Chapter 97: Bomb? (8)
97. Bomb? (8)
"Are you really okay? Hyung, you're looking way too pale."
Tae-hyun grabbed Hajin's shoulders in alarm, examining him closely. Dan Ha-ru, who had been drifting off to sleep, slowly sat up upon hearing the commotion, his large eyes filled with concern as he looked between them.
"...Couldn't sleep. Must be stress. Really, I'm fine."
"How can we not worry? We just saw someone perfectly fine almost faint."
"I didn't faint. Seriously, I'm okay—just a bit dizzy for a moment. I'm fine."
Despite his words, Hajin was still suppressing a deep, stabbing pain somewhere inside his body.
The dim mood lighting was a small mercy. Had Tae-hyun or Ha-ru seen Hajin under bright lights, they would've immediately woken the managers to insist on a hospital visit.
But right now, the contents of the system window floating before his eyes were more concerning than the pain wracking his body.
"Then at least take some medicine. Where does it hurt?"
"...I'll sleep first. If it still hurts when I wake up, I'll go to the hospital. Deal?"
"......"
"Ah, I'm not dying. Go get some sleep—it's late."
"You—"
"I'll lie down right here and sleep as soon as you two go in."
"......"
"Really. Promise."
Hajin summoned every ounce of his acting skills—honed through countless scams—to reassure Tae-hyun and Ha-ru. Though their faces remained clouded with worry, they reluctantly stepped back to let him rest.
The moment Tae-hyun ushered Ha-ru into their room, Hajin collapsed onto the sofa and properly examined the system window before him.
[S?n_le Q$esSSSㅅㄴt *3.]
Accomplish the third mission with Lee Yu-geon successfully!
Please be careful
** Expected to recover quickly @?1
Upon failure:
Regression probability 10000000%%%%%%
The system window, seen after so long, looked like corrupted graphics—ugly and broken in places. Yet fortunately, Hajin could still decipher the crucial details amidst the garbled text.
<Successfully complete the third mission with Lee Yu-geon>
<System currently under attack during reboot>
<Be careful>
<Expected to recover soon>
And...
<Upon failure, regression probability: 100%>
'Why? Why now of all times?'
If he failed to successfully complete the third stage with Yu-geon, regression was guaranteed.
Reading that, Hajin felt his heart pound violently.
'Think calmly. That bastard Sipsam definitely said Fixed Regressors regress because they want happiness.'
Unable to bear the overwhelming misfortune in their lives, they escape through regression to relive only the happiness they can handle. That was the pattern Hajin understood about Fixed Regressors.
'When I first joined Miro, the regression probability was 85%. Even while dealing with the department head and Han Seong-woo, I never got a separate regression warning.'
Meaning the results he'd created so far were satisfactory. So why, at this point, was his third mission suddenly tied to preventing regression...?
'Does failing this mission make me miserable enough to want to give up everything and regress? Why? What does that have to do with me?'
Hajin took a deep breath to steady himself, feeling heat rise in his chest.
'That bastard Sipsam might be pulling something again. The fact that System 13 can't return right now probably has to do with him.'
First things first—he needed to meet Yu-geon tomorrow. Talk to him.
Whether Yu-geon was a Fixed Regressor or not, Hajin had to clarify all suspicions about him for this quest. Forcing down his unease, Hajin finally succumbed to much-needed sleep.
But the next morning, Hajin couldn't find Yu-geon.
"He didn't come back?"
"Yeah, and he's not answering calls..."
Yu-geon had left the dorm after going out yesterday and never returned. The last contact seemed to be when he sent Hajin the song selection materials.
"Hyung Sang-hyuk. Don't you have Yu-geon's emergency contacts? Family numbers or something?"
"W-well... I had one written down, but it's either outdated or wrong—the number doesn't exist..."
The rookie development team staff member in charge of Yu-geon's care avoided eye contact, clearly unaware of the situation. This was the same employee known for mismanaging trainees and failing to deliver notices on time.
'I need to tell Ji Soo-ho to clean up the rookie development team.'
How could someone not even know the emergency contacts of the trainee they're managing? Hajin barely held back the urge to yell, especially seeing the employee look more panicked than he was.
His mind was in chaos, gripped by the fear that he might regress without being able to do anything. With the system malfunctioning, even his mental care system seemed damaged—his rational judgment had been off since morning. Memories and emotions from past lives kept flooding in, tangled beyond recognition.
"Hyung. For now, we'll look for Yu-geon, so could you contact the production team?"
"Huh? M-me? Contact them?"
"...We have practice footage scheduled later, but Yu-geon's missing. Are we filming without him? We can't just broadcast that he went AWOL. Obviously, we need to postpone filming. You're his manager."
"O-oh. Right, yeah."
Hajin knew the employee was still inexperienced, but he wasn't calm enough to consider that right now.
Suppressing his physical discomfort, his words came out sharper than intended. The employee, fumbling with his phone, shot Hajin a resentful look.
"But Hajin-ah, that tone is a bit much. I'm still your senior and a staff member here. Should you really be talking to me like that?"
