Chapter 100: Shine bright (2)

[Your Dusty's live was really great.]

I loved seeing them hop around cutely in animal pajamas.

It was a true live where you could even hear their breathing, and it made me genuinely happy.

I knew they were good even during the encore stage, but they were really good.

You could tell they were proud of their skills, and I felt proud just watching them ㅠㅠ

—I couldn't believe it was really live either.

└ From what I heard, it really sounded like raw live without any tuning—how good are the 2MeVoz at singing?

└ Seo Ian’s vocal power pierced through the mic ㄷㄷ

└ As expected… our firm Sundubu ㅠㅠ so proud

└ Jin Sehyun is amazing too—how is it that this group has two main vocals?

└ Even the rest of the vocal line sang so well ㅋㅋㅋ it’s an unbelievable level

—More than anything, the song itself came out really well. Go stop someone on the street and ask if they believe this was self-composed by rookie boy group idols.

└ Cha Seongbin is a genius

└ Do you believe a genius baby fennec fox exists in K-pop?

└ Cha Seongbin, let’s discipline the whole K-pop scene

└ Please, yes

—But how is a one-month-old rookie this good on stage?

└ That’s the result of Lee Youngchae working them hard

└ They got pushed hard by Starf

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ah I’m mad

└ Just say it’s Doubles’ hard training program

└ I refuse to give Starf any credit. Thinking back to the mental breakdown before the final is terrifying ㅠㅠ

└ Are you a Siwoo fan, by any chance? ㅎ

└ Busted ㅎㅎ

They waited an extra hour in desperation until the track was released—for the fans.

In that spirit, the fan song live unexpectedly became a hot topic, proving the members’ live skills.

Soon after, Stargram accounts and YouTube Shorts started spreading the live clips.

[Skilled rookie idols singing fan songs live]

[Rookie boy group's live skills spark discussion]

Some posts had sensationalist titles, but in the end, they were full of praise.

—These are the rookie boys from Doubles, right?

—I saw them during Starf but didn’t know they were this good live

—This is the quality of a b-side…? Is this what a major company’s touch feels like?

└ One of the members composed it himself! It’s Cha Seongbin—the handsome blue-haired rapper!

└ I can’t believe this song is self-composed, that’s insane

└ They’ve got everything. That visual and he composes?

While the Dustys were swept up in the lingering emotions of the fan song,

Some of them began analyzing the lyrics.

[I really liked the lyrics of ‘Your Dusty’.]

Of course, it’s adorable that our Seohan wrote it himself with the leader’s help,

But overall, the lyrics had this fresh, innocent vibe that I really loved.

The seven Dusts came together to become a star,

And thanks to the fans calling out that name, they could shine in the universe.

That seemed to be the message Seohan wanted to convey.

But there was one line I didn’t understand.

‘4 to 7, I draw you every day.’

I think it means they wait for fans from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the time setting felt too random.

I was stuck on that line for a while, but I think I finally figured it out.

It wasn’t ‘4 to 7’ but ‘4 two 7’ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

April 27th, Stardust’s debut date.

Realizing it on my own made my chest swell with emotion.

—Are you insane? Are you a genius???

—I think that’s it. 4 two 7, that’s insane ㅠㅠ

—The lyrics also have ‘we walk’ and ‘shine bright’, all Stardust references, so 4 two 7 is 100% correct

└ Ah, I love this kind of detail

└ Do Hamjji, were you hiding stuff like this? ㅠㅠ

└ Hamjji, are you a genius? Emotional Cicada is crazy

└ Emotional Cicada my ass ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ you’re too much

└ Mam-Seohan, still suffering even after debut…

└ Forever immortalized in the black history of that day ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Because it was a bright b-side and a fan song at that, no one expected much from its chart performance—but it had already entered the rankings.

Thanks to that, they decided to do one more week of additional music show promotions as planned.

In effect, they jumped into promotions without any break, but all the members were full of energy.

It was also the right time for rookie Stardust to solidify their recognition with the public.

Of course, the schedule didn’t end there.

“Guys.”

The meeting room of Doubles Entertainment.

Manager Song Jinha looked around at the members and began speaking.

“You guys know Tipple, right?”

