Debut or Die - Chapter 473
The medical team diagnosed Cha Eugene’s condition as ‘stress-induced delirium.’ Given that the entertainment industry is full of unusual occurrences, there have been similar cases in the past.
“Not being able to sleep and suddenly finding oneself throwing things around…”
For now, Eugene had woken up, and the tests showed he was in good health, so the ambiguous judgment was that he would likely be fine with some rest and mental stability.
“Understood. Thank you…!” However, just hearing the expert’s comments on ‘previous cases’ seemed to put Kim Raebin at ease, as his expression improved a bit.
“Excuse me, but could I speak with you for a moment…?” Then, Keun Sejin started another conversation with the medical team separately. It seemed like he was asking about the measures to take if Cha Eugene didn’t get better on his own within a few hours.
The staff were running around and making phone calls, working like crazy. Half were scheduling meetings, and the other half were urgently adjusting schedules.
What a mess.
By then, even this ‘STier’ Cha Eugene seemed to realize something was off about the situation. At the very least, he must have noticed that this wasn’t America when the medical team and staff rushed in, speaking Korean.
“Moondae, can you stay here with Eugene for now? It seems better to split up this way.”
“…Okay.”
And from his perspective, it must have been strange that these unfamiliar people were acting like they knew him well. However, he didn’t cause any trouble during the examination.
“Explain about TeSTAR? I don’t know.”
“Oh… No. I was sleeping.”
He just answered appropriately with a non-cooperative attitude to the questions asked.
Is he assessing the situation?
At that moment. Bang!
“Guys!”
“…!”
The person who burst in urgently was another member who was in the middle of a schedule. However, it wasn’t Ryu Chungwoo who Keun Sejin had said would be coming soon.
“Sejin hyung!”
It was Bae Sejin, panting heavily. Having run with all his might, he was catching his breath while holding the doorknob, his face flushed red. “Shoot… The filming ended early, so I came right away… Cha Eugene, is he awake?!”
“Yes!”
It seemed like Bae Sejin had rushed over the moment the shoot ended without even contacting anyone. Bae Sejin greeted Kim Raebin and then quickly approached Cha Eugene.
I thought Ryu Chungwoo would come first. It seemed Bae Sejin arrived first because the filming location was closer.
Wait a minute. Bae Sejin…?
Suddenly, I realized something. In my previous life, before I participated in and entered Park Moondae’s body. At that time… Bae Sejin had also debuted as a member of STier and was active briefly.
“‘Idol Inc’ star, Lee Sejin, was arrested on drug trafficking charges.”
“…”
Until he appeared on the 9 o’clock news as a drug supplier… Of course, it’s true that STier’s activities weren’t smooth from the start due to issues with their agency and fandom. But that drug news was undoubtedly the critical point that derailed STier’s career.
“…”
And now, sitting in this hospital room…
“Oh.”
…if this ‘STier’ is Cha Eugene.
Damn it.
I immediately moved closer to the bed. I could hear Bae Sejin, who was standing a bit away from me, asking worriedly.
“A-Are you okay?”
Cha Eugene didn’t respond. He just stared at Bae Sejin as if he had seen something unexpected in an unexpected place.
Then he opened his mouth. “Lee Sejin?”
“…?! Wh-Why are you calling me like that…?”
“(In my opinion, you picked the wrong person. Do you really think I’m this druggie—)”
“…!”
Damn it.
“(Shut up.)” I quickly whispered to ‘Cha Eugene’ to lower his voice and then approached Bae Sejin.
“He just woke up and seems a bit off. He thinks he’s in America.”
“Yes, that’s right!” Kim Raebin agreed vehemently.
“Ah! He also mentioned brownies and chocolate chip cookies! Could it be that the stress is from restraining himself from snacks during his active period?”
That’s not it. But unfortunately, Bae Sejin’s eyes turned serious.
“Really? …Ah! There’s a bakery nearby! I’ll go get some, so wait here!”
“…! Indeed! I’ll go with you, Hyung!”
And the two of them clumsily started to leave the hospital room. They seemed determined to sweep up all the brownies and cookies they could find.
Thud!
“…”
Maybe it’s for the best.
