Most of the fans were sympathetic and understanding after the tragedy, but as sympathetic they were, the sympathy slowly began to shift into disappointment when one of the members showed no progress of getting better. After Dynamic Error’s hiatus, it was evident that the quality of their stage performances had dropped. 

They had to distribute the parts that Yullei previously had, and Song Noah, who had the best vocal ability among the remaining members, trembled on stage.

It didn't help that the majority of Yullei's parts went to him. 

-Did Yullei really die for this? If Noah is just going to shake and sing badly, he should've been the one who died

-I understand that everyone is hurt, but why can't Noah perform as well as the others??? It's been 7 months, I tried to be understanding as a fan but it doesn't look like he's trying his best at all…

   ⤷  He’s always been bad at dancing, and now he can't even sing properly. If he has any respect left for Yullei and the group, he should just quit

-Wow he's not just butchering all of Yullei's parts, he's even butchering his own

-Noah has a nice voice but I can't really enjoy it with how unsteady he's been singing :( 

-The stage lights only changed colors but look how scared he looks: xxx.birdweb.cxm/noah- having-a-panic-attack-on-stage-DE06/ Apparently, they trimmed this part on the broadcast but the audience managed to film it. The staff took him backstage after that and he never returned, that's why there's only 4 of them in the uploaded vid.  

   ⤷Is he taking any dr*gs? His eyes are red

-I'm saying this out of concern, but Noah should just leave the group to fully recover. The atmosphere always feels heavy when he's there.

Song Noah would stare at those posts feeling numb. 

He knew that the best decision would be to leave, but he held on for months. 

Until the disappointment from the fans was already too much. 

A month before Dynamic Error's 4th anniversary, the group officially disbanded. 

At first, it was only Song Noah who expressed his intentions of leaving, but, the group also couldn't stomach the thought of celebrating their anniversary when it was Yullei's death. After a lot of talk with the agency, it became a mutual agreement that disbanding would be for the best. 

The members assured him that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that deep down, some of them may have harbored a bit of resentment towards him for how the group had ended. 

When the members parted ways, Song Noah stopped taking any of his prescribed medicine. 

He stopped seeing a psychiatrist, and most of his days were spent sleeping and working in different restaurants or bars. While far from his life as an idol, it was how he had lived before he became a trainee. 

Truthfully, Song Noah thought he had recovered, but seeing how he had reacted towards seeing Yullei again, he knew that he still wasn't as well as he initially believed. 

How can he become the Song Noah who was just a trainee? 

There's a lot of thoughts in his head, but it was impossible to be the same from the very beginning. Even the events had already strayed afar, and his motivation for being an idol was entirely different. 

For now, the only thing he could do is to adapt and get better.

He spent the rest of the night looking for a clinic or a mental health center to book an appointment to. He can’t select something too close, and he also couldn't schedule an appointment with the same clinic in the past since he can't risk running into someone from the DAY-TA Entertainment. 

After browsing on his phone for a while, he found a clinic that was at least two hours away from the agency. However, as much as he wanted the appointment to be scheduled on the very next day, the earliest date available was for next Saturday. 

It would take a lot of consultations and assessments before he can receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan, so even if Dynamic Error’s debut would still be months away, he couldn't afford to waste any time. 

He also needs to be discreet. Song Noah made sure to delete the browsing history, and other traces. 

==========

To get used to the trainee lifestyle that he had in the past, Song Noah woke-up at an early hour to follow his old trainee schedule. 

His mornings usually begin with eating breakfast and doing a light workout, and so, he went to the agency's cafeteria to eat. 

For breakfast, they can get oats, bread, boiled eggs, chicken breast, and fruits. There were some trainees who had a detailed recommended diet, but Song Noah himself was only advised to consume more protein so he usually went for eggs and bread. 

All meals at the agency were free. The meal options for lunch and dinner have more variety, but they were mostly low-calorie meals. 

Though, a lot of trainees were unhappy about the food options, so some eat outside every now and then. 

As for the agency's gym, they were free to use it any time. Trainees have different schedules so it wasn't always crowded. In fact, there were only five other people at the gym when he got inside. 

Among the trainees, Ha Yullei was there. He was busy working out in the chest press machine, but upon Noah's entry, he gave him a very brief glance before minding his own business. 

The other trainees at the gym were occupied with working out too, and you can only hear the sound of machines, and a few trainees chatting as they worked out. Song Noah did a few stretches and a few cardio exercises before going to one of the treadmills. 

To begin, he walked on the treadmill for around three minutes, gradually increasing the speed as he ran. 

For the past few years, Song Noah hadn't really exercised consistently like he used to do. He expected to be out of breath soon, but his body had a lot more stamina due to the consistent effort that the Song Noah from the past did. 

As a trainee, working out usually ends for Noah after thirty minutes of running on the treadmill. He wasn't particularly trying to bulk up, and the dance practice that they had was already intense. Noah mostly focuses on the treadmill to improve his stamina since performing at the stage required him not to be out of breath. 

He didn't really focus on lifting weights, but seeing the dumbbells at the rack, a thought crossed his mind. 

Why not? 

Since he already decided to take better care of his health, he could improve his physique and strength too. 

