Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 49

After the fan signing event, the second week of music show promotions began.

K-Net, a cable broadcasting station, was bustling with numerous idols, befitting its reputation as a K-Pop specialized channel.

And today was also the comeback day for the popular group, Blue Jack.

“Wow… celebrities.”

As soon as we entered Blue Jack’s waiting room, I grabbed Chae Hamin’s wrist, who was muttering, and quieted him down.

Then, Ryu Ideun quickly bowed his head and took the lead in greeting them.

Hmm… there are nine of them, so it feels a bit overwhelming. Anyway, with nine members, there must be a lot to *consider* when composing.

“Oh! Nice to meet you! You’re Blossence, right?”

The leader (presumably) waved his hand cheerfully and greeted us.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Junseong.”

…So that guy who was always sprawled out in the studio was an idol after all.

The leader (presumably) shook hands with Ryu Ideun once and then started asking for our names.

…Judging by the fact that he skipped introductions, it seems he assumes we already know his name.

‘*…I’m sorry, but I don’t know it.*’

At that moment, Chae Hamin smiled brightly and replied.

“Hello, Lukács senior!”

…The Russian literary theorist!

I was startled and looked at Lukács. Why *that* as an idol stage name?

Feeling my gaze, Lukács smiled awkwardly and said to me.

“Ah… I didn’t say my name on purpose because I thought you might know who Lukács is, but I got caught. Our CEO majored in Russian literature…….”

I nodded at the explanation. Social life… I have to work on it.

“…To have the name of the person who created the core concept of the modern novel, ‘problematic individual,’ as your stage name is, well, um… unique.”

“…You don’t have to praise me so much.”

Then, one of the members who had been holding back laughter behind him started snickering.

“Oh my, our Cheolsu *hyung* [older brother/male friend]. Are you flustered because someone knows Lukács?”

…Oh my god, his real name is Cheolsu.

Another member next to him continued.

“Wow, you’re the first person I’ve ever met among idol members who knows him!”

…Well, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about popular celebrities, but looking at those members of Blue Jack and Junseong, they’re all really decent friends.

After hearing words of blessing for sure success and probably lip service about listening to our CD, we were moving to the next waiting room.

Seokjun, who was walking ahead, bumped into someone’s shoulder.

“Ah, *ssi* [term of annoyance], what the?”

Hmm… who are *you* to be so rude?

Looking at the face of the person who was showing off their intellectual immaturity to the fullest, a familiar face caught my eye.

‘*…Ah, I discarded her name because it wasn’t worth remembering. Was it Lee Jihyun?*’

From God Entertainment, who, under the circumstances, blocked me from auditioning, um… what word would be appropriate?

…Calling her a human would be the most reasonable. Even when classifying such creatures biologically, they wouldn’t say they’re not human.

‘*…And it’s also that human who broke Hamin’s leg in another possibility, but that didn’t happen, so whatever.*’

I organized my thoughts in a very short time and looked at the ‘human’s’ group.

A total of seven people. If it hasn’t changed from the previous possibility, it’s the team that debuted under the name ‘God A.’

And I saw another familiar face in it. Yoon Seongho, who was a survival dropout, was looking at us with an awkward expression.

…Hmm, I don’t have any information.

“Why aren’t you apologizing after bumping into us? You debuted later than us, too.”

Oh, so she’s still human enough to at least think before speaking *banmal* [informal speech]. Relying on the authority of being a senior.

Considering Yoon Seongho’s recruitment and preparation period, it would be at most about a month earlier.

Then Seokjun bowed his head and greeted with a nonchalant face.

“I’m so―rry―”

And as he raised his head, he flinched slightly when he saw Yoon Seongho’s face.

…Hmm, what is it?

“Ha, really.”

Then Ryu Ideun smiled amiably and said.

“Hello! You’re God A, right? I watched your debut stage.”

For the record, that’s a lie. Ryu Ideun has a habit of raising his hand near his chin when he lies.

“Are you the leader of this team?”

Ah, that human is so damn annoying.

“Yes, I’m Ryu Ideun, the leader of Blossence.”

“Manage your kids better.”

Then the ‘human’ went ahead and took her members.

Then Yoon Seongho whispered something to Seokjun with an awkward expression and turned around.

Seokjun flinched once again at Yoon Seongho and nodded, thanking him.

Watching that scene, Chae Hamin came to my side and whispered.

“Lee Jihyun, how can her personality not change at all?”

“…Most personalities are formed and fixed in childhood or adolescence, Hamin.”

“Hmm, so you’re saying you can’t fix a human, right?”

I was briefly surprised by Chae Hamin’s more scathing assessment than expected and nodded.

“Donghwa *hyung-nim* [honorific title for older brother/male friend], that team leader― was star―ing at *hyung-nim*, why is that―?”