Sigh. I looked at the closed door, holding back a sigh as I sat down in the caregiver’s chair. I can’t handle this situation at all.
Still… I guess I should start with a conversation. Since it had finally quieted down, I thought now would be a good time. However… the problem was that I wasn’t the only one waiting for the right timing.
Outside the busy hospital room and inside the now quiet room. He had been observing the situation and acted the moment attention was diverted.
“Excuse me. Umm, ‘Moondae hyung’?”
“…”
I turned my head. ‘STier Cha Eugene,’ who had remembered the title Kim Raebin called me, spoke up from his bed. “(Do you know what kind of crazy situation is happening here?)”
“…”
“…(Maybe I ate some special brownie and I’m seeing some ridiculous KPOP hallucination.)”
He pointed to his hair with his finger. It was blond. “(I don’t dye my hair anymore.)”
It was at that moment. He reached out his hand. He grabbed my shoulder, suddenly pushing his head towards me quite intimidatingly.
“…!”
“(And you recognized me. Every time I said ‘STier’ or ‘Druggie,’ you recognized me.)”
“…”
Cha Eugene didn’t let go of my shoulder. Maintaining eye contact, he slowly tapped my upper arm with his other hand. “(I don’t know what the hell ‘TeSTAR’ is, but if this is some kind of prank show, you better be ready to get sued. I don’t remember signing anything.)”
“…”
Sigh. I took a deep breath. This situation was frustrating. I can’t just start by punching him…
Given the situation, I wasn’t even angry. This is just messed up…
I endured the headache and opened my mouth. “First of all.”
“(Hmm?)”
“Would any disbanded KPOP group member be doing something like that in America?”
“…!!”
“And you didn’t take any drugs. Kim Raebin didn’t either.”
I don’t know why they put drugs in perfectly fine brownies in America, though.
Cha Eugene’s eyes widened slightly. As the grip on my shoulder loosened a bit, I roughly shook off his hand.
“But you got one thing right.
“What?”
“Something crazy did happen.”
“…Huh?”
I threw the dazed guy’s hand back onto the bed. It was the most courtesy I could offer.
* * *
New members.
New activities.
New developments.
Before the two who went to the bakery returned, I briefly summarized the activities of ‘TeSTAR’ rather than STier to Eugene in the car. Of course, the reaction was as expected.
“(In my opinion, there are three possibilities. Want to hear them?)”
“What?”
“(Either you or I were on drugs.)”
“That’s two.”
“(Or we both were.)”
Damn it. What the? Has this guy become obsessed with drugs? I barely resisted the urge to hold my head.
“Why do you keep mentioning drugs? Because it’s a hallucination? Is that a drug symptom?”
“(That’s what they say.)”
“…”
So, he hasn’t tried it himself. Fortunately, it seems he hasn’t gone that far.
“(Then am I crazy? Do you know how much an emergency room visit costs in America, and you brought a crazy person to the hospital?)”
“I said no.” I pressed my temples and spoke quietly. “Just look out the window.”
“What?”
“Just turn your head. Look.”
I slightly opened the blinds, And then, Cha Eugene literally just turned his gaze slightly to check outside…
“…!”
“It’s definitely Korea.”
The Korean signs and the familiar cityscape are outside the window. It was Seoul. Even though he said he was in the U.S. now, this guy must have spent a few years based in Seoul, so he couldn’t not recognize it.
“Holy…”
Rattle. Cha Eugene opened the window to confirm the space more clearly, then slightly changed his attitude.
“(Are you serious?)”
“Yeah.”
It seemed he was starting to consider the possibility that this might seriously be the truth.
“So you don’t have to worry about hospital bills. We’re a KPOP boy group. The company will cover the costs.”
“…”
“You’re in a group called ‘TeSTAR’ right now. We’re your members.”
“(Nonsense.)”
“(It’s not nonsense.)” I muttered calmly as I heard the sound of footsteps running towards the hospital room, probably having succeeded in buying brownies.
“In just half a day, you’ll have no choice but to accept it.”
* * *
“We’re departing.”
“Yep!”
