Chapter 27 - The Conditions for Becoming a Gentle Idol Leader - Episode 27

There was something in the room.

When he was alone, the status window shouldn’t have appeared. Go Young-in slowly looked around the room.

Two single beds, a door connected to the dressing room, and the front door. The front door was properly shut, and so was the dressing room door.

Go Young-in first moved as though he hadn’t noticed anything at all. As long as the status window wasn’t visible to anyone else, no one would find his behavior strange.

Whatever it was, it seemed better to keep it as out of sight as possible. He took the towel he had draped around his neck and flipped it back over his head.

Then he picked up the phone on the nightstand and idly fiddled with it, scanning every corner of the room without making it obvious.

Even so, there was nothing that stood out. If not for the status window, he would have dismissed it as a mistake. But the status window was there, and Lim Se-bin’s words had come back to him at just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the right moment. Something had to be here.

Neither Go Young-in nor Cheon Sa-yoon was the type to decorate a room or leave things lying around, so the room was painfully bare to begin with.

In a cramped, empty room like this, where there was barely anywhere to hide anything even if someone wanted to, what on earth could it be?

Should he try saying something again, just to confirm? For the sake of caution, Go Young-in opened his mouth in a small voice. If the status window appeared even when he spoke softly, then there was definitely something there.

There was only one thing that could summon the status window fastest, without any thought at all.

"Fuck."

...

What the hell...

He hadn’t actually expected that to work. Why was it working again now? It wasn’t the room? What the hell.

He was standing right here; it wasn’t like he had vanished for a second. There had to be a reason the status window had appeared.

At this point, there was only one thing to suspect. When he’d spoken softly, nothing had come up, but when he said it normally, it had.

He stared intently at the other door in the room. The one connected to the dressing room.

Go Young-in quietly approached the door attached to one wall and stopped in front of it. This was the most likely possibility. He only needed to check beyond this door.

He grabbed the knob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

Thud.

The door opened only to catch on something and stop.

Go Young-in’s hand tightened on the knob. Fuck, he’d known it.

He leaned his weight into it, and then something suddenly jolted free with a clatter, throwing the door wide open.

"Uh—!"

Ah. With someone’s idiot little sound following it, Go Young-in staggered for an instant as the door flew open and he lost his balance, but he immediately recovered and straightened up. At the same time, he turned on the phone he was holding and hit 112, then looked straight ahead.

Someone’s face sitting on the floor came into view. He’d thought it was some lunatic, but the face was so familiar that instead he wondered what the hell this was.

What situation is this. Why are you coming out from there.

Go Young-in slowly lowered his arm. He was so dumbfounded that his strength just left him.

What the hell.

"Manager?"

The manager was inside, in that awkward half-standing, half-sitting posture.

...

"What are you doing?"

The result was so far from what he’d expected. More than that, hadn’t he just left after doing that earlier? What in the world was he doing here?

"Th-this... It’s a misunderstanding. It really is."

The manager waved both hands frantically and came toward him on his knees, so Go Young-in subtly put some distance between them. Did he look like someone who’d misunderstand? The man had gone and done something suspicious all by himself.

Even if he’d come back for something, why had he been waiting inside the dressing room instead of just waiting in the room?

* * *

In short, this was the manager’s explanation.

Since Lim Se-bin’s story had come up not long ago, he had been checking the dorm whenever he could do so without getting in the way of their daily lives. He had been trying to stay out of sight. That sort of thing.

He should’ve just said it normally; why hide like a criminal to do it? Go Young-in barely swallowed a sigh. He really was a strange man. And honestly, that made him look even more suspicious. This guy had gone and done something that practically begged for suspicion.

Whether he knew it or not, the manager kept stumbling over himself, flustered, and apologized again and again.

"I’m really sorry... Sorry. The timing was just terrible. I was going to look around quickly and leave, but then you came out... It’d be funny if you saw me like that, right? So then... before I knew it... I’m sorry."

"So... did you find anything?"

The manager shook his head hard.

"I’ve been digging around for days, but nothing turned up. The security company said they hadn’t seen anyone suspicious near the dorm, either."

So maybe it had really been Lim Se-bin’s imagination after all. If he was just being pointlessly sensitive because of this sort of thing, then—

Go Young-in was still suspicious. The status window couldn’t possibly be seriously broken, right? And yet it somehow felt like it was trying to help him... creepy. So there was something here after all. Either he just hadn’t found it yet, or it wasn’t in the dorm.

