The Noise Was Intentional

Therefore, this plan was an opportunity Hanbyeol was giving them.
An opportunity for Taeha to talk about that situation.
An opportunity to open up, saying they couldn’t refuse the chance to debut.

When a debut lineup is formed, even in a small agency, a team SNS is usually created, as other agencies do.
While the members of Taeha’s planned debut group weren’t publicly revealed, people close to them naturally followed the account.

Those were the people who canceled everything and left.

And then, to Taeha, who was left alone…

‘Well… the photos we took gathered at the company, and also considering my position and the direction the company was taking, I was often positioned as the main.’
‘They said they didn’t want to debut with someone who received company favoritism, so I couldn’t ask them to stay.’

F*ck!

Sure, he’s handsome, but it’s only natural that someone talented gets attention.
What kind of nonsense is that when they were the ones lacking!

Since neither the agency—which aimed to make fans switch to the new, even unnamed group—nor the debut lineup trainees at that company were to his liking, Hanbyeol decided to just go for it without overthinking.

Anyway, the planned debut group was six members.
They probably wished for an odd number.
And since Hanbyeol was in the picture, they were likely trying to somehow make it a seven-member group.

“F*ck them.”
“Hanbyeol-ah…?”
“No, I was just talking to myself.”

Because the conversation he had with Taeha came to mind, a curse he didn’t usually use slipped out.

“If we’re going to flip the table anyway, we might as well make some noise.”

Among the things his brother considered, there was probably also the collapse of that damn ‘muddying the waters’ group the company was pushing.
So this actually worked out well.

****

Among fans, the rumors about Hanbyeol became uncontrollable.
He was a high school senior after the CSAT, who didn’t need to worry about school attendance days, so he became even more uninhibited.

“Wow… It looks like you bleached it.”
“Honestly, I didn’t bleach it.”
“Is your hair naturally light, so the dye took well?”
“Maybe?”
“But it’ll fade quickly anyway.”

It wasn’t a standout color like an idol’s, but Hanbyeol dyed his hair a slightly lighter shade, layering it over his naturally light hair color.

But that alone was enough to make the rumors grow a bit more.

With the appearance that seemed like he really signed a trainee contract, Cha.N’s fans erupted in frustration.
Meanwhile, some people who liked pre-debut trainees applauded.

Of course, they didn’t post blatantly to get caught.
But just a little searching revealed plenty of stories about Hanbyeol.

@kinnggggggggghb
Seriously crazy today
Five-star, please debut quickly and take noona’s wallet

@CHO_Oi_Meteo__r
It’s really not like that…
Please get out…
Meteor hyung, quickly grab your brother’s hand and escape the trainee dorm…

‘[New!] Title: Choi Five-star currently at the snack bar in front of school’
‘Author: ㅇㅇ’
‘Seems to be with friends?’
‘Looks like he’s not leaving early today?’
‘So cute hahakㅇahak…’
‘Those who hold on win!’
‘Comments’
‘Since when have you been holding on?’
‘└ [Author] For 3 days.’
‘Seems Five-star is spending pocket money he got from Meteorㅠㅠㅠㅠ’
‘└ Babyㅠ’
‘Noona will buy you a steak over 100,000 won too, so won’t you come into this sack…?’
‘He’s so handsome, seriously what genes flow in that family’
‘I want to be the youngest of that house’
‘└ What kind of poison are you trying to release into the Choi family?’
‘You crazy people, are you even human?’
‘Five-star is a civilian, why are you tracking his movements?’
‘└ He’ll probably debut soon, so what?’
‘└ Uh-huh, you already read the post and checked, don’t pretend you don’t know’

‘[New!] Title: Giant Star…’
‘Author: ㅇㅇ’
‘Today too, your looks are shiningㅠㅠㅠ’

‘[New!] Title: Please, just one thing’
‘Author: ㅇㅇ’
‘Will you do Five-star or Giant Star?’
‘Comments’
‘What’s with this?’
‘There’s also Seven-star.’
‘└ What’s with this?’
‘There’s also Venus.’
‘└ What’s with this?’
‘There’s also Planet.’
‘└ What’s with this?’
‘There’s also Fixed Star.’
‘└ [Author] Are you people crazy.’

