Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Translator: Penny
Chapter 135
The story goes back four days.
"A birthday party?" I asked, and Lee Jiwon nodded.
"Yeah, I'm renting out a club and only letting in people with invitations. Let me know if you want to bring any friends."
"I can't give you a definite answer right now. I'll check my schedule and get back to you."
The fact that the party was at a club bothered me a little, but considering I'd received birthday gifts worth two million won last year, and since Jiwon was a close hyung whose connections I needed to maintain, I was already leaning toward attending.
Plus, it conveniently overlapped with my schedule, giving me the perfect excuse to skip that program.
"Oh, and I'm not accepting birthday gifts over 500,000 won."
"Seriously? The guy who spent two million on my birthday is saying this now?"
"Shut up, kid. Don't overdo it. Just give me something reasonable."
"But 200 is reasonable for me now, right?" I said with a smirk.
Lee Jiwon pressed down on the crown of my head, telling me to save my money instead of wasting it on frivolous things.
After finishing my workout and returning to the dorm, the System suddenly popped up a Status Window right in front of my eyes.
Use Random Ticket? Yes/No
"What's this?"
I wasn't planning on using it now. Why was it suddenly trying to force me to use it?
But the damn System kept flashing and changing colors frantically, as if demanding I tap "Yes" immediately.
There was still plenty of time left on the ticket's expiration date. What was the rush? The flashing was so intense it hurt my eyes, so I finally tapped "Yes" in annoyance.
'Some Day's Entertainment News' has been revealed!
"You tormented me just to give me this crap?" I grumbled, opening the news article. The ominous headline immediately caught my eye, and I straightened up to read it carefully.
Drug Report Leads to Raid... Marijuana Seized at Club
Rapper Riberne (32) and three others tested positive for marijuana in on-site drug tests...
Riberne was an established underground rapper and a close associate of G1.
I remembered from before the regression that their falling out had caused quite a stir.
Club, Lee Jiwon's birthday date mentioned in the article, Lee Jiwon's connections.
"Hey, G1 almost got screwed. Getting mixed up with drugs of all things."
"That bastard who smoked weed at someone else's birthday party is insane. I heard G1 cursed Riberne out and cut ties with him."
"If I were him, I'd cut ties too. Imagine throwing a lavish birthday party, renting out a whole club, and then getting mistaken for a drug party organizer because of a few hidden weed-smoking bastards... Oh man, a punch in the face wouldn't be enough."
"I heard everyone who got invited to that party is now under suspicion for drug use and getting tested one by one. Glad I didn't go. Not that I even got invited, though."
"What's so lucky about being a nobody on the fringes who didn't even get an invite from G1?"
A story I'd heard before the regression flashed through my mind. It was an old tale, so I couldn't pinpoint the exact timing, but if that story was about the same incident now making headlines...
If I'd gone, I'd be screwed too.
I can't afford to ruin my image here and regress.
Even being mentioned in connection with such an incident would tarnish my image, let alone the consequences.
What if, after relaxing with drinks, my old habit as a heavy smoker resurfaced, and I lit up a cigarette—only to discover it was actually marijuana?! That would be a catastrophic disaster.
The System would likely deliver an Original Intent Score Punch to snap me out of it before things went that far, but you never know with human affairs.
Just being present at the scene could damage my reputation enough.
Would the public even bother to investigate whether it was a birthday party or a drug party?
Before my Crew Hyungs explained the truth, I myself had thought, "Renting a club for a drug party? These rich bastards are just throwing money away on ridiculous shit. Tsk tsk."
But skipping a birthday party for no good reason felt wrong.
The most believable excuse was a scheduling conflict, but even that required a multi-day commitment, not just a short, same-day appointment.
Thus, I concluded that a five-night, six-day Come to My Universe trip would be the most suitable solution.
Snapping out of my reverie, I returned to reality to find the members still staring at me with disbelief.
"What are you looking at? Just eat your food," I grumbled, resuming my meal.
Ryu Jaehee cautiously asked, "What exactly happened that made Hyung volunteer...?"
I pulled up the Relationship Improvement Score window, checked the numbers, and answered with a confident smile, "Because I'm the leader."
I checked the Relationship Improvement Score again, and it remained unchanged. This meant those damn members hadn't been moved even slightly by my sacrifice.
Seo Yehyeon, who was still eyeing me with suspicion, was the first to voice his conspiracy theory.
"The agency must have offered him something as bait. There's no way Yoon Eden would volunteer to go otherwise."
"Could it be a solo album?"
"I heard they're giving everyone who goes all the future schedules too?"
"Seriously, why can't you guys trust me? Are you all suffering from misanthropy?"
I was sacrificing myself to protect our group's image from being tarnished.
After all, if my image gets tarnished, the group's image will suffer too—it's all the same.
"No, it's just... this sudden burst of selflessness is suspicious. You were desperately trying to push us to go just a few days ago."
