Chapter 564
Chapter 564
After calling for the Help Menu.
Cheong-ryeo stood before the Incarnation of the Idol, waiting for a response in the deep silence.
And the 'response' finally appeared before his eyes.
Though not in the way he expected.
[■■■■■■■■■■■]
The holographic window, which one might momentarily mistake for a Help Menu chat popup, flickered a few times before disappearing in a flurry of glitches.
It was as if it had simply brushed past him.
“…….”
Cheong-ryeo called for the Help Menu once more….
[Wait.]
The Incarnation of the Idol declared.
Cheong-ryeo had no reason to obey. Just as he was about to ignore the command and call again—
Thump.
At the unfamiliar sound, the two figures standing face-to-face turned their heads simultaneously.
It was the sound of a front door opening.
In the studio apartment where the floor had turned into a black watery surface, someone stepped out from the inner door beyond the hallway.
“……!”
A dark-haired figure.
He was tall but lean for his frame, a man with handsome features.
It was a familiar face.
He was the resident of this apartment, the very man who had collapsed onto the table in front of Cheong-ryeo just moments ago.
Ryu Gun-woo, who had debuted as an actor.
The very person he had just called for.
“Help Menu.”
The man turned his head to look at Cheong-ryeo.
And Cheong-ryeo realized it. The impression was somehow different.
His eyes were soft.
The look of someone who seemed on the verge of suffocating from exhaustion yet possessed a sharp, cold reason was gone.
Instead, a man with a gentle and healthy impression walked briskly across the hallway from the entrance.
As if he were a different person entirely.
“…….”
Right then.
—It’s not that way, it’s this way.
A firm, beautiful voice cut in.
Behind the dark-haired man, another person was opening the door and entering. Brightly dyed hair swayed as he stepped over the threshold.
A blonde man with a boyish impression.
Park Moon-dae smirked.
—You called?
It was a refreshing smile over that familiar, dry expression.
The movement and the way of speaking.
Cheong-ryeo realized it instinctively.
This one was the Help Menu.
[You’ve returned to your original form.]
—Yeah.
Park Moon-dae omitted the part where he would have said, 'This is a mental world you created with your GM ability, so didn't it just manifest in a form familiar to you?'
Instead, he gave a small wave of his hand toward the Incarnation of the Idol.
—It’s all over.
[…….]
Before the System could go further back into the past and cause his GM ability to vanish.
……And above all, because Park Moon-dae himself had desperately gritted his teeth and endured until this moment arrived.
He couldn't delay any longer.
—Let’s go back.
The Incarnation of the Idol, Shin Jae-hyun, let out a short laugh.
[That was my line.]
He took a step forward without lingering.
With every footstep, ripples spread across the surface of the water. They reached all the way to the tips of Cheong-ryeo’s feet, who stood opposite him.
“…….”
Cheong-ryeo watched the scene blankly before opening his mouth.
He threw a fundamental question toward the Help Menu, who had appeared in an unfamiliar guise.
“Who are you?”
Park Moon-dae looked at Cheong-ryeo.
—Hyung. We’re out of time….
—I know.
In truth, there was no time or luxury to explain the situation.
But he could leave these words behind.
He grinned.
—A member of your rival group.
They would meet again soon.
Then, he turned around and walked toward the entrance.
Watching that movement, Cheong-ryeo became conscious of the other's attire for the first time.
Accessories that were too flashy for casual daily wear and long combat boots. Well-styled blonde hair.
And the outfit—a white shirt paired with glossy black leather pants—was familiar to Cheong-ryeo as well.
A stage outfit.
‘Ah.’
Cheong-ryeo suddenly realized.
It was the attire of an idol.
—See you again.
With that, the three figures opened the front door together and exited the past.
“Phew.”
Park Moon-dae exhaled.
Beyond the black front door, he had returned to the studio apartment in the mental world, where the fantastical sunset of <Magical Boy> stretched out once more.
He heard Shin Jae-hyun’s murmur.
“It’s a shame, but I won’t be able to remember your rival declaration, Junior. I’ve erased the information.”
“…From where to where?”
“Everything related to you, Junior… I mean, the ‘Help Menu.’”
It meant he had used the last of his GM authority to erase the memories of his past self.
Since so many insane things had happened that it would be problematic to leave them as they were, Shin Jae-hyun’s choice was reasonable.
‘Even so, this is probably just a virtual world or data inside the System anyway.’
Park Moon-dae accidentally said that out loud.
And surprisingly, this was the answer he got.
