Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 10

Author: LyraDhani

I was nervous. I hadn’t expected to be this nervous myself, but my heart just wouldn’t stop pounding.

‘This is actually hilarious.’

A hollow laugh escaped me.

The thing was, I couldn’t even understand why I was so nervous over something as simple as singing and dancing on a stage. It was not that I was looking down on performers. I just couldn’t understand why someone like me, who had survived every kind of hell imaginable during seven years of slavery, would be nervous before going on stage.

When I thought back on everything I’d been through, I couldn’t help feeling that way.

‘There’s absolutely no reason to be nervous.’

I’d fought soul-staking death matches against tentacle monsters in front of the other dark mages my Master had invited. I’d participated in every kind of unethical experiment imaginable. I’d watched other slaves die right before my eyes. I had floundered in pits of sticky mana sludge in the name of ‘testing’. I’d laughed while catching slimes with my bare hands—slimes that could burn you just by touching them—as I assisted my Master’s experiments.

I could say with certainty that not a single one of those experiences had been easy. Whenever that insane dark mage casually mentioned that there would be an important experiment or event the next day, my heart would pound so hard from the day before that I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly.

I might be exaggerating a bit, but that was exactly how I felt right now. My heart was racing for no reason, and my breathing was getting shallow. Every possible negative thought kept flashing through my mind, and I felt like running away from this place at any moment.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

I didn’t know the exact reason… but perhaps it was because I was subconsciously identifying my current self with the person I had been back then. It might be a side effect of bringing up the theme of ‘Resistance’ and giving it personal meaning. Ironically, right now, my current situation was one where I actually needed to be sold.

“I’m… I’m so nervous. What do I do? Can I go to the bathroom right now?”

“No, seriously, how can they just call us out like this? Without preparing anything… How can they just throw us on stage like this?”

“Hah… hah… whew… whew…”

“I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.”

The only comfort was that I wasn’t the only one nervous. In fact, I felt relatively normal compared to the others. Some trainees looked like they were having panic attacks, repeatedly gasping for air, while others had already gone deathly pale.

My nerves only worsened after seeing the trainees who were dragged to the stage like cattle to a slaughterhouse, only to return after putting on pathetic performances. The guys who went up first looked no different from a mercenary band returning from a crushing defeat.

“F*ck… seriously… sob….”

“How can they do this? How can they… I want to quit. Ugh….”

“Seriously… f*ck… wahhh….”

The team that just finished the first stage without any warning looked like they had just returned from a funeral. Tears streamed down their faces, and despite the microphones and cameras still recording, they continued cursing nonstop.

One of them even looked like a delinquent, which made me look at him differently. Seeing them cry out of frustration and disappointment in themselves made my heart ache a little. These defeated soldiers, who had just manufactured cringe moments that would live forever in internet history, were spreading their anxiety to the other waiting trainees, amplifying everyone’s fear.

‘This is a mess. Seriously.’

The other trainees waiting right now are likely thinking the same thing: We’re totally screwed.

It was no different from prisoners waiting to be executed. They gathered a bunch of low-level slaves and pushed them toward the stage, basically telling them to go die—there was no way for them to pull it off well. There wasn’t enough time to practice, and there were no costumes, no arrangements—nothing. It was a raw stage, and worse, it was raw live vocals.

To put it bluntly, it was like being sent up there stark naked.

“Team 2, please get ready. Team 2 is going up.”

“Yes.”

“Yes… yes….”

Soon, Team 2 went up, and the result was the same.

‘At least they held their ground a bit.’

They chose a classic song that all trainees practice at least once, which seemed effective, but it didn’t change the fact that they were creating a permanent digital scar. Moreover, they seemed to have failed to practice properly due to disagreements over song choice and part distribution.

You could see just how cruel this was for the trainees by looking at the judges.

‘How could they say anything harsh here? These judges haven’t been in the industry for just a day or two; they can tell what’s going on at a glance.’

The critiques were almost all the same:

“It seems you did your best in a poor environment.”

“The stage was better than I expected.”

“I can see the effort you put in.”

In the worst cases, they gave critiques that weren’t really critiques, but they never spoke in a harsh tone.

