Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 131

His anguished shouting didn’t end after just one outburst.

 

“Is this right?! I don’t care how desperate you are, or how much you’re rotting with resentment because you lost to our <Fantasia>, you should still maintain basic business ethics and do things fairly and squarely! Just because you’re a major agency, you think you can act like this? Huh?! Do you think it’s okay to behave this way?! Don’t you have any manners or a line you shouldn’t cross?!!!”

 

“Seriously, what the hell are you even talking about?!”

 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?! Huh?!”

 

“Has this old man finally gone senile?!”

 

“What did you say, you brat?!”

 

“No, am I wrong?!! Fine, let’s say—just for the sake of argument—that Crown really did pull strings with the station! Even then, why the hell are you taking it out on us because the performance order changed?! If you’ve got a problem, go make a scene with the PD! Or go complain to the station director! Why are you grabbing innocent people and picking a fight?!”

 

“You insolent little bastard! So you admit it, don’t you?! That’s what you meant, right?!”

 

“Listen to what I’m actually saying! That’s not what I meant! Seriously, I’ve been trying to be patient, but this guy has lost his mind!”

 

“What?! You done talking?!”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

I felt like things were going from bad to worse. No, it wasn’t just a feeling; it was a fact.

 

I was flustered.

 

Incredibly flustered.

 

I knew this man was a ticking time bomb who could explode at any moment, but seeing him actually drop a bomb like this was utterly absurd. Especially since the fuse was our <Fantasia>.

 

‘Was Director Oh always this kind of person?’

 

I thought he was a selfish, incompetent man filled with nothing but greed….

 

‘Was this his real personality?’

 

I thought he was the type to only shout for his own sake, but was he actually someone who knew how to shout for others? Then again, he did have a strangely vast network of connections. Setting aside whether those connections were useful or not, the fact that he built and maintained them made me start to see him in a new light.

 

Maybe he was the type who would give everything for people he considered his own. I didn’t know the reason, but it felt like the fact that he had come to consider <Fantasia> as ‘his people’ was the cause of the current accident.

 

‘Seriously, Director Oh…. Did you cherish us that much? You never showed it before, so why are you suddenly going berserk now?’

 

The sight of him shouting at the top of his lungs, veins bulging from his neck, was strangely striking. His voice, which sounded like it was pleading for something, was actually clearing the unlikable stacks I had against him.

 

Even I thought it was a bit ridiculous… but in the current situation, I couldn’t bring myself to hate this pathetic-looking ahjussi. I wasn’t sure yet if it was because he truly cared for <Fantasia>, but despite all the friction between Director Oh and Lee Unha, blood was proving to be thicker than water.

 

Even though I truly found him unpleasant, I actually felt a surge of desire to cheer him on, regardless of the context. Of course, separate from the cheering, it didn’t mean I wasn’t worried about the situation.

 

‘Who’s in the wrong here? Are we the ones at fault?’

 

If we were in the right, then it didn’t matter. If we had justification, I’d actually want him to fight more. But it didn’t look like we had the justification. I didn’t know who had provoked whom first, but in fights like these, the person yelling at the top of their lungs always looked like the aggressor.

 

And to make matters worse, Director Oh looked exactly like a villain. Even without context, just looking at his face made it clear who people would assume started the trouble.

 

‘That’s likely the case.’

 

He’d most likely lost his temper after complaining that Fantasia’s performance had been moved earlier in the lineup. Worse still, once he’d exploded, his anger showed no sign of cooling down.

 

It seemed both men had already gone beyond the point of rational thought; both sides were becoming rougher, and their voices were getting louder. As nothing more than a rookie idol, I honestly had no idea how anyone was supposed to stop this.

 

Meanwhile, the Crown staff member clearly had quite a temper himself, as I saw him grabbing Director Oh by the collar without backing down.

 

“You son of a…!”

 

‘Seriously, why are you guys stepping into the duel arena?’

 

“F*ck, seriously!!!”

 

Watching grown men act like this was an embarrassing sight. My face flushed again because artists from other agencies were all peeking out to watch the scene. Some staff members were also hurriedly approaching to stop the duel, unable to hide their panic.

 

And then….

 

“This crazy old man!! Seriously!!!”

 

“Whoa!!!”

 

In the end, the Crown staff pushed Director Oh away with his hands. Naturally, Director Oh let out a scream as he was shoved against the wall….

 

I found myself moving.

 

It wasn’t out of worry for Director Oh.

 

It was an instinctive, somewhat calculated move.

 

“Director Oh!”

 

“Oof! Ouch! This bastard’s attacking people!”

 

‘This ahjussi is actually a genius at politics.’

 

Even while screaming at the top of his lungs that he was being assaulted, Director Oh held onto the Crown staff’s collar until the very end. The guy, even more enraged, swung his arm.

