Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 43

Author: LyraDhani

No. 12 Kim Haejun hadn’t actually punched me. He had simply strode over and pushed me with one hand.

“Ack!”

Thud! In an instant, I hit the floor, landing hard on my backside.

I was startled, but I didn’t think he’d intended to push me that hard. It was more that I had tripped over my own feet while backing away in surprise, and the timing of the fall made it look worse than it was.

In fact, even Kim Haejun, who had pushed me, had a look of shock on his face.

“Hey!!!”

But then, a loud shout rang out.

Before I could even turn my head, I saw an agitated No. 123 lunging at No. 12.

‘Wait… this isn’t right… this shouldn’t be happening? Hey. What are you doing? Why are you doing this? What’s going on?!’

Thud! No. 123 and No. 12—no, Jung Taehee and Kim Haejun—collided.

Because No. 123 had delivered a fairly powerful tackle, the two of them ended up rolling across the floor together.

Taehee didn’t miss the opportunity; he scrambled on top of Kim Haejun and started swinging his hands wildly.

A full-blown catfight had begun.

‘No! No!’

I broke into a cold sweat at the thought that blood might be shed or someone’s face might get permanently scarred… but fortunately, No. 123 was also clearly inexperienced in fighting.

Actually, it looked like he had never been in a fight in his entire life. He had just rushed in and tackled the guy, and was now flailing his weak, cotton-ball fists like a cat.

Then again, since he was even smaller than I was, that was to be expected.

‘His momentum is the only thing that’s loud…’

“You piece of trash!!”

“Let go of me!!”

Unlike No. 123, who had lunged in with full momentum, No. 12’s performance was actually more impressive. After kicking No. 123 off him, he lunged back and swung a punch.

In truth, neither of them had a real reason to fight, yet they were both so agitated that they were just blindly throwing punches.

‘They’ve gone crazy.’

“Aaack! Aaaahhh!”

Meanwhile, JH was screaming beside me as though he were the one getting beaten.

The tide was gradually turning in favor of Kim Haejun, who had the physical advantage. Fortunately, Kim Haejun’s clumsy punches weren’t enough to leave a mark on Taehee’s face, but it was not a pretty sight.

No. 123 was my rival for the title of physically weakest trainee, while No. 12’s physique was somewhere in the lower-middle tier.

‘Would someone stop them already, damn it.’

The atmosphere was so tense that it was hard to intervene. It was right then that No. 98 grabbed No. 12 by the back of the neck and pulled him away.

‘Yes… No. 98!’

Even the physical monster, the crybaby No. 141, joined in to stop the fight after finally grasping the situation.

This was on a completely different level from the scuffle between the two rabbits earlier. They didn’t even have to do anything; their mere presence commanded the room.

No. 98, who looked like a genuine delinquent, and No. 141, who looked like he had done elite sports—guys who obviously occupied the top of the social caste back in school.

When those two stood between them and broke them up, both No. 12 and No. 123 could only glare at each other, not daring to lunge again.

No. 98 spoke with a cold face.

“That’s enough.”

“Huff… huff… haaa….”

“I said, that’s enough. Seriously.”

“Huff. Huff. F*ck… seriously….”

“…….”

“F*ck… seriously….”

‘The real deals are definitely different. They’ve got… presence.’

These guys would probably adapt just fine even if they were dropped into the other world.

‘They’re kind of like battle slaves….’

“I don’t know what this is about… but that’s enough. There’s no need to take it this far.”

“Phew….”

The tension gradually subsided. Kim Haejun wiped his face, looking embarrassed. He stood up and brushed past No. 98’s shoulder as he stormed out of the practice room.

“Unha… are you okay?”

‘No… I don’t think I am….’

“Yeah. I’m fine. Taehee, are you okay?”

“Yeah… I guess I shouldn’t have stepped in. But seeing you get treated like that and falling… I just got angry without realizing it….”

“I was perfectly fine, though…?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, thanks for looking out for me, Taehee.”

“Mhm….”

‘I seriously have no idea how I’m supposed to untangle this mess.’

Jung Taehee’s face looked a bit dejected. I thought about comforting him but ended up just letting out a sigh. With incidents happening one after another, I had no idea how to clean this up.

I wished the production staff would step in and resolve the situation, but they were nowhere to be found.

The other trainees were also greatly flustered by the sudden commotion, and it seemed like news had spread, as more trainees were flocking to the practice room. Seeing so many people suddenly coming up to talk to me and Taehee…

‘It looks like Kim Haejun’s image just hit rock bottom.’

Everyone seemed to be in agreement about who the villain of this incident was.

“Taehee, are you okay?”

“Yeah… I-I’m fine.”

“I thought he was a total psycho. Suddenly accusing an innocent person of being a thief… and pushing Lee Unha too… He’s the one in the wrong. Hey, Taehee, don’t let it get to you. You did the right thing.”

