Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 15

“PD Ahn. PD Ahn, what are you doing?”

 

‘Trainee No. 98. No. 78. No. 45. Sigh. Wooyoung, of all the people you could have picked, why them? What is this noona supposed to do for you… how am I supposed to handle this…?’

 

“PD Ahn?”

 

It was a bit ridiculous for her, one of the show’s producers, to be worrying like this when she was the one who had hoped Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha would end up on the same team. But she couldn’t help it. She simply wasn’t satisfied with how the auction had turned out.

 

‘No matter how I look at it, Joo Wooyoung shouldn’t have spent all 1,300 coins on Lee Unha… He should have kept at least a few coins… No, if he had just picked better from the failed-bid pool, it wouldn’t be this bad… What were you thinking?’

 

Of course, from a producer’s standpoint, it made for great show.

 

“Hah…”

 

But from the perspective of a fan of Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha, it was a disaster. Just thinking about the other three members of Wooyoung’s team—all of whom had been leftover trainees—was already enough to give her a headache.

 

“PD Ahn!! Come over here for a second!”

 

“Ah! Yes, sunbaenim! Did you call for me?”

 

Strictly speaking, it was funny for a producer to be rooting for certain trainees. She knew she should look at them as fairly as possible, but she couldn’t help it. Her heart was already leaning toward them…

 

She had jumped into this industry to indulge in her fangirling life, but ironically, after developing a sense of professionalism and getting hurt countless times, she had vowed never to become a stan again…

 

‘I definitely promised myself that…’

 

But who would have imagined she’d have a life-changing experience like this? Several years after realizing that celebrities were ultimately flawed human beings just like everyone else, she had once again encountered people who made her heart race.

 

She was currently in the denial phase of becoming a fan, but deep down, she knew she was already deep in the pit. Even when she was too busy to leave work on time, she found herself replaying Lee Unha’s pre-release introduction video hundreds of times whenever she had a spare moment, and before she knew it, she was staring blankly at Joo Wooyoung’s introduction video just as often.

 

Her only consolation was that the junior writer, Kim Jaehee, seemed to be in a similar boat. Though she didn’t make it obvious, signs that she was hooked on Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha were becoming more apparent…

 

Honestly, she couldn’t even bring herself to scold her. She understood Kim Jaehee’s feelings all too well.

 

‘These kids… they were born to be idols! They are precious beings from the Idol Planet! They have to be children sent down from heaven!’

 

When Lee Unha first introduced himself as coming from the Idol Planet, she hadn’t thought much of it, but exactly as he had said, both he and Joo Wooyoung looked like they were born for the stage. It really felt like they had just dropped down from a planet of idols.

 

They possessed a strange, magnetic aura that pulled people in. She was certain they wouldn’t become ‘Oh, really? Bot idols who act bored and disinterested at fan signings even after five years of debuting. She could feel that they had a passion for the dream itself, not just the money.

 

Moreover…

 

‘The chemistry between the two is insane. Is this for real? Seriously.’

 

She even felt the urge to reopen the forbidden fanfic account she had closed after high school. What more needed to be said?

 

‘Lee Unha. The light of my heart, the cradle of my soul.’

 

Please debut. You guys have to debut. Please, please debut.

 

“What are you thinking about, PD Ahn?”

 

“Ah… just, you know, work… this and that. But why did you call?”

 

“I wanted to get your opinion on this part. I’m just someone who joined the team late, you know? Didn’t people say you have a sharp eye for this stuff? That’s why the CP insisted we needed you.”

 

“Well, that’s all in the past….”

 

[Yes! Trainee Joo Wooyoung has used all 1,300 of his coins to bid on Trainee Lee Unha!]

[Trainee No. 112 Lee Unha: (Shocked)]

 

“What do you think of this? Look at this. How should I handle the captions for this part?”

 

“Shouldn’t we just use them normally? Maybe lean into the subtle friendship or rivalry between them.”

 

“Hmm. Isn’t that a bit weak? I was thinking of making Joo Wooyoung more of a villain.”

 

“Ah, no.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The CP will give the final confirmation later, but… the slave auction itself is already provocative enough. I don’t think we need to manufacture even more controversy. Joo Wooyoung is already going to become controversial anyway from the moment he dumped all 1,300 coins on Lee Woonha, ruined the auction, and ended up taking all the leftover trainees.”

 

“Aha….”

 

“There’s no need for us to add fuel to the fire. It’s better to touch on the subtle friendship between the two. That’s how the pre-release video came out, and the CP said we should stick to that direction….”

 

“Ah. Is that so? I must have missed that.”

 

“And we have to think about the future. Putting Lee Unha aside… no matter how you look at it, Joo Wooyoung has a high chance of debuting. If he actually debuts, the higher-ups won’t be happy if we’ve turned the audience against him.”

 

“We can always clean up his image in the latter half, but I guess it’s better to establish a good character from the start.”

 

“Exactly. There’s no need to force a persona….”

 

[Trainee Lee Unha, shocked but looking happy.]

[Trainee No. 112 Lee Unha: Wooyoung hyung? Of course I’m happy. I’ve always wanted to perform on the same stage as him.]

[Trainee No. 111 Joo Wooyoung: I thought I had to bring Unha no matter what. The reason? Because he’s special…]

 

“I think it’d be good if we just added those audio clips… something like this.”

 

[What is the fate of these two who formed a team with 0 coins left?]

 

“After that, we can either save the rest of the auction for the next episode or show the other teams first… use some cross-cutting, add more sound effects too. We already outsourced those, so we might as well wait for them.”

 

“Oh! You’re so passionate, PD Ahn!”

 

“Wait, this part here, a bit more…”

 

“Y-You seem excessively passionate… PD Ahn. Well, I’m going to head out for a quick smoke. Watch the desk for a bit.”

 

“Pardon? Sunbaenim?”

 

“Don’t touch anything, okay?”

 

‘That man… seriously… I knew he’d do that.’

 

The chair swap happened naturally. After plopping into the seat, she cautiously rewound the footage. The scene reflecting on the monitor wasn’t the auction…

 

It was the first practice session of Joo Wooyoung’s team after the auction had ended.

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: This is annoying. I don’t think I can do this. Huff… huff…]

[Trainee No. 78 Woo Youngha: Why don’t we try being more efficient? Change the choreo a bit like Unha did in the class auction. Unha, is there any way? What do you think, Wooyoung Hyung?**]

[Trainee No. 45 Han Yohan: (Uninterested)]

[Trainee No. 112 Lee Unha: Let’s try a bit more! Everyone can do it!!]

 

Even though it was only the first day of practice, a desperate team atmosphere was visible on screen. The consequences of Joo Wooyoung spending all 1,300 coins on Lee Woonha had already begun to show.

 

‘This is bad… this shouldn’t be happening…’

 

When Unha’s face, smiling brightly despite the hopeless situation, appeared on the monitor, she felt a tightness in her chest.

 

***

 

“Um… Hyungs?”

 

I was smiling brightly, but on the inside, I was rotting. Looking at these guys’ faces made my chest tighten in a different way.

 

“Hyungs, aren’t you going to get ready?”

 

It really was tightening.

 

‘F*ck, we are truly screwed. Aren’t we?’

 

It was bad enough that I was naturally cursing in my head.

 

Of course, it was a situation I had expected from the moment Joo Wooyoung dumped all 1,300 coins on me, but now that I was actually facing it, my head was already starting to ache trying to figure out how to solve this mess. I just never imagined things would be this hopeless.

 

There were three leftover trainees. If you counted the absurdly overvalued Lee Unha, that practically made four. And if those leftovers were at least decent, I wouldn’t be this stressed, but but our new master, Lord Joo Wooyoung, had somehow managed to pick exactly the wrong ones.

 

He’d focused only on choosing whoever had slightly better skills without considering their personalities at all. Because he had zero coins, his options were limited, but…

 

The three Joo Wooyoung picked were guys who didn’t have a single likable quality.

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

The nickname I gave them was the Hopeless Trio.

 

First, Trainee No. 98. A guy who looked like he spent his school years disciplining other kids.

 

‘This guy will definitely have a school violence scandal. I guarantee it 100%.’

 

“Sigh… f*ck. I’m exhausted.”

 

He was currently sprawled crookedly across the bed, watching TV. He looked mean-spirited, and his eyes were filled with the kind of swag that shouldn’t be there. You’d think if he’d had even a little trainee experience, he’d realize how pathetic it was for a teenager to act tough just because he was a bit taller or stronger than others…

 

But he seemed completely oblivious. Maybe he’d never crossed the line into outright delinquency, but otherwise he looked no different from any other thug.

 

Right next to him was Trainee No. 78. He already had dead fish eyes equipped.

 

‘This guy doesn’t even intend to debut. He’ll probably just draw a bit of attention and then go show his face on some streaming site. Even there, he’ll be the kind of guy who just gives ‘Oh, really?’ reactions.’

 

“When was our first broadcast again?”

 

His face was fine. But he had a certain internet streamer vibe to him. It wasn’t his looks, but his behavior. Even now, he was glued to his phone, snickering while watching some internet broadcast. I didn’t know what the video was, but it was almost certainly something useless.

 

Finally, Trainee No. 45, who seemed to have no concept of motivation.

 

‘He’s only passionate about taking photos with his phone….’

 

“Unha, want to take a picture together?”

 

He had a cute face, and his skills were actually the best among the three, but for some reason, he looked like he had lost all the drive. He ignored practice and was busy taking photos. Not only was he taking photos of every corner of the dorm, but he was also putting his heart and soul into taking selfies.

 

It was a chore just to smile and refuse this guy’s requests to take photos together. If social media had been available, he could’ve at least claimed he was interacting with fans, but I had no idea what he was doing right now.

 

And so, the four-person dorm assigned exclusively to the four slaves under Joo Wooyoung…

 

In just one night…

 

It had become a place where all energy was drained away.

 

“Ha. Hahaha. Hyungs?”

 

“……”

 

“Hyungs….”

 

Even the slave dorm I’d stayed in before wasn’t this bad. Of course, since I was the favorite of my former master—no, that mad dark mage—I was quickly moved to a private room…

 

But the slaves I had stayed with in the collective dorms for a short time weren’t like this. Even those who were about to die had a sparkle in their eyes, and the twisted ones worked desperately to get into the master’s good graces. Some even envied me.

 

Compared to them, these guys…

 

‘This… this is a bit much.’

 

It might have been a difficult mission for Joo Wooyoung, who lacked information about the Slave class, but who knew he had such rotten luck that he’d pick losers every single time? It was a relief they weren’t completely talentless, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

 

To make matters worse, since the Noble Joo Wooyoung used a large room by himself, I naturally ended up being the one stuck babysitting these idiots. That was the most stressful part.

 

‘Watching this… is torture. Look at how they’re just sprawled out… Seriously. What am I supposed to do with them?’

 

Even if we practiced without eating or sleeping, we wouldn’t have enough time…

 

‘You guys… what the hell are you doing right now?’

 

I couldn’t just watch anymore, so I spoke up.

 

“Hyung… Hyungs, let’s go out to practice.”

 

‘At least answer me, you bastards.’

 

“Hyungs, we have to practice.”

 

Then, the voice of No. 98, shouting back, reached me.

 

“Man, just give it a rest. F*ck. We worked until dawn yesterday… we have plenty of time, we should rest when we need to! Just because you want to practice, do we have to go out with you?”

 

“Yeah. We should rest while we can. Let’s eat first, hold a meeting or something, and really get started this afternoon. I heard the other teams are all taking breaks and recharging too. Or we could focus on discussing things. It’s not like forcing ourselves to keep practicing right now is going to magically solve anything.”

 

‘Seriously, f*ck.’

 

“Wait, Unha. Stay right there. I’ll take a picture of you.”

 

‘They’re really making me want to curse.’

 

My fists were trembling.