“Hmm? No. It really was the past.”
“…??”
“So, it’s better that I erased the memories myself rather than letting unnecessary variables crop up.”
Park Moon-dae stopped in his tracks from the shock.
‘It was the actual past?’
Meeting Cheong-ryeo, meeting Ju-dan, and even debuting as an actor with a ridiculous stage name—all of that actually happened?
‘Good god.’
His head felt dizzy.
But he soon regained his composure and started walking again.
Regardless of what he had done, hadn't the memories been erased from Cheong-ryeo anyway?
‘Besides, once it restarts, everything I did will be as if it never happened.’
It felt a bit hollow, but he also felt relieved.
However, Shin Jae-hyun wasn't finished.
“But… even if he can’t remember, it will remain in his subconscious. It must have been a very special turn, after all.”
“…!”
So, as the restarts repeated over and over, that subconscious would naturally become a hint for new developments.
Regarding T-Holic.
Regarding Ju-dan.
“Hmm, I think it might have a slight influence.”
Just as a tiny nudge to the control lever of a speeding airplane can change its entire flight path.
“…….”
‘Is that how it is?’
Park Moon-dae felt like he finally understood why Cheong-ryeo’s trait, ‘Appraisal,’ had dropped from its past S-rank to its current A-rank.
Cheong-ryeo… as time passed, he would come to accept that sometimes it was necessary to reconsider his own judgments.
Like the recruitment of Ju-dan’s members.
“He’ll become wiser.”
“Indeed.”
Shin Jae-hyun smiled broadly.
“Though he’ll also develop the habit of restarting even when it looks like he’ll succeed, all to create a perfect group without a single flaw.”
“…….”
“But he stops once he meets you, Junior, right?”
Of course he would.
Park Moon-dae shrugged.
“So… how does it feel to see your past self?”
“Seeing it with my own eyes makes me realize it anew.”
“That things are better now that you’ve stopped, compared to when you could spam restarts?”
Shin Jae-hyun stared at Park Moon-dae expressionlessly.
But he soon let out a chuckle.
“Exactly.”
“…….”
Park Moon-dae smirked back.
He didn't feel bad.
From behind him, he heard Keun-dal, who had been watching the scenery outside the living room with a much more relaxed face, shout out.
“We’re almost there!”
“Right.”
Park Moon-dae took a deep breath.
He felt like he could see those familiar faces waiting beyond.
The first thing I grabbed was a firm hand.
“Hyung.”
I blinked.
And I realized who the owner of that hand was.
“Cheong-woo hyung.”
I took his hand and pulled myself up.
Relief, joy, and a hint of overwhelming emotion passed over the guy’s face.
Then, screams, cheers, and groan-like sounds erupted. I had expected a passionate welcome, but….
“Ah.”
“Are you out of your mind? Are you insane?!”
“I-I was so scared you wouldn't come back…!”
Thwack. Thump, thump.
Fists and the sides of hands rained down mercilessly on my back.
‘Save me.’
I’m going to collapse again.
Of course, I wouldn't actually. I knew they were doing this because they had been deathly worried.
“I’m so glad, seriously….”
“…….”
I decided to endure it happily.
“Park Moon-dae, is your body okay? Check right now.”
“Hmm, I’m fine.”
Only the places you hit hurt. Instead of saying that to Keun Se-jin, I gave him a serious reply.
Bae Se-jin was huffing with a flushed face.
“If you were even a little bit later, I was going to try pouring ice water on you.”
“…….”
Good thing I woke up before that.
“W-Water! Moon-dae. Drink some water…!”
“Ah!”
To be honest, I wasn't that thirsty, but I quietly drank the water Seon A-hyun handed me while checking the time.
5:30 PM.
The sun was starting to set.
And looking at my physical condition, it was clear that not even a day had passed since I collapsed.
‘Thank goodness.’
The flow of time really was different.
Personally, I was curious about how these guys had given me their blessings, but….
“I think it’s best if we go to the hospital right away.”
“Let’s do that.”
“…….”
It seemed I had a lot to do, so I decided not to ask for now.
I just accepted the candy handed to me by Cha Yu-jin, who looked relatively calm while using advanced Korean to tell me to 'replenish my sugar.'
As expected, he was quick-witted and calm while pretending not to be….
“Hyung, I totally respect your personal privacy. But your SF stuff is an exception. We have to share.”
“…….”
“This is for emergency situations.”
Fine, fine.
I looked at the guys, who had all stopped talking and turned to look at me, and willingly shared the truth.
