Chapter 40: "It Was a Good Match."
Rakwon left. His figure, dragging his suitcase slowly toward the elevator, shrank into a dot. The elevator doors opened, and the black dot was swallowed by the white doors, vanishing completely.
Rakwon was gone, but messages appeared.
Let the Lowest-Ranked Idol, Black Label, Be Known!
Black Label keyword searches exceeded 10,000!
Black Label search count: 123,432 / 10,000
You've achieved overfulfillment of the quest!
Yeah. Yeah. I patted the system affectionately for sending such a proud message. Now you finally recognize my worth. So, what's the overfulfillment bonus for exceeding it by 10 times? You don't plan to just send some lip-service message and clam up, do you?
Calculated overfulfillment and granted an appropriate reward!
Acquired Random Reward Box x5!
Random reward boxes... Ambiguous. Not that the rewards are stingy, but if crap items pop out, it's my bad luck. If jackpots come up, the system will brag that it's an appropriate reward for the overfulfillment. Thinking about it pisses me off. But I can't refuse the rewards either.
I checked the list of possible items from the boxes.
- Affinity Chocolate
- Strange Candy
- Doran's Mic
...
"Affinity Chocolate: Increases affinity toward the player upon consumption. Not particularly necessary..."
"Strange Candy: Player's talents may increase upon consumption."
Eh, eh. One or two candies wouldn't be bad, but... not appropriate for my overfulfillment. Consumables that vanish on use, and below them, Doran's Mic. Reading its effects, it's not super essential gear for a composer like me. Singing into Doran's Mic boosts vocal ability or something.
"Meh..."
I scrolled down.
Gacha trait: Shows the most expensive item biggest, buries the most useful at the bottom.
If I were a singer, Doran's Mic would be tempting, but unfortunately, I'm a composer right now. What's the most needed item for a composer?
...
- Inspiration Amplifier
- Precious Hourglass
- SSS-Class Beat (300G SSD)
Nothing else caught my eye.
"A 300-gig SSD with an SSS-class beat inside..."
Oh, nice. This matches my overfulfillment perfectly. SSS-class should be on par with the inspirations swirling in my head, so I can use it freely. Conscience dead? It's my reward; I'll use it appropriately—what can you do about it, quarterfinal opponent?
I rubbed my hands together and hit 'Open Boxes.'
No refreshing sound effect chimed.
A white light shimmered before my eyes, and true to the 'random box' name, the item matched the vibe. A No. 5 postal parcel box appeared, with the end tape folded and curled up.
Open this?
Riiip.
I grabbed the tape and tore the box open.
A tiny, weird candy was stuck right in the center of this huge box. Overpackaging much? Damn. Looks like I got screwed.
Four random boxes left. Dilemma of a lifetime. As a man, do I open them all at once, or save them for precise use when needed?
"Screw it."
A real man just rips 'em open.
Open Random Reward Box x4 all at once?
Opening Boxes!!
And a real man never fears ruin.
The dorm was pretty quiet. Not just the dropouts—even those who stayed after the announcement of no filming for a week seemed to have packed up to get some fresh air.
I was the same. I stuffed clothes needing laundry into a sports bag, tossed in my laptop just in case, and headed out.
I closed the door and descended the stairs slowly. The dorm lobby entrance was still swarming with fans. Crowded. Noisy and chaotic.
5 p.m. Not the best time, and wanting a smooth exit, I hit the cafeteria first.
Scary. Like during military service, terrified of how much this baekban would cost outside.
I dumped my bag on an empty table to claim my spot. Grabbed a tray, loaded white rice first, then built side dishes pondering who pairs well with what.
Tap.
"Right? Seo Hyun-woo. Falcon."
I turned. Shim Yu-jeong, the PD who'd been tailing us hard, tapped my arm.
"Over there. That. The braised lotus root is delicious. Try it."
"Uh... I don't like lotus root."
"Why? Not just recommending randomly."
Shim Yu-jeong turned, nodding toward an obviously seasoned chef in the kitchen.
