A group that had not yet decided on a group name,
This was because while preparing for their debut, they were digesting the schedule of the winner of the audition program, such as advertisements and interviews.
Although the popularity was not comparable to the status of TeStar in the previous male season, it was still enough to excite the hearts of the parties involved.
And there were members who felt a sense of victory for other reasons.
'Can't he even contact me? This is fucking funny.'
Chae Seodam checked the contact information in his smartphone, where there was no response.
[Moondae Sunbaenim]
It was a number that he found out by coaxing the manager who was in charge of TeStar before. It was easy to say, 'Hyung-nim, hyung-nim' and convince the nerdy guy.
'Even if l'm like this now, my original nature is like that.'
Chae Seodam assumed that Park Moondae would be of a similar category.
It was to the point of shame to see the maladjusted seed, who couldn't even speak when he was in school, come out strong now that he had become a popular idol.
'What about a lucky bastard?'
Hearing that, he seemed to be taking care of him very much, but in the end, there was nothing more than him pretending.
Even now, Chae Seodam secretly mentioned Park Moondae in every interview or filming, but he didn't have any reaction?
He was obviously terrified.
'I thought he was going to do it because he was mad, but look at how he couldn't do it because he's scared.'
Then, in his head, it was obvious that he was beautifying himself as a cartoon character. Weren't there one or two lesser guys in every class?
'The really lucky thing is how I'm introducing myself.'
It was just funny how a guy who succeeded after being good at jealousy could attack a senior ranker like himself who had lived so fiercely.
Chae Seodam sent direct respect to himself, who had cleverly handled the situation by all means while practicing breaking his feet.
He slipped off guard for a while, but that was it.
'I won't leave it like that anymore.'
After benefiting from his recognition and image to the limits by using Park Moondae, more thrilling plans remained.
The moment he encountered Park Moondae again, he wouldn't be able to stand it anymore which would induce him to explode. It was his specialty to elicit reactions from others.
'It would be better if he told the company about it.'
If the company tried to cover it, that was a good situation. Then, he would gather them well and use them again as his weakness.
'In any case, I can use it as proof that I was bullied and get out of here.'
In this way, even the reversal of the image would kill two birds with one stone.
'An idol who continues to harass his juniors under the pretext of an already deleted recording!'
"Ah."
Chae Seodam was satisfied because the thought of the situation being overturned was plausible.
And he thought for a moment about the other party in the recording, Cheongryeo, who he hadn't thought about because he was excited at the time.
Of course, now he was rationalizing that it was all within his calculations.
There was no way that person would show any movements.
'Is that all?'
Chae Seodam was sure that since there was no damage to himself, Park Moondae would have some difficulties. Haha, he wasn't even a competitor.
As soon as he saw him, he saw how he was a successful idol as soon as he debuted, so he fully expected how childish his personality would be.
'Rather, he might contact me to make a deal.'
He himself had been polite enough in a low-key manner in that situation, so there was nothing to be offended about.
Perhaps Park Moondae's weakness was waiting for it to explode.
"Yes~"
Chae Seodam cleared away the nervousness of the past few days, thinking about the logic that naturally followed like rolling a snowball.
'It's bold and well-made.'
The arrogance that had constantly crippled him in life grew again.
And this optimism was shattered a few days later when he met someone in the company hallway.
His colleague, Seon Ahyeon, who had now become his sunbaenim.
"Hello, sunbaenim!"
"Hello… !"
Unlike when they were in school, Seon Ahyeon, who was walking from the other side, was looking at him with his head stiffly raised. To think that a guy like that should be treated as his sunbaenim because of his seniority.
Chae Seodam was in a bad mood for a moment.
'If
It always made him feel the bitter taste of absurdity when such a person made a claim as if he was more successful than himself.
'But what is he going to do?'
Wasn't there nothing he could do other than campaigning as a sunbaenim? If he cared about the social position he barely made.
And the extent of Seon Ahyeon's campaign for Chae Seodam… To be honest, it wasn't even ticklish.
"I have something to say to Seodam-ssi for a minute, will it be okay?"
"Ah, yes! I mean Seodam hyung!"
Although it was a bit embarrassing to see him not stuttering so far, he internally snorted at Seon Ahyeon's behavior of calling out to him.
The tape recorder was still running.
'There will be one more weakness.'
However, as soon as Chae Seodam entered the conference room in the corner, he was hit by a fastball from Seon Ahyeon.
"I've been thinking a lot… Should I tell the truth that you bullied me?"
"… … !"
What did he just say?
At that moment, Chae Seodam looked back to see if this was real.
However, Seon Ahyeon's words did not end.
"Seodam, I have a recording."
"… … !"
"Because I was so scared… I wondered if it was weird, so I recorded it to listen to it again and understand it… for a while."
"… …"
"And, it's still there."
Chae Seodam felt a cold sensation run down his spine.
It was a survival instinct felt in the face of a crisis.
'N-no.'
Chae Seodam barely denied the reality. And he tried to rationalize it, mistaking it for being rational.
Similar to what had been going on so far, but a little stronger.
'I won't be able to release anything if he explodes that.'
Wouldn't it hurt him if he released it? He was an idol who was doing well right now.
It was hard to talk about school violence because he messed up his practical skills because he was in a bad mood when he was in school. At least he thought so.
'And what did he record?'
In his opinion, no matter how he judged, he had never been verbally abusive or beaten someone to the point of being caught.
