Lucky Boy

The moment I got back to the dorm after wrapping up the day's schedule, I dropped onto my bed. And the second I lay down, that weird kid surfaced in my mind.

…What the hell is that guy's deal.

After I shut my door, I decided to look a little deeper into the group Innos. Not that "looking into" them meant anything more than a search.

First, I'd start with today's debut stage. I typed it in, and Innos's debut track Lucky Boy came up.

Alright. Let's see.

The first thing I felt the moment I hit play was, well — they were a mid-sized agency, and you could feel the ceiling of their budget in every frame.

The set…

Compared to the lavish stages the big-agency groups put up, theirs looked painfully bare. Especially since they'd debuted on the same day as us — there was no way not to compare, even if you'd wanted to. You could tell they'd wrung every last drop of capital they had to produce the best result they could, and that only made the reality of it hit harder.

Still, they all held their own. Their skills themselves were outstanding for rookies.

The concept was fresh and bright. Which was probably why the styling was all white — simple, understated, clean.

On screen, Hael turned a clear, bright smile toward the camera and winked.

…I can't believe it.

Onstage he was so fresh, so pure, that the madness I'd seen in the bathroom earlier that day didn't even come to mind.

In the final ending-fairy close-up, Hael pulled a four-leaf clover from his pocket, held it up beside his face, and beamed.

If he just stayed like that, he'd be no different from any ordinary idol. In a completely different sense, it was impressive — impressive enough that the lunatic from earlier didn't even register, like I was looking at an entirely different person.

I didn't know much, but I had a feeling I was never going to get along with him.

Is it really that kid.

Out of nowhere, I remembered what the system had said before it vanished. That there was someone out there trying to wreck me completely — someone trying to take my happiness.

If that's him…

The thought crossed my mind, but I decided not to jump to conclusions.

I'll just put him on the candidate list for now.

I still didn't know who it was. The only thing even worth suspecting was that he was under Lumen Entertainment. But it was also true that from the first moment I'd laid eyes on Hael, something about him had sat wrong with me.

It wasn't just the Lumen Entertainment part. The way he presented himself was a situation you couldn't help but find suspicious. No — it was so blatantly designed to draw suspicion that it felt like a trap, and that only made it more confusing.

I should share this with Ji-an first.

I messaged Won Ji-an about everything that had happened today.

"Why are you telling me this now."

Not long after I sent the message, Ji-an showed up on our floor. I honestly hadn't expected him to get here this fast.

"You mad?"

"Why did you wait so long to tell me. Something like this."

I looked away. If I had to make an excuse, I just hadn't wanted him worrying about it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right now.

"We just debuted."

"So?"

"On a day this good, I didn't want to give anyone a headache over something messy. I was going to tell you later…"

Ji-an sighed and shook his head.

"You debuted on the same day too. So on a day this good, why are you trying to sit with it all by yourself."

He sat down next to me, held up his phone, and asked,

"Is this the guy?"

Hael's face filled the screen.

"…Yeah. A candidate. For now."

Ji-an stared at the face on the screen for a long, long time.

"He's good-looking."

"Yeah."

"How was it, talking to him."

I shook my head without a word. I couldn't explain it. So I typed out the conversation from the bathroom as text and showed it to him.

"Did you have a recorder on?"

"No."

"So you just memorized the whole conversation on the spot?"

I nodded, and Ji-an looked at me like I was some kind of specimen before reading through what I'd handed him.

"That's a bit…"

"Weird, right?"

"Yeah. It is. If you were close, maybe, but on a first meeting…?"

That was because he was only seeing it as text. If he'd been standing there in person — if he'd seen the expression on that face and felt that particular atmosphere — he'd have understood exactly how much of a psycho Hael was.

When he'd finished reading, Ji-an handed the phone back.

"Next time you go, take me with you."

"Huh?"

Ji-an looked me straight in the eye.

"You know as well as I do. Considering everything that's happened, there's no telling what he might do. He's someone who's actually prepared to kill people."

