Chapter 366
Chapter 366
The shock of seeing his own ‘Mission’ displayed as a hologram—surreal evidence!
It took Kwon Hee-seung several dozen seconds to finally snap out of it.
“H-h-how... how is this... how is this even possible?!”
Let me correct myself. I thought my brain had come to its senses, but my mouth clearly hadn't.
‘Aaaargh!’
What is this, some sci-fi movie? A Limestone movie?
However, Park Moon-dae’s voice coming through the smartphone was calm.
“Hacking is possible...? Is this a computer?”
It was a random question, but Park Moon-dae fell into an unexpectedly thoughtful silence.
Then, he replied with a hint of interest.
‘How could that be the case!’
It’s not like this is some Metaverse virtual reality AI!
Kwon Hee-seung, who had been throwing out every IT buzzword he knew, was just about to recover from the shock and ask in more detail ‘how on earth he did such a thing.’
Park Moon-dae beat him to the punch.
“Umm.”
The phrase ‘Status Effect’ was quite unsettling and weighed on his mind, but the senior was likely asking about the content below it.
Kwon Hee-seung opened his mouth reflexively.
“It, uh, was the release of a... collaborative work, I think?”
“It is surprising. To think it really was a self-produced album….”
Kwon Hee-seung felt a thrill, like someone who had just been tricked by a magic trick.
He felt like the protagonist of a movie. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, though.
But Park Moon-dae was cold.
Excuse me?
“Yes... but isn't that the same thing?”
“Ah.”
After drawing a sharp line between the definitions, Park Moon-dae flexibly applied a trick.
“Wow.”
That sounded exactly like something a secret agent would say.
Becoming slightly serious himself, Kwon Hee-seung held the smartphone politely with both hands and asked.
“Then... I can succeed with this album? The probability has gone up, right?”
Ooh.
Kwon Hee-seung marveled briefly, but in the next moment, he began to calculate.
He wasn't a fool. He considered the possibility that Park Moon-dae might be scamming him or plotting something.
‘Hmm….’
But no matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason for the man to lie to him.
‘I mean, if that hyung wanted to screw me over, he’s had plenty of opportunities.’
There was no need for him to be so kind and take care of him all this time, only to stab him in the back after sharing this... superpower-like thing.
‘He’s not the Joker or anything. If he were that kind of person, things would have blown up already.’
Kwon Hee-seung decided to graciously accept Park Moon-dae’s favor once again!
But before he could, a cautious voice spoke.
“Heol!”
Kwon Hee-seung bit immediately.
“I’d be so grateful, hyung! But is there, like, something being held as collateral for this…?”
“Sorry. I’ve seen too many movies, so I just had to ask! But you’re still going to help, right? Hehe….”
A small chuckle came through the line.
And then, Park Moon-dae truly began to help Kwon Hee-seung thoroughly.
It started with the production process.
Park Moon-dae skillfully pointed out parts of Spacer’s upcoming album where Hee-seung could easily chip in.
“Ooh.”
“That’s great…. Really!”
Kwon Hee-seung thought he should mention this to the member who had refused to participate in the album production until the end because he didn't trust his own creativity.
However, the very next day, he saw that member giving opinions on the lyric booklet design at the company’s suggestion.
“Wait, what?”
“I don't know, the company told me to do it.”
And the revised lyric booklet passed inspection in just two days.
‘...Is the speed always this fast?’
Did our company always make decisions this quickly?
Kwon Hee-seung was a bit flustered, but the work continued.
The physical albums were printed, and the promotional copy for the album was revamped.
=======================
Willpower and a leap toward dreams!
Please look forward to this album, <Grit>, which has been touched by the hands of all Spacer members, from the music to the inner pages! (Firework emoji)
=======================
It wasn't at the forefront of the promotion. It was just an additional introductory phrase at a level where fans would accept the information with an “Oh, I see.”
The theme of the album—dreams and ambitions as idols—matched the image perfectly, so there was no awkwardness.
It was the finishing touch of a master, neatly adding the correct answer without damaging Spacer’s original plan.
‘Wow, this actually works.’
Kwon Hee-seung was in awe.
Even if he had lived longer and returned to the past, having this kind of sense and power(?) was a different story!
‘Is the rumor that Moon-dae hyung established the entire label actually true?’
When he had asked about the rumor circulating in the company last time, the hyung had reacted quite uncomfortably, so he thought it wasn't true. But it seemed that was just humility.
Kwon Hee-seung nodded, but at the same time, he felt a slight chill.
One day, when Spacer grows enough to become a competitor to TeSTAR….
‘...The TeSTAR seniors will have gone independent by then!’
Right, he heard next year was their contract renewal season. Naturally, they’d escape this trashy company. Haha!
Kwon Hee-seung decided to let it go for now. What was the point of worrying about a problem with no answer? Let’s live in reality!
So, he immediately expressed his gratitude to the person responsible.
“This is all thanks to you, hyung! Thank you so much! I’ll pay you back!”
Park Moon-dae’s reply was short, but not curt. On the contrary, it felt soft.
After making a fuss internally about how he should treat him to lobster once he got paid, Kwon Hee-seung shouted joyfully.
“I have a feeling this worked. It worked, right?”
Now he was free!
However, his confidence was premature. Park Moon-dae gave an ambiguous answer.
“...Uh, is that different?”
A calm voice replied.
“Yes?”
Static.
“Waaah!”
Glitches flickered before Kwon Hee-seung’s eyes. And then, that strange hologram appeared again.
[Successful Release!]
You have successfully released a collaborative work!
!Time Limit: Met (Success)
!Status Effect: ‘Make It Work’ removed!
