Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 83

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— Thank you for recognizing me! ♡ Thank you, Jehee noona! With love, from Unha —

 

As I turned my head to the side, the autograph I received from Lee Unha a few days ago came into view. Naturally, the events at the subway station began to play out in my mind like a movie.

 

I remembered holding out the autograph paper with trembling hands, stuttering so much I couldn’t properly say words of encouragement, and how I got so nervous that tears suddenly poured out. In fact, my hands had been so weak that I actually dropped my pen.

 

After that, I shared a short conversation with Unha, got his signature, and even took a photo together, but I honestly couldn’t remember how that time passed. I should have seared that image into my eyes and engraved it into my brain, but I’d completely lost my composure.

 

But….

 

‘I was so happy.’

 

Lee Unha had been my bias in Idol Classism from the start, but that brief encounter completely changed my life as a fan. My vows to refrain from getting over-invested were rendered useless as I began to fall for him at an absurdly fast pace.

 

Before I knew it, I’d become a ghost haunting online communities, fully immersed in fan activities. The even bigger problem was that, despite knowing I’d fallen in far too deep, I simply couldn’t stop.

 

‘He absolutely, definitely has to debut.’

 

No, simply debuting wasn’t the point. It was already becoming a foregone conclusion that Lee Unha had a high probability of making the debut group. Of course, it was too early to get complacent.

 

While it was true that Lee Unha currently had overwhelming public recognition, there was no guarantee that everyone who knew him would actually vote for him. Once the voting actually began, his real voting power might not be all that impressive. There was also the possibility that people only consumed him as a meme.

 

Even so, objective indicators such as the forum’s activity and his social media follower count showed that Lee Unha had already secured the high ground in this race. He’d even started attracting international fans.

 

That was why we needed an overwhelming first-place finish. A greed began to bloom in me to put my bias at the very top of the Idol Classism pyramid.

 

In fact, I wasn’t the only one thinking this way. People were already reposting voting campaigns everywhere and organizing all kinds of support events. In fact, the fan organizers were considering various promotional strategies. I remembered seeing plans not only for public transportation advertisements but also NewTube ads encouraging people to vote.

 

Even though voting was still eight days away, fierce battles were already taking place beneath the surface. And it wasn’t just Lee Unha’s fans. Fans of other idols who were unhappy with Lee Unha’s solo run were also distributing, posting, and sharing various types of threads.

 

When I clicked on one of the most popular recent posts, I found that the comment section was still in the middle of a heated argument. After scrolling up slightly, I saw the original post.

 

—

[Title: The reason I don’t like Lee Unha]

[Author: OnlyDaughter] [Views: 20,421]

 

[I think it’s because he’s too smart. Those who get it will know what I mean.

On the show, Lee Unha comes across as someone who’s emotional and innocent, but honestly… I think he’s incredibly smart.

The problem is that he’s too smart. He knows exactly where he stands right now, and seeing him try to utilize that… Honestly, it just rubs me the wrong way.

Some of you might not understand why I’m suddenly writing this. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it either, but after seeing him encourage voting on SNS recently, I started seeing him in a new light.

 

(Photo of Unha with Wooyoung)

(Photo of Unha with Kim Haejun and Jung Taehee)

(Photo of Unha with Baek Suhyeon)

(Photo of Unha with Joo Wooyoung, Kim Haejun, Jung Taehee, Baek Suhyeon, and Kim Taeyeol)

 

While encouraging his followers to vote… it feels like he’s subtly pushing the members he wants to debut with. I don’t know what everyone else thinks, but that really makes me uncomfortable.

 

I can understand Joo Wooyoung or Baek Suhyeon… but does he really have to push Jung Taehee or Kim Taeyeol? Honestly, I don’t even know why he’s pushing the controversial Kim Haejun.

 

Just… saying. I’m sure plenty of people disagree with me.

But at some point, this side of Lee Unha completely turned me off, and I won’t be voting for Lee Unha or any of the trainees he’s promoting.

Ah. And I’m reading all the comments, so think whatever you want. I used to be a fan too~]

—

 

It was an utterly ridiculous post. I could even see some people agreeing with it. I could bet that this was the result of an organized effort from some secret group chat. Thankfully, the comments were overwhelmingly against it.

 

[User1]: Is Lee Unha the only one encouraging votes and posting photos of other trainees on his personal SNS? Seeing the antis already attaching themselves to him means our Unha is going to be successful.

[User2]: Mind your own bias~ Do you realize the other trainees are causing all sorts of scandals now that they’re out of the dorms? There’s one who sent DMs to hit on a fan and another who got caught with a girlfriend, but here you are making a fuss over Unha who is just working hard to encourage voting ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[User3]: I don’t know why the Kim Haejun controversy is being brought up again. Wasn’t that all explained already? Just admit the trainees Unha is supporting aren’t the same ones you support. Stop writing these ridiculously long posts.

[Upvote/Downvote – Anonymous]: Honestly, doesn’t everyone agree to some extent? Looking at Lee Unha’s SNS lately, he looks like a political party leader during election season ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ At least make it less obvious. And Jung Taehee is one thing, but pushing No. 98 is crossing the line. Why push a total thug? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Do you want to see the debut group hit rock bottom because of school bullying rumors?]

 

Those were roughly the top-voted comments. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority opposed the original post, but it was inevitable that differing opinions would continue to appear. The number of likes on the anti-post wasn’t small, after all.

 

To be honest, even I couldn’t say I disagreed with every part of it. The problem wasn’t that Unha was pushing a debut lineup. Since the production company opened up SNS access, such promotional activities were inevitable. The real issue was which members Lee Unha was promoting.

