Chapter 369
Chapter 369
After performing what he called a 'reboot,' Keun-dal began to chatter actively again.
[Hyung, I think I’m okay now!]
The pop-ups he displayed were certainly no longer unstable; they had settled into a steady state.
However, my own head was a mess. It felt like it might explode at any moment.
A new game system appearing here?
I remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"So... you're saying this game status window was created by the system itself, not you."
[Yes... I just modified it a little.]
It seemed that just as Keun-dal could interfere with the system during the merging process, the system could now interfere with the status window.
No, is it a completely new application of it?
Either way, it wasn't exactly welcome news. ...But there was one thing that struck me as odd.
I rubbed my chin.
"Why does this look like ?"
That was it. I’d been wondering where I’d seen this 'Recruit Colleague' setup before, and the interface and categories overlapped strangely with that game.
The very game we had collaborated with.
[That was me! I wanted the game format to at least be familiar to you, Hyung... so I borrowed it.]
"Is that so? ...Thanks."
If that was the case, it meant the system had intended to provide this structure and content in the first place.
This feels sketchy.
Frowning, I swiped through the holograms one by one to examine the contents.
First, the information displayed on the status window was similar to before.
[Player: Ryu Gun-woo (Park Moon-dae)]
Vocal: A+
Dance: B
Visual: A
Star Quality: A-
Trait: Infinite Potential
Until next Awakening / Exp 1000
Although his traits had vanished and all his stats had dropped in rank, it was still a terrifyingly impressive report card considering his age.
He’s an all-rounder with no weaknesses.
Was this perhaps my original ability, without the system corrections I’d received until now? I brushed the thought aside; the situation was too much of a dumpster fire to feel proud.
The problem started after that.
[Recruited Colleague: Shin Jae-hyun]
Until next recruitment opportunity / Exp 1000
Why the hell was this guy listed here?
And more importantly, what did 'Recruit Colleague' even mean? What was 'Awakening'?
I asked Keun-dal a few more questions, but he seemed just as confused and couldn't give a definitive answer.
It can't be helped.
I couldn't even guess what had happened to the version of him in this reality. I couldn't expect much more help from him.
What I lacked in information, I’d have to make up for with my own brain.
I lay down on the surprisingly high-quality bed and sank into thought.
First, I had to combine the clues I had.
...If I think of it in terms of .
In that game, leveling up was called 'Awakening.'
'Until next Awakening / Exp 1000.'
The text displayed at the bottom of my status window must be that.
It was a system where you gained random stats or skills every time you awakened. I’d heard it was a probability-based system built on the accumulation of your past choices and actions.
If Keun-dal had implemented that mechanism correctly, it would be similar here. And the experience points used for Awakening here were... <Fame Exp>.
It’s obvious.
I’d gain it by becoming famous, winning awards, and having good results. It was essentially a revamped version of the system I had when I was Park Moon-dae, made easier and more intuitive.
In short, I could see the intent behind it.
It’s telling me to debut.
What this system clearly wanted was for me to debut in this world.
It wanted me to debut, steadily accumulate fame, and live a more comfortable, successful life than before.
As if telling me to just settle down and live here.
It was a disgustingly blatant proposal.
Do you think I’m crazy?
Why would I live here like this when I don't know what you might do? And...
...I have so much in reality.
I couldn't just throw all of that away. Absolutely not.
I closed my eyes.
I was actually glad my schedule for tomorrow was packed. It meant I wouldn't have time to waste energy on useless worries and thoughts.
The next morning.
I ended up having a meal with the young Ryu Cheong-woo.
"……."
No... this was something we always did at the dorm, but eating like this with just the two of us made it feel like a real home.
Ryu Cheong-woo looked comfortable and indifferent, as if he were used to the silence.
Keun-dal said he was going to rest.
It seemed he had used so much power that he’d fallen into a sort of slumber. Thanks to that, it was even quieter.
"I'm heading out."
"Have a good day, Hyung. See you this evening."
Instead of pestering him with questions to gather information, I left the house easily. This was more efficient anyway.
My plan was to go straight to a service center and get this smartphone unlocked.
The information should be in there.
Data doesn't lie.
And at the service center, they cleared the lock pattern in just fifteen minutes. Clean.
This was the right move.
If this guy was anything like me, he would have set a security option to wipe the data if the pattern was failed too many times, so I hadn't dared to try it myself.
With a sense of relief, I opened the smartphone.
"Hmm."
First, there wasn't much in the KakaoTalk history. It was mostly traces of group chats for team projects or with classmates.
...Cheong-ryeo is the most recent contact?
What the hell was this guy's social life like? He had even tentatively withdrawn from the photography club.
[Photo Club Lee Yu-jin: Ryu Gun-woo-ssi?? Did you quit the photo club? Why aren't you coming?]
[Something I want to do came up.]