That was just to scare him.
'But…'
But, just in case… Yes, just in case.
After finishing the rationalization, Chae Seodam opened his mouth with a regretful tone.
"Ahyeon-ah… Do you hate me that much?"
"… …"
"There was some friction when we were in school, but… It wasn't like this, maybe you're saying that since I've been pushed to the top… Is that what you mean? It's so embarrassing."
It would be a mistake If he said it while expecting an embarrassing image with excuses.
"Because I have a bad image, I wonder if it's because you think it's fun, so I feel embarrassed…"
He was conscious of his tape recorder and was passionate about making evidence…
"Seodam-ah."
However, Seon Ahyeon did not move.
"It doesn't work like that anymore."
"… !!"
"I really, really want to make it public. Beforehand… I thought it would be my last act of common decency, so I came to inform you."
"… …"
"Then, I'll be leaving now."
Seon Ahyeon slightly bowed his head and left the conference room first with a firm expression.
And Chae Seodam's head went blank.
• * *
'There's no way he'll explode it.'
Chae Seodam laid on the bed in the dorm and repeated this thought.
It must have been something that he said to try to intimidate him just because it sounded funny in his position.
'I've seen that stupid bastard fucking somewhere.'
… But on the other hand, he kept imagining what kind of impact it would have if Seon Ahyeon released the recording.
Eventually, as time went by, he started to think like this.
'… Should I apologize now?'
No, an apology was admitting it! He could never apologize… In the first place, hasn't he done nothing wrong enough to apologize?
He was fed up with being treated as if he had become a huge victim for encouraging the weaker mentality to collapse alone.
"Fuck…"
It was uncertain as to what would happen. However, the moment someone took action, everything would become unsure.
'Are they ignoring me?'
But it was embarrassing. His thoughts endlessly returned to the origin…
When those anxious, insanely long days had passed…
Finally, a change had occurred.
"Seodam, um… The head of management at the company wants to see you."
"… … Yes."
Fuck! Fuck!
Chae Seodam felt it. Judging from the manager's expression, it didn't seem like a good thing, then.
This was what Seon Ahyeon did.
"… !"
Yes!
At that moment, an amazing idea passed through Chae Seodam's head.
If he first caught the evidence that Park Moondae was harassing him, even if Seon Ahyeon exposed it, couldn't he make a deal with the company?
As he went to the management room at the end of the hallway with the manager's guidance, he kept calculating in his head.
'If I text them and provoke them…'
Click.
However, after checking whether or not the tape recorder was in his possession, the door to the management room was opened.
"You're here."
Sitting there… It was a person who was completely unexpected.
Park Moondae.
"… !"
What kind of situation was this?
Park Moondae, who was sitting in the seat where the head of the department should be, thoughtlessly glanced at Chae Seodam and pointed to the chair with his chin.
"Sit."
"… …"
"Ah, I am the acting manager."
Tuk.
Park Moondae muttered nonsense calmly and glanced at the door being closed by the manager.
And he smiled.
"Let's talk."
… Only then, Chae Seodam looked down on Park Moondae and recalled the doubts he had forgotten.
Why did he try to spy on Park Moondae?
For revenge.
- Lucky bastard.
After Park Moondae's remarks, he wondered if all the incidents and revelations that had happened to him were probably Park Moondae's actions…
• * *
I lifted my head and checked the guy who opened the door and entered.
Chae Seodam had a face as if he had seen some kind of ghost.
'That's good.'
The more confused the mind, the easier it was to take over. Since he was an already easy guy, this would make him much easier to use.
I spoke to the guy who was still standing.
"Are you not going to sit down?"
"… …"
"It doesn't matter… Then, we'll just talk."
I spoke monotonously.
"There was a report about school violence."
"Is it all your doing?"
"What?"
"… … ."
But instead of answering, this bastard changed his expression as if he realized something.
And then he pulled out a chair and sat there.
'Oh.'
The guy spoke, rolling his eyes.
"I think you're mistaken… I don't care if something explodes and I quit this, sunbaenim. I've already been cursed at enough… It's not like there's only one road, right?"
"… …"
"Okay. I'm just going to quit being an idol, so I'm going to talk about everything and leave. Yeah? The senior group formed it together, and even the company pressured people to create rumors."
Well, that was a typical reaction.
He was probably thinking, 'I'm cornered, so let's all die together. I will kill myself'.
'In case of emergency, I can go back to my major industry. This is what he's thinking.'
It may have seemed like this bastard had a brain, but from TeStar's point of view, it would seem like we were right in losing either side of the case, whether it was Seon Ahyeon or not.
'That's why I was always careful to avoid that.'
So, he must have thought that the threats would go away and he would enter the negotiating phase.
"I see."
I was sorry, but it was useless.
No negotiations with him.
"But if you quit being an idol, are you thinking of going abroad?"
"What are you saying… …"
"I think it will be difficult to live in Korea right away."
I touched my chin and spoke without even looking at Chae Seodam.
"I'm going to somehow expose the facts and make gossip to the point that you can't have a social life in Korea anymore."
"… … !"
"I don't care either. Whether everything explodes or not. That doesn't mean TeStar is ruined."
I shrugged.
"From the moment you spoke about bullshit like the recording, the conversation between the officials had ended, you idiot."
How to put such a bastard into a state of panic where there is no corner to lean on?
By using true bluffing.