Debut or Die-Chapter 389

I already knew how Seon Ah-hyun was living here.

‘Because he came out.’

Articles.

Interviews, magazines, WeTube...

In the search bar, if you type just “Seon,” autocomplete suggests Seon Ah-hyun’s name—that’s no different from reality.

But the keywords are different.

...Here, Seon Ah-hyun never quit ballet.

[Seon Ah-hyun wins Free de Lausanne... bright future for Korean ballet]

[Ballet goes K-Syndrome? Seon Ah-hyun: “I approached it sincerely”]

After placing in an international competition open only to teens, he stood out in various contests and joined an overseas ballet company. He’s handsome, so once the algorithm on WeTube picked him up, he became famous even in Korea, and afterward he appeared on talk shows and shot several commercials.

So I thought I would never meet him unless Ryu Geon-woo actually debuted.

But the person himself suddenly popped up and spoke to me.

Without stammering once, and in a much more refined tone than the voice I know.

“Would you like a coffee instead?”

“...No.”

It felt like a blow to the head. Damn.

I swallowed the rest of the drink and muttered,

“Thank you. It was delicious.”

So just go away.

“Yes.”

But Seon Ah-hyun didn’t move; he quietly sat beside me.

‘What is he doing?’

I reflexively checked him out: a black mock-neck like casual wear, hair undone. If he’d come to set as an idol, he wouldn’t present like that.

“.......”

It wasn’t as if I suddenly questioned why he looked like an ordinary person rather than an idol. I already knew at which point Seon Ah-hyun’s life diverged from mine.

[Sehwa Arts Middle School Graduation List]

‘Chae Seodam wasn’t among his classmates.’

Here, Seon Ah-hyun was older, so he never met Chae Seodam at arts middle school. He graduated without issue, continued majoring in ballet, and walked that path straight on—no derailments.

Actually... there were physique issues for continuing ballet.

He’d told me before that he quit over foot or pelvis problems, but apparently there were also mental reasons. Yet here he is still dancing ballet.

‘...So I never even tried contacting him.’

There was no plausible way to meet him, and even if I did, what could I offer? He’d already achieved professional success in a totally different field at the same age as in reality.

...Waking him up would only confuse him.

‘I intended to let him live his life and just clear that quest.’

Silently, I folded the paper cup and set it down.

Suddenly his voice cut in.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed your break.”

“It’s nothing like that.”

I needed an excuse.

“I was surprised. I didn’t expect to meet Seon Ah-hyun... the dancer... here.”

I sounded like I was calling him a national team athlete, but never mind.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh... yes.”

He gave a faint smile, as if to say something, then his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Dr-r-r-r.

His expression shifted to awkward.

“If it’s okay with you, could you keep our meeting here a secret? I made a mistake.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Ah,”

He retrieved my paper cup from the floor, then answered the call and hurried down the hallway.

Even as he left, he turned back and bowed at the neck—that’s still the same heart underneath.

[Why is Seon Ah-hyun here...]

I stifled a sigh.

‘Predictable.’

Meeting in the middle of the corridor of the set being prepped, and then asking me to pretend I didn’t see him? Means he’s appearing on the show.

Not as a secret choreographer, but a real special guest.

For example... yes. As a judge.

“The theme of this performance is ‘art.’”

Filming resumed.

On stage, the CEO was once again giddily holding a mic and talking.

If you condense his long explanation—‘Singers can do special stages for collabs and commemorations, so they need to express meaningful stages properly’—it comes down to:

We’ve recruited special art-related guest stars! Use them!

‘So Seon Ah-hyun is included.’

As expected, before announcing the teams he’d formed at will, the CEO introduced them as “special judges.”

From a pop-art master to an orchestra conductor, they all took the stage.

“Please welcome ballet dancer Seon Ah-hyun.”

“Wow!”

I don’t know whether a boy-group survival show can recruit someone like that, but the CEO seemed thrilled.

Cha Yoo-jin tapped my back.

“Hyung, did you see??”

“Yes.”

Of course I saw.

Luckily, Yoo-jin’s excitement felt like just a TV reaction. After all, the lineup was spectacular for an in-house agency survival. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

‘Maybe the show’s doing well and they got more funding than before.’

There was only one person I knew here.

I glanced at Cheongryeo, who naturally wore his “broadcast face.” When our eyes met, he shot a grin as if signaling his thoughts about the special judges.

‘Even nails a reaction cut.’

He’s an infuriating guy in every sense.

‘Though you could interpret that differently.’

I brought up the on my status window to read his mind...

[Shin Jae-hyun: Filming hard (^-^)]

“.......”

Is there a way to see more detail?

[Protect privacy! You must respect a colleague’s privacy!]

Ah, right.

I clicked off the status window with a smack of my tongue.

Separately, I felt Big Sejin go overboard with his pop-up excitement, thinking I’d been sulking in the hallway before filming.

‘But now’s fine.’

Yes. Filming carves out time and space solely for work, clearing away distractions.

With that working mindset dominating, my head quieted down.

‘No more useless thoughts from here on out.’

I’d end it as simply being glad to see an old face, and Seon Ah-hyun... well, he seems to be living happily, so whatever.

Let’s leave it at that.

I waited for the CEO to announce my team.

“The judges will also give you mentor feedback, so we’ll form teams under each judge’s wing.”

Got it, jerk.

Participants were called one by one.

They formed four teams of three; nothing unusual except Ryu Cheong-woo and Cheongryeo ended up together.

Until my name was called.

“Ryu Geon-woo, Jeong Woo-dan, and... Jin Chae-yul.”

“...!”