Decided, Song Noah grabbed two 5 kg dumbbells in the rack to start. There were heavier dumbbells, but since he wasn't really used to it, he figured that starting on a smaller weight would be better. 

As for how many sets and reps he should do, he had no set amount in mind. The former main vocalist was just mindlessly lifting the dumbbells in his hands, trying to get used to the feeling of lifting weights. 

He didn't manage to go far. In fact, it only took six bicep curls before he was interrupted by someone else. 

“You're doing it wrong.” 

Hearing the other man's voice almost made him drop one of the dumbbells.

“Yullei–”

Ha Yullei was standing in front of him, appearing to have just finished his own workout. He was already holding his bag in his hands, and the shirt he wore was a bit wet from sweat.

His sudden approach had also caught the trainees’ attention. Due to what had occurred on the evaluation, some of the trainees were convinced that Ha Yullei was purposely antagonizing him. 

That wasn't really the truth. But regardless, his presence still makes him shiver. 

If he wants to debut in the same group again, he needs to get used to Yullei’s presence.

“Your elbows shouldn't swing… Keep your arms close, and your shoulders back. You need to balance weight on both feet and lean forward, otherwise you're risking getting injured.”

Cipher once joked that Yullei's hobbies consist of criticizing others, but whenever he criticizes someone, it's usually out of concern. 

Hearing Yullei's comments, Song Noah tried to make corrections in his posture and the way he lifts the two small dumbbells. 

“Am I doing it right now?” he asked him, though based on the reaction on Yullei’s face, he could tell that he must still be doing something wrong.

To his surprise, Yullei moved closer, suddenly grabbing his shoulders from behind. The warmth of his palms sent chills down his spine. It wasn’t really hard or aggressive, but even the trainees around them looked a bit alerted. Noah was more-on confused by the sudden grab. 

“Don’t raise your shoulders.” From his shoulders, both of Yullei’s palms then slid down on Noah’s upper arms, “Your arms should be pressed on the side, make sure not to keep it separated.”

Song Noah thought that Ha Yullei would finally let go of him, but this time, Yullei moved his right hand, reaching the back of Noah’s hands. 

When a part of Yullei’s hands came in contact with the bangle bracelet, Song Noah panicked. 

Ha Yullei didn’t really give any reaction towards it, and Noah was able to verify that others only sees it as a plain bracelet in appearance, but despite that, the beating on his chest accelerated.

Without much effort, Ha Yullei moved Noah’s grip, centering it in the middle of the dumbbell’s steel handle. He could feel Yullei’s chest pressed on his back as he guided his hands. There was also a faint smell of this same smell of the perfume he always used, just like he did yesterday. It became even more difficult to concentrate. 

When Ha Yullei finally stepped away, Song Noah tried lifting the dumbbells once again, following Yullei’s advice. 

After doing six reps, Yullei finally appeared satisfied.

“Thank you for your help.” Noah thanked him.

“Just keep applying what you’ve learned.”

With that, the former center finally walked away, heading towards the gym’s shower room. Song Noah remained motionless for a few seconds, trying to process everything that had just occurred.  

The trainees that were in the gym immediately approached him.

“Hey Noah, are you okay? Did he grab you too hard?” a trainee named Jiho asked, he was one of the trainees who was grouped with him and Daiki for the previous evaluation.

“I’m fine, he just helped me correct my form.”

“I seriously thought he was about to crack your bones!” another trainee commented, “What does he even have against you?”

Yullei isn’t really violent. 

Though, he had gotten into a few verbal fights with some trainees, most who were no longer in the company. With his undeniable talent, skills, and confidence, there’s a certain level of intimidation and inferiority that trainees feel towards him.  

There were also hidden malicious feelings.

“Yesterday was just too dirty. I’m not convinced that you actually agreed to swap songs.” Jiho said, “If he’s giving you a hard time, you should tell the staff or the company about it.” or in other words, ‘You should try getting his contact terminated.’

If it were the Noah from the past, he would have simply taken Jiho’s words as a form of concern. Jiho never really did anything to Yullei, nor did he do anything harmful to anyone, but he could tell that he’s one of the trainees unhappy with him. 

While it’s true that Ha Yullei was giving him a hard time, it wasn’t for the reason they were thinking. Though in the past, Song Noah genuinely believed that Ha Yullei disliked him. 

“I really do appreciate your concern, but we really did talk before the evaluation.” just not about switching songs, “And Yullei really did just help me earlier. Please don’t worry about it.” 

Song Noah excused himself and left the gym. He didn’t really feel like continuing on lifting weights, so he just headed to the shower room to quickly wash all of his sweat. Once he was done, he practiced in the training rooms for hours, splitting his time to work on his vocals and dance.

Though they were allowed to do anything during their weekends, there were still a lot of trainees who chose to continue working on their skills. Song Noah needed to get used to the trainee schedules once again, so he followed most of what he did in the past until it was time for him to sleep.

Tomorrow, their evaluation results and the first three members for the debut line-up would be revealed. Despite having initially been selected before, he didn’t feel confident at all. He stared at the bracelet that was in his wrist, when he noticed a change.

Main Mission: Prevent Yullei's death

Cost: ??? | Penalty:???| Reward: ??? |

Current Task: Debut with the exact members | Penalty: Session Termination| Reward: Data_1