 

Among the photos constantly appearing on Unha’s SNS, one trainee showed up with suspiciously high frequency. A trainee who didn’t seem to fit at all: No. 98, Kim Taeyeol.

 

A trainee who started in the Slave class, gave a terrible performance, went unsold in the auction, and luckily ended up in the same group as Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha. I didn’t like the saying ‘face reading is science’, but since he looked like a typical school bully, he triggered an instinctive sense of rejection.

 

Furthermore, in last week’s footage, Trainee Kim Taeyeol’s attitude had been controversial. He was highlighted as someone not putting in proper effort while Lee Unha and Joo Wooyoung were struggling.

 

‘It’s hard to like him….’

 

Yes, no matter how much I thought about it, he was the kind of trainee I couldn’t bring myself to like.

 

“…….”

 

‘Could there be some kind of twist?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Are they going to show something in today’s episode…?’

 

Was he going to reveal something during the Dark Mage performance that had become a meme thanks to Lee Unha’s comment in last week’s episode?

 

While handling various tasks and agonizing over these thoughts, the airtime for Idol Classism finally arrived. As I was drafting a few posts while waiting for the broadcast in a corner of my dual monitors, Idol Classism suddenly began.

 

Unexpectedly… Episode 6 started with an interview with Kim Taeyeol.

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: Ah, Unha. He’s kind. And I feel bad. Honestly… I think I would have given up if it wasn’t for Unha. It’s a little embarrassing, but you know I’m lacking in a lot of ways too, don’t you, Writer-nim?]

 

“…….”

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: I started being a trainee because I thought I was good at dancing back in school, but it wasn’t like that here. There were trainees at my agency who were much better than me, and there are even better ones here in Idol Classism. Honestly, Joo Wooyoung is incredibly good. The Nobles—no, the Nobility class is full of nothing but monsters.]

 

“…….”

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: I thought Unha was one of those people too. But he wasn’t. Ah, don’t misunderstand. You’re not going to edit this weirdly, right? I’m not saying Unha has no talent. The Writer knows what I mean, right? You understand, right? Yeah?]

 

The camera nodded in response.

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: He just works insanely hard. Unha practices like a madman, thinks about everything over and over again, and never stops moving. Just watching him already made me anxious. He’s buzzing around nonstop like a hummingbird.]

 

[Writer: So did your heart ache for him?]

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: Of course it did. Unha… he even ended up in an ambulance. Honestly, it broke my heart. If I had been more reliable… maybe this wouldn’t have happened.]

 

The camera zoomed in on Kim Taeyeol’s eyes as they grew red.

 

[Trainee No. 98 Kim Taeyeol: So, I’m going to work really hard. To the point of death. I’ll work hard enough that I wouldn’t mind dying right after this performance.]

 

The live comment section descended into complete chaos at the news that Lee Unha had been taken away in an ambulance. The screen showed the ambulance arriving as if it had been waiting for the call and taking Lee Unha away.

 

Suddenly, the whole situation shifted. Although Joo Wooyoung was the team’s leader, it had been Lee Unha who had held the team together all this time. The atmosphere suggested the team might crumble the moment Lee Unha was gone.

 

But Lee Unha’s team never stopped practicing. Drenched in sweat, they continued to move their bodies. It was the same after Unha returned. I saw Joo Wooyoung and the members welcoming Lee Unha back warmly. I saw them practicing with blood, sweat, and tears.

 

And….

 

[Trainee No. 111 Joo Wooyoung: We prepared really hard. I think… you’ll be surprised.]

 

With Joo Wooyoung’s brief interview, the performance began. Immediately after, the intro music started. And….

 

‘The dark mage role… it changed?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Unha is the dark mage… He is!’

 

The moment the camera zoomed in on Lee Unha’s eyes, goosebumps erupted all over my arms. My whole body tingled. No, I felt like I wanted to look away from those eyes. It was strange.

 

It felt like only yesterday that I thought I’d drown in the eyes I met at the subway station, but now I found it hard to look directly at them. I knew it was a weird thing to say, but….

 

‘He looks… like a real dark mage.’

 

Yes, he felt like a real dark mage. If dark mages actually existed, I felt they would look exactly like that. The music stopped for a moment, and as if he had been waiting, Lee Unha reached out his hand. The other members moved in sync with that hand.

 

It was perfect timing, and a perfect group dance. The lines, the angles, the steps—everything was in sync. It was like watching dolls move exactly as Lee Unha gestured. It truly felt like watching marionettes.

 

Of course, these dolls were dolls with their own wills. Every time Lee Unha gestured while executing the choreography, they would momentarily break free from being puppets to perform their own parts.

 

And….

 

‘Taeyeol!’

 

Kim Taeyeol, who was drawing all eyes to him, entered my vision. He was performing his part so passionately, dripping with sweat, that it was hard to believe he was the same Kim Taeyeol from the Slave Auction.

 

It felt like he was on fire. Yes, it was a stage that felt like it was burning. For a very brief moment, all eyes were on Kim Taeyeol, not Lee Unha.

 

“…….”

 

It wasn’t Joo Wooyoung, and it wasn’t Lee Unha. It was only 10 seconds, but the protagonist of those 10 seconds was definitely Kim Taeyeol.

 

It was unbelievable, but the afterglow of those 10 seconds didn’t fade even after the stage ended. Naturally, the tiny grains of doubt in my mind vanished.

 

‘Our Unha had a plan all along, didn’t he?’

 

Thinking that this was the perfect moment for public opinion to swing back in their favor, I couldn’t help but nod and tap on my keyboard.

 

—

[Title: Did anyone see Kim Taeyeol’s stage just now? Why is he suddenly so good?]

[Author: Lol] [Views: 1]

 

[Unha is definitely smart.]

—

 

As if they had been waiting for it, comments immediately began pouring in.