Chapter 429
Chapter 429
Speaking directly with a fan.
In truth, it was a rare occurrence. Most communication happened indirectly—through lightsticks waving from the stage or posts uploaded to the internet.
Even at fan signing events, conversations were brief, held in a space where many people stood in line together.
So, a one-on-one conversation like this was an extreme rarity.
“…….”
Even if I was currently in a room hanging precariously off a collapsed stage. And even if I was in a state where I could die at any moment.
“Why are you here? Why are you here?!”
A shout came from beyond the wall. A voice filled with bewilderment.
There was little fear or panic in it. Just the level of shock one would expect from the stage collapsing.
‘…She doesn’t know.’
I slowly regained my composure and assessed the situation.
The lightstick the fan was holding was quite bright, but since it didn't project light forward, it wasn't very effective at illuminating anything beyond her immediate surroundings. If anything, it only made her more visible to me.
In other words, the fan could probably only make out my outfit or my general silhouette.
She couldn't see my situation or the person I was facing clearly.
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
“…I came to pick something up and got stuck. I’m okay.”
Was I really okay?
A wall stood between us anyway. In such an unstable situation, surely some bizarre, crazy event wouldn't occur that would drag her into this as well…
‘You idiot.’
I should have just sent her away. Why was I trying to create another variable?
“What do I do? Wa-wait a second. I’ll go get people…”
“No. It shouldn’t get too noisy.”
Sending her away would be a problem now, too. Because she’d bring other people back.
The problem was that the thought actually brought me relief.
“Ah, um, right… I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Then… should I go to the other side and try to open the door?”
“It might be dangerous, so how about we just wait here until help arrives?”
“Okay….”
I was grateful for the need to stall for time by talking. My eyes burned.
I never thought the day would come when I’d feel like this; it was so absurd I almost let out a hollow laugh.
‘Stupid bastard.’
I backed away further and leaned against the door as if leaning against a wall, gripping the metal shelf again. Securing more distance made me feel calmer.
She wouldn't get dragged into this.
Then, the words slipped out of my mouth.
“Is everyone else… okay?”
“I don’t know, b-but the members probably all got out. There was an announcement, and the audience and everyone else left…”
That was a relief, at least. I bit my tongue to keep from becoming complacent with useless relief and asked another question.
“…And you, Noona?”
“M-me? I’m… oh, I’m fine! I’m not hurt, and the building’s shaking seems to have mostly stopped.”
She said she had been looking for the place where the production crew had collected the phones to prevent spoilers.
Then, while carefully climbing the emergency staircase, she had spotted me through the collapsed wall.
“I was a bit late getting out, so I got trapped. I was sitting in the front row.”
I gave a weak smile. My mouth felt bitter for involving her.
“Yes. I saw you.”
“…You saw me?!”
“Yes. You were sitting in the front left. From your perspective, that would be the right.”
“Gasp.”
Actually, I felt like I’d seen her occasionally since our debut, but there was no need to go that far.
Let’s just… keep talking.
“What brings you here? Did you have time because it’s the weekend?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m not working, I’m… a graduate student.”
She was majoring in biotechnology, she had a dog….
Perhaps she was quite anxious herself, as she shared personal stories she probably wouldn't have told a stranger under normal circumstances.
She talked about why she liked me, which performances and broadcast scenes made her feel fond of me and want to support me.
Amidst these familiar yet foreign stories, there was a warmth that didn't fit the situation.
Is that why I kept talking? To forget the situation.
“…I see.”
I listened quietly.
This wasn't so bad.
As she began to relax, she seemed to realize again that she was trapped in the building and finally asked a question.
“Um… did you stop the stage earlier because something felt strange?”
“Something like that.”
She probably hadn't seen me collapse.
And come to think of it, since she wasn't surprised that I was alive, she probably hadn't seen that it was me who had run out.
She likely wasn't mentioning the person who seemed to have been crushed to death by the stage equipment out of fear that it would upset me.
“…Thank you. For worrying about me.”
“…!! What are you talking about? Of course… Ah. We’re in the middle of Seoul, so they’ll come to rescue us soon. Don’t worry… let’s just wait a little longer!”
She spoke in a brave voice, intentionally raising her tone.
I smiled.
“Yes.”
My mind was made up.
At that moment.
Creeeeeak.
A sound came from the door behind me.
And then, a premonition.
Cold sweat, anxiety, the precarious sense of failure as if everything was over—it all came rushing back.
‘……It’s the end.’
My sharp judgment returned instantly. What if I dashed forward right now and somehow made it across the gap in the wall where the fan was standing?
