Debut or Die - Chapter 474
Beep, beep, beep-beep-beep! Ding-dong!
The sound of someone hurriedly pressing the password at the front door was followed by a disheveled figure rushing inside.
It was Seon Ahyeon, finally back from the fishing boat. Having received a series of messages summarizing, ‘Cha Eugene collapsed, woke up, discharged, status check, oh no, Eugene’s memory changed,’ He had clearly rushed over in a panic.
“G-Guys, I’m ba—”
“…”
“…”
“E-Excuse me…?”
“Ahyeon, you’re here.”
“Welcome back, Ahyeon. You’ve worked hard…”
However, the atmosphere in the dorm was a complete mess, as if it wouldn’t be strange to start drinking straight soju right away. The atmosphere was so miserable that it felt like a wake, even though there was no alcohol on the table. No one would stop someone from running out to buy some right now.
“Eu-Eugene is…?”
“…Well.”
Moreover, Cha Eugene was not present. STier Cha Eugene had left for what was said to be his room after finishing his one-sided speech.
“I have nothing more to say.”
Damn it. In short, it was a disaster.
“Ahyeon, you should sit down and rest for a bit. You must be shocked.”
“Yes, yes…”
After giving up my seat to Seon Ahyeon, I quietly drank some cold water again.
For the record, Cha Eugene’s roommate… was still the same as the previous dorm. That means Bae Sejin, damn it.
“30 days… you said? If, we, do, well, during, that, time… we can make it work.” He nodded as if he understood the seriousness of the situation, but he didn’t really know the real problem.
That guy thinks you’re a drug dealer…
Bae Sejin, who had no idea about his roommate’s huge misunderstanding, seemed determined to take good care of one of the youngest members until his memory returned.
“Yeah. Sejin is right.”
No, he’s not. It would be a miracle if they didn’t end up grabbing each other by the collar.
I pressed my temples. Why did Cha Eugene suddenly remember STier Eugene’s memories because of an ‘update,’ or why did STier Cha Eugene in there?
Let’s try to come up with a new plan. First, let’s clear up the misunderstanding about Bae Sejin… But will that guy even believe me? No, actually, it would be a problem even if he did believe me. That would mean his group took a critical hit because of a false accusation.
And here, we have to hope that things go well without him becoming a drug dealer by some stroke of luck.
Comparing the two situations might just make him more uncooperative out of spite.
Sigh…
Next to me, I heard Bae Sejin muttering. “Maybe it’s only natural.”
“…”
“From Cha Eugene’s perspective… suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar environment.”
“Yes…”
It was then. Keun Sejin, who had been relatively quiet and observing the situation, shrugged and stepped forward. “Well… I don’t think we need to worry that much?”
“…??”
“S-Sejin hyung?”
“Even if Eugene had some different experiences… Eugene is still Eugene, right? So, up until about 19 years old, everything would have been the same.”
“So?”
“Then, no matter how much the personality or other things change over the years.” Keun Sejin glanced sideways. “Wouldn’t his taste be pretty similar?”
“…!”
Bae Sejin and Kim Raebin were looking at the brownies and chocolate chips they had brought.
* * *
Knock, knock, knock.
“I’m coming in for a moment.” Ryu Chungwoo said softly but firmly, and a few seconds later, he opened the door to the room where Eugene had gone in.
Creak. Inside the room, amidst the still unpacked luggage, Eugene was lying haphazardly on the bed. Eugene was covering his face with one arm, but then he spoke up.
“…Now that’s going too far.”
“Huh?”
“I said I wouldn’t answer. Twice.”
Eugene lowered his arm, revealing his eyes. And without looking around, he pointed directly at me. “That person knows too, so listen to him.”
Suddenly, all eyes were on me.
Hmm.
I crossed my arms, and Keun Sejin walked into the room with a cheerful demeanor. “Wait a minute, Eugene. I’m not here to ask you that again. I just want to have a chat.”
“A chat?”
“Of course~ We’re living in the same house now, so it would be more comfortable for you if we got to know each other, right? You should also understand the situation!” Keun Sejin sat on the floor with a big smile.
Cha Eugene shifted on the bed and nodded slightly.
