BLGDF 55

Chapter 55

“….”

Slurp.

“…….”

Slurp-slurp.

I quietly sipped my strawberry ade through a straw.

Wow, this house makes really good strawberry ade.

“Um, Cheong-Ah…”

“I’m still drinking.”

“…Okay.”

After shutting Jo Heeon up, I focused entirely on the strawberry ade.

Seriously, why is it so good? This is just a regular home.

That’s right.

This was Jo Heeon’s house.

I had asked PD Oh for his number and then immediately texted him.

Cheong-Ah
Send me your address.

If he didn’t reply, I was going to start by uploading the memory card I still had.

But maybe because he already had a rough idea of my personality, he replied right away.

Jo Heeon
203-1021, Apt 0000, 123 Street, District 00…
I’m coming now.

Coming now?

I didn’t bother replying to that.

“Tell me what you were thinking.”

“!”

“Summarize it. I’m seriously this close to uploading the footage online right now.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Heeon immediately tried to drop to his knees.

No way was I letting that slide.

“I really hate stuff like that. Just say it. Honestly.”

“O-Okay…”

And finally, Heeon began to speak.

“Before we went to the audience seats, Director Kim pulled me aside…”

“Drop out voluntarily.”
“Huh?”
“Say it’s for health reasons. You’ll miss this debut, but I’ll put you in another debut lineup at a different agency.”
“But—”
“What, you want to be blacklisted from the entire industry?”

Director Kim looked down at Jo Heeon with cold, merciless eyes.

“Even if I do drop out, Yooncheong… she’ll release the footage. The cameras were rolling. She has the memory card.”
“We’re going to debut Yooncheong. In exchange, we’ll tell her to destroy the memory card.”
“!”
“That thorn in my side, I wasn’t planning on letting her debut. But seeing how ruthless she is, it’s safer to let her debut than to deal with the fallout later. So we give her what she wants and cover this up.”
“……”
“So quit now. If you keep going, you’ll only cause trouble when she blows up.”

Unbelievable.

Who the hell does he think he is, deciding who gets to debut or not?

This is a survival program watched by hundreds of thousands of people.

Even if I debut, it’s because of my own ability.

If anyone’s “letting” me debut, it’s the fans who vote for me.

Sure, Colors may help in the process, but Director Kim?

Absolutely not.

He’s the guy who spikes people’s food with allergy triggers.

“I’m sorry.”

Jo Heeon did look genuinely remorseful.

However—

“I’m not interested in your apology.”

“…!”

He looked shocked.

Why was he shocked?

Did he actually think I’d forgive him?

“I gave you a chance. But you ran away for your own gain. Don’t pretend it was for me. I know it wasn’t. You ran because you wanted to debut.”

With each word I spoke, his head dropped lower and lower.

“I won’t forgive you until you come clean. Until you reveal that Director Kim and Kim Ryeoyu are the real culprits.”

“So… you’re going to fight them?”

Fight?

I shrugged.

“Director Kim said that if I expose anything, he’ll shut down the whole program. That would hurt a lot of people.”

“…He really said that?”

“My debut would be uncertain, too.”

Jo Heeon looked stunned again.

Why is he still surprised?

He already knew the guy was insane.

“Yeah. So for now, I’m staying quiet. I don’t want the other trainees to lose their chance because of me.”

“…You…”

I thought of Lee Juseon, who sobbed uncontrollably when she tied for first place.

These kids are desperate.

To threaten all their dreams over his own selfishness?

My hatred for Director Kim only grew.

“And I have to debut, too.”

At number one, no less.

I’m just as desperate.

“So, I’ll wait for now. But once I can fight back—I won’t hold back anymore.”

Yes.

Just for now.

I’ll wait… and look for my chance.

*

Director Kim kept his promise.

[Jo Heeon breaks silence: “I’m sorry, Cheong-Ah, my eternal MVP of MVPs…”]
[‘MenuCool’ Jo Heeon exits due to health issues, cites unbearable pressure.]
[No discord in ‘Sonkkeut’ team, says Jo: “I endured because of trainee friendships.”]
[“Please stop the unfounded discord rumors… Cheong-Ah is a true friend.”]
[‘MenuCool’ official SNS posts cozy photos of Sonkkeut team.]
[Colors terminates contract with Jo Heeon: “A graceful goodbye.”]
[Surprise! Jo Heeon hints at new agency on SNS—what’s next?]

