Chapter 27: Rumors

“Uh?”

Jo Seha trailed off with a dumbfounded look.

“…What is it that you want?”

I’d always had my suspicions. Why did this guy even join Idol in the first place? Why does he keep following me around, stressing me out?

And with this team selection, I felt a bit more certain.

‘Is he really following me this much?’

And then, just a moment ago, Park Minkwon let slip something about a ‘rumor.’

It felt like all the scattered puzzle pieces were suddenly snapping into place.

“Wh… What do I want? I don’t really want anything? Debut?”

Seriously, this guy.

No matter what, I wasn’t going to say it out loud myself.

“You, Jo Se…”

I almost let his name slip, but barely stopped myself.

No, not here. There are cameras, microphones—this is not the place to bring it up.

“…Let’s talk later.”

“Talk? Sure!”

Jo Seha beamed with his usual bright smile. Just as my stress was about to hit its peak—

[All participants have finished choosing their team leaders!!]

Choi Hansol’s voice rang out from the speakers, stopping me from exploding.

Sometimes, things do come in handy.

[All participants! Please return to the stage and line up by team!!]

“…Let’s go.”

Including me, Park Minkwon, and Jo Seha—just three of us trudged toward the stage.

As we got closer, I could feel the air buzzing again as participants gathered from all directions.

“Everyone’s here!”

Choi Hansol continued hosting, looking out over the stage where all the participants were lined up by team.

“Let’s see… This result is more serious than I expected, isn’t it?”

Choi Hansol’s gaze landed right on me.

What.

“But don’t worry! There’s a very special measure for team leaders who weren’t so popular!!”

Choi Hansol quickly pointed out each team leader who had more than ten members.

“Those team leaders I just pointed to, please come forward!”

About five team leaders, including Seo Chanul, stepped up.

Among them, Seo Chanul’s team had fifteen members—the highest number of selections.

“Thud.”

With only three of us standing side by side, the contrast was painfully obvious.

Strangely bitter, this feeling.

“First, congratulations to the team leaders who received a lot of choices! You’re very popular!”

“Wow! Our team leader is awesome!”

One of the participants who chose Seo Chanul’s team reacted enthusiastically.

Since when were they that close?

Maybe it was because I hadn’t finished dealing with Jo Seha yet, but I couldn’t help feeling twisted up inside.

Sorry. It’s not your fault for working hard. Right?

“But isn’t it a bit much to have so many people on your team?”

Choi Hansol skillfully shifted the mood again.

A wave of curiosity swept through the filming set.

“That’s why we’ve prepared something!”

Now what are they up to?

“Alright, popular team leaders at the front!”

All the alpha team leaders turned their attention to Choi Hansol.

“From now on! Keep only ten members, and send the rest to teams that are short on people!”

“What?”

Seo Chanul, who was standing closest to Choi Hansol, asked in surprise.

“I get to choose myself?”

Choi Hansol looked at Seo Chanul once,

“Yes!”

and then at me.

“That’s right!”

Then, Seo Chanul and I made eye contact.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

My gaze immediately shifted to the ‘Team Seo Chanul’ members who were staring at the three of us.

“Ahaha.”

They, too, were looking straight at me.

Well, this is a welcome surprise.

Raising my hand with a little wave, I flashed a bright smile at the neighboring team.

“Anyone want to join me now?”

If you come over, I’ll treat you well.

…This is bad.

After the team members were reassigned and we returned to the Selection Room for a series of meetings, we headed back to the Dormitory.

Not that returning to the Dormitory made much of a difference… and for good reason.

“What is?”

Park Minkwon, who was packing his things next to me, asked.

“…That you’re here, Minkwon.”

“What are you talking about…”

Park Minkwon brushed off my words with a disinterested look.

Behind Minkwon, the first performance team members were busily organizing their things.

“Even at the Dormitory, they’re still here…”

It didn’t feel like I’d really left work at all. Not a great feeling.

The result of the team member redistribution was disastrous.

Out of ten, we had four F-Grade, three D-Grade, two C-Grade, and one B-Grade.

Considering the two C-Grade were Jo Seha and me, and the only D-Grade was Park Minkwon, it couldn’t have been more lopsided.

‘Well, if it were me…!

Of course, if you had to send people to other teams, you’d send the lower grades.

At least Seo Chanul sent us one B-Grade, so that was something…

With a deep sigh, I recalled what happened earlier in the Practice Room.

“I think we’re doomed.”

One of the F-Grade members had suddenly blurted that out.

“What do you mean…”

“We’re doomed. What can we do with this lineup?”

Before I could finish my sentence, he cut me off.

“Hey, there’s a camera, watch what you say…”

“Ah, just let me be.”

A D-Grade, who seemed to know him, tried to stop him, but it was no use.

“Honestly, with teams assigned like this, it’s obvious. Haram and… yeah, the B-Grade over there. Only those two will do anything decent.”

Was that his way of saying he didn’t want to even try?

His sharp tone started to get under my skin again.

“Now those two will shine on stage, and the rest of us will just be backup dancers, right? Frankly, I think even the B-Grade’s in danger.”

The B-Grade, who had been quietly listening, suddenly got attacked and frowned.

“Why me, all of a sudden?”

