Chapter 32
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The System Administrator Appears
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[Idol Buff Set Box★]
Inside the inventory window, there was an icon shaped like a gift box.
A shimmering golden light, unlike anything seen on other items, wrapped around the icon's border, sparkling brightly.
‘Buff set box?’
The term "buff" typically referred to effects in games that boosted a character's stats.
So, did that mean using this item would enhance certain abilities?
The "set" part suggested there were multiple buff items inside...
Just then, voices from the staff drifted over from afar.
‘Guess I’ll check it out later.’
He hurried out the door.
Click—
“Welcome back?”
When he returned to the waiting room, the members were waiting for him.
“That glass shattering sound earlier—was that an accident at the next stage over?”
The members already seemed to have pieced everything together.
“Was it a big accident?”
“No idea. I heard all the bulbs shattered and it was no joke.”
“It’s all over the internet already.”
“Really? Let me see.”
With such a loud noise during a fan sign event, the fans must have realized something had gone wrong.
Baek Si-woo, listening in, shivered as he spoke.
“Man, if that had happened next door during our fan sign, it would’ve been chaos.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Chaos? They would’ve gotten seriously hurt.”
“Then the power outage was actually a blessing in disguise, right?”
“I’d say the heavens were looking out for us.”
Watching the chattering members, he thought to himself.
If he hadn’t received that quest, would he be having this conversation with them right now?
Quests often left him feeling like a beggar, but one thing was certain—this system existed to help him. It was practically like knowing the future.
‘I need to make better use of it from now on.’
* * *
Inside the moving van.
The sunset glowed outside the window.
He turned his head and saw the members deep in sleep.
‘Makes sense. They must be exhausted.’
Confirming the members were asleep, he turned on his smartphone and checked his messages.
There was a message from Heo Seung-tae.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Holy crap!! A lighting accident really happened at STX Hall?!!
Word had already spread online.
He tapped on the photo Heo Seung-tae had sent. It showed the stage floor covered in glass shards and shattered lights.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Whoa. If you’d done the fan sign there, you would’ve been screwed. Lucky as hell.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Yeah. Thank goodness.
Even thinking back on it now made his heart race.
This lighting accident was something he couldn’t have prevented on his own—not without changing the venue or canceling the schedule.
If he’d gone ahead with the fan sign oblivious, he’d probably be lying in a hospital bed right now.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Dude, this is my first time experiencing something like this. Feels like I’m a hero from a movie? Aren’t we badass?
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Don’t overdo it.
But Heo Seung-tae was too excited to calm down.
[Heo Seung-tae]
You’re the future-seeing idol, and I’m the hacker who hears your prophecy and stops disasters. This is insane. Like a movie, right? LOLOLOL
The guy was going to keep this up until he played along. He’d already sent ten messages in a row by himself.
With no choice, he replied briefly.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Yeah. Pretty badass.
A reply came instantly.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Life-enriching wisdom.APK
His face soured the moment he saw the file.
Was this for real? Sending a quotes app out of nowhere?
[Jeong Eun-ho]
What’s this?
[Heo Seung-tae]
Install it lol. It’s an app full of life-enriching quotes. Just call it ‘Wisdom Quotes.’
[Heo Seung-tae]
Hurry up and install it hurry hurry
Unable to resist Heo Seung-tae’s relentless nagging, he downloaded the app.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Installed? Run it go go
What was this guy up to?
The moment he opened the app, a page with a flower field background and quotes in a fancy font filled the screen.
‘This guy is impossible to predict. Why’d he make me install this all of a sudden?’
As he moved to close it, one phrase caught his eye.
[A secret, when kept, becomes your slave, but when revealed, becomes your master.]
“Hmm.”
He paused at the screen.
Wait. The text size here was subtly different. Could it be?
Clicking the quote box switched the screen to a chat room.
‘Did he hide a chat room inside a quotes app?’
The moment he entered the chat room, a message popped up from Heo Seung-tae.
[Heo Seung-tae]
Ooh, found it right away. As expected.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
What is this?
[Heo Seung-tae]
It’s an app I made ages ago to mess around with my hacker buddies. Figured it’d be safer to chat through this lol
[Heo Seung-tae]
Chat room auto-deletes after 1 hour, FYI.
‘He’s being considerate of me as an idol.’
Idols’ private lives, if exposed from their phones, could spark scandals in an instant.
Even if it was to save people, if word got out that he’d ordered a hacker to breach the building...
- Crazy idol
- Idol’s hacking scandal blows up
- Idol who ordered a building hack
He’d end up with all sorts of ugly titles.
‘Just imagining it is dizzying.’
Still, he wanted to prevent injuries, even if it meant those risks.
