『Admin: System barrier restoration complete.』
As though someone were sweeping everything aside, the chaotic noise obstructing my vision vanished.
While the stat window—ruined by errors—slowly stabilized, I watched the Administrator's notifications as if spellbound.
『Admin: Forced penalties caused by unknown errors have been halted, and the system is being restored.』
『Admin: Restoring all quest history for "User: Won Yu-ha."』
『NOW LOADING...』
『Admin: Partial success in restoring "User: Won Yu-ha"'s quest history.』
『Admin: Failed to restore "User: Won Yu-ha"'s Buff: Beginner's Luck.』
『Admin: Failed to restore "User: Won Yu-ha"'s Title: One Who Avoided Misfortune.』
『Admin: Restoring the function of the Luck Roulette, previously shut down due to unknown errors.』
The missing Insight Eyes icon reappeared beneath the stat window, and the dimmed Luck Roulette button regained its bright golden glow.
And then—
『Admin: By Admin authority, a scenario will be assigned to User: Won Yu-ha.』
The quest text floating before me vanished completely, and as though someone were typing one character at a time, new words began to appear.
"...!"
When I finally saw the newly formed "scenario," I was left speechless.
『Main Scenario: A New Leap』
After achieving 1st place on
But in the future you once came from, the project group that debuted through
If you continue along the same path, despair is the only thing that awaits you.
Avoid the future of "IDIN" and achieve success unique to "WONDEAR."
Success Conditions:
— Maintain all original WONDEAR members until contract expiration
— Achieve yearly activity milestones
— ???? (Condition Locked)
— ???? (Condition Locked)
Success Reward: +1 Guaranteed Luck Roulette Ticket
Failure Penalty: Death
Luck: 1 point
※ If Luck reaches 0, "Won Yu-ha" will face death.
『Mission: Achieve a successful debut as "WONDEAR"!』
Finally, your debut has been achieved.
Successfully conclude WONDEAR's debut showcase and leave a strong first impression as "WONDEAR" on the public.
Success Conditions:
— Successful completion of the debut showcase
— Debut song charts on all 5 major domestic streaming platforms
Success Reward: Title
Luck +30
Failure Penalty: Random –5 to a stat
Luck: 1 point
※ If Luck reaches 0, "Won Yu-ha" will face death.
Because the notification window told me very clearly—
"...."
You're screwed.
***
「DEAR DOLL Final Debut Member Ranking – Complete Summary」
1st: Won Yu-ha
2nd: Do Ji-hyuk
3rd: Kang Hyun-jin
4th: Aiden Lee
5th: Yoo Chan-hee
6th: Cheon Se-rim
7th: Joo Dan-woo
Group name: WONDEAR
Contract length: 5 years
Concurrent group activities: prohibited
Debut date: TBD
Agency: TBD
On the night
5.9%. Even for the nation's largest music broadcasting company, AINET—despite being a cable channel—it was a viewership rating that could only be described as a "hit."
Throughout its broadcast,
Wow, I only watched DEAR DOLL here and there but looking at the final lineup… did the idol makers vote with their teeth clenched??? The visuals are insane lolololol even if the legendary "Karma" fandom tried, they couldn't gather looks like this;;;
└ Do you see it? Our >>devotion<<
└ ^ㅡ^ ONEDEAR's faces are the pride of idol makers
Visuals aside, can we talk about the kids' skills too..? I'm already curious about their positions… Main vocal line is Won Yu-ha + Aiden Lee, main dance line Kang Hyun-jin + Do Ji-hyuk, main rap line Joo Dan-woo + Yoo Chan-hee, and then Cheon Se-rim who fits anywhere without breaking the lineup… This is a combination you can't find anywhere;
└ A group composed entirely of members fit for main positions?
└ Do positions even matter then? lol
└ Wow now that you mention it, AINET said they'd debut a group with perfectly balanced abilities and… they actually did;;
Strictly speaking, the group hadn't even debuted yet—
but expectations for WONDEAR were already sky-high.
The members chosen after a fierce voting battle were all trainees who had originally aimed for main positions.
Out of 100 trainees, they possessed exceptional visuals, skills, and distinctive personalities.
This was only possible because the survival show drew trainees from dozens of different entertainment companies.
In other words, the final result was created by the combined judgment of many agencies and the idol makers—that is, the public—aligning toward the same direction.
A group unlike anything seen before.
A group that naturally sparked high expectations.
That was the consensus among idol makers as they continued discussing each trainee.
As stories about the trainees' performances, skills, and final episode impressions circulated—
But why did Won Yu-ha suddenly collapse at the end?
The biggest topic was, of course, Won Yu-ha—WONDEAR's first center and the 1st-place winner of
Huh???? Yu-ha collapsed???
└ Yeah;; If you watch the behind video filmed by fans after the broadcast ended, Won Yu-ha stumbles down the stairs and just collapses;; The members freak out and run over to him.
