My first day in the Nova-X dorm had passed in a haze of panic. That night I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Not because of fear or nerves, but because of—
"Grrrhhhhh…"
I snapped my eyes wide open, glaring up at the ceiling. There was no way I could fall asleep with that sawmill of snores echoing around me.
Men. Idol or not, at the end of the day, they are still men.
I could not exactly blame them. After all, they had just survived a long day of practice, and everyone was exhausted. Even I sometimes snored when my body had drained every last drop of energy and collapsed into a deep sleep.
According to the schedule Manager Park had sent, tomorrow Nova-X had a meeting to discuss the concept for their upcoming Inkigayo stage. If I stayed awake all night, I would be staggering about like a zombie. Resigned, I slipped in my earphones.
I had always had the habit of falling asleep to rock music. To anyone else it might sound like noise, but to me it was the perfect lullaby.
I opened Spotify, only to find my recommendation list filled with mellow ballads. I had forgotten—I had switched phones with Eunwoo. Poor kid was probably pulling his hair out over my account by now.
Somewhere else, in room 674 of Tonari Hospital, Eunwoo jerked upright in bed. He ripped out his earphones and hurled them onto the mattress, eyes wide with horror. The sound still leaked faintly from the buds, an onslaught of guitars, pounding drums, and a voice screaming like a demon from hell.
"Satan is real! Satan is real!"
"Demon…" Eunwoo muttered, aghast. "She has become a demon."
Back in the seventh-floor dorm of Nova-X, I smirked at the thought of him panicking. Serves him right.
Fine, I would let my ears rest tonight.
I scrolled through his recommendations until my finger landed on Nova-X.
Barely twenty thousand monthly listeners. Pathetic for a group that had already debuted for two years. Even my Spotify numbers were a little higher than theirs.
It was not as if their songs were terrible. Some were quite catchy. So why had they failed to take off? Where was the problem? Was no one in this company aware of the holes in their strategy?
I tapped on the track that had left the strongest impression on me, one I often used for vocal practice, since Eunwoo had a lot of lines in it that showed off his tone.
Somnium. Rarely did K-pop groups use Latin titles, but this one suited perfectly. The melody pulled the listener into a hazy, dreamlike state.
Zero had composed it himself, then tucked it away as a b-side. When I learned that, I was honestly surprised. His public image was that of a sharp-edged, rebellious rapper, yet he was capable of writing lyrics and melodies so profound, so dreamlike.
Slowly, I let my eyes close, the music carrying me away. I drifted into a dream where I floated along ocean currents. Cool water cradled me. Schools of fish darted through the endless blue. A whale breached high above the surface, showering spray before sinking again.
Another shape rose, looming larger. Wait—that was no whale. A giant elephant surfaced, trunk raised, blasting a fountain of water right into my face.
"Barrr!"
I jolted awake at the thunderous bellow. Morning sunlight poured through the curtains, hot against my skin.
Panting, I tried to steady my breath, willing the nightmare to fade.
The members were still sound asleep. I should take the chance to wash up before they stirred.
Grabbing my toiletries bag, I tiptoed toward the bathroom.
The left bunk belonged to Daeho and Jax. On the other side must be the two older members.
Barrr!
The instant my gaze landed on Zero's bed, the elephant greeted me once more, trunk raised in salute.
I whipped my head away, eyes wide, staring straight ahead. Calm down. It was just a physiological reaction. Nothing at all.
I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Only then did my shoulders loosen, a shaky sigh escaping my lips.
It had only been a single day, and already this was happening. Three more months of this… how was I supposed to survive?
The thought alone made my body sag with weariness.
I let out a heavy breath, stripped off my shirt, and began to shower.
When I had dried off, I bound my chest tightly, flattening every curve I could.
Not that there was much curve to begin with.
Damn it. I bit my lip, swallowing down the sting of tears threatening to fall.
"Eunwoo!"
A sudden pounding rattled the door, along with Daeho's urgent voice.
"Hurry up, it's about to come!"
I blinked, almost dropping my toiletries bag at that ambiguous remark.
What… about to come?
"Hurry!" Daeho urgent.
"Almost done." I called back, pushed away my inappropriate thoughts.
Maybe he just needed to take a dump. Living with men was such a nuisance.
I tightened the bandages around my chest, bouncing lightly to test if they would hold. Satisfied, I packed up my things and tugged my shirt on.
The moment I opened the door, Daeho barreled inside, muttering as he passed me.
"What's with locking the door all of a sudden?"
I could only give him a sheepish smile and slip out. By then, everyone was already up. With only one bathroom, they had resorted to brushing their teeth over the kitchen sink.
"Hyung, move a little!" Zero elbowed Sihoon in the cramped kitchenette.
"Where exactly do you see space?" Sihoon growled, toothbrush clamped between his teeth.
Jax darted past me to bang on the door. "Hyung, I need to go too!"
"Just do it outside." Daeho barked back.
Caught in the whirlwind of chaos, all I could do was let out a weak, helpless laugh.
This was the world I would be living in for the next three months. Like it or not, I would have to get used to it.
***