"We still don't know if Hael is even that guy."

"That's true. But it doesn't hurt to be careful. It's dangerous to go alone."

He said it quietly. If Hael really is that guy, I mean.

"…There's no connection between us at all."

The idea that a complete stranger wanted to kill me was, honestly, chilling.

"He could be a possessor."

"He's not a novel character."

"That doesn't mean possession is limited to people from the novel."

"Hmm. So if he is possessed — who do you think is inside his body?"

Ji-an rolled his eyes in silence.

"That… I don't know…"

There was no way to know anything.

"He might not even have some huge personal grudge against you. He could just be doing whatever the system tells him to. If our goal was to debut, his goal might be to kill us."

Sometimes Ji-an said things this chilling like it was nothing. There were times it surprised me. He seemed like he'd have the softest, most fragile heart — and yet he carried himself like someone who'd breathed in a lot of the world's rot.

"I don't know. Anyway, this guy isn't normal."

On the screen, Hael was smiling brightly in a photo some fan had taken.

Same-day debut, too… thinking about it again, that's unsettling in its own right.

Some community had already put up rage-bait posts comparing us and Innos just because we'd debuted on the same day. Because of that, from Innos's side, we might well be hated as an involuntary measuring stick. Hael might feel that way toward me too. But setting all of that aside — he hadn't looked well.

What was certain was this: Hael was someone we needed to keep watching.

Late at night, inside a dorm where everyone else had already fallen asleep.

I'd just finished a packed schedule and was about to drift off when a vibration jolted me awake.

What is that?

I picked up my phone. The name on the screen read Psycho. And above it, the clock at the top of the display pointed to twelve.

Is this a joke…

Still half-asleep, I raked my hair back — and anger surged up all at once. Calling at this hour. And this was the first contact, no less.

"Hello."

I'd considered just ignoring it, but I picked up anyway, figuring I might as well hear what he had to say. From the other end of the line came a voice so chipper it was irritating.

Annoyance flared, but I held it in. Getting annoyed felt like losing. That was probably the reaction he wanted, and I didn't want to give it to him.

"Why are you calling?"

I carefully evened out my voice.

"No. I was awake. That's why I picked up. So why did you call?"

Hael let out a completely unrestrained giggle, like something was just so funny. The more I thought about it, the more suspicion was hardening into certainty. The only bastard who'd enjoy tormenting me was that bastard.

"About what."

On the surface it sounded like a compliment, but there was a faint sneer underneath. How to put it — he was putting me on a pedestal a little too high. I thought it was ridiculous. I wasn't some senior veteran. We'd debuted on the same day. What honor?

Am I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overthinking this?

The way he made it impossible to tell whether it was a compliment or an insult — that was the most infuriating part of this way of talking.

"What's there to be honored about. Who am I supposed to be."

Hael laughed again, raising his voice in that exaggerated way.

Then you should've just fainted, I almost said.

Meanwhile, Hael kept spitting out words like a madman, never stopping.

Without giving me a chance to cut in, Hael poured out words like he had a motor attached to his tongue.

"Excuse me?"

A debut-mate as a role model? Sure, I'd gotten my name and face out first through the survival show, but was it really that serious.

He's probably just over-praising me to mess with me. Can't be sincere. Or maybe he's just mentally ill.

I wasn't being sarcastic — he genuinely did not look mentally well.

"I, uh…"

I decided to hang up.

"Hold on. I think the call woke one of the other members. I'll hang up now."

The voice that had been so cheerful just a moment ago instantly went sullen.

"…Haha. Yeah."

I hung up on that voice.

…What the hell is this guy.

I was starting to get confused. If he really was the one the system had talked about, would he act this blatantly suspicious? Or was he doing it on purpose.

I didn't know. I tossed my phone aside and lay back down.

For now, I needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to figure him out more. This Hael guy. I wasn't sure of much — but one thing was certain. He was a seriously irritating bastard.