Chapter 32

If I can't debut, I'll get a disease that will kill me - Chapter 032

‘First, I’ll quickly take care of what needs to be done.’

First, I caught Seon-ahyeon, who was stammering in response to people’s questions and requests around the billboard.

“Give me your phone.”

“Huh, huh?”

“I need to take a certification photo.”

“…!”

Seon-ahyeon finally came to her senses and slowly moved towards her own billboard. I turned on the camera of the smartphone I had received.

People immediately reacted.

“Oh, a photo!”

“Please make some room~”

“Take a photo of the kids!”

Surprisingly, the people who had been enthusiastically crowding around started to back off and give some space.

…Maybe I’ve seen too many people who are so eager to get photos that I was a bit too worried.

“Shoulders back.”

“U, uh, okay!”

“Ahyeon, you look so good!”

The last comment wasn’t from me but from someone who looked like a fan of Seon-ahyeon.

Seon-ahyeon’s face turned red as if she were broken.

“No, no, no….”

After mumbling a few times, Seon-ahyeon slowly straightened her body.

Anyway, I mechanically adjusted the composition and took the photo. As soon as I lowered the smartphone, Daesejin shouted from the side.

“Moon! Me too, me too!”

I turned around with Seon-ahyeon’s smartphone still in my hand and took a certification photo for Daesejin as well.

Daesejin changed poses several times, which was a bit annoying.

But people were enthusiastically filming the scene with their smartphones.

“So cute….”

“Do other poses too~”

‘…Do I really need to take the certification photos myself?’

I could have just gone in and downloaded any of the photos that would appear on the internet today.

“Moon, you too!”

“Ah.”

Since it would look strange if only I didn’t have a photo, I also moved to my own billboard.

When the people finally backed off and the billboard was fully revealed, I could feel the overwhelming size of it up close.

The photo used on Park Moondae’s billboard was taken at the press conference.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a photo of a ball or a finger heart, but the huge face was a bit embarrassing.

‘…Don’t make eye contact.’

I turned my head, and the text in the background caught my eye.

[Park Moondae]

[A rising star like a comet!]

At the bottom, in small letters, it said, “Please buy a lot♡”

“……”

The impact of the text… can’t be denied.

‘He must have worked hard.’

I silently took the certification photo. This much effort had to be shown.

As soon as I took the photo and moved away from the billboard, people’s comments started pouring in again.

“Did you come to see the billboard?”

“Oh, what do I do….”

“Did the shoot go well?”

“I’m voting!”

The crowd was swelling to the point of obstructing traffic. It was definitely worse than when I got off the bus alone. A disadvantage of coming in a group of three.

If we’re not careful, we might be seen as a nuisance.

I wanted to do something for them, but it seemed difficult.

‘We need to use the advantage of coming in a group of three.’

I signaled to the other two. Fortunately, they seemed to understand the signal.

We bowed our heads.

“Thank you!”

“We’ll work hard!”

And immediately ran towards the nearest exit.

The three tall men running together naturally cleared a path.

“We’re going in~ Thank you!”

Daesejin turned back, waved, and shouted. Following his lead, several voices responded.

“Hey, guys!”

“Go in safely!”

“Fight!!”

Fortunately, no one felt we were rude, and the voices were bright.

It was the first time I ran while hearing so many cheers.

The feeling was… quite peculiar.

We immediately hailed a taxi at the protruding entrance.

“Ah! It was really good!”

As soon as the taxi started, Daesejin said with a grin.

Seon-ahyeon was nodding vigorously, looking quite excited.

‘Was it that good?’

Of course, I felt grateful and a bit indebted. However, I didn’t feel particularly elated just because many people recognized us.

Is it a matter of temperament? Or maybe…

‘…It could be a matter of age.’

They are all 21 years old.

While I was thinking this, Daesejin suddenly exclaimed ‘Ah!’ and took out his smartphone.

Soon, my phone vibrated.

[(Photo) (Photo)]

It was a photo of me taken in front of Park Moondae’s billboard.

