74. Guess What? (2)

"Shall we get going then?"

"Sure."

Hajin and Suho rose from their seats. Two hours had already passed since they entered the restaurant. Suho mentally patted himself on the back for reserving the table for three hours.

The plan Hajin had just laid out wasn't so much "perfect" as it was intuitive. One wrong move could unravel everything—a reckless gamble.

"...When do you plan to execute it?"

Yet Suho instinctively knew there was no better alternative. That's why he had no choice but to nod when Hajin asked if he'd join.

"Hard to say. First... you'll need time to prepare too, and I've got some things to look into."

"Then let's share updates as we make progress."

"Sure, sounds good."

Hajin seemed just as pensive as Suho. But Suho decided not to pry further into the shadows looming over Hajin.

"I should head straight to the company, so I can't give you a ride."

"It's fine. I'm not some kid like Dan Ha-ru."

"It's not because you're a kid. You're officially an artist under my management now."

Instead, Suho resolved to treat Hajin as one of his artists from this moment forward.

Starting with the most basic step—dropping formal speech. It would look ridiculous for a manager of his rank to keep using honorifics with a trainee from a subsidiary.

"Wait. You're dropping honorifics now?"

"Yeah, from now on, I'm speaking casually. You'll be treated just like the other trainees."

"...? You say that like you weren't already?"

A boy who claimed to have lived multiple lives.

A boy brimming with talent and intelligence, yet never once debuted across all those lifetimes.

A boy radiating white light—something Suho had never witnessed before.

Becoming that boy's "ally" was an opportunity Suho didn't want to miss as a manager.

"Keep your face covered, and avoid crowded areas."

"Seriously? Just like that, you switch to manager mode? I'm still technically a trainee."

"...Hajin, you haven't checked the reactions to your team's performance yet, have you?"

"......"

"Watch it on your way. See what kind of storm your stage has kicked up online. And for God's sake, wear a hood and mask when you do."

Suho climbed into his car, still firing off warnings. Hajin remained nonchalant, hands in his jacket pockets, scratching the back of his head.

'How did he know I hadn't watched it yet?'

With that thought, he halfheartedly saw Suho off. Once the car disappeared into the distance, Hajin aimlessly headed toward the subway station to decide his next move.

"......"

Pulling out his phone was pure instinct. The station was a fair walk away, and Hajin hated boredom more than anything.

So he told himself he was just killing time during the walk.

"Ahem."

Hajin froze mid-step on the sidewalk.

After a brief internal debate, he sighed and lowered his phone—only to yelp and raise it again, biting his lip as he finally opened YouTube.

"Damn, what the hell is this?"

His fingers, charged with restless energy, aggressively tapped the search bar.

<MIRO MAZE Performance B>

It took another eternity to hit enter, but he did it.

The curiosity and intrigue sparked by Suho's words outweighed the self-loathing and pessimism that had stopped him from watching the video last night.

"......"

Even after pressing enter, Hajin instinctively squeezed his eyes shut before slowly peeling them open.

And there it was.

"...Huh."

His own face dominated the thumbnail.

'Me? Just me?'

Sure, the Feather-tier trainees were a mess overall, but they weren't completely devoid of appeal.

Park Jae-young, the youngest of the group, had already won over the rookie development team with his sharp, diligent image. Overseas trainee Jayden and the clean-cut Gong Seok weren't bad-looking either. Even that brat Yeong-ho—the one who'd been his little sheep bastard—was decently attractive.

"I'm the thumbnail?"

Out of all nine members, the preview image featured him alone.

Hajin clicked the video in a trance.

MIRO MAZE ∥ Daylight (Prod. Seo Tae-il) — Team B Performance Video

Views: 573,165

Comments: 1,872 (Top Comments)

Hajin stood frozen, mechanically scrolling through comments.

Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all were positive. Not all were about him. Not all were praise.

"......"

