Chapter 134: Rumors
[Sung Jihoo is going on a Chuseok Pilot Program….]
I thought Tiple didn’t usually appear on variety shows, but maybe he’s going since it’s a dance program?
Still, Sung Jihoo wasn’t at the level to go on that kind of show, right?
It wasn’t like he lacked recognition either;;
I looked it up, and it seemed he was going out together with a rookie member from the same company.
Maybe he had some kind of deal with the PD, hahaha.
It’s just a package deal, lol.
└ Wow, the way you talk is so rude, haha.
└ But it’s hard to even call it a package deal, since there were dancers in the cast too, haha.
It wasn’t like it was a huge regular program, it was just a one-day pilot.
Package deal?
└ True, Stardust could’ve secured the spot on their own….
└ Looking at the cast, some total no-names appeared too, hahaha.
Like Seohan, lol.
That’s package deal.
└ It wasn’t just about appearing, the problem was doing a stage together with Sung Jihoo and leeching recognition.
That’s a package deal, haha.
└ Ignore.
└ IG.
Sung Jihoo: Not at the level to appear there.
Do Seohan: Not at the level to appear there.
Interpret it however you want~ ^_^
└ What nonsense, hahaha.
└ Oh, by the way, I’m not criticizing based on recognition~ it’s because his skills were lacking ^^
└ The forced hate was insane.
└ For a second, I thought I was looking at a JjaekJjaek secret account…
Since there were a lot of Dusties here, if you want to spew nonsense, go write in your diary.
└ Please, just leave and take it to your diary.
Just one anti-fan going wild ㄷㄷ Look at the obsession….
└ The way of talking was similar too, seemed like it was the same person.
└ Don’t they feel ashamed for treating a younger guy like that;;
Yeah whatever, while the hater wastes time, our Seohan was practicing sweetly with Jihoo sunbae~
└ Seohan appeared on Sung Jihoo’s Stargram, lol.
They were practicing together.
└ Huh, really?
└ Oh my god, why did they look so cute being togetherㅠㅠ
└ Mam-Seohan became the calmest hamster in front of sunbaenimㅠㅠ
└ It looked like Sung Jihoo really adored Do Seohan. You could just see it in the photo.
└ My baby was born to be loved anywhere.
“Is the way you’re talking for real?”
Since yesterday, one anti-fan had been running wild, and again today they were spouting nonsense in a similar post.
“Haa… I’m pissed.”
One furious Dusty tried to leave a rebuttal comment under it but turned their gaze away.
If you gave that kind of hater attention, they’d only enjoy it more.
It was better for their mental health to look at the heartwarming posts in the fan community instead.
Just then, a post from Ha Junseo appeared in Universe.
[Junseo uploaded a photo of Seo-jji]
Seo-jji eating together.
Seo-jji drinking six shots.
Seo-jji under a blanket.
Seo-jji watching a movie together.
Seo-jji looking at Kang Siwoo’s cactus.
… followed by
Do Seohan making a disgusted face at the sight jpg.
Even Seo-jji’s expression looked like it was rotting away, lol.
Their faces overlapped and it was hilarious.
└ Ah, why was Do Hamjji’s face like that, hahaha.
└ A truly disgusted expression.
└ Seohan, hahaha.
Seohan left a reply under Junseo’s post, hahaha.
He wrote, “Hyung, please let go of Seo-jji,” hahaha.
└ Hahaha, was Ha Junseo’s new! attachment doll Seo-jji?
└ Now he became a communal doll, everyone was teasing Do Seohan together.
└ Jin Sehyun sent a Private Message with a photo of Seo-jji on a walk together, hahaha.
└ Seo-jji was so lucky… surrounded by handsome guys….
└ In my next life, I had to be born as Seo-jjiㅠㅠ
In the end, after just two days, Seo-jji got dirty again, so they said they washed it and hung it at the entrance.
└ WTF why did they hang it at the entrance, lol.
└ There wasn’t a single normal person in Universe Dust….
└ For sure, it was Seo Haim who hung it.
└ It was Haim.
