Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Translator: Penny
Chapter 160
The sudden seriousness in my friend's voice made me clutch my phone and shout urgently, "Hey, why are you being so creepy? It's like you think I don't remember getting ripped off!"
I was already unnerved by Cha Yeonho, another Regressor, telling me not to trust my memories. Now that my friend was acting this way too, it felt like there really was something I couldn't remember, and it sent a chill down my spine.
My friend sighed, calmed me down, and said, "I just sent you a number. Check it."
I glanced down at my phone screen and saw a text message with a phone number.
"What's this?"
"The bastard who posted the article's number."
"Are you sure?"
"You only said that to one person back in sophomore year."
Even I, the one who supposedly said those words, couldn't remember them. It seemed absurd that he remembered them so clearly.
Wait a minute. If that's what he meant, does that mean I actually said those things?
Did I really take someone else's money and bread? Me, who has lived so cleanly, with no shame before heaven?
Me, who has only been in a few fights: a group brawl in elementary school, a petty argument I retaliated against in middle school, and a showdown with some punk who mocked me for rapping in high school?
Perhaps interpreting my silence as gratitude, my friend continued to grumble.
"You seriously owe us a huge treat of drinks and food. Hey, where else are you gonna find friends like us? You know how much hell Yuseon went through to find this number after that bastard changed his?"
"Wow, Kim Yuseon's still got her connections."
I chuckled, letting out a sound of admiration, then scratched my head and asked, "Wait, am I supposed to apologize? Did you give me his number so I could apologize and settle things?"
A heavy sigh echoed through the line, followed by a reproachful tone that conveyed disbelief.
"Why would you apologize? You should be demanding an apology from him for damaging your reputation with those lies."
"But he's saying I used to run errands for him, extort money, and stuff like that."
"Friend, even though I'm your friend, how could I refer to the victim as 'that bastard' when you're the one who did those things?"
"Oh, you're right. So what's this about?"
"You seriously don't remember Jeong Huigwang?"
Frustrated by the question, I racked my brain. But what was only four years ago for my friend was eleven years ago for me—there was no way I could remember.
"You fucking bastard who smoked e-cigs in the back of the classroom!"
The shout triggered a hazy memory.
Fuck, even if you're gonna smoke, inside the classroom is just wrong, right? What the hell is wrong with you?
Hey, buddy, put it out while I'm being nice.
Hey, I said put it out.
When I heard the name, I couldn't place it, but "the e-cig smoker" jogged my memory. I still couldn't recall his face, though.
"Ah, that crazy bastard? Did I really say that to him?"
In my memory, he was definitely one of the school's top bullies. Maybe he was quiet in our class because his bully friends weren't there?
But Cha Yeonho had warned me not to trust my memories too much.
Either he wasn't a bully, or he wasn't quiet. One of those two things must be true.
Seeing my continued blank stare, my friend, clearly exasperated, pressed me again.
"Seriously, you don't remember why your nickname was 'Dark Knight' for a while?"
"Dude, this is bad. I think I have memory problems," I replied in a serious tone.
My friend retorted dismissively, "Nah, that's not it. You're just a dumbass who forgets anything that doesn't meet your standards of importance."
"You little bastard..." I muttered through clenched teeth, barely swallowing the curse words that threatened to erupt from my throat.
An exclamation of mock admiration burst from the other end of the line.
"Ooh, look at our Eden! Is he running a 'Speak Properly' campaign now that he's debuted? Sending me such mild words instead of curses! Don't worry about recording—this friend's got an iPhone, so feel free to curse to your heart's content. What's the point of having friends if you can't even curse at them?"
I hung up abruptly, cutting off the laughter that threatened to kill me, and sent a text: I'm buying dinner and drinks. Let's set a date and time.
Seizing the moment, I immediately called Jeong Huigwang.
"Hey, Huigwang, long time no see? How've you been? It's Yoon Eden."
As far as I was concerned, the only memory I had of him was when I'd confronted him in the back of the classroom, demanding he put out his e-cigarette. So, I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear from him. But since I needed to ask him to delete the post, I forced myself to be polite.
I didn't bother asking if he remembered me. If he didn't, why would he have posted that article in the first place?
"Wow, you're actually calling."
A nasty chuckle came through the line.
"You know why I'm calling, right? Take down that post. It's putting me in a really awkward position right now."
I tried to sound as polite as possible, but a sarcastic reply came back.
"Apologize, and I'll delete it. Go on, apologize."
My friend had insisted I deserve an apology. And Dark Knight—isn't that the movie where Batman beats up the villain Joker?
If this guy isn't an innocent victim but the villain himself...
"Oh, I remember now."
Finally, it clicked.
"Hey, is that bread you bought with money you extorted from other kids your bread? Is the money you extorted from them your money? Were you so desperate to feel wronged that you'd write that garbage even four years later?"
