Episode 4
After Eunha left, Noah lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling in the small room.
“So… I’m temporarily Seol Noah now?”
The moment Seol Noah’s memories started coming into her mind, Noah saw a strange message pop up in front of her like a hallucination. The message said:
To return to being the real Noah, she must collect all the pieces of Seol Noah.
‘But… what are those pieces?’
The message told her to collect them, but didn’t explain what they were.
Noah sighed deeply.
‘Maybe I’ll figure it out while living here…’
She rolled over and picked up the songwriting notebook by her pillow.
‘Seol Noah… feels like someone from another world who shares my soul, right?’
They looked and acted very differently, but in one thing, they were the same: their music.
The only real difference was that Noah from Arkless wrote songs in English, and Seol Noah wrote them in Korean.
‘Well, I like that. It feels like proof that music shows what’s in my soul. Like some kind of weird universal rule.’
‘…Why did I end up in Seol Noah’s body?’
From the memories that came through the notebook, Seol Noah’s life was full of loneliness.
Her parents had died when she was young. She had an older sister, but once Seol Noah turned twenty, her sister moved abroad—like she was finally free from taking care of her.
Left alone, Seol Noah worked part-time jobs during the day and did street performances at night, all to follow her dream of doing music.
That’s how she met Eunha.
Although it felt more like Eunha dragged her around everywhere.
‘That’s… kind of like how Anya and I were.’
Except Eunha was *way* more intense.
Anyway, their combo—Eunha on drums and Seol Noah as guitarist and vocalist—worked pretty well. They were even getting popular on MyTube.
But instead of staying an indie band, they dreamed of something bigger.
An **idol band**.
At least, Eunha seemed to dream of that. Seol Noah looked like she just wanted to do music, idol or not.
‘But don’t most K-pop idols do dance music, not band stuff?’
How did they end up aiming for something as rare as an *idol band*?
Noah started to feel stressed.
In the MyTube videos and award shows she’d seen, K-pop idols were *nothing* like rock bands.
‘Especially girl idols… They all seemed so sweet and friendly. Can someone like *me* really be an idol?’
She had heard that in Korea, idols could get kicked out for swearing, drinking, or smoking.
And Noah had done *all* of that. A lot.
She was seriously worried.
‘Should I just quit and say I can’t be an idol?’
She had lived her whole life drinking, cursing, and smoking. In Hollywood, that was just survival for a female rocker.
‘But…’
For some reason, she had a strong feeling that collecting Seol Noah’s “pieces” had a lot to do with this idol band thing.
Unfortunately.
Noah let out a long, gloomy sigh.
‘Why couldn’t Seol Noah’s dream have just been a normal indie rock band?’
If it were, Noah would already be taking over the Korean indie scene by now.
‘Ugh. Whatever.’
…I’ll just do it. I’ll figure it out somehow.
She closed her eyes calmly.
Strangely, she didn’t feel desperate to go back to her original self.
It would be nice… but if not, that was okay too.
Maybe because… she hadn’t been that happy before anyway.
For now, she wanted to enjoy this moment.
A moment where she had a goal, hope, and a path forward.
—
**The Next Day**
Noah regretted her decision *a lot*.
“You want me to wear *this*?!”
Eunha had shown up with an outfit that looked impossible for Noah to accept.
“What do you mean, *this*?!”
“This… how am I supposed to sing wearing this? It’s obviously too small for me. If I move even a little, it’ll ride up.”
Noah looked truly concerned.
She was a grown adult—almost 40! Was she really supposed to wear something this tiny?
“It’s way too… girly.”
“If you’re not a girl, what are you then?”
“…Well… not a *girl* girl…”
Hearing that at her age made Noah feel super awkward.
She forced a smile.
“That outfit? I begged my stylist friend to let us borrow it. Just wear it.”
“Why do I *have* to wear this?”
“Because today’s the camera test and first interview.”
Oh… the camera test…
Noah’s face darkened.
“That’s going to be broadcast?”
She remembered seeing a banner that said: “Loft Entertainment’s Public Idol Band Audition.” She thought it was just an internal thing.
But no. The first round was private, but from the second round on, it would be shown on a survival audition program.
Apparently, Loft was a big idol agency. Five years ago, they launched a successful boy idol band. Now, they were trying a girl idol band.
‘Eunha must have seen that as the perfect chance.’
Noah looked Eunha up and down.
Yeah… she did look more like a K-pop idol than a typical band member.
Even though she didn’t know much about the K-pop world, Noah had a feeling idol bands weren’t exactly mainstream.
‘If she wanted to be an idol, why not just go the easier route?’
“Eunha.”
“What now? If you’re going to complain about the clothes, save it.”
“Why an idol band?”
“What?”
“If you want to be an idol, why not do a dance group? And if you want to be in a band, just do a band. Why this weird combo?”
Eunha answered seriously.
“I really like drums. Like, a lot. And I like singing too.”
“Okay.”
That part made sense.
“And I also want to be an idol.”
“…Huh?”
“So… shouldn’t I do an idol band? What else is there?”
“Why… do you want to be an idol?”
Noah had never even *considered* being one. She was just curious.
“I like how idols and fans connect.”
Idols and fans?
She’d never thought about that.
What was the relationship between Arkless and their fans?
The fans liked their music. They came to concerts. Arkless was grateful for them.
Was that the same as idols?
“What’s the difference between an idol and a band then?”
“…Do I really need to explain it with words?”
“Yeah. I think I need you to explain.”
Noah scratched her head.
“If you don’t get it, you’ll just have to experience it yourself.”
Eunha lifted her chin slightly, looking like the question was hard to answer.
“Other than that, idol bands and regular bands are the same?”
“…I think so?”
“Then let’s not wear *that*.”
Noah snatched the outfit from Eunha and threw it behind her.
“Hey!”
“You wear what *you* want. I’ll wear what *I* want.”
“What are *you* gonna wear?”
Noah opened her closet.
“This.”
She pulled out a plain white oversized T-shirt and black cargo pants.
That was it.
“What?! You’re going in *that*?!”
“Yep.”
Eunha looked surprised but didn’t argue anymore.
Maybe she saw something new in Noah’s eyes—something confident and certain.
Something she hadn’t seen before.
