Chapter 39: I Became Dungeon Bait

I witnessed “Stardust Project” members at Hong‑dae Entrance Station just now.

They seemed to be touring subway stations Nearby to get shots on the big screens for proof.

I never imagined I’d be on the same fan cycle like this.

When I saw a crowd gathered in front of a big screen, I approached—and there was Do Seohan inside.

I was awkwardly taking pictures and got caught by fans.

It was so close—he was so pale and handsome… he reminded me of a hamster.

They made an appearance in front of the big screen tour… up close, live!!!

Ha Junseo, Jin Sehyun, Seo Haim, Do Seohan, Cha Seongbin.

All five of them came to take verification photos on the screen, but fans swarmed and this area froze.

The funnier thing was, they didn’t seem to expect such a crowd—they just bobbed their heads in shock and looked so cute.

I don’t remember everything clearly, but I’ll leave a review as I recall.

Seongbin: “Hello! Wow! So many of you came! Oh my—thank you for welcoming us.” (He seemed startled and wobbled slightly.)

Haim was jumping excitedly and got stopped by Jin Sehyun.

Sehyun: “Seohan came to take pictures on the screen, and I think we got a great shot. We absolutely must upload this.”

Junseo: “Sehyun was shooting burst‐mode like it was scary.”

Listening to their conversation, Jin Sehyun really seemed like a photo maniac.

Junseo doesn’t seem that way, but even hesitantly he ran the show pretty well. He’s cute—our rapper Junseo.

And Seohan kept asking if I’d eaten.

Sehyun was obsessed with photos, but Do Seohan was clearly obsessed with food.

Seohan: “Did you eat? It’s already three o’clock… you didn’t eat?”

Seohan: “Oh dear… you must be hungry… Did you hear we were here and come? Wow, that fast?” (He looked shocked.)

He seemed a bit flustered by our execution power, but he kept listening to fans and posing for pictures.

Genius idol Mam‑Seohan.

I couldn’t help it—I died there because I saw them in person.

Fan chat posts:

“Are you kidding? Our children are at Hong‑dae right now?”

“Crazy—this time they went to Hapjeong Station too.”

“What did the kids write on their Post‑it? It said: ‘Thank you for coming, heart.’”

“That was Seo Haim lol.”

“All their Post‑its were posted side by side.”

“Cha Seongbin’s handwriting is chicken‐scratch—I can’t decode it.”

“Mam‑Seohan drew a hamster—that idol with ultimate self‑objective awareness, omg.”

“lol hamster.”

“According to reviews, they stayed there for quite a while and even answered simple questions before leaving.”

“That’s right—apparently Ha Junseo had the strangest appetite. He’d shoot six­shot bursts.”

“A twist—he looks like an elementary‐school palate, a white teddy bear, but…”

“It was adult Junseo…”

“He’s not just an adult but like non‑human—real adults would die if they ate like that.”

“She said Haim was the most aegyo (cutesy charm). Of course, it was everyday aegyo.”

“His appearance alone gives the aegyo award, our Choco‑Haim.”

“Doubles let this happen, surprisingly.”

“There was no manager, but some Doubles staff were nearby.”

“Then other trainees will do big screen tours soon—insane.”

“Anyway, it was paradise.”

“Oh, those who went there… so damn jealous. What was I doing? Didn’t get on the cycle, napping instead.”

“Is this real? Wow—crazy, why didn’t I go? It was right in front of my house.”

“A chance to see my bias up close… and I missed it.”

“T_T.”

It wasn’t an official event, but it turned out to be an unexpected opportunity to meet many fans face‑to‑face up close.

The worry that I might make a mistake melted away like snow when I met the fans.

That was what it felt like to directly receive energy from fans, I realized anew.

After recharging with that energy, I returned to the dorm with a slightly more relaxed heart.

It was the day of filming the second ranking selection ceremony.

Jin Sehyun, who’d been searching fan reports about yesterday’s big‑screen tour, found a few and showed them to me.

“Am I really such a photo maniac?” I asked.

“Well… you kind of are.”

