Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Translator: Penny
Chapter 81
Finally...! Finally, this damn System is working!
Overwhelmed with emotion, I clapped a hand over my mouth, recalling the countless inquiries I'd submitted.
The word "partial" irked me, but still, any update was better than none.
"Are my words really that moving...?" Seo Yehyeon asked, his voice tinged with awkwardness. I nearly blurted out my usual "What nonsense are you spouting?" but managed to swallow the words just in time.
Ah, right. The Affinity Score too.
Still covering my mouth, I nodded silently. The Affinity Score increased by 1%.
It was fortunate that Seo Yehyeon had such a fragile mentality, easily moved by such trivial things.
The side effect of our honest conversation was awkwardness.
We were more accustomed to tearing each other down with our words, so after such verbal sparring, we could act as if nothing had happened. But after these awkward, saccharine conversations, we were completely unprepared.
Unfortunately, since we were roommates, we had to keep seeing each other's faces even after retreating to our room.
An awkward game of cat and mouse began. We glanced sideways, trying to gauge who would enter the room first. Seo Yehyeon cautiously broke the silence.
"You... are you going into the room?"
"No, I'll stay in the living room. You go ahead, Hyung."
Seo Yehyeon's face brightened at this, and he quickly slipped into our room.
Left alone in the living room, I leaned back comfortably on the sofa and immediately checked the update details.
※ Update List ※
▶ The Original Intent Score penalty for "Dead Eyes" is now restricted to schedules and fan interactions.
▶ The prohibited phrase "Ah, seriously" and its derivatives are now restricted to schedules and fan interactions.
▶ Added expiration dates to Random Tickets.
▶ The recognition time for the Weekly Quest "Search" has been increased from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.
The top two changes were exactly what I'd been desperately hoping for, but the bottom two? I hadn't even considered suggesting them!
Is this bastard giving me medicine and then poisoning me?
No, it's not like those top two changes were even medicine. They were just... common sense!
Still, I'll take what I can get.
I immediately relaxed the tension in my eyes, which were usually wide open anyway. Yeah, how could anyone maintain that wide-eyed, sparkling "Dead Eyes" look 365 days a year?
Kim Dobin, whose Affinity Score with me was only 47%, burst out of his room and froze when he saw me sitting on the sofa with my eyes glazed over.
"Hyung, why are you staring like that...? It's scary..."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, I thought you and Yehyeon Hyung had another fight."
"Oh, really?"
My Original Intent Score hadn't decreased. I was overwhelmed with relief.
Instead, my Affinity Score with Kim Dobin dropped to 46%. Just when I thought I'd conquered the mountain that was Seo Yehyeon, another peak—Kim Dobin—loomed before me.
"Come sit here," I called out to Kim Dobin, who was slinking back into his room, and patted the spot next to me on the sofa.
Kim Dobin, looking like a guilty puppy with his eyes darting around, hesitantly came over and sat down.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong!!"
Kim Dobin answered with military precision, his posture rigid. I sighed and waved my hand dismissively.
"No, there is a problem. I'm not trying to blame you. I just want to hear what's bothering you, plain and simple."
"You really won't get mad if I'm completely honest?"
I've told you a million times, Dobin, if you keep talking like that, people will think I'm always on your case.
I rubbed my throbbing temples at his mumbled reply.
"So, you thought my casual answers meant I was annoyed with you?"
Kim Dobin nodded, his face filled with hurt.
"What kind of answer is 'Oh, really'? It's like some half-hearted fansign response from a seven-year veteran idol with dead eyes..."
"That would be 'Oh, really?'"
You're the one who's being annoying now, Dobin.
Kim Dobin, though capable of pulling his weight and almost single-handedly handling the choreography, was overshadowed by the ultimate boss, Seo Yehyeon. But beneath the surface, Dobin possessed a remarkably fragile, glass-cannon mentality.
My preferred type was someone like Ryu Jaehee, who maintained clear boundaries while being warmly affectionate. Not someone like Kim Dobin, who spouted incomprehensible otaku jargon, constantly second-guessed himself, and indulged in bizarre fantasies.
But that was my problem. I had to somehow raise my Affinity Score with him to 100% within two years. Otherwise, it was another regression.
I had no desire to relive the grueling battles with that damned agency over the title track, Come to My Universe.
"So, what's the problem, anyway?"
I barged into Ryu Jaehee's room, shoved him aside, and sprawled on his bed, sighing dramatically. Ryu Jaehee responded with a nonchalant retort.
"Hyung, your current behavior."
I brushed him off and continued to lament.
"No, seriously! I saw you being all affectionate with Jun, so why do you make it so obvious you're uncomfortable around me?"
"Well, to put it simply, it's like this: a mom who's always doting on you versus a dad who's never home because he's always working."
"Anyone listening would think we're talking about a 19-month-old toddler, not a 19-year-old."
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
"And you're not like that."
"Are Dobin Hyung and I really alike? He's secretly very shy, and his imagination is ridiculously overactive."
"I know that all too well."
After all, I was the biggest victim of Kim Dobin's delusional theater.
Thanks to that, I'd developed the habit of reporting my whereabouts whenever I went anywhere. I'd thought of it as just a passing episode, but it must have been more shocking to me than I realized.
"And Hyung lacks sensitivity. In some ways, you and Dobin Hyung have the worst possible compatibility."
"Worse than my compatibility with Seo Yehyeon?"