So that’s what it was. I didn’t notice.

“I know, I was wondering too, what happened between that person and our Donghwa *hyung*?”

Well, something must have happened… but I don’t really know either.

I guess he was with me when I fell down the stairs, but I don’t know the causal process.

Seeing me silent, Chae Hamin, who was reading my face, soon changed the subject. Very obviously.

“Um, uh, but! Seongho *hyung* joined that team. Did you all know?”

Ryu Ideun quickly caught on and took Chae Hamin’s words.

“I only heard that he joined a debut group at another agency.”

“It’s amazing. That team is from the agency that me and Donghwa were in before we came out!”

Then Lee Hyunjæ asked.

“Ah, so Hamin *hyung* was going to debut there?”

Chae Hamin nodded.

“…Debuting here is a better choice.”

It’s better to be in an animal farm than to be a lone rabbit in such an opium den.

Muttering that, I looked at Seokjun.

His face, which showed a bit of tiredness as if he hadn’t slept well, caught my eye.

* * *

Thanks to not having many schedules yet as it was early in our debut, I came back to the dorm after filming the music show ending and sat on the bed, thinking.

There are two things I need to sort out today.

First, the drug case.

‘*…Hmm, the drug issue will be exactly one year from now.*’

Even if Chae Hamin turned to another possibility due to my intervention, the drug case itself will probably happen.

Because that’s an area I didn’t intervene in.

When I first saw the fragment of possibility, I didn’t have a clear intention to debut, so I glossed over it.

But now that I’m an idol, it’s reasonable to distance myself from these people who will be embroiled in such scandals, regardless of whether they happen or not, as a precaution.

I closed my eyes and rummaged through my head, recalling the news scene I saw in the fragment of possibility.

‘God: Are the A members actually drug addicts?’

Behind the sensational news headline, the faces of celebrities involved in the drug case began to emerge one by one.

‘*…Ha, I remember them all for now.*’

I don’t know their names, but I’ve memorized their faces, so I can just look them up later.

Of course, Chae Hamin is here, so I don’t know if the God A guys will be accused, but first of all, I need to keep my distance.

Next is Seokjun. After asking Ryu Ideun, who is his roommate, I heard the following story. Recently, Seokjun has been having trouble sleeping, and when he asked why, he said it was because he kept having the same nightmare. A dream of debuting with other members.

‘*Gijisæng [unknown entity], is that possible?*’

[Although not all of humanity has been surveyed, certain humans are more responsive to latent possibilities. In the past, they were called prophets.]

Ha, this is too unscientific. I really don’t want to believe it.

Of course… since the science I believed in has been shaken a bit since I came to the past, I can’t not believe it just because I don’t want to believe it.

Anyway, let’s summarize.

First, the dream that Seokjun had of debuting with ‘other’ members is about another possibility. This is what *Gijisæng* taught me, so it’s trustworthy.

In fact, if I hadn’t twisted the possibility, Ryu Ideun, Chae Hamin, and Lee Hyunjæ would not have debuted in this survival show.

Second, Seokjun woke up and said something like, ‘I’m glad I can debut with these members.’

Regardless of whether Nietzsche Entertainment’s follow-up group failed or not in another possibility, he explained that the problem was the ‘members’ themselves.

Therefore, in conclusion, Seokjun had discord with those who debuted as a team in the previous possibility.

Therefore, I guess, Seokjun’s personality is not one to argue with someone, so it’s likely to be bullying.

…Seokjun, who flinched when he saw Yoon Seongho, probably had Yoon Seongho in that dream.

However, in the case of Yoon Seongho, the evidence is weak to hastily conclude that he is a perpetrator. Frankly speaking, beyond being weak, Yoon Seongho’s appearance during the survival show makes it difficult to think that way.

So, to summarize, the team God A is made up of six members who have a 94.7 percent chance of doing drugs and one member who has a 0.1 percent chance of bullying the same members.

…Oh my god, looking at it this way, I’m starting to feel sorry for Yoon Seongho. It seems right to avoid any incidents involving that team.

* * *

Originally, not all lives go as desired. It is a lesson I learned while spending a childhood closer to resignation than hope.

“So, are we appearing on the radio?”

“That’s right. Gyeon Hwon requested our team as a guest on this radio show.”

Manager Kang Seungwon is starting to explain step by step.

“However, it’s not a full appearance, only three people were requested, and Donghwa was fixed.”

Ryu Ideun, who was listening carefully, replied.

“…Hmm, who would be good for the radio?”

“As a result of consulting with the planning team, we concluded that Ideun and Seokjun would be good.”

Up to this point, I was listening to the manager’s words without much thought.

“Ah, and they thought it would be weak to call only us, so among the debuting rookies, the ‘relatively’ successful…….”