Chapter 117: Collide
[What do you think about idols who have a seizure at just hearing the ‘love’ in ‘romance’?]
First of all, I’m a huge fan.
Today, on Haedal Radio, my kids skillfully dodged all the romance-related questions, and I’m so proud that I had to write this.
(This whole disaster began when a completely random love story was sent in….)
DJ: Since all of our members are so warm and charming, you must know a lot about romance, right?
They haven’t even hit their first anniversary yet.
And you’re doing this on a visual radio where they can’t even hide their facial expressions?
I was silently cursing while staring at the screen….
Good job, my baby.
Do Seohan: I’ve only been alive for 18 years, so I don’t know.
DJ: Come on, at that age you know everything.
Seohan: I don’t know.
DJ: You don’t know?
Seohan: Yes, I really don’t.
Our precious maknae stubbornly clung to “I don’t know,” teeth clenched….
And the well-behaved older brothers, having learned from their maknae, just sat there silently, shaking their headsㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Don’t know?
He said he doesn’t know.
But the DJ was seriously persistent as hell.
It was to the point where I wondered why he kept clinging onto our kids like that;;
DJ: Seo Haim, I hear you have a sister….
Seo Haim: Yes, that’s right!
DJ: If you had to introduce her to one of the members, who would it be?
Seo Haim: (wide-eyed panic)
Honestly, that’s a common radio question, but we were already ticked off from the earlier romance push.
And why suddenly drag the ordinary citizen Seo Choco into this instead of an imaginary sister?
The world is so unfair to Dusty….
Here, our clever Choco Haim started a little creative twist.
Seo Haim: Can I answer with “this member absolutely not”?
DJ: Oh, that works too! This member! Absolutely not! Now I’m curious—who is it?
Who could it be? Honestly, I was curious too.
Without even a second of hesitation, Seo Haim answered.
Seo Haim: Do Seohan.
Seohan: (suddenly called out) M-me?
Seo Haim: Yes.
DJ: (eyes sparkling) Why is that? I’m so curious! Of course, all of our members are really good people, but Seohan… not someone you’d entrust your sister to?
Do Seohan?
Our Seohan… Sure, his cooking is a disaster… and while he looks perfect, he’s still a baby with some clumsy sides….
He’s the nation’s boyfriend with way too many rivals….
But I wouldn’t say he’s someone you’d absolutely never let near your sister.
I was just thinking, “Isn’t my baby cute?” when—
Seo Haim: My sister would get taken away.
Understood. Completely.
-Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ “My sister would get taken away”ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└I meanㅋㅋㅋㅋ you can’t even argue with thatㅋㅋㅋ
└Right… she’d get taken away….
└What’s the age gap?
└At least 7 or 8 yearsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ha… these kids are geniuses at dodging questions.
└Super like.
└They even keep a real sister out of the pseudo-romance line….
└Love that cleverness so much.
-Do Seohan was basically an impenetrable shield.
└But he’s male.
└A firm will to not get involved even with a chick-typeㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└The important thing is the will not to get involved.
└IWNI = I Will Not Involve.
└Dusty fans have lost it.
└Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ IWNI they said ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Seo Choco, mysteriously in handcuffs.
└You and I, linked by the Prosecutor’s Loop~
└Prosecutor’s Loop lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└No minors allowed.
└Wait, Mam-Seohan is a minor???
└An 18-year-old baby idol…
└Suddenly feeling guilty.
└D…Dusty fans are sorry….
└Oh right, our hamster was still a babyㅠㅠ
└Damn, at 18 you’re basically newborn; the blood hasn’t even dried on your head yet;;
At the same time, me—the one whose blood “hadn’t dried yet”—was patting my chest in relief.
That was close. Seriously.
Haedal Radio?
If that schedule comes in again, I’m cutting it first thing.
Though, even if we don’t, I’m pretty sure the company will quietly scrap it.
During yesterday’s live, I watched our manager hyung’s face go pale in real time.
‘Kids, please, just don’t say anything.’
I feel bad saying this, but senior Yang Sujin was a bit tactless.
It was like she was being clueless on purpose….
On the way back after the radio ended,
Jin Sehyun, sitting in the front seat, turned his body and spoke casually.
“Seohan, Haedal Radio went well. You nailed it.”
“Smooth, right?”
It was a visual radio, so we couldn’t openly show it, but they’d been worried one of the more innocent members, like Seo Haim, might suddenly blurt out—
-“Romance cells tingling!”
—something dumb like that. But nope.
That hyung, Seo Haim, handled the crisis smoothly too.
Anyway, with the radio schedule wrapped up without incident, we were headed back to the dorm to rest… or not. We were going to the practice room.
Seo Haim stretched and mumbled.
“I’m hungry, should we order something?”
“Should we get two pizzas?”
“Is that enough for seven people?”
“Do Seohan’s on a diet.”
“Hey, Seohan. If you keep that up, you won’t grow ta—”
My eyes met with Seo Haim’s.
“I think you’ve grown enough.”
I thought so too.
When I nodded in agreement, Seo Haim frowned and grumbled.
“Ah. The leisure of the privileged, so annoying.”
“You’re 180 too, hyung….”
“If you write that in your profile, everyone just assumes you’re 179.”
“Ah….”
Such troubles.
I was shaking my head with pity when—
Bzzz—
My phone started buzzing loudly in my pocket.
“Seohan, you’ve got a call.”
“Huh? From who?”
[Do Seojun]
It was my hyung.
I answered in a calm voice.
“Yeah, what is it….”
—Hey, are you crazy?
Huh?
I rolled my eyes at the words that came out of nowhere without any warning.
What’s with him?
I adjusted my grip on the phone and spoke.
—Ha… Hey, why are you butting into the scheme I set up with such difficulty?
What?
—No need to say more. You’re definitely staying out of this.
“You’re calling out of nowhere, and now what are you saying?”
My smile vanished completely.
How does a conversation jump straight to the ending without any build-up?
It was so absurd that I swallowed a dry laugh.
“Explain it in a way I can actually understand.”
—It’s…
“Did something blow up with me?”
The blood in my head went cold.
Judging by how worked up he was, if something did blow up, it must’ve been huge.
Nothing came to mind right away, but in life, sometimes even smokeless chimneys billow smoke.
But then—
—One of your members is going to appear on Boy’s Dream?
Huh?
I nearly dropped my phone.
Judging by my expression, which must have said everything, the members turned to me with wide eyes.
“Why? What happened?”
“What is it?”
From the other end of the line came an even more urgent voice.
—Ah. Sorry. Not as a trainee, but as an artist. Both are bombs, but the first one is a bigger bomb.
“For a second I thought someone was withdrawing.”
“…?”
Leader Kang Siwoo turned to me with a serious look, and I waved my hands in denial.
But even after the correction, it was still a bomb.
“An artist? What are you talking about now?”
—Second evaluation on Boy’s Dream, artist collaboration mission. Apparently, one of your team members directly expressed they wanted to participate.
“Who the hell?”
This was the first I’d heard of it.
If I had known, I’d have stopped them no matter what.
What is this, a survival show addiction?
How long has it even been since Starf ended, and now they want to join someone else’s survival show?
And I never imagined one of our members would be that kind of person.
—Cha Seongbin.
“Seongbin hyung?”
From the back seat, Cha Seongbin jerked his head up in surprise.
Doubles’ office.
Manager Song Jinha ran a hand through his hair with a serious look.
“You want to appear on Boy’s Dream?”
“…Yes.”
“How did you even hear about the second mission theme?”
“I watched Season 1….”
It wasn’t SBC’s first attempt at an idol survival show.
Although it had flopped miserably, they had previously run Girl’s Dream, a show with the hopeful ambition of selecting the next big female idol.
Boy’s Dream was, in broad terms, similar in mission format to the previous season.
The first mission had been a position cover evaluation, and the second mission was an artist collaboration battle, performing a cover stage of the artist’s own song together with them.
The difference from Starf was that the artist would actually stand on stage with the contestants.
In Season 1, the show itself had tanked, so securing artists hadn’t been easy.
If I remembered right, they’d ended up recruiting some lesser-known rappers from survival programs and a few rookie idols.
But this time? SBC must have put in some money.
The artist pool wouldn’t be as lousy as before.
And yet he still wanted to get involved….
Manager Song Jinha sighed deeply and asked,
“What are you even going to do there?”
“I compose music.”
“I know. Seongbin, I know you’re talented….”
Honestly, there was no reason for him to appear.
He was already building his career well as a rising star and enjoying a positive image as a composing idol.
But on a survival program?
As an artist collaborating with trainees, no less?
“What if some really big names join in?”
At best, it’d be a break-even game.
If some well-known rappers who could produce, and idols with three or four years’ experience joined in, it could turn into a mud fight.
Of course, no top-tier boy group members would stoop down to the trainee level….
But if they could produce and were from a company without much clout, they might appear to boost their recognition.
In that case, their image would be better off—unlike here, which was a total rookie group.
—Haven’t they been debuted for less than a year? Do they even have the seniority to be on there?
—Artist…? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—Seems like any dog or cow can be an artist now.
And it’s even Boy’s Dream.
That’s the program that took shots at Starf’s evil editing.
The broadcasting station staff must be thrilled.
There’s nothing more sensational than this.
But from the perspective of someone who prioritizes an artist’s safety, it was a no-go.
It was basically the same as shoving kindling straight into the fire, and Manager Song Jinha immediately shook his head.
“Think it over again. I don’t think this is right.”
“I really want to go.”
Cha Seongbin added with a sly smile.
“Ah, Manager. Just trust me this once~. I’ll tear up the stage and come back.”
Of course, that wouldn’t work, but they couldn’t completely ignore his opinion either.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m dead serious.”
Manager Song Jinha pressed hard at his temples with a grim expression.
“Alright, let’s hear your reason. What are you thinking?”
“……”
“Are you addicted to survival shows? Are you the type who gets a thrill from being evaluated? If not….”
Manager Song Jinha wouldn’t know the full story.
Because this was a very personal matter.
There was something I needed to find out.
There were many things I wanted to ask.
It just didn’t sit right to let it go, so in the end, I had no choice but to dig it up.
“Manager.”
Cha Seongbin’s face momentarily stiffened, but he quickly returned to his usual roguish smile.
He began to speak in a calm voice.
“I’ll go alone. Please allow it.”
“……”
“I won’t cause trouble for the team. I’ll prove myself with skill that no one could possibly criticize.”
Manager Song Jinha’s eyebrow twitched.
“And the reason is….”
Cha Seongbin looked him straight in the eyes and added,
“To face it head-on—because I can’t keep running away forever.”