Chapter 82: Reunion (2)

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t uncomfortable.

It felt as if grains of sand were stuck in my throat—truly unpleasant.

If even I felt this way, then Seo Ian... that hyung must be feeling it even worse.

I looked at Seo Ian with a worried face.

“Hmm….”

“Will you be able to go in?”

“Yeah, we should say hello.”

An idol from KJ… it’s a bit much.

The worst part was that they happened to be the ones who had survived that Jungle.

“……”

To be honest, it was true that all the trainees under KJ were victims of that thug of a manager.

It was harder to find a trainee who hadn’t been beaten by that man.

But even so, there were trainees that the manager had clearly favored, and now, most of the members in the debut team had been those favorites.

People who knew the agency was rotting from the inside but didn’t bother to act.

I wasn’t blaming them.

It was a difficult situation to step up in, and that dream was far too precious to be swept away by a sense of justice.

I understood everything.

But.

One person stuck in my heart like a bone.

Kang Ji-hyuk.

He was the guy who had taken the lead in using Seo Ian to gain the manager’s favor.

Other trainees had often clicked their tongues at how persistently he tormented that hyung.

‘Didn’t Kang Ji-hyuk basically get into the debut team by selling out Seo Ian?’

‘Poor Ian… I heard he eventually left the company.’

‘They should’ve just dropped him from the start. Why did they drag it out like that?’

‘Manager just needed someone to vent his anger on, that’s all.’

That kind of guy was now the leader of The Core.

Someone who ignored their conscience could maybe do that.

But someone who had sold out their conscience should never have.

So, my reunion with Kang Ji-hyuk was deeply uncomfortable.

“We’re coming in.”

Knock knock, Kang Siwoo lightly tapped on the door and peeked his head in.

The door to the waiting room swung open.

“……”

The members of The Core, seeing our faces, stood up awkwardly from their seats.

Even if it was only a three-month difference, a senior was still a senior.

Kang Siwoo kicked things off with a loud voice.

“Shine bright! Hello, we’re Stardust!”

“We look forward to working with you!”

The members of The Core nodded their heads slightly, glancing around for cues.

They were always the ones giving greetings, not the ones receiving them, so it seemed a little awkward for them.

I slowly took in the faces of The Core members.

Some were familiar, and some had joined KJ after I left.

Maybe because we were being treated as rivals, their expressions weren’t exactly friendly.

But that didn’t mean the atmosphere was hostile either.

Just then,

Bright orange hair that stood out even from a distance.

A man approached me and held out his hand for a handshake.

“Your name’s Do Seohan, right?”

“Yes, hello.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Was his name Ray?

I recognized him immediately, a face I’d seen on TV.

It was my first time seeing him in person, probably because he joined KJ around the time I left.

Ray approached and spoke in a rather friendly tone.

“I’ve watched everything since Starf’s first episode. Congrats on your debut.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I lowered my head and smiled awkwardly.

I shouldn't feel this way, but I had some prejudice against KJ, so I didn’t really want to get close.

Ray, unaware of this, grinned slyly and came even closer.

“Fancy meeting you here. Seeing someone I used to watch on TV in real life is kinda wild~.”

“Ah, ah. Yes. Thank you.”

“Is this your First Music Show?”

“Yes, this is our first official Music Broadcast.”

“But since you came from a survival show, it’s not your very first stage, right? For me, our debut stage was my first ever, and I couldn’t get used to it at all. Ah, I was seriously so nervous I thought I’d die. Right?”

“Right.”

“He says so too, haha.”

Ah, I see.

“Still, after a few tries, it all gets easier. It’s only scary at first—after that, you just roll with it. We humans are creatures of adaptation, aren’t we?”

Hmm, I was starting to get the picture.

He was kind of… the Cha Seongbin or Lee Dokyung type.

Would he lean more toward Cha Seongbin, or toward Lee Dokyung?

While nodding along to gauge his personality, Ray suddenly smiled and pulled out his phone.

“Ah, right. Since this feels like fate, can we exchange numbers?”

“Pardon? Ah, ah. Of course.”

This is a lot, sunbae.

I couldn’t hide the reluctant expression on my face as I took the phone, correcting my impression of Ray.

Even Cha Seongbin and Lee Dokyung weren’t this much.

He was more… the bubbly type.

“Here… this is my number.”

“What name should I save it under?”

“Just Do Seohan is fine….”

“I don’t save names that stiff~. Any nickname you’d like?”

Nick—what?

