translation by mourningmoor
It’s just a room.
We’ve been sharing one room with five people until now, and now we’re splitting into two or three people per room, but they’re acting like their lives depend on deciding who shares with whom.
Jaewon chose the game, and everyone approached it with a sense of determination.
In the end, the winner was decided by a kart racing game.
“Yes! I won!”
Roa jumped up and down, cheering.
Jaewon stepped forward with a triumphant smile.
“Yes! Roa-hyung and I are taking the room with two beds.”
But Roa shook his head vigorously.
“Sorry, but no way.”
Roa, nudging Jaewon aside, stood close to Siu and looked at me.
“I’ll be sharing the room with three beds with Ichan-hyungnim and Siu-hyungnim.”
It was the most obvious outcome.
The youngest hadn’t cried at night since reconciling with his mom. But he still crawled into my bed, and sometimes even invaded Roa’s bed.
Moreover, his sleep-talking was so severe that he would call out names until Roa responded, often waking me and Siu up.
Even if I had won first place, I would’ve made the same choice.
“Ah, hyung.”
Jaewon stomped his feet and tried to throw a tantrum, but it didn’t work.
“Good job.”
Roa, smiling brightly, waved his hand and headed to the room with Siu. Siu, looking troubled, glanced back.
“But… aren’t we in the middle of an N Live broadcast?”
“Right?”
Ah, right?
No wonder they were acting so casually—they had forgotten they were live.
Well, even if they had remembered, their actions wouldn’t have changed much. Jaewon might’ve whined a bit more to the Filaments, though.
Sure enough, as soon as they realized they were live, the youngest made a pitiful face at the camera.
“Sniff, Filaments. These people are making me share a room with Hanjoon-hyung. Hanjoon-hyung snores louder than thunder.”
Roa scolded Jaewon, who was sniffling.
“Whining won’t help. You lost the game you suggested. The Filaments know it too.”
Jaewon, with his eyes drooping, pouted and sniffled. He put on a pitiful expression, but there was no room for excuses.
And then there was Hanjoon. Even though the game had ended a while ago, he still hadn’t recovered from the shock of defeat. His hands trembled as he gripped the game controller, and he immediately turned his anger toward me.
“Hey, Kang Ichan. You deliberately shot a missile at me, didn’t you?”
Hanjoon, who had been in first place the entire time, was hit by my missile and barely crossed the finish line in second place.
“Right before the finish line.”
“Isn’t that obvious? If you had taken first place, I’d be living in hell.”
It was a nerve-wracking moment. If that last missile had missed, I would’ve been stuck sharing a room with Hanjoon.
The moment the last missile flipped Hanjoon’s kart, I felt so much joy that I almost screamed. I guess I forgot we were live at that moment too.
Thinking about it now, it’s a bit embarrassing.
The Grand Mage of the 9th Circle, forgetting all dignity, getting excited in front of 210,000 Filaments over a room.
But the result was good, so it’s all good. Yeah, let’s think of it that way.
At least I’ll be able to sleep peacefully now.
“Let’s accept the results. The Filaments are watching.”
* * *
We dragged our suitcases into the room.
The room had one bunk bed and one regular bed, along with a bathroom and a dressing room.
“Ichan-hyungnim, you should take the single bed, right?”
At Roa’s words, Siu nodded.
Since I’m the leader, it’s only right for me to have my own bed, so the two of them sat me down on the bed. Then, they decided who would take the top bunk.
“You sleep on the bottom bunk. It’d be bad if the main dancer got hurt climbing up and down.”
“It’s fine. Whatever you’re comfortable with…”
“No. I’ve always wanted to sleep on the top bunk.”
“Then… let’s switch every once in a while.”
“Yeah. That works.”
In the other room, they were fighting over who would sleep by the window, but our room’s bed assignments ended peacefully.
“The new bed feels nice, right?”
Roa, sitting on the bed, smiled brightly. It seemed like all the furniture had been replaced with new ones when we moved. The living room sofa and TV were all new too.
“Yeah. Having a dressing room in the room is great too. We don’t have to leave clothes in the living room anymore.”
Siu, smiling at Roa, opened his suitcase and took out his clothes. Our room had already finished dividing the dressing room.
Fortunately, since the members in our room weren’t too greedy about clothes, the dressing room was quite spacious.
“I feel bad saying this to Jaewon and Hanjoon-hyungnim, but I think our roommates are pretty good.”
No one denied Roa’s awkwardly spoken words.
With the quiet Siu and the always calm Roa, it felt like a break in the middle of a war.
“Let’s all tidy up a bit and go to bed early.”
After just taking out my clothes, I pushed my suitcase into the dressing room.
Starting tomorrow, it’s back to the grind.
“We have to leave early tomorrow for Showbox.”
