Chapter 133: A Small Trigger (5)
133. A Small Trigger (5)
Hajin was momentarily at a loss for words at Siwoo's shamelessness.
'What kind of person is this guy, really?'
Well, not that he wasn't handsome—of course he was!
Honestly, if Siwoo claimed he didn't know how good-looking he was, that would be a straight-up lie!
'But who the hell asks "Am I handsome?" just to lighten the mood?'
Not that Hajin had any room to talk, considering he'd once tried to break the ice by initiating a truth game without even alcohol involved.
Hajin considered probing Siwoo further, but unfortunately, their conversation ended awkwardly there.
Haru and Gong Seok had returned from washing up.
"...Did you wash your face or take a shower?"
Hajin asked, eyeing Haru, whose face, bangs, and even the front of his shirt were completely drenched.
Haru, who had seemingly pulled himself together—his sorrowful expression mostly wiped away—quietly dabbed at the water with tissues as he answered.
"I was crying under the cold water... ended up soaking everything."
"If you were gonna cry, why not just cry normally? Why torture yourself by dunking your face in water?"
"It makes the tears stop faster. And my face doesn't get red."
"...Crybabies really have their own techniques, huh."
Hajin conveniently ignored the fact that he was the undisputed 'Chief Crybaby' among said crybabies.
With a joking remark about passing this wisdom on to Joo Eun-chan later, the real preparations for the 4th mission began.
Since Hajin had yielded the leader role to Siwoo this time, Siwoo took charge of the meeting.
"You've all heard it already, but this mission is a guerrilla concert. Free format, free song choice. It'll be livestreamed online, and the team that takes first place—based on combined online and live audience votes—gets a benefit."
Siwoo, now back to his usual calm tone after the earlier coldness, smoothly briefed them on the details.
They'd heard this during the last elimination recording, but back then, everyone had been too distraught to process it properly.
"So we need a stage that can captivate both online and offline audiences..."
Siwoo trailed off, glancing at the team.
Hajin naturally picked up the thread.
"But honestly, didn't we all immediately think of our team's concept the moment we were grouped?"
A-team's elite main vocal from art school, Jung Siwoo.
Gong Seok, who stunned everyone with his vocals during the 3rd mission.
Dan Haru, owner of a crystal-clear voice that made puberty seem irrelevant.
And Kang Hajin, with his emotionally rich vocal style and powerhouse volume.
The four strongest vocal candidates in Miro Maze's trainee pool had ended up on the same team.
'No way anyone here would be crazy enough to suggest hip-hop now.'
Hajin clenched his fist dramatically, like a politician rallying voters.
"We should go all-in on vocals. Acapella or whatever—let's do it right."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Siwoo added his input, gesturing to the sheet music he'd sorted.
"That's why I only brought vocal-focused songs. This is what we have in the company's music library, but if anyone has other ideas, let me know. I can handle arrangements and harmonies."
Classic art school graduate.
Hajin was quietly impressed when an idea suddenly struck him. He leaned forward.
"But hyung. If we just sing the whole time, wouldn't it feel kinda... awkward?"
"Well, that depends on how we structure the song. But yeah, compared to performances with choreo or gestures, it might."
"Exactly. So what if we incorporated live instruments?"
"...Instruments?"
All eyes turned to Hajin.
He nodded.
"You majored in piano, right? And I can play guitar. You on piano, me on guitar. Seok and Haru could pick up simple instruments too. Wouldn't that add some depth?"
"...Depth?"
"...Ah. I mean, composition."
Hajin caught himself, realizing he'd slipped into broadcasting jargon from his PD days.
Then, inexplicably annoyed, he blurted out:
"Wait, doesn't everyone use the term 'depth'?"
"......?"
"......"
"......"
"...Guess not. Sorry. I use it a lot."
Hajin only surrendered after spotting the PD and writer assigned to them whispering in the corner.
"Anyway. What do you think? Live instruments."
Quickly steering the conversation back, Hajin watched as Gong Seok cautiously raised his hand.
"Um... I used to learn violin. Would that help?"
"Seriously? Of course! Violin? That's insanely cool."
"Uh, I... I can play... recorder?"
"...Let's find something better for Haru, okay?"
With both Gong Seok and Haru responding positively, the mood naturally shifted toward adopting Hajin's idea.
Hajin skimmed the sheet music Siwoo had brought, picking out songs that would suit acoustic arrangements, then waited for Siwoo's final answer.
"What do you think, hyung?"
"......"
