Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 164

It wasn’t just that something was happening. It looked as though the very landscape was shifting beneath our feet.

 

As if an emergency disaster alert had been issued, my phone was ringing incessantly. Even though it was late at night, people who had seen the news articles were flooding me with congratulatory messages.

 

The Unha Clique was a prime example. Those I met on Idol Classism who didn’t make the debut group, including Han Yohan, were pouring out their congratulations. It wasn’t just in the group chat; I was getting personal texts too.

 

More directly…

 

[Unha, congrats! But is that appearance fee real? You really agreed to go in for that much?] [11:32 PM]

 

Messages like that were piling up.

 

‘Seriously. Han Yohan, you’re too innocent for your own good. How can you ask something like that?’

 

The group chat I shared with the actors I met on Ten-Million-Actor Diner was the same. Even though I barely remembered some of their names, they were actively congratulating me. The messages ranged from ‘Congrats on your first project’ to ‘I’ve never seen a rookie debut like this before’.

 

Even Actor Byeon Yongseok, who had previously claimed he wasn’t used to electronic devices… sent a long, carefully written message.

 

[Actor Lee Unha. Congratu… lations. ^^ This is your first step. Don’t think of this as the end… I hope you meet many good… projects and show us great acting… Of course, your acting ability and experience are… beyond doubt, but still… unpredictable things happen on a… film set… so don’t forget to prepare well… I’m not nagging… just… I’m worried people won’t recognize our Actor Lee’s talent because of… those unexpected variables. You can just let the words people say here and there go in one ear and out the other. Well then, our… Actor Lee Unha, fighting!] [11:33 PM]

 

He even kept them coming.

 

[Prepare well for the… script reading… and if your schedule is open… I think it would be good if you came to my house to practice together… talk about acting, and do like we did before… what does everyone think?] [11:36 PM]

 

‘Did this grandfather… get hit by my Succubus’ Eye or something? I appreciate the sentiment, but… it’s a bit much.’

 

The other actors were no different. Of course, there was someone here too, like Han Yohan, who asked about the pay bluntly. It was the youngest member of the Diner cast, Actor Jung.

 

[Whoa… Unha. Is that guarantee in the article real? Is the agency that good at their job? What’s going on? At this rate, after two or three more projects you’ll probably be making more than I am.] [11:36 PM]

 

[Anyway, sincere congratulations, Unha! We should get together again! How about meeting at Byeon sunbaenim’s house?] [11:36 PM]

 

‘No, I’m not going. And… I won’t be doing a second or third project. Acting ends with this one.’

 

[Hey hyungnims, Aran said she wants to be invited to this chat too. Can I add her?] [11:36 PM]

 

‘No. Don’t invite her. Please. This group is already overwhelming enough.’

 

They were even trying to grow the size of this group chat. It felt like they were trying to fill this small space with every essential actor in Korea, making the current situation awkward for me.

 

‘What is wrong with these people?’

 

In the midst of that, a text arrived from someone completely unexpected.

 

‘Ah….’

 

None other than… PD Park, whom I met on Idol Classism.

 

Come to think of it…

 

‘Didn’t I promise that if I ever acted… I’d appear in one of Producer Park’s works first…?’

 

A verbal promise was still a promise.

 

‘Should I have told him beforehand?’

 

I didn’t want to make an enemy of the PD, so I was worried about what he would say, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to blame me. If anything, his message was incredibly warm. He said he was glad things worked out for me, told me not to worry about the promise because he couldn’t have matched that fee anyway, and since he was now in the Drama Department, he pleaded for me to appear in a project he directed later.

 

Just after I finished replying as sincerely as possible and took a breath, Director Gu, who had been watching me, opened his mouth. He looked genuinely intrigued.

 

“The fallout will be quite significant.”

 

‘It’s more than just significant.’

 

“Both the guarantee you’re receiving and the current situation are unprecedented.”

 

‘Even so….’

 

“The number of people supporting and liking you will increase, but the number of people who are envious and jealous of you will also grow. Now… the ratio of the latter will definitely become higher.”

 

“Ah. Yes….”

 

“…….”

“…….”

 

“That is all I wanted to say.”

 

‘What?’

 

“Then, get some rest.”

 

‘Wait… what?’

 

I thought he was going to give me some grand words of encouragement, but he just ended it there. He even dusted himself off and stood up, looking as though the conversation was truly over.

 

I fixed my gaze on him for a moment with a bewildered expression, but I didn’t have time to worry about Director Gu. There was a different reason.

 

Just as Director Gu said….

 

I could see that the number of people envious and jealous of Lee Unha was skyrocketing.

 

It had completely buried issue surrounding Kim Haejun, which had been dominating every discussion until now. To exaggerate slightly, talk of Kim Haejun was nowhere to be found. Ever since the article dropped, everyone everywhere was only talking about Lee Unha’s appearance fee and his upcoming project.

 

Here and there, it was all about Lee Unha or <Fantasia>.

 

[Anonymous: Is Lee Unha’s fee in the article real?]

[Looking at the articles coming out right now, I guess there really was a reason they wrapped up promotions so quickly. It wasn’t Kim Haejun’s Artist Disease, it seems they cut activities short because of Lee Unha. Am I right?]

