I'll Make You Debut

Ji Chan-su showed up at the café in less than an hour.

His face was a little pale from running, but the surprisingly solid build and healthy complexion underneath made Ye-chan shoot the homeroom teacher a pointed look.

The moment Ji Chan-su walked in ready to apologize, Ye-chan cut him off and rose from his seat.

"Teacher, please head back to school. You—no, Mr. Ji Chan-su—will be coming with us to Seoul."

"S-Seoul? Wh-why?"

Ji Chan-su trembled.

What a similarly disgusting cousin.

"Y-you're not going to drag me to a broadcast station and make me apologize on air, are you…"

What kind of nonsense is that.

Ye-chan shut down Ji Chan-su's delusion at once.

"We're going to a lawyer's office. Instead of filing a lawsuit, we need a formal guarantee that you will never spread this kind of garbage again."

"A-a lawyer?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

When Ye-chan glared at him with open irritation, Ji Chan-su hurriedly shook his head.

Before Ji Chan-su had even arrived, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ye-chan had already sent Woo Hwi-gyum ahead with the FD. He pulled out his phone and called him.

Ye-chan glanced at Ji Chan-su, then spoke into the phone again.

Woo Hwi-gyum's voice genuinely sounded fine.

Ye-chan stopped arguing and led Ji Chan-su toward the FD's car.

Better to haul him up ourselves than leave him to write a statement on his own. No more wasting time on this.

Nearly at the parking lot, Ye-chan asked as if in passing,

"Why did you write that exposé? Was it really because you were bothered by Hwi-gyum appearing on broadcast?"

"I'm sorry… I'm truly sorry…"

Head bowed low, Ji Chan-su apologized in a voice that barely made it out of his throat.

Ye-chan didn't want an apology. He wanted to know why the timing of the exposé post had changed.

Jung Chan-yang was almost certainly involved somehow—but looking at Ji Chan-su now, the man could barely string a sentence together.

Before Ye-chan could dig any further, Woo Hwi-gyum, who had been waiting outside the car, strode over quickly.

Ye-chan stepped forward, leaving Ji Chan-su behind him.

"Why are you standing out here? Get in the passenger seat. Mr. Ji Chan-su, you'll sit in the back with me."

Having split the two so they couldn't exchange a word, Ye-chan climbed in and turned to the FD.

"FD, could you ask the PD if they know any lawyers?"

Unfortunately, in this reset he still had no connections with major firms—not even with a freshly licensed attorney.

But even without actually retaining counsel, he needed Ji Chan-su thoroughly frightened.

That was when Woo Hwi-gyum spoke up, almost timidly.

"If it's a lawyer… I can ask my mother. She works at a law firm…"

"A law firm?"

The name that came out of Woo Hwi-gyum's mouth made Ye-chan's jaw drop.

It was one of Korea's top-tier major firms—one he had leaned on more than once during his Lee:Spirit days.

…With a mother like that, how did he end up taking so much abuse? This guy is truly incomprehensible.

The car carrying the four of them pulled out and headed for Seoul.

The entire ride, Ye-chan kept a cold watch to make sure Ji Chan-su didn't try anything stupid. Ji Chan-su spent most of it half in tears.

It was roughly five hours later that a new post appeared on the anonymous site.

The comment section under the post ignited in seconds.

The full clarification, stretched carefully across every necessary point, had been written with a lawyer's help. From the first sentence to the final period it was precise, and the tone stayed low and contrite throughout.

At the lawyer's office, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ye-chan was able to hear a more detailed account of why Ji Chan-su had posted the exposé in the first place.

While already irritated that Woo Hwi-gyum—with whom he had a bad history—was appearing on television, he had coincidentally met someone on social media and become close with them at lightning speed. That acquaintance had bragged about publicly dragging an old classmate's past and socially burying them, and Ji Chan-su had acted on impulse.

Even while writing the post, he had consulted that acquaintance several times about the content and the evidence. When he was told that without something more solid than group trip photos he would never win public support, he had remembered the school violence committee notice.

Of course, by the time Ye-chan checked social media, that so-called acquaintance had already wiped every record and deleted the account.

Ye-chan had a fair idea who was behind it—but unless the person had directly incited the public attack, there was no real grounds to dig them out, and finding them would be difficult either way.

For now, clearing the school violence frame is enough.

Before he knew it, a full day had slipped past.

Late that night, Ye-chan and Hwi-gyum returned to the dormitory and went straight to meet the main PD.

The PD looked thoroughly satisfied, clapping both of them on the shoulders again and again.

After a final word about looking forward to tomorrow's performance, the two of them left the meeting room and headed for the practice room.

As they drew near, Woo Hwi-gyum—who had been trailing behind—suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?"

"…Thank you. Really. For today."

From a sleepless night and a full day of emotional strain, Hwi-gyum looked worn thin. But the face that offered those thanks was utterly calm.

Ye-chan liked certainty. He decided to stamp this properly while the chance was there.

"Hey. After watching me go this far, you should already feel it—but I'm going to make you debut. That one apology for misunderstanding you and avoiding you? I'm not treating that as settled. I'll pay it back for a long time, so just stay quiet and debut with me."

The longer Ye-chan spoke, the wider Woo Hwi-gyum's eyes grew.

Hwi-gyum answered with a strange expression.

