Chapter 446
Chapter 446
[Hyung, but why Ju-dan?]
VTIC’s Ju-dan.
Why did this guy suddenly pop up in the list of brains I could use?
‘To be honest… there aren’t many candidates.’
[……Ah.]
It wasn't as if I had been going around broadcasting my situation to everyone.
Swapping bodies, returning to the past, the System, and all that… I wasn’t stupid enough to blabber about such insane things to just anyone.
There were only a few people who ended up sharing the situation out of necessity after getting caught up in the incidents.
‘And among them, he seemed like the one who would have the least resistance to this kind of thing.’
He was a bit… eccentric, but I figured that might actually be helpful.
Thinking I had nothing to lose, I reached out to Ju-dan.
First, I asked how he was doing out of politeness.
“How is military life treating you, sunbae-nim?”
—I have quite a bit to say regarding the efficiency issues of the conscription system, but I shall omit them.
“……Um, right.”
I was starting to get curious about how he was being treated in his unit.
But I decided to focus on my own problem.
Let’s see….
‘He’s probably in the barracks, so there must be guys eavesdropping nearby.’
Even if they pretend not to, anyone would be interested if they heard a celebrity on the phone.
I had to make the topic misleading.
“Actually, I was playing a ‘game’ and wanted to ask a few things regarding this ‘System.’”
I laid down some more groundwork—mentioning it was just a light call for a hobby, a hypothetical like a psychological test—before finally bringing up the System issue.
To summarize roughly: the bodies swapped due to a mission failure, and these specific status messages appeared….
After a few rounds of Q&A, the guy finally responded.
—Body switching… a romantic comedy cliché. It’s not exactly the genre I’m well-versed in.
“…….”
Should I hang up?
‘I’ll endure it.’
I needed to use his brain, so I’d hold back just this once.
“I wanted to hear a unique third-party perspective, so this is actually better. What do you think?”
A moment of silence followed.
And after a short while, Ju-dan spoke abruptly.
He offered an idea I hadn't even considered.
—Have you considered the possibility that there was no mission to begin with?
What?
A few days passed.
TeSTAR’s final comeback preparations proceeded smoothly without any major issues.
Originally, since it was an album after a long break, we intended to go all out with a powerful concept. However, considering the previous album was the quite intense ‘Savior,’ we lowered the level of niche intensity.
‘That was the Haetae concept.’
To bring out something like that again, we needed a change of pace.
A stylish song with mainstream appeal for a mini-album.
So, the concept was….
“American public high school-style teen!”
The idol standard.
…Fine, I won’t lie.
I went with it thinking we should do it while we’re still at an age where we can pull it off without feeling too shameless.
“Ah~ I guess we don’t have much time left to pull this off naturally. Sniff, it’s so sad. I need to take even better care of myself~”
“Actors in their 30s play high schoolers all the time. Don’t think so extremely.”
“Ah… um, yes. Right.”
For the record, Seon A-hyun was the one who smoothed over this awkward back-and-forth.
“E-everyone looks great in the outfits, and you really look like high schoolers…! The stage will be, be great too.”
“Ah~ right, I can definitely guarantee that!”
Yeah. We did make it properly.
[Oh… it doesn’t need to be this childish.]
We invited Master Cha Yu-jin to consult on the music video and stage authenticity. He was so excited he even assigned everyone’s roles.
Everything had been progressing according to schedule, and it still was.
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae, about that swapping problem….”
“You don’t have to worry about it for now. Just wait a little longer.”
“…Okay.”
Thus, the comeback preparations flowed smoothly.
There were no problems.
But I hadn't forgotten the status window.
And a few days later, the day I saw this:
[Sudden!]
Status Effect: Mission Failure: Restoration (2)
- Everything returns to the original state as if nothing happened.
: D-? until the next start
I realized the information.
‘Keun-dal.’
[Yes??]
I took a deep breath.
“I know the date of the swap.”
[…!!]
“Look at the status window. See how ‘D-??’ changed to ‘D-?’.”
I pointed it out.
It was counting down one by one, and the fact that two digits had turned into one meant only one thing.
It had moved from 10 to 9.
“There are 9 days left.”
And if it was around the same time as last time….
“It’s most likely around 11 PM that night.”
The night of January 21st.
Fortunately, it was just before the comeback stage. I quickly ran through the schedule for that day in my head.
[Then… will you clear the schedule for that time?]
“…….”
This was the difficult part.
“No, we shouldn't.”
