Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: An Unwelcome Reunion
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We safely finished our debut performance and returned to the waiting room.
The pleasant thumping of my heart brought a smile to my face.
*‘Haah.’*
I was truly happy.
Even during the filming of RED CUBE, I was happy whenever I was on stage, but I couldn't fully enjoy the feeling after coming down.
*‘Not knowing when I might be eliminated and with cameras constantly on me, there was too little time to savor the afterglow of the performance.’*
“Guys. You did so well.”
The manager greeted us with a bright face.
“The performance is going to look amazing on screen.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
The manager crinkled his nose as if to say, "Just trust me."
“Didn't you see the fans' reactions just now? Anyway, let's hurry back to the waiting room.”
“Okay.”
We returned to the waiting room with the manager.
“Everyone, have a sip of water.”
Our manager relentlessly explained all the good points of our performance.
“Your facial expressions during that part were great, and you all looked so composed.”
Honestly, I didn't mind it.
My former manager used to try and chip away at my self-esteem at every opportunity.
My posture when singing, my expression when dancing. Not only that, but even the way I bowed to people.
I felt like I was being watched every minute, every second.
*‘I was trying not to think about that time, so why is it coming up again? Forget it. Just forget it.’*
After changing from our stage outfits into our casual clothes, we left the waiting room.
“What should we have for dinner tonight?”
“Let's get something delicious. We debuted today, after all.”
“Sounds good.”
We were heading to the car, discussing what would be good for dinner.
“Huh? Hey. Seo Yoon-seul.”
At the familiar voice, my steps froze.
I didn't even have the courage to turn my head and check.
“Hey. Are you just going to pretend you don't know me now? After we spent two years together?”
I felt a firm tug on my arm.
“Ah.”
A pained groan escaped my lips.
It had been months since I'd last seen him, but he hadn't changed one bit.
“What do you think you're doing right now!”
The manager, furious, pried the hand off my arm.
“You must be RE-V's manager?”
“Yes. That's right.”
“I'm Yoon-seul's former manager.”
*‘How could I run into him the moment I thought of him?’*
“Then please move along.”
The manager said in a firm voice.
He was always the type to wear a friendly smile in front of us, so this was the first time I realized he could sound like that.
“I just came to say hi because I was happy to see him. Hey, you got lucky. How did you manage to get on RED CUBE and debut right after leaving? Ah. Or maybe you'd already been contacted? You must have had something lined up, which is why you could leave the company so obediently when they told you to.”
It was a ridiculous accusation.
“Even if I had acted that way, couldn't you have just not kicked me out?”
The sharp words tumbled out of my mouth.
I had intended to just let it go if possible.
This was a broadcasting station, and there were many eyes around.
But that was precisely why I couldn't let it slide.
*‘If someone wrote an article about this, the rumors would blow up uncontrollably.’*
I didn't want to become a burden to RE-V like that.
“What?”
The former manager's brow furrowed deeply.
He seemed furious that I wasn't intimidated by him.
*‘He’s not some kid trying to show off his strength.’*
I couldn't understand how someone like him had chosen to become a manager.
*‘Maybe he did it so he could brag to people about being close to celebrities.’*
“I was kicked out of the company and *then* received the offer to appear on RED CUBE. I haven't deleted the message with the offer, so I can prove the date and time. So don't spread strange rumors. I can sue you for defamation.”
The former manager clutched the back of his neck and started huffing at me.
It overlapped with that moment after I returned to the past, when I said what I wanted to say during the live broadcast.
“Ha. I'll be watching to see how long you can keep up that attitude. You know LM is preparing to launch a new boy group, right?”
How could I not know?
They put out articles the moment I left.
“Yoon-seul. Don't listen to any more of this. Let's just go. There's no getting through to him.”
The manager took my hand and shook his head.
“Yeah. Let's go.”
Haru took my other hand.
Then the other members formed a protective circle around me, front and back.
“……Huh?”
I looked around, wondering what they were doing, but they started walking, so I had no choice but to follow.
In the end, we made it to the car like that.
“Was that guy really your former manager?”
Park Ji-ham asked, his tone laced with suppressed anger.
“Yeah.”
“Was he the one? The guy who yelled at you during the live broadcast?”
