Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 129

‘Maybe…,’

 

“…….”

 

‘Does he think observing me in person is the right answer?’

 

Had my explanation been too vague?

 

“…….”

 

Even as a bit of time passed…. Joo Wooyoung was still fiddling with his right earlobe with an uncomfortable expression.

 

Seeing that only made me more anxious. I’d realized I’d focused on the wrong thing. My mistake had been assuming that, even if the rank had increased, it was only C-rank. Right. I’d thought there wasn’t much difference between C-rank and D-rank, so I’d tried to let the matter pass naturally…

 

It felt like Joo Wooyoung wasn’t focused on the rank itself, but rather on the fact that the rank rose at all.

 

‘He’s assuming that the rank could keep rising in the future.’

 

It was only C-Rank now, but who knew if it would climb to B-Rank, A-Rank, S-Rank, or even EX-Rank? Especially if someone like me—who didn’t even know how to properly control my own powers—ended up with an S-rank or higher Succubus’ Eye, it was obvious that disaster would follow.

 

I couldn’t be certain,  but right now, it looked Joo Wooyoung was imagining a future where I become a literal catastrophe in the modern world.

 

“…….”

 

The atmosphere only seemed to grow heavier.

 

‘Seriously, say something.’

 

He didn’t even reply to the text. I stole a glance at him, and Joo Wooyoung gave a slight nod. I didn’t know what conclusion he’d reached, but…

 

For now, he seemed to have decided not to treat me as an enemy, so I let out a sigh of relief.

 

‘This… this is… for now… settled, right?’

 

It was a vague moment where I couldn’t tell if things were finished or not. Just as I was about to hurriedly send another message to figure out what he was thinking, a voice called out at the perfect timing.

 

“Artist Lee Unha! Why have you been staring so intently at your phone since a while ago?!”

 

It was Director Oh’s voice from the passenger seat.

 

Only then did I realize how completely absorbed I’d been in waiting for Joo Wooyoung’s reply. I let out a heavy sigh right after seeing Director Oh’s face in the rearview mirror, which was clouded with a different kind of suspicion than Joo Wooyoung’s.

 

‘Great, now he’s going to get the wrong idea. Damn it…’

 

With a squinty-eyed look and an expression that was way too readable, it was obvious what he was about to say.

 

Sure enough….

 

“Are you in a relationship?!! Huh?! Who—with who? What? Come on, you’re not in the talking stage with someone, are you?! Huh?!”

 

His voice boomed, shaking the inside of the van. Naturally, the first to react was Jung Taehee.

 

“Huh? Unha… is there someone you’re contacting?”

 

Even Baek Suhyeon, the guy with the alias ‘Northern Grand Duke Hel’, reacted to Director Oh’s nonsense.

 

“An idol shouldn’t do that… No matter how much you want to date or how lonely you are… an idol can’t do that. Idols aren’t people, Unha.”

 

‘Why is he acting like that? Aren’t those the exact words I said to you?’

 

“No, at the very least, you have to act like you’re not human. To put it bluntly, we’re products, Unha. I don’t know what other people think, but that’s the essence of this industry as I see it… Unha… let me ask you something. Who wants to buy a damaged product?”

 

‘I kind of want to punch him.’

 

Kim Taeyeol and Kim Haejun, on the other hand, recognized it as nonsense from the start and didn’t bother responding. Kim Taeyeol only muttered under his breath, ‘As if’.

 

Despite that, the suspicious glares didn’t vanish. Having been thrust into the position of someone who had done something wrong, I had no choice but to shake my head immediately.

 

“Pardon? No, that’s not it. I don’t even know anyone… and I’m not interested in dating. I have no intention of getting a girlfriend. We’re way too busy for that right now anyway.”

 

“Right? Artist Lee Unha! As expected, you have great professionalism!”

 

“I’m just checking our view counts for a second. I was so happy we hit 80 million today… hehe… and I’m so grateful for the comments….”

 

At my answer, Director Oh’s eyes narrowed suspiciously once again. I was worried he might dig deeper… but soon, a bright smile filled his eyes and mouth.

 

“I knew it… no one thinks of <Fantasia> more than our Artist Lee Unha!”

 

“…….”

 

“Spending even this short time with you has really taught me a lot. Professionalism! Right? That’s what professionalism is…. Do you think the company allowed phones for no reason? It’s because we trust all of you in <Fantasia>. And because we trust Artist Lee Unha, who leads <Fantasia>, that we could make this choice.”

 

‘No, they let us have our phones because we need them for Shorts, promotions, and advertisements… he’s interpreting it however he likes again. This ahjussi….’

 

“Hahaha… yes. I don’t even have anyone who would contact me! I haven’t had any contact with other people.”

 

“I know! I know! I just blurted some nonsense because I was anxious, so don’t mind me. Let’s just focus on today’s schedule. Every schedule is important, but today is especially critical. Personally, I think music shows are the most important of all. These days, with NewTube, self-produced content, and everything else, idols have a much wider range of activities—but at the end of the day, what’s most important for idols? It’s putting on a proper performance on stage and bringing joy to the fans, isn’t it?!”

 

‘There he goes again, dressing up obvious statements as though they’re profound words of wisdom.’