"Young-in?"

The sound of his name pulled him out of his thoughts. The manager was watching his expression carefully.

"You didn’t tell the others, did you?"

Ah... right. In situations like this, wasn’t he supposed to tell everyone and work out a response together? He couldn’t be the one to talk about social skills with Pyo Jae-ho. But there really was nothing conclusive to report.

Then again, would telling them help? If they started being conscious of it, wouldn’t it become harder to find because they’d hide more carefully?

This is a pain in the ass.

"No... I didn’t want to make the members anxious over something that isn’t even confirmed yet."

It was a lie. He simply hadn’t been planning to share anything with the members in the first place.

Up until now, Go Young-in hadn’t really had the option of talking things over with anyone. At least, not as far as he remembered. He wasn’t used to it, and besides, if the world reset and he met them again, he wouldn’t remember the conversation anyway, so what was the point of saying it? Nothing had happened yet, either, so he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to bring it up in advance.

"I-I thought you might say that... but it’s true, huh..."

What the hell. That was unpleasant as hell. What did that even mean? It wasn’t exactly praise.

"Young-in, you... when something happens, do you always try to handle it by yourself? You never really say anything."

"Have I done that?"

Wasn’t that just obvious? My own problems, I handle myself. It seemed strange to even ask.

"...Don’t you?"

Why was he asking Go Young-in back? Why were they so uncertain about it?

"If you say so, then I guess I did."

"Ahem. Yeah. Right. Don’t worry. I’ve told them roughly what happened for now. We can’t exactly keep it a secret, and you’re a team, after all. Don’t try to carry everything on your own just because you’re the leader."

So this was what people called a positive interpretation of a dream. He’d chosen the wrong person to believe in. The status window had been flattering someone who didn’t even really feel like a leader because of it.

He still didn’t really know what he was supposed to do as leader. Cheon Sa-yoon wasn’t any help as a reference point, and though he was trying to follow the instructions, the members’ cooperation was never quite satisfying. But he couldn’t exactly not do it. Ah, there went his blood pressure again.

"Thank you...."

For now, he tossed out the safest line he had. The man was speaking out of concern, so he couldn’t exactly snap back.

"Yeah. Anyway, be careful."

The manager pushed himself to his feet, bracing one hand on his knee, and straightened the clothes that had been thrown off-kilter when he’d nearly fallen over.

"I’m really going now. See you tomorrow."

The manager quietly opened the door and left. Go Young-in kept staring after him. Even after he was gone, he continued to look at the shut door, lost in thought.

Once again, the thought of why he’d remembered the man’s name came back to him. He had recently learned that the man was terrible at his job. Was this connected to that?

Not long after the manager left, Cheon Sa-yoon opened the door and came in. The moment Go Young-in saw him, he snapped fully awake. The timing was insane. It was as if he’d waited for the manager to leave and then come in to match it.

Right. That bastard. Where had he been, and why was he showing up now?

He didn’t seem to have gone out, judging from what he was wearing. Before Go Young-in could even raise the question, Cheon Sa-yoon cut in first. The bastard was annoyingly quick on the uptake.

"The call ran long. What was it about, the manager?"

"The thing Lim Se-bin mentioned. The manager said he’d pass it on to you too."

"Really?"

He’d been attaching the honorific to his words in front of him, but of course this was how he addressed people when they weren’t around. Just as expected. He hadn’t disappointed, in more ways than one.

That said, Go Young-in still didn’t understand why Cheon Sa-yoon always spoke so meaningfully.

"Anything else?"

"No. He said there wasn’t anything definite yet, but to be careful."

"Haha. That’s what the manager said?"

Cheon Sa-yoon asked back as if he had heard something genuinely funny. If he was going to laugh, he could at least explain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what was so funny about it. Cheon Sa-yoon had his arms folded, his right hand idly brushing his mouth, when he suddenly let out a thin smile.

"There’s a lot to be careful about, isn’t there?"

There really was. It felt like the thing he’d heard most since coming back was to be careful. And even then, it was only caution in words; nothing actually happened. This was practically being told to guard his phone with his life.

In the end, the little incident where he’d thought some lunatic had done something turned out to involve not a lunatic, but the manager.

Even so, he still didn’t feel settled. Should he check the other rooms too, just in case? The moment that thought ended, the status window appeared and obstructed his vision.

