Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 134

“This! This is it! From now on, shouldn’t we have a massive showdown every single time before we go on stage?!!! Huh? Don’t you agree, Team Leader Jung?!!”

 

“…….”

 

‘Exactly.’

 

“…….”

 

“We should fight every day. Absolutely!!! This is it! That kind of fighting spirit! That tenacity and obsession to devour the opponent is what makes our <Fantasia> one and brings us together!”

 

“…….”

 

‘So, you’re telling me I was thinking the exact same thing as this ahjussi until just a moment ago?’

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

Up until a moment ago, my excitement still hadn’t settled down… But the moment I stepped off the stage and heard Director Oh’s cheering, the thrill vanished instantly. If anything, I felt myself turning stone-cold.

 

Just a few minutes ago, my adrenaline was surging due to the surreal events on stage. Uncharacteristic of Lee Unha, I wanted to act manly and let out a roar like a soldier who had just won a battle. In fact, I remembered the rest of the members feeling the same way. As we descended from the stage and looked into each other’s eyes, there was a silent agreement to be happy and celebrate together regardless of the result… but that all went up in smoke. All because of one man who couldn’t contain his excitement more than we could.

 

“Huh? Everyone’s battle spirit is on fire! This is it! That’s the way! How dare they touch our Artist Lee Unha?! You have to pour that anger, that venom, onto the stage!!! That spirit! That mindset of trampling anyone who blocks our path! That is the true identity of <The World> and <Fantasia>!”

 

‘No, we didn’t have an identity like that… Who even came up with that?’

 

“Whoa! Looking at you again, you’re so radiant I almost didn’t recognize you!!! Who is this! Isn’t it our <Fantasia>, fresh from tearing up the stage!!! The Sun of <The World>! The Light of <The World>! <The World> itself! Isn’t it Fantasia!!? You completely turned the stage upside down!!! Right?! I saw it with my own eyes!!!”

 

‘Seriously, please stop, Director Oh. Why are you being more excited than we are?’

 

“You really showed them!! You did amazing… Even I got so fired up! Huh?! My shoulders started dancing on their own!”

 

‘Ugh. We know we did great too. Stop hyping us up so much.’

 

“This is what our Fantasia is! This is it!!!”

 

‘I said, I know. I know we were good.’

 

“Come here! Come here! My kids!!!”

 

‘Since when did we become your kids?‘

 

I was worried because he seemed unable to calm down, but….

 

‘This ahjussi is doing this on purpose.’

 

I felt like I could roughly guess what he was thinking. We hadn’t even made it back to the waiting room yet, and he was shouting loudly enough for his voice to echo throughout the hallway. His voice was so powerful it rivaled an actual singer’s—I swear my ears were starting to hurt.

 

‘He wants everyone to hear. He’s trying to kill Kingdom’s morale, isn’t he?’

 

If not that….

 

‘Look how amazing our kids are!’

 

He might just want to brag to the whole neighborhood. Looking at his face… I’d say it’s 80% the former and 20% the latter. On one hand, he was genuinely proud of us, but on the other, he still hadn’t let go of the hostility toward Kingdom that he’d been bottling up since earlier. It caught me a little off guard, but honestly, I didn’t dislike it.

 

Of course, the people still in the waiting rooms hadn’t actually seen our performance yet. They didn’t know how polished it had been or just how electric the atmosphere in the venue was…  But they could surely guess. They would have sensed the quality of <Fantasia>’s performance through the cheers piercing through the walls and the invisible heat in the air. Add to that the fact that Director Oh and the other staff were shouting their congratulations… Anyone would naturally conclude that <Fantasia> had absolutely destroyed the stage.

 

‘Is this some kind of humble brag?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Director Oh is a scarier man than I thought. Seriously.’

 

The highlight was him giving us tight hugs. It wasn’t just about screwing over [Kingdom]; I could feel his desperate desire to go forward together with <Fantasia>. His sincerity—the belief that these treasures would pull him higher and might be the lifeline of his life—was transparently conveyed.

 

‘This ahjussi… he really earned his way to this position.’

 

Even I was starting to like Director Oh more and more, so that alone said enough.

 

“Gosh! My kids!!! I’m so proud! So proud!”

 

‘Yeah, yeah. We get it.’

 

“You guys are the future of K-pop! The future! Let’s go to Billboard! Korea is too small for you!”

 

‘Okay, now you’ve gone too far. Seriously, enough already.’

 

He was hugging me so tight it was hard to breathe. I’d never been someone who enjoyed physical contact, so it wasn’t exactly welcome. I was even getting irritated by the ahjussi’s unique body odor mixed with perfume… but it wasn’t a bad feeling. Strictly speaking, it was closer to a good one.

 

Naturally, it wasn’t the hug with Director Oh that felt good. It was the fact that the staff of <The World> were cheering for us and congratulating us.

 

“Congrats on your first music show!”

 

“Ah… thank you, noona!”

 

“The cheering was so loud! Your live was incredible too!”

 

“It’s all thanks to you, noona.”

 

“Congratulations, Haejun.”

 

“Thank you, Team Leader Jung.”

 

“Hey, Taeyeol! You were really on fire today!”

 

“Ah. Thank you.”

 

Road Manager Hong Dukwang, the road manager whose face I couldn’t stand before and still couldn’t stand now; Team Leader Jung, who maintained the position of the only ‘sane person’ in the Marketing Headquarters; the Fan Manager Team Leader who worked so hard for the mini fan-meeting today; and the stylist noonas who took care of <Fantasia> from head to toe so we could stand on the battlefield properly—it felt good to be congratulated by all these staff members.

 

It might be a random way to put it, but…. It genuinely felt like I’d become one of the Hero’s companions. That was how I felt.

 

Joo Wooyoung must have felt this way every time he returned from his various travels. When he returned after a guild request to exterminate monsters, when he returned after slaying the Evil Dragon, when he defeated the Demon King…. Sometimes in a small village, sometimes in a kingdom, sometimes in an empire… he must have received a welcome just like this. But for Lee Unha, this kind of experience was unfamiliar.

 

I didn’t know if this was the right expression, but it felt like I had become a triumphant general returning from war. Judging by the atmosphere, it was like we’d come back after beheading an evil dragon, or defeating a wicked undead army. Of course, unlike Joo Wooyoung who moved for a greater cause, this was entirely for my own sake… but the sense of pride was undeniable. Just the fact that there were people here to welcome me back made me feel good.

 

And…. So did the fact that my members were with me. It was completely different from the laboratory, where almost every single moment had been spent alone. Naturally, I felt happy. When I looked over at the members, just as expected, I saw Joo Wooyoung smiling brightly.

 

“Good job, everyone.”

 

Joo Wooyoung was feeling the same emotion. Seeing his expression turn a bit nostalgic, it felt like he was projecting the current moment onto his past.

 

‘No, no. You can’t do that.’

 

You shouldn’t be thinking of your past comrades. Right now, we are your comrades, we are your members, and we are your party. You should think only of us—no, only of me. fraid he might sink into those memories, I hurriedly spoke up.

 

“Great job, Wooyoung hyung!”

 

“Yeah….”

 

“And the rest of you too! Ah! Suhyeon! Taehee! You guys worked hard too.”

 

“You too, Unha.”

 

“Yeah! Unha, you worked hard. We nailed it, didn’t we? We really did, right?”

 

“Judging by the atmosphere… I think we did. Honestly, before we went up there, all I could think about was winning or losing… Well, I guess I’m still thinking about that now… but… I’m happy. We showed the fans a polished performance, and I’m satisfied with it myself. I’m genuinely happy.”

 

“Even counting all our practice runs… I think that was our best one.”

 

“Ah, Haejun hyung thinks so too? Did everyone else feel the same?”

 

‘Yeah. You don’t have to answer. I already know we all felt the same thing.’

 

“But… Unha… are you sure nothing hurts? Your complexion doesn’t look great.”

 

‘That’s just because of the mana exhaustion.’

 

“I’m fine. Just a little short of breath because I’m over-excited. But Haejun hyung.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“This might be a bit sudden, but…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I guess winning an award is pretty much impossible, right? I mean, I know it’s probably not happening, but…”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

“Mmm… it’ll probably be difficult. Our album sales and other metrics and buzz are great… especially the social media score will be overwhelming… but for music shows, the digital chart ranking has the biggest impact… If I’m being realistic, it’ll be tough. The digital score here is probably around sixty percent.”

 

“That high?”

 

“Yeah. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if our digital ranking rises further….”

 

“Ah….”

 

“Even if it does, we’ll still need to wait a little longer. More importantly, our timing for appearing on music shows got a bit messed up. We came in before our first-week album sales had even been counted…”

 

“I see.”

 

“And above all, our broadcast score is really low. Well, it can’t be helped. We haven’t appeared on any other broadcasts since the showcase.”

 

“So broadcast scores… are important too.”

 

“They are. I can’t say they’re the most important, but… well… it’ll be difficult for us right now… Still I think we’ll have good news soon. Especially on cable channels, there’s a chance we’ll hit #1. Compared to when Kingdom won first on cable, Fantasia’s numbers right now are definitely stronger.”

 

‘Haejun hyung… you’re still angry at Kingdom, aren’t you?’

 

“…….”

 

Well, just because we gave one good performance and showed it without regrets didn’t mean we could forget what had happened only a few dozen minutes ago.

 

“I hope Kingdom completely bombs their performance.”

 

‘Taehee. Don’t say things like that. I’m scared someone might hear.’

 

“They probably will. They should. It’s karma.”

 

‘Suhyeon, you too. I’m thinking the same thing, but saying it out loud is dangerous.’

 

“…….”

 

Of course, there was no chance anyone would hear. We had already been in the waiting room for a while, and the only people here were <Fantasia> and <The World> staff. It was a safe place. Even Joo Wooyoung had started talking briefly with Kim Haejun about Kingdom. Jegal Hwi was sitting quietly in his usual spot, but he didn’t look like he’d calmed down either.

 

And Kim Taeyeol, as usual, was scowling. He approached me looking truly angry. I expected it to be something about Kingdom or Crown, but…. Surprisingly…. It wasn’t about Kingdom.

 

“Unha.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why did you add doubling during my part earlier?”

 

“Huh? Oh, I-I just felt like I should?”

 

“No….”

 

“Did I make a mistake…?”

 

“Never mind. Forget I asked… I’m just going to the restroom for a minute.”

 

‘What’s gotten into him now?’

 

With that, he stormed out of the waiting room. I could roughly guess why he was acting that way, but I couldn’t just leave him alone. Just as I opened the waiting room door to follow him….

 

“We’re going on standby!”

 

The staff member’s voice rang out, and I saw [Kingdom] emerging from their waiting room. I tried to follow Kim Taeyeol, but he had already vanished somewhere. In the moment I hesitated, Kingdom’s Lime brushed past me.

 

He looked like he had no confidence. The vibe was like a death row inmate heading to the execution chamber. soldier forced to fight in a battle he already knew he would lose. Whether Director Oh’s provocation had worked or not, he looked anxious and on edge.

 

The other members were even worse. It was as though people who had no justification left were collapsing under the weight of their own guilt.

 

Instinctively, I opened my mouth wide.

 

“Kingdom, fighting!”

 

In my Vitamin version, with a beaming smile.

 

“Good luck! Kingdom, fighting!!!”