“How did you know about that?”
“There were a lot of articles. It was all over social media, so you'd see it without even looking for it.”
Thinking I might be uncomfortable with the fact, his eyes went wide, and he couldn't keep his head still as he poured out his explanation.
It wasn't something that particularly upset or bothered me.
It would have been weirder if they didn't know, since it happened during a live broadcast.
“Hyung. I was just asking because I was curious. I thought you guys didn't use social media much, so it was surprising that you knew.”
“Ah. Was that it?”
Park Ji-ham touched his hair with an embarrassed look.
“Guys. Get in.”
“Okay.”
We boarded the car one by one.
“Yoon-seul. If that person tries to talk to you again, just ignore him. Get away from him. He seems like a really bad person.”
“I will.”
For some reason, I felt good.
It hit me once again that I had truly escaped that place.
*‘But why was my former manager at the broadcasting station today? From the way he was talking, it seems like he'll be managing the new group they're launching.’*
“And everyone, you know what today is, right?”
Haru immediately answered the manager's question.
“Of course. Today is such an important day.”
***
After the pre-recording was over, a fan who had returned home logged onto social media to post about their experience.
[There were 2 outfits for today's pre-recording and they had completely different vibes. Maybe that's why their facial expressions were different too. They had devastated faces in the dark outfits, but hopeful faces after changing into the bright ones.]
↳What. My heart is fluttering.
↳I want to see the performance so bad.
[I was so happy today. It was really obvious the boys were trying to talk to us whenever they had a chance. And since this was our first meeting after our fandom got a name, everyone came with their hands full.]
↳ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt was so cute and funny how everyone came with official merch dangling from their bags like they'd been waiting for it.
↳Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ But what's funnier is that everyone hid their Cube Lightsticks.
↳......I'll admit, I hid my Cube Lightstick too.
↳Yoon-seul asked if we didn't like the lightstick, but poor BRAVE couldn't bring themselves to tell the truth, yet couldn't lie either, so we were found out......
↳The dolls are so pretty. But why does the lightstick look like that? I mean... it would have been fine if it were just a square, but it's a cube, and a red one at that, which is a bit much.
↳Right. It would be better if it were just a flat red surface. A 3x3 cube? And one taken from RED CUBE, the show that drove us crazy.
[MESS Debut Stage Review
It was just insane. Insane is the only word for it. The boys are all so cool, handsome, and radiant. The song is good, the dance is good, and even their skills are out of this world.
This is a sensation.
RE-V is just like their name.
High praise...... Even their name is perfect.]
↳ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋYou came back full of gushing praise.
↳Please share your memories. I urgently need a memory share. I swear I'll just watch their performance and disappear.
[The show is about to start but it's so hard to wait.]
↳Same.
↳Seriously. Did someone cast a spell to make time flow slower? There's no other explanation.
Even though the music show would start in just one more hour, the fans found the wait unbearable.
The time that usually flew by when they were lying down and scrolling on their phones seemed to crawl exceptionally slowly today.
[I think I've lost all my patience since I started stanning...... Fighting is my daily life and I can't help but grumble because I can't wait. ㅎ]
↳I relate to this.
↳Who posted my thoughts here?
↳?? I was shocked, I thought I got drunk, blacked out, and wrote this.
[Everyone. The time has finally come. The time is here. Rookie idol RE-V has appeared. Ecosystem destroyer. The veteran rookie idol RE-V is here.]
↳I can tell you're excited just from the text.
↳ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt's almost time.
↳How long have I waited for this day. The other RED CUBE contestants also posted that they're waiting to watch the performance today.
↳Everyone, stop with the social media for a bit. It's really starting now.
As the music show began, the fans had to put their phones down for a moment.
Because they didn't know when RE-V's turn was.
[Wait a minute. But even if RE-V are rookies, there's no way they'd be first ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I was so nervous I didn't even think of that. Today feels like a blessed day. Their debut stage, the variety show release, and on top of that, even *that*. The blessings of stanning.]
↳ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋToday is truly BRAVE's day.
↳I hereby declare today a BRAVE anniversary.
While the fans were buzzing with anticipation on social media, an introductory video about RE-V was playing on TV.