[…!]
“I will go to work as Ryu Gun-woo, and you will carry out the schedule as Park Moon-dae.”
I spoke slowly.
“That is what we must do that day.”
“W-why?”
“Because that seems to be the way to end the mission failure effect.”
I recalled the conversation I had with Ju-dan a few days ago.
That out-of-the-blue remark.
—…No mission?
—Yes. It’s a hollow narrative where you try to eliminate the culprit only to find out there was no culprit to begin with. It’s become such a common trope that it’s now a cliché-breaking cliché.
To be honest, I couldn't agree with that… bizarre logic.
However, the sentence itself sparked a sudden realization the moment I heard it.
“You changed my status effect failure into a mission failure. That means the System never considered it a ‘mission’ in the first place. Originally, it was just a status effect.”
And.
“Originally, a ‘mission’… is a goal I set for myself through the status window to earn rewards.”
Through the trait he gave me, ‘Mission Constitution.’
“But you can’t create those in the first place.”
The pop-up paused for a moment.
“Because you don’t have a status window.”
Therefore, for Keun-dal, a mission was a concept that couldn't exist.
[So… there is no… mission.]
Right.
‘There was no mission, but the moment ‘Mission Failure’ popped up, it forced one into existence.’
Because it was blindly substituting things, the algorithm got tangled.
Which meant.
“Now, mission failure is bound to happen.”
Instead of trying to solve a non-existent mission.
“We have to approach it by removing the ‘target’ when the failure effect occurs.”
—…If your theory is correct, sunbae-nim, then the strategy you used during the building escape game seems to be the right one.
Just as I had escaped the collapsing building and the System’s ‘target’ was lost.
Instead of guessing a non-existent mission, I had to focus on what happened after the mission failure.
‘When I looked at it that way, the circumstances became very obvious.’
I let out a small smirk.
“Do you remember what we did after we swapped bodies?”
[Uh, I lived as TeSTAR, and you followed as a road manager….]
“Exactly.”
To explain it again.
“You lived out ‘Park Moon-dae’s’ original daily life properly, while I escaped from ‘Ryu Gun-woo’s’ original daily life.”
[…!]
“That’s why only Park Moon-dae was removed from the target list.”
Like this:
[Target ‘Park Moon-dae (1 / 2)’ Lost]
[Removal in progress]
[Remaining Target: Ryu Gun-woo (2 / 2)]
Then the goal was obvious.
“We have to make it think we are living our respective lives properly without having swapped. That way, we make it lose the target.”
Keun-dal didn't reply for a moment.
Then a pop-up appeared.
[Then I’ll be TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae once more, and you’ll live as the civil servant Ryu Gun-woo…!]
Exactly.
I nodded.
‘This is it.’
Coming to a perfect conclusion felt refreshing. The timing was set, too.
‘Now, if we just execute it properly….’
[Wow, I think contacting Ju-dan was a really wise decision, Hyung! Ju-dan seems like a good person!]
“…….”
Hmm.
About that….
After getting a decent answer from him, I had quite favorably asked him, ‘Which girl group is popular in the military these days?’
And this was the answer I got.
—I wouldn't know. After work, everyone can access modern civilization through their smartphones, so there’s no reason for everyone to huddle around and focus on mass media like the TV.
—…….
—Of course, the range of use is controlled for security purposes.
—Right.
To think there was a guy who would explain that girl groups aren't the trend they used to be because of smartphones in such a way.
—Ah, please give my regards to Jae-hyun hyung.
Furthermore, I didn't know why he told me that. Isn't he your group leader?
Anyway, well… I’d probably see Cheong-ryeo somewhere even if I didn't contact him. It was awards season, after all.
Ending my recollection of the conversation with Ju-dan, I suppressed a sigh.
“…It was helpful. Yeah. So, if we swap on the night of the 21st, I think we should talk about what I need to do when I go to work on the 22nd.”
[Ah, I don’t go to work that day!]
“…? Ah, right.”
Since the 21st was a Saturday… the next day would be Sunday. I nodded.
That would make things much easier.
“Then I’ll just continue doing whatever you were planning to do that day, so tell me what it was.”
[Um… I was planning to just rest on Sunday without doing anything else!]
I figured as much.
However, the next words were unexpected.
[But about Saturday night…. I think I’ll be out then.]
This guy, at 11 PM?
“Okay. What’s going on?”
And a completely unexpected answer came back.
[Actually… I’m going to your fansign!]
“…….”
Why are you coming there…?
‘No, wait.’
Right, I did have a fansign schedule on Saturday. To be precise, TeSTAR did.
—TeSTAR, advertising models for Osung AI Assistant ‘Curious Vega,’ Fansign Entry Event!
It was a fansign for the brand we were modeling for.
‘But why is a civil servant going there….’
[B-because I won…?]
Ah, to get an autograph…….
“…….”
Whew. I lowered my head.
[I-I’m sorry! I thought I’d surprise you on the day, but I guess I wasn't thinking straight, Hyung ㅠㅠ S-should I cancel?]
“No.”
If possible… let’s not affect anything before or after. We have to live as we are. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.
‘Actually, it’s better.’
That way, we could see each other’s faces easily right before the swap.
Since the fansign started in the evening, it was the perfect time to check for any unusual occurrences.
“Fine. Then please take a taxi on your way home.”
[Yes!]
The conversation with Keun-dal ended cleanly like that.
However, as time passed, on the day of the fansign.
A not-so-clean incident… occurred.
“So you’re saying you’ll swap back to Keun-dal after returning to the dorm? Somewhere between 11 PM and midnight.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I just wanted to check one more time, just in case.”
Ryu Cheong-woo whispered, patted my shoulder, and walked past. I drank some water in the waiting room while changing my outfit.
‘Nothing is wrong.’
But immediately after, that ‘something wrong’ happened.
“Um, it seems there will be a delay of about an hour and a half due to an issue on the organizer’s side….”
“…….”
“We don’t have any schedules after this. How about we just rest a bit and focus on condition management…….”
The manager’s voice trailed off. To be honest, ‘condition management’ was just a nice way of saying we’d be getting off work late, and it was one of those things you just had to be pissed off about.
‘Since the advertiser is Osung, it seems we can’t push back too hard.’
Osung was such a massive corporation. Anyway….
I pressed my temples.
‘Would it be risky to just reject it and leave, saying I’m sick?’
Let’s see, if I were my usual self….
‘I would have obviously waited and finished the schedule.’
Damn it. Since there were no schedules afterward and it was a fansign, it was practically set in stone. The fallout from canceling would be enormous.
‘…Should I push through?’
Or should I try acting out?
I clenched my hands. It was then.
“M-Moon-dae…!”
“…!”
Seon A-hyun sat down next to me.
“It’s okay. Considering… the usual fansign duration, it will… end before then. Don’t worry too much, and I hope you do whatever makes you comfortable….”
“That’s right. Considering the statistics… it will likely happen in the car or in the waiting room after the event!”
“…….”
I looked at the guys surrounding me and nodded.
Surprisingly, I felt a bit more at ease.
“Okay.”
However, I would soon regret this decision as well….
I didn't expect the short talk corner in the middle of the fansign to be delayed again due to equipment issues.
Furthermore, this damn System fragment moved slightly faster than I had anticipated.
……And so, when I came to my senses, I was in this state.
Blink.
Before I knew it, I was standing behind some high school student, holding a signature sheet.
A hamster headband dangled from the high school student’s bobbed hair.
“…….”
Beyond that high school student, I saw Ryu Cheong-woo, who had just finished signing with a smile.
Our eyes met. I looked away for a moment.
“…?”
Ryu Cheong-woo seemed puzzled. But gradually, his gaze changed as he seemed to grasp the situation.
And right there in the next seat sat a familiar face, wearing all sorts of bizarre fansign items on his head.
……It was me. Park Moon-dae.
[Hyung…!]
‘Maybe I should just collapse and get carried away in an ambulance.’
Now that it had come to this, I could consider ways to somehow gloss over the event and get through this turn.
But… I couldn't do that after seeing this.
[Sudden!]
Status Effect: Mission Failure: Restoration (2)
- Everything returns to the original state as if nothing happened.
: 47:59:59 until the end
48 hours until the end.
The time had doubled.
It was a bad omen.
‘If I leave it like this… it might become permanent by the next time or the time after.’
I looked behind me in the line. As expected, there was no one.
In other words, the situation would end once I and the person in front of me received Park Moon-dae’s signature.
“…….”
[I… I think I can properly collapse this time…….]
‘…Listen carefully.’
I closed my eyes tight.
‘You are TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae.’
[…….]
And I am….
‘…A casual fan receiving autographs from the members.’
Trying my best not to let my feet stumble, I began to approach Ryu Cheong-woo….
And so, the world’s worst roleplay began.