5
Chapter 5
‘I suppose he’s questioning my mental state.’
Even so, for someone from the Acting Department, he could at least control his expression. It was written all over Lee
Seon’s face what he was thinking.
But even after thinking it over again, there was no expression that fit the situation better than this. In order for
both of us to escape the crises we were facing, Lee Seon and I had no choice but to join hands.
‘Ah, but before that, I should probably clear up the misunderstanding.’
I had probably left out too much of the context.
“……Um, did you get kicked out of your home or something, junior?”
“I live on my own.”
“Then it’s even more confusing. You have somewhere to go, so why are you suddenly talking about living together?”
“The word ‘live’ doesn’t only have that meaning.”
Lee Seon narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.
It was only then that I truly realized I had returned five years into the past.
‘I didn’t expect the difference to be this great.’
Lee Seon looked younger than I had expected. And I wasn’t talking merely about his appearance.
The senior I knew was quite cynical and realistic. He was prickly about almost everything, and unless he was acting in a
scene, he rarely smiled.
‘If those coincidences hadn’t overlapped, we probably wouldn’t have become close even if we had met on set.’
The Lee Seon standing before me now, on the other hand, wore his thoughts plainly on his face. His words, expressions,
and overall demeanor were much livelier as well.
That incident must have had that much of an impact on him.
“I should’ve prayed one more time back then. If I had, maybe we wouldn’t have disbanded so early……”
He lowered his head without being able to finish the sentence, and the sight was still vivid in my mind.
The thing he had devoted his entire life to had gone up in smoke overnight. Even so, Lee Seon had managed to recover
relatively well.
People often say that hardships make a person stronger.
But I didn’t think that way.
Things like that were better off never happening in the first place. Strength came not from the twists and turns of
life, but from the attitude with which one faced life.
In that sense, Lee Seon was already plenty strong. Even if one meaningless hardship were removed from his life, that
fact would not change.
For me, it was a stroke of incomparable luck.
‘It’s not easy to find a partner this good.’
As if he had read my thoughts, Lee Seon happened to give an excellent example at that exact moment.
“If you mean it in another sense…… Is it the ‘live’ as in comrades who share life and death?”
“Exactly.”
It was the most straightforward answer I could have given.
Unfortunately, without knowing the circumstances, Lee Seon seemed to think I was making fun of him.
“Enough with the beating around the bush. What exactly do you want to do with me?”
Lee Seon slammed his palm against the table and interrogated me with a rather fierce gaze.
I had already figured that we were approaching his limit. His appearance might make it easy to overlook, but he actually
had quite a short fuse.
[‘The Most Brilliant Star’ condemns your lack of consideration!]
Even the star, who had promised not to interrupt our conversation, seemed frustrated and joined in.
I stopped hesitating and got straight to the point.
“Become an idol.”
“What? No, what did you say?”
“You asked what I wanted to do.”
Since it was such a bold proposal, I deliberately stated it as directly as possible. But Lee Seon only looked even more
confused, fumbling for words for a moment.
Eventually, he pointed at his own chest with the tip of his index finger and asked again. There was still uncertainty in
his voice.
“……Um, junior. You mean you want to become an idol? With me?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Ah, now we’re finally communicating.
I then turned the finger pointing at himself toward me and drove the point home.
“So let’s go with me. As your group’s new main vocalist.”
* * *
[‘The Most Brilliant Star’ admires your unusually eloquent speech!]
Was that supposed to be praise or an insult?
‘……I did talk quite a lot for once.’
It had only been possible because the other person was Lee Seon. I knew him fairly well, after all. Since I had already
sorted out what I needed to say beforehand, things had gone much more smoothly.
But there was no need to say that aloud. Whether the star was sincere or not was completely irrelevant right now.
Then what was important?
I recalled the message I had received earlier and smiled.
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: I’ll tell the company first thing in the morning
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: Like I said earlier
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: Even if I recommend you, you’ll still have to audition
That was right.
I had ultimately succeeded in convincing Lee Seon.
“I can’t let you do this. I’m completely against you joining our group.”
“I’ve already submitted my leave of absence and everything.”
“What? No, what did you say?”
Lee Seon had opposed my proposal much more fiercely than I expected.
He laid bare everything about Ort’s miserable reality, from the sales of their previous albums and the incompetent
company staff to their financial difficulties and all the unfair treatment they had endured.
‘I almost ended up being the one convinced.’
He was willing to casually put his own life on the line, yet he fussed over someone else’s future as though it were the
most precious thing in the world.
He had never been destined to live an easy life, either then or now.
[(⊙o⊙)……?]
[‘The Most Brilliant Star’ shouts that you should know yourself!]
What about me?
I pushed away the star’s nagging with a glance and muttered,
“If they can risk their lives, then this is a matter where my life is actually at stake.”
I realized it again, but there couldn’t have been two people standing at more opposite ends of the spectrum.
Lee Seon wanted to achieve his dream even if he had to risk his life, while I needed to achieve that dream in order to
keep my life.
Our very natures were completely opposite, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t coexist.
