Episode 35: A Song for Ghosts
1. A Song Begins with Silence
The VOX studio, 3 a.m.
Seon sat alone by the piano. A single lamp lit the room. Rain tapped against the window.
He pressed a single note. Then another. Then none.
His phone buzzed.
A text from Jae-min:
> "I left Nova X."
> "Tell me how to be free."
Seon replied:
> "Start with silence. Then fill it with your voice."
And just like that, the melody came.
A lullaby for ghosts.
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2. The Ghost EP
VOX announced a surprise release: "Ghostproof: An EP for Survivors."
5 tracks:
Echo Body
Noise in My Hands
Idol's Prayer
Jae
The World Without Stage
Produced by VOX. Mixed in Minho's bedroom. Mastered by a fan engineer from Twitter.
The EP was raw, imperfect, breathtaking.
Each track featured spoken interludes from real trainees, anonymous, confessing their pain:
> "They said I was too fat." "I trained for 9 years and never debuted." "He touched me. I didn't speak. I lost everything."
It was more than music. It was protest.
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3. The Jae Track
Track 4. A duet.
Unannounced.
Seon and Jae-min.
The song opened with Jae-min's voice:
> "I wore your skin and forgot mine."
Then Seon:
> "But even your tears weren't yours to keep."
The bridge hit with both voices, in harmony:
> "If we were ghosts / Then this is our haunting / Our harmony / Is the proof of pain."
Fans cried.
Even antis admitted: "We weren't ready."
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4. Seoul Bus Station — Surprise Pop-Up
Without permits, without backup, VOX performed at Seoul Station.
200 fans showed up. Then 500.
They sang "Idol's Prayer" — not as idols, but as humans.
Jun wept mid-line. The crowd sang the next lyrics for him.
And for the first time, Seon dropped the mic and just listened.
The world was singing their truth now.
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5. Orion Collapses
Two more executives indicted.
AX1's past footage pulled from streaming services.
The only survivor?
VOX.
Seon looked at the news and felt nothing.
Jaewon put a hand on his chest. "It's okay to feel peace now."
Seon shook his head. "Not peace. Just... quiet."
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6. Jae-min Joins the Label
It wasn't public.
Not yet.
But he walked into VOX's studio with a demo titled "I Want to Be Me."
Seon handed him headphones.
And for the first time, Jae-min recorded his own voice — not mimicking Seon, not lip-syncing pain.
Just singing.
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7. The Rooftop Promise
That night, Seon and Jaewon lay under a shared blanket on the dorm rooftop.
Their fingers tangled.
"Do you think we'll always sing?" Seon asked.
Jaewon smiled. "Even when we stop performing, we'll still hum. In the kitchen. In the shower. In our sleep."
Seon turned to him.
"I think I loved you even before we met."
Jaewon kissed him. "Then let's never meet for the first time again."
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8. Cliffhanger — Open Letter
A fan account posted something that went viral.
An open letter addressed to trainees everywhere:
> "To the ones who didn't debut. To the ones who broke down. To the ones who smiled through terror. You're not failed idols. You're survivors. Your voice matters. Even if no one hears it yet."
Signed: — VOX
Fans wept.
Other idols shared it.
One label even offered to create a new trainee bill of rights.
Change had begun.
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To be continued…