Chapter 84: Dusty Corp. (2)
No one expected the youngest’s presentation.
Though he was a perfect all-rounder musically, the youngest, Do Seohan, consistently showed shortcomings in other areas.
Perhaps it was precisely that clumsy side that earned him love from many fans.
After all, when someone is too perfect in every way, it’s not fun.
Ha Junseo thought so as he waited for Do Seohan’s presentation.
On top of that, he had pride in the fact that his Pink Unicorn PPT had splendidly opened the first presentation.
‘Let’s be real, my presentation slayed.’
Let’s see how hard our youngest worked.
With his arms crossed, watching with amusement—
“What the heck?”
“Huh?”
All six people bent at the waist toward the PPT Seohan had confidently prepared.
‘Of course he wouldn’t be able to do it.’
The hyungs, who had been all ready to tease the youngest, couldn’t close their mouths at the miraculous quality of the PPT.
Even the Dusty members were equally shocked.
-What the heck what the heck what the heck did Do Seohan really make that???
-That’s what Do Hamjji made?
-??????
-Our Hamjji???
The neatly organized graphs and source citations with footnotes.
Ha Junseo may have lowered Dusty’s expectations with the Pink Unicorn PPT, but the clean and intuitive design, in stark contrast, was simply awe-inspiring.
‘Where did this group project genius come from?’
The use of cobalt blue, symbolic of Stardust, unified the color scheme, and the tasteful placement of shapes kept the layout from looking too stiff—this was Seohan’s natural sense of aesthetics.
It clearly wasn’t his first time doing this.
Among the flood of shocked reactions, a few comments quickly regained their composure.
-Do Seohan, I’m casting you as my group project teammate.
-Seohan, do this noona’s assignment.
-I want to be hopelessly entangled in a group project with Mam-Seohan in college,,,
└Sunbae, I love you.
└Oppa!!!!!
└???? Where’d everyone’s conscience go?
└Dusties, protect your conscience!!
Is it even possible for an eighteen-year-old kid to make a PPT that clean?
Cha Seongbin denied reality, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“No way~ Didn’t the PD do it for him?”
“I made it.”
“No freaking way!”
[All PPTs shown in the meeting were made directly by the members.]
The problem was, it wasn’t just the PPT he was good at.
The cheerful MZ Generation concept had been tossed aside, and Seohan, with a rather serious face, tapped on the screen.
Listening to him—he even spoke well.
It was an unbelievable presentation skill, as if he hadn’t just been shouting about an Intern V-log a few moments ago.
Cha Seongbin chuckled bitterly and thought:
‘If you were gonna do this, why act all cutesy with that concept?’
“Our youngest is doing great.”
“He’s got a talent for presenting.”
Ha Junseo and Seo Ian smiled like proud parents at a school talent show.
“I mean, just how hard did he prepare~.”
Amidst them, Cha Seongbin subtly tried to hold his ground.
“Is this for real?”
Finally, the one unlucky enough to be up next.
“Aah…”
Jin Sehyun let out a hollow mutter.
Is this for real?
“I feel a wall…”
“Wall of perfection?”
“No, just a wall.”
[Guys, did you watch Stardust’s self-produced content???]
Episode 1 is out and the kids are so cute
Following the world-ending universe, they uploaded a company concept self-content and ㅠㅠ
I can’t stop smiling
Please watch it with me, please
-I watched with a big dumb smile the whole way through ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m not even a Dusty, I stan someone else, but it reminded me of the Starf era and I got sucked in
└Ugh the babies were seriously adorable
└They’re still rookies so they’re a bit clumsy, but that clumsiness is just too cute
└True, you can only see this freshness at this time ㅠㅠ
└Dusties, enjoy this while it lasts. There’ll be a different vibe once they gain more experience, but rookie days never come back….
-The Doubles self-content team is actually good, the editing saved the show. So fun.
└2222 Looks like this self-content brought in new fans too
└It shot up to trending videos on YouTube right away ㅠㅠ So proud of my babies
└Give the self-content team a raise!!!!
Along with praise for the self-content team, there was one more topic no one could leave out.
It was my dazzling presentation skills revealed at the end of [Earth Conquest Meeting: Dusty Corp.] Episode 1.
[Why is Do Seohan good at making PPTs?]
Baby soft Hamjji
You’re on leave from school and haven’t even gone to high school
You’re a baby who’s never done a college group project!!
Why does your PPT give off second-lifetime group leader vibes?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThe PPT was so clean I was shocked
└It’s not just clean—he’s got an eye for design. Unreal.
└Seriously… where did you learn that… why are you better than me
└Even if he wasn’t an idol, he’d have done something big
└Our Hamjji is amazing ㅠㅠ
-Did the production team secretly make it?
└They said no
└They even emphasized twice that it wasn’t themㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└If I were the staff, I would’ve stopped Ha Junseo’s PPT first thing
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋPink Unicorn
└222 If I could’ve touched it, that would’ve been the first thing to fix
└They’d have at least told him to ditch that infuriating character
└InfuriatingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCharacterㅋㅋㅋ
-Ah, isn’t there someone like Do Seohan in college…?
└You mean his personality or his looks?
└His…onality?
