On several popular video streaming sites, a video was posted under the uploader, Flower Garden Entertainment. The video was a trailer of a show called Idol:Revive—an idol audition survival show meant to create a new idol group.
In the Social Media Capital of the world, the snippets of the trailer instantly went viral accross different social media platforms, particularly on Y, formerly known as Hooter.
[Berry (@Berryber) posted.
Have you seen this? Don't they look like Adrift's Rayen and Liam?
(Blurry image of two participants)
1.3K Reposts | 15K Likes
– CutiePatootie (@AmCute): Right! Why are my boys there?
– JaYenLi (@AdriftNo.1Fan): Is that why the concert tour was canceled? What about Jared?
– Oliver (@OOver): Are they hopping jobs now? Isn't this show one of those K-pop shows? Gae.]
The media buzz created by the band's fans and antis rapidly spread through different social media platforms. Soon, similar situations were happening around the world as people began recognizing other participants too.
Although some of the participants were somewhat famous in the industry they once belonged to, the two participants from the same band were the ones who generated the most buzz. After all, most of the participants in the show had long been known and pronounced as dead, while the two had been active until recently.
On the other hand, Plotter had realized the problem too late—only after the Director arrived and reprimanded him.
'She's the one with the Director title, but why am I the one to clean up this mess?'
But after nearly being sent to the afterlife by the enraged Director, he didn't have any choice but to fix the problem.
The show's participants briefly gathered on the second floor's dance studio. People of various hair and skin colors, seemingly from different nationalities, crowded the studio.
Rayen swept his gaze around the crowd and spotted Liam.
Rayen just stared at him with intense gaze. It was so intense that Liam felt as if a cold weapon was being aimed at him. Shuddering, Liam subtly moved his head sideways and met Rayen's eyes.
Althought they hadn't met directly after being thrown in this survival show, seeing Liam's action, Rayen was sure that this friend of his knew something and was truly avoiding him.
Before Rayen could even do anything though, a group of people suddenly entered the scene.
One of them was a figure, who had an androgynous face, wearing clothes with an odd mix-and-match style. It was Plotter in the flesh.
Rayen had finally met this annoying adversary of his! But there was something Rayen didn't expect.
Compared to the regular staff members around him, his stature was that of a child that was on the brink of reaching puberty. Still, he walked proudly as if he was the tallest among them.
Beside Plotter was a woman whom Rayen recognized as the Director—the one who shooed him out of the interview room before. She had jet black hair cascading down her straight back and wore a stoic expression as if nothing could bother her.
Standing in front of the participants, the Director, Plotter, and the rest of the staff members surrounding them swept their gaze around. Every participant's eyes were on them.
Plotter pretentiously stood tall with a playful smile on his face, but as he recalled the reason for this emergency meeting, he quickly retracted it. He raised his fist and brought it near his mouth, feigning a cough to get the crowd's attention.
"I'm sorry for the late announcement, but we have an emergency." Plotter paused, his gaze landed on the cause of this problem. "The trailer for the show had already aired, and some of you were recognized by the public."
The mistake wasn't actually bad. It brought a huge traffic to the show, and it was still redeemable with a little bit of magic. Well, yes, magic.
Plotter decided to just solve it through magic. That's what he was best at, after all.
"So, everyone here... Before the first episode airs, we will assign a new identity for each of you!" Plotter continued speaking.
'New identity?' Rayen thought.
Well, a new identity was what he needed the most right now. It would be a big problem if Rayen and Liam were recognized. They were bound by a contract with their company, and his and Liam's deaths hadn't even made it to the news yet, so no one knew that they're already dead.
They might be pursued with a lawsuit of breach of contract!
"I've found Life Books with dead owners that didn't leave behind a seed. You could choose your new identity from these books. These identities have little to no connections, and are mostly known as missing, not dead."
The room buzzed with noise as participants whispered among themselves. Suddenly, someone raised their hand.
All eyes turned toward the person. It was a woman with pale blonde hair and gray eyes. She emmited an aura similar to the Director, but she looked meek in comparison.
"What if we choose a Life Book with different gender as us?" she asked.
Plotter's eyes gleamed. "Oh! That's a good question! What's your guess?"
Rayen wanted to drag Plotter for a beating, but the Director beside him interrupted the conversation by answering the question herself. She, too, was growing tired of Plotter's playful remarks.
"If you choose a Life Book with a different gender than yours, you'll be recognized as that gender, but you won't change physically. Basically, you will just take on that identity, but you will still be you."
The pale blonde woman nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Okay."
Plotter pouted his lips beside the Director, but didn't protest. He was dissatisfied, but he was more afraid of her. Rayen watched him, feeling delightful.
"Your name will be called in the order of your rank," the Director continued. "Your rank was determined based on the number of the sponsorships you received. The Life Book data will be sent to you on your system too. Take a look first and decide. You can filter the data using the system based on your preferences."
Sound of ringing cellphones filled the dance studio. Also feeling a vibration in his hand coming from his own phone, Rayen turned its screen on and saw a notification on his lock screen.
Participant Rayen had received a message. Please check your inbox.]
Rayen quickly unlocked it, but frowned. He tried refreshing the list he received, but nothing happened.
There was only one Life Book information sent to him.
Rayen lifted his head and locked eyes with Plotter who was also watching him. Plotter let out a soft smile.
Rayen finally understood—it was this person's doing.