Chapter 285
Chapter 285
I heard the most unexpected... no, the exact opposite of what I had anticipated.
‘Did he just ask if I need help?’
In other words, he wasn't trying to interrogate me about why the facts didn't add up; he was asking because he was worried that something was wrong with me.
‘Is he just trying to set the mood?’
I wondered if it was a lure to get a more detailed explanation, so I lifted my head to read Ryu Cheong-woo’s expression.
I immediately retracted that thought. Ryu Cheong-woo’s face was clear.
Right, he wasn't that kind of guy.
He truly meant it when he said he wanted to help.
“……Sigh.”
…I was stunned.
‘I didn't expect the topic of "help" to come up in this situation.’
It seemed Ryu Cheong-woo still felt a massive debt of gratitude toward me for the car accident.
‘I didn't take that part into account.’
Come to think of it, I had even told him to "be grateful" with my own mouth before.
I recalled what I had said to Ryu Cheong-woo back during the deserted island survival variety show, when he seemed to be struggling with a sense of guilt.
—Fine. Then let’s just say I saved your life, Hyung.
—…!
—You can just keep being very grateful in the future. I’ll call on you without hesitation if I need to, so make sure you pay me back then.
Ryu Cheong-woo had acted exactly according to those words.
‘…We were hiking back then, too.’
It was a bit funny to hear similar words returned to me in the same situation.
“Hmm.”
I leaned my arms against the railing and gave a bitter smile.
Now that I thought about it… it felt even stranger. A helping hand instead of suspicion.
‘How peculiar.’
It was awkward, but it didn't feel bad.
I answered slowly.
“First of all… thank you.”
“…….”
“For saying that. You’re in a position where you could be angry.”
“That’s not true.”
Ryu Cheong-woo answered firmly, then leaned comfortably against the railing himself.
“You didn't lie to me, and I haven't suffered any harm, so why would I be angry?”
The fact that he believed I hadn't lied was surprising in itself.
I almost sank into a strange sentimentality but quickly pulled myself out.
I still had things to answer.
“And as for my situation… well, to be honest, it’s hard for even me to understand or explain, but… it’s not so difficult that I absolutely need help.”
I reflected on my circumstances.
I had succeeded in this profession, the status effects were gone… and the guys I lived with were all decent people.
I was living a good life.
‘No, it’s more than I deserve.’
Dealing with risks is the fate of this job. And compared to sudden death, at least this has some context.
“The hard parts are all over. Now, I’m just… looking for trouble. I’m trying to figure out why those contradictions you mentioned exist in the first place.”
Simply put… since I currently had no idea why I ended up in this body doing this, I had to find out the truth.
‘If I don’t know the cause, I won’t know when this situation might suddenly change again.’
Ryu Cheong-woo nodded.
“And that’s why you need the whereabouts of ‘Ryu Gun-woo.’”
He really was quick on the uptake.
“Exactly. So, you’re already helping me, Hyung.”
Ryu Cheong-woo let out a short, dry laugh.
“I see. I’ll do everything I can regarding that part, so don’t worry. Is there anything else?”
“I’m fine—”
Ah, there was one thing.
“We absolutely have to win the Grand Prize this time. Please cooperate with that.”
I had to win the Grand Prize to receive the reward for the ‘Conversation with Park Moon-dae’ mission.
“What?”
Ryu Cheong-woo looked like he’d been blindsided for a moment, but then he smiled easily.
“That’s something our team should be aiming for anyway.”
“I suppose so.”
The reason he didn't ask why I said something so out of the blue… was likely because he mistook it for a joke intended to get the conversation back on track.
‘Even if he misunderstands it that way, I don’t really have anything else to explain.’
But how should I put it… just saying it out loud like that gave me a strange sense of liberation.
The tension in my shoulders dissipated.
“Alright. I’ll work even harder.”
“Thank you.”
I shared a few chuckles with him before turning back to look at the scenery. The mountainside, devoid of people, was quiet.
“It’s a bit hot, but the weather is nice.”
“Yeah.”
The heat outweighed the pleasantness, but I didn't bother pointing that out.
Ryu Cheong-woo didn't ask for any more detailed circumstances or reasons after that.
He only confirmed one thing as we headed down the mountain.
“The fact that Ryu Gun-woo’s circumstances match yours… it’s not a coincidence, is it?”
“No.”
“I see.”
That was all. With those words, the topic was closed.
‘Doesn't he feel frustrated?’
If it were me, I would have raised hell, telling the other person to spill everything they knew so I could judge for myself, whether it made sense or not. It was an amazing display of composure.
Instead, Ryu Cheong-woo concluded the conversation by saying, “You said you’re fine for now, but if you ever need help in the future, feel free to tell me.”
And that wasn't even the end of it.
“Moon-dae, should we speak more comfortably?”
This was what Ryu Cheong-woo said while driving as we returned to the dorms after descending.
“Thinking back, it’s not like I’m still at the National Training Center. I wonder if I was being too stiff by asking you to maintain such strict etiquette.”
“No. It was understandable.”
He was saying something dangerous.
“If we had dropped formalities right away, people would have looked down on it. It could have caused unnecessary controversy.”
If we had done that right after debuting… well, I would have been torn to shreds by people asking if ‘Park Gom-meo’ thought he could ignore the leader just because he was rank 1.
However, Ryu Cheong-woo didn't give up.
“Hmm, is that so? Then how about this? Let’s keep using honorifics, but let’s not be so formal. I think just adding ‘-yo’ would be fine.”
Was that really necessary?
But I had a hunch as to why he was saying that.
In the end, I let out a small laugh and replied.
“If you say so, Hyung.”
“Haha.”
