Chapter 59: Final (1)
The long and long day finally ended.
I was worried about Kang Si‑woo, who had seemed to toss and turn all night, but I couldn’t ask outright in the dorm with the other teammates there.
Even a day that felt like it would never end somehow faded into the dawn of the next morning.
I met Kang Si‑woo at the practice room early in the morning.
I wondered whether he would be okay today.
With that worried thought, I carefully opened the door of the practice room.
“Hmm?”
Run‑run‑run—
I heard a familiar rustling sound from near the window.
And the sound of a sprayer sprinkling water—tschh tschh—followed in the background.
It felt like a scene I’d seen somewhere before.
No way—
“Hyung?”
When I casually called out, Kang Si‑woo startled and sharply turned his head.
After he confirmed that the shadow cast behind him was me, he belatedly breathed out with relief.
“You scared me.”
As expected.
One hand of Kang Si‑woo was holding a cactus plant.
He had apparently been watering it and moving toward the window.
“Ahem.”
He naturally pulled the pot back behind him.
Judging by his expression, his acting skills were excellent—but from this angle, everything was visible.
I swallowed a bitter laugh and spoke.
“You don’t need to hide it. Hyung, I know you really like cacti.”
“That was found out?”
Found out? When was that?
Judging by his reaction, even Jin Se‑hyun probably already knew too.
Kang Si‑woo was the sexy center of our team who liked cacti.
I chuckled and asked again.
“So… do you perhaps like flowers too?”
“…That’s really not it.”
“Ehh, really?”
“Absolutely—not.”
Swish—
He denied it vehemently and tossed the sprayer far away.
A strong denial was a strong affirmation.
Right, well.
Even I thought that he probably denied it because once he tore off the rope, he might even rip the flower out of definitional principle.
The Kang Si‑woo I knew was serious, yet subtly delicate in certain corners.
So, I thought this.
In a moment where it was just the two of us, he would bring this up.
“Seohan. Actually….”
Kang Si‑woo hesitated and struggled to begin.
“I’ve started wanting to debut.”
“Pardon?”
Hmm.
Just like that, all of a sudden?
I expected something to come up like talk about his father, or an explanation of what happened yesterday—even if not that, something meaningful.
But his spirited ambition made me smile pleasantly.
“Ah, you set the mood to say that now?”
Naturally he would want to debut.
Everyone here would want to debut, of course.
They were enduring this hardship to debut eventually.
It was a bit absurd that the words he laboriously brought out in a look as serious as the world were just those words.
Yet I thought I understood what he was trying to say.
Judging from yesterday’s situation, his family must have tried to oppose him walking this path at all costs.
They likely demanded he withdraw from the program before the final.
But he wanted to debut.
Even if he died trying, he couldn’t give up.
“May I hear your reason?”
“Mm…”
While I returned his gaze with a proud smile, he calmly continued.
“I climbed every stage thinking it was my last. I believed my own lingering regret was why I still clung to this path… and because my name had never once appeared among the debut team I imagined, I thought anyway that position wasn’t mine….”
Kang Si‑woo swallowed hard.
“But a possibility came.”
The once‑expected dropout Kang Si‑woo had survived.
He who thought the previous stage would be the last had advanced to the final.
“And so I got greedy too.”
“Hyung, you’re allowed to be greedy.”
That was only natural—but Kang Si‑woo had never once allowed himself big ambition.
He had simply yearned to step on stage, never daring to hope for debut.
However.
Now that things had turned out this way.
Kang Si‑woo had to prove himself to his father.
His voice sounded unusually determined as he began again.
“I will work really hard as the center assigned to me this time.”
He added with a faint smile.
“Will you believe in me?”
“….”
“Tell me I can do well.”
Of course.
I nodded and answered his words.
“You’ll do great.”
In my memory, Kang Si‑woo had been someone who failed the first ranking selection.
So he had no distinct image—just one of the blurred trainees without much notice.
He seized an opportunity due to Lee Jun‑hyeok’s vacancy.
I was now curious what variable Kang Si‑woo might create.
On the day of the final.
Stardust Project had only one episode left.
On various community boards, similar posts that had run persistently since the early audition stage flooded in.
[What’s Kang Si‑woo’s debut probability?]
Will my baby debut today? Please.
– 25 %
– 10 %?
– Honestly… shouldn’t it be less than 30 %?
– His rank hasn’t really risen.
– He’s consistently Jeong‑Byeong‑Jon (steady mysterious presence).
– Hm; unless he tears the stage apart in the final, it seems hard.
└ㅠㅠ Why isn’t there a single person saying he can make it ㅠㅠㅠ
└I think Yeong‑chae will steal airtime even in the final.
└That damn Lee Young‑chae.
└I can’t refute it; tears.
[Will our tofu‑like baby debut?]
Our soft to‑fu bunny Seo Ian will absolutely debut.
Big sis will steal my relatives’ phones to vote for you ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– To‑fu is skyrocketing overseas, so maybe there’s a chance.
– He’s like 70 %.
└22222
└At least Ian looked debut‑ready.
└He rose during the concept evaluation, but that doesn’t mean he’s in the safety zone.
└Safety zone are like Seo Haim, Jin Se‑hyun?
└Yeah yeah, Ha Jun‑seo too.
└What about our Hamjji?
└If the fans get their act together, it’ll be okay.
└lololololololol Hamjji fans, get a grip.
[I Want This Debut Team]
First, move aside. I absolutely must see the debut team with Angel Junseo as the eldest and our Mam-Seohan as the youngest.
-I have to see that combo too.
-Do Seohan and Ha Junseo are definitely debuting, right?
└Sir, there’s no such thing as “definitely” in a boy group survival show. Go vote.
└Sigh, they’re both my favorite and second favorite. Who should I pick? ㅠㅠ
└Shut up and go for your favorite ㄱㄱ
└Please stop trying to save your second favorite.
-Mom, I’m sorry, I’ll just take the phone this once.
└Blood of my blood, I’m not sorry. Let’s vote.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAh
-I sincerely wish for a team with Ha Junseo, Do Seohan, Jin Sehyun, Seo Haim, Seo Ian, Cha Seongbin, and Lee Dokyung.
└Damn it, me too.
└Sir, you and I have the exact same taste.
└Shall we dive once more into the flower field of Doubles?
└But surprisingly, there are a lot of individual trainees in there.
└I don’t care. Can’t all twelve debut?
└Agree. Hey, TBN Broadcasting bastards, I’ll close my eyes just this once, so please change the debut team to 12 members.
Despite the strong wishes of the fans, the debut team was fixed at seven members.
And today was the day that team would be decided.
[3 Minutes Before the Final Episode of Stardust Project Airs]
Fans started getting excited after checking the announcement message at the bottom of the TBN channel.
-I still can’t believe it’s really starting.
-Seo Han, please debut!!!
-It’s not even my debut, so why are my hands and feet shaking?
Barely over 10 minutes felt endlessly long….
Finally, 9:30 PM.
The screen changed, and MC Han Dawon, dressed in a gray suit, walked out.
The Jimmy Jib camera lit up the studio, where live filming was ongoing from afar.
“Hello, supporters of Stardust World. I’m MC Han Dawon.”
“Kyaaaaa!”
“Waaaaa!”
The cheers of the fans in the studio echoed like the place was about to collapse.
Han Dawon shyly smiled with an excited expression.
“Ah, thank you.”
It was a real-time live broadcast.
Gulp.
Han Dawon swallowed nervously for a moment.
“Over the past three months, the boys have run nonstop and given their all to grow every moment. I’ve watched these young friends burn with passion from the closest place and have always cheered them on.”
At last, it was the day to showcase the final stage of the Stardust Project.
“But there are only seven spots left for debut. Of the twelve boys here, only seven will be given the opportunity to debut today.”
Clutching the script tightly in his hand, Han Dawon continued.
“Today’s final vote that will decide the boys’ fate will be conducted through 100% live text voting. Please send the name of the boy you support to #1832. You only have one chance to vote, so please choose wisely.”
The final voting rules appeared on the screen.
Cameras caught the scene of fans hurriedly taking out their phones to send texts.
MC Han Dawon spoke in a quiet voice.
“Vote for your boy now.”
Immediately, numbers appeared on the large billboard set beside the stage.
“Voting starts.”
As soon as the voting began, a massive number of text votes started pouring in real time.
The flood of voting messages was so overwhelming that people worried the server might crash.
-Seo Han, please debut.
-Choi Han ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I love you.
-Just came after voting.
-I LOVE YOU
-Jin Sehyun, please, please debut.
Han Dawon smiled and looked straight ahead.
The dice had been cast.
Now, we just had to see what the outcome would be.
“Well then….”
The first final stage was prepared: the odd-numbered team’s “Tied to You.”
MC Han Dawon raised the microphone and said,
“We’ll begin the stage for the Tied to You team.”
* * *
Two men stood in the darkness.
As the faint light shone on their silhouettes, comments started pouring in rapidly.
Dressed in black leather outfits from head to toe, the two stood back to back, staring straight ahead.
Kang Siwoo and Do Seohan.
-Center is Kang Siwoo
-ㅅㅂ ㅅㅂ ㅅㅂ Siwoo please shoot to the top
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ This insane vibe is overwhelming everything
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Seohan, I love you!”
The energy of the on-site fans, excited by the insane concept, was intense.
Their cheers swept over the stage like waves.
How long did those cheers continue?
Soon, the audience fell as silent as death.
Thud, thud, thud.
The intense beat of ‘Tied to You’ pounded in their ears.
At the same moment.
Kang Siwoo twisted the corner of his mouth coldly and grabbed Seohan’s neck with one hand.
-Damn
-Seohan ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Starting with a pair choreography ㄷㄷ Are you guys crazy?
-They’ve lost it. Just because it’s the final, my boys have gone crazy
Kang Siwoo stared straight into the camera and slowly raised his hand.
He made a gun gesture and pointed the barrel at Seohan.
Finally, he pulled the trigger.
Bang—
And then.
Thud—
Seohan collapsed forward as if struck by the bullet.
Can't you hold it in?
The stage had begun.