I returned to the dorm after finishing a fruitless meeting with Chungryeo.

It was already 3 AM in the morning. Everyone was obviously sleeping.

'...I have to get up at 8 tomorrow.'

I had to go to sleep right away. I reduced the sound of my footsteps and quickly went to my room.

And then I got startled.

"...!"

"Huh..."

It was because Lee Sejin was confined to his bed while staring at his phone. The light leaked from the phone screen and illuminated Lee Sejin's damp face.

'...He's probably watching Netflix.'

I was pretty embarrassed for getting startled.

I deliberately made the sounds of my footsteps more heard and walked past the room. It was to have more time to get organized.

'I'll wash up first and change my clothes.'

After I took a shower in the bathroom, Lee Sejin was invisible, covered under the blanket that was pulled over his head.

He was also embarrassed.

'...Let's sleep.'

I lay down on my bed. I didn't have to use earplugs at this late hour. However, it wasn't long before that I regretted not using them.

"...Khuk"

It was because of the dull sound of crying next to me.

No matter who heard it, the crying sounded like someone's face was buried in a pillow under blankets.

'I'm going insane.'

I seriously contemplated whether to put on earplugs and lie back down again, but eventually got up and approached the bed next to me.

I patted the blanket.

"Hyung. Is something wrong?"

"...!!"

The blanket moved and there was a sound of coughing.

'If there were tears, runny nose, and even saliva...'

Even without seeing it, it looked like he didn't want anyone to see, so I waited with my arms crossed.

"...Didn't you, sob, wear earplugs?"

"I didn't think I would need to wear them at this time of the night."

There was a sound of tossing and turning again. Then Lee Sejin's voice became calmer close to normal.

"...Go to sleep. It's not a big deal."

"..."

That would mean that something was going on.

At that moment, a warning alarm, that had faded until now, rang in my head.

"...Hyung, it's not a drug problem, is it?"

"Are you crazy?"

Hmm, I guess not.

I checked Lee Sejin, who came out from the blanket appalled and went back to my bed.

Even in the dark, Lee Sejin's face turned red fumingly.

"Do I look like a drug addict?"

"No... It's just, I met Chungryeo sunbae-nim today and heard a story about someone who got hooked on drugs. I asked because I suddenly thought of that."

"..."

Lee Sejin must have recalled some specific examples of those kinds of incidents and had an uncomfortable look on his face.

"...By any off chance, it was best to not get involved in anything like that. You too, it's better to not have any ties with weird people."

"I understand."

I shrugged my shoulders and covered myself with the blanket.

'It has become ambiguous to ask more.'

It seemed like Lee Sejin has been trying to grow in his own way, so if there was a really big problem then he would talk.

But in case it wasn't like that, let's say this.

"Hyung."

"What?"

"You can talk if you're having a hard time."

"...Okay."

"To Chungwoo hyung."

"...Hey!"

I waved my hand and lay down in a straight position. And I fell asleep in an instant.

* * *

As the comeback approached, the fatigue began to increase because of the practice and the activity schedule happening at the same time.

"Still, this is better than during the debut album."

"I think so too."

Compared to when we had to prepare two title songs in a month, this was relatively better so it was still favorable within the group.

It was certainly bearable to live since I had at least some time to sleep.

'There's also time to monitor.'

I checked the current flow of responses with my smartphone.

Well, until a few days ago, fans were developing theories by comparing the recently released concept photos and album details.

...The fans were crying about details like this.

And today, the second concept photo was released.

It was of TeStar wearing classic winter school uniforms. There was a connection with the last album, but the atmosphere was clearly different.

It wasn't because the classroom in the background was simply old or destroyed, but because it was covered with graffiti that shined in fluorescent light.

In addition, the material of the classroom walls visible beyond the graffiti was not the usual ivory color, but a rusty chrome structure.

In addition, some members were carrying gas masks or unique mechanical equipment. Even the equipment gleamed in neon light.

It was dystopic cyberpunk themed.

Fans were happy without having to manage public opinion.

'I think my worries about the game have almost disappeared.'

In fact, this concept photo had a lot of similarities with the trailer but maybe because I had a good feeling about this that a lot of my foreboding was gone.

Also, the overall response was good in most Internet communities, not necessarily in places where only fans gathered.

Some people tried to change public opinion somehow but to no avail.

It mostly ended like this.

'That's a pity.'

I turned off the posts while smiling.

"Mo-moondae, did... did you check the Internet?"

"Yeah, I checked the reaction to the newly uploaded concept photo."

"I-I see."

Seon Ahyun did not bother to ask what public opinion was like. I had heard him say that he was training himself to not care too much about what other people thought of him.

It seems like the new doctor was a good fit since Seon Ahyun's face was bright these days.

'Did he say he'll start correcting his pronunciation after this promotion?'

Well, I hope it goes well.