‘If anything, maybe that’s why we’ll get along even better.’
I still didn’t quite understand why Lee Seon had suddenly changed his mind after practically begging me not to do this.
But those little things could be learned one by one from now on.
“Speak of the devil.”
Just then, another message arrived from Lee Seon.
The moment I checked its contents, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: ……Are you really sure you won’t regret this?
Acting timidly for once.
He had nodded when I suggested that if we were going to gamble with our lives anyway, we might as well do it together.
But now that it was late at night, perhaps unnecessary thoughts had begun creeping in.
- It’s late. Go to sleep.
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: Yes. Have a good night too, junior. (moon-shaped emoticon)
Was it just my imagination?
The moon wearing a triangular party hat looked a little gloomy.
For some reason, it bothered me, and I stared at the emoticon.
Then I belatedly remembered something I had forgotten.
‘……Ah, was that the problem?’
I knew practically everything about Lee Seon, but the Lee Seon of this era knew almost nothing about Yoo Seongha.
And yet he had made such a major decision without knowing anything about me. Of course he would be anxious.
Generally, even bold people could dig themselves into an endless hole once they started worrying. If I left him alone,
he would probably stay awake all night.
Unfortunately, I had already used up all of my conversational skills for the day. There was no point in talking
half-heartedly in this state.
Instead, I sent him the address of my apartment through the map app.
- If I happen to run away, come find me here.
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: Are you going to run away?
- Do you think I will?
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: No!
There was no emoticon, but I could more or less sense his mood from the exclamation mark.
Thinking that was enough, I was about to put my phone aside when another message arrived.
- 16-Acting Department-Lee Seon: Would you like me to help you prepare for the audition?
Oh, that was exactly what I wanted to hear.
According to the status window, I had fairly decent potential as an idol.
But evaluations naturally took many other factors into account as well. I couldn’t afford to prepare carelessly.
After sending a reply asking for his help, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over me.
“Whew. How did I end up like this?”
Perhaps I looked pitiful enough with my face buried in the pillow and my voice muffled, because the star deliberately
acted lively and encouraged me.
[‘The Most Brilliant Star’ cheers for your ✿flower path✿.]
[↖(≧▽≦*)o]
“It’s a little early to talk about a flower path.”
[‘The Most Brilliant Star’ claps its hands, saying this is already a good start!]
I didn’t deny that it was a good start.
‘Everything has actually gone according to plan so far.’
To borrow Lee Seon’s expression, there was a reason I was stubbornly trying to join the supposedly completely failed
group, Ort.
I knew the identity of the ‘opportunity’ Lee Seon had mentioned.
‘I was lucky. I actually returned to before that program began.’
Will O Star, an ambitious idol survival program planned by Wcom, a broadcasting company known for survival shows.
Under the slogan, Who is the most beloved star?, the program featured a long list of famous groups whose names alone
were enough to be recognized.
According to what Lee Seon had told me one day, that was highly unusual.
“They were all promising groups with the potential to aim for the so-called top tier. It’s rare for groups like that to
all jump into a survival show at once.”
“Why?”
“Well, it’s simple. They have a lot to lose. If they stumble even a little, everyone will tear them apart from every
direction. Why deliberately create trouble for yourself?”
Anyone who heard that would naturally wonder the same thing.
Then how had Will O Star become an exception?
Lee Seon had given me a clear answer.
“How many agencies can afford to ignore a broadcasting company?”
Even though Wcom was a cable channel, it wielded considerable influence in the entertainment industry.
Falling out with them would make it difficult to appear on various broadcasts and attend events, and it could even put a
strain on their relationship with WJ, the parent company.
For entertainment agencies, it was a situation they wanted to avoid at all costs.
The teams that received offers to appear were at least in a decent position. There were plenty of other places that
invited them besides Wcom.
……But what about their juniors?
“Hostages, in a way?”
“If you had to put it that way, yes. But there was another, bigger reason.”
Among the groups appearing on Will O Star were some that had no junior groups to worry about. There were also groups
from major agencies that could relatively calmly withstand the broadcasting company’s pressure.
The second reason even those groups welcomed the opportunity and decided to participate was that they had judged the
benefits to be worth taking the risk.
“If just the announcement of the program’s scheduling is enough to flood the media with articles and make the entire
online community buzz, and if you can also aim for the upper ranks of the music charts, wouldn’t anyone want that?”
Then where had that confidence come from?
Even before Lee Seon explained it, I had already guessed the answer.
“Fake Star.”
Its official name was Will O Star: Satellite.
The pre-show created to generate publicity for Will O Star, commonly called Fake Star, was destined to become an
unprecedented hit and shake up the first half of the following year.
Its harsh, almost bitter rules and editing would be so infamous that people would still bring them up from time to time
even five years later.
Yet the groups that overcame those unfavorable conditions and left an impression on viewers all gained opportunities to
turn their fortunes around.
That was why the future Lee Seon had expressed such regret.
In short, it was a lottery ticket with a guaranteed winning number.
I had to somehow earn the right to step onto this advantageous stage.
Yes.
I had to join Ort.
“Everything starts from there.”