“That’s fine.”
“Right? You might be curious about how long you’ll be here and stuff like that. Just my thoughts!” Then, without waiting for a response, Keun Sejin began to explain in a relaxed tone. The things I had told him and the strange situations we had experienced so far were summarized and explained in a way that was easy to understand.
“…So, we think you might only be here for about 30 days.”
“…”
Cha Eugene didn’t argue.
After listening to the end, he opened his mouth with a somewhat sullen expression. “That’s really…”
“You were going to say nerdy, right? That’s so Eugene~ So typical of Eugene.”
“…”
Cha Eugene stared at Keun Sejin for a moment. Then he burst into laughter. “Hey,”
“Yeah?”
“The Cha Eugene you know isn’t me. I think it’s rude to talk like that.”
“…!” Kim Raebin, who was standing next to him, flinched even more.
“Oh, really?” But Keun Sejin didn’t seem flustered. “Then let’s keep it respectful, shall we?”
“Sure. (That’s a good expression. Don’t cross the line.)”
Cha Eugene tried to lie back down on the bed with a smile still lingering on his face. But Keun Sejin wasn’t finished talking.
“But you know we should always respect each other’s boundaries, right? Please. We have some connection from when we participated in <Idol Inc> together, don’t we?”
“…” Cha Eugene hesitated.
At that moment, Ryu Chungwoo extended his hand and said, “Yeah. It means we should maintain basic manners and respect each other.”
“…”
“Eugene.”
Cha Eugene sat up from the bed. It seemed like he was scanning the faces of those who had entered the room.
Connection, huh? From his perspective, Bae Sejin was someone who ruined a group with drugs, and Keun Sejin was someone who voluntarily left a program due to school violence. I wasn’t even a participant.
But he didn’t mention any of that. Instead, he simply raised his hand.
“…”
And shook hands with Ryu Chungwoo.
“Got it.”
“Thank you.” Ryu Chungwoo smiled brightly.
It was a strategy to push the most easygoing guy and the one who showed the calmest reaction, Cha Eugene, to the table first.
Phase one is complete. Only then did the atmosphere in the room lighten a bit.
At that moment, Bae Sejin signaled with his eyes. Kim Raebin quickly handed over an envelope.
Phase two begins.
“…! Cha Eugene, you’ve been fasting for two meals now. At least eat this!”
“…”
It was brownies and cookies. Cha Eugene looked into the envelope thrust in front of him and asked, seemingly bewildered. “Brownie? Did Kim Raebin really buy it from the hospital?”
“…? Yeah!”
“Oh.” At that moment, Cha Eugene seemed to let out a light chuckle, almost like looking at a close friend. However, it quickly passed as if realizing it wasn’t the case.
I guess they were close during STier too…
Of course, I couldn’t miss this timing. I immediately reached out my hand. And demanded. “Just one.”
“…Huh?”
A vague response, not sure if it’s an affirmation or a question. Without even looking inside the bag, I reached in and grabbed a brownie, unwrapping it. Then I shoved it into my mouth. Sweet…
It’s a kind of… ‘demonstration that this is just a normal brownie without any drugs.’ It’s funny to do this, but… Bae Sejin went with Kim Raebin to buy it, didn’t he? Considering how much this guy talks about drugs, I was worried he might not eat it if he felt uneasy.
After swallowing the brownie, I nodded. “Tastes good.”
“…Moondae hyung said so! That means there’s a higher chance it suits your taste too!”
“…OK.”
In the end, Cha Eugene didn’t refuse. He reached out, took the whole bag, and checked the packaging with a somewhat sulky expression. Then he started unwrapping and shoving them into his mouth one by one. The speed was quite impressive. And TeSTAR was watching the scene.
“…”
“…”
It feels like feeding raw meat to a wild animal. Anyway, if giving something sweet makes this creature feel better due to some biological mechanism, there should be some reaction. With that thought, I decided to wait a bit.
And a few minutes later.
“Do you want pizza for dinner? Bulgogi pizza?”
“I like pizza.”
“Okay~”
Surprisingly, this conversation just happened. In other words, the atmosphere definitely… softened. I’m not sure if it’s because of the snacks.
