Chapter 254
Chapter 254
Sparkles and confetti are still falling from the pop-up in front of my eyes.
But no matter how surreal the sight was, the content inside the pop-up was the problem. This was how it ended?
What is this?
It felt like I’d been smacked in the back of the head.
Of course, I’d wanted to stop this madness—being threatened with sudden death if I didn't become an idol within a year.
But this way, at this timing… was this a joke?
"What the fuck are you?"
Out of nowhere, it showed me a friendship with 'Park Moon-dae' that I had no memory of, a life after failing the civil service exam that I didn't remember, and finally, it showed me committing a deranged act.
And now, without any explanation or process, it was ending things on its own terms, as if it were cutting me off.
"Then why did you show me all that?"
If it hadn't been for that damn 'Truth Verification,' I would have just accepted my success and moved on with my life.
What, since 'Ryu Gun-woo' already gave up on life once, was I supposed to just ignore that life?
Was I just supposed to live well as Park Moon-dae?
"Then where did the original guy go?"
Where on earth did the original Park Moon-dae go? And who was the 'Ryu Gun-woo' in the video I saw through Ryu Cheong-woo?
Despite the 'Truth Verification' and everything else, nothing had become clear. Nothing made sense.
But the pop-up didn't change.
"……Sigh."
Fine.
Instead of screaming at a hologram like an idiot, I needed to assess the situation first.
After taking a deep breath, I examined the contents of the pop-up more closely.
First, the title that appeared at the beginning.
[Title: Successful One (Idol)]
- You have succeeded.
: Permanent removal of Status Effects.
"……."
So it meant it wouldn't drive me crazy by suddenly popping up another 'Status Effect.'
However, considering the one guaranteeing this was the same system that threw those 'Status Effects' at me in the first place, I couldn't exactly trust it. Pass.
And… there was one more thing in the reward tab besides the title.
[Permanent Status Window]
This meant I could continue to see my own and others' statuses as stats.
"……Hmm."
I crossed my arms.
After seeing this far, my head cooled down again.
Because it was strange.
Isn't this too advantageous for me?
There was nothing bad for me here. There couldn't be a more useful ability in this industry. If I ever wanted to, I could start an agency and have a foolproof ability that would never fail.
To leave me with such… supernatural rewards and just end it.
Without any prior notice?
"……."
I’d been pissed off and thought it was cutting me off, but this… it felt more like a service termination.
The system had simply packed its bags because I’d finished all the Status Effects I was assigned.
It had no reason to explain my curiosity or the cause of this situation.
"…Damn it."
I don't know.
I stared at the pop-up in hollow disbelief, then just laid down.
Fine, fuck it. At least I’ve graduated from the Status Effects. I can live however I want without worrying about sudden death, so how great is that?
Even as I tried to think that way, the bitter aftertaste wouldn't go away.
It was a long time before I could finally fall asleep.
The damn congratulatory pop-up stayed up until morning.
Since my head was a mess, moving my hands felt somewhat better.
"I told you it's fine!"
"I'm fine too."
I fried up some seafood pancakes and meat patties. I even made seasoned ribs, which hadn't been in the plan. It turned out there were raw ribs among the meat I’d bought.
The homeowner and her son were restless, but their momentum died down once the tasting began.
"How does it taste?"
"……Good."
"It really is delicious, but oh dear, to a guest…."
A guest.
Come to think of it, unlike Bae Se-jin, I hadn't purchased any real estate outside of the dorm yet.
The other members wouldn't need to since they had their original homes, but now I… might need to start looking for a house. Since I had to keep living in this body.
But even as I judged it to be a rational plan, I didn't really feel like it.
This is driving me crazy.
It was even more absurd because I knew I was complaining about having it too good.
"Thanks, I ate well."
"Don't even think about the dishes, go watch TV~"
Still, the meal was good. It was appropriate for a holiday meal.
And just as I was blankly watching TV, my smartphone rang.
[Ryu Cheong-woo Hyung]
"…!"
He’d said he would look into 'Ryu Gun-woo' through his relatives.
That was fast.
I answered the phone immediately.
"Hyung."
I could hear a faint dog barking behind Ryu Cheong-woo's voice.
Of course, that wasn't important. What mattered was the point of the call.
"Yes."
"……."
Oh.
Ryu Cheong-woo sounded apologetic for not being able to give me a contact number, but it was already a huge clue.
So the 'Ryu Gun-woo' here at least went to college.
I crossed my arms.
This… matched my original tracks.
After high school, when I was staying at various relatives' houses, I’d cut ties with them entirely. There was no point in contacting them; it only brought up useless thoughts.
"I see. Thank you for letting me know."
"No. It's a relief just to know he's a real person. Thank you for looking into it."
Ryu Cheong-woo added in a slightly joking tone.
"……."
Well, sure…. If thinking that way made him feel better.
I gave up on correcting him and just chatted about the holiday for a bit before hanging up.
And I immediately decided on my next move.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to use the laptop for a bit."
I had to approach this from a different angle now.
As soon as I entered this body, I had already checked up on myself, 'Ryu Gun-woo.'
Meaning I’d checked all the portal site accounts, phone numbers, and even school accounts I used to use.
So this time, I’d go the opposite way.
Not looking for what's alive, but for traces of dead accounts.
I was looking for accounts and traces that I’d already deleted or that had gone dormant.
The data and videos from the fancam account I deleted… those remained.
The videos of 'gun1234.'
Like Young-rin's legendary rainy day fancam.
That was where I got the idea.
I immediately turned on the search engine's advanced search function and adjusted the search dates.
To the past.
"……."
After more than two or three hours of searching and exploring.
I reached a conclusion.
They're here.
All the accounts and records 'Ryu Gun-woo' used in the past were still there.
For example, questions I’d posted on a photography cafe back when I was a freshman.
Since I hadn't liked leaving posts or traces on the internet, it took some time to dig them up, but once I knew they existed, it was clear.
The only things that had disappeared were the internet accounts, phone numbers, and traces that were active in real-time.
In other words, 'Ryu Gun-woo'… had vanished from every location, including the internet and the real world, starting from the moment I entered 'Park Moon-dae's' body.
He evaporated.
That was it. A supernatural evaporation.
"…Sigh."
I closed the laptop.
And I organized the story again.
Actually, I’d had this suspicion ever since I first entered this body.
That this wasn't the world I lived in, and that Ryu Gun-woo didn't exist here.
But that wasn't it.
This is the past I lived in.
The Ryu Gun-woo I saw in Ryu Cheong-woo's video, the one I found on the internet—that was me.
So… in the process of returning to the past, through some unknown mechanism, I became Park Moon-dae instead of Ryu Gun-woo, and 'Ryu Gun-woo' disappeared.
As for why it happened that way….
I didn't know. I didn't even know the mechanism of why people were returning to the past in the first place.
Even Cheong-ryeo, who had returned to the past before me, didn't know the reason.
"……."
Is there no way?
Was I really going to just settle down and prepare to live in this body without ever knowing anything for sure?
I was staring at the closed laptop with a strange sense of lethargy when it happened.
Vibrate—.
My smartphone rang. I picked it up and checked it without thinking.
Dozens of messages had piled up.
Quite a lot.
It had only been about three hours since I last checked. I checked the new messages at the top of the group chat, which had become active due to the holiday.
It was Seon A-hyun.
[Seon A-hyun: Moon-dae, are you doing well? My parents wanted to contact you, but they were worried it might be a burden, so I'm contacting you on their behalf.]
Seon A-hyun's long message started with his own holiday greetings and circled around to the group's future activities.
It was very typical of Seon A-hyun.
[I think Moon-dae is a truly amazing person. If you just keep doing what you've always done, I'm sure a great album…….]
But this part somehow caught my attention.
