Chapter 229: What a Show
Choi Hosung of ROYB.
He was soone who didn’t exist in the data stored in my mory.
However, when I retraced my mories from around this ti, there had been one issue related to Stardust.
A dating rumor involving Jin Sehyun, one of the popular mbers.
It quickly fizzled out later, buried under the incident of Lee Junhyeok assaulting a fan at a signing event, but at the ti, it was quite the uproar.
A question like “Are you dating?” was pointless. We were stuck together 24/7 — there was no way he was secretly dating without knowing.
For a baseless dating rumor to spread, it ant soone had fabricated the basis for it...
I hadn’t thought about it too deeply at the ti, but it now seed plausible that Choi Hosung had been the cause.
I swallowed dryly and spoke.
“I think I’ll et him.”
“Why?”
“We should see how he plays it.”
“It’s good to be clear about things, but I have a bad feeling. I think it’d be better to avoid him.”
Jin Sehyun wasn’t wrong. From the beginning, the wise choice would have been not to get involved.
eting soone when you don’t know what they’re up to carries risk.
But.
As far as I knew, Jin Sehyun would’ve made that rational decision back then too.
He would’ve avoided Choi Hosung’s contact, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
He was always ticulous like that.
The problem was — the rumor would have broken out anyway.
Rather than sitting still and getting hit, it was better to try sothing.
I shook my head and said,
“Just in case, I’ll say this now — I don’t suspect you even a little.”
“That’s…”
Choi Hosung had claid that there was a serious issue involving Jin Sehyun. I made it clear that my intent in eting him wasn’t out of doubt.
“That’s why I want to et him.”
“…You’re going to play along?”
“Yes. We need to know how he’s planning to screw us over if we’re going to defend ourselves.”
The foundation of the dating rumor.
I didn’t know how it had been fabricated, but it was convincing enough that fans believed it.
I needed to figure out the process of how that foundation had been created.
Of course, the others, who didn’t know the full story, naturally wanted to stop .
“Hmm…”
Kang Siwoo swallowed with a worried look.
“You’re going alone?”
“No.”
He looked at like I was a clueless child wandering near water, but I wasn’t walking into a trap without a plan.
I had one solid ally I could call.
“There’s soone I want to bring along.”
I smiled and gave a little shrug.
[Stardust — is sothing about to blow up??]
There’ve been rumors lately.
Is it just so baseless gossip spread by a sasaeng?
-??? Where’d you hear that?
ㄴIt was from a secret account, I wouldn’t know either if a mutual hadn’t passed it to ;;
ㄴNever heard of it before
ㄴAh I think I know what this is lol
ㄴ???????
ㄴIsn’t it about that couple profile pic thing?
ㄴCouple profile pic????
-What is this, what’s going on, why are y’all talking like you know sothing?
ㄴIt’s probably about soone getting caught dating
ㄴ?? All of a sudden? Who?
ㄴJust ignore the trolls, they’ve been spouting this nonsense for days without evidence lol
ㄴAh... so it’s just bait...
-So folks are clearly just trying to drag them down because they’re doing well lol stop spreading baseless rumors~
ㄴExactly haha just ignore it…
ㄴPlease Dusties, let’s just stay out of it ㅠㅠ
ㄴThey made it onto Billboard and now the haters are mad lol go worry about your own faves ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ2222 Please...
[What’s this about a Universe Dust dating rumor?]
Who is it?
Is it true it’s one of the Maknae Line?
-Isn’t it about that couple profile pic thing? Long story short, a sasaeng hacked a private Stargram account and found a couple profile pic, but they haven’t revealed who it is yet
ㄴThey say it’s one of the Maknae Line and there’ll be an exposé next week;;
ㄴWtf why keep dragging out sothing with no proof
ㄴUntil it actually drops, I’m staying neutral…
ㄴNeutral, my ass lol you’re not even a Dusty, real fans obviously trust the boys, why are you stirring the pot
-If you’re already doubting them when nothing’s even co out yet, just leave the fandom already lol
ㄴAgreed, those aren’t fans ㅋㅋㅋ must be antis
ㄴSo people are clearly trying to take down an innocent mber no matter what
-They’re rookies and they already have dating rumors? Isn’t that a bit soon???
ㄴNothing’s even happened, ffs
ㄴLook at how sensitive y’all are lol must be true then
ㄴClassic case of people showing up just to beat on the boys...
ㄴHey, go tell your faves to aim for at least the top 100 on lon before dreaming of Billboard~
[Where there’s smoke, there’s fire]
That old saying just popped into my head lol
-What the hell is this now
ㄴDusties, ignore it please~~~
ㄴLMAOOOO y’all ca running even though the post doesn’t even ntion “Stardust” once — feeling guilty much?
ㄴToo funny...
-Don’t project your identity onto idols. While you’re buying hundreds of albums to get into a fansign, he’s already inviting his girlfriend to VIP seats at his concert.
ㄴCut the crap ㄴㄴ
ㄴThis is getting tense...
.
.
.
“He’s laying the groundwork.”
He was already starting to bait the hook.