This is seriously too much, sunbae.

We’ve known each other five minutes. Why are you like this?

I glanced at Ha Junseo, signaling for help.

‘Save me, hyung.’

Maybe he caught on to my expression, because Ray laughed awkwardly and added,

“Ah, ah. You must be the shy type. I’ll just save it however I want.”

Still chuckling, Ray’s gaze shifted to the side.

One person who had been sitting on the couch nonchalantly from the moment we entered the waiting room.

Even among those who knew me, awkwardly exchanging greetings, he alone sat off in the distance.

Black cubic earrings hanging from both ears beneath deep navy-colored hair.

Wearing a black leather rider jacket and sitting with his legs calmly crossed, The Core’s member and leader, Kang Ji-hyuk.

So we finally meet here, huh.

Thinking that, I looked at him with displeasure...

Ray turned his head and casually spoke.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna come over a bit?”

“…Yeah.”

Just those two short lines were enough to guess.

…Their relationship seems really bad.

That didn’t feel like the awkwardness of rookies. More like they fought a ton since their trainee days.

Sleek—

Kang Ji-hyuk reluctantly got up from his seat and started walking toward us while fiddling with his phone.

If Ray hadn’t pressured him, he probably wouldn’t have even pretended to get up.

Is he really the leader?

At that level, shouldn’t their team reconsider who’s in the leader position?

Step, step.

As Kang Ji-hyuk approached, even if just for a second, Ian hyung’s expression stiffened slightly.

Meanwhile, oblivious to Kang Ji-hyuk’s cold energy, Cha Seongbin beamed brightly and greeted him.

“Ah, hello!”

Of course, he was ignored.

“……”

He flatly ignored Cha Seongbin and kept his mouth shut.

Cha Seongbin awkwardly hovered his raised hand in the air before eventually lowering it.

“I’m Seo Haim!”

Even after Seo Haim introduced himself, Kang Ji-hyuk kept scrolling on his phone, absorbed in whatever he was looking at.

Seo Haim scratched his head and stepped back awkwardly.

“Ah, he’s not responding…”

Wow, what an ass.

Just as Ray couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to signal something—

Kang Ji-hyuk lifted his head with a cold look.

“Excuse me.”

Kang Ji-hyuk, who hadn’t said a word until now, finally opened his mouth.

“Who’s the leader here?”

A loaded question, clearly meant to assert hierarchy in this barely three-month senior-junior relationship.

The intention was obvious, and Kang Siwoo slowly stepped forward.

“Ah, that would be me.”

Maybe it was today’s makeup, but his features looked even more intense than usual.

And in person—unlike on screen—his large build made him look much more like a big dog.

If he’s on your team, it’s reassuring. But as an opponent, he’s a bit intimidating.

Kang Ji-hyuk’s pupils slightly shook.

He swallowed hard before speaking again.

“Y-you’re the leader?”

“Yes, I’m the leader of Stardust.”

Maybe his throat caught for a second, because his voice cracked a little.

Even that slightly raspy tone must’ve felt intimidating—Kang Ji-hyuk’s shoulders twitched slightly.

Honestly, is there anyone who could try to establish dominance in front of that face…? Not sure.

If there were years between them, maybe. But a measly three months?

Dude, just bow your head and move on.

“Ni-nice to meet you…”

“Nice to meet you too, sunbae.”

Kang Ji-hyuk, who tried to act territorial, ended up closing his mouth without saying anything else.

Yeah, weak to the strong, strong to the weak.

That’s Kang Ji-hyuk for you.

Right after the Music Broadcast, the official JjaekJjaek account posted their first Music Broadcast photo along with a caption.

STARDUST @stardust_dobbles

[Photo]

Dusties~! Thank you so much for coming to support us for our first broadcast today!!

Thanks to you, we were able to finish our debut stage strong :)

We’ll come back to you Dusties with even better performances!

We’ll become cosmic dust that grows with every stage.

#stardust #knetplus #kpop #스타더스트 #하준서 #차성빈 #강시우 #서이안 #진세현 #서하임 #도서한

In the photo, the classic Music Broadcast proof shot—‘stairs shot’—showed the seven members gathered close together in white jackets. The youngest, Seohan, was sitting quietly, while Cha Seongbin lay in an exaggerated ‘wahh’ pose.

Next to him, Seo Haim was the only one clinging to the side of the stairs.

–Can all their personalities really be decoded from just one photo like this?

Apparently, they couldn’t manage to take a normal group photo to save their lives.