If I'd apologized, I would have been screwed. I almost admitted to false accusations with my own mouth.
When I growled, the jerk burst out laughing.
"Either way, I won't regret taking down the post. I have nothing to lose, you know? I just wanted to see you get fucked over because I didn't like you."
"Wow, is that how you want to live your life?"
Just wait until I regress because of you. I'll be the first one to find you and fuck you up.
"Hey, Yoon Eden. Let's make a bet. If a rebuttal post goes up, I'll take mine down. If you helped that guy who got scammed back then, shouldn't he help you now? That's only fair, right?"
"What does that have to do with anything? Why are you bringing up fairness?"
"It's your fault for helping anyone without knowing who they were. You have no judgment."
A surge of anger welled up at his childish, petulant nonsense.
"If a rebuttal gets posted, you'll delete your post out of fear of being exposed as a liar. Why are you acting like you're doing me a favor? Do you think I'm that stupid?"
As I huffed and puffed, the jerk hung up with a mocking laugh, telling me to go pray for a rebuttal to be posted.
Had something like this happened before the regression? I pondered seriously, but the answer remained no. Could this be another memory error...?
No.
The System intervened with a firm denial, assuring me that this memory was intact.
Could it be that before the regression, they didn't even know I existed...?
Unintentionally, before the regression, we had been under Seo Yehyeon's protection.
Only Seo Yehyeon's fame in Reve had shielded us, the lesser-known members, from attacks. Hidden in his shadow, we remained unknown and thus untouched.
Moreover, I was producing and composing under the alias ED, which likely added to the smokescreen.
Before the regression, Reve had enjoyed a peaceful rise to fame without any scandals. But after the regression, when all members gained recognition alongside Seo Yehyeon, these incidents began to surface—a pattern that couldn't be mere coincidence.
Whether it was Kim Dobin's bullying bystander controversy or my current issue.
"So, they'll only take down that damn post if the jerk I helped writes a rebuttal."
After I finished reporting the situation to the members, Ryu Jaehee, his face set with determination, raised his phone and began firing off questions.
"Hyung, do you remember the situation clearly? You know the poster's name, right? We can fabricate a post like that easily. I'm really good at writing fake posts. Who's going to know if it's a fake or a genuine rebuttal from the person involved?"
Seo Yehyeon scratched his cheek and asked awkwardly, "Is it okay to fabricate something like that?"
"What's the harm? Eden Hyung is one of the parties involved. If the bully and school violence image sticks, it won't be good for Eden Hyung or our group."
"First, let's write a simple rebuttal based on what Eden Hyung told us and post it—"
As Ryu Jaehee scrolled down the screen, he paused abruptly. His eyes widened as he stared at the screen.
"Huh...?"
A certain Ms. Kwon, a fan of Reve, scrolled through her social media timeline with a gloomy expression.
She glared resentfully at the timeline, which was split evenly between insults and defenses of Eden, and muttered weakly, "That's not true... My older brother clearly said Eden was a good person..."
She still remembered her older brother's casual remark from a year ago when they had been watching a music show.
"So he really debuted as an idol. It's weird seeing a classmate's face like this."
"What? Oppa, you know Eden? Are you friends?"
"We were in the same class in high school."
"Were you close? Do you still keep in touch? Do you ever meet up? If you see him at the reunion, get me an autograph!"
"We weren't close... just exchanged a few words."
"What was Eden like in high school?"
"Yoon Eden? He's a good guy. A friend I'm truly grateful for."
Based on her older brother's words, Ms. Kwon firmly believed there were no character issues with Eden and continued her fan activities. The current situation felt like a bolt from the blue.
Since Yoon Eden attended an all-boys school, Daydream members were desperately trying to debunk the bullying rumors by sharing anecdotes from their blood relatives who were his classmates. But their numbers were woefully insufficient.
Naturally. What were the odds of a blood relative being classmates with the idol you stan?
Driven by a sense of mission to clear Yoon Eden's name by adding at least one more anecdote to Twitter, Ms. Kwon relentlessly pestered her older brother.
"Didn't you say Eden was your high school classmate, Oppa? You were even in the same class. Don't you have any good stories about him? Oh, right! Can I use your graduation photo as proof when I post? I'll just cover your face with a sticky note on the album cover."
"Why the sudden interest in good stories? Did something happen?"
"Yeah! Rumors are spreading like wildfire—bullying, gang affiliations, you name it! And Eden's intimidating look isn't helping..."
"What? Bullying? Gangs?"
Her older brother's brow furrowed.
"Exactly! It's ridiculous!"
"Has someone posted an exposé?"
"Yes! They're claiming Eden extorted money and forced people to run errands for him!"
"Send me the link."
After reading the exposé, Ms. Kwon's older brother's expression turned grave.
📝 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