 

However, Lee Unha was right where he swung that arm.

 

An angle I already expected, an impact I already anticipated.

 

I hadn’t deliberately stepped in just to get hit, but still…

 

‘Wait, this isn’t going to hit my face, right?’

 

As I curled my body as much as possible, the guy’s arm made contact. He wasn’t completely brainless, as he tried to stop his arm just before it hit me, but….

 

“Ack!”

 

Right now, I had to let that arm hit me.

 

There was no real damage. My body was just pushed back a bit.

 

But I had to show that I was in pain.

 

“Ack!”

 

It was to place us in the position of the victim rather than the perpetrator in the fight between <The World> and [Crown].

 

It hadn’t unfolded exactly as I’d intended, but things seemed to be going in my favor.

 

There was only one variable.

 

‘Taeyeol. Please stop Taehee!’

 

Jung Taehee might charge in at any second.

 

“Ugh… uugh….”

 

“…….”

 

“Ah… huff….”

 

“…….”

 

“Ah….”

 

“…….”

 

‘What? Why is it so quiet?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Was my acting too good? Is everyone in shock? Is that why it’s so quiet?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Did they freeze because they think I’m seriously injured?’

 

According to my expectations, Taehee should have rushed straight at the Crown staff. The other members should have been holding him back and covering his mouth as he spat out curses. The other staff should have all rushed to me, and after checking on my safety, the commotion should have ended.

 

But there was no sign of that at all. The surroundings were deathly quiet. Anxious, I squinted one eye to check the situation.

 

Immediately after….

 

‘Uh….’

 

I could see the members glaring at the Crown staff. Joo Wooyoung and Jegal Hwi were staring daggers at the staff who pushed me. Kim Haejun, Jung Taehee, and Baek Suhyeon were the same. Kim Taeyeol was instinctively clutching Jung Taehee’s hand, but he looked just as furious.

 

It felt like my blood was turning to ice. Even setting the others aside, once Joo Wooyoung started openly glaring, it felt like the very air had frozen solid.

 

I wasn’t the only one feeling it. It was strange. Something, something about the atmosphere had changed, and everyone present realized it. Our members near Joo Wooyoung didn’t seem to notice deeper, but Joo Wooyoung was clearly manifesting hostility toward the person who caused this mess.

 

I immediately realized I had to break this atmosphere. Seeing cold sweat form on the face of the man caught in Wooyoung’s gaze, I hurriedly spoke.

 

“I’m okay.”

 

Even though no one had asked if I was okay, I blurted it out first….

 

“Are you okay, Director Oh?”

 

And then,

 

“Uh… uh….”

 

The frozen clock began to tick again.

 

Director Oh suddenly sprang up.

 

“You son of a btch! How dare you hurt our artist?!!”

 

He grabbed the guy’s collar again. But this time, the guy didn’t resist. More accurately, he probably couldn’t resist. It wasn’t out of guilt for hurting Lee Unha. He was simply frozen solid from encountering Joo Wooyoung’s hostility.

 

‘Director Oh is impressive.’

 

It shouldn’t have been easy to move his body so quickly under that pressure.

 

‘Isn’t he going to adapt well even if he goes to the other world? This ahjussi? And… this guy would probably fit in just as well.’

 

I was referring to the opportunist trying to help me up.

 

‘So you’re Lime?’

 

Crown’s copycat idol, the leader of Kingdom, the idol aiming for a copy-paste version of Lee Unha.

 

It was Lime.

 

Turning my head, I saw the members of Kingdom behind Lime. Lime spoke cautiously with a face that tried its best to look kind.

 

“Are you okay? You aren’t hurt?”

 

“Yes.”

 

‘Maybe he’s actually a decent guy?’

 

“You’re really okay, right?”

 

No, there was no way.

 

I felt negative energy. It might be my prejudice from the series of events, but I could clearly see that he was secretly hoping I was hurt. He felt fake, like he was wearing a mask. The hand touching my shoulder also bothered me.

 

A heavy voice rang out right then.

 

“Move it.”

 

“Ah. Hello. I’m Lime from Kingdom. I really enjoyed Idol Classism. So, Haejun hyung….”

 

“I said, get your hand off Unha.”

 

I turned my head toward the voice once more.

 

There was Kim Haejun, with eyes that sent chills down my spine.

 

Startled, Lime pulled his hand away, and Jung Taehee hurried over to check on me. Kim Taeyeol approached with his signature delinquent-like expression, quietly muttering ‘F*ck, f*ck’, and Baek Suhyeon looked at them with a bright, contrasting smile. Wooyoung hyung and Jegal Hwi also took another step forward.

 

The members of <Fantasia> had formed a wall between me and [Kingdom].