Just like how I had jumped into this supply room.
‘If I time it right….’
“…….”
“…Moon-dae? Are you hurt or feeling sick anywhere?”
If I did that, the probability of her getting caught up in it was extremely high.
“No.”
Right.
I let go of the metal shelf.
Simultaneously, an ominous crushing sound echoed from behind.
The sound of the door shattering.
“…!”
“Ah.”
Screeeeeech—
Concrete scraped against concrete as it tore apart.
With a terrifying sound, the small supply room snapped off and plummeted.
At that same moment, I lunged toward the broken door.
Thud.
But the hallway was already completely destroyed. Moreover, because the supply room had tilted, the hallway floor was at a height where my hands could barely reach, let alone my feet.
All that remained was a black void.
“Ugh!”
Grip.
I barely managed to grab the edge of the broken hallway and hang on.
‘…No.’
But my damn hands lacked strength.
My limbs, which had already been pushed to their limit several times, had significantly reduced output; I couldn't support my body with just one hand.
‘I’m going to fall.’
Behind the roar, I thought I heard a scream and someone calling my name.
“…….”
But it was okay.
This was the right choice, not the other side.
If I couldn't avoid it no matter what, I should at least choose how I was going to kick the bucket.
Hanging onto a piece of concrete with protruding rebar, I had what would likely be my final thought.
—Hyung!
“…….”
Since it had come to this, there was one last thing I could try.
‘Status Window.’
Open the status window and contact Keun-dal….
[Calculating Rewards]
At that moment, as if by some cruel joke, my blood-stained hand slipped.
“…!!”
I fell straight into the void.
A brief moment of vertigo.
Just as the cold darkness, a massive impact, and pain were supposed to envelop my entire body…
… …
[Search request from ??! (101)]
[Search request from ??! (102)]
[Search request from ??! (103)]
[Confirmed]
The world stopped.
My consciousness accelerated as if everything had slowed down to an infinite degree, like watching a kaleidoscope of my life.
And the text on the status window appearing before my eyes suddenly became vividly clear, almost opaque. Hundreds of pop-ups overlapped and glowed.
And then, a new pop-up appeared over them.
[Search Complete!]
[Result: ‘Title’ Confirmed]
What is this?
[Title: Successful One (Idol)]
—You have succeeded.
: Permanent removal of Status Effect occurrences
‘Ah.’
Now that I thought about it, I remembered.
It was the perk I received after clearing the last Status Effect and finishing the Truth Verification at Bae Se-jin’s house.
A law that Keun-dal had received from the system and expressed in words.
…The status window’s guarantee that I would never suffer from a Status Effect again.
If so,
‘This shitty situation right now… contradicts the Title.’
It was then.
Whoosh.
Pain.
I stopped mid-air, feeling a massive pressure on my wrist and a force that felt like it would snap my arm.
Time began to flow again.
I heard a voice.
“Moon-dae…!”
I looked up.
Above the concrete. I saw a face pale with fright and a hand gripping my arm.
It was Seon A-hyun.
“…!”
I didn't know why he was here or what was happening.
But the pain screamed that this was reality.
“Wa-wait.”
With surprising strength, Seon A-hyun pulled me up. And beyond the status window, text appeared over his desperate face.
[Error!]
[Error Confirmed: Status Effect Occurred]
[Attempting Recovery]
I gasped for breath.
[Correcting]
[‘Status Effect Failure’ -> ‘Mission Failure’]
[Recovering Penalty….]
The status window changed.
It became more stable.
[Sudden!]
Mission Failure: Building Collapse
—Disaster of a collapsing building
: 00:59:59 until the next disaster
One hour.
“Haa… huff.”
“I-it’s okay, it’s okay….”
My breathing slowed. The tension and irrational pressure that had filled me to the brim receded like the tide, leaving behind fatigue, pain, and a rational sense of anxiety as they momentarily dissolved.
“It’s okay….”
Leaning almost my entire weight on Seon A-hyun, I slowly accepted it.
“…….”
The fact that I was still alive.
“H-here, some water.”
“…Thanks.”
I took the plastic water bottle Seon A-hyun handed me. It was a bit hard to drink because my teeth were chattering, but after drinking as much as I could and wiping my mouth, I saw the label.
‘This is.’
It wasn't something prepared with the intention of being caught on camera.
‘…It’s unlikely they got it from a vending machine; they wouldn't have any coins.’
Basically, we were all bare-bodied, wearing nothing but our stage outfits. It would be ridiculous to carry anything in our pockets while going on stage. This question was answered a moment later.
“…!! Moon-dae hyung! Are you okay??”
