Chapter 104: Do My Assignment for Me

The greatly flustered face of Kang Ji-hyuk was reflected in my retina.

That fact alone was even more absurd.

Did he actually think there was even the slightest chance while making such a brazen request?

Perhaps unable to let go of his lingering attachment, Kang Ji-hyuk stammered out,

“Hey, I’m asking you a favor. You could do it just this once.”

“……”

“Think of it as saving someone’s life. You could just let it slide once!”

His voice briefly rose before he swallowed dryly and continued.

“Fine, you don’t even have to explain yourself. Just stay quiet and I’ll take care of it. All I’m asking is that you don’t put out a rebuttal article. That’s the favor I came for.”

It was a long speech, but frankly nonsense.

‘Why should I?’

I let out a short, incredulous laugh and glanced at the members.

It was amusing to see them all cursing at him with their eyes.

The Universe Dust members…

Thank goodness they were kind. If they’d all had a personality like Kang Ji-hyuk, fists would’ve flown ages ago.

So, on behalf of the others, I decided to harden up a bit.

There was only one answer.

“No.”

Was he crazy?

Why should I stay quiet when he’s the one spreading that kind of rumor?

“W…what?”

I ground my teeth and spat out my words.

“That we were never close, that our relationship was never friendly—I’m going to expose it all. So go ahead and publish that article if you dare.”

“Huh…?”

“Doesn’t your company have a PR team? They’re just going to sit back and do nothing about such a false report?”

Granted, the Doubles PR team was pretty incompetent…

But once things escalated beyond mere gossip and into the official press, they wouldn’t stay still.

At my blunt retort, even that shameless face twisted.

Kang Ji-hyuk parted his lips, about to say something.

But Kang Siwoo cut him off first.

“You heard him, right? Go back.”

“We’re still talking—”

“This is a residential area. You’re not planning to cause a scene, are you?”

Given that an exposé had already broken, there was a real risk that someone could snap a photo of us right now. Kang Ji-hyuk bit his lips so hard they nearly bled.

“……”

Just as I said, he had no choice but to get lost.

.

.

.

.

Once Kang Ji-hyuk left, the members’ worried gazes landed on me.

They’d been watching from up close ever since this issue first blew up back when I was still with Starf.

They were people who already knew the whole story as if it were their own business.

Seohan cautiously asked,

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Maybe they thought my fragile mentality wouldn’t be able to withstand it,

Or that I’d be struggling again somewhere out of sight.

That seemed to be the kind of worry they had.

But.

“I’m doing way better than I thought.”

I grinned and lifted my head.

I’d said everything I needed to say, and thanks to that, I felt refreshed inside.

I was glad I’d been able to fire back at someone I’d spent my whole life avoiding—at least for the last time.

And that wasn’t just lip service; I meant it.

I smiled brightly and shrugged.

“I think I’m actually in a good mood…?”

“Oh no. Hyung’s lost it…”

At my words, Seo Haim’s eyes went round.

The lunatic from The Core came to our dorm and stirred everything up, and I was happy about it?

“I’m seriously happy. This is the best…!”

“What do we do with our hyung.”

“Aigo.”

Seo Haim stomped his feet as he spoke.

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t forgive the guy who had driven our sweet Sundubu to madness.

“Should I drag him back? Lock him up in our dorm for being insolent?”

“And then what?”

“With seven against one, we could win.”

Seo Haim clenched his fist with overflowing bravado.

It wasn’t threatening at all—therein lay the problem.

“Forget it… You’d lose, you know?”

“I can win.”

“The next day, ‘Stardust’s sub-vocal Choco Haim booked for assaulting Wafer’… That’s the headline I’m seeing.”

“That wouldn’t be good…”

I let out a small chuckle as I watched the members muttering among themselves. Seeing them like that suddenly brought back memories of that time.

‘Back then, there was no one.’

No, there was exactly one person.

“Maybe we could take them in a five-to-one fight?”

The youngest, who had quietly murmured that at my side, always had a knack for making belated, nonsensical comments.

“If we include Siwoo-hyung, it’s four-to-one?”

“With Kang Siwoo’s build, it’s possible. Our leader~ What’s your Hamchoimaek?”

“Hamchoimaek means the maximum number of hamsters, right?”

“No way. Of course not.”

“That’s cruel, so cruel.”