They worked hard to cover everything up.

Fortunately, public opinion turned around quickly.

[Heeon: I’m sorry I had to leave like this, Cheong-Ah. But I’ll keep cheering for you. Kyung-Ah unnie, Bora, thank you all so much.]

Caption: The <Sonkkeut> team hugs…

[Bora: Heeon unnie was really worried about not debuting. It was a lot of pressure.]
[Ryeoyu: Colors is the top agency in Korea, and with so many amazing trainees… I think she felt small.]
[Cheong: I tried to be there for her when she was struggling. We were both under intense stress, so sometimes we clashed. But deep down, I always supported her.]
[Heeon: Cheong was always by my side. There was no discord. Really. Cheong’s the kindest person I’ve ever met as a trainee.]

The producers hadn’t been able to air this part yet, so they quickly filmed and uploaded it to YouTube.

The third mission wouldn’t be broadcast for two more weeks, so this was their way to fill the gap.

The video played the biggest role.

The trainees looked genuinely close in it.

“Who even started that Cheong-on bullying rumor? Seriously.”
“Cheong-on, we support you. For a stronger Korea…”
“Koreans are unbelievable… why are y’all so obsessed with dragging kids down?”
“Solo stans who spread rumors, try touching grass.”

Yooncheong Rumor Origins:
A notorious hate site called ‘Girl Idol Cloud’.
Not a fansite, but a toxic community for anti-fans.
Here’s proof.
[Screenshot]
[Screenshot]

This is where the Yooncheong rumors started. Don’t be fooled.
Haven’t we learned anything?

There was even a male version of the site.

“My faves got tons of awful rumors from there too. Can’t believe it’s still active.”

Of course, not everyone believed the clarifications.

Some didn’t want to believe.

Or worse, they pretended not to—because there was money in it.

YouTube’s cyber gossip channels were the worst offenders.

▶ [Proof That Yooncheong and Heeon Really Did Fight]
▶ [Rising Trainee Already Showing Diva Attitude?]
▶ [MenuCool Yooncheong Plastic Surgery Rumors]
▶ [Ex-Agency Staff Speaks Out: ‘She’s Intense’]
▶ [Creepy AF: Yooncheong’s Personality Files]

It wasn’t just me.

Kim Ryeoyu, Ryu Bora, Kim Geum, and Jo Heeon were all frequent targets.

The more popular you get, the more these vultures circle.

Especially with my latest scandal still hot off the press.

I was basically a fish on the chopping board.

“Do people actually believe this stuff?”

All the trainees stood up for me—except Kim Ryeoyu.

Kim Geum, in particular, was furious.

She’d dealt with this kind of harassment before and deeply empathized.

“Seriously, what’s our agency even doing? Why aren’t they suing these creeps?”

“They don’t care. I’m not officially their artist yet.”

I was still just a trainee, after all.

“Wow. Our agency is so classy.”

“Agencies exist to chase profit, Geum. Don’t expect more.”

I rolled over on my back, lounging.

We finally got a day off.

No way I was going to ruin it by getting mad at cyber vultures.

“Stop watching that crap. We got one less mission to do. Let’s enjoy it.”

That’s right.

The reason we got a rare day off?

One of our missions got canceled.

Originally, we had two left.

But due to public concern over trainee overwork, Colors and M10 reduced it to one.

Now only the final mission remained.

The two-week gap in broadcast would be filled with casual footage and small events.

No doubt with tons of annoying product placements.

“I get that… but aren’t you mad?!”

“I am.”

“Then why—!”

“But I won’t let that anger control us. We’ll debut first, then sue them.”

Bad people hate nothing more than losing money.

So financial punishment is the best punishment.

“Whoa, you’re such an adult.”

Kim Geum actually sounded impressed.

Well, I was legally an adult.

“Anyway, let’s stop doomscrolling and get back to our assignment. Bora, come here. You’ve been glued to your phone—”

I paused when I saw what Ryu Bora was doing.

She was reporting each and every hate comment on my article.

“…Uh…”

I didn’t expect her to care about stuff like this.

“They pissed me off.”

“Y-You did?”

“Already reported them all. Let’s just do our assignment.”

“O-Okay.”

Somehow, I felt small.

The three of us gathered around the tablet.

We had a mission to complete.

“How do we get the best reaction out of this?”

For our upcoming guerrilla concert.