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"Or was he cheating?"

It was a bit strange.

I know that Keun SeJin is a person who judges the situation quickly thanks to his ingenuity and always receives a favorable public opinion.

But did he cheat on cards because he already knew who he wanted to pick as his sub-unit partner?

In case he was at risk of being caught, it seems that he acted so that we believe that he just happened to be lucky given the situation he was in.

"I don't think he did it just because he wanted to avoid Bae Sejin."

Hmm, but it doesn’t feel good.

However, I was not in a good position to question that. I had no proof and bringing that up when we had cameras installed again would be a waste.

And even if it were true, there's no need for me to say anything, right? It wasn't a big deal that he cheated so he could get the sub-unit partner he wanted.

There is only a very high probability that the atmosphere will change.

"...I'll let it go for now."

I went to the bed in room number one, which had now become my old room. SeJin followed me slowly as if he was looking at what would be his new room.

—Oh, I'll use your bed. MoonDae-ya, you can use mine.

—...Whose side is it?

—What, have you already forgotten? It's the one on the left.

—Good. Then I will avoid that place.

—Huk, you don't want to use it because you're frustrated with me? Don't worry, MoonDae-ya. Don't reject me, feel comfortable using it.

—...

He's acting like he normally is.

I shook my head, packed my things and left the room.

“If there is any problem, I will talk to him.”

But the moment came faster than expected. It was a few days later, when we went to another award ceremony.

* * *

With the exception of Han Dae Eum, it was pretty much the last big award ceremony. However, some great singers did not attend. I think it was because the date overlapped with their concert tours.

In other words, it means that VTIC did not come.

"...I don't have to worry about the hammer from him."

But as soon as I thought about it, I got a text.

—...

I feel like I've given my mental stability a hammer blow.

I responded by typing a short message on my phone until SeJin came up to me and pretended to know what he was up to.

—Are you still in contact with CheongRyu sunbae-nim?

—...Yes.

—Hmm~ Fine, fine.

It seems that he wanted to tell me something else, but we just arrived at the waiting room that corresponded to us in the award ceremony that we attended.

There was a piece of paper taped to the door of the waiting room.

This time we did not get a separate waiting room.

“In fact, thanks to our successful performances, we are lucky to have a waiting room despite being a rookie group.”

I heard that there are many cases where, when there are no more waiting rooms available, a free space is chosen and groups are left waiting, separated only by screens.

"Well, in this case, I think both groups are doing well."

Hmm, this time… we'll wait next to another group from a famous agency.

“I think they are some seniors who debuted three or four years ago.”

It was a predictable lineup.

Before entering, Ryu CheongWoo made a small request.

—Do not forget that as soon as we enter, we must greet them.

—Yes!

But unlike the normal reactions of my peers, next to me, SeJin was shocked.

—...! …hmm…

…Just a moment.

“Come to think of it, considering their debut date and agency name…”

But before I could finish thinking, the manager opened the door.

—Hello, sunbae-nims!

—Oh, hello~

I wondered if we would exchange more greetings, but the Zyrop members came over with exaggerated smiles.

—Ah~ SeJin!

—How have you been?

I knew it.

I'm sure it’s "that" group that almost broke SeJin's dream, before he entered Icorpo.

It's the project group from his first agency that he was in, but was cheated on and eliminated before his debut.

—Wow~ Hello, sunbae-nims. Nice to see you again~!

—Hey, don't call us “sunbae-nims”. Just call us “hyungs”.

—No, how could I do that~?

SeJin smiled, shook hands with some of them, and even clapped her hands. He seemed very friendly.

Our companions… I'm sure they think SeJin is acting like he normally does, since he's very social.

But from that moment on, the atmosphere changed slightly.

—Right SeJin. Why don't you read my messages? You make your hyung feel very sad.

—Ahh, you know. I've been really busy since we debuted~!

—Yeah, I guess even now you're busy. Although you debuted much later than we thought! you were lucky~

"What?"

These guys talk sarcastically about SeJin's debut, making fun of how she couldn't debut with them years ago.

SeJin responded with a big smile.

—Yeah, that's good~ Right, even though sunbae-nims send me messages frequently, I'm sorry to reply too late. I am very busy with my work, so I can't reply on time.

That means they have too much free time to text because they don't have anything scheduled in their schedules.

—...No, well, we don't do it often, do we? We're just curious as to what you're doing.

—Eh? Isn't it easy to know what I'm doing when I appear in various places? Please sunbae-nims, tell me what you guys are doing lately~ I want to know too.

—...

Wow, they can't say anything because we haven't heard any news of them having any activities since we debuted.

In a way, it was a great victory for SeJin.

And at this point, except for Kim RaeBin, most of our classmates had confused looks because they didn't understand the situation.

The expressions of Zyrop members were about to turn sullen.

—...Yes. Even if you don't want to know, this year you will find out about all our news~

—Is that so? Waah, I look forward to the date when I find out! Oh yeah. Please expect a lot from our TeSTAR~

—...

They were simply crushed by the weight that our group currently has.

In the end, the Zyrop members smiled brightly and said their goodbyes.

—Yes. Let's work hard together.

—Sure!

Thus the conversation seemed to end.

However, as if unable to bear it, a member of Zyrop, who was standing behind everyone, intervened.

—But I've only heard good things about TeSTAR, I haven't heard anything from you.

—...!

What was surprising was that SeJin seemed to have been struck by that trivial comment. He continued to smile, but instead of objecting, he kept quiet.

"Eh?"

At that moment, RaeBin couldn't take it anymore and raised his hand to speak. By the way, what he couldn't bear wasn't anger, but a simple logical error.

He didn't know the situation, so he couldn't even get angry.

—...? SeJin hyung is a member of TeSTAR. Isn't TeSTAR news about the activities he is doing?