└ Ahahaha, of course, hahaha.
Anyway, I didn’t care about the rest, but the photo of Seo-jji sitting in front of the cactus was so cute, I was gonna make it my profile picture….
└ I saw this and went to buy Seo-jji, but it was sold outㅠㅠ
└ There probably won’t be restocks for a while… there weren’t many to begin with….
└ This time, the Google Form sold out instantlyㅠㅠ My Seo-jji….
.
.
.
.
At the same time, inside the broadcasting station’s waiting room.
For the preliminary meeting of “Dance in the Night,” about six cast members were gathered.
I followed Sung Jihoo inside and quietly took a seat.
“Hello.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.”
As soon as I went in, a familiar face caught my eye.
It was Jung Wonjae from Hyper, and the person sitting next to him seemed to be a teammate.
I vaguely remembered running into him at Ache University Festival.
Seeing him again here.
I didn’t want to get involved, so I naturally avoided his gaze.
As the remaining cast members entered afterward, the spacious waiting room quickly became quite lively.
About ten people in total?
Looking at the lineup….
It felt like Sung Jihoo was the top star, and the rest were more or less on the same level.
There was a dancer who became famous after appearing on a dance program last year, but that one was just a civilian, and there was even an actor who wasn’t an idol at all, probably added by the production team for recognition.
It was Choi Hana, a 20-something actor currently gaining attention as a rising star.
She came from a survival idol program, but she never debuted as an idol anyway.
Well, I guess it was the same anywhere.
Still, I was the greenest rookie here.
From nervousness, I bit down on my lower lip when Sung Jihoo sunbae spoke to me.
“Just relax.”
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded with an awkward smile.
Fortunately, the preliminary meeting was carried out in a comfortable atmosphere.
There weren’t any cameras, and two youngest writers sat side by side.
One of them, a woman with straight hair down to her shoulders, carefully spoke.
“This is our first face-to-face meeting, and since it’s hard to match everyone’s schedules, we prepared this session. Do you have any team concepts or stage equipment in mind?”
“Yes, I think it’d be good to start with the song selection.”
The other youngest writer shyly added.
It wasn’t a full-on survival program, but a warm Chuseok pilot special.
Everyone’s agencies had likely already gotten involved with cover song choices and arrangement directions.
Today was the day to briefly present those plans.
“Please feel free to share whatever you’d like!”
The youngest writer’s eyes sparkled as she prepared to take notes.
Her gaze lingered in the air for a moment before settling on Jung Wonjae.
“Then which team would like to start…?”
As the writer hesitated to lead, suddenly someone tapped my shoulder from behind.
It was Jung Wonjae.
“Hey, you go first.”
Words that made me doubt my ears.
For a moment, silence filled the waiting room.
“……”
When I turned my head, Jung Wonjae was grinning.
Passing the burden onto a rookie, giving pressure—sure, that was a long-standing rule in this field….
But to speak informally when we barely even met?
I was just as taken aback by his blatant attitude.
Was he really talking to me? Seriously?
“Ha ha.”
As the cast and staff all turned their gazes toward me, Jung Wonjae smoothly added words.
He must have disliked the idea of gossip spreading.
“We ran the relay together at Ache University Festival, so we got close. You remember that, Seohan?”
Suddenly acting familiar, huh….
His obvious look was begging me to go along.
I hesitated over how to react, then sorted two questions in my head.
Q. Was this someone I’d keep encountering for a long time in the entertainment industry?
A. He was going to get kicked out after a drug scandal.
Q. Were we in front of cameras?
A. No.
“……”
So, I ignored him.
With a faint smile, I turned back to the youngest writer.
“Yes, our song choice is senior GRB’s ‘7 thousands.’ We plan to reinterpret it in an oriental style, different from the original arrangement, and we might even bring in a choir….”
‘7 thousands’ was a track released in 1998, a funk dance song quite ahead of its time.
It was far from sentimental, but with Cha Seongbin’s arrangement, the direction was heavily overturned.
The intro was arranged sentimentally, while the latter half flipped into a powerful reinterpretation.
