneasy right now."
I thought I might be able to talk my way out of it, but then Kang Ichae thudded the toe of his boot on the floor and gave me a loose smirk.
"Go home."
"...."
First Min Jiheon, now him. Why was everyone telling me to go home?
"Don't push yourself just to get one minute of screen time. If you're worried about controversy, you know… like when someone misses the class trip and they stick a passport photo next to the group pic? I'll ask the staff to Photoshop you in."
"Have you even been on a school trip?"
"Agh, right in the gut. Then we'll say Min Jiheon had an extended shoot for a variety show."
In this age of information, that kind of lie wouldn't stand for long if someone just looked it up.
I let out a dry laugh, ready to dismiss him—but the look in Kang Ichae's eyes wasn't casual.
His gaze was intense, piercing.
"You know you can see the audience from the stage, right?"
...If I didn't show up, even being in the same group wouldn't stop him from tearing me apart.
I quickly opened my mouth.
"I'll talk to our manager."
"Ooh, very good."
Only then did he flash a bright smile.
"It sucks a little 'cause I worked hard on this stage. But hey, you'll get to see more of my performances anyway, right?"
With that, he said he had to return to the green room and walked off, adding a soft "I trust you" before disappearing.
I leaned against the wall, watching his back as he left.
'Go home, my ass.'
My personal healer had just patched me up. There's no way I came all this way just to leave.
At the very least, I was going to stay and see how the audience reacted.
After catching my breath a few times, I exited the stairwell and headed back to the venue.
"Seo Hoyun!"
"Yeah?"
"…You okay?"
I nodded and sat down.
To the right of the stage, special seats had been arranged.
Not long after, the trainees' competition began.
[I want to take you, take you, make you mine
I wanna catch you]
"...."
And their stage… was basically elementary school talent show level.
[Your body is so beautiful
Ooh Beautiful Girl]
"Wow..."
"…Mm."
Even our members, who were initially clapping and cheering, slowly went quiet.
'Honestly, the audience should be paid to watch this.'
Now it made sense why the mentors' performance was included.
To shock the trainees, catch the viewers' attention, and restore the program's credibility all at once.
[Your face is so pretty
Ooh Beautiful Girl]
Kim Seonghyeon muttered, uncharacteristically cold.
"Yeah… that was enough to make someone cry."
"...."
Next to him, Jang Dajun scratched his arm awkwardly.
'Kim Heeyoung really dodged a bullet with this one.'
Not sure if it was intentional, but still.
Trying to hide the tremble in my fingers from the pain, I just kept clapping nonstop. I could still hang in there—for now.
[Now, let's take a look at the special stage our mentors prepared for the trainees!]
The MC introduced the mentors' performance after the trainees' acts had ended.
"Whoa!! Ichae-hyung's coming out!"
The members of THE DAWN cheered in excitement.
'Sorry, Kang Ichae.'
Like I'd ever listened to what anyone told me anyway.
The stage, styled like an abandoned construction site, swirled with deep blue and red lighting.
A whistling sound echoed as the title "DICE" appeared on screen.
"…Oh!"
At the center, someone sat perched on broken concrete, cap pulled low over his face.
Underneath a rider jacket, a cropped tee revealed a flash of well-defined abs.
In front of the stage, six backup dancers lined up on either side, waving flags boldly emblazoned with THE DAWN's logo.
And leading the mentor performance—was none other than Kang Ichae.
"Kang Ichae…! Damn, this guy is…!!"
"Dude, your tone—also, where's the 'hyung'?"
Kim Seonghyeon clamped a hand over Jang Dajun's mouth, but couldn't take his eyes off the stage.
The backup dancers wore pristine white uniforms, which made the all-black Kang Ichae stand out even more.
[Screeeeeech!]
Bathed in a spotlight, he took off his cap and tossed it aside, raising one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
[Did you throw the dice?]
I'd heard he handled the lyrics, composition, and even the producing for this performance.
Under the blaring electric guitar came a steady layer of drums.
[Wandered like a madman and barely found it
Second Chance won't come to anyone
Can't deny it—my heart's racing]
The song had Kang Ichae's preferences written all over it, and yet the melody clung to your ears with an addictive pull.
