Debut or Die
Chapter 140

I accessed the bank application that I had installed in advance.

‘It should have been deposited by now.’

I heard yesterday that the settlement money would come in.

In fact, the contract was signed with a quarterly settlement, but last year, the company was in a mess, so it was temporarily suspended under the condition that the legal interest rate was attached.

So now, in April, last year’s settlement and this first quarter’s settlement were deposited at once.

If I was an ordinary office worker, I could sue the company for this gap but no one was in a hurry, and there was a lot of contract period left, so it passed without much fuss.

But no one hated money.

Thanks to this, I wasn’t the only one looking into the settlement immediately as soon as the schedule was over on Monday, April 22.

“Gasp!”

I heard a choked sound from the bed next to me. It was Bae Sejin.

‘It must be a lot of money.’

I thought so. Our grades were so good, and we even had a concert.

‘Still, it doesn’t feel real.’

I pushed the main account of the app and checked the new account.

And I doubted my eyes.

[Korea General Deposit]

[1,146,193,520 won]

‘…1.1 billion?’

It was 1.1 billion?

An amount that couldn’t be eached even if I smuggled organs was showing up on the screen.

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

Is it possible to earn this much after working for 9 months?

It was true that I rolled around without being able to sleep and under a lot of pressure. And in the long run, it was also the accumulated amount of difficulties since <Idol Inc.>.

But if you could get 1.1 billion won, it was a scary business that left too much.

‘Even so, 1.1 billion… It’s beyond my imagination.’

I thought I should check the balance sheet. I checked the mail that was opened for company reception.

Perhaps the address was leaked somehow, strange e-mails were piled up like bombs, but after roughly filtering them, I was able to find the settlement e-mail.

I scanned it quickly.

“…Phew.”

It was 1.1 billion, alright.

And I knew the cause.

‘There’s no trainee cost.’

This meant the company hadn’t set the pre-investment costs. Thanks to this, the net income was settled as soon as the profit was generated.

Albums, events, s, music sources, concerts…

In addition, the copyright fee was quite high due to our active participation in the production.

‘Kim Raebin should have gotten more.’

Just then, screams were heard from the next room. It seemed Kim Raebin was on the phone.

Maybe he was surprised and called his family.

‘What a mess.’

It was normal to make a fuss with this amount of money. It still didn’t feel like my money.

“H-Have you seen it?”

Bae Sejin spoke with a red face. He must be talking about the settlement money.

“…Yes, just now.”

“With this much money, I can buy a house in Seoul, right? I-If I take out a loan…”

It depended on what kind of house it was.

However, Bae Sejin seemed excited as the initial achievement of his plan to get a secure home was fast approaching.

But the calculation was wrong.

“That’s the amount before taxes.”

“Huh, …Huh?”

“The tax rate will be high because it’s a huge amount of money, so don’t think about spending it all, and be sure to consult with a tax attorney before filing your comprehensive income tax return in May.”

“…R-Right.”

Bae Sejin affirmed blankly, then sat back down on his bed.

It seemed he had returned to reality.

And I also came to my senses while advising Bae Sejin.

“I thought you would be familiar with settlement money.”

“It’s my first time receiving this much….”

Bae Sejin shoved his face into the hamster body pillow.

That, you have been putting it to good use before.

“W-What’s wrong…?”

Even Seon Ahyeon, who was washing up, heard the noises and poked his head out of the bathroom.

“Checking the settlement.”

“A-Aha.

Seon Ahyeon smiled as if he was relieved. He didn’t seem to be very curious about how much it was.

“Did your parents have been taking care of you?”

“Y-Yes! I-I get allowance…”

Considering that he gave a department store gift certificate as a birthday present last time, that allowance was probably quite a lot.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t even used that gift card yet.’

As soon as the awards season ended, I prepared a concert and a new album, and immediately forgot about it because we started our activity right away.

‘It just so happens that tomorrow morning… hm, I don’t have a schedule.’

It was the only time I had free time during the day for the next two weeks, including weekends.

Let’s double-check first.

“We don’t have a schedule tomorrow afternoon, right?”

“Y-Yeah! That’s right, why do you ask…?”

“I’m going to go out for a bit.”

“…Shopping? Are you going to the bank?”

Bae Sejin interrupted. I left as soon as I received the payment, so I thought he would have guessed that.

I nodded.

“Yes, shopping.”

“…Then would you like to go out together? I have to go to the bank too.”

“Um… that’s a bit.”

“What?”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“I’m thinking of going to dessert shops.”

“…?”

“One… Seven, about that much.”

“…??”

* * *

So the next day, Tuesday. I got to roam the city of Seoul leisurely by myself.

…Or so I thought.

“M-Moondae. Is it the blue sign over there?”

“I think you can get us off at the first alley on the right, driver.”

I found two tails sticking to me.

Seon Ahyeon and Kim Raebin were delighted and followed me.

– I-I wanted to go out too…!

– Dessert? It’s my sister’s birthday next week and it sounds like a really great opportunity to choose one of the presents.

…Well, they said that.

For your information, Bae Sejin came and was dropped off at the bank. It saved the taxi rental cost, so it was helpful

‘Now, I don’t have to worry about the taxi fare anymore.’

It was a bit strange because it had been so long since I hadn’t had to worry about money in my life.

And soon after, the taxi driver stopped the car at the first destination.

“Okay, we’ve arrived~”

“Thank you.”

As I got out of the car, the two people, who were shining brightly in the back seat, quickly followed.

“D-Doesn’t it look delicious?”

“I have high expectations.”

It didn’t seem like a common picture for three men wearing masks and hats to enter a professional dessert shop… Well, here we go.

‘There aren’t many people on the road.’

Probably because it was 9:30 on weekdays.

The two members and I entered the newly opened store as the first customers.

“Hello… Gasp.”

“Hello.”

And as soon as our eyes met, they saw through us. I’d felt it before, but now masks were really useless.

“Uhh, uh… Gasp, wow… I’m listening to the song so well, uh.”

“Thank you. Please wrap one for each type of dacquoise.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Please wrap all of them, one for each flavor.”

“A-Ah, yes!”

I’m sorry, I don’t have much time.

I exchanged handshakes and autographs for the packed dacquoise.

“Uh, oh my God.”

…But I’m glad you seem to enjoy it.

And I looked back at the two people who were standing in a daze.

“Aren’t you going to choose?”

“Ah!”

The other two also chose dacquoise and gave a handshake.

I went straight to the checkout counter.

“Please pay this together.”

“Ah, yes!”

Both of them freaked out.

“I-It’s fine!”

“If you sort it by the settlement amount, it’s only right for me to pay… No, I’m not trying to be condescending, I mean, it’s fine…”

I laughed.

“It’s okay. I am the one who asked to go out.”

“Hyung…”

“M-Moondae…….”

If I had brought Cha Eugene or Keun Sejin, they would have shamelessly accepted it, but these two were sitting there impressed.

The two smiled as they were handed the packed dacquoise.

“I-I’ll eat this well!”

“Thank you.”

And as soon as he came out of the store, Kim Raebin realized something.

“Ah, I have to buy noona a birthday present.”

“I think it’s okay to choose it slowly. Because there are a lot of stores left.”

“Yes?”

The two of them blinked.

“That, d-didn’t you brought it here, b-because you already chose?”

“I thought you looked for a lot of candidates in case you didn’t like it…”

“Nope.”

I shook my head.

“I’m going to buy in all seven places.”

“…!!”

And I really did.

So, by noon, both of them were sitting in the cab moving limply.

I organized the boxes and put them under my feet.

All seven. All were purchased successfully. I had already tasted each one.

There was an unexpected event of hugging someone who came running and waving the album in the midst of it, but it went smoothly.

‘The last one was a bit close.’

The person who met my eyes at the cash register screamed loudly, so as soon as I received the macaron, I just said farewell and ran away like a thief.

“I-It’s over…?”

“Yeah. It’s over.”

“Phew…”

Seon Ahyeon melted down. He must be tired from meeting a lot of people.

I had told him to just go to the dorm in the mids of all that, but I didn’t know why the guy who didn’t eat sweets because he was taking care of himself kept following me.

‘Is it because of a sense of alienation?’

Due to Seon Ahyeon’s personality, he probably hated going alone after going around in a group.

Anyway, tagging along during the break… regardless of the efficiency, it was something I was thankful for.

“Are we going home now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

I took a taxi back to the dorm.

And instead of going up together to the dorm, I only left dessert.

“Tell the people in the dorm to share.”

“H-Huh?”

“I just remember something to do”

I sent the two guys home and got into a road taxi.

And I took a picture of the navigation again.

“Department store?”

“Yes.”

After finishing my business, I returned home about an hour later.

Ring-

When I opened the front door and went in, I met Cha Eugene’s eyes in the living room, eating dacquoise.

“…”

“Delicious! Thank you!”

“Well… Yes.”

He didn’t easily gain weight and liked sweets, so he could be considered the right person for this.

“Which one’s the best?”

“This one.”

It was strawberry macaron. I remembered the store name on the wrapper.

“Thank you for the sweets, Moondae.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“You didn’t buy us a smoke screen because you have a girlfriend, right Moondae? I trust you~”

“Are you crazy?”

After greeting Ryu Chungwoo, I hit the back of the giggling Keun Sejin and went back to my room.

Behind Bae Sejin, who was reading a book in bed, I could see Seon Ahyeon scooping sponges at the desk.

“M-Moondae. You’ve finished your business?”

“Yes. And this.”

“Y-Yes?”

I held out what I had in my hand.

“It’s a little early, but… It’s a birthday present.”

“H-Huh!?”

Seon Ahyeon freaked out. Bae Sejin raised his upper body.

“It’s Seon Ahyeon’s birthday…?!”

“I-It’s not, though…?!”

Two of them being flustered next to each other looked almost like a skit.

“It’s in two weeks, but I don’t have time to go out until then, so I’m giving it now.”

“Ah…”

Bae Sejin was relieved and lay back.

Seon Ahyeon nodded vigorously.

“I-I see, thank you…!”

“Don’t mention it.”

…Let’s not tell him that I used the department store gift certificate he gave me to buy that gift.

“C-Can I open it?”

“Of course.”

Seon Ahyeon opened the package right away.

At the revealed coat, he stiffened.

“…! I-It’s too expensive…”

“No, it’s not.”

The guy who gave me the gift certificate said all sorts of things.

I put another shopping bag I bought at the department store under the bed. The size of the shopping bag was big, so it took some time.

‘…I think I picked well.’

I should have taken Seon Ahyeon with me, I regretted it briefly, but I had already bought it so it couldn’t be helped.

Bae Sejin glanced.

“What’s that?”

“A present.”

* * *

And on that Sunday, at the broadcasting station in the early morning where the last pre-recording of Testar’s music show was taking place.

Testar’s fans who arrived at the scene were given a large box one by one.

[Testar is singing]

[Midnight and Loviewer ♡]

“…??”