Chapter 124: Because Collapse Comes Quickly
[Do Seohan is going to a Boy’s Dream live audience]
I heard he’s close with The Core’s Ray too, that’s unexpected.
So is he going to watch the live audience for that?
Anyway, Cha Seongbin, Do Seohan, Lee Dokyung, Lee Junhyeok are all going….
At this point, isn’t Boy’s Dream basically a Starf reunion?
– The lineup really is a Starf reunion, ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Do Seohan, Cha Seongbin, why are you guys even there….
└ These kids’ mental fortitude is insane. If it were me, I’d get PTSD after Starf ended and wouldn’t even want to go near a survival program ㅋㅋㅋ
└ ㄹㅇ I don’t think I’d even want to look in that direction, so why did you go to the live audience ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Survival addict?
└ ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ No way.
– Well, Seongbin did the arrangement so okay, but why is Do Seohan there ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Probably flapping over there excitedly because his debut song is coming out?
└ Crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Now I can’t help imagining Do Seohan flapping.
└ ㅈㄴ cute…. Ah… I wanna carry him in my pocket, ha ㅠㅠㅠ
└ A fan said at a fan signing that he’s 182, so it wouldn’t be that easy to fit.
└ Really?
└ Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ what an insane comeback, that’s hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Yeah, 182 really wouldn’t fit in a pocket ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Can’t believe he actually said that himself, that’s so cute ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ People say he’s taller than they expected in person… I wanna see him in real life just once ㅠㅠ
– But is Do Seohan really close with Ray?? Whose headcanon is that?
└ Don’t know, probably just a rumor floating around.
└ Could they even be close? They had such a strong rival image.
└ Apparently they’re surprisingly close. A lot of staff must have seen them together ㅋㅋㅋ
└ The Core’s fans are intense so I’d rather they don’t get tied up together;; but as long as it’s not Kang Ji-hyuk, it’s fine ㅎㅎ
└ I don’t think our Seohan is the type to have a wide circle of acquaintances, I believe he’s cautious about relationships.
└ 22222
└ If it’s someone Do Seohan picked, I’ll trust it.
└ But when you see the people Mam-Seohan is close to, they’re all hyungs ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is he in the maknae position wherever he goes?
└ True ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Our beloved baby hamster ㅠㅠ
└ Do Seohan just seems like the type to get along well with adults ㅋㅋ super likable.
The fans seemed to think I came to watch Boy’s Dream either as the original singer or to cheer on The Core’s Ray.
But the real reason I came to the live audience was different.
I needed to provoke someone.
And I wanted to watch, from the front row, how the stage after that would play out.
Dding–
Dding–
The phone in my pocket vibrated noisily.
A familiar name flashed on the screen.
[Lee Dokyung]
Below that was a series of texts, the tone practically bouncing with excitement.
– I poked that guy just enough.
– His mental’s probably shattered ㅋㅋㅋ
– Go finish the job, if it goes well I’ll buy you a meal ㅋㅋ
What a peculiar type….
At that level, I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had a grudge against Jang Juwon.
I hadn’t expected him to be so cooperative, but it was a welcome surprise.
If it’s Lee Dokyung, he’s got top-tier talent in getting under people’s skin, so he must have completely rattled Jang Juwon by now.
All I had to do was pour oil onto that fire.
“Hoo, kinda nervous.”
I took a short breath while looking up at the paper posted outside the waiting room.
[villain & Yoo Young team waiting room]
By now, they were probably all inside getting their hair and makeup done in a frenzy, but an unexpected guest was about to appear.
“Shall I go in.”
I grabbed the doorknob with a smile.
You see—
Life should be lived kindly.
Bang–
As soon as I opened the door, The Core’s Ray flinched and turned his head.
The moment he saw my face, Ray’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Whoa, why are you here?”
“Hello, I’m Do Seohan from Stardust.”
I’d used a bit of a “hyung privilege” here. Officially, it was a visit for encouragement.
I answered Ray’s question with just a glance, offering a polite greeting.
The trainees getting their makeup done in chairs jumped to their feet.
“Whoa, no way.”
“Stardust… Do Seohan sunbaenim…?”
“This is crazy, this is crazy.”
“Waaah! I’m such a huge fan!”
One trainee, with tension rivaling Seo Haim’s, covered their mouth and screamed.
Sunbaenim, huh.
