70. Guess Who? (1)

No matter how much I thought about it, I should have gone to Rene Entertainment back then. I should have pushed Cha Min-seok out somehow.

"...No, that's going too far."

The shock of seeing Cha Min-seok in person for the first time resurfaced. I had to admit he was on a level where average visuals couldn't even compare. Regardless of his skills or personality.

"Ha, being an idol is tough, seriously."

Anyway, I needed to monitor the situation, so I suppressed the shock from the thumbnail and clicked on the video.

The familiar intro I'd heard hundreds of times began playing.

"They edited the visuals really well."

Even skipping through Han Seong-woo's unnecessarily deadly expressions, the video was clearly well-produced. The smooth camera movements, rhythmic editing, and purple-toned lighting perfectly captured the dreamy atmosphere of the song.

Of course, you could still see the rookie mistakes from these inexperienced trainees...

'Well, that's part of the charm of trainees, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠isn't it?'

What matters is buzz. No matter how perfect the thumbnail or video editing is, it's useless if no one watches. I quickly scrolled down to check the comments.

As I'd sensed when the profile photos were released, the response was good for a company survival show. Only about 10 minutes since upload but the views and comments were decent. The numbers visibly jumped with each refresh.

'About half seem to be Seo Taehyun fans.'

But the other half showed a fairly even spread of Team A trainee names. More Korean than English comments was also a good sign.

While refreshing to monitor public reaction, one name caught my eye. Come to think of it, he was there too.

I scrolled back up to replay the already finished video, focusing on Yu-geon's scenes.

"......"

He danced fine and sang his parts well. But without many parts, most scenes didn't showcase his full skills. Even Lee Do-ha got more screen time than him.

"But Do-ha really can't dance."

Unlike the monthly evaluation, preparation time was tight, so memorizing moves was probably Do-ha's best option. His stiffness was obvious at a glance, only barely covered by his rap skills and physique.

"...Which makes it even weirder. Don't you think, Sipsam?"

[System Notification: Yes, yes?]

Sipsam popped up later than usual at my sudden call.

Maybe due to system upgrades, various special effects were being added to what used to be purely functional blue windows. This time it was sweat droplets.

"Focus, bastard. We need to find the Returner."

[System Notification: Are you suspecting Yu-geon?]

"No reason not to. There's something off about him."

Might as well organize my thoughts while we're at it.

I activated the memo pad function I'd created in the system UI. Various notes I'd scribbled before were organized like post-its.

As I went to create a new memo, Sipsam's chat window quietly opened beside it.

[System Notification: Um, by the way...]

[System Notification: Aren't you going to monitor your own team's video?]

[System Notification: The system expresses pure curiosity. (・ヘ・?)]

The timid question left me momentarily speechless.

I had indeed been deliberately avoiding Team B's video.

[System Notification: Could it be...embarrassment? Σ (･口･)]

"Yeah, bastard. I'm dying of shame, absolutely."

Sipsam's cluelessness with its silly sound effects was somehow irritating.

I waved my hand dismissively and refocused on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the memo.

'I'll check our team video...later at night. When more reactions pile up.'

Truth was, I just wasn't ready to face public opinion about me.

Not that I could admit that. Fear is fear.

Old voices that once choked me surfaced, but I shook them off.

I'm not that clueless, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immature Kang Hajin anymore. I won't repeat those past mistakes. So naturally, evaluations of me should be different now too.

Still...still, I wanted to delay confirming that as long as possible.

"Ugh, whatever. I'll watch later. Definitely later."

[System Notification: Then I'll set a reminder to monitor Team B's video around 9pm so you don't forget!]

[System Notification: The system expresses excitement for the Fixed Regressor's first performance video. (⸝⸝⍢⸝⸝) ♥]

Sipsam, who had zero perceptiveness, was now enthusiastically adding stars to a to-do list right in front of me. I let it be since it seemed more excited than I was.

"Alright, let's organize this."

The system memo's advantage was that words appeared as if typed just by thinking them.

Since I couldn't exactly write in midair or type on a keyboard, the mental link was convenient for this.

"First, it's definitely one of the trainees. Staff or debuted seniors wouldn't have this little presence or connection. So it must be one of the 17 survival show participants."

Immediately, profiles of all 17 appeared on the notepad.