Maximum number of hamsters…

Seeing Seohan babbling nonsense about how it’s too hard to live as a hamster in this harsh world made me laugh.

Even back then, I clearly had someone on my side—if only I’d taken more courage from it.

Why did I avoid it?

They were really nothing special.

Why had I been so afraid?

I patted Seohan’s back and spoke.

“Shall we go in?”

“Let’s.”

As I closed the door, I turned my head slightly.

At some point, Kang Ji-hyuk’s shadowy figure had become nothing more than a distant dot.

“……”

He’s definitely gone.

I inhaled the night air until it stung my lungs, then spoke inwardly.

Goodbye, Kang Ji-hyuk.

Darkness filled my vision.

From the dizziness, the floor seemed to sway and threaten to collapse onto me.

In the end, I couldn’t hold it back and retched.

The spark I had thought was my only hope had gone out—

And it was a hundred percent my own doing.

“Damn it…”

Kang Ji-hyuk rubbed his dry face with his hands and took a deep breath.

His heart pounded wildly, as if he had arrhythmia, showing no sign of calming down.

“Phew.”

He held his throbbing head and let out a short sigh.

He didn’t even know how he’d made it back to the dorm.

Trying to steady his trembling hands, Kang Ji-hyuk opened the dorm door as if nothing was wrong.

But of all things—

The first sight to greet him was Ray sprawled out on the sofa, along with member Ji Yeojoon.

‘Why them, of all people…’

With the group already in turmoil from the continued exposé, even the fan song’s release had been postponed. Seeing them enjoying what looked like a comfortable break irritated him.

Ray immediately lifted his head the moment Kang Ji-hyuk arrived.

Then, grabbing an ice pack from somewhere, he spoke loudly enough to be heard.

“Ugh… hurts.”

That muttering face looked perfectly fine. The split lip from a few days ago had almost returned to normal, and nothing seemed seriously wrong on the surface.

“It’s still a little sore… Yeojoon, am I swollen?”

“Honestly, just a bit? You ate ramen before bed yesterday.”

It was obvious he was doing this on purpose to get under his skin.

Kang Ji-hyuk ground his teeth but said nothing.

The moment he lost control and hit him, he’d be expelled on the spot.

‘Hold it in, hold it in…’

Ignoring Ray, he tried to head to his room, but then that voice stopped him.

“So where’d you go?”

At that one question, Kang Ji-hyuk slowly turned his head.

Ray added in a mocking tone,

“Left the watch your fan gave you here at the dorm, but you had somewhere urgent to go…?”

It was blatant provocation, but he had no comeback.

After the scuffle, KJ Entertainment had tried to cover it up by persuading Ray, a member of the same team. They called it persuasion, but a rookie like him wouldn’t have had the power to refuse.

It was clear Ray still ground his teeth over the company silencing him about it.

He’d spent the first few days holed up in his room without coming out at all.

But now, it seemed he understood—

Even without the watch incident, he was already on a downhill path.

It almost looked like he was enjoying it a little.

Ray eyed Kang Ji-hyuk and spoke.

“Don’t tell me… you went to see Seo Ian?”

“……”

“Huh?”

He hadn’t expected no answer from what was just a throwaway question.

“No way.”

The smile that had been on Ray’s face cooled instantly.

“For real?”

Wow.

“You’ve got to have at least a shred of conscience.”

Instead of answering, Kang Ji-hyuk shot back a murderous glare. Ji Yeojoon, sensing the chill in the air again, rolled his eyes and added,

“Wait. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He went to see Seo Ian.”

“And what, did you kneel or something?”

Ignoring Ji Yeojoon’s chattering, Kang Ji-hyuk bit down hard on his lower lip.

‘Maybe I should have.’

Instead, he’d gone without kneeling, without doing anything at all.

He’d gone intending to do something halfway between a favor and a threat, and ended up crushed by the atmosphere.

Kang Ji-hyuk shook his head hard to get rid of the painful memory.

‘I should just sleep.’

He was about to turn toward his room when Ray’s cold voice rang out from behind.

“Even if you kneel, it’s too late. The last train’s already gone.”

“What?”

Kang Ji-hyuk frowned and turned his head.

From the moment he walked in, he’d wondered why Ray looked unusually pleased—turns out, news he hadn’t expected was waiting for him.

Ray grinned and spoke.

“Hyung, the manager wants to see you.”