Ryu Jaehee rested his chin on his hand and spoke earnestly, while Kim Dobin nodded enthusiastically beside him.
"Oh? Then is there anyone who wants to go instead of me? Is that why you're talking to me like this, because you want to go?"
As he asked with a leisurely smile, Ryu Jaehee and Kim Dobin frantically covered their mouths with their palms and shook their heads wildly.
"Wouldn't it be too much for you? You're already busy preparing for the mini-album. Maybe we should send Yehyeon Hyung or Dobin instead..." Gyeon Hajun suggested cautiously.
Seo Yehyeon turned to Gyeon Hajun with a betrayed expression. "No, Hajun-a. Why me...?"
"Hyung, you'd look great with short hair and a military uniform, right?"
"Hajun Hyung, why me...?"
"Even if Jaehee isn't over the conscription age limit, it's still a bit much to send a high school senior. If someone has to go, you'd be a better fit than Jaehee."
Gyeon Hajun, who had achieved a K.O. victory over Seo Yehyeon and Kim Dobin, casually ran a hand through the back of his hair as he replied.
"This song didn't meet expectations, so I figured I'd go clear my head. Satisfied now? What kind of conspiracy theory are you cooking up? If you really don't believe me, ask the CEO directly."
The digital single "Come to My Universe," which had made its comeback in March, peaked at fourth place on the monthly charts.
It had served as a stopgap to prevent the hiatus from dragging on too long, and promotional activities on music shows were limited to just two weeks. As a result, the group wasn't particularly attached to the song's performance or overly disappointed by its results.
Everyone knew how fiercely proud I was of my music, so this excuse worked perfectly.
Everyone nodded, their faces still unconvinced. To be honest, if someone like me said they were going on a military variety show because their song only reached fourth place, I'd probably think, Is that bastard crazy? I wouldn't understand either.
"Hyung, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can make it to your birthday party this year."
I spoke cautiously, trying to look as apologetic as possible. Lee Jiwon turned to me and asked, "Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, I have to go to the military next week..."
Lee Jiwon's expression immediately turned serious. "Did you get into trouble?"
"No, it's not because I got into trouble. It's for a variety show..."
As I hurriedly explained, Lee Jiwon's face relaxed with relief, but then quickly shifted to a look of pity.
"Why does your agency always pick such ridiculous variety shows?"
"Exactly! But what can we do? We're a small agency—we have to do whatever the broadcasters tell us."
"Well, it's not like you're actually enlisting. Since you're just going for a military experience, might as well make the most of it. From what I've seen, it's not even half as tough as the real thing. Oh, and remember to take a deep breath during the CBRN training, okay?"
I responded dryly to Lee Jiwon's teasing, which came with a pat on my back.
"How come you're saying the exact same thing as my three military-veteran friends?"
Even as an unserved civilian, I knew that inhaling during CBRN training would be disastrous. Besides, they probably wouldn't even do CBRN training.
I'd been agonizing over whether to tell Lee Jiwon about the marijuana incident that was going to erupt at his birthday party.
If it were just some acquaintance, I wouldn't hesitate. But the person involved was Riberne.
Hyung, if someone you were close to—but not as close as you are to me—told you to stay away from me because I was going to smoke weed, how would you react?
"He'd probably curse me out."
"But what if I actually smoked weed?"
"You smoke weed...?"
"No, it's just a hypothetical, a hypothetical! Stop looking so shocked, Hyung. Anyone would think I actually smoke weed."
"Well... it would still be awkward to face him after cursing him out."
"Could we ever go back to how things were before?"
"Cursing someone out and then trying to be friends again? That's either crazy or psychotic, right?"
Reflecting on my conversation with Yongcheol Hyung, I knew keeping quiet was the best option. But remembering how G1 suffered from the false rumor of being a drug party organizer before the regression, I couldn't just let it slide.
"Hyung, be careful. I heard some guys are secretly smoking weed in clubs these days. You should crack down on that."
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay. None of my contacts would do something like that."
After giving him the best advice I could, Lee Jiwon brushed me off with a dismissive reply and slapped me on the back again.
I don't know. I've done all I can.
After completing accelerated basic training at the Recruit Training Center, I received my Unit Assignment and finally joined the original members.
With preparations for our mini-album activities looming, I couldn't cut my hair short and had to wear a wig instead.
Looking at the obviously fake and awkward hairstyle, I finally understood the saying, "A man's looks depend on his hair."
"Did you know what kind of special shoot this was before you came?"
"No, I didn't."
For some reason, the way they looked at me was filled with pity. I wouldn't fully grasp the meaning behind those looks until a few hours later.
Ranger Training? A Ranger Training special?!
From the moment we started marching, being dragged to the Ranger Training grounds, I inwardly wailed. Of all times, why did I have to get stuck with the toughest special during the toughest period?!
As I performed PT exercises 6 and then 8, a strange sense of déjà vu flickered through me. I blinked, finally remembering when I had experienced this before.
Our high school gym teacher had made us do Ranger Training!
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny