Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 116

“So… what did Director Gu say?”

 

“…….”

 

“Unha?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Everything went well, right?”

 

Back in the practice room, Kim Haejun looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. Kim Taeyeol chimed in as well, his voice trembling slightly.

 

“Wait, did you—did you really say that? That we’re protesting? Weren’t we just taking a day off? How did it escalate that far? Damn… what… what do we do?”

 

Immediately after, Jung Taehee spoke up.

 

“Unha must have a plan. Honestly, nothing he said was wrong, right, Unha?”

 

Then it was Joo Wooyoung.

 

“Then, could you tell us what happened after you said all that?”

 

Since everyone was staring at me, I had no choice but to relay the conversation that took place upstairs an hour ago.

 

“That was it.”

 

“What?”

 

“He just told me to go back down and wait.”

 

“So, you just came back down after hearing that? Then what happens today? Are we supposed to be practicing? Or not?”

 

“I don’t think you need to worry, Taeyeol hyung. Let’s just stay put.”

 

“Huh? How can I not worry? If our debut gets cancelled because of this….”

 

“No, no. I guarantee you, that will never happen. The worst-case scenario would be me getting stripped of the leader position. Honestly, I don’t really care if I step down. There are plenty of people to take my place….”

 

“No, but still.”

 

“And I don’t think we need to worry that much. Judging by the atmosphere, things seem to be moving in a pretty positive direction. Our manager and the other team leaders haven’t come downstairs, have they? That probably means they’re working on some kind of solution. It feels like there are internal circumstances we don’t know about. maybe they’re trying to sort those out….”

 

“…….”

 

“Oh, and crucially, the reason I came down without saying another word is pretty clear. It means I didn’t just mindlessly say ‘yes, yes, yes’ and leave.”

 

“I know you’re not the type to act without thinking… but still, talking to the Directors like that….”

 

“I think it’ll be fine. I don’t know about Director Oh, but Director Gu… seemed like someone I could communicate with.”

 

Jung Taehee immediately agreed.

 

“Right. I felt like Director Gu was someone we could talk to, too.”

 

‘Taehee, you only saw him once.’

 

However, it was hard to flat-out object. Perhaps Taehee felt the same thing I did. How should I explain it? Something about Director Gu….

 

‘It felt like he looked at people the way someone looks at an asset they can make use of.’

 

That was definitely the feeling. I had occasionally met people with those eyes in the other world….

 

‘And they were usually the unforgettable ones.’

 

Including that mad dark mage.

 

It was exactly that kind of look. Like he was looking at a useful card in his hand. I didn’t know everything about Director Gu, but when you experience many different types of people, you get a gut feeling.

 

My personal assessment of Director Gu’s disposition was exactly that. He seemed to have sociopathic tendencies and looked like a control freak. Cold, calculating, and perfectly capable of distinguishing between those worth using and those who weren’t.

 

If my instincts were right, this incident would probably end up benefiting us quite a bit. Those kinds of people wouldn’t let personal emotions cloud their work and they were skilled at calculating what would be a gain or a loss.

 

Of course, I couldn’t tell the members the raw truth, so I toned it down before speaking.

 

“So Director Gu… yes. To put it simply, I didn’t get the feeling he was treating me like a child. Unlike the other people I’ve met at The World.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“I don’t know if this is the right way to describe it…”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“But it felt like he was viewing us as artists… rather than just trainees to be controlled and suppressed. I’m not 100% sure. But that was how it felt. I felt like I was being respected in a strange way… and he seemed to be taking my words seriously.”

 

“Ahhh.”

 

“I felt like there was no need for me to be in that room anymore… I delivered our intent, so they’ll sort it out with the Management Headquarters. I don’t know exactly what conclusion they’ll reach, but I believe it won’t be a negative one. And if things do turn out badly…”

 

“Then what will you do?”

 

“What else? We’ll protest again.”

 

It was then that Kim Haejun spoke to me again. He continued with a serious face and expression.

 

“But….”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is that really okay?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I don’t know if I’m interpreting this correctly, but listening to what you said, Unha… it almost sounds like….”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It sounds like we’re asking to be involved in the producing.”

 

“What? No, no, no. That’s not what I meant at all. I only said they should share the progress with us and let us know what was being discussed.”

 

“I’m saying Director Gu might have taken it that way. Because it’s no different from saying we aren’t just trainees who do as the company says, and that we want a certain level of authority. Of course, it’s up to interpretation… but Director Gu might really see it that way. No, more importantly, maybe we should start acting that way ourselves.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Because authority comes with responsibility.”

 

“Th-that’s true, but isn’t it already too late for that? The album work and the concept are already out….”