"Damn…"
I'd only heard a few seconds, but it was already so striking I momentarily forgot I was even in pain.
[Told you, we can never leave this scheme
This game was set up just for you]
It was a joint mentor stage, but Ichae's lines were filled with lyrics and motifs from songs THE DAWN had released up to now.
[Perhaps I was too kind
But by now, you should've figured it out
You float up and then crash down instantly]
Whether it was affection or a threat to devour anyone bold enough to challenge him—it could be interpreted both ways.
'God, this is comforting.'
Especially after watching those trainee performances earlier.
Kang Ichae, who'd been rapping fiercely with a bit of arrogance, naturally stepped back when the next mentor's part began.
[Still don't get it even after all this?
Do you want me to hug you now?
Catch your breath, slow it down
Do you want me to repeat?]
From there, it was the other mentors' turns.
Still, no one shone on that stage the way Kang Ichae did.
[Perhaps I was too kind]
You could tell he was dominating just by watching.
[This déjà vu I feel
It's no coincidence—it's a trap]
As his part came back around, Kang Ichae rested one heavy boot on top of a speaker.
[I want to paint you in my color]
Then, shrugging one side of his leather jacket down, he rolled his hips into a wave.
[Can I bite you little?]
A wave of screams erupted from the audience.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
People waved their hands, shrieked, and some were even furiously tapping on the voting devices despite it being a mentor performance, shouting that they were picking Kang Ichae.
'Insane.'
He went wild on stage like a madman set loose.
The trainees sitting in the reserved seats were all slack-jawed, faces frozen in shock.
That overwhelming skill and an aura that gripped everyone in an instant.
'I probably didn't even need to stay.'
He was clearly someone who could handle himself. I shouldn't have forced myself to stay.
I twisted my lips, trying to suppress a rising cough, while clenching my fists so hard to stay conscious that my nails dug deep into my palms.
[This isn't a joke—it's a warning]
Then, at that very moment, my eyes locked with Kang Ichae's.
"KyaaAAAH!!"
His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
And then I realized it.
That guy…
"...Whoa."
He was pissed.
The performance carried on without a hitch, but his glare screamed, 'Are you seriously out of your mind?'
In just that short moment, that health-freak bastard had figured out exactly how much worse I'd gotten.
[I want to paint you in my color]
Sure, he quickly adjusted his expression and smiled while pulling the mic closer to his mouth—but his eyes stayed cold.
[I've got no time left to protect you]
The surging melody dropped sharply as the lyrics ended, signaling the song's close.
The members were swept up in the afterglow of the performance, faces flushed with awe.
"Whoa, hyung's facial acting is crazy~!!"
"For a second there, it was terrifying~!!"
"...."
They were full of praise, saying how Kang Ichae's expression matched the intensity of the stage perfectly.
'This is bad.'
Something told me this wasn't going to blow over easily. I made up my mind to get out of there before I bumped into Kang Ichae again.
I figured I'd be better off dealing with everything back at the dorm.
"I'm just going to talk to the manager for a bit."
"Oh, okay!"
My reaction shots for the broadcast had all been filmed anyway, so I told Seong Ji-won and quietly got up, heading into the hallway.
"…Huh?"
That's when the painfully sharpened senses in my nose picked up a strong metallic smell.
I reflexively raised a hand to cover my nose—but blood still splattered through my fingers.
"What the…?"
It was a volume of blood I'd never seen before.
Zzzzzzzt…!
Then came a chilling high-pitched ringing in my ears.
I brushed my ear with my elbow—only to find it smeared with blood.
Cursing, I hastily pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against my face, ducking into the emergency stairwell.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Ding…
Ding…—
———
—....
A flood of warning messages appeared, then all vanished in an instant.
"Urgh…!"
A wave of nausea hit me like a truck.
SKREEEEEEEEEEE—!!
A screech pierced my eardrums.
With a painfully familiar sensation, the nightmare that once consumed my nights unfolded before me all over again.
The day I wished I could forget—my car accident.
Ding!
[E R R O R]
CRAAAASH!!
"...!!"
—A hot gush of blood poured out from my chest.