Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Kim Bit-na Appears Again
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Seeing Kim Bit-na right in front of me left me speechless. The other members seemed to be in the same state.
Sasaeng fans swarming outside the dorm was a common sight, but I never imagined we'd see one inside the dorm.
Judging by the open closet door, she must have been hiding in there the whole time, listening to our conversations.
“Hoo….”
Not content with suddenly rushing in and injuring Song Yu-bin, now Kim Bit-na had sneaked into the dorm itself.
Yet there she was, smiling at us without a shred of guilt, which made my anger boil over.
Before I could say anything, Cha Jae-hyun spoke up.
“Call the police.”
Baek Si-woo hurriedly grabbed his smartphone and dialed.
“Hello, police station? There's an intruder in our house. Yes, yes. A weapon? Doesn't look like it, but please come as soon as possible!”
After calling the police, we all exchanged glances.
“What do we do now?”
“Everyone, watch what you say for now. She might be recording us.”
At Cha Jae-hyun's words, we all fell silent. A cold silence hung in the air, with Kim Bit-na standing right across from us.
That's when Kim Bit-na looked at me with a chilling smile.
“Eun-ho.”
I quickly turned my head away.
I could feel her gaze on me, but I decided to ignore her as much as possible.
“Jeong Eun-ho. It's me, Kim Bit-na.”
“…….”
“I missed you so much. Didn't you miss me, Eun-ho?”
Her voice sent shivers down my spine.
“But, who's the manager?”
I'd been trying to look elsewhere, but that made me turn involuntarily.
I squeezed my eyes shut, recalling the mutterings I'd done in the room earlier.
‘Manager?’
‘…Don't play weird jokes like that. You did it last time, and now again?’
Had she heard my soliloquy from the room?
‘Damn it. This is getting annoying.’
As I tried to sort my thoughts, her voice came again.
“Eun-ho. Who's the manager? You gonna keep it from me till the end?”
“…….”
“You didn't look like you were talking to anyone, hmm. Maybe there's something wrong with your head?”
I looked up to see her twirling her finger next to her head, mocking me with a grin.
“Stop. That's enough.”
Sensing my agitation, Cha Jae-hyun cut her off.
“Jeong Eun-ho, don't let it get to you. We don't owe her any answers. Not to a criminal like this.”
At Cha Jae-hyun's words, Kim Bit-na burst into laughter. Then she threw her head back and started laughing maniacally.
‘She's completely insane.’
As we grimaced and looked away, the doorbell rang from outside.
“The police are here!”
Baek Si-woo bolted to the living room. Soon, his voice came rapid-firing like a rap.
“Yes! That's right! She's in the house right now! Come in and take her away!”
Clunk—
The front door opened, and two police officers entered the room.
Baek Si-woo pointed to our room with one hand.
“She's in here!”
The two officers glanced between us and Kim Bit-na, then walked in with tired expressions.
“Who's the reporting party?”
“Yes! I'm right here.”
“Is this woman the intruder?”
“Yes! That's her!”
The officers approached the smirking Kim Bit-na.
One began cuffing her.
“You're under arrest for residential trespassing. You have the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, and the right to request a review of your arrest.”
“I know Eun-ho, though?”
“Save the details for the station.”
We watched silently as the police dragged Kim Bit-na out the door, then started talking among ourselves.
“First time hearing the Miranda rights in real life.”
“Never thought I'd hear that live.”
Only after the police took her away could we finally calm down.
But the shock of having someone else in the house lingered.
The other members looked drained too.
‘Things were feeling good for once.’
In the heavy atmosphere, Cha Jae-hyun spoke.
“Everyone okay? That was scary.”
“Ugh, how could it not be? My heart was pounding!”
“Man, that's messed up. I only heard about sasaengs breaking into dorms, never thought it'd happen to us….”
Amid the members' laments, I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes.
What annoyed me most was….
‘Eun-ho. Who's the manager? You gonna keep it from me till the end?’
‘You didn't look like you were talking to anyone, hmm. Maybe there's something wrong with your head?’
She'd overheard my mutterings, thinking no one was around.
What if she leaks a recording online?
I ruffled my hair furiously and looked up, meeting Cha Jae-hyun's eyes.
His expression toward me was odd.
“Eun-ho. Let's talk for a sec.”
Sigh….
I'd known this was coming ever since she mentioned the ‘manager.’
His gaze felt heavy.
I wanted to avoid talking to him, but that would only make him more suspicious.
Reluctantly, I replied.
“Yeah. Let's go.”
As we headed into the room, Cha Jae-hyun turned to Baek Si-woo.