[Photo Club Lee Yu-jin: ??? Okay, congrats congrats.]
Judging by my conversation with the person who introduced me to the data-selling job, the thing I 'wanted to do' in this world was likely being an idol.
And most likely... the method was getting street-cast while working as a proxy fansite photographer.
[LeTi 16th Gen Shin Jae-hyun: This is Shin Jae-hyun, the one who went to the Dream Concert with Manager Lee Yong-jae. Do you remember me? I look forward to working with you, Hyung ^^]
That was the first message from Cheong-ryeo. It probably started from then.
...It was only three months ago.
That meant they’d stuck him in the debut group almost as soon as they picked him up. Well, looking at his stats, it made sense.
It’s hard to find a usable main vocal.
Even Cheong-ryeo had to compromise on the main vocal position, which led to that guy causing trouble.
I’ve got the general causal relationship down. Next.
……Ryu Cheong-woo.
I scrolled through the message history with him.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Soft tofu stew at the Engineering Building?]
[Sure.]
He wasn't 20; he was 21.
That makes sense.
Since there were traces of Ryu Gun-woo attending university for a year, this guy, who was the same age, would be the same.
And... just like in reality, the Ryu Cheong-woo here had quit archery.
However, there were no lingering effects from an injury; he had simply chosen to go to university of his own volition.
He did win the gold medal.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: I thought it might be interesting to study it more academically.]
Ryu Cheong-woo had simply chosen what he wanted to do from the open options available to him.
If that's the case.
...Isn't this a happier world for him?
I gripped the smartphone and stood still for a moment.
I think I was flustered. It was just... such a good set of options for everyone.
No.
It’s only like this because it’s a dream.
Even though the English sentence at the top of the status window kept barking that this was reality, I couldn't believe it.
Still, it’s better than a total trash situation.
During the 'Daydream,' damn it, every person I met was mentally broken. I shook off the idle thoughts and looked at KakaoTalk again.
And as I scrolled down.
Scrolled... down.
I saw it.
[Our Family]
"Ah."
……The family group chat.
I hadn't been able to delete my parents' contact information from my phone until I graduated from university.
I only deleted it after confirming that the number had been passed on to someone else.
And by this point... I think I had been doing the meaningless thing of creating a chatroom like this just to write messages to them.
Damn it.
But a voice was whispering somewhere in the corner of my mind.
If this is a world where everything turns out for the best, then maybe, just maybe....
"……."
I entered the room where the last message, 'I understand,' was displayed.
And I saw it.
[Mom: Don't skip your meals, make sure you eat, okay?]
A message exchanged just last month.
"…!"
I hurriedly clicked on the profile. I saw a photo of flowers with an intro that read, 'I'm abroad, so my replies will be very slow.'
And the number displayed below it.
I pressed the call button.
Ring, ring.
An unfamiliar default ringtone connected. Time passed, and no logic could form in my head.
And the moment the ringing stopped.
—Gun-woo?
My throat tightened.
I hadn't been able to recall it accurately for some time, but a familiar voice flowed softly through the phone.
—Gun-woo, is something wrong?
"That..."
I swallowed hard.
The smartphone vibrated against my ear.
"I just... wanted to hear your voice."
—What’s gotten into my son!
Her voice grew louder. The end of her sentence rose as if she were happy.
And then, the memory finally returned.
This was the tone she used to speak in.
—I’m glad I could talk to you right now. I’ve been using nothing but walkie-talkies at the Antarctic base, so the timing is perfect.
Her voice lowered again.
—I’m sorry. Mom and Dad miss our Gun-woo so much too.
Damn it, damn it.
"Yes, me too."
What the hell am I blathering about right now?
—Oh my, what’s gotten into you? You’re all grown up now! My son. Mom has to go now.
My eyes stung.
—Let’s make sure to see each other this Christmas. Okay?
"Yes."
The call cut off like a mirage. But the call log was clear.
[01:04]
As if to say this was real.
"……."
My hands were trembling.
My thoughts expanded wildly.
Where did she say they were? Antarctica?
I scrolled back through the chatroom. There were traces of my parents, who had gone to an Antarctic base for two years for research purposes, keeping in touch steadily for a year....
And even a message saying it would be hard to contact them often because they had become members of the wintering party this year.
"……."
Antarctica.
An idea pierced my brain like an ice pick.
Would it be okay to go?
There was no longer any compulsion like a status effect. I didn't have to debut here.
I could just take a leave of absence, make up some excuse, and go see them because I missed them... If I just went to that vicinity, wouldn't they come out to see my face?
"……."
I turned off the smartphone.
And took a deep breath.
No.
My head felt like it was going to explode....
But I had to keep my wits about me. This was a trick.
Even if they were researchers, why would my parents suddenly go all the way to Antarctica? It was all fabricated.
"It's a dream. It's a dream……."
