DLMS 35

Chapter 35

“Hmm…”

As soon as I got home, I sat down at my desk and checked the comments on today’s newly uploaded Hong-Raebang content.

• Wow, that Chaewon Lee person is insanely good. She’s so pretty too. But that rapper guy? Not my type at all. People hype up anyone who raps these days.

• Wow, they’re all good again this time.

• That Woo-hyun Cho guy seems like the best singer. So refreshing to hear. Seriously, where do talents like this hide? Everyone around me is useless.

Most of the top comments, sorted by popularity, were full of praise for the contestants.
Of course, there were occasional criticisms of their skills.
But the main focus was clearly on the people who had appeared in the video.

“Well, nothing special’s being said.”

[Scroll down a little more.]

“Comments?”

[Yeah, keep going. I can see better than you, so just scroll down quickly.]

“Uh, okay.”

Demons had sharper hearing and vision than ordinary humans.
Trusting the demon, I boldly scrolled further.

[Hmm…]

“Do you see anything?”

The scroll moved so fast that I could hardly make out anything.

[Not yet… oh! There it is!]

At the demon’s words, I tapped the screen to stop the scroll.

• Didn’t someone get cut out in the middle? There was this one male contestant who sang the best, but why isn’t he in the video?

It was a small comment with 21 likes.
For now, it was just a faint breeze—no one knew yet what kind of storm it might stir up.

[So, at least someone recognized you.]

“Yeah, just three or four people…”

There were two or three similar comments besides that one.
People asking why the contestant who sang Moon of Ebin had been left out.
But there weren’t many, and the interest was too small.

[Don’t you think that’s strange?]

“What is?”

[Hmm… I don’t know for sure, but isn’t it weird that only you got cut out?]

“Hmm… maybe.”

[Think about it carefully. The interview before your turn was weirdly long, and when they called you, it felt like they hesitated more than with others.]

“I honestly didn’t notice.”

At the time, all I wanted was to join Hong-Raebang, so I didn’t pick up on the atmosphere.
But the demon, with its long experience of reading people, caught every subtle detail.

[Feels like something’s going on.]

“Maybe.”

Hearing the demon say that, it didn’t feel entirely wrong.
Why was I the only one cut out?
I couldn’t know the reason—but it was strange.

“Not here.”

“Yeah, he’s not.”

“But Jaehee oppa said he was on Hong-Raebang…”

At a pub in Sinchon.
Some classmates of Yoo Jaehee were drinking together.
They had heard recently that Jaehee would appear on Hong-Raebang, so they had been waiting for the new content.

They weren’t as close to him as Seolhee or Taehun, but still—
It was exciting that someone from their department would show up on a popular show.

But after watching the video, they found no trace of Jaehee.

“Wait, so did he lie?”

“No way. Doesn’t seem like him.”

“Right, oppa wouldn’t lie…”

• Thud!

“Whoa! Hey!”

One of the guys slammed the table.

“Damn, you scared me. What?”

“Holy crap… I just got chills.”

“What now?”

The guy looked as if he had just figured something out.

“Remember that rumor about Hong-Raebang being staged?”

“What rumor?”

“That all the contestants were actually pre-cast. You don’t know?”

“Oh, that? I didn’t know.”

Starting with that student’s words, the drinking session turned into a debate.
He especially spoke with great conviction.

“People used to say it was staged, but there was never any proof or witnesses. But now, maybe Jaehee could be the witness.”

“Yeah, but even if that’s true, would Jaehee oppa speak up?”

“Hmm…”

That seemed unlikely.
Jaehee had become a bit of a cool figure in their department, but his personality was still quiet and introverted.

“Maybe he just lied.”

“No way.”

“You never know. He wasn’t someone who usually got much attention. Maybe he made it up after suddenly getting popular.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

So, negative opinions started popping up as well.

“Come on, that’s a stretch.”

“Yeah, don’t jump to conclusions.”

“No, think about it. If it was staged, Jaehee wouldn’t have been able to perform at all. But if it wasn’t, then why cut him even after he performed?”

“Hmm… yeah…”

“Something smells fishy.”

The suspicion toward Jaehee had some weight to it.
Though, of course, it was said without knowing the full story.

“Eh, whatever. Doesn’t matter to us. Let’s drink.”

“Yeah, why gossip? It’s not even a good topic.”

“Right. Cheers.”

Whether it was due to losing half his popularity or not, Jaehee’s reputation was taking a hit because of Hongcha.
He said he’d appeared on Hong-Raebang, but no video proved it.
His classmates were full of curiosity, and some even began to doubt both Hongcha and Jaehee.