*^@5#& Confirm ???? Click!]
“…!”
The window, filled with text saying he had succeeded, looked even more stable than when Park Moon-dae had shown it to him last time.
And there was a blatantly glowing button.
‘Do I... just press this?’
Kwon Hee-seung checked the obvious ‘Click!’ button and raised his arm as if possessed….
Park Moon-dae’s voice cut in like a splash of cold water.
“…?”
Kwon Hee-seung, who was reaching for the hologram, paused for a moment.
In that instant.
“Wh-what?”
Wait, does he have eyes everywhere? Kwon Hee-seung pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned.
“W-why?”
Park Moon-dae was silent for a moment, then asked with a voice tinged with a slight smile.
“…??”
Beneath a large concert hall in Seoul.
The cheers of the audience still rang in my ears like tinnitus. Around me, the members were laughing.
“Aigo, good work everyone~”
“That was fun!”
It was the end of a joint concert hosted by a credit card company.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, you going to the back seat?”
“Yeah.”
Among the guys who were happy to be heading home after a flawless performance, I sat in the very back of the vehicle.
Then, I looked back on the conversation I had with Kwon Hee-seung yesterday.
‘Starting from the premise.’
I was able to control the timing of clearing a Status Effect through the ‘Truth Verification’ timing.
And that was entirely thanks to the Status Window.
‘So I thought about it the other way around.’
Wouldn't it work for anyone as long as they had a Status Window?
That’s why Keun-dal accessed Kwon Hee-seung’s system and brought up the Status Window.
[It’s a bit uncomfortable… ughhh.]
Of course, he said it was more uncomfortable than using my Status Window, but he succeeded without any other side effects.
Since it was something received as a mission reward without any unnecessary shortcuts, it seemed only his power had increased.
‘Good.’
I had taken the idea from when Keun-dal changed the state of my Status Window, and I was glad it worked out without a hitch.
And Kwon Hee-seung readily accepted my proposal for ‘Sponsorship before the system’s destruction.’
…It would have been better if he hadn't talked like he was at a VR game center. Anyway, I’m glad we moved toward a mutually beneficial atmosphere.
‘Nice.’
I nodded and adjusted my neck pillow.
As I had carefully adjusted it, the timing was just right.
The promotion period had ended, and a gap had opened in the schedule while preparing for the tour.
‘I should be able to squeeze out a day.’
According to the plan, one day would be enough to see the result. I nodded and entered the dorm.
I planned to spend today reviewing the plan….
“Moon-dae hyung, could we talk for a moment…?”
“Oh, sure.”
I’ll have to postpone it. Something must be up. I followed Kim Rae-bin’s call.
For some reason, all the members were gathered around the kitchen table.
“…?”
What are you guys doing?
“Moon-dae-ya.”
“Yes.”
“We have some time before the tour, right?”
Yeah, I was just thinking about that.
‘What about it?’
Ryu Cheong-woo smiled brightly and turned the laptop screen on the table toward me.
“Shall we go here then?”
“Pardon?”
What was on the screen... was a camping resort.
Well-composed photos automatically cycled through.
Forest bathing, hot springs, the countryside, ...animals.
Keywords I had seen many times before.
They were the healing keywords I experienced in The Grandson of That House variety show, and the keywords the production team had promised for the next healing session.
‘What the.’
Keun Se-jin grabbed my shoulder.
“A-hyun said it’s a place he’s been to on a family trip! He says it’s really great.”
Right. The facilities and the scenery looked good. If a family that wealthy went there, it must be decent.
But why all of a sudden?
I looked at Seon A-hyun. He hunched his shoulders.
“M-Moon-dae, you liked the village we went to for the variety show…. I didn't want that to... remain as a bad memory for you.”
“……!”
“S-so, I looked into it.”
I was at a loss for words.
“D-do you hate it?”
“…No.”
I replied.
“And... it wasn't actually that bad of a memory.”
I was a bit embarrassed, but it was fine until I found out about the production team’s tricks. That’s why it was even more embarrassing.
“But they didn't give hyung anything delicious….”
“Cha Yu-jin, be quiet!”
That’s because feeling bad and being pissed off are two different things, you punk.
But I had no intention of saying that to these guys who were watching my reaction with trembling pupils.
Bae Se-jin quickly added his two cents.
“Right. Anyway, we don't have to go to a hot spring with those variety show people. Let’s go by ourselves!”
“Exactly. Then why don't we just think of this as a vacation and go have fun?”
Ryu Cheong-woo finished.
I let out a small chuckle.
“Sounds good.”
“Ooh~”
“Then it’s decided!”
“OK!”
The guys, now relaxed, began to chatter among themselves.
“Shall we all take a cruise ship for our next vacation? If we take one in Europe or somewhere like that, people won't recognize us easily~”
“Ah, that sounds good too.”
“What’s a cruise ship?”
“Cruise ship.”
“Oh….”
“Yu-jin, you don't like it?”
“Grandfathers like cruise ships. I am young.”
He was certainly consistent.
‘Good grief.’
The next morning, for the first time in a while, I cooked a large amount of food without any particular purpose. My housemates all stuffed it into their mouths without a word of complaint, so there was no annoying cleanup.
It’s funny, but it felt like a sort of ceremony before a big event.
‘Going on a retreat after finishing this.’
I smirked. It wasn't intentional, but the structure was almost archetypal.
And in the afternoon.
I called the final collaborator.
The call connected after a few rings, and a voice was heard along with the sound of a dog barking.
“Let me borrow your private jet.”
A laugh was heard.
I cracked my neck.
“To make sure there isn't a next player.”
I’m ending the system here.