All Chapters of Eleuthernemis System : Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
46 chapters
Chapter Twenty One
The lights came back up and everyone started talking at once. “Who in the world packs in four hours?” Minjae complained. “You're just too slow.” Tae Kyung said. “Let's get going.” Do Young said. We hurried out of the auditorium, joining the crowd of trainees rushing back to their dorms. When we got to Dorm C, Seung Woo was already there, methodically pulling clothes from his dresser and folding them in a duffel bag. We started packing. I didn't have much, just some clothes that Park Junho bought for me, my phone charger, toiletries and some personal things. I folded my last shirt and zipped up my bag then sat on my bunk, looking around the room. This had been my home for a week or so but it already felt strange to be leaving it. “Done.” Do Young said, his bag neatly packed and sitting by the door. “Show off.” Minjae muttered still trying to cram things into his bag. My noon, we were all packed, our bags were sitting by the door, ready to go. “Should we get lunch?” Minjae su
Chapter Twenty two
The room was much larger than the one in Star🌟lit. There were six bunks on each side, each with its own desk, chair and wardrobe. Two people were already there. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “Yo.” Someone said. He was tall and had an athletic build, his hair was dyed red and he had blue eyes. “Hi.” I said, smiling faintly. “I'm Juyeon Peniel.” He said. “Seo Ireum.” I glanced at the other person, Seung Woo. I can't believe we were roommates again, the universe must be playing a cruel joke on me. “So…this is 307,” a voice said cheerfully. I turned. A trainee with sparkling green eyes entered the room, dragging a suitcase behind him. He was quite small and looked at the room with bright eyes. “Hey! I'm Kualin Dongpyo.” He stuck out a hand. “Seo Ireum.” I said, shaking it. “Nice to meet you! Guess we're roommates now.” Before I could respond, the door opened again and two more trainees walked in together, laughing about something. “Woah.” On
Chapter Twenty Three
“I'm your hostel, Jung Hyunwoo and let me tell you, I’m so excited to be here with you! Four hundred of the most talented trainees in Korea, gathered in one place, all fighting for one dream! Can you feel that ENERGY?!!!” LIVE CHAT: @varietyfan: HYUNWOO OPPA!!!!😆😆 @itzdra_ma: He’s so good at this, omg @hypemas: I can feel the energy through the screen, already invested. @trainee#expert: They all look nervous lol “Now, I know you're all wondering, what's the first challenge?” Hyunwoo said, pacing the stage with a dramatic flair. Silence. Everyone was holding their breath. “Your first challenge,” Hyunwoo announced. “Is a TEAM PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE!!!” The hall erupted into surprised chatter. “This is how it works,” Hyunwoo continued. “You’ll be performing in your DORM TEAMS. That's right, the six people you're living with are now your teammates, you’ll have one week to prepare your full performance.” The screen divided and letters started forming. FIRST CHALLENGE: TEAM PER
Chapter Twenty Four
“Building A! Room 307!” Hyunwoo called out cheerfully. “Who's going up?” Dongpyo asked. “I’ll go,” I said, standing up. I took in a deep breath and stood up, I made my way down the aisle. LIVE CHAT: @mikjy: Anyone knows who he is? Don't think I've seen him anywhere @idol_obsessed: You're right, I follow every single idol trainee and group and I haven't seen him anywhere @firegal: Maybe he’s new “Well, what's your name?” Hyunwoo asked, smiling brightly. “Seo Ireum.” “Well, Ireum,” Hyunwoo said enthusiastically. “Are you feeling lucky today?” “I guess we’ll find it,” I said. “That's the spirit!” I walked over to the box. There were still quite a few papers inside, folded identically. I reached in and grabbed one. I unfolded it slowly, my heart pounding. For You – Pulsx No. My stomach dropped. “And the song is…” Hyunwoo took the paper from my my hand and read it aloud, his enthusiastic voice booming through the hall. “For You by Pulsx! A beautiful ballad! Let's give i
Chapter Twenty five
I woke up to the sound of my alarm and dragged myself out of bed. My body was sore from yesterday's practice session and I was still sleepy. The dorm was already buzzing with activity. Dongpyo was making coffee, humming softly to himself. The twins were doing stretches on the floor and Peniel was reviewing notes on his phone, brows furrowed with concentration. And Seung Woo's bed was empty, already laid. “Morning,” I mumbled, heading to the bathroom to wash up. “Morning!” Dongpyo called back cheerfully. “Coffee?” “Please,” I said gratefully. When I emerged twenty minutes later, everyone except Seung Woo was gathered around the small coffee table, discussing our performance. “I think the opening needs to be more dramatic.” Jaein was saying, gesturing with his hands. “We need to grab attention immediately since it's a slow song, we can't afford to let people zone out.” Jaemin finished. “Agreed,” Peniel said thoughtfully. “Maybe we start with a solo dancer? Or maybe we start off