[The Core Future Activity Plan Notice]

Hello, this is KJ Entertainment.

We would like to inform you about the status and future activities of The Core member Kang Ji-hyuk.

After confirming the facts regarding an issue raised through an online community, we have verified that the author of the account in question was indeed Kang Ji-hyuk. Due to this matter and other personal life issues, we have decided to terminate Kang Ji-hyuk’s exclusive contract, and from future activities onward, The Core will continue without him.

We sincerely apologize to fans and many others for the inconvenience and concern this has caused.

We will do our best to support The Core in showing their growth as artists.

-They really dragged this out for weeks just to post such a short notice, lol. But still, a withdrawal notice—this is something.

└Something indeed, thank you so much ㅠㅠ

└The Core’s fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief lol

└I honestly thought the fandoms were going to war when the exposé first dropped;;

└Even The Core’s fans wouldn’t have defended that….

└Some did, lol

└But if you defend that, the team’s image tanks ㅋㅋㅋ You’d just be an idol taking shots at others out of insecurity ㅠㅠ

└In the end, it was the fans who led the mass withdrawal push.

-But what’s “other personal life issues”? Honestly, even if fans pushed for withdrawal over this, from the company’s standpoint it wasn’t enough to make front-page social news.

└I’m curious too. It felt like grounds for withdrawal, but still a bit vague.

└Isn’t it because Kang Ji-hyuk wasn’t a popular member? And since he’s still a rookie, they just cut him off?

└No no, from what I’ve heard, the personal life thing… it’s pretty legendary.

└????

└Tell me too.

└I heard rumors he got stuff behind the scenes from sasaeng homepage masters.

└If that’s true, that’s legendary in the idol world, lololol

└?????????? What did he get?

└Stuff like luxury goods, hehe

└Wow, insane lololol The image of a big-name boy group just plummets.

└If that’s true, Ji-hyuk, you’re seriously… (facepalm)

-By the way, there were people defending Kang Ji-hyuk while going into Stardust’s Stargram to leave hate comments.

└For real??

└This is why obsession above morality is scary….

└Anyway, he’s gone now, right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Bet he’s crying on Stargram.

└Tears just keep falling~

After KJ Entertainment’s official notice, the online community stayed noisy for days.

When this first broke, there had been serious power play between Dusty and that fandom.

It was practically a cold war.

“Of all people, you mess with our Sundubu?”

Seo Ian was firmly a Core fan among Stardust members, and the fans who’d been watching him since his Starf days knew he was as soft as Sundubu tofu—if not softer.

‘This kid already makes me nervous enough, like leaving him by the water.’

They had always worried that his fragile mentality might get trampled somewhere.

Then, with Kang Ji-hyuk essentially admitting he had bullied Seo Ian during his KJ days, Dusty’s anger was inevitable.

Who did you think you were? Messing with our kid?

-Kang Ji-hyuk, seriously, never set foot in this industry again….

Dusty fired off furious comments but soon stopped.

“Sigh, forget it.”

There was no way someone who had caused a scandal of this scale could ever return to the industry.

On top of that, Kang Ji-hyuk was already on the older side.

“Brought it all on himself.”

He’d twisted his own fate.

How was it possible that there wasn’t a single member or acquaintance defending him?

The Core’s fans were starting to realize—

It wasn’t that the members were holding back to avoid being criticized; they genuinely welcomed his departure.

“How did you even live your life up to now?”

In any case, it wasn’t my fandom’s problem.

The Core would continue as a six-member group without Kang Ji-hyuk, and Stardust could finally breathe a little easier after the noisy past few days.

“Mmm—feels good.”

Feeling lighter, Dusty stretched and hummed a tune.

On the day Kang Ji-hyuk was cut, the weather was nice too—perfect for airing out the place.

As they stood up to do just that, an alert went off at the perfect time.

Dding!

“Huh?”

It was the official Stardust YouTube account, which hadn’t had any updates for over a week.

A new red notification light was on.

“Ohhh?”

The moment they checked the text at the top, Dusty swallowed hard in surprise.

[Dusty Campus, Do My Assignment for Me!]

The second official Stardust reality series after Dusty Corp.

Part of the Dusty OO series—!

And it was the campus version.

“Are you kidding me?”

They’d gone mad.

Was I actually going to get to see the kids wearing varsity jackets?

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