Chapter 19: Rumors
Lee Junhyeok walked into a café near the broadcasting station after finishing a shoot.
He was extremely angry at the moment.
“You dumb bastard.”
He had heard that a former KJ trainee had appeared as an individual trainee, so he asked about Do Seohan.
He hadn’t been someone with any presence, so Lee hadn’t cared much, but the moment he mentioned Do Seohan’s name, the guy’s face turned pale and he started stammering.
‘I don’t know him.’
‘I really don’t…’
He flinched, so Lee thought a little more pressure would get him to talk, but that wasn’t the case.
Even as he nervously glanced at Lee for cues, he kept shaking his head like he couldn’t say anything no matter what.
“What the hell happened? Did he beat someone up? He was trembling like crazy. Like an idiot.”
Lee had practically pulled a ‘Do you know the way?’ routine, grabbing anyone who passed by and asking.
But he got nothing.
He was now on his way to meet the last connection he had left.
“You’re seriously putting me through hell. I’ll figure out what you’re hiding, no matter what.”
Whoever Do Seohan was, since he had already started digging, he was going to get to the bottom of it.
Lee Junhyeok pulled his black mask up to his nose and stepped inside.
“Oh, you’re here already?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you’re close with Dokyung.”
One trainee had dyed yellow hair, and the other had red hair.
They were former KJ trainees who had left the company and were recommended to him.
They had the kind of faces that clearly looked like they enjoyed partying.
Wearing flashy outfits that didn’t suit a café, they were already drawing subtle attention from others.
‘It’s early in the broadcast, so surely no one recognizes me yet.’
He was uneasy, but figured he was fine since he wore both a mask and a hat.
In reality, those two were drawing all the attention anyway, so Lee just pulled his cap lower and sat down.
“Hello.”
“So, what brings you here? Oh, are you going to KJ?”
Lee gave a sly smile and put on his mask, figuratively.
It wasn’t a topic he could bring up directly, so he came prepared with a different scenario.
“Not exactly. It’s actually something else… Do Seohan, by any chance, do you know him?”
“Oh, that guy from KJ? The one appearing in the Stardust audition now?”
The red-haired one responded readily.
His voice was drowned out by the loud music playing.
Honestly, Lee didn’t think they’d recognize him with the mask, but just in case, he was cautious about saying names out loud.
Uncharacteristically, Lee glanced around and gestured subtly.
“Could you lower your voice a bit?”
“Oh, is this something secretive? Now I’m curious. Alright.”
The yellow-haired one took a sip of coffee with one hand shoved in his pocket, then looked back at Lee and asked.
“But seriously, what’s this about?”
“It’s just… there’s a strange rumor going around.”
At the very least, these two didn’t seem like the type to avoid the topic like Seo Ian.
From how they talked, it didn’t seem like they were particularly close to Do Seohan either.
So this route might actually work better.
“What kind of rumor?”
“That something happened to him at KJ. Since we’re in the same group, it’s been on my mind.”
“Ah.”
“If it’s something bad… at the very least, I need to make sure it doesn’t break up the team mission. I’m sort of acting as the team leader. Everyone’s been anxious, so I came here on their behalf.”
The red-haired one looked confused at Lee’s explanation.
It was the kind of expression that said, ‘What the heck is he talking about?’
Lee quickly added on.
“You don’t happen to know anything, do you? About KJ?”
“Ah.”
The yellow-haired guy nudged the red-haired one in the ribs knowingly.
“Hey, isn’t it about that thing?”
Finally, something.
Lee’s face brightened as he asked again.
“Did he get into a fight with the company or something?”
“A fight? Yeah, he definitely had a fight.”
Just as expected.
Lee sat up straighter in excitement.
The red-haired guy grinned and nodded.
“Ah, that Do Seohan jerk. He’s a real nutjob.”
“Could you tell me more details?”
Lee had a hunch that this time, he might finally hear something useful.
He pulled his chair closer and pushed over an extra piece of cake.
He still kept his smile hidden, though it was threatening to break through.
Just what on earth had happened back at KJ?
“I’d like to hear more.”
* * *
“It wasn’t like the manager tried to stop him. Why would KJ cling to a trainee? He was probably threatened by the manager.”
Five minutes later.
Lee Junhyeok frowned as he listened to the red-haired guy continue.
The words flowing from their mouths were on a much bigger scale than he’d expected.
“Even blackmail…?”
He still didn’t know the full story.
But it was clear that something huge had happened.
The idea that someone else’s misfortune could be your happiness—though cowardly—Lee was feeling that exact emotion.
“Why was he blackmailed?”
“Do you know Seo Ian?”
“Yes, I met him today.”
As expected.
That guy who was acting so cautious was connected to Do Seohan too.
Lee Junhyeok’s heart was pounding from the excitement.
Only now could he be certain.
Ah, so that was it.
Exactly what he had thought in the beginning.
“Did Do Seohan… maybe hit that guy or something…?”
“Huh?”
But something felt off.
This wasn’t going in the direction he had imagined.
“Do Seohan?”
“That innocent-looking guy? No way.”
The red-haired guy scratched his head and tilted it.
Only then did he seem to understand what Lee Junhyeok had been asking, and frowned.
“No, it was the manager.”
“…What?”
“You know how this industry is—some things are just quietly overlooked.”
Cases of violence against trainees.
Even in large agencies, it wasn’t unheard of.
They’d justify it by saying they were enforcing discipline—it was something that happened more than people admitted.
Trainees, bound by their dreams, couldn’t really speak out about it anywhere.
A rigid hierarchy of certainty.
There were always people who exploited that system.
And even worse, there were plenty who crossed the line entirely.
“That old manager was always a bastard, but with Seo Ian, it was worse.”