And so the weekend passed without incident.
Contrary to expectations, my plan to get exposure had failed.
I resolved to just focus on my exams instead.

[You’re amazing. Do you really have to study that hard?]

Of course. Studying helps with music too.

[Well, not wrong, but wouldn’t it be better to spend more time on music?]

I already work hard on music too.

[Yeah, yeah, I know.]

Monday morning, in class, students were losing their battle against sleep one by one.
Most were slumped over their bags like pillows.
Some were chatting or fiddling with their phones.

When I looked around, Taehun’s face was already buried in his desk, and Seolhee’s seat was empty—probably went to the bathroom.

The room’s a lot quieter with Taehun asleep.

[Bet he’s an ENFP.]

No doubt about it.

It felt strange to hear the demon talking about MBTI.

-Bzzzt…

A message came in.

–Hey, did you see Hong-Raebang? Why were you cut?

It was from Lee Jongin.

–I don’t know. They didn’t include me at all.
–When’s your class over? Want to meet later?
–Yeah, sure.

So we decided to meet after class.

[Man, these kids gossip way too much.]

Huh? What do you mean?

[Those three in the front row—they’re talking crap about you.]

I couldn’t hear them.
But apparently, three students up front were whispering.

[They’re saying you lied, that you were just an audience member, that you’re making it up.]

Just let it go. What can I do? Yelling at them won’t change anything.

[Tch! If it were me, I’d spend that time reading sheet music instead.]

They should be reading their textbooks, not sheet music…

[Still, you’re amazing. You’re clearly upset, but you’re holding it in.]

The demon was right.
Even though I hadn’t needed to know, hearing it hurt.

Not everyone would think that way, but—
Some would surely believe I was a liar.

Normally, I could have shrugged it off. But this time was different.
Because it involved music.
And I’d always been sincere about music.
It wasn’t a tool for me—it was my goal in life.

That’s why being seen as some pretender in music was unbearable.
Just as the demon said, my anger boiled.
I couldn’t focus during the lecture at all.
The time until I could meet Jongin dragged endlessly.

After class, I met Jongin in the clubroom.

“Been waiting long?”

“No, I had some work to do anyway.”

He was sitting at the club computer.
I sat nearby, at the central table.

After a quick greeting, we went straight to the point.
Jongin spoke first.

“Dude, why were you cut?”

“I don’t know. Only I was missing.”

“The guy before you—his interview got cut too. Maybe there was some equipment issue?”

“Yeah, I noticed that too.”

In this Hong-Raebang video, a whole chunk had been edited out—
from part of Han-yeol Jung’s interview right before me, all the way through my performance.

“Man, that’s such a waste.”

I sighed.
Missing Hong-Raebang didn’t mean my music career was over, but…
Still, it was frustrating to have my plans ruined.

“Want me to upload this instead?”

“What is it?”

Jongin showed me his phone.
It was a recording of my performance on Hong-Raebang day.
From behind, of course—since he’d been sitting behind me.
So it was just my back and the back of my head.

“Should’ve filmed from the front. All I’ve got is your backside.”

“Wait a sec…”

[Well, well, look at that.]

The demon and I caught something at the same time.

“What? What is it?”

“Jongin, can you send me that video?”

“Why? You look so serious all of a sudden.”

He looked puzzled at my grave expression.
Inside, my heart raced wildly, hands trembling.

[Aaaargh!!]

The demon screamed, but I couldn’t afford to care.

“Jongin, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

My brain spun into overdrive.
I quickly laid out a plan.
Jongin said he got goosebumps, but agreed to help.

I felt certain something interesting was about to happen.

After parting with Jongin, I left the clubroom.

[Holy crap, I thought I was gonna die.]

“Sorry, but you get why, right?”

[I don’t want to understand…]

Which meant he did understand.

On my way to the parking lot, I called Im Taehyun.

“Hey, you busy?”

• Why, you want to drink?

“No, seriously, why is it always drinking with you?”

• I’m busy, what is it?

“Do you know Hongcha?”

• Hongcha…

“Not the tea. The YouTuber who runs Hong-Raebang.”

• Yeah, I know. Why? Did you find something out?

‘Find something out.’
The way he said it caught my attention.

“Why, did you find something out?”

• What’s this, are we probing each other?

[Hey, he sounds like he knows something.]

It was the first time I’d ever spoken to Taehyun like we were both hiding something.
At this rate, maybe having drinks was the right idea.

“Fine, let’s drink.”

• Okay! Deal!