This kind of feels like I’ve become a real celebrity.
Rustle–
In an instant, four or five trainees surrounded me and started chattering.
“You’re the one who won first place in Stardust Project, right?”
“Can I take some of your energy?”
“Real celebrities are different.”
“Haha… ha…. Thank you.”
I hadn’t expected such a hot reaction, so I was a little flustered.
With the atmosphere feeling like I should start a signing event, I naturally stepped aside.
Of course, not everyone welcomed me happily.
As I turned my head, I spotted a familiar face dressed in Spacewalk stage clothes.
“……”
Without cameras around, Lee Junhyeok openly frowned, showing his dislike, but unfortunately for him, I had no business with that guy today.
Judging from what I’d seen, his rank was still awkwardly low for debut, and milking me for evil edits seemed to be reaching its limit.
My hyung wouldn’t show any mercy in editing, and he knew that the moment he slipped up on facial expressions, it was straight to rock bottom. That was his problem to handle.
I casually tossed him a greeting.
“Long time no see.”
“Ah… yes.”
Why, didn’t you say you were close?
Didn’t you say he was a senior you respected?
Then at least try smiling a little.
Even though there weren’t any cameras, Lee Junhyeok must not have been able to completely ignore the stares around us, because he nodded with an expression that looked like his face might rot any second.
“O-Oh, long time no see.”
Anyway, my business wasn’t with the Spacewalk team — it was with the Villain team.
The latest promotional song from 4-year veteran boy group 2S.
How convenient that the title of the song was Villain.
It fit someone so well that I almost laughed.
I smirked and dipped my head slightly toward the villain.
“Hello.”
“Ah… hello.”
Jang Juwon accepted the greeting with a reluctant expression.
He couldn’t possibly know that the youngest PD of Boy’s Dream who had blackmailed him was my brother, but just the fact that I was on the same team as Cha Seongbin seemed to make him slightly uncomfortable.
He really shouldn’t be feeling uncomfortable already.
Because it was only going to get worse from here.
Why?
Because I was going to cleanly blow up that mentality Lee Dokyung had ignited.
“Let’s shake hands. I enjoyed your last stage.”
Sseuk–
When I held out my hand, Jang Juwon hesitated before taking a step closer.
“Ah, ah. Yes. Thank you.”
It was pretty much my first time seeing him this close — so this is what he looked like.
With a smile still on my lips, I firmly grasped Jang Juwon’s hand.
“Mr. Jang Juwon.”
I didn’t bother with any childish trick of applying force.
I just leaned close to his ear and whispered quietly.
Softly enough that no one else could hear.
“Did you delete your secret account?”
“…!”
Jang Juwon’s face turned deathly pale.
“The stage where boys’ dreams become reality — welcome to Boy’s Dream. Hello, I’m your MC, Dahyung.”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaa!”
Cheers loud enough to shake the studio floor erupted.
Just a few steps onto that stage, and there were fans.
Jang Juwon, without realizing it, chewed his fully made-up lower lip and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Haa….”
His fingertips trembled.
One teammate, noticing his pale face, asked in surprise,
“Hyung, are you that nervous?”
“Hey, who wouldn’t be? I’m super nervous too. But we can all do well.”
“That’s right. Fighting! Fighting!”
Unfortunately, the chatter from his teammates beside him didn’t reach his ears.
All he could hear was the terrible line Do Seohan from Stardust had whispered into his ear back in the waiting room.
In a voice calm beyond his years, that guy had said to me:
‘I hate making things bigger more than anything.’
‘But since Seongbin-hyung set the stage, as his teammate I have to at least put my spoon on it. That’s the right thing to do.’
I thought I would go insane.
A member of Stardust who knew what I had done before my debut.
“Haa… ha.”
If Do Seohan opened his mouth, whose side would the world take?
That guy had a lot to lose too, so he wouldn’t speak recklessly… probably.
I understood it logically, it made sense, but my pounding heart just wouldn’t calm down.
And when I finally looked up —
That fresh-faced brat mouthed these words:
‘I want you to be ruined, Mr. Jang Juwon.’
You want me ruined?
Why is it always the ones who have everything?
Because I had wanted Cha Seongbin to be ruined.
So I pulled those underhanded tricks — and now you want me to get it all back in return?
Why…
In the end, Jang Juwon couldn’t hold it in and clutched his head, letting out a scream.