“That kid did look easy to push around.”
“Right. He got beaten almost every day.”
“I got my fair share of beatings too, but that kid… he got hit even when he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Even when Seo Ian was being chewed out by the manager, no trainees ever stepped in.
The manager had been with KJ a long time, and if you got on his bad side, your debut was as good as gone.
But then—
In that freezing, ice-cold practice room—
“The one who spoke up was him. Do Seohan.”
“Wh…what?”
Lee Junhyeok blinked in disbelief, doubting his ears.
Then was that why Seo Ian kept dodging his questions?
Because he was afraid Do Seohan might get hurt again because of it?
“Holy crap.”
Lee muttered under his breath in disbelief.
“Back then, he was still young, and talented enough that there were whispers he might make the debut team.”
“Do Seohan was good at dancing even then.”
“Anyway, I think that’s why he turned down the debut offer and left on his own. Probably made a deal to keep quiet in exchange for getting Seo Ian out of his contract. Right?”
“Sounds right. That’s what I heard too.”
“No one at KJ talks about it. Everyone keeps hush. Ah, but we got kicked out, so we’ve got nothing to lose. Still, don’t go spreading it, yeah?”
The red-haired and yellow-haired guys chuckled among themselves and shrugged.
Up to that point, Lee Junhyeok’s eyes had no focus.
This was insane.
There’s no way that could be true.
Do Seohan must have calculated everything—even that someone might dig into his past—and silenced everyone.
No.
No.
‘That can’t be true.’
If anyone knew that it was nonsense, it was Lee Junhyeok himself.
The red-haired guy grinned and added one more thing.
“He might be a bit of a fool, but he’s a good kid.”
“He didn’t cause any trouble, so don’t worry too much. Leader, you must have it rough.”
“I could never handle audition shows. They’re nerve-wracking.”
“Right? I bailed out of mine real quick.”
Ha…ha.
Lee Junhyeok was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even close his mouth.
Now…
He really had no choice but to admit it.
He’d tried so hard to dig up dirt.
But no matter what, no matter how deep he looked, there was nothing.
That had pissed him off—but in another way, it was kind of impressive.
Though everything Do Seohan did still rubbed him the wrong way…
‘He gave up the debut team just to help a trainee he didn’t even know?’
The truth behind it was way beyond what I imagined.
I thought he was just a cold idiot.
Was he just an idiot?
Lee Junhyeok stood up sluggishly, looking defeated.
That was when it happened.
“…….”
Click.
He thought he heard a camera shutter from behind.
It was probably just a hallucination.
The long-awaited first group evaluation.
There had been many ups and downs, but somehow the morning of the big day had arrived.
“You can do it, right?”
Everyone nodded in unison at Ha Junseo’s words.
“Ha, I’m so nervous. I’m the one who said it, but I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Me too.”
“I can’t calm down.”
Ha Junseo ended up looking for an Americano.
Today, caffeine addiction had to be excused.
Jin Sehyun, unable to hold back, followed him.
“Hyung, I’ll have a regular Americano, please.”
“This is the regular one?”
“That’s poison, hyung.”
After running through the final positions in the waiting room, it finally hit them that today was the day of the performance.
Seo Haim, who peeked outside, swallowed dryly and made a fuss.
“Outside… outside… there’s a ton of people! I can even hear applause!”
So that was the noise they had been hearing for a while.
-Wooooaaaah!
-Kevin, I love youuuu!
-Kyaaa! Dokyung, look over here toooo!
As soon as the previous team’s performance ended, the cheers even reached the waiting room.
During the last evaluation, they performed in front of many trainees and judges.
But this time, fans had come in large numbers to vote.
The pressure was different.
Just thinking that someone out there might be here to see me made my heart refuse to calm down.
I took a breath and began a self-affirmation chant.
“I’ll do well.”
We had poured everything into this stage.
I barely slept the past few days, constantly practicing.
We changed the arrangement direction twice, and I thought my head would explode from worrying about the stage production.
But somehow, we managed.
“Of course you will.”
Ha Junseo lightly bumped my fist and smiled.
My eyes naturally turned to Lee Junhyeok.
For some reason, the guy who always used to snap at everyone was sitting there quietly, looking dazed.
“…….”
Public opinion about Lee Junhyeok wasn’t great right now.
Maybe he was more affected by the comments than he let on.
Normally, he’d have already picked a fight, so his silence felt odd in its own way.
Scratching my head, I slightly opened the waiting room door.
“Looks like it’s almost our turn.”
Judging by the sound, even the evaluation of the previous team seemed to be over.
As if confirming my guess, a staff member came running in with an announcement.
“Next team, get ready!”
“Yes, understood!”
“Gah! We’re coming, we’re coming!”
Ha Junseo quickly set down his Americano and grabbed his mic.
“Haim! Your mic!”
“I already put it on!”
“Sehyun-hyung, do you want to bring water?”
“Bbbbrrrpffprr!”
Mouths warmed up, the members began to head out into the hallway.
Seo Han, fulfilling his role as leader, ran around to make sure everyone got out until the very last person.
Stretching was done.
Everything was ready.
This stage was a one-time chance.
Everyone knew there would be no next time if they failed here.
So we stood here, determined to give it everything we had.
It was finally our turn.
The fact that I was shaking like crazy… probably meant I really cared about this stage.
I raised my hand into the air.
“Let’s go and come back with no regrets.”
I shouted loudly, using my voice to raise the tension as much as possible.
One by one, everyone placed their hands on top of mine.
“Should we all shout ‘fighting’ before we begin?”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay.”
“Alright, one, two, three….”
“Fighting! Fighting! Fighting!”
Let’s tear up the stage.