Chapter 474
Chapter 474
Beep, beep-beep, beep-beep-beep!
Chime!
The sound of a passcode being frantically punched into the front door echoed through the air, and a disheveled figure rushed inside.
It was Seon A-hyun, finally returning from his shift on the fishing boat.
He had clearly sprinted all the way here after checking the flurry of messages that could be summarized as: ‘Cha Yu-jin collapsed, woke up, discharged, checking status, wait, Yu-jin’s memories changed.’
“G-guys, I’m ba—”
“……”
“……”
“U-um…?”
“Oh, A-hyun. You’re here.”
“Welcome back, A-hyun. You worked hard…”
However.
The atmosphere in the dorm was such a disaster that it wouldn't have been strange if someone started chugging straight soju right then and there.
There was no alcohol on the table, but the vibe was so bleak that if anyone had bolted out to buy some, no one would have stopped them. It felt like a funeral home.
“W-where’s Yu-jin…?”
“…Mm.”
To make matters worse, Cha Yu-jin wasn't even in the room.
After unilaterally finishing his piece, Steer’s Cha Yu-jin had retreated into the room he was told was his.
—I have nothing more to say.
‘Damn it.’
In short, everything was a bust.
“For now, A-hyun, sit down and rest. You must have been shocked.”
“Y-yes…”
I moved aside to give Seon A-hyun a seat and silently went back to drinking cold water.
For the record, Cha Yu-jin’s roommate… was the same as the previous dorm.
Which meant it was Bae Se-jin. Fuck.
“Thirty days… you said, right? If we just, uh, do our best during that time… it’ll be fine.”
Bae Se-jin was nodding as if he understood the gravity of the situation, but he didn't know the real problem.
‘That guy thinks you’re a drug dealer…’
Unaware of his roommate’s massive misunderstanding, Bae Se-jin looked determined to take care of one of the youngest members as the eldest hyung until his memories returned.
“Yeah. Se-jin is right.”
No, he wasn't. We’d be lucky if he didn't get grabbed by the collar.
I pressed my fingers against my temples.
‘…I don’t know why this “update” suddenly gave Cha Yu-jin memories of his time in Steer, or if the Steer version of him actually entered this body.’
Regardless, I had to redraw the plan.
‘First, clear up the misunderstanding about Bae Se-jin…’
…But would that guy even believe me?
Actually, even if he did believe me, it was still a problem. It would mean his original group was destroyed because of a false accusation.
‘And on top of that, he’d have to watch the version of the guy who didn't become a drug dealer living a successful life here.’
Comparing the two might just piss him off more and make him even less cooperative.
‘Sigh…’
Beside me, I heard Bae Se-jin muttering.
“Maybe it’s only natural.”
“……”
“From that Cha Yu-jin’s perspective… he woke up in a completely foreign environment.”
“Yes…”
It was then.
Keun Se-jin, who had been relatively quiet while observing the situation, shrugged and stepped forward.
“Well… I don’t think we need to worry that much.”
“…??”
“S-Se-jin hyung?”
“Even if he had a different experience… Yu-jin is still Yu-jin, right? I mean, he would have grown up the same way until he was about nineteen.”
“And?”
“Then, even if his personality changed over a few years…”
Keun Se-jin glanced sideways.
“Don’t you think his tastes would mostly be the same?”
“…!”
He was looking at the brownies and chocolate chips that Bae Se-jin and Kim Rae-bin had brought.
Knock, knock, knock.
“I’m coming in for a second.”
Ryu Cheong-woo spoke softly but firmly, and a few seconds later, he opened the door Cha Yu-jin had disappeared behind.
Creeak.
Inside the room, amidst luggage that hadn't been fully unpacked, Cha Yu-jin was lying haphazardly on the bed.
He was covering his face with one arm, but he spoke immediately.
“…Now that’s going too far.”
“Hmm?”
“I said I wouldn't answer. Twice.”
Cha Yu-jin lowered his arm, revealing his eyes.
And this time, without even looking around, he pointed directly at someone.
Me.
“That person knows, so hear it from him.”
In an instant, all eyes turned to me.
Hmm.
I crossed my arms, and Keun Se-jin walked into the room with his usual easygoing charm.
“Wait a second, Yu-jin. We didn't come to ask about that again. We just came to talk.”
“Talk?”
“Of course~ We’re living in the same house, after all. It’ll be more comfortable for you if we’re on speaking terms. You need to know what the situation is, too!”
Keun Se-jin sat on the floor with a grin. Cha Yu-jin shifted his position on the bed and gave a slight nod.