 

“No. No. I’m talking about how things might be from the next album onward.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Never mind. No… it’s nothing. t’s probably just me worrying about something pointless.”

 

After saying that, Kim Haejun himself seemed to become troubled by his own words.

 

‘Haejun hyung… his problem is that he really has too many useless worries.’

 

He hadn’t seemed like this at first, but maybe as he’d grown closer to the members, he was finally starting to show more of his real self. Sure enough, I saw him lost in thought, muttering to himself.

 

‘I don’t think we’re ready yet….’ or ‘Can I… can I do it? Me? No… can I take responsibility for the members?’ or ‘Can <Fantasia> really produce? Is that even possible?’ he babbled.

 

If Joo Wooyoung, who shared a room with him, hadn’t patted him on the shoulder to bring him back to reality, he probably would have stayed in that state all day.

 

“Well, we can think about that later. But for me….”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I think producing or whatever is something we have to do eventually. There will be trial and error, but honestly, I think the sooner the better.”

 

“Wait? What do you mean by that?”

 

“I just don’t want to end it by just doing what the company tells me to do and acting exactly as I’m told. I think we eventually have to step into that territory to take it one step further. Of course, we can’t do it alone. If we ever get to that point, we’ll probably have to rely on the company’s staff so much that it’d almost feel like we’re being a nuisance.”

 

Baek Suhyeon spoke up.

 

“But Unha, is that even possible? I mean, even if Haejun hyung does the lyrics and composing… the rest of us don’t really…”

 

“No. Lyrics and composing aren’t the only parts of producing.”

 

Jegal Hwi spoke up cynically.

 

“That’s something you say when you actually have the ability.”

 

“Yes. You’re right. So starting now, we have to study hard to build that ability.”

 

“…….”

 

“I don’t know how everyone else feels, but wouldn’t it be miserable if the songs we release in the future didn’t contain our own voices at all? Am I the only one who feels that way?”

 

“Well…”

 

“Anyway, that’s a conversation for the distant future. Right now, we need to focus on our debut mini album—or actually, the showcase first. No… before that, we need to see how today’s situation gets resolved. I think their meeting upstairs should be wrapping up about now.”

 

And then, a heavy air settled over the practice room.

 

‘What is it? Why is it so quiet? Did I make a mistake?’

 

Maybe I’d made things too serious.  Was it too early to talk about producing and proactively including our voices? The members’ reactions were varied.

 

Jung Taehee, as always, was muttering, ‘I think Unha is right’, but Baek Suhyeon seemed lost in thought. Jegal Hwi’s thoughts were unreadable, but surprisingly, he seemed to respect my opinion. Kim Haejun and Kim Taeyeol looked anxious.

 

Among all the members, the most versatile ones…

 

‘Never mind.’

 

Anyway, it was interesting that those two were the ones feeling anxious.

 

And Joo Wooyoung…. He was nodding his head as if in agreement with my words.

 

Immediately after….

 

<< Emergency Quest >>

[You, with a 1% contribution to the Demon King’s defeat. Assist the Hero Joo Wooyoung, who had a 99% contribution, and produce <Fantasia>’s next full-length album together.]

<<Penalty for Quest Refusal or Failure: Return to the Other World>>

 

The quest window, appearing after a long time, reflected in my vision.

 

‘No… what is this now?’

 

The situation was so shocking that I instinctively held my breath. It wasn’t just the surprise of a sudden quest popping up. It was more like….

 

‘Why… suddenly… why now….’

 

I looked at Joo Wooyoung again. I saw him quietly nodding, stroking his chin as he sank into thought. I looked at the quest window again, then back at Joo Wooyoung.

 

He was still nodding repeatedly, looking as though he wholeheartedly agreed with what I’d said. To exaggerate a bit, it was as if he was picturing the process of <Fantasia> producing and creating an album together. It was an unusually dreamy expression for Joo Wooyoung. Naturally, I realized immediately….

 

That the quests I had performed so far, and this emergency quest currently before my eyes, were related to Joo Wooyoung’s free will.

 

‘No… no way….’

 

Could it really be?

 

“…….”

 

Is it really related to Joo Wooyoung?

 

“…….”

 

I wasn’t sure yet. It might just be my absurd delusion. However, the timing was too coincidental to be a mere accident.

 

I wanted to test it. No, I had to test it. A hypothesis rapidly filled my mind: Were Joo Wooyoung’s own thoughts influencing these quests or not? If not that…. maybe….

 

The possibility was slim, but…

 

‘Is Joo Wooyoung… the one… giving out the quests?’

 

My mind became a mess. So many hypotheses cropped up at once that I felt I couldn’t think straight.

 

Just as I felt a bit of vertigo coming on, someone made their presence known at the practice room door at the perfect timing.