"I-it was really hot when we took the pictures."

As soon as Seon Ahyun started to say that, cries of agreement erupted here and there.

"That's right!"

"Because of the abnormal heatwave in early autumn, there was a huge shortage of air conditioning!"

"..."

Thank you for speaking in my place.

"But Sejin's complexion didn't change colors at all when we took the pictures. That's amazing."

"It's cool you're an actor!"

"That's right."

Lee Sejin, who received a sudden compliment, almost spewed the water he was drinking, but soon answered quietly.

"...Thank you."

"I'm just saying that you did a good job."

Ryu Chungwoo smiled and resumed stretching.

I was quite used to seeing Lee Sejin being rescued in this way for not being able to keep up with the pace when learning new choreography.

'Well, it's not like something not true was being talked about.'

Once content that needed acting was included Lee Sejin's skills were overpowering in most cases.

Next to him, Keun Sejin grumbled playfully.

"That's too much~ Let's not forget about this Sejin here, everyone. I did a good job, too!"

"Haha!"

"Yujin, I guess you don't have a soul."

"I can't lie. Ack!"

Keun Sejin lightly put Cha Yujin in a headlock and then let go with a giggle. Lee Sejin quickly turned his head.

'The relationship between those two still keeps being ambiguous.'

It didn't seem like they would fight with each other, it was just... the vibe was like people who didn't want to see each other because they didn't like each other.

"Okay, let's start practicing again~"

"Yes!"

After a short break, the choreography started again.

"Pay attention to your feet~"

"This way~"

The members repeated the advice the choreographer had given and mimicked the voice while dancing to the chorus. Everyone had a hard time holding back their laughter because of this and the corners of their lips kept going up.

However, Lee Sejin still seemed to struggle to follow along. He looked in the mirror with his mouth shut.

'It's understandable.'

His dance stat was still at level D+.

It would be difficult for someone who was not very talented in dancing in the first place to pass that stage in a short period of time because jumping up one level of the alphabet meant that your whole classification would also change.

'I think his stat can rise soon if he keeps going like this.'

I checked Lee Sejin's status window.

His singing stat was already at C. At first, it was higher than the dance stat, so it seems like his stats have risen relatively quickly.

Lee Sejin's potential dance stat was B, so if he kept going until C, it would go up more.

'And that attribute of his.'

It was pretty good.

It had a simple name and description but seemed to be quite versatile. Even I would probably keep it if it appeared to me

'Come to think of it, I should organize my status window.'

I brought up my status window.

It was a splendid feat brought about by achieving up to 100 performance achievements and 5,000 practice achievements.

The pop-up that appeared when I performed well was updated a couple more times and I received additional stats.

In this process, I was allowed to draw an attribute.

I abandoned that right away. Damn it.

Anyway, even without that, I had a lot gathered.

'...Our debut activities were tough.'

I wanted to have the rewards for not being able to sleep during our debut. However, this was not the most surprising thing.

...The most surprising thing was that the talent stat had naturally increased.

...I'm guessing that W Live and the fan signing events affected it.

Of course, other than Lee Sejin and I, most of the members had naturally increased their stats, but first...

"Moondae, stop thinking about other things~"

"..."

I immediately stopped thinking when Keun Sejin called my name.

'Let's focus on the practice first.'

And after a moment, the last instrumental part was over.

Keun Sejin wiped away his sweat and asked out of courtesy.

"Phew, should we start from the beginning?"

"Okay."

"Yes!"

Keun Sejin had raised his A- dance stat to A, and the speed at which he picked up the choreography was noticeably faster.

'I'm envious.'

The moment I thought about putting all my remaining points into the dance stat...

...Lee Sejin fell down to the floor during the opening part of the choreography.

"...Ugh!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fin..."

Lee Sejin paused as he tried to get up.

Then he grabbed his ankle as he got down and bit his mouth.

...I had a bad feeling about this.

//TN: I wanted to expand on how the status abnormality worked and about Chungryeo's case to those who didn't quite catch it since the explanation was quite unclear in the past chapters. Even I had to reread multiple times to finally understand.

//Basically according to Chungryeo: the number of status abnormality tasks = how many years you regressed + first regression. (explained in chapter 93 by CR himself) This is because one status abnormality time limit is 1 year.

//For example, Moondae went back in time 3 years, so he has 4 tasks when 1 regression is added to the sum. He has already fulfilled 2 tasks.

//In Chungryeo's case, he regressed for the first time one year before the present time and went back to the time before he debuted, and since VTIC had been active for 7 years he must have gone back in time 7 years at least. Which would mean that he had at least 8 status abnormalities. (Chapter 102)

//TLDR: number of status abnormalities = how many years you traveled to the past + 1. Chungryeo = at least 8 tasks, Moondae = 4 tasks. The translation of ch93 where this is explained is edited to be more comprehensible.