After the nationwide broadcast ended—with the newly named WONDEAR trainees giving their final group greeting and the audience cheering—various SNS platforms were quickly filled with behind-the-scenes clips filmed after the cameras had turned off.
There were bittersweet clips of trainees who didn't make the final lineup, shots of them comforting each other, greeting fans… All of that drew attention, but the video with the highest views was the one featuring Won Yu-ha.
[Ah, my poor boy, what do we do...]
[What the—]
[Yu-ha!!!!]
While trainees were coming down from the set—hugging each other, arms slung around shoulders, heading backstage—the moment Won Yu-ha stepped down from the very top of the set onto the floor, he collapsed forward.
The trainees who had been waiting for him rushed over in shock, desperately trying to help him up.
The idol maker filming must have panicked too; the footage shook wildly, making it hard to see his expression, but one thing was clear—Won Yu-ha's face was completely drained of color.
With the support of the trainees, Won Yu-ha eventually got up; although he seemed unable to regain his senses for a moment, he eventually stood, bowed repeatedly toward the fans, and apologized with a faint smile as if to say he was fine.
Then, supported by Aiden Lee and Joo Dan-woo, he disappeared backstage.
Because of this, idol makers who watched the video couldn't hide their worry.
His stamina was already bad to begin with ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I hope nothing's wrong with his health?? I'm terrified he'll collapse again but Karma hasn't posted any announcement;;
└ They… don't do announcements for that stuff...＾＾ Do you actually trust Karma?
└ Ah...
Won Yu-ha's agency, KRM, was notorious for neglecting their artists' health.
Even when their idols were sick or exhausted, KRM rarely released statements or adjusted schedules.
It was the same during the recent incident.
Despite the rumors and malicious comments about Won Yu-ha's past exploding online—thanks to sasaengs digging things up—KRM Entertainment made no move to intervene.
Even when fans were furious enough to collect comments into PDFs and send them to the agency, no announcement came.
Since Won Yu-ha belonged to such a company, unless he said something directly, fans had no way to know anything about his condition. And even then, without company approval, he probably wouldn't be allowed to speak.
But which agency is WONDEAR gonna belong to???? They all come from different companies, but they're not gonna manage them one by one, right? It's group activities…
Because of this, people soon shifted their discussion toward which agency would be managing the trainees for WONDEAR's promotions.
└ Honestly, anything's fine as long as it's not Karma; they treat their artists like nobodies and their management sucks, and honestly I just don't want them touching WONDEAR lol
└ Tbh... I wish it belonged to NONE of their original agencies… Besides Karma and maybe Dio, most of them are from tiny companies lolololol Just look at how those small agencies treat their trainees and artists… It's hopeless..
└ frfr
└ NineHit treats their artists well though… but they're too small to take WONDEAR in…
Will AINET manage them directly? But they're a broadcaster, so who knows;;
└ I heard a rumor that they were searching for an agency—like, choosing one outside the trainees' original companies to handle management during the contract period.
└ But didn't all the decent mid-sized companies already send trainees to the show? A major company wouldn't take them, so that leaves only tiny companies right?; That's kinda…
Idol makers who had been around the K-pop scene long enough understood better than anyone:
The agency mattered.
No matter how skilled the members were, if the agency lacked power or resources, their activities would inevitably face limitations.
Even if the agency believed in them and funded their work, if that agency lacked influence, the group would still face restrictions.
Sure—in this case AINET would be backing WONDEAR for the next five years, so that reduced some worry.
But the size and competency of the assigned agency would still play a crucial role.
Ah… The survival show ended and yet the future already looks like a minefield.
I'm not the only one stressed about this, right?
The more people thought about it, the more concerning landmines appeared.
First, all seven members belonged to different home agencies.
That alone meant countless complications.
From overlapping interests, competing concepts, and conflicting promotional plans—all the way to inevitable turf wars between agencies.
And just like KRM, there was always the risk the managing agency could prioritize profit over proper care—maybe they'd support group activities well, but neglect individual members' wellbeing.
Based on member popularity or agency influence, treatment could vary hugely.
And even if they somehow avoided all of those issues… idol promotions weren't something the members alone could fix.
Are we asking for much? Just treat the members fairly without favoritism, assign concepts that suit them, let the stylists do their job properly, the planners do their job properly, the managers do their job properly, just do your damn jobs please~~ㅠ Is that seriously so hard?
It was hard.
Such a company didn't exist in K-pop.
That's exactly why all idol fans hated agencies.
But even knowing this, idol makers couldn't help longing for a "unicorn agency."
Because they wanted their idols to walk a safe, comfortable, flower-filled road.
And so, as idol makers anxiously debated the fate of the members—
I think I know where WONDEAR is gonna end up.
With one "rumor" dropped into the comments, all attention instantly shifted to that single reply.
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