Anyway, Cha Eugene, who was sitting on the bed, devoured all the brownies and cookies. And once people stopped asking questions about ‘Cha Eugene’s group,’ Cha Eugene slowly returned to a demeanor similar to the one I knew.
Even though the level of the conversation has become quite low. Still, it’s something.
“Cola.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“If you have any questions about the current situation or about us, feel free to ask.”
“Got it.”
Eventually, Cha Eugene joined us at the table, eating pizza and engaging in light small talk. During that time, there was an opportunity to talk subtly about our current situation.
“Oh, we’re almost done with our active period. Just a few schedules left?”
Of course, the answer was predictable.
“But I’m not part of this team. I don’t participate.”
“Hmm.”
“Right.”
I couldn’t force someone who didn’t want to participate. The practice must be intense too. Fortunately, TeSTAR’s group activities were almost over. Cha Eugene also finished his individual activities early. So, in summary, ‘this is manageable.’
“Our tour starts next month, right?”
“Yes.”
Even if we took a short break, it wouldn’t be a huge problem.
If only Cha Eugene continued to have no solo activities, there might be some talk, but we could cover it up with health issues for about a month. So… there’s just one problem.
“…What do we do about our reality show…?”
“…”
The group reality shows that TeSTAR had been ambitiously preparing for. It looks like it’s going to fall apart.
Damn it. How are we supposed to film a group reality show when one member isn’t participating?
“We can’t postpone the filming schedule, can we?”
“No.”
We barely managed to get this arranged. Moreover, the format of this reality show made it awkward for anyone to miss out due to health issues. If someone did miss out, we’d have to insert their footage separately later. Otherwise, rumors of discord or transfer might start circulating…
So, I opened my mouth. “… Let’s just film it.”
“Film it?”
“When Cha Eugene returns in a month, we’ll add Eugene’s footage separately. How about that?”
“…”
This is the best option.
However, Kim Raebin muttered in a gloomy voice beside me. “When Cha Eugene returns… Eugene might get angry that we filmed something fun without him…”
“…”
“…Oh, that’s a convincing point, Raebin.”
“Thank you…”
I covered my face with one hand. Damn it. Is it my fault for applying a system to this damn company and causing this mess in the first place? But if I hadn’t applied it, the album might have been a total disaster…
This was driving me crazy. But what’s the point of whining and regretting it now? What I need right now is a solution.
Think… Let’s use my brain.
I stayed silent, racking my brain, and then spoke up after a moment. “Statistically speaking.”
“…?”
“When Cha Eugene comes back… there’s a chance he might still have his memories.”
“Uh, yeah… I guess?”
Just like how they didn’t lose the memories they made in the virtual world of the system when they regained their memories. If that’s the case…
“Having Cha Eugene participate in reality is the best option we have.”
“…!”
“But… Cha Eugene said he wouldn’t participate in any activities.”
“I’ll try talking to him.”
Since this isn’t a stage activity, if ‘STier Cha Eugene’ wants something in return, we might be able to handle it through a deal. And there was something else I wanted to say originally.
* * *
“Do you have something else to say?”
I went out to the balcony. Cha Eugene was looking outside alone, with the glass window half open. He turned to look at me, not exactly with a welcoming expression.
I spoke calmly. “I have something to tell you about your roommate.”
“…”
And Cha Eugene… sighed?
“(Hey, I’m not an idiot. Of course, that person isn’t involved with drugs.)”
“…!”
“(In my opinion, you seem to know ‘STier’ quite well, considering you treat that ‘roommate’ as a member, but...)” He spoke dryly. “I’m not interested.”
“…”
“(Of course, he’s not someone I used to know. I don’t intend to treat him carelessly.)” Then, he patted my shoulder. “(But don’t cross the line. Got it? You need to keep your boundaries too.)” With those words, he left the balcony.
“…”
I stood by the balcony window where the person had been. A chilly night breeze blew, unusual for summer. And I had a gut feeling.
It didn’t work. No matter what, any talk about TeSTAR activities wouldn’t have worked on that person right now.
“Sigh.”
Maybe it was a relief that I didn’t bring it up.
But no one could have predicted. That crossing that person’s ‘line’ would happen so quickly.