Evelyn saw celebrities —especially idols— as the slaves of the modern world.
The relationship between idols and the people who followed their every move resembled that of a king and his jester.
A king never cared about the jester's condition; he only demanded to be entertained.
If the jester managed to amuse him well enough, he became the king's closest companion and was praised in every way.
But if the jester made even a single mistake after hours of performing, there could be no one worse in the king's eyes.
Evelyn had never imagined she could ever take the place of a jester.
Yes, becoming a jester had been her dream, but circumstances didn't allowed it and she had been afraid of the king.
Yet now, thanks to her sister's dating simulator game, she has become a jester. And the king was controlling her every move.
While sitting in the recording studio, countless thoughts raced through Evelyn's mind. With her hands clasped together and her body leaning forward, she stared at the wooden parquet floor.
Ever since Edna had shown up at the house a few days ago to announce that they would be debuting for the second time, the members had been in complete chaos.
They had only one month to record eight songs, learn the choreography for some of the songs, and practice everything.
Every member was extremely frustrated, because accomplishing all of that in just one month was impossible.
But when Edna said that the songs and choreographies were already finished, the chaos grew even bigger.
The fact that everything had already been completed meant they had planned all of this while Evelyn was still in a coma. And when Raven pointed that out, Edna had given the same response once again.
"You should see this as an advantage."
Although the line distribution of the songs on the album was almost equal, Evelyn, being the main vocalist and the center, naturally had more lines.
She was dominant in the title track and the b-side, while the remaining six songs were solo or solo-unit tracks focusing on the other members.
Still, seeing that she had lines in every song —even though her parts were short in the members' solo tracks— left Evelyn genuinely shocked.
Yes, I always wanted to be an idol… But I never imagined I'd have to work on and sing this many songs so suddenly…
Even though the idea of dealing with so many songs felt a little overwhelming, it was impossible for her to ignore the flame of excitement burning inside her.
After Edna told them they would be releasing a full eight-track album, she showed them the song sheets and choreography plans she had brought, explaining each one.
They spent the next few hours discussing everything and learning the album's contents.
But there was one truth none of the members could ignore.
The album was incredible.
All the songs were written with great care. Most of them were catchy, with the potential to become hits.
It didn't take Evelyn very long to memorize all the songs.
She already had a naturally good memory and could easily memorize texts she had seen only a few times.
This ability had helped her in her work life as well. But she had never imagined that it would one day be useful for becoming an idol and memorizing songs.
In short, as you understand, memorizing the songs wasn't the hard part for Evelyn.
What stressed her out now was having to sing in a studio, in front of the members and the producers.
These people worked for the most well-known music company in the country and were experts in their fields. Just the thought of singing in front of them and of being someone they actually knew, was enough to make her head spin.
She didn't even realize she had been mumbling from stress until she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to the side.
Angelo had leaned his head toward her with a worried expression, one of his hands resting on Evelyn's shoulder.
"Eve, are you okay? You don't look so good."
After giving Angelo a rather exhausted look, Evelyn let out a deep sigh.
Even though Angelo was asking if she was okay, it was obvious from his expression that he was stressed as well.
Before answering him, she glanced at the other members.
Julian, sitting next to Angelo, was quietly practicing while looking down at the paper in his hand.
Ash was standing to her other side, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, listening to something through his earphones.
Raven was crouched on the floor, freestyling without paying attention to the noise around him.
Ivan was watching Kian from outside the recording booth as he recorded his parts under the producers' guidance.
Then she looked back at Angelo and straightened her posture.
"I'm a little stressed. You don't look too well either."
Before Angelo answered, he tried to smile, but because he was so tense, his smile came out a bit strained.
"Yeah… I usually get a little nervous during vocal recordings. It's just how I am…"
Even though Evelyn was in the same state herself, she wanted to comfort the young man in front of her, who was avoiding her eyes and nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
"You have just a few lines of rap and a small vocal part, right? It will be okay."
When Angelo turned back to Evelyn, there was a surprised look on his face.
"Yeah… Did you already memorize the song? This time I have more vocal parts than usual. That's why I'm a bit more nervous…"
Evelyn shrugged. "Memorizing all the songs in the album didn't take me much time. Because they're all pretty catchy."
"Still, that's pretty impressive! Before the coma… you usually tried to memorize the songs before practice. That's why this is surprising now."
After hearing that, Evelyn tried to put a smile on her face.
Before the coma, the main character wasn't me… maybe that's why…
After a short silence, she spoke again.
"Don't focus on what others think of you. Focus on what you think of yourself. Think about how you can show your potential in the best way. Once you're satisfied with yourself, you'll see that other people will start being satisfied with you too."
Angelo clearly hadn't been expecting to hear those words from Evelyn, because the surprise on his face only grew.
Just as he was about to respond to her, his attention shifted to Kian, who had just stepped out of the recording booth separated by a glass panel.
When Evelyn turned to look at Kian, she briefly locked eyes with Ash and realized he had been watching her. But she didn't dwell on it.
As Kian stepped out of the recording booth, he gave a double thumbs-up with both hands and walked out proudly, and after that, shaking hands with Ivan.
The producers also seemed satisfied with the result.
Since she had been lost in her thoughts, Evelyn hadn't heard much of the rap part Kian recorded, but from what she did catch, his voice was undeniably charismatic.
After greeting each member one by one, Kian extended his hand to Evelyn as well. When Evelyn smiled and took it, she was unexpectedly pulled toward him.
Drawing her closer, Kian lowered his face to hers and spoke.
"Now it's your turn to show what you've got."
Evelyn found herself staring into Kian's green eyes for a moment. What finally made her pull back was the realization of what he had just said.
Was it really her turn now? She had at least expected a few more members to go before her.
Her heart began to race as she noticed the producers looking her way. Angelo had started cheering her on from behind, and the members who had been minding their own business were now fully focused on her.
Swallowing hard, Evelyn headed toward the recording area Kian had just stepped out of.
As she passed the members and staff, the only thing on her mind was how high everyone's expectations of her were.
After stepping into the booth and standing in front of the microphone, she looked through the glass that separated the room.
Every pair of eyes was on her.
She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes.
You can do this. This is a game, right? Reaching the good ending is in your hands.
"When you're ready, you can start, Evelyn."
Hearing the producer's voice, she opened her eyes and brought her lips closer to the microphone.
"...I'm taking steps today without my eyes,
My gaze shivers into the emptiness.
A hand reaches into the uncertain abyss,
Disappearing in the lightlessness.
My footsteps follow behind me,
Together with the silence.
Reborn again, and bring me out in this darkness…"