It had worked out in the end, thankfully, but he’d need to be more careful next time.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Thanks. I’ll use the Wisdom Quotes app a lot from now on.
As he tried to exit the chat, notifications kept pinging.
[Heo Seung-tae]
How about we name our hero squad? I’ve got some ideas, wanna hear?
What kind of squad name?
Heo Seung-tae seemed fully immersed in this hero fantasy.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Hmm. How about Power Power Boys?
[Heo Seung-tae]
Hell no
It was then.
“Who’re you texting so much?”
Eun Hae-sol, just woken up, was peering at his smartphone screen.
He hurriedly hid the phone.
“Nothing.”
Eun Hae-sol rubbed his sleepy eyes and leaned back against the window.
That was close.
‘I need to be more careful from now on.’
An hour later, the van jolted to a stop.
“We’re here. Let’s get out.”
At the manager’s words, the members stretched and stirred one by one. As he tried to sit up, he spotted sasaeng fans standing in front of the dorm through the window.
Somehow, there seemed to be more than last time.
‘Whoa, this is insane.’
He couldn’t even tell how many there were or where they’d all come from.
Was it normal for debut groups to have this many sasaengs right from the start?
Feeling uneasy, he asked the manager.
“But how did they know where our dorm is?”
The manager cleared his throat awkwardly.
“How should I know? I told you, you’ll get used to it quick.”
Get used to that? It was enough to drive him mad every time.
“Alright, get out.”
“Just like that?”
“What else? Stay in here forever?”
With no choice, he stepped out of the van.
The moment they did, sasaengs screamed and swarmed them.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Guys! Look over here!”
They pushed through the madhouse-like scene and made it inside the dorm.
“Whew, we’re home.”
Everyone looked drained.
The door had barely closed when the members groaned and shuffled into the living room.
“I’m exhausted.”
“Good work, everyone.”
They each headed to their rooms.
Thinking of checking the item he’d received earlier, he started to open the inventory window but glanced at his smartphone instead.
‘Maybe check community reactions first.’
The lighting accident from today.
He needed to see how people were talking about it.
Sure enough, it was already a hot topic online.
[Title]
Today’s Manwol’s Boys Fan Sign Lighting Accident (Venue Changed, No Injuries Reported)
[Comments]
- Horrifying
- Whoa, the lights are totally smashed.
- Thank goodness no one got hurt ㅠㅠ
- They moved venues? Meaning before the accident?
└ Yeah. Weirdly, there was a power outage right before the lights went out.
- Heard it was hacking.
└ Hacking? LOL
Fortunately, they hadn’t figured out who the hacker was.
Heo Seung-tae must’ve slipped away like an eel with his skills. He wouldn’t have left a single trace.
- Disappointing.
└ ?
└ Wtf dude?
└ Psycho.
└ Total scum.
└ Disappointing that you were born.
Did they mean they were disappointed no one got hurt? What went through these people’s heads when they typed that?
‘The world is full of weirdos.’
- They’re so lucky.
- Manwol’s Boys fighting!
- Today’s fan sign was so fun. The boys were adorable lolol glad it ended without incident~
There were a few troll comments, but since it was a safety-related incident, most reactions were relief.
‘This should be good enough.’
He set the phone aside and looked around.
Eun Hae-sol was washing up in the bathroom, and the other members were resting in their rooms.
Now was the time to check the inventory.
“Inventory activate.”
The inventory opened, showing the reward buff set box. Clicking the icon brought up the item description.
[Idol Buff Set Box★]
A special buff set box containing effects that boost your idol power. Using the item grants one-time use buff tickets.
“Hmm...”
Since it was a set, there was probably more than one buff ticket. What abilities would they enhance?
‘Dance would be nice if possible.’
Curious about the contents, he decided to use it.
“Use item.”
No sooner had he spoken than flashy effects filled his vision.
With bombastic sound effects, the box shook and three buff tickets emerged.
[Vocal Buff Ticket]
[Dance Buff Ticket]
[Luck Buff Ticket]
There were three buff tickets in total.
‘Not bad at all.’
For an idol, singing and dancing were essentials, so he could use them on important stages.
The luck one he’d save for when he needed it.
Up until now, he’d only gotten items that showed others’ memories, so this was his first of this type...
‘It’d be great if more like this came up.’
He’d been losing his mind clearing quests nonstop, but this felt like a proper reward for once.
Just as he stretched out his legs to finally sleep.
[Hi?]
A sudden system window popped up, jolting him upright.
‘What’s this?’
Confusion washed over him.
He had no idea who, why, or how...
[Heyyy Eun-ho~?]
One thing was clear—someone was talking to him.
He swallowed dryly and spoke.
“Who are you?”
A reply came soon after.
[I’m the system administrator★]
...What?