“I’m fine with that.”
“Right? I figured you’d be curious about how long you have to stay here and stuff like that. Just my thought!”
Without waiting for an answer, Keun Se-jin began to summarize the situation in a relaxed tone.
He condensed what he had heard from me and the strange events we had experienced so far into an easy-to-understand explanation.
“…So, we think you’ll probably only be here for about thirty days.”
“……”
Cha Yu-jin didn't argue.
However, after listening to the end, he spoke with a somewhat sullen expression.
“That’s really…”
“You were going to say it’s nerdy, right? That’s so like you, Yu-jin~ Classic Yu-jin.”
“……”
Cha Yu-jin stared at Keun Se-jin for a moment.
Then, he burst out laughing.
“Hey,”
“Yeah?”
“The Cha Yu-jin you know isn't me. I don’t think it’s polite to talk to me that way.”
“…!”
Kim Rae-bin, standing next to me, flinched more than anyone.
“Oh, really?”
But Keun Se-jin didn't lose his cool.
“Then shall we agree to keep things professional?”
“Sure. [Good phrasing. Don't cross the line.]”
With the remnants of a smile still on his face, Cha Yu-jin tried to lie back down on the bed.
But Keun Se-jin wasn't finished.
“But you know that boundaries are maintained through mutual respect, right? I’m asking you as a favor. Even for you, we have the connection of participating in Aju-sa together~”
“……”
Cha Yu-jin hesitated.
At that moment, Ryu Cheong-woo reached out a hand.
“Right. It just means we should show each other basic courtesy and respect.”
“……”
“Yu-jin.”
Cha Yu-jin sat up on the bed.
He seemed to be scanning the faces of everyone who had entered the room.
‘Connection, huh.’
From his perspective, Bae Se-jin was the guy who ruined the group with drugs, and Keun Se-jin was the guy who voluntarily left the program due to school violence.
‘And I wasn't even a participant.’
But he didn't make any such comments.
Instead, he simply raised his hand.
“……”
And shook Ryu Cheong-woo’s hand.
“Fine.”
“Thanks.”
Ryu Cheong-woo smiled broadly.
The strategy was to use the most charismatic member and the member Cha Yu-jin reacted most calmly to, pushing them forward to drag him out to the table.
‘Phase one complete.’
Only then did the atmosphere in the room soften slightly.
At that moment, Bae Se-jin signaled with his eyes. Kim Rae-bin hurriedly held out a bag.
‘Commencing phase two.’
“…! Cha Yu-jin, you’ve missed two meals now. At least eat this!”
“……”
It was the brownies and cookies.
Cha Yu-jin looked into the bag thrust in front of him and asked, sounding bewildered.
“Brownies? Did Kim Rae-bin really buy them at the hospital?”
“…? Yes!”
“Oh,”
For a split second, a faint, scoff-like chuckle escaped Cha Yu-jin. It was the kind of look one gives a close friend.
It passed quickly as he realized that wasn't the case here, but still.
‘…I guess they were close in Steer, too.’
Of course, I couldn't miss this timing.
I immediately reached out.
And demanded:
“Give me one.”
“…Huh?”
It was an ambiguous reaction—somewhere between an affirmation and a question.
Without even looking into the bag, I reached in, grabbed the first brownie I touched, and tore open the wrapper.
Then I stuffed it into my mouth.
‘…Sweet.’
It was a sort of… ‘verification performance’ to show that these were normal, drug-free brownies.
It was a bit ridiculous to have to do this, but…
‘Bae Se-jin went with Kim Rae-bin to buy them.’
Since this guy had talked so much about drugs, I was worried he might refuse to eat them out of suspicion.
I swallowed the brownie and nodded.
“It’s good.”
“…Moon-dae hyung said so! That means there’s a higher statistical probability that it’ll suit your taste too!”
“……OK.”
In the end, Cha Yu-jin didn't refuse.
He reached out and took the entire bag, checking the packaging with a somewhat pouting expression.
Then he began to unwrap them one by one and toss them into his mouth.
He was eating at an impressive speed.
And TeSTAR stood there, watching the scene.
“……”
“……”
‘It feels like we’re feeding raw meat to a wild animal.’
Anyway, if his biological mechanism was such that eating sweets improved his mood, there would be some kind of reaction.
With that thought, I decided to be patient.
And a few minutes later.
“Do you want pizza for dinner? Bulgogi pizza?”
“I like pizza.”
“Okay~”
Surprisingly, this conversation just happened.
In other words, the atmosphere had definitely… mellowed out.
