How to Avoid Debut

༺ How To Avoid Debut – 24 ༻

 

  As soon as he arrived home, he quickly changed his clothes and jumped into bed. He opened a thick book he used for quick sleep and began to read the small print, but he wasn’t sleepy till 4 or 5 in the morning, perhaps because he wasn’t in a state to fall asleep easily.

 

  Eventually, the body that stayed up all night made a sore sound and got out of bed after about six hours. He took care to dress especially well, and as soon as he left the house, he entered a 24-hour café.

 

  “Welcome.”

 

  The clerk greeted him with a friendly smile, then widened her eyes and covered her mouth.

 

  “Excuse me, are you Park Hahyun…?”

 

  “Ah. Yes.”

 

  “Wow. I’m a fan.”

 

  “Thank you.”

 

  He scratched his cheek awkwardly at the unfamiliar word ‘fan’ and thanked her. The clerk, with an overwhelmed face, slightly removed the hand covering her mouth, then gently stepped back, telling him to take his time and order.

 

  Delicious cakes were on display, alluring him with their sweet poses. Of course, they were incredibly expensive for their taste, but there was no other place open at this time, so he had no choice. He looked for his card while quickly scanning the cakes.

 

  They were all too precious to be given to Kim Seongwon.

 

  “I’d like to order.”

 

  “Ah, yes! What would you like?”

 

  “This one, please.”

 

  He chose the cheapest cake and completed the payment. The chiffon cake, filled with bright white whipped cream, wasn’t big, but it looked mouthwateringly delicious.

 

  While he was observing the cake being placed into the box, the clerk casually asked him,

 

  “How many candles should I pack for you?”

 

  “Candles?”

 

  Come to think of it, it was a birthday, so candles were necessary. Upon thinking, he realized he didn’t even know Kim Seongwon’s age, except that he was older than Jigu. He considered checking his profile on the homepage, but gave up because it was too bothersome. But it also felt awkward to leave with a cake without any candles, so while he was at a loss, his eyes caught the shaped candles hanging next to him.

 

  “Please give me this.”

 

  He added a 1,500 won shaped candle to his payment, and the perfectly packaged cake box was handed to him. He carefully held the box, fearing the cake might get damaged, and hailed a taxi right in front of the café.

 

  During the ride to the set, the taxi driver asked three times whose birthday it was, and each time, he faithfully answered, “A person whose birthday is in a week.”

 

  “Hello.”

 

  He deliberately arrived three hours earlier than the scheduled filming time, yet the set already seemed somewhat prepared, with various things changed. In the middle, chairs were arranged in a circle for the number of participants, and the lighting seemed a little subdued.

 

  Among the staff who had arrived earlier and were tidying up various things, his uncle suddenly appeared and grabbed the hem of his coat.

 

  “Why are you wearing something like a coat?”

 

  “I just felt like putting more effort into it.”

 

  “…… When normally you just throw on a shirt?”

 

  Never mind. Come this way. His uncle, who had tugged at his coat, walked forward without hesitation. Where his uncle stopped was in front of a woman with a tired expression, wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses.

 

  “Hello, Hahyun.”

 

  “Hello.”

 

  “This is the overall script. Just proceed according to this.”

 

  Presumably the writer, the paper handed to him by her was one detailing the content of the hidden camera. As he read through the paper, which succinctly depicted the scenario along with simple drawings, the content was rather provocative. As he calmly read till the end and put the paper down, he immediately asked the writer.

 

  “Is it okay to provoke this much?”

 

  “Just enough.”

 

  What was written here was far from “just enough”. I wondered if I was the only one taking it seriously, as the writer said, “This kind of hidden camera is done in every show.” Of course, the scenario was at a level that could appear in any show. However, the important point was that the counterpart was Kim Seongwon.

 

  “You can start as soon as Seongwon arrives. Cameras are installed in the practice room you use.”

 

  “Yes.”

 

  There was no way that Kim Seongwon would be touched by such a hidden camera, but I nodded for now and stepped back. The writer said she’d count on me, walked away, and I handed the paper to my uncle, who had been standing next to me.

 

  “Why are we doing this? Is it normal to celebrate birthdays on the program?”

 

  “Of course not. We’re doing it because he’s a hot topic.”

 

  It wasn’t like they would carry out a personal hidden camera for him just because he was attractive. They were doing it because it was stimulating and brought ratings, even at the risk of being criticized by fans. My uncle clicked his tongue a few times and flicked the paper with his fingernail.

 

  “Ask him if he’s thinking about leaving the show.”

 

  “Would he? He must know he has nothing more to lose. I didn’t know this, but from what I hear, his tenacity is no joke. But in my view, there’s a limit to stopping him. Even if he debuts here, it’s impossible that nothing will happen until he retires.”

 

  My uncle’s judgement was very accurate. Judging by his behavior so far, Kim Seongwon was the type to spawn at least a few rumors. No matter how much his parents cleaned up after him, there would be a limit. The fact that a group that debuted successfully through a popular program could soon be swept up in criticism was definitely a headache for the involved parties.

 

  Why was he trying to debut in the first place? It didn’t seem like he genuinely loved the stage, yet his skills were exceptional. There was no cunning in Kim Seongwon from the perspective of Cho Jang, a third party.

 

  He acted conspicuously as if he just needed attention and seemed to carry around needless incidents. No matter how much he resented Jigu, the words he had spoken in the dressing room corridor were truly out of the blue.

 

  “We’re not only doing this hidden camera, right?” “There are a few more.”

 

  At his vague answer, I asked my uncle about the detailed plans for the upcoming hidden camera, and my uncle blinked as if buffering for a moment before beginning to explain one by one.

 

  First, a surprise birthday hidden camera for a participant whose birthday is in three days.

 

  Second, one participant seriously considers quitting and has a consultation session with a few others.

 

  Third, leaving a participant alone in a room and then a ghost appears.

 

  The first seemed like a heartwarming event without much story, the second was aimed at stirring emotions, and the third seemed to be included just for fun. The hidden cameras were simpler than I thought, which made me think that Kim Seongwon’s birthday hidden camera could feel particularly stimulating.

 

  “You bought a cake.”

 

  “Yes.”

 

  “Isn’t this from the bakery near your house? Is it good?”

 

  “Yes, it is.”

 

  “Ahh…”

 

  My uncle sighed regretfully, glancing at the cake box five times. His pitiful look made me feel like I should bring one for him next time.

 

  Saying he had to do a final check, my uncle paid for the cake and took it away. I couldn’t tell how much he regretted letting the cake go, even after receiving the money.

 

  As time passed, more and more participants started to flood into the set. My plan to quietly organize my thoughts alone was completely shattered by Jun pulling my arm, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by several people.

 

  It was only about a month ago that I was considering quitting after being like an invisible man, and I was momentarily stunned, wondering when I had found people to talk to.

 

  “Hyung, did you zone out?”

 

  Jun, noticing that I was a little out of focus, waved his hand in front of my face a few times. This abrupt action brought my spirit back to reality, and I awkwardly smiled, pretending to have been listening all along.

 

  “Oh, so?”

 

  “If it’s about playing computer games, I want a luxury watch. I’m about to become a master, you know.”

 

  Jun was cheerfully laughing while pretending to rapidly press a keyboard, and I couldn’t help but laugh too, reminded of my cousin whom I hadn’t seen in a while who used to brag about his gaming skills. They were so alike.

 

  Seeming to misinterpret my laughter as mockery, Jun’s facial muscles twitched before he retorted loudly.

 

  “I’ll even hit grandmaster soon!”

 

  “Sure, who’s to say otherwise?”

 

  “Do you play well, too?”

 

  “I’ve never even played.”

 

  My friends and I weren’t big on internet cafes. If we did play games, it would be quick rounds of adventure games during break times after practice. Of course, excluding the farm game that I had been playing on my phone for a year, growing slowly but surely, I didn’t know how to play anything else.

 

  “Wow, how have you never played? If you go to a PC room, that’s all your friends would be doing.”

 

  “We hardly went to PC rooms.”

 

  “Hahyun looks like he wouldn’t be good at games.”

 

  In the middle of reminiscing about times with friends who preferred dancing over games, an irksome voice suddenly intruded. Sharp eyes were softly folded towards me. There was no trace of mocking laughter on the radiant face, so I responded thoughtlessly.

 

  “Yejun seems like he would be quite good.”

 

  “You’re observant. I’m indeed platinum.”

 

  “Eh…”

 

  Yejun seemed more fond of games than rap. I gave a vague response, and scanned the set to see who else was there.

 

  Kim Seongwon seemed to have not arrived yet, and Jigu was also missing. To execute the scenario given by the writer, I needed helpers. Yejun seemed like he would enjoy it too much so he was out, and Jun seemed like he wouldn’t be able to act, so he was out too. After much contemplation, I ended up gesturing for Hwiyoung.

 

  “Hwiyoung-ah.”

 

  “Yes?”

 

  “Today, among the things we’re filming for the behind-the-scenes, there’s a hidden camera prank.”

 

  “Really?”

 

  I was speaking to Hwiyoung, but Jun reacted more dramatically. Worried that someone else might overhear and the information would reach Kim Seongwon, I quickly signaled him to close his mouth, which he obediently did. Seeing his neatly shut lips, I took one step closer to Hwiyoung.

 

  “We need to pull off a surprise hidden camera prank on Seongwon.”

 

  “Seongwon? Why?”

 

  “His birthday is in a week.”

 

  At the mention of a birthday, Hwiyoung finally seemed to understand, nodding vigorously. Then, in a matter of seconds, his face changed into a more proactive expression.

 

  “What should we do?”

 

  “I read the script the writer gave us, but there wasn’t much in it.”

 

  “Wow, I really love doing pranks like this. What should I do?”

 

  “What about me?”

 

  Jun and Gaon, who seemed excited about the hidden camera prank, raised their hands. Although I was slightly flustered by their out-of-sync, enthusiastic hands raised for Seongwon, I dutifully assigned each of them a role. After requesting Hwiyoung to initiate the conflict, I looked around again. Jigu was still nowhere to be seen.

 

  ‘I couldn’t go to school. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t enter the school gate.’

 

  Ah, truly. His voice trembling pitifully echoed in my ears. Shaking off the memory with a rough shake of my head, I then remembered Kim Seongwon persistently arguing with Jigu.

 

  The scene where he stubbornly insisted that Jigu leave because he didn’t want to see him, the scene where he arrived late and nonchalantly said, ‘I sent you a message, didn’t I?’, and the scene where he loudly revealed a fact that Jigu was desperately trying to hide in the corridor.

 

  The thoughts that came to mind after witnessing all of these sequential scenes in my mind were clear. He was a person who didn’t deserve something like a birthday celebration.

 

  As soon as I reached this simple conclusion, as if on cue, Kim Seongwon entered the set. There was a little over an hour left until the main shoot. It was enough time to execute the hidden camera prank that the writer had requested.

 

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