Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 42

Author: LyraDhani

He even seemed to believe that he himself was the cause of everything. His personality was exactly as my first impression suggested.

“Wow…”

‘Is he… actually an idiot?’

He was so kind it bordered on stupidity.

Normally, souls with stories like his would go berserk, swearing revenge whenever they recalled the injustices they’d suffered in life.

Considering everything he’d been through, that would’ve been even more understandable. Even I, just watching, was getting angry on his behalf—that was how frustrating he was being.

It wouldn’t have been strange at all if he had turned into a malevolent spirit right then and there, screaming about how he was going to find the TOP9 bastards and tear them limb from limb. Instead, absurdly enough, he was blaming himself.

— Mine was at least a mutual contract termination… but in Haejun hyung’s case, he just left recklessly because I said I was leaving… There probably were penalty fees too….

— Haejun hyung still doesn’t have an agency now, does he? Well… I guess there wasn’t any company willing to pay that kind of penalty for him.

He even seemed to be worrying about Kim Haejun first. That wasn’t all.

— If it’s been a year, TOP9 must have debuted by now, right? We worked so hard… I wonder if our members took first place.

He was actually worrying about the TOP9 guys.

— They said their dream was to hit number one on a music show. I really hope they made it… No, they definitely did, right? Did they call my name during their acceptance speech? If there are any music videos out, could you show me?

‘Wow… at this point, he’s not just kind, he’s downright foolish….’

I truly felt like he was a completely innocent victim.

I didn’t know what circumstances had led to it, but that absurdly kind nature of his must have ended up provoking someone’s sore spot. He seemed a bit dim-witted, and since he admitted himself that he got through on sympathy votes, there were plenty of reasons for people to tear into him. Plus, his skills were lacking, so all the conditions for being hated were met.

‘Good grief….’

Even from my perspective, he’d been in no position to speak up for himself. In any group, there were those with loud voices and those with quiet ones. This tendency was even more pronounced among guys his age. If no one kept them in check, it was easy to find the ones who completely ran wild.

The moment someone seemed too weak or too easy to push around, they became the target—whether it was a middle school classroom or a practice room, it was all the same.

‘Wait, even so, wouldn’t a massive agency like that have strict training? It’s not like they’re some tiny one-room startup agency….’

And that guy….

‘The leader was the problem too.’

The fact that the group leader didn’t just allow the internal politics but actively led the charge was the finishing blow. Because there were always people watching, they couldn’t openly ostracize JH, but I remembered scene after scene of him encouraging the others to exclude and ignore JH over both major and minor matters.

‘Wow….’

On a separate note, I also realized why Kim Haejun harbored that inexplicable hostility toward me.

In Kim Haejun’s eyes, the way Lee Unha didn’t even call others by their names and seemingly ignored them must have looked exactly like the scenes where the TOP9 members ignored JH.

— Um… could I ask… what happened to the hyungs?

“It’s not good.”

— What?!

“It’s not that great. For a group that debuted with so much hype, their results were disappointing. Actually, ‘disappointing’ is putting it mildly—they completely crashed. I don’t know all the details myself, but the fact that I don’t even know much about them says enough about how little recognition they have.”

— No way….

“I don’t think they’ve ever hit number one on the charts, let alone a music show… I think the highest they ever reached on a music chart was 9th place? They did have a fandom because they came from a survival show… but ironically, that only made them an easier target for ridicule. Their group name is TOP9, after all.”

— What?! N-no… that can’t be… The hyungs definitely….

“They completely lost face. They even used your car accident as aggro for attention. Interviews were floating around saying they’d work hard ‘for JH’ and all that.”

— Gosh! Really?!

“It’s not something to be happy about… why are you looking so pleased? Hyung.”

— Huh?

“They were trying to use your death to generate hype. If they had a conscience, they wouldn’t have done that. They practically forced you to leave by ostracizing you…. I think you’re misunderstanding something. You didn’t leave the group by your own choice. They made you leave.”

— …….

“It’s funny having this conversation with someone who’s already dead. But I just said it because I was frustrated. You should show at least a hint of resentment, but you don’t seem to have any….”

— No, well….

“Those people aren’t good people. Of course, my words might not carry much weight since I didn’t know the situation back then, but… if I were you, I would have cursed them rather than cheered for them. Well… there’s no need to curse them anymore. They’re already the unwanted burden within their own agency… Strictly speaking, they’re just reaping what they sowed.”

The soul scratched his cheek with a finger again like a fool. He seemed to be looking for something to say, but even that sight alone irritated me.