"From what I've seen, the issues between you and Yehyeon Hyung could be resolved if you both swallowed your pride and showed each other some consideration. But you and Dobin Hyung are fundamentally incompatible. If you took an MBTI test, you'd probably get completely opposite results."
So MBTI was a thing back then too. Not quite the massive craze it is in the future, though.
It felt strange to be even thinking about this. Before my regression, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.
Ah, so that's why things fell apart with the members.
A bitter smile crept across my face as I recalled the days right before my regression, when we barely spoke to each other.
"Then how am I supposed to act to fix things between us?"
"Isn't it fine just to keep things as they are? It's not like we've completely fallen apart. Dobin Hyung would probably just tremble in fear if you suddenly started being nice to him, wondering why you're acting so scary."
The image was so vivid in my mind that it became a problem. Unable to either confirm or deny it, I could only sweep my bangs back.
"Still, we have to try. We can't keep living like this forever."
I needed to raise the Affinity Score to 100% within two years to avoid another regression.
Ryu Jaehee, who had been staring intently at me, offered some advice in response to my sincere reply:
"First, start calling me by my real name. Not 'Dobi.'"
I glanced at the Hidden Quest Window and saw that Ryu Jaehee's Affinity Score had increased by 1%.
Some people's scores plummeted with even a casual reply, while others' rose just from conversation.
Hey, System, can't you give us some guidelines for each member?
It had been decided early on that the repackage album would include one new title track and one new B-side.
Thanks to the consecutive moderate successes of the HI-TN album and our previous promotions, my influence had grown considerably.
While the title track of our last album, "One Chance," had been a street-style song with a hint of refreshing energy, the title track for this repackage album would fully embrace a refreshing concept.
The title track, "Come to My Universe," was a lively dance song brimming with High Teen vibes.
Having worked on it intermittently since January, we were able to set the comeback date for late March without much debate.
"I'm telling you, this is going to be a massive hit! My gut feeling is screaming it!"
"You said the exact same thing about 'All Right Or Night,' remember?"
"This one's gonna be even bigger than that, I think."
Still dripping wet from the music video shoot, I lay sprawled on a sunbed, wrapped in a large towel, chatting with Ryu Jaehee.
With underwater scenes and pool scenes, everyone had no choice but to take the plunge.
At least it was early March, when the weather was starting to warm up. My eyes felt gritty from being forced open underwater.
"Why does my hair always have to be so ridiculously bright, even for our previous promotions?" I sighed heavily, fidgeting with my ash pink-dyed hair.
Since dyeing my hair this color, I'd developed a near-neurotic aversion to strawberry milk and cotton candy.
"Hyung, your natural aura is too intense. If we want to pull off a refreshing concept, we need to soften your image with a cute hair color like this."
Ryu Jaehee, his hair dyed a reddish-brown, sipped his hot barley tea and retorted, "Hyung, you've got such a naturally strong impression that you need to tone it down with a cute hair color like this to pull off a refreshing concept."
As he walked toward the stylists to get a fresh towel for the one that had quickly become damp, Kim Dobin came running up, calling his name.
He's really running on this slippery floor? Ryu Jaehee thought. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Kim Dobin slipped, lost his balance, and Ryu Jaehee instinctively grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"Trying to crack your skull open? It's slippery here. Don't run unless you want a trip to the hospital."
Kim Dobin stared back with wide eyes, startled. Ryu Jaehee gave him the warning and strode away.
The Affinity Score, which he had predicted would increase by 5-10%, remained unchanged.
That Seo Yehyeon bastard. Ah, not anymore. He's even worse than Seo Yehyeon now.
I sighed heavily and plopped down next to Gyeon Hajun, noticing Kim Dobin had already claimed my sunbed and was sprawled out on it.
"Jun-a, what's the deal? Usually, saving someone from getting their head bashed in would improve our relationship, right?"
"Of course, you wouldn't do this, but did you happen to make a big deal out of it?"
"No, not at all. I just told him, 'Are you trying to get your head cracked open? If you don't want to end up in the hospital, stop running around like that.'"
"Hmm, you should probably drop the 'Are you trying to get your head cracked open?' part. That phrase completely negates any concern you might have shown afterward."
"But I meant it as a genuine expression of concern!"
"Concern only counts if the other person perceives it as such."
Having spent years among people who casually hurled insults at each other without taking offense, dealing with these fragile, glass-hearted members felt like torture.
I had inadvertently taken on a task from Gyeon Hajun: to deliver warm water to the Maknae Line and try to improve our Affinity Score. Carrying two paper cups of warm water, I ambled toward the sunbeds.
As I drew closer, their voices became clearer.
"Eden Hyung's been acting weird lately! He's gotten so soft—he doesn't even call me Dobi anymore! His eyes seem a little dull when he doesn't have a schedule, but still..."
Hearing my name slip from Kim Dobin's lips, I subtly muffled my footsteps and crept behind them.
"So, about Eden Hyung... Could he possibly have been diagnosed with a terminal illness?"
"Wow, that's the worst deduction ever. Don't you dare say that in front of Eden Hyung. He'd probably revert to his old Demon Eden self the moment he heard it."
"No, listen. Now that I think about it, he's coughed up blood twice already. And even though he's mellowed out, he's still Demon Eden—"
"What about Eden?"
I grabbed Kim Dobin's stiffly turned head and Ryu Jaehee's head, which was trying to sneak away, in both hands and gave them a refreshing scalp massage.
These brats have been calling me that behind my back?
Just cooperate with raising the Affinity Score, you damn Dobi! I really don't want to regress again, you know?
📝 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