“Should I tone it down…?”

That was basically how it went.

If you think about it, in this group it seems like him is the search king.

Fan post snippet:

“Jin Sehyun in real life is insane—cold handsome guy, I almost fainted at that yakchae (stir‑fry).”

“What is this?”

“Huh? A fan report.”

I checked the posts through my phone and asked.

It might be a typo, but if it’s spelled like that you wouldn’t find it through search, right?

“How did you find something that isn’t even a real name?”

“Oh, this is called sseobang—search prevention.”

“Sseobang?”

What was that?

Fan chat posts continued:

“But doesn’t Jin Sehyun search really well? Somehow I feel like Sehyun is in my Twitter followers.”

“No way.”

“Maybe he’s seeing this too?”

“Such a scary thought!”

“Search and see things like this. It’s fun.”

Jin Sehyun grinned and shook his phone.

“Oh.”

I didn’t know what it was, but I figured I should learn from it.

I quietly admired and averted my eyes.

As the murmuring from the trainees grew, Han Dawon walked out at the end of the studio.

Out of courtesy the clapping started, and broadcast reactions erupted all around, but no one looked truly happy.

Today was the day of the second ranking selection—and the fate of the trainees in this room would be decided.

Even if Vocal A team, Rap A team, and Performance B team might view it with relative ease after their victory in the position evaluations, there were more trainees who didn’t make it.

Teams that lost in the last live evaluation’s position rounds.

MC Han Dawon looked at the grim‑faced trainees and spoke in a low voice.

“We have returned to this studio.”

Some trainees in the front swallowed.

Vocal B team’s Lee Hajin also looked pale and terrified. She’d seemed so hateful before, but seeing her turned pale made me feel a bit sorry.

“Based on the results of the last position evaluation, the win–loss of seven teams has been decided. The teams confirmed to survive are Vocal A, Rap A, and Performance B team.”

Clap clap clap.

The faint applause echoed.

“Still—we survived.”

Lee Dokyung mumbled softly, tightly closing his eyes.

Including our team were Rap A’s Ha Junseo and Cha Seongbin, and Performance B’s Seo Haim, Jin Sehyun, Seo Ian—they all safely made the survival list.

However, with the final ranking including viewer votes…

The bottom two teams, regardless of individual rank, must leave Stardust World.

The list of names was on the card in MC Han Dawon’s hands.

Han Dawon slowly began speaking.

“The final eliminated teams in the fate‑sharing dependency position evaluation are….”

“Vocal B Team and Performance A Team. Thank you for your hard work.”

Contrary to the way the preview had drawn so much attention, Kevin’s team survived safely thanks to viewer voting.

Vocal B Team, which had relatively fewer core fans, must have been more earnest than anyone about the position evaluation, but the result was not good.

“…….”

Lee Hajin’s gaze drifted into the void and then dropped.

Then Han Dawon added a cruel line.

“Vocal B Team’s trainee Lee Hajin, who was eliminated in the position evaluation, originally ranked 14th and could have advanced to the final.”

“Ah….”

There was a system called rank pass that could save high‑ranking trainees…

But at that rank, it’s unlikely she would have been saved through voting.

I couldn’t help but think how cruel the broadcast station was, pointing it out even though everyone already knew.

On the other hand, someone’s fortunes had diverged.

“Performance B Team’s trainee Seo Ian rose one rank from final rank 16 and became a survivor of Stardust World. Congratulations.”

The trainees sitting nearby congratulated him by gently tapping Seo Ian hyung’s shoulder.

He would originally have been eliminated at the second ranking selection, yet he endured one more round like this.

When I briefly made eye contact with Seo Ian, I also sent him congratulations with my eyes.

In the heavy, sinking atmosphere, Han Dawon continued speaking.

Her voice was much calmer than when she first appeared.

“I know all of you truly prepared your stages with your best efforts for this position evaluation. Although the boys’ challenge in Stardust World has ended, I look forward to the day I see you again on more impressive stages.”

“Yes!”

“Me too!”