Rumors were flying around without a shred of evidence, but they disappeared after receiving backlash from the fans.
After all, there was no rational basis — the whole point was to stir things up, so they probably let it leak like that on purpose.
They seed to be carefully building the mood, planning to drop a bombshell later...
"...Hmm."
Anyway, I arrived at the hotel.
The lobby of the L-Saint Hotel, first floor. It was where I’d agreed to et Choi Hosung.
Even though it was the weekend, the crowd was sparse — it seed like he had deliberately chosen an unpopular hotel.
“When will he get here?”
It was nearly ti for the appointnt.
Just as I was about to check the clock in the center of the lobby,
Dding—
My phone vibrated briefly.
–Sorry, I’m stuck in traffic…
–I’ll be about 10 minutes late. Please wait in the lobby.
It was Choi Hosung. As soon as I read the ssage, I frowned.
“What’s your angle?”
At this point, it was only right to assu this was part of the trap. I slowly turned my head and scanned the surroundings.
Just as I thought there was nothing special…
Sothing caught my eye.
And then—
“Waa, it’s been so long!”
A cheerful voice rang out from directly behind .
“…?”
A face lit up with the brightest smile, as if she were truly happy to see .
A woman I’d never seen before ca running toward . From head to toe, she was decked out in flashy luxury brands.
“Huh?”
I frowned and looked her unfamiliar face up and down.
It wasn’t just a feeling — this was definitely our first ti eting.
She was acting like soone who knew well, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
I wondered if she might be a sasaeng, but…
The timing was way too suspicious.
The corners of her mouth rose into an unnaturally wide smile as she spoke.
“Seohan, have you been well?”
Now I understood.
“……”
I let out a scoffed laugh before I even realized it.
“I haven’t been well. Not when soone’s putting on a show right in front of like this.”
Ah.
So this is what it was.
Choi Hosung’s face glead as he gripped the cara in his hand.
That was the agreed-upon spot, but he’d never intended to enter the hotel in the first place.
The plan was to catch a scoop from a distance.
All preparations for that had been completed.
–I’d like to et at the L-Saint Hotel lobby on the first floor.
Stardust had a notably tight-knit team, so using Jin Sehyun as bait to lure out another mber hadn’t been hard.
Especially when it was a clueless kid.
‘If they’re this close, that just works better for .’
–Yep. Got it!
As expected.
A bright, naive response had co back without a mont’s hesitation.
He seed genuinely worried, showing how much he cared for his teammate.
“Tsk.”
That gullible kid probably had no idea what kind of trap he was walking into.
The original target had been Jin Sehyun… but it couldn’t be helped if that shifted a little.
“Whether it’s this guy or that one.”
Either way, it would deal a blow to the team.
Stardust was soaring thanks to their Billboard chart entry. If he could ruin things for Doubles while he was at it, that’d be the best.
That was the advantage of soone with nothing to lose. All he had to do was watch others fall into ruin.
‘Hey, I’ve got a favor to ask.’
‘What?’
‘There’s this company I really want to screw over. Can you help out?’
‘What the hell… and for free?’
He’d called in a contact who used to follow him around eagerly.
She was a trainee and a female strear. She had grumbled at first, but agreed once he offered her so cash.
Her face was known, so if a dating rumor broke out, it would definitely have impact.
A sweet, innocent maknae idol dating a female strear BJ?
You couldn’t ask for a juicier headline.
Do Seohan was innocent, but too bad for him.
“Ah, this is already fun.”
Humming, Choi Hosung sent a ssage.
–I’ll be about 10 minutes late. Please wait in the lobby.
That would buy him a little ti.
“Ah, this spot’s perfect.”
He settled in a place with a perfect view of the lobby. With cold eyes, he observed his surroundings.
It didn’t take long before he saw a man walk in from afar, cap pulled low.
“There he is.”
He pressed his body close to the wall and brought the cara up to the windowsill.
He zood in all the way and smirked.
The kid had tried to cover his face just enough, probably worried soone might recognize him, but he was clearly caught on cara. If not others, fans would know for sure.
They were the type who could recognize soone from just a silhouette.
“The angle’s perfect.”
At this rate, he should’ve been a journalist instead of an idol.
He waited in excitent, feeling like a reporter from Dis***ch.
And then, at that very mont—
The contact who’d been waiting nearby ran in.
“Waa, it’s been so long!”
She had a knack for acting — her face was glowing with a smile as she waved.
Wiiiing—
Choi Hosung zood in with a grin.
“Damn, he’s totally stunned.”
The clueless guy was clearly trying to make sense of what was happening.
Still, he didn’t seem completely oblivious — his expression quickly hardened.
“Seohan, have you been well?”
Wham—
Right on cue, the contact rushed toward Seohan, trying to throw herself into his arms.
Of course, he’d push her away — but that didn’t matter.
All they needed was one good shot to blow it all up.
One, two, three.
The angle had just been perfect.
“Wow.”
Click.
Just as he pressed the shutter—
Choi Hosung’s body was yanked backward with force. Soone had grabbed him by the collar.
“Hey, kid — this is a cri.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)