↳ [Anon]: Yeah, whatever, next copycat idol~

↳ [Anon]: You think Kingdom fans are still the ones posting this?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Unha and Lime are close, yet somehow only this place keeps pushing this narrative.

 

‘What are you talking about? I’m not close with Lime.’

 

↳ [Anon]: My heart aches because Haejun was the only one getting trashed unfairly. Looking at the reviews from the video-call fansign, he really seemed sick during the signing. The kids calling it Artist Disease mostly looked like toxic antis or other members’ solo-stans, but look how this turned outㅋ

↳ [Anon]: Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed in Lee Unha. He acted like he’d be an idol forever, but then he goes off to act less than a year after debut… and the reason is just moneyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

↳ [Anon]: 2222222222222222 First time I’ve seen an idol ditch for acting after releasing just one mini-album. Legendary in many ways.

↳ [Anon]: 3333333333333333333

↳ [Anon]: 444444444

↳ [Anon]: But is it even true that he’s getting that fee?

↳ [Anon]: Eh? People actually believe this? It’s just a rumor.

↳ [Anon]: No, it’s true. It’s not a tabloid rumor or fake [Link to article on Lee Unha’s per-episode fee].

↳ [Anon]: Honestly, I like it. I wish he’d just be an actor from now onㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Honestly, bluntly speaking, wasn’t <Fantasia> a one-man team carried by Una? He wasn’t getting treated right anyway, so I’d rather he do solo activities before he gets held back further.

 

‘What’s with this person now…?’

 

The atmosphere was so chaotic that neither the posts nor the comments had any clear direction. While I was glad that the blame and accountability had shifted from Kim Haejun to me as originally intended… it seemed that strange rumors and posts were being mass-produced.

 

The comments were a mixture of people attacking Lee Unha and those trying to protect him. Still, I hadn’t expected people to start saying he should leave Fantasia and become an actor full-time. The bigger problem was that there were quite a lot of comments like that.

 

↳ [Anon]: If you look at the styling and the line distribution, the discrimination against Una is pretty bad. I don’t know if it’s the company’s influence or the members complaining, but I’d want to run away too. Escape fast, Una!

 

Most of them were like this.

 

Actually, these were comments that had been appearing sporadically before. They were convinced Lee Unha was being mistreated within <Fantasia>—the unwanted duckling of the group. Those who thought he should escape <Fantasia> quickly and that he could soar higher without people holding him back seemed to have exploded all at once, seeing their thoughts confirmed by this article.

 

‘I—How should I handle these people later?’

 

I had anticipated many problems arising from this move, but I hadn’t expected this specific sentiment, which made it even more bewildering. Of course, it was still a minority opinion for now. At this point, the most mentioned topic among the countless posts and comments taking over the communities was, as expected…

 

The money.

 

[Anonymous: There’s a lot of talk about Lee Unha’s fee… but…]

[Is there really a reason for this to be a controversy? I don’t see the problem. In a capitalist society, what’s wrong with being treated according to your ability? Why is everyone making a fuss about the fee? He’s getting it because he’s worth it. When the clips of him acting in Diner were going around, everyone was saying ‘Our Unha is so good at acting,’ but now you’re switching up? People already know celebrities make tons of money when they decide to stan them. Why is everyone suddenly holding Lee Unha to a different standard?]

↳ [Anon]: Who’s saying anything?

↳ [Anon]: Everyone is literally only talking about that.

↳ [Anon]: It’s not that bad here. Go look at the portal site comments.

↳ [Anon]: I don’t think it’s an unfair thing to say. Who doesn’t know celebrities make bank? But people are talking because the current situation is irrational. He got a guarantee that a lead actor gets for his first-ever project; It’s only natural people would feel discouraged.

↳ [Anon]: 2222222 I totally understand why people feel that way.

↳ [Anon]: That’s more money than most people could save in a lifetime from regular work.

↳ [Anon]: Isn’t it natural to have an existential crisis over this? Everyone’s saying they’re having a reality check, it’s absurd, they’re questioning whether this makes any sense.

↳ [Anon]: It’s not just ordinary people. Other actors and aspiring actors are probably feeling the same way. They all entered the industry with expectations. It feels like the production deliberately inflated his price tag as high as possible. Honestly, I can’t tell whether this will help Lee Unha or end up hurting him.

 

‘Actually… I feel the same way.’

 

↳ [Anon]: It’s relatively tame here.

 

‘That’s also true.’

 

At least on this anonymous forum, people didn’t care all that much about how much idols or actors earned. Well, they cared—but not more than everything else. Here, the artist’s attitude toward fans and their activities was considered more vital than their income. This was a place where fans who were happy for their biases getting their paychecks gathered.

 

The problem was the public sentiment in the general communities that had nothing to do with entertainment.

 

[Lee Unha’s Appearance Fee Controversy] [1,126 views]

[1 hour ago] [Ronaldofanl]

 

[F*ck… seriously, what a sh*tty life. Makes me wonder what the hell my own life has amounted to. I just want to kill everyone.]

 

I felt dizzy just reading the first sentence.

 

‘Wow… no. I don’t even want to enter this place. Seriously.’

 

There were places where all sorts of profanities were flying around. The real problem was these kinds of communities and…

 

As I mentioned before, the comments on portal sites.

 

The general public, who had zero interest in idols or K-pop, seemed to be furious at the fee Lee Unha would receive, regardless of who he was or what talent he possessed.