Chapter 194: Looks Like There Are a Lot of Backstabbers

I pushed the Kim Woochan matter onto Lee Dokyung, and amidst the chaotic schedule, the first week of music broadcasts flew by.

And now, this week was the second week of music shows.

Stardust’s name had made it onto the list of 1st place nominees.

“We’re just moments away from announcing the glorious winner of the second week of April’s K-Chart.”

MC Eunji, who had co-hosted during our last promotion as Special MCs, opened with a cheerful voice.

I hadn’t felt it when I was the one announcing from that spot, but standing in the back definitely brought on a lot of pressure.

I gulped and turned to my left.

The other 1st place nominee was Tiple’s Choi Yeonwoo.

A reliable senior from the same company, but not exactly the face I wanted to see at this timing.

Choi Yeonwoo’s solo album had performed far beyond Doubles Entertainment’s expectations, and even though he had made his comeback a week earlier, it seemed like we were going to be pushed back.

[This week’s Music Bank 1st place is a family fight, huh]

If you go by the week, it feels like Stardust will win

But Choi Yeonwoo hit record-breaking first-week sales for Doubles in both digital and physicals, so it’s hard to say

He just ranked #1 for solo male idols this time

—Does Doubles have any sense or not, why are they pitting family against each other;;;

└Doubles never had sense, tbh

└They knew Choi Yeonwoo’s album would do well but didn’t expect this well, huh

└Stardust’s first-week sales were insane for a rookie boy group too, such a shame

└Forget rookies, it’s high up in all-time first-week sales overall

└Seriously, what a pity

In terms of physical album metrics, our numbers were definitely strong, but the competition wasn’t easy.

Even just skimming through the community, more people thought we’d lose.

The only glimmer of hope was that our album’s first-week sales had shot past a million this week.

With international sales now being counted, the numbers had jumped up dramatically.

Even with the imagination circuit in full swing, the nerves wouldn’t go away.

I took a deep breath, looked straight ahead, and smiled.

I could see quite a lot of familiar lightsticks.

Fans who had been with us since pre-recording were waving and letting out loud cheers.

I wanted to gift them the trophy in return.

I swallowed hard, trying my best not to show how nervous I was.

And then.

“We will now announce the result. The winner of this glorious 1st place is…!”

MC Eunji stared into the camera and opened her mouth.

And then—

“It’s Stardust, congratulations!”

“WaaAAAAH!”

Fireworks exploded right next to me.

“AAAH! Seohan-AH!”

Seo Haim jumped in place and hugged me tight.

Ha Junseo, with wide eyes, accepted the trophy in a daze.

“1st place… really, 1st place?”

Even Siwoo-hyung looked dazed.

After hearing that our competitor was Tiple’s Choi Yeonwoo, we had half let go of our hopes, so this felt like an unexpected gift.

It felt like we had barely grasped the 1st place trophy by a thread.

But for now, we should just enjoy the moment.

As the instrumental played, the encore stage began.

Even if all those unreachable moments

Fade into the past

Beyond the boundary

Beyond the boundary

“Beyond the boundary.”

It hit me belatedly.

This time, I didn’t cry.

[Did our babies grow up already?]

They say other people’s kids grow up fast

Didn’t think ours would too

Do Seohan not crying even after winning 1st place is rare

The way he clearly thanked the fans—so touching ㅠㅠ

Of course, Heung-Junseo was Heung-ing again today

—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋMam-Seohan didn’t cry but Heung-Junseo was, as usual… looking like a water-soaked dumpling, too cute ㅠㅠ

└Heung-Junseo ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ it wasn’t quite a Heung today, more of a Hoeng

└What even is that ㅋㅋㅋ still crying either way

—Universe Dust winning 1st is seriously emotional….

└So proud, when did our babies grow up like this

└My concert seats are disappearing ㅠㅠ

—If Choi Yeonwoo had come back just a week later, they wouldn’t have won 1st

└Ignore this

└This person isn’t even a Tiple or Stardust fan;;

└They won just because the house was empty~

└What are you on about, it was a packed house, actually

Dusty’s Kim Hyuna hummed as she scrolled through the comments.

My babies, who earned a 1st place trophy on a public broadcast music show…

Of course, the moment we won, critical comments flooded in as usual, but since this album had already marked a major high in our career, it didn’t sting at all.

—Right~ Your faves couldn’t even hit 100K in first-week sales, huh?

└And y’all only got those numbers thanks to survival shows lol

└Still talking about that survival? lol you gonna be mad till our idols hit their 10th year?

└We’re already at our 2nd full album lol let the survival stuff go already lol

Thanks to that, Dusties were calmly raising their glasses, deflecting all the shade back where it came from.

“What are you looking at?”

Dusty’s Kim Hyuna sighed and turned her head sharply.

She had wondered who was hovering around—and of course, it was her younger brother again.

“Hey, can you not?”

Kim Hyuna, who had been happily watching the encore stage, now bristled.

She had heard the boys had done something during the encore, so she wanted to enjoy it in peace, but that was already ruined.

He was probably about to run his mouth and nitpick something that made no sense.