"That's the studio's dedicated cook. Been here ages, real honey flavor! Kingly!"
She held my tray with one hand, thumbs-up with the other.
"I've bounced around Snet's national studios for six years, never seen a cook like him."
"Thanks for the rec, but my tray's full of sides already."
No matter how skilled, I can't swap out mini donkatsu, bulgogi, kimchi, sausage for braised lotus root.
"Lotus root next time."
"You won't... It's really good."
I grabbed the yogurt dessert and headed to my pre-claimed seat. Shim followed.
She pulled a chair opposite.
"Better than eating alone, right?"
She wiggled her fingertips, grabbed the edge of my placed tray.
"No way... you like solo dining?"
"Fine together, but you okay with me? Crew and performer—rumors could fly."
"Hm... maybe."
Shim plopped down.
"Whatever. Gotta have info to leak it. I'm broke anyway."
Shim picked up chopsticks, eyed my tray's mountain of mini donkatsu politely.
"One okay?"
"Didn't you say lotus root's great?"
"Can't live on just that. Gotta eat everything. We work to eat."
I nodded; she grinned, snatched a donkatsu.
"Ah, gotta diet."
She piled it on a heaping spoonful of rice like a rice bomb, carefully to the mouth, chewed.
"What were we talking? Right, leaking info. Same team anyway—if we wanted, we'd do it. Right?"
"True."
Weird. Makes oddly good sense.
"Mm. Mm. Delicious."
Not empty words. Savoring the donkatsu, she grabbed lotus root.
"You're the one drawing lines, Hyun-woo."
"Me?"
"Heh."
Shim bit into lotus root, nodded.
"Yeah. How'd you hide such amazing talent from me?"
Hide what talent? Did she see me rolling gacha earlier? Wait, others can see it too? Nonsense. Means Shim's an awakener too...? Her regressing...?
"Never seen this in my life? How'd you beat Rakwon? Amazing."
No way. Nearly popped off like an overextended sausage from needless suspicion.
Cheat key for such questions: always works.
"Just... got lucky."
"Nah, no."
Shim wagged chopsticks.
"Luck alone doesn't beat Rakwon. You know—luck is skill at this point."
Couldn't deny good words.
"Anyway."
Shim scanned around. Empty cafeteria. Nutritionists and chefs prepping to leave.
Still, she leaned in, whispered.
"Quarterfinal prep going how?"
"Not yet."
Honestly, no clue. Beat Sannoh only to face empty North Mountain loss—a ballad singer. No clear strategy, no clever ploy.
Crisis image. Gotta overhaul the screamo rep too.
Pondered hard, but time plenty; today, rest the brain.
Shim tapped chopsticks to mouth, sparing words.
"Yeah. Stage just yesterday. Too early. Right?"
Shim eyed my bag by the table.
"Composer heading home?"
"Yeah. Three days?"
My seat piled with bags vs. her super light one—no purse even.
Shim wasn't dressed to go out. Messy hair full of product, sloppy tracksuit.
"PD not going anywhere?"
"Nope. Not going. 'Break' my ass—not vacation. Gotta reset quarterfinal stage, edit everything. Dying. What? G&X guy. Here for Black Label?"
Shim chopsticked toward window, changing topic.
First G&X staff I'd seen. Sounded grumpy, so I shared.
Dumped half my remaining donkatsu pile on her tray.
"O-thanks, so much. This is really good."
Shim popped donkatsu straight in.
Generous, but didn't miss chance to gloat.
"Gave you my donkatsu, so help me later."
"Nah. Donkatsu debt? Didn't peg you mean. Taking cuz wronged. Fetch it."
Yeah, no~.
I eyed past her shoulder.
Chefs gone. Lights dim, just us.
"Can't fetch now—want it back?"
Lifted spoon/chopsticks with returned donkatsu, but Shim quicker.
"Sneaky. Gave then take back? Fine. Big help later."
"Quick hands."
In the empty cafeteria, a new voice.
The G&X guy from window approached us.
"Composer Seo Hyun-woo, right?"