Chapter 297
Chapter 297
“You guys are mean. You tricked me.”
“Hey now, Yu-jin, don’t be like that!”
Cha Yu-jin seemed deeply shocked after seeing the laser frenzy during the rehearsal, and after watching the actual joint performance, he declared a boycott on all conversation.
His reason: “How could you do a stage like this without me?”
Though that only lasted about thirty minutes.
Now that TeSTAR’s performance was over, he seemed to be back in a good mood, slowly opening his mouth again.
I pulled the towel off my head and spoke.
“Next time, I’ll give you a laser solo. You can swing them around like dual swords.”
“Oh!! …Umm, it would have been better if we did it today!”
“Today was just a one-day thing. If we do it at our solo concert, we can do it for months. I think that’d be better.”
“That’s right! Doing it multiple times is way better!”
“He’s right!”
“Then it really is more profitable to wait.”
“OK, got it! Hyung, you didn’t trick me.”
Handling him is easy enough now.
After humoring Cha Yu-jin for a bit, I kept walking.
My body felt significantly lighter compared to how I usually feel after a concert.
Five songs aren't even that tiring anymore.
Compared to a solo concert, this was practically a walk in the park. The other groups involved probably felt the same way.
I opened the door to the waiting room and stepped inside.
“Hello, TeSTAR-sunbaenim!”
I looked at the cameras and the rookie group waiting there.
Including these guys who played their cards so slyly.
“It was truly amazing. Thank you so much for teaching and helping us!”
“We were grateful too. Good luck with your debut!”
We exchanged formal greetings with the Idol Inc. debut team one last time for the ending behind-the-scenes footage.
As soon as the cameras were turned off and the set was being cleared, I called one of them out.
“Hee-seung.”
Gold 2.
“Yes?”
“Can we talk for a second?”
“Yes!”
A few whispers of “They must be really close!” drifted among the rookies as Gold 2 followed me, looking quite cheerful.
Keun Se-jin asked quietly, “Hee-seung didn’t do anything wrong, did he?”
“No.”
I gave a casual denial. Keun Se-jin shrugged and waved. He probably assumed I just wanted to chat about the performance.
However, I led Gold 2 all the way to the van parked in the lot.
“…?”
“Get in.”
Realizing the situation was unusual by this point, Gold 2 instinctively started bowing his head.
I could practically see the thought ‘Did I make a mistake?!’ written all over his face.
A mistake… I wonder if I should call it that.
After closing the car door, I tossed him a canned drink.
“Ah, thank you.”
Gold 2 quickly caught it and popped the tab. I waited a moment until he was about to bring the drink to his lips.
Then, the perfect timing.
…I never thought I’d be the one saying this line.
I’m not that crazy bastard, after all. Suppressing a sigh, I spoke.
“So… what year did you come back from?”
“…!! Cough!”
Gold 2 barely managed not to spray his drink everywhere.
I felt bad for him, but that reaction was as good as an answer.
“Uh, u-uh…”
I took out another canned drink and squeezed it in my hand as I spoke.
“You were being way too obvious.”
The circumstances had been peculiar from the start.
It’s rare for a participant from a previous season to take first place.
Especially if that audition was a hit. Both the production crew and the viewers tend to prefer fresh faces unique to that season.
But this guy ended up debuting at number one.
Furthermore, his attitude was far too composed when he took down the previous number one, Chae Seo-dam, in the process.
—Ah… Ah, no wonder it felt a bit strange.
It was surprising that he fully trusted our words after such a minimal reaction.
His handling of the situation was also far too skillful for his age.
That’s why I checked his status window the moment I saw him next.
At that time, this was what sat in the bottom slot:
[!Status Effect: Bounce Back]
—I’m definitely going to become an idol!
: If the team fails to harmonize within the period, ‘Failure’.
Doesn't the structure feel familiar?
It was a status effect of the same type as Cheong-ryeo’s ‘Correction’ or my ‘Debut or Die’.
And the things this guy said while dealing with Chae Seo-dam.
—Whew… No, how did that hyung manage to debut ‘this time’ too…
Including how he hurriedly glossed over it afterward. My suspicion was practically confirmed then.
Gold 2, Kwon Hee-seung, had returned from the future.
Likely as the next one after me.
“Starting from saying Chae Seo-dam debuted ‘this time’ too, your actions overall were just too telling.”
“…….”
Of course, Kwon Hee-seung didn't look like he had the presence of mind to confess readily. It made sense. The biggest issue was trust. From his perspective, there was absolutely no reason to tell me he was from the future.
I have to throw out some bait from my side, too.
There was information I needed to dig out of him. I’d have to take the risk.
I’ll start by giving him this much.
Click.
I opened my drink and muttered.
“I’m from the future, too.”
“Gasp.”
I thought his lungs were going to pop out.
Gold 2 covered his mouth and stared at me.
“…….”
“…….”
After a fairly long silence, he nodded and whispered.
“…I knew it! I knew you were too good, hyung.”
It worked.
“Yeah, right.”
“Wow, I thought I was the only one. I was wondering if it was just a prophetic dream or something.”
As if he had been dying to talk, words started pouring out of Gold 2.
“So other people really did come back too? I’m not the only one. That’s usually how it goes in dramas.”
There seemed to be a misunderstanding, but I decided to play along for now.
I needed to grasp the situation.
“Yeah. So… did you come back because things weren't working out during your promotions?”
However, Kwon Hee-seung answered with a face that looked like it was about to break into a cold sweat.
“Uh, I, I… wasn't an idol.”
…What?
*
“…You were a model.”
“Yeeep.”