After appearing on MBS’s Showbox, we have to practice for the PMA stage in the evening. Director Seokho has been sharpening his knives, determined to create a performance that will stand out on the PMA stage, known for its flashy productions.
“Roa, let’s do a hot compress on your ankle before bed. You need to recover quickly if you’re doing the PMA opening.”
“Yes.”
Everyone’s been worried about Roa, who recently sprained his ankle. The main dancer’s injury has a big impact on the team’s morale.
I’d love to use healing magic right away, but if the injury suddenly healed, it would raise suspicions, so I’ve been using the hot compress as an excuse to slowly infuse magic.
Just a few more times, and he’ll be fully healed.
“Wait here. I’ll heat up the towel.”
“No, I can do it.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“I’m sorry for always troubling you.”
“If you’re sorry, get better quickly.”
With that, I left the room.
Looking at the room by the entrance, Jaewon and Hanjoon were still bickering over who would take which bed.
Those two, their MBTI or whatever, only the first letter was different—the rest was the same. They’re so similar yet different that they can’t reach an agreement.
Clicking my tongue, I ignored them and headed to the kitchen.
I soaked a towel in water and put it in the microwave, then pressed the button.
Come to think of it, I’ve gotten used to the lifestyle of this world.
There are many primitive but endearing things that bring small joys. Heating a towel like this is one of those primitive yet endearing things. It’s not even bothersome anymore.
Just then.
“Ichan-ah.”
Siu came into the kitchen holding my phone.
“It’s been ringing nonstop.”
My phone, set to vibrate, was glowing and shaking.
“Who is it…?”
Before I could finish the question, I frowned at the name on the screen.
<2000-Year-Old Trash>
This is not good.
In my original world, there’s no way for the Demon King to communicate with me.
But here, this device called a phone connects me to the Demon King so casually. It’s unpleasant.
I snatched the phone from Siu’s hand and tossed it onto the kitchen table.
“You don’t have to answer.”
“Is that… okay?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”
The phone, having stopped vibrating, spat out a message.
2000-Year-Old Trash
Answer the phone. I have something to say.
What could he possibly have to say?
With a tired expression, I stared at the screen and then headed back to the room.
Siu, looking uneasy, followed me.
And so, the first night in the new house came to an end.
It was a peaceful night, something I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Pure, quiet, and sacred.
If only Noah hadn’t called.
* * *
Early in the morning, after getting our makeup done, we headed straight to MBS.
The day started with the same routine as yesterday.
Filaments waiting for us early in the morning, reporters taking photos of us on our way to work, staff busily preparing for the broadcast, and members dozing off in the waiting room chairs.
Everything was the same, but for some reason, the back of my neck was tingling.
“This feels weird.”
Could ARCHE be performing today?
“Hyung. Do you have today’s lineup?”
“Yeah. Here.”
Taking the lineup from Gyuhyung, I scanned the list of artists performing today. Fortunately, ARCHE wasn’t there. They’re not making a comeback until early next year, according to the news.
But why do I feel so uneasy?
It feels like something’s about to happen.
Just then, the waiting room door opened, and Jeongsoo peeked in.
“Guys?”
Right. Today is Möbius’s comeback day.
That’s why the “Loots” group chat has been buzzing for the past few days.
As Jeongsoo entered the waiting room, Jaewon, who had been curled up on the sofa, jumped up.
“Jeongsoo-hyung. Where’s Junhee?”
“He’s changing in the waiting room. Go see him.”
“Yes!”
Jaewon grabbed his name tag from the table and scurried over to Gyuhyung.
“Gyuhyung-hyung. I’m going to see Junhee for a bit.”
“Alright. Don’t be late for rehearsal.”
“Yes.”
With Gyuhyung’s permission, Jaewon left the waiting room, and Jeongsoo gestured for me to come over.
“Chan-ah. I need to talk to you for a second.”
“What is it? Let’s talk here.”
I tried to pretend to sleep to avoid getting involved, but Kim Jeongsoo dragged me out of the waiting room.
Taking me to the emergency exit, Jeongsoo looked around and handed me a piece of paper. Then, he whispered quietly.
“Kim Wooyoung asked me to pass this to you.”
“Kim Wooyoung?”
What’s this now? If Jung Yoobin is watching, just pretend you don’t know me. Why are we passing notes like this?
I looked at the note Jeongsoo handed me with a displeased expression and reluctantly unfolded it.
“What’s this?”
Jeongsoo, who had leaned in to read the note, spoke in a puzzled tone.
“Be careful?”
Jeongsoo snorted, clearly annoyed.
“Is this guy still doing this to you? Is this a threat? Be careful, or else he won’t let it slide.”
Be careful.
The hastily scribbled words on the yellow sticky note did look threatening.
But it wasn’t a threat. A warning… maybe.