Since Cha Eugene was physically healthy and didn’t have any particularly violent outbursts or seizure symptoms, he was discharged. Of course, all schedules for about three days were canceled.
“Eugene, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Cha Eugene answered very quietly to Ryu Chungwoo, who asked gently from the front seat. But soon, he turned his head with an uncomfortable expression and muttered. “(This damn weird world…)”
“Language.”
Eugene looked back at me with a face that seemed to say, ‘What right do you have?’ but soon answered obediently. “Sorry. It’s been a few months since I became free.”
“…”
I remember. The three who continued their unit activities under STier’s name until the end. Ryu Chungwoo, Kim Raebin, and Eugene. I remember that even those who were particularly diligent in group activities had no news after the disbandment. Among them, this ‘STier Eugene’ seemed to have returned to the United States, his home country, as soon as the activities ended. But… ‘free’.
He must have really disliked the idol life. Well, ‘doing your job properly until the end’ and ‘liking your job’ doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing.
Yeah, the situation was pretty messed up. Even though I understood, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“This is the dorm we moved into. If it doesn’t help you settle in because we haven’t been here long, make sure to let us know!”
“OK.”
Cha Eugene, who had been silently looking out the window the entire time in the car, didn’t become particularly talkative even after arriving at the dorm. It seemed like he was just roughly checking out the state of the dorm.
The incident happened next.
“This is our music video playlist. I thought it might help Cha Eugene get his bearings faster if he watched it, so I brought it!”
“Sounds good!”
“We’ll watch it too. It’s been a while.”
So, the continuous viewing of TeSTAR’s debut music video, ‘Magical Boy,’ began.
“…”
Honestly, I was a bit conflicted about whether showing this was the right approach… If we don’t show it, he probably won’t be convinced.
Eugene, contrary to his appearances, was surprisingly a realist. In this situation where there was no familiarity, he would only cooperate if there was evidence he could accept. And sure enough,
“…This.”
“Cha Eugene! Do you have something to say about this song?”
“How did you do it?”
“…?”
– Ah, I’m dizzy~
What was filmed was… a music video filled with TeSTAR wearing a baseball uniform, smiling and dancing on a school field with an impressive blue sky.
High Five. Originally, it was a song prepared by the company as the debut group’s first title track. It was supposed to come out in an ambiguous disco style that didn’t quite fit the concept. But,
“The company originally wanted to go with a disco style, but I convinced them with a PPT presentation. I said, “Let’s go with a refreshing rock style.”
“…”
“And Raebin rearranged it.”
Cha Eugene silently watched the entire High Five music video. Then, there is the next music video and the one after that. Finally, it was when we reached ‘Better Me.’
“OK, I admit it.”
“…?”
“TeSTAR.”
STier Cha Eugene looked up. The person who said ‘TeSTAR’ with a Korean accent had a heavy expression on their face, not exactly realization or confusion, but more like a shadow looming over them.
“…”
…Somehow, it didn’t feel great. Still, at least we’ve reached the starting line. From now on, I need to control this guy well so he doesn’t act out of line…
“…??”
“What is Cha Eugene saying right now?”
…Of course, I should explain a bit to others as well.
* * *
A few minutes later.
“So… this Eugene is the Eugene from when Moondae was still Gunwoo hyung? Uh? Is this right?”
“Seems like it… yeah, right.”
Ryu Chungwoo and Bae Sejin were having a confused conversation. No matter how many strange things they’ve experienced, this was a first for them, so everyone seemed flustered. But at the same time, they seemed relieved.
“…Anyway, it’s good that Cha Eugene isn’t sick… right?”
“Identifying the cause is a relief, I suppose.” Kim Raebin muttered absentmindedly.
“Still, imagining a debut without Moondae hyung in <Idol Inc.>… I can’t really picture it.”
“Right~? I don’t think I would have debuted. Ah, is it okay to ask who debuted?” Bae Sejin asked. It seemed like a mix of pure curiosity and an attempt to understand this Cha Eugene a bit better.
Cha Eugene then grinned and rested his chin on the table. “It’s not okay.”
“…!”
“It wouldn’t mean much to you even if you knew. So, I’m not telling. Got it?”
The atmosphere instantly froze.