"What I've always done…."
I knew it was just a common expression used in well-wishes, but I found myself reading it again for no reason.
As if it were a clue that would spark something….
"…!!"
Right. I see.
[Thanks for the concern. You have a good Chuseok too, and I'll see you at the dorm.]
After confirming the reply, I immediately turned off the smartphone screen.
Then I sat on the bed, stared at the wall, and thought.
—What I've always done.
Throw away all other distractions.
Stay calm. Let's just combine the knowledge I’ve gained while experiencing this damn status window.
First, the daydream I experienced while in a coma.
The system and status window didn't work properly there.
Only crap like that appeared; it was completely unresponsive. No achievements were recorded at all.
And yet… gacha was possible.
It must have been because it was a pop-up I’d obtained beforehand and hadn't deleted.
And, just like in that daydream where the system was unresponsive, there was one pop-up I’d kept just in case that hadn't disappeared yet.
[Legendary Trait Gacha ☜ Click!]
This.
The gacha I’d obtained after the online charity concert by updating my performance achievements.
I had exactly one.
And since I could use the gacha even in the daydream, I already knew I could run it now.
Second….
This status window that only appeared to me was favorable to my success.
Cheong-ryeo didn't have a status window. The old man he met, who supposedly came from the future, probably didn't either.
I seemed to be the only one who had this. I didn't know why.
And… this point was especially evident in the gacha.
As if it were manipulating the probabilities, it always gave me what I needed.
However, there were cases where it didn't.
I pulled Time of Indulgence and Bacchus differently.
Those were things I’d pulled by intensely wishing for them after I’d figured out this 'necessity' mechanism.
In other words, if I wished for something specifically and intensely, I could get what I wanted.
I focused on this point.
Spin, spin, spin—
The images on the roulette machine spun.
I wished.
What I want is….
Only one thing.
An effect similar to the reward for a Status Effect!
A fanfare erupted from the roulette.
It was likely the last roulette effect I would ever see.
A slot glowing in rainbow colors.
[Trait: 'Mission Constitution (S)' Acquired!]
[Trait: Mission Constitution (S)]
- An equivalent exchange for those who challenge themselves.
: Able to perform 'Missions.'
It worked.
I leaned my head against the wall.
And a new pop-up was rising before my eyes.
[Mission Occurred!]
Goal: Grand Prize
Mission Deadline: D-__
Reward: ______
Penalty: ______
I looked up at the hologram.
Perhaps because it was a 'Trait,' it had a much higher degree of freedom compared to a 'Status Effect.'
"Good."
I filled in the deadline first. 500 days.
[Penalty will be strengthened if D-365 is exceeded.]
It's already three months before the end of the year, and it's playing games with the Grand Prize? Next.
The important thing is the reward.
I couldn't put in something vague like 'Truth' or 'Reason.' Remember how I was blindsided every time.
But I also couldn't put in something too specific like 'An explanation of the reason and process of how I entered this body.' It wouldn't let me write it because it exceeded the character limit.
Funny.
I gave a short laugh and crossed my arms.
In that case, well, I had no choice but to approach it from another direction.
A candidate who could answer questions about this whole situation.
The one whose whereabouts were unknown.
"A conversation with… Park Moon-dae."
How about that?
[Reward: Conversation with Park Moon-dae]
The item was entered normally.
And the penalty was automatically filled in.
[Penalty: Deletion of Status Window]
"Oh."
It's wagering the status window?
I briefly deleted the reward and put in something like 'Dance EX.'
The penalty was a drop in dance stats.
As expected, it demands something equivalent.
That meant a 'Conversation with Park Moon-dae' was a reward intense enough to demand the 'Deletion of Status Window.'
"This is it."
I didn't need any other proof.
I changed the reward back to 'Conversation with Park Moon-dae.'
When I pressed confirm, a new pop-up appeared.
[Would you like to accept?]
[Y / N]
"Yeah."
Let's go for it.