“Si-woo. While I'm talking to Eun-ho, give the company a quick rundown of what happened.”
“Okay.”
Click—
We entered the room.
Cha Jae-hyun sat down and patted the floor for me to sit in front.
I awkwardly sat before him.
In the awkward silence, he spoke first.
“It's been a while since we talked alone. You seemed pretty shocked earlier. You okay now?”
“Yeah.”
He looked at me with concern, hesitating before continuing.
“Then I'll be direct. What did she mean earlier? Who's this manager she mentioned? I want to know.”
I'd expected that question first….
But actually hearing it left me stumped on how to respond.
Even if I told him about the system administrator, would he believe me? That I've been getting quests from him to prevent future incidents.
If I told Cha Jae-hyun that….
He'd think I'm crazy.
In this hopeless situation, as I struggled for an answer.
[Poof★]
A system window popped up in front of me.
‘Damn it.’
Across the window, Cha Jae-hyun tilted his head at me.
I forced a neutral expression and glared at the window.
[Don't glare like that. I just came because this seems fun.]
‘Just shut up and leave.’
[Whoa! You remember I can read your thoughts, right?]
‘Damn.’
I covered my face with one hand silently.
[You planning to tell him about me? Nah, you wouldn't.]
‘No.’
[Good call. The moment you spill my identity, it's the mental hospital ending for you★]
“Jeong Eun-ho. Where are you looking right now?”
Cha Jae-hyun's voice from across snapped me back.
He was staring at me weirdly.
I'd forgotten he was there because of the damn window.
To him, I must've looked like a lunatic staring into space.
Ignoring the frantically changing text on the system window, I cleared my throat a few times.
“Oh, just had a lot on my mind, so I was organizing my thoughts.”
“Yeah?”
He still looked serious.
I understood his concern. Lately, I'd been acting off in various ways.
‘What do I even say?’
After agonizing, I spoke.
“You asked who the manager was earlier, right?”
“Yeah. You gonna tell me now?”
“…Yeah.”
I let out a short breath.
“Just nonsense from a sasaeng.”
No choice but to brush it off. He hadn't heard my mutterings, so he didn't know the details.
If I called it sasaeng babble, he couldn't press further.
“Nonsense?”
“Yeah. No need to worry. It's nothing.”
“Hmm. Alright.”
At my firm tone, he nodded like he got it. But his face still showed lingering doubt. Can't blame him; my answer was too vague.
With his no-loose-ends personality, he'd feel unsettled.
But no helping it.
Spilling the truth would lead to the mental hospital ending, just like the admin said.
“Good. Glad it's nothing. And lately? You seem lost in thought a lot. Everything okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“That's a relief.”
Doubt lingered on his face, but he didn't seem keen to dig deeper.
“Anyway, don't bottle things up. Come talk if you have worries, anytime.”
“Yeah. I will.”
After finishing with Cha Jae-hyun, I went back out. The living room was empty.
I spaced out staring into nothing, then headed to my room.
As I opened the door, Eun Hae-sol sat up from the bed.
“You okay?”
“Of course. You holding up?”
“Yeah, me? Stomach was upset at first, but I'm good now.”
“Let's change the door lock code tomorrow first thing.”
I flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Finally got No. 1, and a rude guest ruins the mood.”
“Yeah.”
“But how's it feel to get No. 1?”
“…Not bad.”
“What? You were dying for it, acting all desperate.”
“When did I?”
“That's why you went on stage mid-hyperventilation, right?”
Eun Hae-sol fell silent.
I closed my eyes in the quiet.
Hitting No. 1 on Keyword Music was pure joy….
But savoring it fully? Too many nagging issues.
Kim Bit-na invading the dorm today. And the manager's call behind the truck at the broadcasting station.
‘Yeah. Just finished Keyword Music. The result? Can't tell you that. And be careful from now on. That was really dangerous.’
What did the manager mean? From the context, he was blaming the person on the phone.
‘Song Yu-bin got hurt, you know. If I get fired from the company over this, you gonna take responsibility?’
Kim Bit-na hurt Song Yu-bin. So the person on the phone….
A hypothesis flashed in my mind.
‘What if the manager was talking to Kim Bit-na?’
If they're close enough to chat, he could've leaked our info to her.
But without evidence, it's just speculation.
I need solid proof. That the manager's feeding her info.
* * *
The next morning.
We got word from the company about last night's Kim Bit-na intrusion.
She'd likely get off with a fine since it's her first offense.
As expected.
And today was a schedule-free day.
I threw on a coat and headed out.
‘Time to hunt for evidence.’