CIATB Chapter 82 : Reunion (2)
Chapter 82 : Reunion (2)
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!”plus #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.