‘I don’t know if it’s thanks to the snacks.’
Regardless, Cha Yu-jin had finished every single brownie and cookie while sitting on the bed.
And once he confirmed that people were no longer asking questions about his ‘group,’ he slowly returned to a demeanor similar to the Cha Yu-jin we knew.
‘Even if the level of conversation has become quite basic.’
Still, it was a start.
“Coke.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“Ah, if you have any questions about the current situation or about us, feel free to ask anything.”
“Got it.”
Eventually, Steer’s Cha Yu-jin reached the point where he could share a pizza and engage in light small talk with everyone.
And in the process, an opportunity naturally arose to talk about our current situation.
“Oh, we’re almost at the end of our promotion period. Just a few schedules left?”
Of course, his answer was predictable.
“But I’m not in this team. I’m not doing any activities.”
“Mmm.”
“Right.”
We couldn't exactly force someone who refused to do it.
‘The amount of practice would be no joke, either.’
Fortunately, TeSTAR’s group activities were mostly over.
‘Cha Yu-jin finished his individual activities early, too.’
To sum it up: ‘Fair enough.’
“Our tour starts next month, right?”
“Yes.”
Thinking of it as a short break wasn't necessarily a negative.
If only Cha Yu-jin continued to have no individual activities, people might start talking, but we could cover that for about a month by citing health issues.
So… there was only one problem.
“…What do we do about the reality show…?”
“……”
The group reality show TeSTAR had been ambitiously preparing for.
It was on the verge of falling through.
‘Damn it.’
How could we film a group reality show when one member refused to participate?
“We can’t postpone the filming schedule… can we?”
“No.”
We had barely managed to make this happen.
Moreover, given the structure of this reality show, it would be awkward for anyone to be missing due to health issues.
Even if someone were to miss it, we’d have to find a way to insert their footage separately later.
Otherwise, it was the kind of program that could spark rumors of discord or members leaving the group.
That was the problem.
I spoke up.
“…Let’s just film it.”
“Film it?”
“When Cha Yu-jin returns in a month, we can just add his segments separately. What do you think?”
“……”
It was the best we could do.
But beside me, Kim Rae-bin muttered in a gloomy voice.
“I think the returned Cha Yu-jin… will be angry that we filmed something fun without him……”
“……”
“…Oh, that’s persuasive, Rae-bin.”
“Thank you…”
I covered my face with one hand.
‘Dammit.’
Was it my fault for applying the system to the company and causing this mess in the first place?
‘But if I hadn't applied it, the album might have been a mediocre failure…’
It was maddening.
No, what was the point of whining and regretting it now? What we needed was a solution.
‘Think…’
I needed to use my head.
After a moment of silence as I racked my brain, I spoke.
“Statistically speaking.”
“……?”
“There’s a chance that when Cha Yu-jin returns… he might have his current memories.”
“Mmm, I guess… so?”
Just like how these guys didn't lose the memories they made in the system’s virtual world once they regained their original ones.
‘If that’s the case.’
“Having the current Cha Yu-jin participate in the reality show is the best option.”
“…!”
“But… that Cha Yu-jin said he wouldn't participate in any activities.”
“I’m going to try bringing it up once.”
Since it wasn't a stage performance, I wondered if I could treat it as a deal if ‘Steer’s Cha Yu-jin’ wanted something in return.
And there was something else I wanted to say to him privately anyway.
“Do you have more to say?”
I went out to the balcony.
Cha Yu-jin was looking outside through the half-open glass door. He turned to look at me with an expression that didn't seem particularly welcoming.
I spoke calmly.
“I have something to tell you about your roommate.”
“……”
And Cha Yu-jin… sighed?
[Hey, I’m not an idiot. Obviously, that person has nothing to do with drugs.]
“…!”
[I think you know ‘Steer’ quite well, and seeing how you treat that “roommate” as a member makes it clear. But.]
He spoke dryly.
“I’m not interested.”
“……”
[Of course, he’s not the person I knew. I don’t intend to treat him poorly.]
Then he tapped my shoulder.
[But don't cross the line. You know? You need to keep your boundaries, too.]
Leaving those words behind, he walked away from the balcony.
“……”
I stood by the balcony window where he had been. A night breeze, chilly for summer, blew past.
And I had a hunch.
‘It didn't work.’
Deal or no deal, nothing regarding TeSTAR’s activities would have reached him right now.
“Sigh.”
Maybe it was for the best that I didn't even bring it up.
But no one expected it.
That the moment to cross that ‘line’ would come so soon.