“Are you confident you’ll do better than Haram?”

The B-Grade was at a loss for words.

Hey, you’re not helping if you can’t even argue back.

“…Let’s not go there. Let’s start by picking our song. It’s first come, first served, so we need to pick and submit quickly…”

“Haram, just pick whatever you want. We’ll do our best from the back.”

…Seriously.

“What’s with your attitude?”

I couldn’t hold back and snapped.

“If you’re going to slack off like that, why did you even come here?”

The angry F-Grade hesitated and stepped back a little.

“If you’re going to give up so easily, swap places with someone who got eliminated. You can go home instead.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, either.

“There are so many people who want to debut.”

The moment I said that, everyone in the Meeting Room froze.

Only Jo Seha, sitting farthest away, was rolling his eyes with a blank expression.

‘…Why are they reacting like this?’

Maybe because I’d already debuted?

“Ha… Debut…”

The F-Grade clenched his fists and looked like he was about to cry. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Yeah… Debut is great. I really want to… But you…”

The D-Grade who tried to stop him before stood up and grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey… Not now. This isn’t the time. Let’s go. Let’s get out of here.”

The F-Grade, shoulders seized, trudged toward the door.

‘What…?”

What was that?

Their anger seemed so twisted, as if I’d somehow done something terrible to them…

Standing at the door, the F-Grade spoke one last time before leaving the Practice Room.

“Must be nice having it so easy.”

With that, the two left the Practice Room.

This wasn’t right. It wasn’t just jealousy over my skills.

“….I’ll call it a day, too. We’ll see each other back at the Dormitory, but… Yeah. I’ll go.”

Starting with the B-Grade, the others left the Practice Room one by one.

“What the heck…”

That’s how only Park Minkwon, Jo Seha, and I ended up left in the Practice Room.

Right now, I needed someone to explain this situation to me.

“…Hey.”

“Yeah?”

I called out to Park Minkwon, who seemed to have finished packing.

“That rumor you mentioned earlier. What is it?”

Don’t you have at least a hunch?

If I did, I wouldn’t be asking you.

“I have a feeling, but I don’t know.”

Park Minkwon looked at me expressionlessly.

“You’re surprisingly slow on the uptake.”

Park Minkwon stood up and headed out of the Dormitory.

“Let’s go. I’ll tell you somewhere private.”

We left the Dormitory and headed to the Practice Room where I’d scolded Soram before.

On the way to the most secluded private Practice Room, I could see other participants practicing in each room.

‘…We should be like that, too…

What is going on…

As soon as we arrived at the private Practice Room, Park Minkwon locked the door tight.

“You said there’s a rumor going around, right?”

“Yeah.”

So what kind of rumor is it?

“…You really have no clue?”

“Stop dodging and just tell me.”

The frustration made the crease in my brow deepen.

“…Just remember, I’m taking a huge risk telling you this.”

Hmm. Park Minkwon took a deep breath through his nose, then—

“Haram.”

He spoke as if he’d made up his mind.

“There’s a rumor going around that you’re guaranteed to debut as an Idol.”

“What?”

What was that supposed to mean?

I’d even flat-out refused the offer Jang Yeonju PD had jokingly mentioned.

Could it be the broadcast station people had already picked me and now…

“And”

“There’s more?”

“This one’s even worse.”

What could be worse?

I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

….Apparently, some people think you’ve already chosen who you’ll debut with.”

“…What??????”

Who did I—? Could it be Hyunjae and Woojin?

“Luckily, it doesn’t seem like anyone knows exactly who yet…”

“Ah….”

That was a huge relief. No, could I even call that relief?

“Where did this rumor even start?”

Park Minkwon shrugged his shoulders.

“I can’t really say… I don’t want to get into more trouble than this.”

Before I knew it, my hand reached out for Park Minkwon’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

Park Minkwon frowned as I grabbed both his arms.

“Tell me. What’ll it take for you to tell me? Money? How about if I pay you?”

In my desperation, words I’d never usually say slipped out.

“…Saying things like that makes it sound like the rumor might be true after all.”

“Of….”

When Park Minkwon shook his shoulders, my hands fell away helplessly.

“Sorry. That’s not what I meant…”

“It’s fine.”

Park Minkwon brushed off his shoulders and turned as if to leave the Practice Room.

“Figure out the rest yourself. I don’t want to stick around and get caught up in more rumors.”

As if to say, ‘I’ve done my part,’ Park Minkwon left the Practice Room.

Left alone, I fell deep into thought.

‘Who could it be…

No matter how much I agonized, I couldn’t find an answer, so I left the Practice Room and started walking aimlessly.

I wandered the huge rented lot with no destination.

‘Who…

This was something I had to resolve. If I left it alone, the others would end up—

At that moment,

“…No!…I said no!…Don’t…!”

A familiar voice drifted from behind the building.

‘Who’s he talking to…?’

Why would a participant come all the way out here?

Without realizing, my steps followed the sound. The closer I got, the clearer the voice became.

“I said stop it, Dad! I told you not to!”

A desperate voice, urgently calling for his dad.

Suspicious, whispering as if hiding something.

“Huh? Ah! No, Haram, this is, this is!”

Again. Again, it’s him. This guy, again.