Damn, this feature is insane.

Slowly examining each trainee's photo, I first eliminated unlikely candidates.

"Not Seo Taehyun. Like you said, he made the same choices every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life."

<Seo Taehyun>

"Remove Han Seong-woo too. Park Jae-young, Gong Seok. Kim Won-ho probably isn't either."

<Han Seong-woo>

<Park Jae-young>

<Gong Seok>

<Kim Won-ho>

"Joo Eun-chan and Dan Ha-ru...let's keep them for now. Considering they were caught up with the department head, probably not, but maybe this time that got resolved so they didn't regress."

After repeatedly eliminating based on various reasons, the initial 17 candidates had drastically reduced.

<Lee Do-ha>

★★★☆☆

- Exceptionally skilled in rap, composing, producing

- Never heard his name or activities in past lives

- Seems to know too much (though might just be his personality)

- Special class placement as rap specialist

<Jung Si-woo>

★★☆☆☆

- Exceptionally high stats (visuals, decent vocals+dance)

- Honestly still don't know much about him

- Needs more observation

<Yu-geon>

★★★★☆

- High stats but performance doesn't match

- Makes comments about not debuting anyway

- Always seems alone

- Not well-liked among trainees (see monthly eval reactions)

- Doesn't seem desperate about survival show

<Joo Eun-chan>

★★★★☆

- Exceptionally high stats

- But why never saw him in past lives? (Could be due to department head/Han Seong-woo)

- High chance Returner didn't regress due to department head resolution

- Benefited most from department head and Han Seong-woo being dealt with

<Dan Ha-ru>

★★★☆☆

- Suspicious name (sounds like fiction character)

- Benefited from department head resolution

- But seems too bright for a Returner

- Considering my first regression at age 17, he'd have been 14 - timing's iffy

- But can't completely rule out

"Five left..."

Of course, I should still carefully watch the others too, but narrowing it down this much was already significant progress.

And one was already within reach.

"Sipsam. There's one quest reward left unused, right?"

One quest reward I'd kept putting off deciding appeared in a new window.

[Single Quest 03.]

['Want to be special?'

Content: The trainers still show little interest in you, a rookie trainee. Stand out by achieving excellent results in the monthly evaluation and enter the special class!]

[Quest completed.]

[Success rewards: Clue for regression tracking & Comrade recruitment]

[Receive reward? (Select reward)

1. Clue for regression tracking

2. Comrade recruitment]

[System Alert: 'Lee Do-ha' (response rate 68.9%) and 'Kim Won-ho' (response rate 92.3%) have 'responded' to you. You can recruit one as comrade based on your choice.]

[※Unselected response rates accumulate, but timing of future recruitment isn't guaranteed※]

[Current comrades: 2/??]

'Kim Won-ho's 92% is tempting...but I can probably recruit him later.'

"I'll take Do-ha."

[System Alert: 'Lee Do-ha' responds to you. (Response rate 68.9%)

'Lee Do-ha' can be recruited.]

[Recruit? (Y/N)]

"Yeah. Quickly. No time."

Hawon would be back from academy soon.

I couldn't keep acting crazy like this when with Hawon...if the kid who said he was sick earlier suddenly wants to go to the playground at night, our parents would definitely notice.

[System Alert: 'Lee Do-ha' recruited as comrade. (3/??)]

[You can check recruited comrades' status/location and summon them when needed (costs 10 cash).]

"I want to see Do-ha's past timeline."

[System Alert: Comrade past timelines unlock at minimum 70% response rate.]

[System Alert: Comrade response rate is calculated based on trust in the Fixed Regressor.]

"So I can't see it because I'm 1.1% short?"

What a waste.

"Wait, but. I gave him a ride during monthly eval, accepted all his daylight feedback...why? Why only this much? Kim Won-ho's at 92%!"

I should meet him soon. Ask about Yu-geon too.

Then—bzz—my phone vibrated briefly.

<Miroent_Team Leader Ji Soo-ho ‖ You worked hard on the survival. Lunch tomorrow?>

Sender: Ji Soo-ho. I replied okay, and soon got meeting time/location.

Now, one last task remained.

"Sipsam."

[System Alert: System responds to Fixed Regressor's call.]

"Let's see what Yoon CP and Han Seong-woo are scheming together now."