Chapter 76: In a Peaceful Way
Boy’s Dream.
“Yes?”
At the mention of the program’s name, Jang Juwon’s face also turned pale.
The program he had been forced into by his agency.
Because the manager had threatened him, saying this was his last chance, it truly was like a final lifeline for Jang Juwon.
If he got cut before the program even started, that would be the end of his time at the agency.
At his age, there probably weren’t many companies willing to take him in.
Once that thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t afford to just zone out anymore.
“W-Wait a moment.”
Jang Juwon spoke in a hurried voice.
An awkward smile crept onto his lips.
“D-Don’t threaten me like that. Let’s… let’s talk this out nicely.”
“Nicely?”
“In a peaceful way!”
“What a load of crap.”
Do Seojun let out a sigh and stood up abruptly.
It was because a wave of instinctive disgust surged up inside him.
“Instead of a peace declaration, I think I can fire off a lawsuit right away.”
The lawsuit wasn’t the issue—if he let the PD go now, the 'Boy’s Dream' appearance would be in jeopardy.
Who knows what kind of retaliation would come? There’s no way he’d be able to appear on that program comfortably.
Realizing that, Jang Juwon grabbed PD Do Seojun’s arm.
“P-PD-nim!”
Jang Juwon swallowed dryly and clasped his hands together politely.
After acting like a lunatic, he suddenly looked pathetically servile.
“This really is my last chance at a program.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“I’ll delete the post right now. I’ll delete it right this moment!”
He added in a voice that was barely audible.
“P-Please, just pretend you didn’t see it this once.”
Was this punk who loved messing around actually serious about his dream?
Do Seojun furrowed his brows at the complete 180-degree change in attitude.
“I swear I’ll keep my mouth shut and delete the post.”
Even if he didn’t keep his mouth shut, the entire conversation was being recorded anyway.
That meant the guy wouldn’t be able to twist the situation to his advantage.
“Just this once, please overlook it.”
“……”
“Please. PD-nim.”
When there was no response, Jang Juwon cautiously observed his reaction.
At his desperate tone, Do Seojun lifted his head.
“Hmm.”
Though he was just a rookie PD, Do Seojun still had some influence over editing.
No—there were plenty of ways to mess with the guy.
If he merely leaked this story, Juwon’s agency would likely cut him loose for being a useless seed.
A chance to appear on the program?
That kind of thing only goes to those who deserve it.
He was a trainee who had gone after a rookie idol under Doubles.
Not just a shady guy—if this got out, he’d be practically a ticking time bomb.
He knew that too.
He knew what would happen if this came to light.
What kind of guts does a trainee need to run an anonymous account and try to screw over a debuting idol?
“I didn’t plan to screw him over from the start….”
Jang Juwon began speaking hastily.
“I was just bitter that the bastard was doing well. I didn’t think it would blow up like this. I just made up a few stories…. Things got out of hand, and the reactions were kind of entertaining. It’s not like I didn’t hope he’d get ruined….”
“……”
“I’ll delete everything right now. I’ll even post a clarification. Just please overlook it once.”
He clenched his teeth and added more words.
“Please, please. Just this once, pretend you didn’t see it.”
“Fine.”
To his surprise, Do Seojun responded agreeably.
“Delete it, and post an apology too.”
Jang Juwon’s eyes widened.
“R-Really?”
“If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll overlook it too.”
It meant he wouldn’t go out of his way to screw him over during ‘Boy’s Dream,’ but he wouldn’t help him either.
Whether he debuted or got eliminated by blending into the background, it would be up to him.
Do Seojun neatly wrapped it up that way.
“Today’s incident never happened.”
Jang Juwon swallowed dryly and nodded vigorously.
“That’s better for you too, right?”
“Y-Yes. That’s right!”
He looked like he would start drafting the apology post immediately.
Jang Juwon repeatedly bowed his head, expressing gratitude.
“T-Thank you. PD-nim!”
Do Seojun looked at that revolting face and held back a laugh.
Gratitude?
We’ll see.
He’s going to regret this.
“What are you thinking?”
Jang Juwon, who had begged like a fly rubbing its hands, posted the apology as promised as soon as he got home.
It included proof that all the exposing accounts were his and a detailed apology confessing that he spread falsehoods out of school-time jealousy.
Thanks to that, the communities that had been chewing up Cha Seongbin because of those exposés finally quieted down.
People figured it was good enough that it was resolved.
That was a relief, but I was curious about my brother’s thoughts.
Even if they couldn’t sue him outright, there were plenty of ways to screw over Jang Juwon.
Despite his nasty personality, it was a bit unexpected that he had chosen the peaceful route.
My brother let out a short laugh at my question.
Even though he was still a rookie PD lacking experience at this point, his words sounded like those of someone who had been through it all.
“It’s better to trap a cockroach you can’t catch. If you half-ass it with bug spray, it just goes berserk.”
It seemed, in his eyes, Jang Juwon was one hell of a cockroach.
Rather than make things worse by trying to squash it, it was better to end things at a manageable point.
That did sound pretty realistic.
And then.
“If I had to name another reason….”
My brother shrugged as he added more.
“It’s just… giving false hope.”
False hope?
“His life’s already in the gutter anyway… let him cling to that hope for a long, long time.”
His gaze landed on me.
“That bastard isn’t diligent, and he doesn’t have talent either.”
That’s why he couldn’t produce results even while hopping between small entertainment companies, let alone making the debut team.
Do Seojun coldly continued his assessment of Jang Juwon.
“He thinks he’s desperate, but it’s a delusion. He’d rather die than become an unemployed guy loafing around while others go to college.”
Damn, that was harsh.
