How to Avoid Debut

༺ How To Avoid Debut – 20 ༻

 

  Seongwon was at the farthest seat, chuckling as he texted someone. He sat down, casting a displeased glance at Seongwon’s joyous face.

 

  It was certain that the two were biological brothers. It didn’t take me long to accept that my favorite idol and a team member I found fairly attractive were siblings. After all, in life, anything can happen. 

 

  But what mattered was Jigu’s attitude, who seemed reluctant to reveal this fact. When they first met, he spoke his name excluding his surname, and he only used two characters of his name during broadcasts.

 

  It was clear that Jigu’s decision to mention the existence of his brother, which he had been hiding, right in the corridor of the waiting room, was a calculated move. It was so childish that it was embarrassing.

 

  I couldn’t understand why he constantly stepped forward to stir up discord. Considering what he did last time and his recent actions, it seemed like he wanted to eliminate Jigu from the debut group..

 

  If I were a meddlesome person, I would have shot back at him to step down first. Of course, I just stayed quiet because I would obviously hear something like ‘why are you causing a fuss?

 

  “Ah, it’s so hilarious.”

 

  Whether the text was that funny or Seongwon, who voiced what should have been kept to himself, abruptly shut his mouth at the opening door. Several cameras and staff entered through the open door, seemingly to film the waiting room.

 

  At the same time, Seongwon put down his phone and Jigu also removed the earphones he had been wearing. Perhaps not wanting to show a cheap atmosphere even in front of the camera, Seongwon naturally moved his seat closer to his team members.

 

  Gradually, other teams started to enter the waiting room, and the not-so-large room was filled to the point where the air felt tight. When it became a state like a subway during rush hour, the staff began to move around with cameras, starting interviews.

 

  In such a suffocating space, how do you feel now? Even if they asked, the only answer would be, “I’m suffocating.”

 

“Group 4, how do you feel right now? Are you nervous?”

 

  Now it was our team’s turn for an interview. The staff asked casually to the huddled team members, and Gaon, caught up in the still-unresolved atmosphere, quickly took the lead and opened his mouth.

 

  “I’m really nervous. Do you want to hear my heartbeat?”

 

  With an awkward smile that anyone could see, Gaon tapped his chest with his finger. The camera briefly did a close-up on Gaon, then moved away, and the staff hinted for the others to quickly say something.

 

  Why he made such nonsense right before the broadcast, the timing was freaking malicious. Unable to hold back the curse that sprung up automatically, I muttered vehemently to myself, then reluctantly took over the responsibility from Gaon.

 

  “It’s our first time standing on stage in front of our viewers. We’ve prepared hard, so please watch us. Yes, fighting.”

 

  At the end, I awkwardly added a “fighting” and briefly raised my fists. At the sincerely weak ‘fighting’, the staff took a step back, and feeling somewhat disheartened, I nudged the kind team members next to me.

 

  Suddenly, Hwiyoung, who was pricked by my finger, and the rapper team member raised their arms slowly and together shouted “fighting.”

 

  The staff seemed to want everyone to say something, but Jigu and Seongwon only maintained their expressions and kept their mouths shut.

 

  “We’ve prepared hard, and we are confident. Thank you so much for coming to watch us.”

 

  Eventually, Jigu slightly relaxed his expression and quietly said a word towards the camera. By this point, I thought Seongwon would grudgingly say something light, but I was surprised when he kept his mouth shut until the end. Since they just needed to edit the interview part appropriately, the staff did not ask for more and moved away.

 

  “Team leader, we’re okay… right?”

 

  Hwiyoung, who was the most nervous, asked me in a voice only I could hear, and I couldn’t guarantee it, but for now, I nodded to reassure him.

 

  In such a not-okay atmosphere, from Group 1, they headed to the stage for recording. The teams that finished their stages twice all came back to the waiting room with excited and sweaty faces, sharing their feelings and discussing how many people came.

 

  In between that, only our team sat as if alienated, and Jun came and sat next to me, rolling his eyes in all directions. He seemed to be asking why the atmosphere was like this.

 

  “Some insensitive person spouted nonsense in the waiting room hallway….”“

 

  “The hallway? Ah, I was wondering why it was noisy when I came in.”“

 

  “It was noisy?”

 

  “Yes. It was chaotic. People gathered around talking, and not even about a scoop.”

 

  People did cling to every piece of gossip. Jun was quicker on the uptake than I thought. The fact that the brother of NOBLE Taeyang was participating in a popular program lately was enough to stir up excitement.

 

  If all the staff heard it, it would surely go up on the internet, and I was seriously worried about how it would be distorted. However, I couldn’t read anything from Jigu’s indifferent expression as he sat far away.

 

  “You guys are going up soon. Don’t die of a heart attack. Oh, right. Since you’ve been on stage, you might not be nervous.”

 

  “Was it enough to die of a heart attack?”

 

  “There are so many people. The screams are no joke. We’re filming twice, and during the break in the middle, I even heard someone calling my name!”

 

  Seemingly realizing the true taste of the stage, Jun began to recreate the situation with shining eyes.

 

  “As I walked towards the front of the stage, I heard it from almost the back to here.”

 

  Jun, who seemed to have never been to an idol concert hall, poured out his feelings generously, saying there could be no louder sound than this. If you go to a concert hall once, you’d be able to hear a hundred times the cheers you heard.