An incompetent employee with an even worse attitude. Normally, Hajin would've apologized and moved on—but now wasn't the time.
"Then hurry up and do your job. Stop standing around."
"What did you say? That's seriously disrespectful."
"Hyung, you left before we even finished filming yesterday. So Yu-geon left right after filming and never came back to the dorm—and you didn't even know. Yet I never said anything about that, did I?"
"......"
"Right now, I'm holding back a lot of what I want to say."
To the employee, Hajin had always been the smiling, friendly trainee who treated every staff member kindly.
So when Hajin's expression darkened and his voice dropped dangerously low, the employee instinctively backed away, overwhelmed by an unexpected pressure.
But fortunately—or unfortunately—Hajin couldn't escalate further. Si-woo, having heard the situation, arrived just in time to intervene.
"Kang Hajin, calm down. What's wrong with you?"
"......"
"Eun-chan, take him to his room. Hajin's burning up—probably running a fever. Get him some meds and let him rest. Now."
"Y-yes!"
"Won-ho and Doha, ask around if anyone's seen Yu-geon."
"Got it. Hyung Doha, let's go."
"And the rest of you—get to the practice room. Stop snooping on other teams' business."
Si-woo swiftly took control. Of course, these were tasks the employee before them should've handled. Yet the man remained silent, merely observing.
As Eun-chan supported Hajin out of the practice room, Si-woo's gaze landed on the employee. His momentarily icy eyes softened as he clasped the man's shoulder with a friendly tone.
"Hajin hasn't been feeling well since yesterday, and with Yu-geon missing, he's just on edge. You understand, right?"
It wasn't a request—it was an order disguised as courtesy. But the already intimidated employee missed the nuance, nodding hastily at Si-woo's kind voice and warm words.
"W-well, I'm sorry for overlooking things... But Yu-geon's impulsive behavior isn't new, so I was caught off guard too..."
Even now, he was making excuses—shifting blame onto the trainee he was supposed to protect. Si-woo removed his hand from the man's shoulder and stepped back. He was quick to judge who could be trusted.
"Right, you're busy—I get it. I'll contact the production team. You must have other work... Go ahead."
"That'd be a huge help. I'll look into Yu-geon's situation too."
"Sure. Go on."
Given an out, the employee bolted. Despite being staff, he was only two or three years older than Si-woo—likely terrified of getting reported to superiors. With a grimace, Si-woo made a call.
"Team leader, hello. It's Si-woo. Yeah, something came up with our team, so I called urgently."
The recipient was Team Leader Ji Soo-ho, currently overseeing Miro Maze and their upcoming boy group.
No reason I should cover for someone else's incompetence.
His expression cold, Si-woo ran a hand through his hair.
"Hyung, take this medicine."
"I don't have a fever."
"Take it. You were in pain last night too."
"Since when did you hear about that?"
Eun-chan had stubbornly dragged Hajin back to his room and forced him onto the bed. Now, with unyielding determination, he held out fever reducers and a water cup. His stance made it clear Hajin wasn't leaving until he took them.
"Si-woo hyung said you were burning up earlier."
"...That wasn't that kind of heat—he just meant I needed to calm down because I was furious. I'm really fine."
Hajin had regained some composure on the way back, but Eun-chan remained unconvinced. After a brief struggle, Hajin finally relented.
"Okay. I'll take the meds. After that, I'm just going for a quick walk outside."
"Alone?"
"I need to clear my head. If I feel worse, I'll come straight back—promise."
"...Really?"
Only after repeatedly reassuring Eun-chan did Hajin finally step out.
"......"
Hajin was acutely aware of his unstable mental state. Regression—100%. Those words wouldn't leave his mind. And now Yu-geon was missing too.
'...No scandalous rumors have surfaced yet, right? If word gets out, recovery might be impossible.'
Hajin had to complete the third mission with Yu-geon successfully. If news spread that Yu-geon went AWOL, public opinion would be irreparable.
'Need to find him before this blows up. That kid's face is too distinctive—if someone spots him...'
Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Hyung!"
"...! Ah, Dan Ha-ru."
The curly-haired Ha-ru peered up at him, wearing a yellow hoodie reminiscent of Hajin's own style.
"Hyung, are you okay? You weren't feeling well last night."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Where are you headed?"
"Um... Tae-hyun hyung wants ice cream. Hyung, wanna come?"
Unaware of the Yu-geon situation, Ha-ru only mentioned last night's incident, his face full of concern. Then, cheerfully, he invited Hajin to join "Operation: Return Seo Tae-hyun's Ice Cream."
"It's some limited edition thing, so we have to go past the main intersection. It's kinda far alone..."
"......"
"If you don't wanna go, I can—"
"...No. Let's go."
As Ha-ru hesitantly stepped back, Hajin impulsively nodded. A walk might help organize his thoughts and settle his emotions.
'If I see Yu-geon right now, I might strangle him on sight.'
...First, regain rationality. Gritting his teeth, Hajin steadied his breathing.