Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 58

“Unha.”

 

“Ah! Taehee. Did you sleep well?”

 

“Yeah. Thanks to you….”

 

‘Why is you sleeping well thanks to me, Taehee?’

 

“Hehe….”

 

I looked at Jung Taehee, whose sense of distance had strangely vanished after we filmed our little youth drama together.

 

The way No. 123 acted as though we’d become lifelong best friends overnight was a little burdensome. But at least the same level of dramatic tension wasn’t there anymore, so I suppose it was a relief in its own way.

 

As a matter of fact, yesterday had been remarkably peaceful.

 

The reformed No. 123 didn’t snap at Kim Haejun or the Elder Duo, nor did he pour out any harsh words. It was such a complete contrast to how sharp he’d been the night before that even the Elder Duo had seemed a little taken aback.

 

Considering the meeting itself hadn’t exactly gone smoothly, he’d really exercised a lot of restraint. Even today, that energy seemed to persist….

 

‘He looks happy.’

 

His face looked very cheerful today. Perhaps he’d gotten a great night’s sleep, because his face practically glowed, and positive energy radiated from him. He looked like some kind of happiness evangelist.

 

As I watched him and straightened my clothes, Jung Taehee spoke up quickly, noticing I was about to leave.

 

“You’re going to the practice room now, right? Unha, wait just a second. I’ll get ready fast and—”

 

“No, Taehee. Take your time getting ready. There are cameras around, so you should get yourself properly ready. I’ll head over first.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What? Want me to wait for you?”

 

“N-No. It’s my fault for waking up late… w-well, go on ahead then, Unha. I’ll follow you soon.”

 

“Okay. Don’t just throw on a cap! Wash up properly and get dressed properly before you come out.”

 

“Okay!!!”

 

‘Let me breathe a little, Taehee. You were stuck to me all day yesterday, too.’

 

“I’ll be there soon!”

 

Vowing that I would never share a room with Jung Taehee if we ever debuted together, I left the room. Before long, a dormitory scene slightly different from the usual was reflected in my eyes.

 

It was morning time—free time, essentially. I saw trainees eating breakfast in the cafeteria and others heading to the practice room like me. In a way, it looked the same as always, but there was a distinct difference.

 

I noticed groups of people huddled together, whispering.

 

It wasn’t unusual for trainees to gather and chat, but they were being more cautious than usual. They were whispering or murmuring as if they were sharing secrets or talking about something no one else should hear.

 

‘It’s because of that chaos.’

 

It was because of Saturday’s broadcast. Both the trainees and the staff was unsettled.

 

Groundless rumors were flying everywhere—that people were getting fired, that the Main PD was being replaced, that the entire program was being canceled. Those rumors kept feeding into one another until they became even more outrageous.

 

With actual news articles coming out, it wasn’t entirely surprising, but everyone was being shaken by external factors more than necessary. Of course, there were some who remained unfazed, but I suspected most were being influenced by the nonsense.

 

Even No. 98, who was talking with other trainees over there, was no exception. As soon as he saw me, he started walking toward me.

 

“Lee Unha!”

 

“Oh. Taeyeol hyung.”

 

“Where are you going? The practice room?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

 

“No. I don’t really like eating in the morning….”

 

“Still, if you’re going to practice all day, you should eat something.”

 

“You should worry about eating plenty yourself, hyung.”

 

“No, come on, let’s eat together. I have something to tell you….”

 

“What kind of thing?”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

“Is it… is it true that the program might be canceled?”

 

“Do you really think that would happen?”

 

“I guess not, right?”

 

“No. There’s no way the program will be canceled. Do you have any idea how much money has been invested here? Why would they cancel it?”

 

“Phew. F*ck, what a relief.”

 

“Seriously, Taeyeol hyung. I told you to stop swearing.”

 

“I’m trying to cut back, it just doesn’t come out of my mouth right yet. But how can I not swear in a situation like this? Every single day there are new articles making a huge fuss. I just read something saying a show like Idol Classism should be canceled.”

 

“An article?”

 

“It was some kind of column, so I didn’t read the whole thing, but it was saying something about inciting classism and being provocative… and honestly, I thought it made sense… F*ck, seriously… In the comments too… and some trainee in the Slave class is saying they’re going to expose the unfair treatment they received. It’s total chaos.”

 

“So, is that Slave class trainee actually going to expose it?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re just talking big words, or maybe they’re serious… earlier, the writers told us to be careful with our personal SNS. The other staff all have dark expressions too.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Huh? How can I not worry? My debut is on the line here….”

 

It was a bit too early for Kim Taeyeol, a member of the Hopeless Trio, to be discussing a debut, but I figured I didn’t need to point that out. Since I had ended up in the cafeteria anyway, I grabbed some bread and milk, sat down, and continued the conversation, casually greeting other trainees as they passed.

 

“Exactly. Don’t worry about it. Don’t get shaken by rumors. Just focus on doing your job. Regardless, they can’t cancel the program at this point. Whether the PD changes, the writers change, or the direction of the program changes, we just need to prepare our stages and perform.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“And… I don’t think the Main PD is going to change either.”

 

“How do you know that, Unha?”