Meanwhile, the Dusties were most curious about who wrote that extremely formal first post.

–This is so freaking cute ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Who wrote it?

└The formal tone screams Kang Siwoo?

└Gotta be Kang Siwoo lololol since he’s the team leader

└Bet he wrote it with no exclamation points or emojis and the other members made him redo it lololol

–‘We’ll become cosmic dust that grows with every stage.’ lololololol even added a period

└Don’t talk so seriously while calling yourselves cosmic dust

└They know fans already call them that, huh? You’ve been searching yourself, haven’t you?

└The fact that there’s a period proves it’s Kang Siwoo

└Ah but tbh, Do Seohan also uses that kind of tone

└True, surprisingly MamHamjji talks like that too

In fact, it was a joint effort by Do Seohan and Kang Siwoo, making the Dusties’ analysis quite sharp.

Ironically, the exclamation mark was added by Kang Siwoo, contrary to expectations.

‘Smiley faces feel too... business-y, don’t they?’

‘It’s the first post, so we have to be formal. First impressions!’

‘Ooh, is that so?’

That’s how their first JjaekJjaek post was born, but less than five minutes later, a post of an entirely different tone appeared.

STARDUST @stardust_dobbles

It’s Seongbin~~~ Dusties!!!! (Heart)

I came to tell you all something super duper amazing and crazy awesome!!

Apparently something’s dropping today

But it’s a secret hehe

Anyway soon! It’s coming soon!!!

Even from 50 billion light-years away, the tone was unmistakably Cha Seongbin.

One Dustie scrolling through JjaekJjaek looked up in surprise.

“Huh?”

Did he say something’s about to drop?

So when exactly is that?

–Soon?

–What’s dropping soon?

–Holy crap my heart’s racing, what kind of teaser is this?

–Self-content? A cover? Or maybe a variety show?

The speculation didn’t last long.

If Cha Seongbin says “soon”….

3..

2..

1..

It means right now.

Dding—

Just as the mentions on JjaekJjaek refreshed, a notification popped up on YouTube.

–Hey, it probably isn’t self-content...

Typed a Dustie on JjaekJjaek, who then turned with wide eyes.

Because the title of a short, barely 30-second video caught their eye in an instant.

[We’re filming our first self-content? (teaser)]

“Holy crap. Is it really self-content?”

A short video, barely over 30 seconds.

Like they were possessed, the Dustie clicked the video.

And then—

The boys were shown chatting in what looked like a conference room.

What they were wearing was… well…

[So we’re filming self-content?]

[Our first self-content?]

Suits.

–They put… our Byo… in a suit?

–Shouldn’t they have worn school uniforms? You babies ㅠㅠ

–But why does my heart race…└ They look good, huh?

–Cha Seongbin looks badass, Kang Siwoo’s insane too lolol

–Seo Ian sitting quietly looks like something straight out of an office drama

–So what is this??? What’s the concept???

One Dustie’s question was answered by Seo Haim.

Seo Haim brightly raised one hand and asked,

[So what are we doing today?]

[We… are having a meeting.]

[A meeting?]

[What kind of meeting?]

And right then—

Thud.

Cha Seongbin slammed a hefty stack of A4 paper onto the table like a clipboard, making a dramatic entrance.

–Why’d he slam it like that lololol

–Looking closely, it’s just A4 paper lolololol

–Stop being extra ㅠㅠ

Cha Seongbin continued, stroking his chin with a serious expression.

[Because the greatest crisis in human history has come to our Dusty-Dust Star….]

Dun dun.

[We must conquer Earth.]

–What the hell is this concept

–Doubles people, stop losing aliens

–Cha Seongbin’s expression lolololol are you drunk on the role

–So their first self-content is an Earth Conquest Meeting based on a company concept?

Clap—

After clapping his hands once and spinning dramatically, Cha Seongbin added with flair,

[Then, from this moment on… let’s begin the Earth Conquest Meeting.]

The teaser ended.

A static-ridden screen briefly flickered, followed by a title card.

[Earth Conquest Meeting – Dusty Corp.]

[2017. 4. 29 7pm. Release]

Flicker—

As the screen faded to black, Cha Seongbin’s cheerful voice rang out.

[I’m really going all-in on the most outrageous concept~.]

[Me too.]

[Seohan-ah, what’s your concept?]

[MZ Generation.]

Right after the cicada impression,

Do Seohan’s alien MZ Generation concept…

“Wow.”

It’s already terrifying.

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