The exposure was off, and the colors were washed out, making my face look blurred and distorted on the white billboard.

“……”

This kid can’t take photos at all.

“Hey, the blur actually gives it a sense of being on the scene, doesn’t it?”

The photo is so overblown with a sense of the scene that nothing else can be recognized.

I silently looked at him, and Daesejin laughed and started talking to Seon-ahyeon.

“Ha ha… Right, Ahyeon! The certification photo I took is on your phone, right?”

“Uh-huh! Here, just a moment.”

Seon-ahyeon quickly turned on her smartphone and posted the photos in a group chat.

The photos I took of Daesejin and Seon-ahyeon.

‘Why are you posting your own photo?’

It seems she was flustered and posted them all at once.

“Ooh~ The photos Moon took….”

Daesejin, pretending to be cheerful, looked at the screen and then paused.

Then, with a slightly flustered face, he started to genuinely exclaim.

“Oh, oh… You really take good photos.”

I had been making a living from it for a few years, so it was natural.

I glanced at the screen.

The photos were perfectly horizontal, with natural human proportions and well-captured expressions and poses. There were about four or five photos of each person.

It seemed my skills hadn’t rusted.

Feeling a bit proud, Daesejin added in an embarrassed tone.

“…Well, next time I’ll take a better photo for you. Sorry.”

It seemed he was sincere.

Daesejin, who usually doesn’t have a business sense, was showing a different side today. I just shrugged.

“Well… a photo with a sense of the scene is also good.”

“…!”

Daesejin looked surprised for a moment, then quickly smiled and changed the topic.

“Right? Oh, by the way, isn’t the restaurant Ahyeon recommended now out of the question? It’s a shame.”

“It’s, it’s okay. We, we can go together next time….”

“…Hmm.”

Right. We had talked about that.

It was impractical to go to the restaurants Seon-ahyeon had found.

Since they were all trending on SNS, going there with this group would result in our meal being live-streamed on someone else’s SNS.

Moreover, Seon-ahyeon, who didn’t seem to have a talent for searching, had found places that smelled of viral marketing, so the value for money wasn’t great.

I thought for a moment and checked the navigation as we passed Yonsei Station.

“Driver, can you take us to Yeonhe-dong?”

“Sure, no problem~”

“Yes, then….”

I turned to look at the two in the back seat.

“I know a quiet place. Want to go there?”

“Sure! Of course, I’m in!”

“Y, yes, let’s go!”

Alright. I asked the driver for permission and marked the restaurant on the navigation.

After the meal, I realized I had voluntarily done something I didn’t need to do.

Oh my. We’re getting closer!

* * *

“Hmmm”

The woman, looking at her smartphone, groaned in pain and repeatedly pondered.

On the screen, the options that were plunging her into a sea of烦恼 appeared.

[Idol Corporation Stock Package Mega Sale! ~80% off]

Below the large banner, various stocks bundled with services offered by Tnet, the group company of the channel broadcasting "Ajuja," were displayed.

For example, if you buy the Tnet music site package, you get a 50% discounted 3-month streaming subscription and the right to buy 20 shares of "Ajuja."

In short, you can give 20 more votes to Moon.

These broadcasting station guys sell stocks in this kind of package form, except for the monthly subscription that allows you to give one more vote per day!

The scary part is that this package has a high discount rate, so existing service users buy it to get the discount and end up getting hooked on "Ajuja."

‘The sales tactics are really vicious…’

The woman sighed and scrolled through the page, then saw a message that had just popped up.

[Seon-ahyeon: Crazy, crazy ㅠㅠ Moon was spotted! (Link)]

‘Huh.’

She quickly clicked on the link, which connected to an SNS post.

=========================

[Oh, I just went out to eat with my family and saw the participants of Ajuja. They seem to be the ones who sang that sweet song? (Photo)]

=========================

The attached photo showed Park Moondae, Seon-ahyeon, and Daesejin receiving a bowl of samgyetang at a booth.

Below the photo, long comments continued.

- Look at their eyes when they see the samgyetang, they’re about to pop out ㅋㅋㅋ

- As expected, K-samgyetang is better than soulless chicken. They know what’s good.

└ Please stop discriminating against chicken ㅠ

- I’m in favor of these three continuing to be close.

- Oh, did they go to this place after seeing the billboard? ㅠㅠ They’re so cute, I love them ㅠㅠ

‘Billboard?’

The woman, on a whim, searched for "Park Moondae billboard."

Immediately, a post that had been shared in the thousands a few hours ago appeared at the top.

=========================

I took a certification photo at the Moondae billboard ㅠㅠ There were so many people, but they were cute and kind, and my heart was shattered. Even with a mask, his good looks shone through. The real thing is amazing ㅠㅠ (Short video)

=========================

When she played the attached video, a scene appeared of Park Moondae, wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, and a black baseball cap, taking a photo in front of his billboard.

[You look good!]

[Buy a lot of stocks, Moon!]

[Uh, thank you….]

Park Moondae answered the people’s comments with a slight blush.

Then, the video ended with the three participants running off happily.

- So cute

- Moon is more sociable than I thought?

- ㅠㅠ Indeed, Moon is not just a fan theory but an official fact ㅠㅠ What, a Tibetan fox? Heresy!

- The PD who edited this with a new eye, please die. Our kid was just calm.

- Even with a cap, the blonde is still a beauty.

‘So cute…! Too cute!!’

As she rolled her feet, she suddenly realized that the photo of Park Moondae’s billboard looked familiar. It was a photo her friend had shown her, claiming she had taken it!

She quickly wrote a message.

[Minso: Wow, is this the one you posted? Moon said he saw it! (Link)]

[Seon-ahyeon: I was already in shock when I saw it and just came to my senses… It wasn’t me who posted it, but it was done by the fan union, but still, I’m so excited… overwhelmed…]

When she asked why she didn’t tell her first, the reply was, “My heart was pounding so much I couldn’t type.”

The woman chuckled and sent a congratulatory emoji. Then she thought,

‘I want to do something for him too.’

She wanted Park Moondae to do well and see more great performances.

In the end, she returned to the purchase page and bought the music package.

After happily buying Moon’s stocks, she checked the samgyetang sighting post, where a fight had already broken out.

- Please take down the photo. Stalking is a crime.

└ But I saw it by chance. What stalking? It’s just a sighting.

└ Is filming someone eating a crime? Speak sensibly.

└ Fine, I blocked you.

After this exchange, the heated reactions of the people gradually died down.

Because it was hard to get news about Park Moondae, they had reflexively gotten excited about the rare sighting, but then realized it could be an invasion of privacy.

The woman also felt embarrassed and closed the window. She had forgotten that Moon hadn’t even debuted yet.

‘But… he did so well…!’

As she recalled her recent audience experience, which made her mind go blank, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

“Huh! The Ajuja broadcast!”

Right. She had been waiting for the broadcast of Idol Corporation while checking the stock purchase page during a break.

She hurriedly switched the channel and, fortunately, saw the logo of the broadcast just starting.

“Phew….”

She relaxed for a moment, but then the MC’s meaningful face appeared on the screen.

“…?”

[Do you remember the promise of "Re-listing! Idol Corporation"?]

As if speaking at a discussion table, the MC seriously tapped the table.

[I promised to proceed with everything according to your wishes. That’s why many votes are still ongoing on our website, such as the final debut number and evaluation songs.]

By the way, people were starting to cry, saying, “We voted for too small a final debut number in the early stages.”

[And today, we will implement another promise. Have you seen any participants you don’t like while watching so far?]

‘What…?’

As soon as the broadcast started, the production team threw a huge bomb at the confused viewers.

[Then, sell the stock of that participant! The newly introduced "Stock Selling" feature allows shareholders to reduce the stock of participants they don’t want to see!]

“…?!?!”

[The "Stock Purchase Rights" you buy can now also be used as "Stock Selling Rights." In other words! Instead of buying a specific participant’s stock, you can sell it to make it negative!]

It was the arrival of hell.