Perhaps because he was such a different person from me, I felt an instinctive rejection. Knowing there was no need to get worked up at a ghost, I tried to calm my emotions. No, I had no choice but to calm down.

— Still… they’re my fellow members. Even if it was for a short time, we were a team….

‘What point is there in that?’

I couldn’t imagine those words changing anything.

‘I don’t know anymore. Well… it’s not like I can avenge him in his place. Right. All I have to do is fulfill his request.’

“…Sigh. Anyway… I’ve learned what I wanted to know. A promise is a promise. A contract is still a contract, after all. If there’s anything you’d like to ask of me, go ahead. Of course, I can’t do anything completely unreasonable, but….”

— Then… perhaps….

“Yes.”

— Is something like ‘possession’ possible? I have something I really want to say to Haejun hyung with my own mouth.

“Possession is impossible.”

Actually, it was possible. But….

‘No matter how harmless he seems… it’s still too risky.’

I didn’t really want to grant that.

“If there’s something you want to tell him, how about I deliver the message for you instead?”

— Um….

I stared intently at the soul.

The soul in front of me, apparently not even suspecting that I would lie, looked disappointed. Of course, it was only for a moment. He quickly composed himself, nodded, and seemed to accept the contract.

“Nothing to say to your parents?”

— I don’t have parents. My uncle took care of me… but we weren’t that close.

‘That’s tragic….’

“What about anyone else?”

— There’s… no one…. I’m not very good with people… I don’t have many friends either… There’s really no one I need to leave a message for, besides Haejun hyung….

On a human level, I felt sorry for him, but once you started becoming attached to the stories of souls, there was no end to it.

When I first used this skill, I used to empathize with their stories and get synchronized with their emotions, but after having similar experiences for a long time, I naturally learned how to cut it off.

I figured there was little point in continuing this conversation any further and was about to find some way to wrap things up when—

“Unha!!”

‘Ah! You startled me.’

No. 123—no, Taehee—had come running over. He looked oddly excited, as if he’d stumbled across some huge piece of news. I had no idea what had happened, but without even catching his breath, he blurted out,

“There’s trouble! Right now… right now Kim Haejun is…!”

“Huh?”

“Kim Haejun! Anyway, come quickly, Unha!”

I instinctively realized something had gone terribly wrong.

“W-wait a minute….”

— W-what’s going on? What happened? Haejun hyung is….

Naturally, the summoned soul followed after me.

And….

To my great surprise… I could see No. 12, Kim Haejun, shouting loudly in the practice room.

“You bastard! You took it!”

“What are you talking about?! I told you I didn’t!”

“You took it! You son of a b*tch!! Give it back! Give it back now!!”

“No… I really didn’t! I didn’t!”

“Give it back right now!!!”

‘The… the situation is more serious than I thought?’

The face of No. 12—no, Kim Haejun—who had become extremely emotional, caught my eye. He looked like he was seconds away from grabbing the other guy by the collar and throwing a punch, but that posture looked so awkward that I realized he had never actually swung a punch in his life.

— Huh? Huh? Haejun hyung… Haejun hyung! Haejun hyung, what’s wrong?!

“Give it back!!”

“Hey! Who are you calling a thief? You’re acting crazy! Hey! Search me. I said search me! What are you going to do if it’s not there? I didn’t even know you were carrying around that weird bracelet! why the hell are you taking your anger out on me?! I’m telling you, it wasn’t me! Fuck! This is seriously pissing me off! You bastard!”

“You took it! F*ck… Give it back quickly! I said return it… Give it to me!!”

He even had tears in his eyes. Other trainees nearby were trying to separate them, but they were powerless to stop No. 12, who was struggling almost hysterically.

‘Wait, aren’t there cameras here?’

I hope this isn’t being filmed.

It didn’t seem like the official cameras were rolling, but I could see a trainee recording the commotion with his personal phone. Every miserable second of this scene was being captured.

‘This is getting bad.’

Many onlookers were watching the scene from a distance, breaking into cold sweats. To make matters worse, No. 123 immediately leaned into my ear and whispered.

“This is seriously no joke, right?”

“…….”

“I guess those are his true colors. I told you, Unha. That guy… he’s bad news.”

“…….”

As if responding to No. 123, JH also shouted at the top of his lungs.

— N-no! Haejun hyung isn’t that kind of person! There must be a reason!

I really wished both of them would just be quiet.

“W-what’s gotten into him?”

“I don’t know. Suddenly he said he lost his bracelet.”

Whatever it was, I had to stop it. I couldn’t just let him continue this madness.

“Stop it!”

I hadn’t expected my words to make any difference, but….