—That's right!

Cha YooJin immediately agreed, but that Zyrop member didn't give up.

—It's not that, it's just that I hear group activities, but not personal from SeJin~

—...? Oh, we have never done individual activities other than group activities. You can think of TeSTAR news as SeJin news.

—...

It may not have been RaeBin's intention, but thanks to that, Zyrop's “worried” words were shown to be forced.

That ends the topic.

"I'll say something to finish once and for all."

I smiled and intervened.

—Yes. From now on, you can think of Lee SeJin every time you hear TeSTAR news, right?

—Exact!

Contrary to RaeBin's proud face, the members of Zyrop were completely sullen.

—...Oh, I see.

No matter how sunbae they are, these bastards came to the award ceremony and it occurred to them to bully a heavier rookie group, so they had to end the conversation as it was.

However, SeJin was not in a good condition again.

"It's very strange."

Keun SeJin, who has been looking at his phone for an hour without speaking, has created a dirty sense of incongruity.

…And when I related the situation to the incident of the letter to choose a room and sub-unit a few days ago, I had a suspicion.

"...It's awkward to leave it like this."

He often takes the mic to speak, but if he continues like this, he may have a problem when giving his speech to thank us for the award we receive, so it's better to solve it right now.

—..I'll go to the car for a while.

—Eh?

—I think I forgot to bring something.

I got up and took the key from the manager.

—Don't you want me to find it and bring it to you?

—No. I'll be right back.

I then walked over to SeJin, who was sitting on the side of the door.

—Ya, let's go.

—...Eh? Why?

—I think I need one more person because I have something big to move. I also want to take some photos.

—...

Sejin Keun looked me up and down without saying a word, then stood up and smiled.

—...Okay.

It was clear that he meant it with a certain sarcasm, but we'd better get moving first. Without another word, I walked down the hall to the car.

—...

After confirming that no one was around, I got in the car and spoke to him.

—Are you dealing with problems lately?

—...Huh?

He looked at the roof of the car and sighed. I think he has noticed the purpose for which I called him.

—No.

—...Really? Then cool your head and then come back. I saw you very uncomfortable in the waiting room.

—...!

I shrugged, searched the car, and found a neck pillow. I can say that I came here to look for it.

—I'll make some excuse for you, just come back before we introduce ourselves. See you later.

—...

When I grabbed the door handle, SeJin heaved a long sigh.

—...I'm sorry. This is a bit difficult for me.

—I know it's a problem.

—That problem… How do I explain it to you?

Maybe it really was so difficult that he didn't know how to tell me, so he was silent for a long time.

“Should I mention it?”

After thinking about it for a while, I spoke.

—Actually, I saw that you knew who to pick as your sub-unit partner… You avoided picking card number three.

—...!

—...Was it because, if you were in a group of three people, you would get fewer parts compared to a group of two?

After seeing the words “I've heard good things about your group, but I haven't heard anything about you” hit him, I thought he'd be very sensitive to part reduction.

But he shook his head.

—...No.

He started fiddling with his phone and continued talking.

—I didn't choose that card because Sejin hyung and you were already there. It would be difficult to show a good dance with that many people.

—...!

—If I had chosen them, the result would be obvious. You'll probably write a song centered around the vocal performance and you being the center… You might have a break dance in the middle of the song or something, but since the choreography would have to fit the song, I think it'll have a medium level of difficulty at most.

—...You could have tried dancing as our center.

—Haha. Oh MoonDae-ya. If I did that, we would be embarking on a great adventure to spend our fans' money in such a way.

—...

—And if we do a more dance-focused song so I could show off, the fans wouldn't have liked it.

—Why do you think that?

—...This is driving me crazy.

SeJin sighed and hesitated a few times, but he handed me his phone.

He showed me the result of the search on social networks… of the name that he was assigned to avoid searches.

To be honest, it's embarrassing that I'm part of the dance line, right? Ahom is the best. Yujin is the center hahaha it's disgusting to see Big Bird persist in the dance line

If Ahyom fixes his stutter, there won't be any need for Big Bird anymore, right? Thinking about it makes me so happy

He claims to be the best dancer nationally, but that doesn't make any sense. I hope Big Bird stops strutting to Ahyom lol

Big Bird… What is your position in the group…? Is your position that of an "Insa", when in reality you only pretend to be? Haha

NT: “Insa” is short for “Insider”, someone very sociable and popular, who really likes hanging out in a group or with friends because he gets along with everyone and is the life of the party.

—...

—Don't tell me that just because I search for that term, I will find bad words. If there are so many comments like this, it means that to some extent it is the public opinion of the fans.

Somehow, SeJin looked calm.

I continued scrolling between posts and checked the overall flow again.

“...Seon AhHyun impressed them.”

AhHyun's status was raised quite a bit due to his ability to overcome accidents and even having the ability to perform a back somersault, as well as apparently overcoming his stutter.

And the other member of the dance line, Cha YooJin, was very popular thanks to his great talent, so it was clear that his position was the center.

In conclusion, only SeJin was adrift.

The fans, who were initially indifferent towards him, seemed to feel angry at that point.

—Of course, those comments were mostly written by people who hate me... Anyway, it's true that I'm behind in giving a good impression of my position.

—...

—AhHyun is better than me? Of course he is better. That's also very good for the group, but I can't bear to continue in this state.

I slowly opened my mouth.

—...Is that why you chose YooJin?

—Yes.

I gave him the phone back.

—This time, I must do better than YooJin in our sub-unit performance.

—...

—We will compete. It's the only way I'm going to be able to escape all of that, isn't it?

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don't worry, when Moondae had a hard time in the future, Keun Sejin will be there for him and cry in his stead. aww 😭