Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Even as a Villain, I Want to Debut
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Lee Won-jun spat out the words like a man on the verge of losing his mind.
"Hyung, you're the center with tons of parts. You'll get plenty of screen time on broadcasts too. But me? I'm just filler here."
...So that's what he'd been thinking.
"Honestly, I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore. The protagonist's already decided anyway. And it's never gonna be me."
Is that why he'd lost his drive?
It wasn't hard to understand. No matter how hard you try, if the results don't follow, you get worn down eventually.
"But that doesn't give you a free pass for your attitude or behavior right now."
Lee Won-jun bit his lip hard.
"Sure, like you said, it's natural to lose motivation for reasons like that. But not everyone in the same boat acts like you. How about looking around at the others?"
Speaking sternly made him hang his head low, staring at the ground.
He looked just like a kid in the principal's office counting the floor tiles while getting chewed out.
"The least you can do is not drag down the people who are working hard. You might be unmotivated, but your teammates are still trying their best. You know that, so you can't keep acting like this. Right?"
Lee Won-jun kept his face buried toward the floor, silent.
'Is he even listening?'
Finally, he spoke up.
"You have it easy, hyung."
"What?"
"You're the center. Good-looking, skills shot up out of nowhere. Must be nice."
A sigh escaped me.
"Ha..."
This conversation was going in circles, just like before.
"How do you do it? How do you get everything?"
I couldn't say a word to Lee Won-jun's question for a long while.
Back in the day, I would've snapped something like, You're the weird one for sucking. Just work your ass off like me—why complain without even trying?
But I couldn't say that anymore. Not after I'd learned the truth.
'That pouring in the same effort doesn't guarantee the same results.'
Things were different before.
When a kid born into a better family with every advantage from their parents cried over bad grades, nothing seemed more pathetic.
Even I managed from a way worse starting point. So why cry when you had it all and still only did that much?
That was my mindset.
Back then, I took pride in my grind, scraping by from the bottom.
So anyone with worse grades? They just weren't trying as hard as me.
Shallow thinking compared to my studies, maybe, but that's how it was.
Now I got it. I understood what this kid in front of me was feeling.
He might look like a thoughtless, unhinged villain at first glance, but Lee Won-jun had his own struggles and scars.
"...I wasn't good at this from the start either."
"Yeah, sure."
"Mock me if you want, but it's true."
Lee Won-jun, who'd been staring at the floor the whole time, slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine.
"I get where you're coming from, but I hope you can think like this: What you see right now isn't everything."
I didn't want to come off preachy, but I had to say my piece.
"That person who looks like they have it all? They probably bled for it. Even the brightest people have their dark sides you don't know about."
Lee Won-jun seemed half-convinced but still wore a face full of resentment.
"But you're good-looking, hyung."
"......"
"What effort did you even put in?"
Nothing to say to that.
"You're right."
I nodded, then carefully brought up Do Won-woo's grievances.
"Well, to be fair, I was born with this face. No effort on my part there. But..."
Do Won-woo's parents came to mind.
The people who'd cursed, beaten, and relentlessly abused him since childhood.
Getting kicked from the previous debut group? Hard to say family influence wasn't a factor.
"If you gain something, you lose something. I've got my own unspeakable hardships too."
"......"
"Sure, being born like this has perks, but I've lost plenty others don't see."
Do Won-woo's life proved it.
"Our situations aren't all the same, but we've got this one thing in common: We want to debut here. We want to make it somehow."
"......"
"So even if you're unmotivated, how about pushing through and giving it your all?"
I lightly patted Lee Won-jun's shoulder as I spoke.
His expression softened as he took it in.
"Got it."
Whether my sincerity got through or not, life returned to his dead-fish eyes.
'Good.'
The moment I turned to head back—
'Master of Persuasion...?'
Whatever it was, a new title was a win.
I'd check it later. For now, I took Lee Won-jun back to the practice room.
"Oh, you're back?"
Kwon Hak-jin, practicing with the rest, ran over when he saw us.
"Talk go okay?"
Before I could answer, Lee Won-jun shuffled up awkwardly.
"Sorry. I'll pull myself together and work hard from now on."
A brief silence, then the team broke into touched applause.
Hard to not clap for someone owning up and apologizing.
"Alright, Won-jun."
"Get your head on straight and let's do this right."
I glanced at Lee Won-jun. No clue how long it'd last, but he looked motivated again for now.
'At least it's sorted quick.'
We practiced late into the evening for tomorrow's midterm evaluation.
The next day, we headed to the practice room for the midterm eval.
The masters sat with sharper expressions than usual. I steeled myself against the pressure and took a seat in the corner.
"Moon Kiss team first?"
Our rival team went first.
Same keyword as us, different song.
"Oh, that's solid."
"Yeah, super stable."
'Their song's way more straightforward.'
They pulled it off well.
Capturing a horror vibe ain't easy, but this was decent.
"Alright, next up—Blood Love team."
Our turn.
Raise looked right at me and lifted his head like he'd been waiting.
"You guys prepared hard?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll be expecting a show."
Before starting, Kwon Hak-jin glanced around at us and muttered.
"We got this, guys."
The evaluation kicked off.
Smooth up to the pre-chorus, but Lee Won-jun flubbed the transition to chorus.
The masters' faces hardened in real time.
'We drilled that yesterday—why?'
Lee Won-jun kept messing up the choreo after that.
Midway, he straight-up gave up, looking like he just wanted it over.
"......"
"......"
Music stopped. We stood before the masters like guilty kids.
Lee Won-jun looked the guiltiest, head down—he knew he'd blown it.
"Trainee Lee Won-jun?"
Raise called him out.
"What was that supposed to be?"
"......"
"I couldn't see a thing with you dropping out. You planning the same for the real stage? With a full audience watching?"
From the side, I caught Lee Won-jun's unfocused eyes.
'Something's off with him.'
We'd practiced late, but live pressure shattered his mental.
"Trainee Lee Won-jun."
"......"
"Trainee Lee Won-jun. Head up."
Déjà vu hit. Like with Choi Young-hoon last time...
"I can't do it."
All eyes turned to him.
"I can't. I just wanna go home."
Words barely out, he bolted through the door.
'What the hell.'
Gone before we could grab him. Our team and theirs just stared at the open door in shock.
"Go bring him back."
"Huh?"
"Go get him. That kid."
Raise's voice carried anger.
'He hates stuff like this.'
Bailing in front of masters and staff? Rude as hell, mental breakdown or not.
"I'll go."
As Kwon Hak-jin moved, I chimed in to join.
We hit the hallway hunting Lee Won-jun. Luck was with us—he was slumped nearby, spacing out.
"You okay?"
Kwon Hak-jin rubbed his back.
"I get it's tough, but you can't just storm out like that. Come back, hear what the masters say..."
But what came out was the opposite of what we wanted.
"I wanna drop out."
Why is this happening?
'Motivation gone in a day? This ain't some New Year's diet resolution.'
Truth? Choi Young-hoon's dropout was a blessing.
But Lee Won-jun quitting now? Worst-case scenario.
'You bail, we redo parts and blocking from scratch.'
Back to square one on choreo hell.
'You know how many that'll screw over?'
I shut my eyes tight and swallowed a sigh.
"If you wanna bail to feel better, fine. But own how this looks to everyone."
Meaning: Think of the backlash post-broadcast.
Him quitting sudden, us suffering on air? We'd all eat hate.
"Won-jun."
Kwon Hak-jin soothed from my tough-guy side.
"I know it's rough, but you didn't screw up the real stage. Messed up here? Nail it there and make up for it. Right? Dropping now's like skipping the exam 'cause you bombed practice problems."
He paused, looking to me for backup.
"...Yeah, Hak-jin-hyung's right."
But Lee Won-jun just stared at the floor.
Atmosphere heading south, I invoked the system.
'Master of Persuasion, huh? Check that title from yesterday.'
Too busy practicing to look before.
'Hmm...'
Buff that calms and brainwashes the target simultaneously? Perfect for now—he needed calming.
Worth a shot. I hit equip.
Title equipped, I tried persuading again.
"Lee Won-jun."
His head, practically glued to the floor, slowly lifted.
"Won-jun. Listen to me."
"......"
"You can't leave now. Trust me—let's finish this stage together. Yeah?"
His eyes lit up like magic.
'Wait, just that one line...?'
Dead-fish eyes sparked back to life.
"Yeah... okay."
"Hold up—you're not quitting?"
"No. Changed my mind."
The turnaround stunned Kwon Hak-jin; he gawked at us both.
I was shocked too. A few words, and this?
'Title effect kicked in. No idea how long it'll last...'
But it worked for now.
Others might call the plot twist ridiculous.
"Alright, let's try again."
I clapped his shoulder, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up.
Cameras dogged us relentlessly back to the practice room.