Chapter 563
Chapter 563
A few minutes ago.
Cheong-ryeo, the holder of the System, checked the status window where the "Help" deletion notice had vanished.
The air before him was empty and clear.
He felt an unpleasant premonition.
‘Hmm.’
It was the specific discomfort that came from an event spiraling out of his control.
Since it was no longer even interesting, he mechanically attempted to call "Help" immediately to confirm the details of the situation.
It was then.
At first, it started as a sensation on the back of his hand.
Moisture.
Drip.
It felt similar to when cold sweat had fallen onto his hand just moments before. Cheong-ryeo only moved his eyes to look down.
But this time, it really wasn't sweat.
The water rolled off the back of his hand and hit the floor.
Splatter.
Before he knew it, the floor he stood upon was no longer the solid hardwood of his officetel living room.
A swaying, black surface of water gently swallowed the droplets, leaving not a single trace behind.
“…….”
By the time he realized it was a deep sea with no visible end, the Incarnation of the Idol was already standing across from him in the dark officetel.
Dressed in a dry black shirt and black trousers, the man with Cheong-ryeo’s face looked down at the version of himself who shared the same features but appeared slightly younger.
Then, he spoke.
[Wait.]
Soon, Cheong-ryeo realized that Jung Woo-dan, who had been lingering in the living room, had vanished.
And then, a strange popup returned.
[The Incarnation of the Idol is watching you.]
Cheong-ryeo….
[Let’s both refrain from useless actions.]
The Incarnation of the Idol declared.
He looked at the past he had already lived through—at the self who believed that, given enough time, he could eternally capture a moment where everything was perfect.
Hmph.
[So this is what I looked like.]
The Incarnation of the Idol finished speaking, resting his hand on his chin.
The Cheong-ryeo across from him instantly reviewed every clue he had gathered.
The identical appearance, the older face, the "Help" message saying he came from the future….
Synthesizing all of that with those words, one highly probable hypothesis emerged.
This was—
“Are you my future self?”
The Incarnation of the Idol simply laughed. Cheong-ryeo’s lips also twisted into a smirk.
[You don’t seem surprised.]
“Because I know I’ll succeed.”
Cheong-ryeo spoke casually, as if it were obvious. The Incarnation of the Idol murmured indifferently.
[When the number of restarts has just entered the triple digits… yes. It’s about that time.]
“…….”
[There are times when your competitive spirit gets ahead of your calculations…. It’s not a bad thing, but you’ll eventually learn how to be more selective about it.]
The Incarnation of the Idol interlaced his fingers.
[However, it might be better to start breaking the habit of over-relying on your own calculations.]
“Care to give an example?”
The Incarnation of the Idol immediately pulled up the history of this current life that he had observed.
[Why did you force T-Holic into retirement through an accident?]
“…….”
It was true.
During the last few restarts, Cheong-ryeo had forced T-Holic off the entertainment stage in a very unnatural way.
There was a limit to how much one could blow up existing scandals. Even if their songs were changed or their relationship with their agency soured, T-Holic stubbornly survived through public recognition.
So, he had simply removed them by tampering with factors outside the stage.
Injuries, family issues, cruel rumors, and the like.
He killed them without a fight.
—Because it’s a method with lower efficiency than I thought.
That was how he had explained it to his "Help," but in truth, Cheong-ryeo hadn't entirely ruled out "extreme methods" even now….
If it was useful, he used it.
Cheong-ryeo stared at the face identical to his own, his expression blank.
“If you are me, you shouldn't be unaware that T-Holic is the biggest obstacle to the mission.”
[True.]
The Incarnation of the Idol readily agreed.
However, his smile deepened.
[That’s exactly why you should use them.]
“…!”
[Humans easily become lazy without the right stimulation and enemies.]
[It’s only when a competitor right in front of you is tightening the noose, almost within reach, that you do your best, squeezing out every last drop of strength to cling to your work. To give that up….]
The Incarnation of the Idol delivered his judgment.
[Since the obstacle vanished without any sense of reward or achievement, the members of your group never learned the pleasure of overcoming.]
He was saying that his past self, out of sheer exhaustion with T-Holic, had unconsciously chosen a convenient but inefficient method.
“…….”
Expression drained from Cheong-ryeo’s face.
And the Incarnation of the Idol knew.
That was the face he made when someone hit the nail right on the head and he was logically convinced.
It was something that rarely happened.
[…….]
In that moment.
‘Good grief.’
The Incarnation of the Idol, Shin Jae-hyun, let out a hollow laugh.
He had suddenly understood the situation.