No music was playing in the car on the way back, but the silence wasn't bothersome.
And I realized that one of my worries had been resolved.
‘…There won’t be a repeat of the Summer Package controversy.’
That was how I adjusted to my new roommate.
But as the saying goes, when one worry is resolved, another one takes its place.
After that conversation with Ryu Cheong-woo, during the early hours of a day spent handling an insanely tight comeback preparation schedule.
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbae: Aren't you exercising?]
An out-of-the-blue message arrived.
‘Why is this guy texting me for no reason…?’
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbae: (Photo of a dog)]
I checked the photo of a dog happily walking along a familiar apartment trail.
The dog was familiar, too. To be precise, it was the one I met while jogging in the fog at dawn.
‘Come to think of it, I haven't gone for a walk that way even once since then.’
It sounds unbelievable even to me, but I forgot because of the hiking.
I typed a reply with one hand, the one without any accessories.
[I switched to a different exercise.]
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbae: I see. I contacted you because I didn't see you around. Today is my last day, too.]
That meant I could resume my dawn walks without worrying about running into this bastard. It was good news, but I was so busy with comeback preparations that I wouldn't be able to go anyway….
‘Wait, this bastard can’t come out there anymore either?’
Which means….
I threw a straight ball at the possibility that concerned me the most.
[Are you preparing for a comeback?]
A curveball came back.
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbae: I’m always preparing for an album ^^]
‘Fuck.’
These guys are coming back now. It’s obvious from the way he’s dodging the question.
‘What’s the interval?’
I quickly racked my brain.
This year, we came back in January, and these guys came back in February.
It’s now the end of May… so based on his nuance, it means VTIC is coming back around June.
‘That would be a four-month interval… and for a group of their stature, it’s perfect for releasing a repackage.’
Usually, when a repackage is released, sales tend to drop compared to the previous album.
Since it’s an album with only one or two songs added to the previous full-length album, there’s less incentive to buy, and the short interval makes it a burden for consumers to spend a lot of money.
But four months is enough.
‘With this kind of interval, there’s almost no loss.’
It’s an interval similar to a rookie’s regular promotion cycle, and since VTIC’s album quality is famously high, everyone who was going to buy it will buy it.
And the reason they planned it this way is….
‘They don’t want to lose out on the annual performance stats.’
Since the early third quarter is the deadline for a comeback that isn't considered "too late," they must have been planning this since the beginning of the year.
‘They want to include half a year’s worth of results.’
At the same time, it meant they were confident in this repackage.
“…….”
It’s going to be tough. I gave a bitter smile.
‘They have the exact same plan as us.’
Because we were aiming for a comeback this summer for the exact same reason.
“Moon-dae-ssi, we’re going into your shot right now!”
“Yes.”
I put down my smartphone for now and followed the staff. But my mind was spinning.
“Slightly angled in front… yes, good.”
And while shooting the album concept photos, I came to a conclusion.
‘Just don’t let the months overlap.’
Our deadline was also July. If possible, I hoped they would come back in June as scheduled so we could each take a month for ourselves.
However, a short while later, the urgent news that came through the company’s emergency contact network was the exact opposite of my hopes.
“…July, you say?”
—Yes, ah.
Over Ryu Cheong-woo’s phone, which had been handed to me, I could hear the heavy breathing of a planning team employee who was holding back a string of curses. I suppressed a sigh.
Just two days after I had texted Cheong-ryeo, news of VTIC’s surprise July comeback was reportedly plastered everywhere.
[“Kings of K-pop” VTIC to Comeback in July… Album Pre-orders Imminent]
They had kept it completely under wraps without even a single rumor before letting it explode.
“…….”
Right. If I were to think about it positively… they did release the news early, with about a month and a half to spare.
It was also a sign for those with enough weight to get out of the way if they didn't want to be eaten alive.
‘This stings.’
Since our company’s ability to keep things under wraps is likely abysmal, our comeback schedule must have already leaked through T1.
‘So, are they saying we should either push ours back to September or just take off our rank insignias and fight it out?’
Would Cheong-ryeo really do something this risky?
“They know we’re coming back in July, right?”
—…No. They probably think it’s June. That’s how the initial articles went out….
“…….”
I see.
It seemed that when T1 mentioned TeSTAR’s promotion plans while releasing stock-related presentations and articles, they announced it as June out of the then-scheduled June-July window.
‘June is in the second quarter, so it felt different when they were putting together the PPT.’
It was a common trick.
And if LeTi, VTIC’s agency, set their date thinking we were coming back in June, then VTIC’s comeback would likely be… at the end of July.
That’s even worse. We might actually overlap.
“I understand for now.”
I hung up with a cold head and returned the phone to Ryu Cheong-woo. We were currently moving to another schedule anyway, so I couldn't stay on the phone any longer.
“Hyung, here.”
“Thanks.”
And what this meant was that the members were right next to me, listening to the conversation.
“We’re overlapping with VTIC sunbaenims again?”
“Yeah.”
“Sigh.”
Keun Se-jin sighed and gave a bitter smile. The others looked tense as well.
And they had every reason to be. It was a nightmare recurrence of our simultaneous release at debut.
We managed to hold out and get first place back then, but considering the emotional toll it took, it was natural to feel overwhelmed.
“Umm~ OK!”
Ah, except for that guy.
And Bae Se-jin chimed in, sounding frustrated instead.
“If it’s that much of a burden, can’t we just postpone it a bit? Late August would be fine, too.”
“If we go that far, I think we’ll lose out on the year-end results.”
If we passed the beginning of the third quarter, we would lose too many digital streaming points for the year-end awards.
Then we could only focus on the Album Daesang, but in that area… we were already trailing behind VTIC.
A decision had to be made.