The truth.
“I don't have any of that SF stuff anymore. It’s all over.”
“……!”
Just saying it was thrilling.
Though the reaction was like this:
“Really??”
“……Are you going to say something else later when another weird thing happens?”
“Moon-dae. Can you swear on TeSTAR?”
Man, they really don't trust me.
“Yeah, for real.”
I popped the candy into my mouth.
The sweet apple flavor spread through my mouth.
“I… threw it all away and came back.”
The System is gone now.
The fragments, the status effects, the manipulation.
And the obsession with using the System for no reason had vanished too.
The System that had been so aggressively exploiting its host was now completely gone.
I grinned and savored the taste of the candy.
“Now all we have to do is work hard on our promotions.”
“…!!”
Only after Keun-dal verified several times that my words were true did the guys finally accept the fact amidst their anger and joy.
…I felt sorry, and I was grateful.
And that evening.
Having finally returned to the dorm, I sought out my bed.
‘I missed you, damn it.’
I squeezed my plushie with one hand while picking up my tablet PC.
“The experience of mistaking hyung’s bed for my spare bed and then feeling that it was logically strange was truly chilling!”
“……Sorry.”
I mean it.
After conveying my apologies to my roommate, I lay on the bed for a while and monitored the internet.
TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae was right there.
I had heard that there was an incident where everyone in the world forgot about me, but they said the symptoms vanished without a trace the moment I returned.
‘Everyone ended up not even realizing such a thing had happened in the first place.’
Though, to be honest, I did get goosebumps when I saw records where I was naturally treated as if I didn't exist.
At the same time, I felt a sense of relief.
It meant I had made it back safely so that things wouldn't end like that.
Back to my place.
“Come to think of it, I noticed hyung’s absence while listening to a demo of a song I worked on. Thanks to the extremely wide vocal range and the expressive tone, it was easy to recall the characteristics of someone who could pull off that song…….”
“Rae-bin.”
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
“…??”
I gave Kim Rae-bin’s head a few pats.
After monitoring, I spent time watching TeSTAR’s group variety shows.
For the record, the other members didn't get as pissed off or angry as they did during the building collapse. Even Keun Se-jin, who had a displeased look on his face, just acted like his usual self.
‘Are they being considerate of my mental stability?’
Instead, they brought snacks, sat next to me, and just sprawled out to watch TV together.
The most recent TeSTAR self-produced content.
[Lee Se-jin: Ah, please, God of Archery.]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Hahaha.]
On the screen, TeSTAR was throwing darts. It was to choose a song to perform while wearing funny costumes on an overseas street.
Of course, I was in there too.
[Lee Se-jin: Uwaaaaaah!!]
[Cha Yu-jin: Archery God! Archery God! Ohhhhhh!]
After Ryu Cheong-woo hit the bullseye and secured the massive song keyword 'Last Year's Billboard #1,' I threw a dart to set the date.
And I picked a masterpiece.
It was a famous, eerie song with an addictive chorus that sounded like a haunted whisper, full of the ambition to drag a cheating lover down to hell.
But we had to sing it as a Christmas carol.
[Lee Se-jin: …….]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: …….]
[Cha Yu-jin: Moon-dae hyung really has no luck.]
[Park Moon-dae: I guess so.]
“Bwahaha!”
[Park Moon-dae: (Sweetly singing about going to kill you)]
[Bae Se-jin: To think you’d succeed in turning this song into a carol…….]
[Kim Rae-bin: Thank you!]
[Bae Se-jin: (A person who can’t bring himself to say it wasn't a compliment)]
[Bae Se-jin: …Y-You’re welcome.]
“Pfft.”
As always, it was funny and comfortable.
Somehow, every single member was so full of personality that you could tell exactly who was who.
[Seon A-hyun: Then I’ll, I’ll be Rudolf…!]
[PD: Because you’re a flower deer yourself?]
[Seon A-hyun: ! (Realization)]
“It’s the truth.”
“Yeah. Nothing to be embarrassed about, A-hyun.”
“T-Thank you…….”
That was enough.
I looked back on TeSTAR’s activities until late that night.
…It was fun. Truly.
For the next few days, after some coordination between the members, TeSTAR paused their secondary external activities for a bit to practice and rest.
It was to help me regain any choreography or feel I might have lost while being trapped in the past.
‘I’ll recover within a week.’
I gritted my teeth and recovered, and in the process, the end of the year approached.
And there was a day to be greeted before that.
December 15th.
It was Park Moon-dae’s birthday.