Chapter Twenty Six
Later that evening… Seung Woo stood in front of the mirror, hands gripping the sink so tight, his knuckles turned white. He’d spent the entire day avoiding everyone. The video had destroyed him. Within hours, he’d gone from being just another contestant on the show to bekng the most hated person there. People were calling for his elimination, calling him a homophobic and a difficult person. His phone buzzed constantly with notifications, he’d turned it off hours ago but he knew people were still talking hot about him. He felt tears coming to his eyes. This was Ireum's fault. If he hadn't suggested that stupid ballet idea, Seung Woo wouldn't have reacted the way he did. If Ireum hadn't drawn that cursed song in the first place… His phone rang. He pulled it out, frowning. He’d turned it off, how was it ringing? The screen showed: Unknown number He almost didn't answer but curiousity got the best of him and he cswiled the accept button. “Hello?” “Choi Seung Woo.” The voice
Chapter Twenty Seven
The Next Morning… I woke up toy phone vibrating non stop. At first, I thought it was just my alarm going off but the buzzing continued even after I swiped it away. Confused and still half asleep, I grabbed my phone and squinted at the screen. Hundreds of notifications were flooding in. My stomach dropped when I saw the headline trending at #2. #ORIONX Contestant Seo Ireum: Two week wonder or fraud?# What? My heart hammered against my chest as I clicked on the article. The article was from a blog called K pop insider secrets, run by someone called Wannabe Journalist. K pop insider secrets has learnt that ORIONX contestant Seo Ireum, who recently garnered public sympathy after being targeted by Choi Seung Woo, may not be who he appears to be. According to sources, Ireum was recruited by famous recruiter Kang Sujin without any training whatsoever and apparently trained for two weeks before the Star🌟lit audition. While countless trainees who have dedicated years of their lives
Chapter Twenty Eight
I stared at the notification. My finger hovered over the [No].What was the point? No one will believe me anyway.I was so tired.Maybe Han Yeon-seo was right. Maybe I was a useless good for nothing that could never achieve anything. Maybe it would be best if I just disappear.Who cares if I died?I clicked on the [No] – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO PROCEED?[YES] [NO]– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –I stopped.If I gave up now…If I walked away…Han Yeon-seo would win.The woman who’d abused me for years, who'd made me feel worthless, she would get exactly what she wanted.Han Ji-seok would never get what he deserved and Seung Woo…I gripped my hands so hard I started bleeding. He’ll pay for what he's done. They’ll all pay.I was tired of being the victim. Tired of being pushed around, torn down, bullied.Tired of being the timid, scared boy who took every hit and just endured it.No more.I’ll make Han Yeon-se
Chapter Twenty Nine
The Next Morning… I woke up before my alarm, my phone already in my hand. There was a message sent by Kang Sujin around midnight. Kang Sujin: Both video's are attached. Please be careful Ireum. I saw the two video files and downloaded it immediately then opened the first one. I watched myself dance, I looked pretty bad but okay, the ORIONX audition was way better. Maybe I really was some kind of prodigy? Either way, these videos will prove I earned my spot. But I couldn't just post them from my account. I needed to be more discrete. I created a burner account on T*****r, I*******m, TikTok, YouTube and used a VPN to mask my location. Then I uploaded both videos with a caption: “I happened to get my hands on the audition videos of Seo Ireum and I think he genuinely earnd his place, that's just my opinion though, y’all can watch and determine if yourself.” I posted it simultaneously across all platforms at exactly 7:00AM. Then I waited. Three hours later… The videos had explo
Chapter Thirty
Once we were all inside with the door closed, Peniel moved to the center of the room and asked for everyone’s attention. “Alright,” he said. “We only have a few days left until the performance, and we need to make every second count. We need to avoid all distractions and make our performance absolutely perfect.” We all nodded. “I’ve been thinking about Ireum's ballet idea,” Peniel continued. “And I think we can alter it in a way that can work for everyone. Here's what I think.” He pulled up the song on his phone and let it play softly while he spoke. “The song is about someone who would do anything for a person who doesn't even notice them right? So here's the concept, we’re all princes, dressed elegantly. We’ve always gotten what we wanted but there's someone we want we can't get and that's the public.” “That makes sense.” Jaein nodded. “Exactly,” Peniel said. “And we can incorporate ballet and ballroom dancing. It fits the prince concept perfectly.” “We should also have diff