└Yeah, neither. Please move along.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so firm
└What even is “his-onality” ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ you couldn’t bear to lose either, huh ㅠㅠ
A screenshot of my presentation titled [Idol You Most Want to Do Group Projects With] was circulating on Stargram.
Now that we’re on the subject, my nickname in college used to be Limousine.
Do Seohan Limousine.
I’ll smoothly ride you all the way to an A+.
Of course, there was a rather sad backstory to this talent….
Because I had been a trainee since I was young, I entered college a bit later than others, and whenever a group project class came up, those sparkling eyes always turned to me.
Yeah, when things get tough, the older one always gets the job—national rule.
‘Who wants to be our team leader….’
‘I’ll do it.’
Don’t ask questions you already have answers to.
Anyway, I never thought the experience I’d only used in a past life as a team leader would be useful after debuting.
And I really didn’t expect the reaction to be this good.
Perhaps the Doubles staff were more moved by my PPT skills than anyone else—when I walked down the company hallway, familiar faces would stop to chat.
What they said jokingly felt oddly sincere.
In particular, Kim Seyoung, a manager from the A&R team, swallowed dryly as he asked, clearly coveting my talent.
“Do Seohan, have you ever considered working at Doubles?”
“I’m already a slave to Doubles.”
“Ah….”
You all have the option to quit, but I’m a slave for the next seven years.
Only then did Kim Seyoung seem to realize and added with a sympathetic look.
“Fighting… hang in there…!”
Mm.
Let’s end the sad story here.
.
.
.
.
Lately, the Doubles meeting room felt more like my own home.
Gathering all seven of us, Song Jinha’s lips parted.
Song Jinha, formerly from the Rookie Development Team, had recently been assigned exclusively to Stardust.
He had been at Doubles for a while now, so it looked like he was due for a promotion soon.
Maybe that’s why, just for today, his usually dull face looked a bit brighter.
“The self-produced content is getting a good reaction.”
The pre-released Episode 1 had received a surprisingly good response.
Episode 2, which had already been filmed, would be uploaded soon.
Thanks to trending on YouTube, not just fans but also the general public were flocking in.
If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have introduced myself with the MZ Generation Alien concept….
“Ah… my MZ concept….”
“Regret it?”
“Absolutely.”
Just then, Song Jinha added a comment.
“Anyway, maybe because of that, but we got a variety show casting request yesterday.”
“A variety show?”
Ah, so that’s what it was.
On our way here by car, they hinted there was some good news.
Right after the photoshoot, Manager Lee Jaeyoon had whispered it to me—it must’ve been about this.
“You know Weekly Pocket Idol, right?”
“Gasp, they reached out to us?”
“Huge…”
At the familiar program name, Seo Haim’s eyes widened.
It was a famous show idols traditionally appeared on during comebacks.
Even before debut, Dusties had constantly mentioned wanting us to be on it.
We’re finally getting on it.
I sparkled with joy, but Song Jinha hesitated, his expression turning cautious.
His lips didn’t move easily—he just fidgeted with his lower lip before finally speaking.
“It’s for a rookie idol special. They want us to appear alongside another team….”
“Ah, a special episode….”
Of course, I didn’t expect too much as a rookie, but the fact that it wasn’t a solo appearance was a little disappointing.
I did my best to hide my disappointment and asked:
“Who is it?”
Song Jinha opened his mouth.
“The Core.”
Didn’t see that coming.
“The ones we saw last time…?”
“The Core sunbaenims?”
Seo Ian swallowed dryly, watching Song Jinha’s expression.
“Yeah, it’s a [VS Rookie Battle] special between The Core and Stardust. That’s the offer we received.”
“A Rookie Battle?”
Both of us debuted with about three months’ difference from big agencies.
Given how recent the rivalry between The Core and Stardust had been heating up, they chose a concept designed to fan the flames?
“…….”
Wow, seriously.
They really want to stir the pot.
Even Search King Jin Sehyun seemed to think this wasn’t it, stepping forward first.
“I know this might be a bit cautious to say, but… aren’t there other good variety shows too?”
“Other variety shows?”
No matter how great Weekly Pocket Idol is, we don’t have to go under those conditions.
I felt the same way as Jin Sehyun.
But then.
Song Jinha scratched his head, looking troubled.
“Yeah, guys. It’s your first variety show, so it’s right to be careful.”
“Yessir.”
“But the company… they said you don’t have to go, but they really want you to?”
What kind of hot iced Americano logic is that?
Even Song Jinha seemed baffled by his own words, coughing awkwardly a few times.
“You don’t have to go but…”
“The CEO really wants you to go?”
“Ah.”
That just means we’re going, doesn’t it?
“Mm… got it.”
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
Ah.
It’s pressure from the broadcasting station….
Song Jinha, watching our expressions, awkwardly added:
“There’s an award show at the end of the year too, so making an appearance could be good. I read the special concept proposal, and it won’t be overly provocative.”
Yeah, Weekly Pocket Idol isn’t known for being provocative.
Even when multiple teams appear together, they usually edit it to highlight each team’s charm.
A hurried explanation followed.
“Remember the Mini Sports Day we did during the Starf days? I think they’re planning it with that kind of vibe.”
“Ah, okay….”
But.
The part that bothered me most was having to appear with The Core.
Song Jinha pressed, as if applying pressure.
“You’re going, right?”