“You mean Tipple sunbaenims?”

Saying he’d brief them in advance about next week’s schedule, he suddenly dropped that name.

Tipple?

At that word, Seohan’s eyes widened.

Currently a top-tier first-string male idol group under Doubles.

Breaking all kinds of career records, and likely to receive fans’ love for the next seven years—Tipple.

Of course I know. Not knowing that name would be treason.

Seo Haim nodded vigorously and spoke.

“Of course we know Tipple sunbaenims! I’m seriously a fan!”

“They’re coming next week.”

“Sorry?”

“They’re coming to watch you practice.”

Reality show.

It was an instinctive gut feeling.

To show off some senior-junior agency love, and also to get footage for the next mini album’s reality show.

They were probably hoping to create some heartwarming moments.

Seohan gave a small laugh and muttered quietly.

“...I’m kind of nervous.”

He could see right through the Doubles people’s intentions.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

At The Core’s dorm, where the fan song release had been delayed by a week, a cold atmosphere lingered.

The leader, who insisted on writing the lyrics himself, had finally delivered a disastrous result, and in the end, the company decided to hand it off to a professional lyricist.

‘Honestly, it was unbearable to listen to.’

The Core probably didn’t know this, but it was even worse than ‘Dusty Dust Stardust.’

The lyrics Kang Ji-hyuk had prepared felt like a showy try-hard rapper’s lines, just wanting to sound tough.

To sum it up in one line: a total disaster.

Anyway, to make up for the wasted time, KJ bought an extra week with an excuse so obvious it was laughable.

Ray clutched his pounding head and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… what a life.”

Why did you blurt out something you couldn’t handle in the middle of a live?

If you hadn’t done that, there wouldn’t have been an article, and you wouldn’t have disappointed the fans who were looking forward to it.

The innocent agency got cursed out for nothing.

The only silver lining was that the guy seemed to know he shared responsibility, since he was starting to read the room around the other members.

‘Yeah, thanks a lot.’

Ray let out a bitter chuckle and muttered inwardly.

Just then, Kang Ji-hyuk approached quietly and picked up a towel.

With a fake-friendly voice, he spoke as if they were close.

“Ray, recording is at five today.”

“Oh, got it.”

“If we leave in an hour, we’ll be on time, right? I’m gonna shower.”

Without saying much, Ray nodded and leaned back into the sofa.

They hadn’t had an open fight, but ever since the last confrontation, things were a bit chilly between them.

Still, he didn’t care much.

“...Whatever.”

It’ll sort itself out eventually.

It wasn’t a relationship he was eager to fix.

Click—

Watching Kang Ji-hyuk’s back as he closed the bathroom door, Ray pulled out the lyrics sheet from his bag.

Rather than stressing over complicated thoughts, he decided to practice his rap part that still didn’t flow naturally.

“Whew, so much to practice….”

At that moment, as he opened the lyrics sheet without much thought,

Ray’s gaze happened to land on something.

“…….”

Kang Ji-hyuk had gone to shower, but he’d left his phone behind.

A brand-new smartphone with a clear case sat alone on the sofa.

Ray blinked slowly.

He didn’t know why this thought hit him at this timing, but suddenly remembered something he’d heard a few days ago.

‘That hyung seems like someone with a lot of secrets.’

Ray swallowed with a sour expression. Do Seohan’s words tickled his mind.

‘If you go through his phone, something’s bound to come up.’

No way.

What would a kid know?

He’d thought of the guy as just a sweet youngest who’d been raised gently, so when he said that so seriously, Ray had freaked out at first.

‘Survival show kids really are different.’

But that was only for a moment.

Ray had brushed off what Seohan had said.

But then.

Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, his eyes kept wandering.

“Hmm….”

Should I take a quick look?

Ray hesitated briefly, then reached out his hand. The smartphone wasn’t far away. He leaned slightly and picked up Kang Ji-hyuk’s phone.

But his nerves were a bit too small.

“…!”

Even though no one was around, Ray put the smartphone back down like he had touched something burning.

“Ah, this is so messed up.”

A wave of reality hit him hard.

“This is so low.”

He had memorized Kang Ji-hyuk’s password from seeing it over his shoulder so many times.