"…Look, I'm really grateful, but why are you going this far? It was an understandable misunderstanding, and helping me this time already feels like more than enough."

"I'm the one who decides that."

Ye-chan's voice was firm.

You don't know this, but I didn't just misunderstand you for a month or two.

Thinking of every reset he had spent cursing Woo Hwi-gyum, he still had a long way to go before the debt was paid.

Hwi-gyum didn't argue further. He seemed to have decided to accept it.

The fact that he had been registered as a party member said as much.

"You're late!"

The moment they opened the practice room door, Nam Ji-yu's scolding was the first thing that greeted them.

"Hwi-gyum, you really went through hell! We all saw the clarification post go up!"

Im Chae-jin came running right after and circled Woo Hwi-gyum, pouring out every sweet word he could invent.

"Hey, Chae-jin complained the entire day, you know~! But even so, he never once suggested swapping your parts for practice."

At Nam Ji-yu's words, Im Chae-jin—who had been politely kneading Hwi-gyum's shoulders—shot him a look.

"Of course not! Without these two our team is finished! Ahem. Both of you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worked hard."

The blunt honesty drew a dry laugh out of Ye-chan. He shrugged, still smiling.

"We don't have much time left, but I'll do everything I can not to hold anyone back."

At that, Gi Tae-rang bit down hard on his lip and broke into applause. His face had gone bright red—he looked thoroughly moved.

"If Hyung-nim held me back, that would be an honor too! Of course that would never happen!"

"Alright—now that we're complete, let's lock it in all the way to the end! Nobody even think about sleeping!"

At Nam Ji-yu's call, the trainees answered with vigorous clapping.

Bae Sae-byeok slipped closer through the noise and quietly offered a single line about how hard it must have been.

Apparently everyone had already imagined the worst-case scenario, because not a single teammate complained about the lack of practice time.

Ye-chan allowed himself a small grin.

Just the other day he had been staring at this lineup wondering how on earth it would work. Looking at them now, it seemed team luck had been on his side after all.

On the day of the performance, rehearsals began according to the stage order drawn by lot.

After finishing their fourth-slot rehearsal, Ye-chan was approached by Shim Sang-rok, who had already completed both his own rehearsal and his makeup.

"How's your condition? I heard you barely slept yesterday or the day before."

Even in a bare-chested look under a leather jacket, with chain-draped ear piercings hanging off him, he somehow still looked neat.

He looks too much like a model student—varied styling might be hard. Or maybe it's fine, since he's just leaning into his own feel?

Ye-chan briefly considered post-debut concepts, then rubbed the stiff back of his neck and answered.

"Really good. Body's tired, but my head feels sharp and ready."

"That's a relief. I heard you went through a lot because of Hwi-gyum's situation."

"Hwi-gyum had it harder than I did."

Shim Sang-rok smiled warmly, left a quick wish that they both do well today, and returned to his own teammates.

Next came Nam Ji-yu, fresh out of makeup, scurrying over on quick steps to start whispering in Ye-chan's ear.

"What did Sang-rok hyung say? He came to steal our intel, right?!"

"We all watch each other's rehearsals. What's there to steal?"

"Ugh, come on. Why is a kid like you so short on romance?"

Only two years older and already treating Ye-chan like a child, Nam Ji-yu laughed it off—when else was he supposed to pull this kind of joke?

When Ye-chan only gave him a halfhearted reaction, Nam Ji-yu propped his chin on both hands and beamed.

"Ha, seriously. Our Ye-chan is loyal, smart, handsome, sings well, dances well, and even raps well—what am I supposed to do with you? If it weren't for you, hyung would be crying by now."

"Why are you suddenly putting me on a pedestal?"

"Pedestal, nothing. I'm just stating facts. Sang-rok hyung's team is that good, and the only reason we're not shrinking is entirely because of you. You know everyone's really grateful, right?"

Ye-chan answered with a nod.

There was no way not to know.

Im Chae-jin and Gi Tae-rang had spent the brief stretch before sleep in the room they returned to at dawn trading endless rounds of thank you, no, I should be thanking you, what are you talking about, I'm the most grateful. Even the quiet Bae Sae-byeok had finished rehearsal, bowed his head, and said he had learned a lot.

"Isn't everyone a little too impatient? We haven't even done the real stage yet."

The ticklish feeling in his chest made Ye-chan sound gruff. Nam Ji-yu snorted a laugh.

"If we say it after, it just sounds like we're riding a good result. Everyone wanted to get the real feelings out first."

"You're that sure the result will be good? Feeling confident?"

"How could I not be!"

Nam Ji-yu flipped his denim jacket back with a flourish, stood up straight, and looked down at Ye-chan with one eye winked shut.

"A certain someone's stage concept is so perfect that my confidence is already overflowing. Sang-rok hyung's team is seriously good, so I can't say I'm a hundred percent sure we'll win—but I am sure we'll put on a stage we won't regret."

Chest out, Nam Ji-yu threw both arms high.

"Don't Bother, Team One—fighting!"

"Fighting!"

Gi Tae-rang and Im Chae-jin, who had joined at some point, raised both arms and waved them too.

Behind them, Bae Sae-byeok and Woo Hwi-gyum—still in makeup chairs—seemed to have heard, half-lifting their hands in answer.

Ye-chan pressed a hand to his forehead, a small smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.