“Team 3, please get ready. You’re going up in 5 minutes.”

“Yes.”

Team 3 heard similar comments:

“The vocals were better than expected. The stage composition was decent.”

“Team 4, please get ready. 5 minutes.”

Team 4 was the same. Team 5 was no different.

And then.

“Team 6, please get ready. 5 minutes.”

“Yes.”

It was obvious our team would receive a similar evaluation if we went out like this. Looking around cautiously, I saw No. 123 literally on the verge of hyperventilating. After checking the reactions of the other teammates, I had no choice but to speak up.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“Hah… hah… whew….”

“I asked if you’re nervous!”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah… I’m freaking terrified…. Honestly, I can’t even pretend I’m not.”

“I don’t even know if the cameras are rolling anymore. I feel like I’m gonna throw up….”

Sensing their attention was on me, I continued.

“I know this probably won’t help, but I don’t think you need to be that nervous. I can’t exactly say that hard work will definitely bring good results since we only had a short time to prepare, but this team was built entirely around my decisions. The song choice, the part distribution, the formations—I insisted on all of it. So if anything goes wrong, the responsibility isn’t yours.”

“Th—that makes me feel even more burdened, though?”

“Actually, I’m saying it because I want you to feel burdened.”

“Haha….”

“Hahaha!”

‘It’s not funny at all.’

“I’m half-serious. If we ruin this stage, I guarantee I’ll get a ton of hate comments.”

“W—well, I guess we’ll have to work hard then.”

“Actually, it’s probably hard not to get hate comments. This whole situation is designed for us to be mocked! So….”

“Huh?”

“So, let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“What? How? I mean, to whom?”

“Who else? The broadcasting people. They set this up because they thought we were just trainees from small agencies with no real backing… but if we turn the tables on them, wouldn’t that be the best way to get back at them?”

“Wait, wouldn’t our stage being a hit actually be better for the program? Like, the ‘success against all odds’ kind of vibe…. And Unha, aren’t the mics recording right now? Is it… okay to say that?”

“It’s sensitive topic, so they’ll probably… edit it out. Anyway, let’s go out there with the mindset of spiting back at them. Think of the concept. What was our concept?”

“Resistance.”

“Yes. Let’s go with that.”

“Okay. Let’s do what Unha says.”

‘No. 123 is seriously something else, even at a time like this.’

“Alright, everyone, hands in.”

“Okay.”

“O—okay.”

“On three. Fighting.”

“……”

“One, two, three!”

“Fighting!!!”

“Fighting!!!!”

“Fighting!!!!!”

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!!! Let’s go!!! Let’s go!!!”

“Team Lee Unha! Let’s go!!!!”

“Team Lee Unha!! Let’s go!!!!”

I had no idea how Team 6 had suddenly become Team Lee Unha, but all around me the slave soldiers were shouting at the top of their lungs, firing themselves up for battle. Seeing their morale rise like this felt good.

Naturally, the gazes of the other trainees and the show’s staff poured over us, but the slave soldiers I picked with my own hands didn’t seem to care. It felt as though they relied only on each other and trusted only one another.

Even though it was a small speech, was it enough to blow away their anxiety?

‘Now I see why commanders give speeches before a battle or an expedition.’

Even as one of the staff members was saying, ‘P—please be quiet!’, they were patting each other on the back and moving forward. I was worried this boisterous atmosphere would go cold once we stepped on stage, but as I stood forward and said, ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’, everyone maintained that tension and followed.

The judges showed curiosity at the atmosphere, which was quite different from the previous teams.

“This team is full of energy.”

“What’s this? This isn’t the kind of situation where you’d expect this kind of atmosphere.”

They whispered to each other. I immediately waved and greeted them.

“Hello! I’m Lee Unha, the ‘Bursting-with-Juice’ Vitamin from an alien planet!”

When I looked back, the quick-witted No. 123 immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hello! I’m… Team Lee Unha’s l—lead vocal… Jung Taehee!”

“Hello! I’m the main vocal…!”

The rest of my slave soldiers introduced themselves one by one as they walked in.

Once we took our positions…

The stage went dark.

I whispered a small ‘Fighting’, and everyone responded with a quiet ‘Fighting’.