“I knew that Kim Haejun bastard was going to cause trouble eventually. I could tell from the way he acted all cocky… Instead of apologizing to everyone, he curses people out and walks off? He completely ruined the atmosphere. Unha, are you okay too?”

“Yes.”

“It’s because he looks down on us. Deep down, he’s always had this attitude that we’re beneath him. That’s why he acts like that…. Hanging around famous rappers, drinking, smoking, talking about doing features and giving people songs—how ridiculous must we look to him, just being regular trainees?”

“…….”

“I’m telling you, his true nature finally came out! He was 3rd in TOP9 and was super successful, so not only is he pissed about falling to the Commoner class, but he’s also taking it out on Unha because he lost the follower mission. He thought he’d obviously be number one here, and he’s acting out because he isn’t.”

“…….”

“He looked like he was going to kill someone over a single bracelet. I knew he was sensitive, but isn’t this going too far? Am I the only one who thinks so? Huh?”

‘They’re openly turning him into the villain. And there are plenty of people stirring everyone else up without the slightest hesitation….’

“Hey, Kang Yoon. Weren’t you close with Kim Haejun?”

“Not really. That guy… he spends most of his time with headphones on when the cameras aren’t rolling… I’ve barely said a few words to him. He’s the same in the dorm. We’ve spoken a few times, but he definitely keeps his distance.”

“What a piece of work. That’s exactly what I mean—he’s openly looking down on the rest of us.”

To make matters worse, public opinion seemed to be shifting toward believing that argument. I had heard from No. 123 that Haejun’s reputation was quite good, but it seemed several guys were harboring deep-seated inferiority complexes.

Those who had never liked Kim Haejun’s behavior eagerly took this opportunity to tear into him together.

And caught in the middle of it all was No. 123.

Technically, he was the one who had attacked first, but because he’d ended up looking like the one who’d taken the beating in such a dramatic fashion, he seemed to be drawing everyone’s sympathy. Of course, the fact that he’d carefully built up a good image beforehand was another reason people were supporting him.

The sight of someone who couldn’t even fight throwing himself into the fray to protect a friend seemed to have set the hearts of these high school boys on fire.

“That was cool, Taehee. Lunging in like that the moment Unha got pushed…. Don’t worry about it. We’re all on your side. If anything happens later, we’ll protect you.”

“No, you don’t have to. I just….”

“Ugh… isn’t he seriously disgusting?”

“I felt the same way about him. The way he acts like he’s the only one who matters….”

“His personality is trash… seriously… that’s probably why he got kicked out of TOP9. There’s no other reason!”

“Shouldn’t we tell the writers about this?”

In the midst of this, No. 98 was looking at me with an expression that was hard to describe. I couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t seem to like how the situation was unfolding.

Eventually, he walked over and spoke.

“Lee Unha. You okay?”

“Ah… yes. I mean… Taeyeol hyung. I’m fine.”

“Well, try to be understanding.”

“Huh?”

“Sounds like he lost something… and it must’ve been really important to him. A bracelet, I think? He’s been on edge for a while… and I guess he finally snapped. I just never thought he’d end up taking it out on you too.”

“…….”

“Taeyeol hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Were you close with Haejun hyung?”

“Not really. We only chatted in passing. He didn’t seem like a bad guy… well, I don’t know how this will turn out. It’s true he messed up, but the way everyone’s reacting doesn’t feel right.”

At Kim Taeyeol’s words, JH, who had been clutching his head, let out a scream.

— W-what do we do? What… what are we supposed to do? What if Haejun hyung can’t debut?

It was a very emotional reaction.

‘There’s no need to worry about that. Public opinion in here and public opinion outside are completely different things.’

Contrary to JH’s worries, no matter how much the trainees here ostracized him, Kim Haejun’s core fandom wouldn’t change. His vote count wouldn’t drop at all.

The problem was, of course, the cameras hidden behind the partitions… But no matter how trashy this show was, surely they wouldn’t broadcast something like this unedited. Even if they did air it, they’d almost certainly edit it to some degree…

And later, there was a good chance they’d even try to rehabilitate his image out of humanitarian concern.

‘The bigger problem is….’

The videos on those trainees’ phones.

The production staff would probably give them a warning or try to manage it, but trainees weren’t always that obedient. Since the entire trainee body had already taken a hostile stance against No. 12, there would definitely be people trying to drag him straight into ruin.

And just as I expected….

“Unha… this… it’s already been uploaded….”

No. 98 was holding out his phone.

[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!!!]

‘Why did they upload this so fast? These psychos….’

[Give it back!!]

Eventually, the video reached the part where Kim Haejun threw a punch at Taehee.

Things were spiraling in a strange direction—no, the absolute worst direction.