Since the challenge and encore videos were posted, many changes have come our way.
First, the good news.
— I became a fan after watching the encore video hehe….
└ Me too
└ Me too… hoho
└ For me, it’s the challenge video ㅜㅜ I never imagined I would come to love a temporary group.
Many people who hadn’t joined the fandom even during the height of
Survive IDOL
‘s popularity started flocking to the Muses in droves.
“Myumyu, there are many.”
Even Zen, who wasn’t familiar with Korean SNS, said that, so you could imagine how many new Muses there were. It was really great news for us.
And good news number two.
— Never challenge Pantheion with your skills again.
No one dared to mess with Pantheion anymore. RH Entertainment, who had run their mouths about Lee Danbi, reporters from various newspapers, Kim Saemyeong’s obsessive fans, and even Pantheion’s haters—all the bastards who had gotten on my nerves were now keeping their mouths shut as if nothing had ever happened.
‘If you were going to end up this silent, you should’ve kept your mouths shut from the start, you pathetic losers.’
Of course, as always, there were people everywhere who would hurl insults for nonsensical reason. The important thing, however, was that the general public didn’t buy their nonsense, nor was there an atmosphere making it seem like those claims were true.
‘The members seem to have gained confidence from this as well.’
Given that idols being criticized for their main job could cause a fatal damage, the members receiving public recognition for their skills was a huge relief.
Well, their appearance was never something that could be criticized in the first place.
— Didn’t Nagi Zen get a plastic surgery? Compared to the first filming of the program, he has completely transformed.
…Hmm.
— Woo Kangwon, stop growing your muscles. If you’re an idol, you should be in shape like an idol. Do you just work out all day?
└ Shut up, I like it
…Umh.
Anyway, since we’ve dealt with two major mountain ranges that idols often get cursed at, things should be much better from here on out.
— Nicholas Hwayoung Lee is f**king rude.
…Maybe.
So, there were two good news, and only one bad news.
The bad news was, other idols were avoiding us like the plague.
“We’re loners. Hng.”
“Leada, do they hate us?”
Nowadays, even if the idiots wandered from one waiting room to another looking for prey, no one got caught.
We weren’t ostracized.
People like Lee Hwayoung and me, who lacked social skills, kept quiet and slouched in the waiting room, but the rest of the members were smoothly building friendships with people from other groups.
The problem was that everyone would disappear as soon as we picked up our phones or started talking about work.
“Our challenge……”
“S-sorry! I have to go back right away….”
What on earth was the cause of this situation?
Was it because Pat and Mat sucked all the energy out of the MC, or was it our members’ ability to make the people next to them look like crap, or both?
I was curious about it.
“We’re screwed.”
“Who is that? The bastard who taught Zen such rude words.”
“Hyung, who else would he have learned that from? You’re the only one who uses those words.”
“…….”
‘In the end, we failed to film many challenges and the promotion period is almost over.’
The Muses asked us to do a lot of Challenges. I felt like a liar for not filming a single challenge after that.
Oh, it wasn’t like there weren’t people willing to do them.
[7: Do you want me to do the challenge with you?]
[Me: No]
[7: Why, you say you’ll make time for me? You’ll get a lot of views. And Chise-hyung said it looks fun, so he’ll go with me.]
Yoo Jay once texted me something like that.
[Me: Go away]
But would I be crazy enough to put these newborns next to the members of Prism? No way.
Besides, I didn’t want to be associated with Prism in public anymore.
[7: (sullen fox emoticon)]
‘Why does that big guy use such an emoticon?’
This was all because Seras had
moe
-ified him.
Yoo Jay didn’t look like a fox at all. How could such a cute animal resemble that wicked guy? But I guess because I kept calling him a fox cub so often, it ended up rubbing off on Seras. I was just using it as a way of expressing how cunning he was.
[7: (dancing fox emoticon)]
Ah, crazy.
I shouldn’t have done that.
Anyway, I didn’t want our members to feel the same way Taeui felt while dancing next to me, so I just ignored his messages after that.
‘Come to think of it…….’
As I thought about Taeui, a memory came to mind.
“Han Seungbeom-nim.”
After I got off the stage after winning the first place, someone called my name as I was walking through the hallway.
It wasn’t “S
eungbeom-ssi
” or “
Seungbeom-hyung
“, but “
Han Seungbeom-nim
“.
I turned to the direction of the voice, questioning the awkward title, and found Taeui, the COMA-1’s center, standing there.
‘What the?’
He was breathing heavily, as if he’d been running after me in a hurry. He took a moment to catch his breath, turned his head to make sure no one was around, and then opened his mouth.
“I want to apologize.”
“Yes?”
‘Apologize for what? For getting screwed?’
The more he opened his mouth, the more questions I had.
I was actually expecting him to gnash his teeth and resent me, and I was prepared to just say, ‘
Fine, keep living that pathetic live
‘, but I wasn’t expecting an apology.
I just gave him a questioning look and tilted my head at his hopeless way of speaking, getting straight to the point without an introduction. He nervously moved his lips, though his stiff expression remained unchanged.
After a long pause, he furrowed his brow and spoke, as if finally making up his mind.
“
COMA-1 is a group that RH Entertainment, the same company that brought Prism to success, has carefully prepared over a long period. We meticulously selected talented and skilled members, so we are confident even if they have to compete with Pantheion.
“
‘Ah.’
I finally understood what he was trying to say after hearing him recite the sentences from the article I remembered.
“The things said about Lee Danbi … I’m sorry.”
Taeui wanted to apologize for the mediaplay RH Entertainment had done while bringing up Pantheion. I had a hunch that he wasn’t a bad guy, so I just looked up at him quietly.
He met my gaze directly, but his eyelids were fluttering slowly. Watching him, I wondered if Kang Hyukwoo had finally lost his mind.
‘You brought someone like him to replace me?’
Is this a trap? Or is this an advanced psychological tactic?
Yet there seemed to be a sense of clumsiness and innate goodness deep within him that couldn’t be concealed, making it hard to believe that was the case. I was genuinely curious whether he was really serious about bringing this bland guy in as a replacement for Seo Yutae.
Taking a deep sigh, I checked to make sure there was no one around, then dragged him to a secluded corner. Then, I pretended to be angry and asked.
“…Didn’t you come to point out Lee Danbi because you wanted to cling to that media play until the end?”
It was a test to see how he would react.
Taeui answered without a second of hesitation.
“The company made us do that.”
I was confused at how he blew it off so easily.
He wasn’t even my cub, but watching him like that gave me a headache.
While I was holding my head, Taeui, who had been standing still, quietly stared at me and then softly spoke.
“As you probably already know, our company is not one of high quality. So, I think it would be best to reconsider the contract.”
‘So this was the real reason. No wonder he was staring so intently when I received the business card from his manager.’
He was probably genuine about wanting to apologize, but that story seemed to be the reason he sought me out in such urgency, away from the prying eyes of others. He must have been concerned about me contacting the manager and falling into RH Entertainment’s trap.
“If they caught you saying something like that to me, your company wouldn’t let you off easily.”
“I know that. But I felt like I had to tell you.”
After hearing his reply, I started to worry that he might seriously end up getting buried without anyone knowing if he continued to speak that carelessly. While I was wondering if it was just his nature to be so rebellious or if he simply didn’t know any better, he slowly began to explain his reasons for saying such things.
“…I am waiting for the day RH Entertainment collapses.”
The words that followed were shocking, if you could call them shocking, and predictable, if you could call them predictable.
The general content of his warning could be summed up as statements like, “
I am being forced to continue my activities because Kang Hyukwoo has a hold on my weakness
” and “
RH Entertainment is a very dangerous company
.”
‘If he wasn’t as selfish and calculating as Kim Saemyeong and the other members of COMA-1, his resistance would have been stronger, so they must have put more pressure on him.’
Kang Hyukwoo was the kind of person who obsessively sought out the weaknesses of those who came under him and tried to control them through threats. I didn’t need to see it in person to guess how he must have acted toward Taeui.
Because it was something I had already experienced enough myself.
And I knew how painful it was.
“I wanted to stop them before it became irreversible.”
Taeui was too weak-hearted and kind-hearted to survive at RH Entertainment. He wasn’t as strong-willed as the Prism’s members, nor as shameless as Kim Saemyeong. He seemed so rigid on the outside that the others didn’t realize it.
“Because right now, my life is not happy at all.”
He spoke in a detached, monotone voice, as if he were recounting someone else’s story. It seemed like he had given up hope, so I asked him like this.
“Taeui-ssi, is it okay for you to continue living like this?”
Then there was a long silence.
I quietly watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed, the only sign of emotion that contradicted his completely expressionless face.
And after a long pause, a deep voice finally slipped out of his mouth, a little choked.
“…I believe that if I endure, there will come a day when I will be free.”
“If you just quietly wait for it to collapse, it will become irreversible. You know better than anyone what kind of place that company is.”
“Even if that doesn’t happen, as long as my family can be happy, I’m fine with it.”
Hearing those words, I sighed heavily and closed my eyes tightly.
I shouldn’t have asked.
I should have known what would happen if I heard such words.
“Why would you need to give up?”
Ah, foolish Seo Yutae.
“I have my own circumstances. I can’t just leave RH Entertainment as it is.”
“…….”
“So … don’t give up, let’s work it out together, Taeui-ssi. You from the inside, and me from the outside.”
Those Prism rascals are really hard to exploit.
I made that excuse in my mind and forced a smile, pulling up my cheeks.
Then, Taeui’s dull eyes turned toward me with a tiny glimmer of light. I hated being in an awkward situation with someone who wasn’t even my groupmate, so I tried my best to avoid his gaze and continued the conversation like a robot.
“I didn’t take your manager’s business card with the intention of signing a contract. I just wanted to learn about the internal situation of RH Entertainment first…….”
Taeui, who had been listening to my side of the story quietly, suddenly grabbed my wrist with a strong force.
He looked straight into my eyes, and asked.
“…Did you say my manager?”
I stepped back a little, wondering why he was so distressed, and nodded slowly.
Then, with a face drained of all color, he spoke urgently.
“That person, he’s not our manager. He is Director Kang Hyukwoo’s limb.”
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Translator’s Corner:
The revenge title is revenge-ing …. Yuseong-ah, your brother is at it again…..
Idk what kind of luck I have but the new phone cable charger that I bought already died again asdfghjkl It only worked for one day, then the next day it’s not working, and now it’s completely not charging …… I need to go buy a new one … but it’s so embarassing asfgfjlzdfjkklzdjv I literally just showed up there 2 days ago to buy the same thing … asdfghjkl