But for the first time in so, so long—

Hajin was being acknowledged for his efforts.

[System Alert: Fixed Regressor's stability improves through 'Public Recognition'.]

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode reduced by 10%... (Loading)]

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode will deactivate if maintained below 50% (Current: 78%)]

[System Alert: The 'public' feels curiosity and favor toward you.]

[System Alert: 'Public Favor' converted to Skill System cache. (Converting...)]

Unusually cheerful chimes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accompanied the cascade of blue system windows. Yet Hajin's gaze remained locked—

On those tiny comments filling his screen.

"...It worked."

Truthfully, Hajin had never considered his achievements as such.

As Suho pointed out, his experiences from the first timeline and subsequent regressions made him deliberately withhold affection from his current endeavors.

'Why bother? It's unnecessary.'

Give only what you receive. Invest only what you can get back.

Do what must be done, and nothing more.

It was a boundary drawn by the deepest defenses of his heart.

Hajin didn't want to feel that 'loss' again—the abandonment by what he'd loved and poured his soul into.

'It's not like I'll be doing this forever anyway.'

Why care when everything disappears after one regression?

So Hajin attached no real meaning to his accomplishments this time.

Despite excelling in all three evaluations, he refused to see them as objectively impressive.

'I was only 10th in the monthly eval, and our title track mission was objectively worse than Team A's. The second mission only went well because Sarin had personal reasons to praise me—other mentors said it was lacking.'

That's why Hajin constantly feared seeing his limits laid bare.

Feared viewing himself objectively.

Lest he end up like that version of himself from a past life—adrift after failing everything, having lost all purpose.

'I don't want confirmation that I'm nothing.'

Don't want proof that I can't be anything.

"...Damn it, why am I—"

Tears plopped from Hajin's eyes.

Flustered, he quickly wiped them away, but the inexplicable sob had already climbed to his throat.

"Why now? How pathetic."

Passersby began glancing his way. Hajin desperately wanted to escape this absurd situation, but each recognition of the small achievement in his palm made the tears flow harder.

[System Alert: The System gifts Fixed Regressor a small message.]

Amid his blurred vision, text converted to sound echoed in his ears:

[System Alert: Yesterday... I couldn't resist looking!]

Likely Sipsam's unauthorized internet browsing.

For Hajin, whose vision was too blurred by tears, Sipsam kindly converted the reactions into audio.

"Fuck... you bastard..."

[System Alert: W-was this not supposed to be a touching moment?? System is flustered;;;]

Those warm, affectionate voices were enough to buckle Hajin's knees.

He finally collapsed. Right in the middle of the busy sidewalk outside the subway station, without a thought for the nuisance, he crumpled and wept.

"Ah—what is this?"

Only in breaking down could Hajin admit it—that he'd never truly left that cramped, square bed at twenty-nine.

The Kang Hajin who grew accustomed to failure and feared loneliness was still here.

"Wow, I'm a total mess..."

The truth was, Hajin craved recognition.

He needed assurance that he was capable of more.

Desperately wanted to believe none of his efforts were in vain.

To simply love every moment of his existence.

[System Notification: 'Kang Hajin' attains enlightenment.]

[System Notification: 'Kang Hajin's enlightenment significantly impacts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quest progression.]

[System Notification: Fixed Regressor's stability improves through 'Kang Hajin's Conviction'.]

'What?'

Numerous system windows rapidly refreshed.

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode reduced by 10%... (Loading)]

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode reduced by 10%... (Loading)]

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode reduced by 10%... (Loading)]

[System Alert: 'Wandering and Adrift' mode deactivated after falling below 50% (Current: 48%)]

Startled, Hajin stopped crying and blankly stared at the screens.

The final updated window displayed something utterly unexpected.

[System Alert: 'Kang Hajin' responds to you (Response Rate: 100%)]

['Kang Hajin' is now recruitable.]

[Recruit? (Y/N)]