Since the conversation seemed like it would be long, we moved to the company building.
Gold 2 kept gulping down green tea, saying he felt like his heart was going to drop.
“Phew… Well, a lot of things happened while I was modeling. It made me realize I had really taken the wrong path.”
“Hmm.”
“So this time, I quit modeling and came back to Idol Inc.”
Gold 2 looked a bit proud, saying he was confident because he had watched this season so intently.
“Then Chae Seo-dam…”
“Ah! That hyung causes a huge mess with dating rumors and personality controversies as soon as he debuts anyway. So I sent him packing without a single shred of guilt!”
Just as I thought.
I was about to ask about my own future, but I let him talk a bit more first.
“No wonder you were so incredibly good, hyung! I’m seriously… so relieved. I was happy, but also anxious about what was going on.”
Gold 2 looked much more relaxed now.
“Usually, the cause is like the world ending and people being sent to the past. Could it be something like that??”
This guy definitely thinks I returned to the same time period as him.
And this is his first time returning to the past.
Judging by the description in the status window, this might be his first and last chance, just like me.
But this is a different case.
I needed to find out more.
“Let’s check first. How many years did you go back?”
“Uh… since it was the end of this year, um… I think it’s about 11 months?”
“…….”
One year?
“It’s totally crazy, right? It wasn't even a day; I don’t know how this happened.”
I stared at him, momentarily speechless.
That’s… practically the same as not returning at all.
“I bought stocks. Seriously… what did you buy, hyung? Did you buy the lottery? Ah, I guess you wouldn't need to.”
“Hmm.”
Future knowledge was a bust, then. With a bitter smile, I returned to my original purpose.
I figured it was okay to reveal this much.
“I came back from a bit further back. The future I returned from has already passed and become the past.”
According to the ‘Truth Verification’ I saw last time, I have lost memories… but for now, let’s set that aside and connect the logic.
“Amazing. Then hyung, have you found out anything during that time?”
I intentionally rubbed my chin.
“I’m trying to figure that out. …If you don’t mind, can I ask what you were doing right before you came back to the past?”
Based on the cases so far… it was likely a sensitive question, so I was prepared to understand if he hesitated.
But his reaction was a bit different.
“How? Ah, that… it might be a bit funny.”
Gold 2 laughed awkwardly, looking like he was breaking into a cold sweat.
“What is it?”
“I accidentally fell into a river and hit my head on a bridge… so, with really terrible luck…”
“…….”
“A-Ah, no! That was because I was trying to help someone! I wasn't just doing something stupid on my own!! It was self-sacrifice! There was an accident during a shoot. Wow, the environment was seriously so poor…”
He started with excuses, but Gold 2 eventually vented his frustrations.
It seemed he had many ups and downs while modeling; he said he only worked, and when he rested, he stayed holed up at home, resenting the world.
Gold 2 sighed.
“…Anyway, as I was falling, I think I thought things like ‘I’m never coming back to this filthy industry’ and ‘The answer was being an idol after all.’ And then, the situation changed so I could actually become an idol…”
Wait.
“Then right now… things turned out exactly as you wanted.”
“Well, I guess you could say that?”
Gold 2 nodded. I scanned him.
A guy who returned to the past exactly once.
And what he wanted was… ‘to quit modeling and become an idol.’
…I see the picture now.
I brought up the variable that was bothering me.
“If you had come back earlier, you could have debuted with me in the previous season… what do you think about that?”
“Uh, well…”
Gold 2 rubbed his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Hyung-nim, I’m sorry, but that’s a bit…”
“…??”
“That season was such a mess and so poor that doing it again is a bit…”
“……”
“Ah! And honestly, I didn't have the confidence to debut in that lineup! Honestly, it was a scam.”
…I didn't really have anything to say to refute that.
Anyway, the point is he didn't want it.
I tapped the desk with my finger and threw out the conclusion I had reached.
“Then, do you think the point you returned to was the most… appropriate for achieving what you wanted right before you came back?”
“Pardon? Uh…”
Gold 2 seemed to ponder for a moment as if he had never thought of it that way, but he soon nodded.
“You’re right! It feels like exactly the parts I wanted to try again were sorted out.”
It was certain. I interlaced my fingers.
He returned to the point in time he wanted most.
I recalled Cheong-ryeo’s perspective from the ‘Truth Verification’.
His monologue.
—If I had planned it, I wouldn't have done it like this.
…That guy wanted to start being an idol all over again.
Perhaps… ‘until he succeeded.’
And he returned to the point before he debuted.
I get it.
The outline was forming.
The System. This bastard doesn't just bounce people back into the past.
It grants wishes.
Desire, lingering regret, whatever you call it… anyway, the person’s wish is reflected.
Following this logic, the status effects can be seen as coming from the same context. The penalties are structured to align with the fulfillment of the person’s wish.
It fits perfectly.
However, there’s a problem.
…It’s me.
I have no memory of wishing for something like this.
Compared to the two cases before and after me, there’s a definite sense of incongruity.
No matter how drunk or depressed I was, it’s hard to imagine I suddenly wanted to become an idol in someone else’s body.
Then… was this ‘Park Moon-dae’s’ wish?
But why?
“……”
First, I need to explore the detailed conditions further to understand the mechanism.
And to know more details, I’ll need to compare cases.
“Hyung?”
“……Hmm. Hold on.”
After a moment of thought, I pulled out my smartphone.
[Are you on tour?]
A moment later.
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbaenim: On the move]
[VTIC Shin Cheong-ryeo Sunbaenim: What’s up?]
In the end, there’s only one choice.
Let’s cross-verify.