Contrary to everyone's expectation of an immediate yes, Siwoo hesitated.
"...Hyung?"
"Ah, sorry. Just thinking."
Siwoo smiled awkwardly and nodded at Hajin's prompt.
"I'm in. The instrument idea."
"Great, then let's pick a song—"
"But there's something I need to say first."
"......?"
Everyone looked up at Siwoo.
In that moment, Hajin noticed a crack in Siwoo's usual poker face.
An indescribable emotion flickered coldly through his eyes.
Oh no, what now—
"I'll play guitar. Not piano."
...Seems I touched a nerve.
Hajin nodded stiffly.
"......"
After the first meeting and filming wrapped up.
Back in the dorm for dinner and rest, Hajin lay on his bed, deep in thought.
'Jung Siwoo...'
He summoned a blank system window in the air.
Pulling up Siwoo's profile from the database, he slowly listed everything he knew underneath.
<Jung Siwoo>
Age: 22
Birthday: 07.04
Trainee Period: 4 years (since spring at age 19)
Position: Vocal
Notes:
Former classical piano major
Current practical music vocal major
No father listed in records
Only maternal family info available since joining Miro
Never speaks about family
Avoids piano despite skills
Guitar proficiency unknown
"...Looking at it like this, I really know nothing."
[System Alert: Understanding someone is harder than it looks!]
"Ah, damn it...!"
Startled by Sipsam's sudden appearance, Hajin jumped.
Guess he doesn't even care that I'm messing with the system UI now.
As if reading his mind, Sipsam's window turned a dull monochrome.
[System Alert: Well...]
[System Alert: Let's just say I've given up...?]
'I see. ...Wait, you can change the color saturation too?'
Sweet.
I'll use this for UI customization next upgrade.
[System Alert: Look at you, already plotting nonsense...]
Sipsam spammed sighing emoticons (=3) across the window, but Hajin ignored them, arms crossed as he pondered what color would lift his mood.
'...Sipsam, what do you think about Jung Siwoo?'
Figuring the time administrator might know more, he asked.
Instead of answering, Sipsam threw the question back—as if already knowing Hajin's thoughts.
[System Alert: You want to know why Jung Siwoo quit piano, don't you?]
Hajin nodded, not denying it.
After a brief loading screen (...), Sipsam cautiously displayed a new window.
[System Alert: We can't definitively say 'why' Jung Siwoo quit piano or why he dreams of being an idol.]
[System Alert: We're 'time administrators'—we only manage the events in his timeline.]
[System Alert: We don't know the depths of human emotion or personal change.]
Just as Hajin frowned, thinking it was a dead end, Sipsam continued calmly.
[System Alert: But... we can tell you what happened around the time he became a trainee.]
Then, a reward notification popped up—except it wasn't for a quest.
[System Alert: System Error Compensation]
[Reward: Designated Individual (Jung Siwoo) Timeline Access]
[※Warning: Low affinity with designated individual※]
[※Warning: Timeline access restricted to text only※]
[System Alert: You still have pending compensation for system errors.]
[System Alert: Would you like to view Jung Siwoo's past as compensation?]
"Can't I see it directly like before?"
[System Alert: Affinity with Jung Siwoo is too low.]
[System Alert: The penalty from accessing Yoon Kiseok CP's past is still being processed.]
[System Alert: We recommend avoiding high-risk actions that may incur further penalties.]
[System Alert: Honestly, I don't recommend viewing Jung Siwoo's past either.]
"Why not? I need intel to catch the Regression Trigger."
During Yu-geon's regression loop, had he known about his family situation sooner, he might not have suspected him.
'...And maybe I could've helped him earlier too.'
To find the Regression Trigger, he needed every possible clue about strong suspects—to minimize variables and prepare countermeasures.
To Hajin, Siwoo was a 'variable.'
Even Kim Won-ho, whom he considered close, wasn't easy to recruit—why would Siwoo, whose personality he barely knew, be any different?
'Gathering clues like this might be the only way.'
Having made up his mind, Hajin spoke firmly.
"Tell me. What happened to Jung Siwoo four years ago?"
What made him drop out of art school and become a trainee?
The system window loaded slowly, like an old computer processing a web search.
[System Alert: Accessing 'Jung Siwoo's' event from 4 years ago.]
The moment Hajin read the information, he understood why Sipsam had hesitated.
Why the system had never provided this kind of preview before.
"...Ah, damn it."
[Father 'Jeong Geon-ho' deceased (Cause of death: Illness 病死)]