If that guy heard this, his bones would’ve cracked.
“For him, being a trainee is just self-justification.”
His desire to work hard was nothing but self-justification. It never led to meaningful results.
To a variety show PD, it must have been clear what level of star quality Jang Juwon had.
“In fact, no matter how much screen time you give someone like him, he can’t debut.”
“Why?”
At that one word, I looked up at my brother.
Do Seojun covered his face with one hand and lightly shook it.
“He just doesn’t have it.”
What?
“Then what about me?”
“You’re good-looking. Like your hyung.”
At his shameless comment, I let out a hollow laugh.
Seriously absurd.
[Cha Seongbin's anonymous account troll deleted their account]
That anonymous account that claimed to be Cha Seongbin’s classmate deleted everything.
They admitted they were indeed a classmate and that they spread false information out of an inferiority complex.
Looks like they confessed before they got sued.
The worst part was, they even leaked Cha Seongbin’s real phone number. Totally insane.
So many people believed the troll because of that.
I wish Doubles would just sue already.
– Wow… that was a troll account?
– Just blindly beat down an innocent kid. I told y’all to stay neutral.
└And a ton of individual fans pounced on the kid back then.
└Probably not Stardust’s fans but fans of trainees who got eliminated, lol. Lee Dokyung’s fans were going wild.
└Why is Dokyung even being mentioned here, haha.
└Bashing Lee Dokyung when he did nothing—how are you any different from those fans? ^__^
└Did nothing? LOL. There were a bunch of comments saying Dokyung should’ve debuted instead of Cha Seongbin. Acting all innocent now, huh?
The rumors about Cha Seongbin that had been secretly spreading on JjaekJjaek were revealed to be false.
From the beginning, the criticisms had come without any proof, and not many fans had believed the rumors 100%, but considering the trolls who stirred things up, it hadn’t been a smooth ride.
Dusty, who had Cha Seongbin as her ultimate bias, had been so heartbroken that she couldn’t even look at photo teasers for a while.
“Ugh, that bastard. They should’ve sued him.”
Since his former classmate even leaked his private number, Cha Seongbin must have known about the issue.
I was worried our boy might have gotten hurt.
Thankfully, it seems like he changed his number, but I couldn’t help but feel angry.
Doubles, you jerks.
Don’t you protect your artists?
– Is Doubles even working?
└Seriously the most incompetent of the big agencies.
└Can’t even protect your artists—why are you even in the entertainment business? LOL.
└Every time something like this happens, I wonder where all the money I spent on Doubles went.
└If trolls are this bold before debut, what’ll happen after? Do your job, Doubles ^^
While everyone united in bashing Doubles,
A piece of bait surfaced that could shut down all that public sentiment at once.
Doubles you motherfu….
Dusty’s hands stopped typing mid-insult.
She turned her gaze as if drawn by a spell.
Ding—
With a cheerful alert sound, what popped up on YouTube was,
“The MV teaser’s out.”
It was the music video teaser for Stardust, three days ahead of debut.
.
.
.
.
A massive white set that looked like a temple or an altar.
Seohan stood up, looking out the window into the vast darkness of space.
His sorrowful eyes seemed to capture a place far out of reach.
All that came into view was a barren land of dry sand and rocks.
Seohan gently picked up a toppled hourglass.
As if handling something incredibly precious,
As if he had rediscovered something he’d forgotten.
Seohan smiled sadly.
His gaze met another person.
Cha Seongbin slowly turned his body, staring into space.
The camera glided over Cha Seongbin’s handsome face and transitioned the scene.
Each time a member appeared on screen, it felt hard to breathe.
Boom—
Boom—
With the sound of a pounding heartbeat,
Kang Siwoo and Seo Ian stood frozen, facing each other.
Jin Sehyun crushed an unknown blue orb in his hand,
Followed by close-ups of Seo Haim and Ha Junseo’s faces.
The screen whirled and a heart-throbbing melody burst forth.
– Even if I fall before reaching you, I’ll be okay
A refreshing yet powerful line of melody.
With that line, the screen faded to black.
Flash—
[Yuyeong (spacewalk)]
[2017/04/27 6PM (KST)]
“Insane.”
Something had just rushed past like a storm, but one thing was clear.
Dusty slowly parted her lips with a dazed expression.
“This is it.”
This is guaranteed to blow up. It’s a surefire stock.
How could a teaser have such a hypnotic effect on people?
Cha Seongbin’s blue hair was heartbreakingly handsome, but every single member looked their visual peak.
Even the community she had just logged into, where everyone had been bashing Doubles, quieted down in an instant.
[Is it possible for a single line of lyrics to make someone’s heart flutter like this?]
[Did Doubles go all in or what?]
[The song is so freaking good.]
[What the hell is this lol. Are they trying to dominate K-pop or something?]
Even if the Doubles legal team wasn’t doing anything, it was clear the planning team was working themselves to death.
The teaser’s quality, even the snippet of melody they revealed—
There wasn’t a single flaw. Everything was satisfying.
Powerful-refreshing as a debut concept?
Crazy. Thank you.
Dusty muttered the same words over and over, clasping her hands together politely.
Even without realizing it, her hand kept hitting replay again and again.
– Even if I fall before reaching you, I’ll be okay
– Even if I fall before reaching you, I’ll be okay
– Even if I fall before reaching you, I’ll be okay
It was still insane, no matter how many times she listened.
Her fangirling had been reignited after a long while.
A ripple had stirred in her dull K-pop routine.
Her heart was pounding.
“Yes, Doubles. This is it.”
How could anyone resist this?
There’s no way she’d be able to sleep peacefully until debut day.