 

“I don’t. It’s just a feeling. The Main PD came to work here today. He came yesterday too. He’s acting like nothing’s wrong.”

 

“Does that really mean he’s not being replaced…?”

 

“If he were being replaced, would he have come to work here? He’d be tucked away somewhere writing an apology or a statement.”

 

“Uh….”

 

“This is just my opinion, hyung.”

 

“Yeah….”

 

“I think the Main PD here has a backer.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“If he didn’t, do you think he’d act this recklessly? Honestly, hyung, I bet those news articles you read weren’t wrong about a single thing. This program really does have a lot of problems. Starting from dividing us by class and discriminating… he looks ready to do anything to get provocative shots… if it were going to change, it would have changed a long time ago. But look.”

 

“…….”

 

“He doesn’t look anxious at all… doesn’t that mean he has someone he trusts? Even with all this chaos, he’s perfectly calm. Sure, he posted an official apology, but that was all he’d done. Have you seen people from other broadcasting stations coming here?”

 

“No, I don’t think so.”

 

“See? The trainees here think the PD is some grand authority… and from our perspective, that’s technically true… but in reality, all the broadcast people working here are just employees. They’re people who could be blown away if the higher-ups just huff at them once. The Main PD here is the same. He isn’t even a ‘Star PD.’”

 

“I-is that so?”

 

“If his head were going to roll, it would have happened already. From the station’s perspective, he essentially exposed their own flaws, so wouldn’t they be even more upset? But since he’s acting like nothing happened even at this point….”

 

“Wow… so our Main PD really does have a backer!?”

 

“Shh! Keep it down. Why are you getting excited because the PD has a backer?”

 

“No, it’s just….”

 

“Just think about it. The fact that this crazy concept got approved in the first place means someone powerful must be backing it. I don’t know who it is, but it must be someone high up in the station… so… like I said, we just need to do our own jobs right.”

 

“Y-yeah….”

 

“Tell the other hyungs too. Tell them not to get swept up in the mood and to just finish what they started. Looking at how things are going, this atmosphere isn’t going to end in a day or two… and if they mess up the next mission because of it, it’ll just make things harder.”

 

“The only people who’d let it affect them are idiots.”

 

‘You were worrying like crazy just a second ago….’

 

Looking at No. 98, who was suddenly acting relaxed, I felt a surge of annoyance welling up.

 

“But man, Unha, you’re definitely going to debut. You practically monopolized Friday’s screen time… and although you didn’t have much screen time on Saturday, you were basically the protagonist? Even watching from the side, I found myself holding my breath. F*ck… when will I ever get a real shot….”

 

“You, hyung… you should wait for the dark mage stage. Even in my eyes, you totally killed it on that stage. And even during Friday’s episode, you got a bit of attention too.”

 

“I got attention because I sucked, f*ck. I don’t welcome that at all. Every comment was just making fun of me.”

 

That’s exactly why it’s to your advantage. Right now, if you search your name, all you’ll find are posts either pitying you or mocking you… So make your mark with the Dark Mage performance. You’ve basically been handed a growth narrative for free… Naturally, you’ll gain a lot of fans. If you’re lucky, you might even get the protagonist role.”

 

“So I’m really not that far from the debut lineup….”….”

 

“Don’t let your guard down. Clench your teeth and keep going. Honestly, hyung, you already know this yourself, but…”

 

“Yeah, I know. That this mission matters even more…. Even I think… I absolutely killed it in the Dark Mage performance.”

 

‘This guy… He’s hopeless.’

 

“In other words, after finally showing everyone how much I’ve grown, I can’t afford to ruin my next performance.”

 

“Yeah… that’s about it.”

 

“So I’ve been giving it everything I’ve got. The atmosphere in my team isn’t bad either…. You’d better be careful too. This time, I think our team’s going to completely dominate everyone.”

 

‘What is this guy even talking about?’

 

No, before that… Why was he so obsessed with crushing everything? As I stared at his face, he seemed a bit embarrassed and changed the subject.

 

“Well… just do your best. Working hard is always good.”

 

“Ahem… So… how’s your team? Didn’t you get an amazing lineup? You’ve got Kim Haejun… and Jung Taehee… honestly, they’re both really good singers. And the other hyungs are all veterans too….”

 

“How do you think it is?”

 

“I bet it’s a complete crap….”

 

“Exactly. It is… a bit crappy. Friday was a total mess. Haejun hyung and Taehee couldn’t stand each other…. Ah! It’s gotten a bit better now, though.”

 

“So they made up?”

 

“It’s a little hard to call it making up… but at least they’re not fighting anymore.”

 

“Then isn’t it fine?”

 

At his look that suggested there was no problem, I let out a sigh involuntarily. Because the team did have an issue right now.

 

“That part is okay now. But now the ‘veteran hyungs’ are the problem.”

 

“I don’t know what the problem is, but… couldn’t you just tell them off? Like you did to us?”

 

“I did that as shock therapy because you guys weren’t trying at all. These hyungs are a problem because they’re too ambitious.”

 

“…….”

 

“Those hyungs… are way too greedy about getting their parts.”

 

No. 98 nodded as though he completely understood.