Even if all those unreachable moments

Fade into the past

Beyond the boundary

Beyond the boundary

And then.

“He’s not bad at singing, that one.”

“You know a thing or two, huh?”

At her younger brother’s rare praise, Kim Hyuna’s eyes sparkled.

What her brother was pointing at with his fingertip was Stardust’s main vocal, Seo Ian.

This performance of Beyond‑bar also had many high notes from beginning to end, and Seo Ian was covering a significant portion of them impressively.

She didn’t expect him to acknowledge it like this.

“Our boys have always been good singers. Ah, he’s the main vocal. His high notes are insane, right?”

“……”

“Wow, Seo Ian is seriously ridiculously handsome…”

“I don’t know about that.”

“That’s a face crafted by the gods. Yours looks like it was crafted by mistake.”

“You bastard….”

“The encore’s running? No wonder the stage reactions are so good. Ugh, this is driving me nuts….”

Kim Hyuna, still excited, was chattering away when a YouTube notification popped up with a ding, turning her head.

[Trust or Betrayal: ‘Which Will You Choose?’┃Treasure Hunt of the Dusties #1]

“Huh?”

Kim Hyuna’s eyes widened.

No way… self-content?

Doubles dropped this right now?

“Hey, get out.”

“Why?”

“Get lost so I can watch our boys’ self-content in peace.”

Slam—

Her younger brother was kicked out of the room without even knowing why.

Doubles’ third-floor hallway.

Usually, this was an area with practice rooms and studios nearby, but just for today, it had been cleared for filming.

“We’re doing it here?”

Kang Siwoo spoke in a rather startled tone, clearly not expecting this to be the filming location for their self-content.

“Yes, we’ll proceed here!”

Today’s self-content seemed pretty large in scale, but I didn’t expect it to be filmed at the company.

Standing in line, the members focused on the self-content team PD’s words.

“The theme for today’s self-content is Trust or Betrayal.”

The mission will take place across floors 3 to 5 of the Doubles building.

Seohan nodded as he listened to the continued explanation.

[From this moment on, you must find tickets hidden within the Doubles building.]

[Mission boxes are hidden throughout the offices.]

[Upon completing a mission, you will receive one ticket.]

The ticket was a key object from this album.

You needed to collect tickets to ride the elevator at the end of the hallway and escape the Doubles building.

However, one choice would be given during this process.

[Members can choose either Trust or Betrayal.]

[If you choose Trust, you must collectively gather five tickets to succeed in escaping.]

[If you choose Betrayal, you can escape alone by obtaining just two tickets.]

In summary, that was the setup.

“So the Trust team needs everyone to perform well. It’s all team play.”

“But if you pick Betrayal, you just need to find two tickets by yourself and escape—so it’s completely solo.”

Ha Junseo, having grasped the rules, gave a short summary.

Listening quietly, Seo Haim raised her hand.

“What happens if you escape?”

“If you succeed in escaping, you’ll enjoy a dinner at a nice restaurant.”

“Waaaaah!”

Ah, the company card of the self-content team comes into play here.

Seo Haim screamed in excitement.

Well, this changed things.

“I love this so much….”

There were quite a few people who were very serious about food.

Everyone’s eyes were starting to gleam with a slightly crazed glint, very different from before.

At that moment, Seo Ian carefully raised his hand to ask.

“What happens if we fail?”

“Of course, you’ll still get a meal….”

The members’ eyes sparkled at the generous tone of the self-content team.

However, what followed was anything but generous.

“You’ll relocate and eat a salad for dinner.”

“Excuse me?”

Leaves? That stuff?

“You’ll get chicken breast too.”

“Can’t resist protein.”

Cha Seongbin added brightly, but the mood among the members had already turned cold.

“Chicken breast and salad…”

“I think I’ve already had more than enough of that.”

“I want steak today!”

A mission with dinner on the line?

Seohan glanced at the members’ faces and let out a soft laugh.

These people were serious.

They were ready to do whatever it took to win the mission.

While silently mulling over the rules, Jin Sehyun spoke up.

“Then obviously Trust is better.”

Even realistically, that made sense.

“If we all pick Trust, and each of us completes just one mission, we go straight to the restaurant.”

“Right.”

“In that case, there’s no reason to pick Betrayal.”

“We’re Stardust! Let’s show the power of our trust!”

With her fist clenched, Seo Haim spoke in a fiery voice.

Jin Sehyun’s logic was pretty sound, so at this rate, it seemed like the mission would proceed with a wholesome atmosphere…

That was, until the self-content team PD cut in.

“But if all members choose Trust, the escape fails.”

…Huh?

“Then we all…”

“Yes, you all go hold hands sweetly and eat salad together.”

Damn it.

Seohan clicked his tongue and pressed a hand to his forehead.

“So at least one person has to pick Betrayal.”

“Ah, come on, that’s not fair~.”

“But we’re still going to pick Trust, right? Everyone’s going to, right?!”

Meaningful glances were exchanged among the members.

In that subtle silence—

Cha Seongbin scratched his head and spoke.

To be honest…

“Man, it looks like there are way too many guys ready to betray.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep