Chapter 472
Chapter 472
Cha Yu-jin, who had collapsed in the conference room, was rushed to the emergency room in an instant.
"Cha Yu-jin? Yu-jin!"
"Can you hear me?"
"..."
Throughout the entire drive, Cha Yu-jin didn't budge.
There was no reaction from his body, which was usually so brimming with vitality and energy that it seemed ready to burst from his fingertips.
He looked like an object.
It was strange.
"How did this happen?!"
"...He just, he just suddenly collapsed... There were no other symptoms. None at all."
Does every shitty thing in my life have to happen so suddenly?
What was the point of all that damn analysis and preparation? No matter how hard I tried to be ready, it all turned out to be a useless waste of effort once the situation actually hit...
No.
I pressed down on my thigh.
Get a grip, you idiot. We haven't even gotten a proper exam yet, and you're already spiraling? Fuck.
I needed to do something productive.
Symptoms first.
I reached for Cha Yu-jin’s face. I checked his breathing and his pulse.
"..."
"Park Moon-dae?"
I let out a breath.
"...His breathing seems stable."
"Ah...!"
I wasn't an expert, but at the very least, he wasn't gasping for air, and his heartbeat wasn't racing or too shallow.
At that moment, Keun Se-jin began checking him as well, massaging his limbs.
"His color doesn't look too bad either. He's a bit pale, but his temperature seems okay, right?"
"Yeah."
His body temperature wasn't noticeably low. At least, not to my touch.
Whether he heard us or not, the manager behind the wheel muttered frantically.
"Then it might be that thing... uh, vasovagal... what was it? Anyway, syncope."
Ah.
"Vasovagal syncope."
"Ah! Yes, that..."
"..."
That's usually caused by extreme stress or tension.
And the reason I knew this... was the same reason this company employee knew it.
"It's quite common among idols. Since they're in the middle of promotions, it could happen to TeSTAR too. They just moved companies, and the environment changed..."
"..."
Right. It was true that our situation was complicated in many ways.
But.
Cha Yu-jin?
The guy who laughed it off while everyone else looked like they were dying during the negative voting on Idol Inc.? The guy who managed his own mental state even when he was being bashed for those camera violence rumors?
That Cha Yu-jin felt 'extreme stress and tension' to the point of losing consciousness over just this...?
No, was this even the face of someone who had fainted?
He looks like... he's sleeping.
I stared again at Cha Yu-jin’s expressionless, peaceful face as he breathed shallowly.
No matter how much I thought about it, it felt unnatural.
"...! We've arrived at the hospital! Move him immediately...!"
"Yes!"
The car, which had been speeding like crazy, arrived secretly at an emergency room near the company shortly after, and Cha Yu-jin was immediately moved inside.
As we followed the staff from the company vehicle into the hospital, Keun Se-jin muttered in a low voice.
"Let's wait a bit... before we contact the other members."
"..."
He meant we should wait until the test results were out.
"It might be nothing. No, I'm sure it's nothing."
"Right."
However, I had no idea what those results would be.
Because Cha Yu-jin had collapsed without any warning.
And because even now, I couldn't figure out what exactly felt so wrong!
...Dammit.
Leaning against the wall, I began to chew over this incredibly unnatural situation.
But something even more unnatural was waiting for us next.
"The results are in, and, well... they say it seems to be a temporary loss of consciousness."
"Excuse me?"
"In cases like this, it's usually stress-related. They said we could check his brain more thoroughly to be sure, but for now, the tests didn't show any other abnormalities."
"..."
The words were roundabout, but the meaning was simple.
As of now, the cause was unknown.
"Anyway, they said he should regain consciousness soon!"
"Phew."
"Yes, thank you."
At least it was a relief that it wasn't the worst-case scenario.
Up to this point, fine—let's say we'd do more tests later.
The problem came after that.
"We should contact the members now."
"...Yeah."
Keun Se-jin and I planned to split up and tell the members about Cha Yu-jin’s current state. We figured it would be better coming from us than from the company staff.
But in the process, we found out.
"...You too, Hyung?"
Most of the other members I contacted had experienced similar, albeit milder, symptoms.
—No, I didn't completely collapse, but I got really dizzy... so we stopped filming for a bit. More importantly, how is Cha Yu-jin?!
—...I just thought I dozed off in the car for a second, but maybe that wasn't it. Now that I think about it, I definitely wasn't sleepy.
—I thought it was a side effect of consuming too many caffeinated drinks lately... I-I don't know. I... I'll head to the hospital right away too!
What is this?
I hadn't heard back from Seon A-hyun yet, as I'd only left a text so as not to disturb his fishing shoot on the boat, but that was already three people.
I locked eyes with Keun Se-jin, whose expression was just as grim as mine.
"You?"
"I was fine. What about you, Moon-dae?"
"Me too."
But if it had reached this point, it was a different story.
"They're suggesting we get tested for food poisoning or infections just in case."
We underwent a comprehensive checkup before the other members arrived.
"Hyungs!"
"Rae-bin."
Even Kim Rae-bin, who ran in looking like he was about to burst into tears, was tested immediately.
However, all of our results came back clean.
"...There's no need to call the members who are still in the middle of their schedules right away."
"..."
The news didn't leak to the press either.
That was because, technically, Cha Yu-jin hadn't been in an accident or fallen ill.
He had literally just 'lost consciousness' out of nowhere.
"..."
"Um, Hyung. This."
I looked up at the sound of his voice.
I didn't know when he'd stepped out, but Kim Rae-bin was holding a black plastic bag. He pulled out a drink and handed it to me.
It was a gold-labeled red ginseng drink, the kind commonly found in convenience store warmers.
"You might wonder why I'm giving you a hot drink in the summer, but since you've been sitting in a heavily air-conditioned room for a long time, I thought this would be better..."
"...Thanks."
I quietly opened the red ginseng honey tea he gave me and took a sip.
Then, I heard his steady voice.
"Cha Yu-jin will be fine. We talked about his family history back when we were trainees, and he even bragged about never being sick..."
"..."
It seemed he was trying to comfort me.
Good grief.
I let out a faint smile.
"Yeah. Like I said earlier, the doctor said he'd wake up soon. Don't worry too much. He's a healthy guy."
"...! Yes...!"
Kim Rae-bin barely managed a nod, then sat down quietly beside me and began sipping his own drink. I caught a glimpse of Keun Se-jin patting him on the back.
"..."
I leaned my back against the wall and thought.
Right. Cha Yu-jin was healthy.
He was a guy who could be considered in the top 1% in terms of both physical and mental health, yet he suddenly collapsed without warning...
And it just so happens that more than half of our group almost fainted at around the same time.
But no one had any health issues. Even Cha Yu-jin, according to the tests so far.
Then, among the remaining possibilities... what was the most suspicious?
Supernatural intervention.
I tilted my head toward the empty air.
[Updating 'Company Use']
"..."
Come to think of it.
Didn't this happen right after I absorbed the 'Fragment of ■■■' from Kwon Hee-seung?
And this loss of consciousness...
It feels similar to the symptoms I get when I enter the virtual world created by the system.
I still remembered it clearly. That damn status window popup that appeared back then.
-Enjoy your daydream :)
-Enjoy your reality :D
The daydream created with coins, and the world of the system.
Of course, the former was more of an opportunity created by Keun-dal, who was the status window itself, to save me...
Wait.
At that moment, I realized I had found someone I could ask about this situation.
Keun-dal.
The very entity of the status window that had created the daydream.
A moment later.
[Yes, Hyung! What's up?]
Fortunately, the response came without delay.
Whew.
[H-Hyung, are you at the hospital right now? Nothing happened to you, right? ㅠㅠ]
Nothing happened to me, but something happened to the others.
[What?!]
I briefly explained what had happened.
Skipping over the popup's reaction, which was filled with screams and worry, and getting straight to the point...
So, I'm wondering if Cha Yu-jin's consciousness is being held by the system.
That was it.
I didn't know the mechanics, but the timing was too perfect.
A prompt response came from the popup, which had now realized the gravity of the situation.
[I'll check your status window right away, Hyung!]
Right.
I nodded in satisfaction.
But a moment later.
[Um, Hyung. Right now, this status window... and the system itself aren't moving at all...]
He brought unexpected news.
They're not moving?
[Yes! It's like the functions have completely stopped...]
[It says 'Updating' right now, right? I think it's because it's in the middle of a self-reconfiguration. You know how we can't use apps while they're updating? It's in a state where it just won't run.]
"..."
Then did that mean there was no possibility of Cha Yu-jin's mind being trapped somewhere by the system's doing?
Because the system had stopped entirely?
[Yes!]
And he added a hypothesis of his own.
[If it really is related, I think it might be some kind of error that occurred during the update process.]
But that, in other words, meant that TeSTAR was being affected by the update of this 'Company Use' thing.
Which could be interpreted in a very bad way.
...Don't tell me it's treating TeSTAR as part of this company system?
[W-Well, rather than that... since the only thing this system has handled so far is TeSTAR's albums, maybe it's unilaterally assigning too much significance to that side...]
"..."
Somehow... that felt a bit pathetic.
[Anyway, I didn't find any particularly strange foul play, Hyung!]
Fine.
If that was the case... it was a relief since it probably wasn't a big deal.
Thanks anyway. I'll contact you when he wakes up.
[Got it! Please don't worry too much ㅠㅠ]
After finishing my conversation with Keun-dal, I looked at the update popup that was still floating there.
I held back a sigh and asked.
Just in case it would answer.
How much longer?
Surprisingly, something did pop up.
[※ Access is restricted during the update.]
Fuck.
I already knew that.
So you're just telling me to wait blindly?
If there really was a connection and Cha Yu-jin was out for the duration of the update, I was already planning to rip this damn system out the moment it finished.
"Guys. Cheong-woo Hyung said his schedule just ended and he's coming straight here, and..."
"...Ugh,"
Keun Se-jin stopped talking.
And the sound that stopped him didn't come from me or Kim Rae-bin.
It came from the hospital bed.
"...!!"
"Cha Yu-jin...!"
We jumped to our feet immediately.
"The company—no, get the doctor...!"
"Wait!"
Keun Se-jin, who was standing closer to the door, dashed out to call someone. Meanwhile, Kim Rae-bin and I rushed to the bed.
There...
Cha Yu-jin was twisting his body, his brow furrowed.
He was awake.
"Cha Yu-jin!"
As his body writhed, Cha Yu-jin muttered while rubbing his face with his hands as if to crush it.
"[God, this headache...]"
"..."
English?
"Are you in a lot of pain?"
At that moment, Cha Yu-jin stopped moving.
As he lowered his hands, his bare eyes—without contacts—were revealed.
Our eyes met, his gaze piercing.
"[A Korean? I don't remember calling 911, so who the hell are you and why did you bring me here...?]"
...What?
But Cha Yu-jin turned his gaze further and recognized someone else.
"Rae-bin?"
"Cha, Cha Yu-jin! Are you okay?"
However, he looked bewildered again.
"Why is Kim Rae-bin in the States?"
"..."
"What are you talking about! This is Korea!"
"Korea? [Do you think I've been internationally kidnapped or something...?] ...Wait, Kim Rae-bin, did someone give you a brownie? Or a chocolate chip cookie?"
"What are you talking about?!"
Kim Rae-bin was thrown into a state of total confusion!
At that moment, Cha Yu-jin muttered a few crude English curses under his breath and sighed.
Then he started muttering to himself again.
"Ah... whatever. [Just this once. I'll be fine once the drugs wear off before I go back to Korea. It's not like we're a K-pop boy band anymore anyway.]"
By this point, Kim Rae-bin was terrified.
He grabbed my arm and shouted.
"M-Moon-dae Hyung. Something is wrong with Cha Yu-jin!"
I knew.
"The one who's weird is you, Kim Rae-bin."
But Cha Yu-jin replied firmly, as if he were dealing with someone who was actually on drugs.
Then he turned back to me and ruffled the back of his hair.
"[Maybe Moon-dae... 'Moon-dae Hyung'? Did you bring me and Kim Rae-bin to the hospital after he unknowingly ate some weed?]"
And then, Cha Yu-jin smiled.
"Thank you."
"..."
"Um, you won't tell anyone in Korea, right? [Steer is over anyway.]"
In that instant, I realized who the 'Cha Yu-jin' sitting here was.
—Steer.
Not TeSTAR, but Steer.
It was the name of the group that had originally debuted from Idol Inc. before I participated in the show in Park Moon-dae's body.
...Fuck.
And in the air beside 'Steer Cha Yu-jin's' face, the popup was updated.
[Updating 'Company Use']
— D-30 until completion