After moving a short distance with Seon A-hyun’s support, we soon ran into Kim Rae-bin, who was carrying an emergency flashlight and a bunch of water bottles.
As it turned out, as soon as those two decided I looked cold, they had dashed off to the waiting room to find a blanket, only to be separated from the other members by the collapse.
‘They don’t know that the stage equipment fell on top of me.’
There was no need to mention it.
“…Your injuries are severe. There’s a first aid kit in the waiting room, so we should disinfect them first…”
“Okay.”
I calmed Kim Rae-bin, who looked like he was about to cry, and asked as calmly as possible.
“So this is the second floor where the waiting rooms are.”
“That is correct…”
The source of the water was the waiting room. The path down to the first-floor backstage was blocked by the collapsed stage ceiling.
If that was the case.
“What about the other staff?”
“We got separated while evacuating… I’m not sure where they went.”
“…….”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the two of them. Now that I looked closer, they also looked like they had been rolling in a dust pit.
Don't tell me these guys heard some strange noise while evacuating and stayed behind to look for me.
But I could tell them off for that after we escaped, so I let it slide.
‘Right.’
Escape.
I rechecked the status window pop-up that had appeared earlier.
Actually, I hadn't even closed it.
…Out of fear that it might disappear.
[Mission Failure: Building Collapse]
—A deadly disaster of collapse
: 00:55:37 until the next accident
It had changed from Status Effect Failure to Mission Failure, and the scope had narrowed and become slightly more helpful.
‘Did it link to my ‘Mission Constitution’?’
It looked like the system had somehow forced the logic to fit.
Still, if I had seen that text on the status window before this mess started, I would have wanted to go crazy.
But now that it had happened, it was actually a relief. An hour was plenty.
‘At least I can try something.’
If your favorite idol died while talking to you right in front of your eyes, that would be a real trauma. At the very least, I wanted to leave some trace that I had lived a bit longer after that.
I went to the waiting room and received the emergency treatment Kim Rae-bin insisted on.
“Your back….”
“I can get proper treatment once we’re out.”
The hands treating my back were trembling.
“H-how… just what were you doing on the upper floor for it to end up like this…?”
“…….”
I hesitated for a moment before changing the subject.
To what needed to be done.
“Actually, I was looking for Keun-dal.”
“Keun-dal…?”
“You saw him in that Gold Chat before.”
“Ah!”
The one who had attempted countless searches on my status window just now was definitely him. He was the only one who could access the status window.
‘And it seems he somehow found a loophole in the interpretation by linking my Title and Mission Constitution.’
It was very similar to the kind of things I often made him do.
…He had tried to save me, no matter what.
In that case.
‘…I need to find out if Keun-dal knows anything more and if we can handle this again in a similar way.’
But communication was impossible right now.
[‘Mission Failure’ Penalty: Access to additional Status Window functions is currently restricted.]
This appeared every time I tried to start a pop-up chat with Keun-dal.
‘I have no choice but to meet him in person.’
So, for the sake of cooperation, let’s be honest up to this point.
“A warning about this situation appeared on the status window.”
After giving a brief explanation of the situation, I swallowed hard and spoke.
“So I need to find Keun-dal somehow and discuss if he knows anything….”
“N-no.”
“…?!”
“You’re too badly hurt right now, Moon-dae. I-I’ll be the one to look around until rescue arrives.”
“I’d like that too.”
I didn't really want to, but let’s just say that.
Anyway.
“If we just stay still… this building is going to collapse again in 49 minutes and 31 seconds.”
“…!!”
“We might find a way to stop it, so we have to try something.”
I pushed myself up. It felt like some of my strength had returned.
Let’s move.
Knowing his personality, he would have definitely stayed in the building even while watching this mess unfold.
“…….”
Cheong-ryeo pressed the call button on his smartphone.
The customer’s phone is turned off and you are being connected to voicemail…
Beep.
The same sound echoed as before.
No response.
But the traces before his eyes did not lie.
He opened the emergency door and looked at the collapsed third-floor hallway.
He must have run here. And….
‘He was alive.’
At least, up to this point.
He looked down and turned on his smartphone’s flashlight. Concrete and metal fragments were scattered in a mess.
There were no bloodstains.
“Maybe we should look for the place where they make the announcements…”
“Be quiet.”
“…….”
Ju-dan shut his mouth.
‘Maybe I shouldn't have followed him.’
He had followed his leader out of the waiting room after sensing something was about to happen, only to end up trapped in a collapsed building.
‘There was a game like this once….’
Ju-dan frowned and followed Cheong-ryeo down the emergency stairs.