He had thrown a tantrum because Face ID didn’t work, so it stuck in Ray’s memory.

The other members were all in their rooms, and Kang Ji-hyuk was still in the middle of a shower.

If he just peeked and put it down, no one would know…

Still, investigating a fellow member felt incredibly shady.

“Whew… forget it.”

Ray shut his eyes tightly and let out a sigh.

Only four months since debut. Kang Ji-hyuk’s personality was trash, sure, but there was definitely nothing scandalous enough for the news.

He knew because they were on the same team.

That hyung was garbage, yes—but it was a lack of character, not the kind to cause a scandal behind the scenes.

‘Yeah, what could a rookie be hiding anyway?’

So once again, Ray tried to dismiss those words.

Right then.

Ding—

Of all times, a notification went off.

A pop-up text lit up the screen and caught his eye.

– Oppa, what are you doing right now?

Ray instinctively snapped his head around.

‘Is this guy dating?’

But in the next moment.

After reading the pop-up content, Ray’s face went cold.

This wasn’t even dating.

.

.

.

.

“…Wow.”

Dating would’ve been better.

Ray couldn’t even close his mouth as he scrolled frantically with his hand. No matter how much he scrolled, it wouldn’t end.

“This is insane.”

At first, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

He never imagined a fellow team member would cause a disaster this massive.

A scandal that would make headlines in every section of the news—except maybe society.

It probably wouldn’t show up on the society page.

But this wasn’t the time to be thankful for that.

“Is this guy insane?”

The first thing that caught Ray’s eye was a JjaekJjaek notification.

He had created a private, locked account and was following sasaeng homepage fans’ casual talk accounts.

‘Oppa, what are you doing right now?’

That message, which sounded like something you’d send to a lover, had been sent by a homepage master.

And worse, he had leaked information that absolutely must never be exposed to those people.

3twi @ooQbee24

Filming right now [photo]

Behind is the set ㅎㅎ

Ray’s pupils trembled rapidly.

He wasn’t familiar with JjaekJjaek, but he could tell the situation was serious.

From the last album’s music video outfits to the concept—

Kang Ji-hyuk had even taken selfies and uploaded them on his secret account.

If KJ Entertainment had found out, they would’ve clutched their necks and collapsed.

“He’s gone mad. Completely mad….”

Ray tapped through different posts as he scrolled quickly.

But Kang Ji-hyuk’s shocking scandals didn’t stop there.

There’s never just one screw-up from someone like this.

“What the hell is this now.”

Ray, almost hypnotized, opened the TokTok app with over 300 messages piled up.

The password was the same as the lock screen, so it opened easily.

The main screen required endless scrolling.

The moment he saw the stacked messages, he let out a hollow laugh.

“This just keeps getting worse.”

– (watch photo) Ji-hyuk, how’s this?

└ Totally my style ㅎㅎ

└ Want it?

└ Yes ㅎㅎ

└ Give me your address, nuna will buy it for you

He was secretly receiving gifts behind everyone’s backs.

– How are things with the members? Isn’t Ji Yeojoon’s personality super weird?

└ Ah ㅋㅋ that guy?

└ Saw him on the self-cam—seems super awkwardㅠㅠ

└ But he’s got nothing. He’s trying to sell that dumb concept, but it’s not a concept—he’s just dumbㅋㅋㅋ

He was even trash-talking members with sasaengs?

“Wow…. Wow, ha….”

The more he read, the more Ray’s eyes filled with horror.

Is this guy seriously sane?

He couldn’t bring himself to curse out loud and instead swallowed it.

“It’s endless. He’s really insane.”

Ray clicked on another chat with about 300 messages stacked up.

‘Now I’m scared to even open them…’

What kind of Pandora’s box would be in here?

Just as he was about to open it—

A chilling shadow loomed over his head.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“…!”

Kang Ji-hyuk was standing over him.

“What are you doing right now?”

He was still soaked from the shower, water dripping from his half-dried hair and damp clothes.

Ray met that murderous gaze with a cold glare of his own.

“Do you take money from fans, hyung?”

Ray gave a hollow laugh as he spoke.

Ah, not even fans really.

“With sasaengs?”

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