“Aaaargh!”
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
“F**k, why the hell are you doing this to me now?!”
“Huh? M-Me?”
The shout was louder than expected, and passing staff turned their heads in surprise.
Teammate 1 hurried over and put a hand on Jang Juwon’s forehead.
“Hyung, are you really sick? We’re up right after this next stage, what’s wrong?”
“You were fine just now. Did something happen?”
Jang Juwon bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
His bloodshot eyes didn’t look fine in the slightest, but….
“N-Nothing….”
He couldn’t let it show.
An on-the-edge ranking. The main vocal position he’d barely managed to grab.
This stage meant too much to Jang Juwon.
If he didn’t explode with potential here, he’d have to pack his bags and go home.
Even with the suffocating pressure crashing over him, there was nothing else he could do but say,
“Haa, I’m fine. Guess I was just a little nervous.”
“You’re really okay?”
“You seriously look sick.”
“Even if I am, I have to endure it. We have to go on stage right now.”
“W-Well, that’s true….”
Jang Juwon forced an awkward smile and lifted his head.
“……”
A loser in life.
Only darkness filled his eyes.
.
.
.
“The first team to open the second mission, the Blind Evaluation, will be… a 4-year idol….”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“It’s 2S’s Villain!”
A blazing red light descended from above.
Under that burning red spotlight, Jang Juwon stared straight ahead.
He clenched his trembling hands tightly and repeated to himself.
It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.
This was a stage that had to be perfect, no matter what. Jang Juwon took a deep breath to steady his mind.
Even so, his heartbeat only grew faster.
In the suffocating silence that felt like it would kill him, the intro began to play.
Dududung–
The main rapper stepped forward powerfully, putting weight on his legs.
Hey, we are villains
You, hiding in that darkness
I’ll choke your breath
It’s a so easy game I’ve played like eating a meal
It was a good opening.
The teammate who had seized the stage from the start with fierce eyes stepped back, and Sub Vocal 1 took over the part.
Even if I’m thrown off a cliff
I don’t care, I’ll drag you down with me
Because I’m a Villain
Words full of regret aren’t needed
Jang Juwon bent his body, putting strength into both arms. The choreography pounded the floor as if striking it.
It seemed to be going smoothly—until he immediately started making mistakes.
The footwork that should have taken him straight back got slightly tangled.
Jang Juwon was greatly flustered, but forced himself to calmly finish the moves.
Get a grip, you crazy bastard.
His body felt so stiff it was absurd.
You can’t be like this already.
And this was the second evaluation—practically raw live with almost no post-processing.
If he made a big mistake in the difficult main vocal part… he didn’t even want to imagine it.
For me, the result matters most in the end
Show them—cut the useless words
This is a no-answer play
Since tricks are still rules, I will catch you
His part was coming up.
It felt like someone was squeezing his throat.
Even as he danced, Jang Juwon couldn’t focus completely.
Hey, we are villains
You, revealed in that darkness
I’ll grab your legs
A serious game you can’t escape
It was a high note part he sometimes missed even in practice. Jang Juwon drew in a big breath, then exhaled slowly.
And then—
“Run aw—”
Jang Juwon’s fears came true.
“I’ll catch… you!”
Maybe it was because he pushed too much strength into it.
His voice cracked, scattering into an unpleasant sound.
There was no room for excuses—it was an obvious, blatant note break.
Flustered, Jang Juwon’s following choreography faltered. It felt like all the blood in his body froze in an instant.
When he looked up at the stage from where he stood, cold gazes landed on him.
Ah.
“What was that?”
“Wow, that crack was bad.”
“…No way he can cover that up, right?”
“He’s seriously terrible.”
Even though there was no way to hear the audience from this distance—
It felt like every single person in those seats was criticizing him.
His incompetence, his stupidity. Even his trashy personality. It felt like they saw it all and condemned him.
“Haa… ha.”
Jang Juwon clenched his teeth, breathing roughly.
No matter how much he struggled to escape, it wasn’t working.
His arms and legs, already in panic, moved however they wanted.
His movements were so poor, he couldn’t even tell if he was doing the choreography correctly anymore.
And then, his eyes met one person’s.
Someone watching his stage with a blank, emotionless face.
Cha Seongbin.
“……”
Ah. It’s over.
His mind went completely blank.