Damn it. He’d thought of it first this time. Honestly, if Lim Se-bin had found something, he would’ve noticed it already. Come to think of it, wasn’t Cheon Sa-yoon the same? Of the four of them, the ones who looked most oblivious to this sort of issue were Kyeon In-woo and Pyo Jae-ho.

If anything, the most sensible answer among those four would come from Kyeon In-woo.

He dragged himself out of the room and knocked on the door to the room Kyeon In-woo and Pyo Jae-ho used. Kyeon In-woo answered, and Go Young-in opened the door just enough to poke his face through the gap.

Kyeon In-woo was sprawled on his bed, playing a phone game. Pyo Jae-ho had earbuds in and was hunched over his laptop. From the looks of it, he was working again. Neither of them seemed to care who came in.

"You’re still awake."

"Yeah."

Kyeon In-woo didn’t even look away from the game. Still, the fact that he answered meant he probably wasn’t fully absorbed in it. The question was how to bring it up. If the manager had already told him, he’d probably have a rough idea of the situation, so maybe it didn’t matter.

"In-woo, have you noticed anything weird lately? Like the feeling someone’s watching you."

"Out of nowhere? What’s supposed to be weird about it?"

"You never know. Nothing’s happened yet, but still."

"What bullshit is that. Nothing’s happening anywhere."

If I knew that, do you think I’d be worrying about it?

"No. If nothing’s there, that’s good."

It kept telling him to talk to them every time he could. He had come here for that, but every time he spoke, his energy drained away, so he wanted to keep it to the bare minimum.

"If anything comes up for you too, tell me."

Kyeon In-woo, who had been absorbed in the game until then, finally tore his eyes away from the phone and looked over with that same frightening expression he always wore.

"For me? Go Young, what the hell. Did something happen again?"

"Nothing on my end. The manager just came by."

"What the hell. You scared the crap out of me. Okay. Got it, ah fuck!"

The noisy sound effects from the game cut off, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the room went quiet. It looked like the character had died while he’d been distracted for a second.

On Kyeon In-woo’s phone screen, the words YOU FAILED! BUT A SYSTEM REVIVED YOU :) appeared in huge letters over a black background.

"Ah, shit, this is fucking annoying."

Looking at it, it seemed like his words had caused this mess. Should he apologize? Fuck. He should probably leave quickly.

"Sorry for bothering you. I’m going back in."

"Huh? No, not really? Did I say anything to you? That’s ridiculous."

So that “shit” he’d just shouted had not been shouted with his mouth, but with his whole face? With nothing to say, Go Young-in just gave a wry smile, and Kyeon In-woo continued.

"Forget it. Dying doesn’t even mean the end anyway. I just bitched because it’s annoying to have to start over from the beginning."

So it was a temper tantrum after all, you bastard. He was just about to close the door ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and leave when he suddenly wondered what kind of game it was, anyway, for Kyeon In-woo to concentrate so hard on it every time he saw him. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have cared at all, but Kyeon In-woo’s last words stuck with him. On impulse, the question came out.

"Is it fun?"

"Would I be doing it if it wasn’t?"

"So your life isn’t set, then. What, usually there’d be hearts or something, right?"

"Hey. If there were, I’d have been blowing up your phone demanding you hand over your hearts ages ago. Wouldn’t I?"

Fair enough. That bastard absolutely would have done it shamelessly.

"Well, anyway, when you die, you just have to start from the beginning again."

"...Ah."

That was... really, really fucking nasty. He had the feeling someone’s circumstances were similar to that, and he hoped it was just his imagination.

"What happens if you clear it?"

"This?"

Kyeon In-woo frowned as though he’d been asked something bizarre, scratching at his forehead.

"What do you mean, what happens? It’s just a series of stages. You’re just breaking records. That’s it."

The guy who usually didn’t even glance at games had asked, so maybe Kyeon In-woo was curious after all. He asked back.

"Why. You want to play too?"

No. He was already doing enough life-risking on his own, so he’d pass. Standing there without answering, he seemed to take that as the end of the matter and stretched his legs out, leaning back against the headboard. Look at that posture. He really never changed.

A noisy game sound effect and background music spilled out through the phone. Go Young-in quietly closed the door and stepped back out. There wasn’t much to gain.

Just, that’s all.

Could he really bring it to an end this time too? Or was there even an end at all? He didn’t know.