The mentally strong trainees answered with firm voices, but tears were already welling up in Lee Hajin’s eyes.

Staying composed in that situation was not easy.

Did I sob… too?

Eighteen‑year‑old Do Seohan had surprisingly tender emotions.

Amid the sounds of trainees sniffling, Han Dawon spoke again in a not‑very upbeat spirit.

“Then finally, I will reveal the final ranking chart, excluding the trainees from the two eliminated teams.”

The final rankings appeared on the large monitor.

And then.

“Hey, Seohan!”

“Why, why?”

My eyes, which had been scanning upward slowly from the bottom, widened greatly.

Was this crazy?

“Is this for real?”

My name was in second place in the final rankings.

Kevin’s survival.

The elimination of trainees who would have originally survived.

After the episode 7 broadcast that ended with mixed emotions, the community stirred again.

Criticism ranged from “Why did they make this kind of position evaluation and create unfair eliminated trainees?” to biting attacks toward the trainees who advanced thanks to it—public reaction was varied.

“Seo Ian, liking riding in a limousine? If it’s Jin Sehyun and Seo Haim then they rode a high‑end limo and advanced to the next round?”

“Bring Lee Hajin back, tㅠㅠㅠ You’re the reason she was eliminated.”

└ “Speak properly. She dropped because of that shitty production staff, so why blame the innocent trainee?”

└ “But isn’t it true that Lazy‑Ian got a free ride? He was 16th ^^”

└ “Lee Hajin’s fans are crazy over the topㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If she got dropped, just shut up and live your life.”

“Honestly, is Seo Ian talented? Is his visuals good? Did he show anything? He survived on sympathetic votesㅋㅋㅋ If Lazy‑Ian makes the final I’ll bite my tongue and go to the Han River.”

└ “Yeah yeah, get ready for the Han River. I’ll grit my teeth and make people pick Ian!!!”

└ “Seo Ian will never go to the finalㅋㅋㅋ”

└ “They criticize Ian for lack of talentㅠㅠ If they’d seen his solo stage once, that comment wouldn’t come out. People who don’t know are pitiful ㅎㅎ”

There were quite a lot of malicious comments about Seo Ian, who advanced to the final at rank 16.

The more attention gained, the more fans a person gets—but antis inevitably increase too.

Soft‑tofu human… I wonder if he’s okay by now.

Since he wasn’t even in my team, it was awkward to care overtly.

I trusted that the quietly sturdy hyung would endure.

And at the same time.

I received congratulations from many places.

[It said 2nd place? Congratulations.]

“What’s up with this person?”

From a congratulatory message from my older brother, ten years older, to messages from maybe not‑so‑close middle school classmates checking in:

[How are you?]

[Do Seohan! I saw you on TV!]

For eighteen‑year‑old me, it might feel like years ago—but for me it was over a decade ago.

“Sorry, but I really don’t remember you….”

But I couldn’t ignore the messages, so I let them pass with a “thanks” and subtle awareness.

It’s better to take it as good—these people are all supporting me, after all.

However, the real issue was on this side.

[Reporter Lee Doyeon]

Buzz—

I looked down at the frantically ringing phone and thought for a moment.

I couldn’t ignore it.

Click.

The bell ended and Reporter Lee Doyeon’s clear voice came through the receiver.

[Congratulations on second place.]

I didn’t expect to receive a congratulatory message from her side either.

Honestly, it wasn’t a relationship that had formed in a good direction.

I smiled awkwardly and replied.

“Oh, you watched the broadcast. Thank you.”

[Of course. It was a show my younger sibling was on, so I watched everything.]

“Haha….”

I’d used that sibling as bait and did some solid threatening.

I nodded slowly and waited for Lee Doyeon reporter’s follow‑up.

A congratulation wasn’t the main point—she had something else she wanted to say.

Reporter Lee Doyeon smiled and began.

[Also, I think there’s one more congratulatory piece of news….]

[I’ve got an exclusive scoop.]

“Oh… congratulations on that too….”

[The actress drug scandal—this is it, right?]

The bait I had thrown—she bit it completely.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep