124. How Dare They

This is the testimony of one pissed-off sparkly boy.

—We were on our way back to the waiting room after recording. Someone was practicing a challenge in the hallway. Even though we're still trainees, we thought we should greet them properly, so we waited! But turns out, it was the Billiver sunbaenims.

According to Dan Ha-ru's account, the Billiver sunbaenims (those bastards) didn't have the best attitude from the very first greeting.

—We greeted them first, but they ignored us. So we thought, maybe they didn't hear us~ and did it again! But then! They pretended not to see us again! Then when Taehyun hyung made eye contact with one of the members, they finally went "Ah, it's Taehyun?" and looked at us.

At this part, Dan Ha-ru slammed his fist on the couch in anger. It took some effort to calm down the furious rabbit who was kicking the couch like it owed him money. With his brows furrowed into a deep frown, Ha-ru continued.

—Ignoring our greetings was whatever! I could even tolerate them pretending not to see me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Jaden hyung while only talking to Taehyun hyung. What really pissed me off was what came next.

Billiver and Seo Tae-hyun exchanged brief pleasantries and caught up on recent events.

That part seemed fine? But Dan Ha-ru shook his head firmly and reenacted the situation.

—They said exactly this:

—"You debuted? Ahh, special stage? No wonder I was wondering why you were suddenly in the broadcasting station hallway. You're still a trainee, right? Ah, survival show? Where? Boyhood Under Heaven again? Ah, your company? Sorry, sorry, we've been so busy preparing for our concert lately. Ugh, I miss our trainee days, man. I can't even sleep these days. At least you can sleep well, right? I envy you. Honestly, you should've debuted back then instead. Wanna trade places with me? Haha."

Damn. It was the kind of comment that was too awkward to get mad at but too infuriating to laugh off.

What was truly galling was that there was no way those Billiver bastards didn't know Seo Tae-hyun was appearing on Miro Maze.

Several articles had come out before the program started—how could they not know?

As expected. Seo Tae-hyun, who had been sitting quietly beside them, spoke up with an aggrieved expression.

—Those hyungs definitely know I'm on Miro Maze. After three years of no contact, they suddenly reached out saying they're making a comeback and asked me to stream their songs a lot. Even during Boyhood Under Heaven, they only pretended to be close because I was getting attention, then cut ties when I didn't debut. I kinda expected they'd be like this.

Hajin almost called Tae-hyun out for not mentioning this sooner but held back.

Because the Billiver bastards' tyranny didn't end there.

—Anyway, since there was no point talking to those hyungs any longer, I tried to wrap up the conversation and head back to the waiting room. But then their manager said it'd be nice if we filmed a challenge together since we were here. I really didn't want to, but it was hard for me to refuse first, so I just stood there when...

Bang!

"Ah! You scared me!"

Dan Ha-ru suddenly slammed the couch again in anger, breaking the immersion.

Ah, just when it was getting interesting.

"Dan Ha-ru, who told you to express your anger like that? Is that okay, not okay?"

"...But! Just thinking about it makes me mad again."

"If we could just smash everything when we're mad, huh? I should've destroyed our dorm during the third mission."

[System Alert: You did break your own leg though....]

[System Alert: ( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)]

Shut up, you little shit.

Hajin shushed Sipsam and gave Dan Ha-ru a stern look.

"Are you going to do that again or not?"

"...I won't. Sorry."

Ha-ru's grumbling made his pronunciation all mushy, but Hajin nodded in satisfaction and turned to Tae-hyun.

"Okay. Now, continue. So they said let's do a challenge?"

"They looked at me and laughed. Then they said, 'Ah, we can't do it with Taehyun.'"

"Just like that? No reason?"

"'If Taehyun does it... it'll look too amateurish.' And I saw them snicker too!"

"Those crazy bastards?"

Bang!

Less than a minute after telling Ha-ru not to do it, Kang Hajin slammed the couch cushion.

At this, Yu Geon, the only one actually sitting properly on the couch, sighed.

"Can you stop hitting the cushions? Why is everyone sitting on the floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instead of the couch anyway?"

"Don't you know the national rule is to use the couch as a backrest? And Yu Geon, where were you? I brought you along as a guardian for situations like this."

"...Even guardians need to use the bathroom. Do I not have human rights?"

Despite his words, Yu Geon seemed to feel some responsibility as he scratched the back of his neck and added,

"I only went to the bathroom for a bit, but when I came back, I saw what was happening and brought them back to the waiting room."

"Right. Yu Geon hyung made an excuse about Team Leader Suho and got us out."

"What about the manager? Weren't they there too?"

Their gazes naturally turned to the remaining manager, who bowed his head as if at a loss for words.

"It's my first time... I couldn't quickly judge whether it was a situation I should intervene in. I'm sorry. I should've taken better care..."

"Ah, no. It's okay, Manager-nim. Honestly, doing a challenge with Billiver wouldn't have been a bad opportunity."

Seo Tae-hyun waved his hands hurriedly.

"Those hyungs have been like that since Boyhood Under Heaven. I'm used to them looking down on me for being young. I'll just pay them back by succeeding. Really, it's fine."

"Taehyun hyung..."

At Tae-hyun's mature response, Jae-young and Ha-ru teared up and tightly grasped his hands.

Let's debut for sure!

The determined declaration was almost touching.

In this touching moment, Hajin crossed his arms and nodded.

"Right. Let's pay them back for sure."

"Yeah, let's debut and succeed and then—"

"No, let's pay them back today."

"...Huh?"

All eyes turned to Hajin.

Without blinking, Hajin smirked evilly, one corner of his lips curling up.

"Aren't they making their comeback today?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Then all we have to do is get more attention than their comeback, right?"

Let's see who wins.

At Hajin's wicked smile, Team Sad Ending shuddered.

Knock knock knock—

Someone knocked on Billiver's waiting room door. While the youngest manager went to check who it was, the Billiver members all lounged lazily in their seats without moving.

"Guys, some juniors came to greet you. Get up."

"Who? Didn't we already greet everyone?"

"Miro Maze. The one with Seo Tae-hyun from earlier."

"Ahh. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠They came to greet us too?"

"They don't even have an album to promote. Just tell them to rest."

As the members snickered, the head manager sighed quietly.

Perhaps because they rose too quickly, too early, Billiver's attitude couldn't even be politely called good.

'They picked up bad habits from their B-Light days.'

With short trainee periods, they'd debuted relying solely on their looks and physical appeal despite lacking skills.

As a result, they lacked desperation and took success and attention for granted.

'Do they not realize how long ago their fame was...?'

Now that the lingering effects of Boyhood Under Heaven and B-Light had faded, Billiver's recognition and buzz were like a candle in the wind.

While their individual name value kept their fees high, the core fandom buying their albums and streaming their music dwindled daily.

'This industry changes at lightning speed. Even if you hit big and struggle to secure your place, it's not enough...'

The members, having already tasted fame once, seemed oblivious to reality.

The manager sighed and opened the waiting room door.

In came a group of boys who looked young and sparkling—typical rookies—smiling brightly as they entered.

The manager studied each trainee carefully. While the members dismissed them as "not even debuted," Miro Maze was undeniably causing major shifts in the male idol scene lately. It was necessary to check if they posed any threat.

"Hello, sunbaenims. We came to greet you."

"Hello! We're Team Sad Ending from Miro Maze. Please take care of us!"

Led by the tall, sharp-looking trainee, their energetic greeting echoed loudly through the waiting room. Even the Billiver members, who'd only gotten up for appearances, seemed slightly taken aback.

"Ah, yes... Hello. We're Billiver."

"We already saw you earlier—why come greet us again? Did we seem like sunbaenims who bully juniors over greetings?"

Billiver's leader tried to lighten the mood with his words.

The problem was, the mood didn't lighten at all.

After blatantly ignoring their greetings earlier, no one bought their act of being the cool sunbaenims now.

Just as an awkward silence was about to settle, the trainee who'd led the greeting smiled brightly and responded.

"Ah, but we should still greet you properly as a team. We don't have a team name yet, but after we debut this time, we want to greet you again with a cool team chant."

"Ah, yes... Right. We'll look forward to it."

"Come to think of it, you sunbaenims are from NTV's survival show too, right? You were on Boyhood Under Heaven with our Taehyun."

"Uh, yeah. That's right?"

At the smooth remark, the Billiver members exchanged glances and nodded among themselves.

The trainee then playfully patted Taehyun's shoulder.

"I really enjoyed watching Boyhood Under Heaven. The teachers watching A-Countdown today will probably remember those days."

Though his tone was meaningful, the Billiver members didn't seem to catch on.

But Billiver's manager could guess the underlying message.

'Billiver still hasn't shaken off its image as a Boyhood Under Heaven spin-off group. People watching A-Countdown today will naturally associate Seo Tae-hyun with Billiver.'

Yet today was supposed to be Billiver's comeback stage.

If the community talked more about "Boyhood Under Heaven trainees reuniting" than "Billiver's comeback," nothing could be worse for Billiver.

'I doubt a trainee who hasn't even debuted could've thought that far ahead...'

But this was the entertainment industry—a place where you could never let your guard down.

A jungle where talented newcomers emerged and disappeared overnight.

As the manager tried to subtly step forward to observe the trainee in question, someone blocked his path.

"...? Ah, hello. Team Leader Ji."

"Hello, Manager-nim. Long time no see."

It was Miro's Team Leader Ji Soo-ho.

Why was Yupia's Ji Soo-ho here?

Instead of that rookie manager from earlier?

"There's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something I'd like to discuss. Shall we grab coffee at the vending machine up front?"

"Now?"

"We have a proposal for you."

Ji Soo-ho smiled calmly and dangled the bait before the bewildered manager.

"It's about a challenge."

Step one of stealing Billiver's spotlight.

It all began with a challenge.