He was currently giving himself a lesson.
‘I’m sure the Hoobae-nim did something similar.’
He murmured with a playful smile.
[So this is what it was like when I ended up putting Ju-dan in the group at some point.]
Seeing that his past self wanted to know what he meant, the Incarnation of the Idol explained kindly.
[It’s a story about how I succeed.]
Then, as if he were about to say something even more important, he tilted his head slightly….
[Ah. Don’t you have something you were originally planning to do?]
“…….”
[Go ahead and try that first. I won’t interfere this time.]
Indeed.
The reason Shin Jae-hyun had engaged in such a long conversation with a past self he wasn't particularly interested in.
He was stalling for time so that his past self would call "Help" at the perfect moment—neither too early nor too late.
Shin Jae-hyun recalled the hurried and absurd conversation he’d had with Park Moon-dae just moments ago.
—Can you talk to yourself, the one who has the System in this timeline… I mean, Cheong-ryeo?
—…If it’s possible?
—Then after Keun-dal calls me, I want you to make the Cheong-ryeo here call ‘Help.’ Whether you beg him or threaten him, just make it happen.
Shin Jae-hyun had accepted the proposal.
However, he knew himself.
‘As if that would work.’
Since he wouldn't listen tamely whether begged or threatened, he chose to manipulate the situation instead.
And that was the right answer.
‘Because he’ll try not to be swayed by the other person’s tricks….’
No matter what he babbled, the more suspicious and worthless it seemed, the more Cheong-ryeo would prioritize doing what he had originally intended.
In fact, right now, his past self was finally opening his mouth with a stony face.
“Help.”
And so, the System holder summoned the System.
Park Moon-dae’s mental world.
The two identical figures sitting in the living room turned their heads as the window outside flashed.
Beyond the veranda, amidst the fantastical sunset sky of Magical Boy, a white line streaked across and vanished.
A visualized parting.
“A shooting star……?”
“It’s the System.”
I said calmly.
The "me" that was Park Moon-dae had been separated by Keun-dal, and the remaining dregs of the System were being instinctively pulled away by the call of their owner.
‘Shin Jae-hyun succeeded.’
I could feel it because we were still connected.
And Keun-dal, who had once been a part of the System—my status window—nodded as if he understood.
But at the same time, he looked anxious.
“Then, Hyung, do you still feel connected even though the System is that far away?”
“…….”
I nodded slightly.
‘It’s more persistent than I thought.’
I did think that if things went wrong, we might stay connected even after I returned to reality, and the thing might snap back to me like a rubber ball.
I only thought that; I made sure to sound reassuring when I spoke.
“Still, once we return to reality, the System left here will have no choice but to break off.”
“I suppose so….”
Keun-dal looked out the living room window with a slightly relieved face.
It seemed his anxiety was greater than the anger he’d felt when he grabbed me by the collar.
“…….”
“…….”
Over the slightly darkened living room, the light of the meteor flashed past us and receded into the distance.
I didn't know why that disgusting thing was specifically manifested as a meteor. But thanks to that, it was much more peaceful.
Inside the quiet officetel.
I slowly opened my mouth while still seated in the living room.
“…Am I going back to reality soon?”
“You’re already on your way back, Hyung. I called you, after all.”
Is that so? It was so comfortable I hadn't noticed.
Instead of the brutal, dog-like pressure of the System, returning to reality in the comfort of the officetel—the scenery I saw when I debuted—was… definitely a good thing.
It was likely thanks to this guy calling me into this mental world.
I looked at Keun-dal once, then at the receding meteor and the scenery.
Like a plane taking off, I felt the connection with the System slowly fading.
And the moment it crossed the threshold.
Snap.
As the meteor touched the ground far away, I felt a refreshing sensation.
‘Right.’
The System had broken off.
However, something unexpected also happened.
“Huh?”
Instead of hitting the ground and stopping there, the meteor bounced off and flew in the opposite direction.
Even further away.
“……?”
Keun-dal, who had been watching blankly, spoke up.
“The System is going… even further away. Since it’s been cut off from you, Hyung.”
“…….”
“It’s like when you pull a rubber band until it snaps, and the remaining piece flies off in the opposite direction. It feels like that.”
Let’s see.
I am currently heading toward the future from this point in time. If so, that System residue heading in the opposite direction is….
“Is it going further into the past?”
“Probably.”
Passing through the cycles Cheong-ryeo had experienced, the meteor vanished beyond the horizon.
Further into the past, and further still.
“I wonder… what will happen to that?”
It grew smaller and smaller.