“And your mentor artist is ballet dancer Seon Ah-hyun.”

“.......”

Seon Ah-hyun and Jin Chae-yul together.

‘I said filming was fine, but they turned up the difficulty.’

This team round is clearly testing my patience.

“Hyung, we’re finally on the same team!”

“Indeed. Nice to work with you.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Chae-yul looked in amazingly good spirits and proceeded to explain why in a stream of words.

“I think the CEO really changed his mind about us. The guerrilla stage, and now letting us perform together again!”

Freedom of thought. And if it lifts your spirits, so much the better.

Of course the CEO didn’t actually fall in love with a sailor-uniform concept, but still.

After double-checking my teammate and mentor, I reached a conclusion.

‘They deliberately paired me with a ballerino to wreck that marine-look image.’

Pairing me with a ballet dancer means we can’t do a light concept like before, and they even threw in the dramatic flair of ballet fabric.

Basically, they plan to overshadow our previous marine-look stage with something even more memorable for the Geon-woo & Chae-yul duo.

‘Ambitious.’

If anyone benefits from Cheongryeo’s talent, it’s definitely this guy. How did the CEO’s stubborn taste succeed in making an agency profitable?

‘Anyway... am I leader again?’

With the other two being VTIC members, it couldn’t be helped. They’ll be yes-men.

And if I lead well, maybe the CEO will praise me again—and that would look good on camera.

“Let’s do well, then.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Okay.”

Naturally, I took out the rehearsal sheets and started planning.

First, song selection would pick from LeTi label artists; collab would be... dance.

...Makes sense. Mentor is Seon Ah-hyun. Luckily, the detailed choreography and arrangement are handled by company pros and Seon Ah-hyun; we just decide the concept.

As a formality, I spoke up.

“Do you have any concepts in mind that fit the ‘art’ theme?”

I didn’t expect an answer, but surprisingly Chae-yul raised his hand with a resolute look.

“Ah, I... thought of something...!”

“...!”

VTIC guy... has an idea?

Let’s hear it.

“Go ahead.”

“Yes! There was a concept you did for that photo shoot, hyung—the vampire concept!”

“...Hmm, right.”

It’s so cringey it practically hurts.

I recalled that surprisingly well-received shoot online and bit back my groan.

“How about that feel? A vampire vibe feels elegant... and ballet is elegant!”

“That sounds fine to me.”

“...Alright, it’s fine.”

Actually, it wasn’t fine.

‘Why not?’

I found the answer in a strange déjà vu.

Ballet and vampires.

Plus a LeTi artist song choice.

‘Ah.’

This is... too much like what we did in AJUSA’s first team round.

come to me

come to me

Paradise shines by your side

We did a horror arrangement of Mallang Dalkom’s “New World” for that stage.

‘Should we change direction?’

But now the VTIC duo were nodding and driving the conversation, since they’d been given clear DOs and DON’Ts.

“Do you have any song in mind?”

“I’m not sure... should we pick a company song that fits ballet?”

“A song that suits ballet... then let’s list any songs that used dance in their choreography.”

“Okay! Hyung, what about this one? Does it look good?”

If you want to jump in here, you need perfect timing and solid reasoning.

The problem was I also knew rationally there was no harm in it.

‘They don’t know.’

None of them know, after all—that world where Park Mundae was on AJUSA doesn’t exist here.

I know it. That stage doesn’t exist in this world. We can use it. But...

‘Shut up.’

Why am I whining when there’s an answer key? Just use it.

Before odd edits creep in, and while silence can look like careful thought, I spoke.

“That’s a good approach. I’ll look up songs too.”

“Yay!!”

Chae-yul lit up. He said something like “I really wanted to help this time. Last time hyung struggled alone,” then enthusiastically scoured WeTube.

But even after going through all LeTi’s catalog, nothing borrowed dance choreography as much as “New World.”

No wonder—it connects to ballet in a uniquely seamless way.

“.......”

But this much should be fine.

“I’ll also find songs you could rearrange to suit dance. That could make it look fresh, so consider it a backup.”

“Wow... yes, yes!”

I found about four more candidate songs, listed them, and finished the selection.

An hour later, Seon Ah-hyun, as mentor, advised:

“Each dance has its own rhythm. For final quality, I’d still recommend a song that already used dance choreography.”

“Oh, then... this one?”

Chae-yul gently tapped the sheet.

[Mallang Dalkom – New World]

Seon Ah-hyun smiled and nodded.

“Yes.”

Ah.

In that case...

“How about it, Geon-woo hyung?”

“Sure.”

Let’s do that.

“I think it’ll be a great stage. I’ll make sure the choreography matches the tempo perfectly.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you.”

Chae-yul spent the rest of the block guiding us through some of the moves in detail.

Before he left—and during a camera swap—Seon Ah-hyun suddenly approached and spoke.

“I’m sorry I pretended not to know you. They told us not to speak to participants before the first take....”

“No. It was filming, so of course.”

I reflexively took out a return gift from my tracksuit pocket.

“Thank you for the hot chocolate. It was really good.”

“Yes.”

Seon Ah-hyun took the glucose candy I handed him. He should’ve left, but he lingered.

I didn’t know why.

“Um....”

Just then a loud voice called from behind.

“Ah-hyun-ssi~! Ah-hyun-ssi?”

“...! Ah, I’m here.”

It must’ve been his agency staff.

I nodded.

“Well, I’ll head in to practice.”

“...Yes. See you again.”

He followed the staff member away.

“.......”

I turned and walked toward the practice room to rehearse “New World” once more.

My mind was blank.

I saw Seon Ah-hyun again two days later, on midterm evaluation day.