Encore
The deafening cheers of thousands of fans still echoed inside Juwon's ears long after the stage lights had disappeared behind the arena. His shirt clung to his back with sweat, his throat burned from shouting, and every muscle in his body begged for rest. Outside the van window, the city drifted past in streaks of gold and white, blurred by the light rain beginning to fall. For the first time that night, silence settled over him.
It lasted exactly three seconds.
"We didn't forget the encore this time," Donnie announced proudly from the back seat, stretching his arms as if he had personally saved the concert.
Han looked up from his phone with a look of pure disappointment. "You say that like forgetting an encore is a normal thing."
"It happened once."
"It happened twice."
"It was a creative decision."
"It was a memory problem."
From the passenger seat, Suyeol sighed without even turning around. "You two have exactly three minutes before I separate you."
Donnie leaned forward with genuine curiosity. "With violence?"
"With violence."
"...Fair enough."
The van erupted into laughter. Even Juwon couldn't help smiling. No matter how many concerts they performed or awards they won, nothing ever changed once they were together. The world might see PhànTom as polished superstars, but inside the van they were still seven exhausted idiots trying to survive each other's company.
Beside Juwon, Taeho rested his head against the window, barely keeping his eyes open.
"Hyung," he mumbled.
"Hm?"
"Can we stop somewhere to eat?"
Juwon stared at him in disbelief. "We literally ate an hour ago."
"I know."
"So why are you hungry again?"
Taeho shrugged without opening his eyes. "I danced."
"We all danced."
"They don't have my metabolism."
Donnie nodded solemnly as if he had just heard an important scientific discovery. "That's true. Taeho burns calories by existing."
"I heard that."
"You were supposed to."
Across the aisle, Fin quietly chuckled while flipping another page of his comic book. He hadn't said more than five sentences since they left the venue, completely absorbed in the story despite the van bouncing over uneven roads.
Han glanced at him. "You've read that comic at least four times."
Fin didn't even look up. "It gets better every time."
"No, it doesn't."
"It literally does."
Han opened his mouth to argue before immediately giving up. There was no winning against Fin whenever comic books were involved.
Juwon reached into his jacket pocket to check his phone.
Nothing.
His smile slowly faded.
He searched the other pocket.
Still nothing.
"..."
Donnie noticed immediately.
"You lost it again, didn't you?"
"I didn't lose it."
"So where is it?"
Juwon remained suspiciously quiet.
Han burst into laughter. "He lost it."
"I probably left it backstage."
Suyeol pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're going back after we drop everyone home."
"No," Juwon protested quickly. "It's almost two in the morning. I'll just collect it tomorrow."
"You said the same thing last month."
"...And?"
"You bought an entirely new phone."
"...That was different."
"It was literally the same situation."
The van filled with laughter once again while Juwon rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He had written dozens of award-winning songs, managed six different personalities without losing his sanity, and somehow led one of the biggest idol groups in Korea.
Yet his greatest enemy remained his own phone.
Outside, the rain became heavier.
Eunho, who had been unusually quiet, continued staring through the rain-covered window. After several seconds, he spoke in a calm voice.
"...It's quiet."
Donnie frowned. "You just told us to be quiet."
"I wasn't talking about us."
Everyone instinctively looked outside.
The roads were almost empty.
Even at this hour, the silence felt unnatural.
Juwon frowned. Something about the atmosphere unsettled him, though he couldn't explain why. Maybe he was simply exhausted.
Then a blinding white light swallowed the windshield.
Someone shouted.
The driver slammed on the brakes.
Rubber screamed across the wet asphalt.
Everything happened at once.
Glass exploded.
Metal twisted inward with a deafening crash.
The world spun violently.
And then...
Everything stopped.
Juwon's eyes snapped open.
For a brief moment, he couldn't remember what had happened. His ears rang violently, drowning out every other sound. The world around him looked strangely muted, as though someone had wrapped the entire street in a thick blanket.
He slowly sat up.
"...Is everyone okay?"
No answer.
The silence unsettled him more than the crash itself.
The van was barely recognizable. The front had folded into itself like crumpled paper. Smoke drifted lazily into the night air while rain continued to fall, hissing against the ruined engine.
His heart lurched.
"Guys?"
He pushed open the van door with almost no effort and stepped onto the road. Oddly enough, he couldn't feel the cold rain soaking through his clothes. He glanced down at his hands before rubbing them together.
Nothing.
No warmth.
No chill.
Nothing at all.
The passenger door suddenly burst open.
Donnie stumbled out first.
"What the hell was that?" he shouted, brushing imaginary dust off his jacket. "Did we hit a building or did the building hit us?"
Han climbed out behind him, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I swear if this is another one of Donnie's driving jokes—"
"We weren't even driving!"
"I know! That's what makes it suspicious."
One by one, the remaining members emerged from the wreckage.
Taeho looked around in confusion before touching his forehead.
"...I don't think I'm injured."
"You should be," Han muttered while examining the destroyed van. "That crash looked expensive."
Fin quietly stared at the twisted metal without saying a word.
Suyeol immediately began counting everyone.
"One... two... three..."
He pointed at each member as they gathered near the road.
"...Seven."
He exhaled slowly.
"Good."
For a brief moment, relief settled over the group.
Then the sirens arrived.
Several ambulances screeched to a halt beside the wreck.
Paramedics rushed toward the van carrying medical equipment.
Juwon instinctively waved his arms.
"Over here!"
Nobody looked at him.
"They can't hear you," Han said.
"They're busy."
Juwon stepped directly into the path of a running paramedic.
The woman never slowed down.
She ran straight through him.
Every muscle in Juwon's body locked.
He slowly turned around.
"...Did anyone else see that?"
Donnie blinked twice.
"...Okay."
"That wasn't normal."
Han forced out an awkward laugh.
"No, no... there's probably a scientific explanation."
"You've failed science three times."
"Science can still explain things!"
The members stood frozen as doctors surrounded the wrecked van.
Hydraulic cutters screamed through twisted metal.
Someone shouted orders.
Another person yelled for stretchers.
Then...
The first unconscious victim was pulled from the vehicle.
Juwon frowned.
"...That jacket..."
It looked familiar.
Too familiar.
The paramedics laid the unconscious man onto a stretcher before removing the oxygen mask from his face.
Silence swallowed the group.
The man's face...
...was Juwon's.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody even breathed.
A second stretcher emerged.
Han.
Then another.
Suyeol.
Another.
Donnie.
Then Taeho.
Fin.
Eunho.
Seven unconscious bodies.
Seven motionless faces.
Seven identical concert outfits stained with blood and shattered glass.
Donnie was the first to break the silence.
"...That's..."
He looked down at himself.
Then at the body lying on the stretcher.
Then back again.
"...I don't like this."
Han slowly walked toward his unconscious body.
"No."
He laughed nervously.
"This isn't funny."
He reached out to shake his own shoulder.
His hand passed straight through it.
The smile vanished from his face.
"...No."
Taeho copied him.
His fingers met nothing but empty air.
He tried again.
And again.
Nothing.
Juwon felt his breathing grow faster.
This couldn't be happening.
It wasn't possible.
He was standing.
He was talking.
He was thinking.
So why...
Donnie suddenly slapped both cheeks.
"I know exactly what's happening."
Everyone turned toward him.
"You do?"
"Absolutely."
Without another word, Donnie sprinted toward his unconscious body.
He jumped.
Nothing happened.
He fell straight through himself and landed on the pavement with an undignified grunt.
"...Again."
He took three steps back before launching himself once more.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
"GET BACK IN!"
Han stared at him for several seconds.
"..."
"...He's assaulting himself."
"SHUT UP!"
Donnie jumped again.
"GET IN!"
"YOU BELONG TO ME!"
Even Juwon, whose chest felt tight with panic, had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
It was absurd.
Terrifying.
And somehow...
Exactly what Donnie would do.
The laughter died almost immediately as the ambulance doors slammed shut.
One after another, the vehicles pulled away, carrying their unconscious bodies into the darkness.
The seven members could do nothing except watch.
For the first time since the accident, Juwon admitted something to himself.
He had absolutely no idea what was happening.