It was our first time attempting an oriental-style track, so we paid great attention to the details.
With the mindset of “let the dogs bark, I’ll keep working,” I smoothly explained.
The youngest writer, who had looked flustered, quickly focused and began jotting down the plan.
“Ah, ah. That’s wonderful. Yes, we’ll take note of it!”
Glance—
When I belatedly turned to gauge Jung Wonjae’s reaction,
His face was twisted in a very satisfying way.
He hadn’t expected to be ignored by a junior.
Maybe because things didn’t go the way he intended, his eyelids were twitching faintly.
Hmm.
He was pissed.
Hallway beside the waiting room.
When break time was given, Jung Wonjae pulled his teammate outside and immediately grumbled.
At that moment, he felt like he could use a cigarette.
“Hey, did you see that bastard running wild?”
Jung Wonjae cursed with a bitter laugh.
He had just been hit hard during the preliminary meeting.
And it wasn’t from just anyone, but from an eighteen-year-old kid.
A junior fresh on the scene.
Even his pride had taken a deep scratch.
He frowned and added words.
“The big agencies are really different. Their kids’ egos are fucking huge.”
Excited, his voice came out quite loud.
Hyper’s member, Kim Dohyun, waved his hand and shook his head.
“Hey, it’s too close here. Let’s talk somewhere else.”
It was the end of the hallway, but the restroom was nearby.
Other cast members could overhear their gossip.
Still, Jung Wonjae didn’t seem to care at all.
Rather, he shook off Kim Dohyun’s hand from his arm and raised his voice.
“Hey, it doesn’t make sense. A rookie who debuted this year dares to ignore a sunbae?”
“Yeah, he was rude.”
“Totally uneducated level.”
The flow of Jung Wonjae’s thoughts eventually reached the deep-rooted inferiority complex inside him.
Because he hadn’t entered a major company, because his agency didn’t push him.
Because he lacked that powerful backing that everyone else in this industry had, he hadn’t been able to rise.
That was the inferiority complex he carried.
“That bastard is only strutting around because he has backing.”
“Right.”
That backing was probably Sung Jihoo.
Thanks to being in a major company, he was experiencing the full support of a first-tier idol, and there was no greater benefit than that.
So wasn’t he becoming more arrogant by the day, even to the point of blatantly disrespecting his seniors?
With his hands shoved in his pockets, Jung Wonjae spat curses with a vicious tone.
“He believes there are people who’ll cover for him no matter how recklessly he acts.”
“……”
“Fuck, I can’t stand this package-deal crap.”
“…Hey.”
It was at that very moment.
His teammate Kim Dohyun’s face went pale.
“What, what. Did I say something wrong….”
Jung Wonjae snapped back coldly, asking what was wrong, but then quietly shut his mouth.
“……”
Because the person who stepped out of the restroom was none other than Sung Jihoo.
Sung Jihoo, the main dancer of first-tier idol group Tiple.
Even for Jung Wonjae, he was a difficult sunbae.
Why was that person coming out here at this timing?
He was certain he hadn’t seen him go into the restroom.
With a slightly flustered face, Jung Wonjae gave a forced cough.
‘Did he hear?’
As for Do Seohan, whether he heard or not didn’t matter.
It had always been gossip that he spat out carelessly, not caring who overheard.
But Sung Jihoo wasn’t in his calculations.
He didn’t care if anyone else heard, but not Sung Jihoo.
Of all times, the worst possible outcome had unfolded.
Step, step—
Sung Jihoo slowly walked closer.
Jung Wonjae swallowed hard and lifted his head.
From his expression, one thing was clear.
‘…Fuck. He heard.’
A cold gaze pierced straight into Jung Wonjae.
Should he try to say it was a misunderstanding?
But from start to finish, Sung Jihoo already looked like he had heard it all.
While Jung Wonjae dumbly opened and closed his lips, unable to find an excuse, Sung Jihoo spoke quietly.
“Don’t say behind someone’s back what you can’t say to their face.”
Then, he added.
“If you’re confident, say it directly in front of me.”