‘[New!] Title: The reason Choi Meteor Brother’s fandom nickname became like that’
‘Author: ㅇㅇ’
‘(Audio from Yuseong & Sehyun same-age W-app live broadcast)’
‘「Yuseong-ah, Sehyun-ah, do you have any unusual anecdotes related to your names?’
‘I had one before Cha.N’s debut.’
‘My old stage name was Tember, so I was called September to some extent?」’
‘「Unusual anecdote?’
‘I don’t really have anything big…’
‘Just that my nickname is Shooting Star?’
‘Ah, there’s something about my younger brother.’
‘My name is Yuseong (Shooting Star), right?’
‘My parents were really into stars, so when naming my brother, they wanted a name ending with ‘seong’ (star).’
‘Our family doesn’t use generational names from my father’s generation, but they wanted to end it with a star, so they searched and found words like Guseong (Giant Star), Hangseong (Fixed Star), Omangseong (Five-star), Chilseong (Seven-star), Haengseong (Planet), Geumseong (Venus).」’
‘「……Wow, really?」’
‘「Yeah.’
‘So they wrote all those names on paper and went to the district office.’
‘But while filling out the birth registration form, the district office employee who saw the names asked several times if they were really going to do it.」’
‘「Puhahahaha!’
‘Of course they’d ask!」’
‘「So when my father asked if it was really that strange, the employee shook their head side-to-side…’
‘They said they wanted a name ending with ‘seong’ (star).’
‘Then the employee said, ‘Then wouldn’t it be okay to name him with a word ending with a star?’」’
‘「Oh…’
‘A lifesaver.’
‘A benefactor.」’
‘「I heard that employee also suggested the name Chanbyeol besides the current name.」’
‘「Huh…’
‘What name was your father thinking of?」’
‘「Yubyeol.」’
‘「He really has an eccentric naming sense.」’
‘Comments’
‘Crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’
‘└ September laughs like crazy but seems to think this is serious after hearing Yubyeol’
‘└ It’s okay, Father.’
‘You gave birth to my husband and younger brother-in-law wonderfully…’
‘Your future eldest daughter-in-law greets you♥’
‘└ Your future youngest daughter-in-law greets you…♥’
‘└ You’re all crazy’
‘└ Your future youngest son-in-law greets you.’
‘└ Ah, this one is really crazy’

It was a chaotic mess.

The agency didn’t stop the buzz about Hanbyeol.
They naturally allowed him to enter the company building even without a trainee contract.
They judged from Hanbyeol’s reaction that he must have become interested in entertainment industry activities.

Hanbyeol occasionally brought Taeha along to follow Cha.N’s schedules.
Of course, they didn’t enter broadcast stations together.
It was mainly for YouTube filming or guerrilla shoots outdoors, places ordinary people could easily watch.

One might think he’d get scolded for bringing an unrelated person along as a temporary manager.
But surprisingly, no one said anything.

‘It’s obvious.’

Hanbyeol knew Taeha’s face well—a face that could slap other celebrities with its looks just by being near them.

Objectively, Hanbyeol wasn’t bad-looking either.
It was just that he was compared to Yuseong.
Even in Hanbyeol’s eyes, Taeha’s looks were nothing short of overpowered.

Hanbyeol mainly followed Cha.N’s outdoor schedules.
Since Hanbyeol was already famous among Cha.N fans, Taeha, who accompanied him, also drew people’s attention.

@JJaboootak_
Miminiminiminimichiㄴㄴㄴㄴ
Wow, this student shining with looks, someone tell me his name

@e_adfiuuufklll
I want to know who he is, but how do I find out?
Is he a trainee too?

@oioioioooooooi
Seeing him with Five-star, is he a member or something?
These days, Star5 is promoting like crazy, right?
Soon they’ll push for switching fans even harder
Already feeling bad

‘Star5’ was the evolved fandom nickname for Cha.N’s current agency, StarV.

Fans were angry at the agency’s behavior.
But opinions poured out from all sides that the looks of the trainees they gathered were too much to their taste.

So it made sense for the company to panic.

Adding Hanbyeol must have caused quite a stir among the debut lineup members too.
A six-member lineup, a decent composition, and someone joining in—and that person’s brother is a Cha.N member.

Even among future debut teammates, gazes grow cloudy over who will take the main position.
They probably already looked unfavorably upon Hanbyeol joining.
And now Taeha became a topic too.

Naturally, they would feel anxious and impatient.
If the agency, which planned to debut them with a surprise buzz, would naturally reach out to Taeha too.

The effect appeared quickly.
Taeha, who had been talking with a new talent development team employee who had suddenly approached, returned to Hanbyeol.

“Was that the second time they approached you after meeting?”
“No, the third.”

Hanbyeol and Taeha, who were going around with Cha.N as they gradually started gearing up for their comeback, became a topic.

But the important thing was that this was only a topic among fans.

From the agency’s perspective, which had to monitor everything about Cha.N, it might seem significant.
But in reality, Hanbyeol’s effect was minimal.

The situation where even Taeha became known—someone might say, ‘The appearance of an amazing civilian. Is he a trainee?’—but in communities where ordinary people gathered, there wasn’t much discussion.

‘「The unchanging truth of internet communities.’
‘A minority of people write the majority of posts.」’

With posts popping up here and there, it felt like a huge topic within the community.
But in reality, it was a minimal level.

However, those who took this minimal level of fan interest seriously weren’t just the agency.

“Ji Taeha.”
“Long time no see.”
“Ah, hyung.”
“Hello.”

The ones who approached Taeha, who could set foot in the company as Hanbyeol’s friend, were the debut lineup members the company wanted to include Hanbyeol in.
They were the very people who were supposed to debut with Taeha in the past.