 

  “Group 4, standby!”

 

  Not long after, our team was called, and unlike the other teams who got up all at once, our team was a complete mess even when standing up. As if playing a game of paying attention, team members got up awkwardly one after another like dominoes falling and left the waiting room with stiff steps. Jun was already in between the members of Team 3, waving his hand broadly.

 

 Under the stage, final checks were being made. After confirming that the microphone was properly attached, makeup was hastily touched up. Finishing the work in the blink of an eye, I was already on stage.

 

  “……..”

 

  Jun’s words about not dying from a heart attack really hit me then. I didn’t think 200 was a large number, but the feeling of looking at it from the stage was different.

 

  “Kyaaaaaak!”

 

  I was more nervous than for a competition or a school festival stage, despite fewer spectators. No cheering sticks, no common slogans were visible, but the loud voices directly entered my ears. Despite its small size, the massive screams gave me the feeling of waves trembling before my eyes.

 

  I had been one of those cheering, but once I got up on the stage, my feelings were completely different.

 

  “Ah, I can’t breathe.”

 

  As soon as the stage ended, Gaon collapsed on the floor, and at the same time, loud voices burst from the audience.

 

  “Gaon!”

 

  “You’re so handsome!”

 

  In order to record once more, I stood still like a lost soul after wiping my sweat and checking my clothes during the given time. Meanwhile, the enthusiastic cheers continued without a break.

 

  Idols usually made lame jokes or communicated at times like this, but when I was in that situation, it was hard to find something to say. Seongwon, on the other hand, seemed unburdened by such attention and went up to the front of the stage to say something.

 

  While the members’ names echoed like a round song, my name was also notably heard.

 

  “Hahyun! Debut! Please debut! I love you!”

 

  The woman in the front row who was asking me to debut with a voice loud enough for a hundred people waved her hand, and I etched her fervent voice into my memory as I started the second stage.

 

  The voices did not stop until I came down from the stage after finishing the second recording, which was tougher than the first. After sitting dumbfounded in the waiting room for a while, I realized why people want to become idols. This is what it feels like. The stage where you can only receive favor.

 

  “It seems like it really went well”

 

  “Our team was the last to perform, so shall we… have one last cheer?”

 

  Gaon suggested while alternately glancing at Jigu and Seongwon, and both readily nodded, perhaps due to the excitement.

 

  We all put our hands together and shouted fighting, and it was only afterward that I thought that this was something you do before the stage, but I didn’t bother to challenge it. I was also sufficiently excited by the novel elation I was feeling for the first time.

 

  After all four teams had completed their recordings perfectly and left the waiting room, I glanced at the NOBLE waiting room door as I was worried about what had happened earlier, but there was no sign of the members coming out.

 

  And so our team’s final performance came to a successful end. If Seongwon hadn’t spouted nonsense in the corridor, it would have been truly successful. I realized the gravity of the situation that evening. It was when I lay down in bed to sleep comfortably after a clean shower, my uncle called.

 

-“Hey, is Jigu’s friend the younger brother of NOBLE’s Taeyang? The internet is going crazy. Trending in real-time. I’m not sure where it all started but there’s even talk about vote manipulation due to background influence. It seems like something happened in the waiting room corridor, what was it? Did you guys recognize each other as brothers? You must have been there.”

 

  My sleep was abruptly interrupted due to my uncle asking about the details of the incident. Given the nasty nature of the internet, such unexpected rumors could easily be distorted. I got up from the bed, imagining how they would spread and embellish the story. Ah, Kim Seongwon.

 

  Honestly, I didn’t expect the situation to escalate this much, but it was more serious than I thought. Even though there’s no end to these tabloids, I had no idea where the vote manipulation story came from.

 

  My uncle spoke in a depressed voice, saying he might not be able to sleep for a while. I agreed with his opinion. After all, complaints were already piling up on the viewers’ bulletin board.

 

-“I know better than anyone else that there was no manipulation. It’s so unfair that I could vomit.”

 

  “But you didn’t even know they were brothers, Uncle.”

 

-“Of course, I didn’t know. I thought it was a rule to only submit the name without the surname. I’m really exhausted. Did Kim Seongwon bring this up? Why would he suddenly say such unnecessary things?”

 

  My uncle asked in a clearly irritated voice, not understanding, and I replied with an equally determined voice.

 

  “I don’t know, he must be crazy.”

 

-“I heard their family is pretty wealthy. “So, the influence really lies with the individual.”

 

-“I heard he’s a rogue thrown out by his family, they spare no expense in covering up the trouble caused by their son. Anyway, we’re filming a few of the forms you submitted tomorrow. The B-cuts of the profile pictures will be released soon, and there are behind-the-scenes videos of the kids playing games and hidden cameras. The day after tomorrow we have to start the third mission. But with the atmosphere like this, I’m not sure if that friend of Jigu’s will show up. I tried to contact him, but he didn’t answer. I’ll have to try again.”

 

  My uncle ended the call to try and contact Jigu. The image of Jigu, who used to shyly smile saying he’s introverted, came to mind..

 

  I felt frustrated and upset that a child who purely enjoyed the stage was being criticized due to an unconfirmed rumor. I thought about giving him a call, but I decided against it, worried that it might be seen as unnecessary meddling.

 

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