So, since it’s a dream, can't I just do whatever I want? I can just throw everything away and do what I want to do....
"Shut up."
Whether it's my mouth or my brain, just shut up.
I have to go back.
I staggered.
This... I can't do this. I have to get out of here as soon as possible.
I won't be able to hold out.
I turned off the smartphone, put it in my pocket, and started walking again.
To LeTi, Ryu Gun-woo's agency.
"……."
My palms were damp with sweat.
"You don't look so good."
"I'm fine."
I replied shortly. Cheong-ryeo shrugged.
LeTi's practice was as grueling as its reputation suggested, but today there was almost no scheduled training. Everyone was spread out, practicing on their own.
"You came back just in time for the break. We're not practicing as a team right now, are we?"
"…Right."
I needed to have a productive conversation.
And while it was true that this guy was out of his mind... his nonchalant normalcy even in this crazy situation was strangely calming.
Let's work.
Think only of work. Nothing else.
I pulled myself together.
"There was nothing particularly unusual at my place. What about you, Hoobae-nim?"
"A new status window appeared."
"Hmm."
I explained the current situation in as much detail as possible. There was nothing here that this guy could use to stab me in the back.
I was even going to give him an example to help him understand.
"Have you ever played ?"
"I'm not particularly interested in games."
I figured as much.
Anyway, whether he understood the context or not, Cheong-ryeo nodded quite readily.
"So, in the end, you have to gain fame to fully recover your vocal stats. Hmm."
"……."
That’s what’s most important to you. I get it.
Furthermore, this guy even went full throttle.
"Do you want to debut right away?"
Are you the CEO? How can a mere trainee ask that so naturally?
Is this the 'veteran' in him?
As long as our destinations aligned, there was no one more efficient.
However, I had no intention of doing something as reckless as following the route this system wanted right away.
"Wait."
I pulled up the quest tab.
[Quest: Colleague Awakening 1/?]
- Recruit a colleague and awaken them.
Awakenable Colleague: ?
Required Fame: 1000 Exp
The Colleague Awakening quest.
And I recalled the conversation I had with Keun-dal just before falling asleep last night.
—What does 'awakenable colleague' mean?
—I'm not sure either... but as you deduced, Hyung, maybe it's related to their stats? That's how it was in Section 127....
—I suppose so.
I wondered if it meant the system would just let me level up my colleagues en masse to make it easier for me to adapt to this world.
And without any compulsion, at that.
If that's the case, isn't there a bit of a loophole?
The more generous it is, the more gaps there are.
—Then, could you perhaps add just a little bit of text here? Just one line of explanation that fits the context.
—……! J-Just a little?
So, I added this explanatory phrase.
[Awakened colleagues grow by remembering previous timelines.]
It was something that existed in .
In that game, every time you awakened a colleague, there was a setting where they became stronger by remembering the contents of the previous playthrough.
"……."
I clenched my fist.
I have to test it.
I’d just increase my fame a little and check if it actually worked.
I explained the details to Cheong-ryeo.
And his reaction was this:
"Is that so? All right."
"……."
He’s being this cooperative?
"Hmm, your reaction is a bit lackluster. Was it just talk?"
"No way."
I should squeeze as much as I can out of this guy while he's cooperating. I crossed my arms.
"First... I know that in large agencies, information about a few Tier 1 trainees usually leaks out before their debut."
"That's true. Sometimes they release it on purpose."
I had searched for it once before coming here. For instance, Shin Jae-hyun's name was already known among fans of LeTi's idol lineage.
I’d try to gain just that much fame first.
"Information about me should be released in a similar way."
"Ah, are you going to post something on the internet yourself?"
I looked at him, dumbfounded.
"Do you think that's all I'd do?"
"Haha!"
This guy is just playing dumb. Drawing attention through internet posts is hard to control because it often comes with controversy.
An official route was better.
"This company gives work to trainees too, doesn't it?"
There’s something large agencies often do with trainees who haven't debuted yet.
They have them perform as dancers for senior idols to give them stage experience, or have them appear in music videos to build recognition.
Usually for seniors of a different gender, so the fanbases don't overlap.
And as far as I knew, LeTi did that quite a bit until VTIC, with their mystery concept, debuted and they overhauled their guidelines.
It just so happens to be awards ceremony season.
At this point in the past, who would be the most successful direct senior female idols at LeTi?
'Malang Dalkom.'
The group with the hit song <POP☆CON>.
So, Ryu Gun-woo, who is in the debut group, will be a dancer for Malang Dalkom.
"I’d like you to push for that."
I turned back to Shin Jae-hyun, the veteran who must have mastered everything about this agency.
He nodded nonchalantly, looking quite reliable.
"Hmm, a main vocal position wouldn't necessarily need that kind of experience... but fine. Since you want to do it that much."
"……."
Ah, I really don't click with this guy.