Chapter 277: Imperfect Memories (2)
The practice room was in the middle of a vocal lesson.
A satisfied smile appeared on Teacher Yoo Minseo's face.
The moment I finished singing a verse, gentle praise followed.
"You've improved a lot compared to the last lesson. Your vocal projection is much cleaner."
"Thank you."
Compared to powerhouse vocalists like Seo Ian and Jin Sehyun, I still thought my vocal skills were lacking.
To begin with, my natural vocal range wasn't as wide as theirs, nor was my vocal foundation as solid.
It was the same objective self-assessment I'd maintained ever since the Stardust Project, but....
Now, I had gained a little confidence.
There really wasn't anything that couldn't be achieved through practice.
Maybe it would've been different for Do Seohan on Day 0 of regression, but Do Seohan in his third year as an official member of Stardust had improved far more than I'd expected.
Holding the lyrics sheet for <Your Dust>, I asked Teacher Yoo Minseo,
"I've been thinking about it.... Wouldn't it be okay if I added a little vibrato to that part just now?"
"Sure, try it once."
It had been a long time since we'd performed our fan song <Your Dust> in front of Dusty.
More than the performance itself, this was a song where the vocals mattered much more.
Since it was a meaningful song for both the members and the fans, we were polishing the entire track again to refine all the vocal details.
4 to 7, I draw you every day
When we imagine the blue star, We walk
Even if it's a little far away, we can make it
We can make it—
I added a slight vibrato to make it—.
Teacher Yoo Minseo nodded with satisfaction.
"Mm. That's good."
"It feels more emotional this way, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Let's keep it like that."
Once the vocal lesson ended, there would be a concert meeting followed by choreography practice.
We'd never really had time to rest, but now that we were preparing for the concert, it was even worse.
Nothing might be visible to the outside world, but we were enduring an intense schedule behind the scenes.
Only after another full rotation of the clock's hands did I finally grab my water bottle and leave the vocal room.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"See you again next week!"
One-on-one private lessons always felt like they drained my soul completely.
I stepped into the hallway while soothing my dry throat with water, and happened to run into Jin Sehyun, who had just finished choreography practice.
"Hyung, are you done with your lesson?"
"Yeah. The meeting starts at three, right? You're heading upstairs now?"
"We've still got a little time."
Jin Sehyun smiled and stopped where he was.
Come to think of it...
It had already been two days.
Since the slightly awkward atmosphere during the last meeting, neither of us had brought it up again.
"Go ahead first. I'm going to grab some coffee."
"Okay."
I was simply treating him the same as always.
But then—
"Oh, right. Seohan."
Jin Sehyun suddenly called my name.
I had been about to turn around and leave when I stopped and looked back, tilting my head.
"Hm?"
"I've got something I want to talk to you about for a second...."
"What is it?"
Jin Sehyun looked a little gloomy.
Just like he had in the meeting room that day, his eyes wandered uneasily.
After fidgeting with his lower lip for quite some time, he finally spoke.
"It might sound a little strange... um."
"Okay."
"I had a really unsettling dream the other day."
"Hyung... are you into shamanism or something...?"
At my comment, Jin Sehyun let out an incredulous laugh.
"It's not like that."
If it were someone else, maybe.
But I never thought Jin Sehyun would believe in things like that.
Although bewildered, I nodded anyway.
"What kind of dream was it?"
"Well...."
Jin Sehyun slowly shifted his eyes before smiling awkwardly.
Perhaps he wasn't comfortable telling me every detail, because he gave a rather vague answer.
"A dream where you died."
Ah.
"It might sound like complete nonsense, but... in the dream, you got into an accident, were hospitalized, and I met your older brother in the surgery waiting room. It was so vivid... it just left me feeling uneasy. So, just in case, I'm telling you to be careful for a while. There's no harm in taking a dream seriously, right?"
"Mm...."
I pressed my lips together, wondering how I should react.
It wasn't entirely shocking.
After all, there had already been precedents with Do Seojun and Ha Junseo.
Just as Kim Woochan had said—
It was probably just another strange phenomenon caused by the collision of data from two parallel universes.
Since the memories only resurfaced imperfectly in the form of dreams, no one would seriously believe them anyway.
But then—
"Why aren't you surprised?"
"Huh?"
Jin Sehyun tilted his head as he looked at me.
"...You're awfully calm."
"It was just a stupid dream."
If Do Seojun hadn't already told me something similar beforehand, I would've become seriously worried immediately.
That was who I was.
That was the Do Seohan Jin Sehyun knew.
Yet...
I'd accepted it far too calmly.
"The Do Seohan I know would've been a lot more scared."
Ah, this is bad.
This guy was way too perceptive.
Belatedly, I blinked rapidly and pretended to be startled.
"Gasp...."
"......"
"I-I'm really surprised."
"What are you doing?"
It didn't fool him in the slightest.
"I've thought it over carefully, and I think parallel universes actually exist."
That evening.
I'd brushed off Jin Sehyun's dream as nothing more than a meaningless nightmare and tried my best to move on naturally....
But somehow, over the course of the evening, his suspicion had turned into complete conviction.
Sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, Jin Sehyun slowly stroked his chin.
"Parallel universes are a theory that's scientifically plausible in the first place."
"That's right, that's right. It's our universe lore~."
"Ah, that's not what I mean."
Seo Haim absentmindedly munched on chocolate cookies.
Unlike him, Jin Sehyun wore an unusually serious expression.
"Hey, listen. I had a really disturbing dream two days ago."
"The one where Seohan dies? Why would you kill someone with such a bright future~?"
"No. I asked Junseo-hyung, and he had a really similar dream. This... there's definitely something going on."
I had always thought he was the last person who would believe something like this.
Apparently, the subject of dreams had come up while he was talking with Ha Junseo.
After comparing several details, they'd realized the dreams matched to an unbelievable degree.
Until then, he'd dismissed it as just a weird dream.
But because the two dreams overlapped so much, it had apparently sent chills down his spine.
Ha Junseo shivered slightly as he muttered,
"The dreams connect together in such an unsettling way...."
"Exactly. I don't even know why Lee Junhyeok suddenly appeared there, but he showed up in my dream too."
"I wonder how Junhyeok-hyung's doing these days...?"
"He'd survive just fine even if you abandoned him on a deserted island. He'd probably just be bored because there'd be no one to fight."
Cha Seongbin casually muttered as he snatched one of Seo Haim's cookies.
Seo Haim shot him a glare and complained.
"Hey! Get one from the fridge!"
"I bought these."
"...You bought them?"
"I can't believe you."
At that moment, I felt an obvious gaze on the back of my head.
I swallowed hard before turning around.
It was Jin Sehyun.
"Seohan, do you think parallel universes exist?"
"Out of nowhere...?"
"Well, of course it's a bit rude to assume this in front of you.... But there could be a universe where Lee Junhyeok is a member of Stardust. Like a parallel universe."
"That's horrifying."
Seo Haim recoiled in horror as he responded.
The only two people who actually knew the contents of those dreams and could relate were Jin Sehyun and Ha Junseo.
Ha Junseo frowned and added,
"But Kang Siwoo wasn't there in the first place."
"Then were you the leader, hyung?"
"Yeah. I was the leader."
"Exactly. A doomed universe.... It's basically an apocalypse."
Jin Sehyun clicked his tongue and muttered quietly.
Hearing that, Ha Junseo blinked at him.
"What's wrong with me being the leader?!"
"Think about it carefully. Imagine how that would've gone."
"It's still a hundred times better than Cha Seongbin being the leader...."
"Haim, I'm taking your cookies away~."
Cha Seongbin and Seo Haim's nonsense helped bury the conversation for now...
But it would be a problem if Jin Sehyun kept digging this deeply.
When it came to reading situations, that hyung's instincts were frighteningly sharp.
Fortunately, he still hadn't uttered the word 'regression.'
It seemed even he considered that possibility far too absurd.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat lightly before asking,
"What kind of dream was it exactly? Explain it in detail."
"You were hospitalized and on the verge of dying."
"So it's the legend of Ghost Do Seohan?"
"I guess you could put it that way."
Ha Junseo abruptly turned toward Jin Sehyun.
"Sehyun, do ghosts actually exist?"
"That's impossible."
Even now, he drew the line there.
"Parallel universes haven't been fully proven scientifically yet, but ghosts are genuinely impossible. To begin with, I don't even know how they'd stabilize their horizon coordinate system.... Seohan, how did you do it?"
"...What?"
My head was starting to spin.
Letting out a sigh, I completely denied Jin Sehyun's theory.
"I'm telling you, it was just a stupid dream."
"No matter how I look at it, we've all been bewitched by this guy...."
"Our maknae may be cute, but not that enchanting."
Seo Haim shrugged as though the whole thing was ridiculous.
Meanwhile, Jin Sehyun was busily poking at my body.
"Not an astral body...."
"What?"
"Not a gas either."
Please...
Can someone change the subject?
Just then, while I was desperately staring at my phone to hide how obviously my eyes were trembling—
Ding.
A pleasant chime echoed through the dorm, followed by the arrival of a welcome face.
Manager Lee Jaeyoon stepped inside with perfect timing.
Frowning, I hurriedly called out to him.
"Manager-hyung, please save me...."
Of all people, I'd gotten caught by the most persistent one.
Jin Sehyun was still holding onto my arm with no intention of letting go.
"So the theory that Do Seohan is actually a hamster was true."
"I told you, he's a ghost~."
"Why are you all talking about ghosts in broad daylight?"
"Manager! Please get these people away from me."
Manager Lee Jaeyoon clicked his tongue before clapping loudly to get everyone's attention.
"I came to tell you some huge news. Seriously, you're all going to freak out."
"What is it?"
Jin Sehyun finally let go of my hand as he asked.
"You all know James Linden, right?"
"...What?"
"We got an offer from him. He wants to collaborate with you."
James Linden.
A famous American pop singer whose name appeared on the Billboard charts as casually as eating a meal.
Someone like him...
Wanted to collaborate with us?
"They reached out to us first?"
I swallowed hard before speaking.
"Are you serious?"