But it would stop somewhere, and it would surely do some crazy System-like thing again.
Just as it had persistently clung to me even when only fragments remained.
It would try to grant the host’s wish, drain their energy… and recover its power.
‘Ah.’
I suddenly realized.
Was that it from the beginning?
“Does that become the complete System?”
“Pardon?”
The thing that had lost Park Moon-dae—the part responsible for personality and intelligence—would likely possess very primitive intelligence and raw power.
And by slowly hopping between hosts and recovering… it would become that high-intelligence System I encountered.
‘And as I break away from it, it becomes primitive residue again and falls into the distant past….’
It was a cycle.
“As time passes, that will become the very System we met.”
“Ah…….”
Keun-dal seemed to slowly understand my words, then jumped to his feet with a look of horror.
“Th-then, are you saying we just created the System?”
What are you talking about?
“You can’t say we created it. The guy that was already there just became residue and went to the past.”
“Oh… r-right.”
Just as one can't tell if the chicken or the egg came first, we were simply witnessing the middle of the process.
However, one thing was certain.
“So, that thing can’t come any further into the future.”
Once it reaches this point, it returns to the starting line.
In other words, the System was something complete, trapped within this timeline.
I smiled faintly.
“I really won’t have to see it again.”
I felt refreshed.
“Then…! It’s really, truly over.”
Yeah.
As I nodded, Keun-dal let out a long sigh of relief.
His eyes shone with hope.
But ironically, the artificial glitches sparking all over his body remained the same.
‘This is how he perceives himself….’
Just as a scar remains even after a wound heals, it meant the influence he had received from the System was still there.
“…….”
I shifted my posture.
There was something I felt after becoming the System myself.
‘Being in there makes you feel like your sense of self is being completely eroded.’
It meant things became very vague, like being so drunk you can't tell where you are or who you are.
Not that you become emotional, either.
‘You become unmoved by stimuli that would normally be unpleasant for a human.’
An extremely stable state.
In short, it meant you were closer to a soulless AI than a functioning human.
And I finally directly understood the psyche of a person who had spent years in that state.
“Keun-dal.”
“Yes?”
Right.
Even in the popup I saw earlier, Keun-dal’s modifier was just "Keun-dal."
Meaning, his identity and modifier were his nickname, not Ryu Gun-woo or Park Moon-dae.
While all sorts of diverse descriptions were attached to the others, this guy had nothing like that.
I finally asked.
“What… do you think your name is?”
“Pardon?”
“Not a nickname like Keun-dal.”
“Uh…….”
He scratched his head as if the question was sudden, then answered.
“Well…… I’m fine with Keun-dal. I’ve never really thought about wanting a name. Oh, Ryu Gun-woo! I’m using Ryu Gun-woo.”
“…….”
“H-Hyung. Why are you sighing like that? It’s scary when you do that in this situation….”
“You said it before, didn't you?”
I murmured slowly.
“That Park Moon-dae didn't really feel like your name. And… you occasionally call me Gun-woo Hyung when you talk to me. It’s not that you think of Ryu Gun-woo as your name.”
Keun-dal still had a face that said he didn't know why I was bringing this up.
“Hyung, you are Gun-woo Hyung, aren't you?”
“To you… that might be true. But actually, the Ryu Gun-woo right now is you.”
“…….”
“And by that logic, to me, you were Park Moon-dae.”
He looked like none of this was hitting home and was just terribly confusing.
“Um… I’m not sure why we’re talking about this. Honestly, there are so many more urgent things right now…….”
Keun-dal groaned.
I eventually gave a bitter smile and said this:
“I want Ryu Gun-woo and Park Moon-dae to be your names, too.”
“Pardon……?”
“I mean I want you to be a bit more greedy about your identity as a person.”
I remembered sharing the memory of the view toward the overwhelming audience seats seen from the stage with this guy.
That was the meaning I had found while living as TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae.
I hoped that he, too, would have the experience of sharing such scenes while living his own life.
Even if it was just through photos or stories.
“So… since the System is gone now. I want you to focus more on your life as Ryu Gun-woo, as a human. Think about what you like and what you hate… things like that.”
“……Yes.”
Keun-dal nodded.
But it seemed my words still hadn't quite reached his ears.
‘Still.’
He’ll recover as he goes along.
If you invest time and effort, even things that seem impossible can happen.
And doesn't this guy have plenty of time and resources to invest now?
‘Let’s not push too hard for now and leave it at this.’
“Whew.”
I stood up.
And it was about time.
“Hyung?”
“Shall we go out to meet him?”
Shin Jae-hyun, who performed his role so well.