 

It was one of the habits I’d discovered after being forced to spend so much time around him.

 

“Also, looking at the debut reaction for <Fantasia>’s showcase, there are so many comments saying how well you sing live and how great the stage is. But that’s the reaction from our <Aether>. The general public still doesn’t know how amazing our <Fantasia> is, how well you sing, how well you rap, or how well you dance!”

 

“Hehe… Right…”

 

“Shouldn’t we let them know today?! Huh?!”

 

“Yes. Y-you are right!”

 

“Everyone, answer me!”

 

“Yes! Yes! You’re right!”

 

‘Seriously, this ahjussi is so exhausting.’

 

He always had a way of getting under my skin, but today he was especially irritating.

 

‘Director Oh… because of you, Wooyoung hyung isn’t replying anymore.’

 

Joo Wooyoung had started holding himself back. Even though he clearly hadn’t sorted out all his thoughts yet, no reply came. He wasn’t the type to casually ignore what others said, so he was undoubtedly taking Director Oh’s rambling speech to heart.

 

Actually….

 

‘It’s not like what he said was wrong.’

 

It wasn’t a lie. For instance, these words:

 

“Everyone!! Your heads might be full of distracting thoughts right now! That’s only natural, isn’t it?! The album’s selling well, the songs are charting, and just like Artist Lee Unha said, the NewTube views are skyrocketing! But! If you become too obsessed with those numbers and statistics, all kinds of distracting thoughts will pile up. You’ll start thinking, ‘We’ve made it now! It’s nothing but smooth sailing from here!’ That’s exactly how those unnecessary thoughts creep into your heart! As artists, shouldn’t you be focusing on what’s right in front of you?!”

 

Just some trivial mental training logic.

 

I’d heard it so many times that I was sick of it. Others were letting it go in one ear and out the other, but Joo Wooyoung took those sermons seriously every single time. Even now. He was definitely….

 

‘Right. Now is not the time. Unha’s matter is important, but… what’s important right now is handling today’s schedule. There will be other opportunities later. Let’s put it aside for now. And… let’s focus on today’s schedule with everything we’ve got.’

 

I bet he was thinking something like that. Seeing him close his eyes after putting his phone in his pocket made me even more certain.

 

“And… Kingdom! We have to trample those Kingdom bastards! Right?!”

 

That probably stirred him as well. After all, he’d gone so far as to trigger a quest because he wanted to overcome Kingdom’s challenge, so what more needed to be said? And it wasn’t just limited to Joo Wooyoung.

 

“You’re right. We have to crush them.”

 

‘Taeyeol, we aren’t going there to fight.’

 

That was Kim Taeyeol.

 

“But Kingdom… haven’t we crushed them already? They weren’t much.”

 

‘Weren’t you showing tears just a few days ago because you were anxious?’

 

That was Baek Suhyeon.

 

“Do not let your guard down. As the old saying goes, ‘When cornered, even a rat will bite back’.”

 

‘Why is he suddenly using four-character idioms?’

 

That was Jegal Hwi.

 

“Unha will beat them all.”

 

‘Give it a rest, Taehee.’

 

Jung Taehee was the same.

 

Kim Haejun, at least, smiled while maintaining a more moderate attitude… But when it came to harboring bad feelings toward those guys, I was no less guilty.

 

‘Right. Since we’re going to trample them, we might as well do it thoroughly.’

 

Of course, I was curious about what Joo Wooyoung thought of me and what conclusion he would reach, but Lee Unha wasn’t stupid enough to let that curiosity ruin his work. Especially if that work involved this kind of quest.

 

It wasn’t just about beating them in the numbers anymore. No, to be completely honest, I could only think this way because we’d already beaten them. There was already a huge gap between us and them in terms of metrics.

 

Even though it hadn’t even been a week, Fantasia had already overtaken Kingdom in many aspects. NewTube views, digital chart rankings, trending search terms, and general hype. Although the physical album sales results weren’t out yet, I judged it highly likely we would overtake them there as well.

 

‘Judging by the current atmosphere, it’s even more so.’

 

Yes, I wanted to prove that in every visible aspect—especially performance—they simply couldn’t measure up to us. No, not just proving it to Kingdom, but I wanted to solidify for all the fans who came to see the music show that the word ‘rivals’ didn’t even apply to <Fantasia> and [Kingdom].

 

The other side was probably thinking something similar.

 

‘That’s why they didn’t run away.’

 

They couldn’t help losing on the metrics, but they surely believed that in terms of skill, they were superior—that they could show a cooler performance, and that they, who were raised as pure-bloods elites at Crown, could outperform a ragtag group mixed together by an audition show.

 

‘They’re just struggling, that’s all.’

 

The company realized this, and we realized it too. That was the reason we left the dorm so early in the morning and were heading to the salon.

 

“Hello! Noona!”

 

“Ah! Unha, you’re here!”

 

“For some reason… everyone’s expressions look scary….”

 

It was effectively a situation no different from coming to receive weapons before heading out to a battlefield.

 

“Director! We’re dyeing Unha’s hair silver today, right?”

 

Yes, it was a time to arm ourselves with rare items.