The Final Chair
The Soul Exchange Ticket was the reward from the quest last time.
In short, it was an item that allowed me to swap souls with anyone I wanted. So this was my last card to save Won Ji-an.
'If Won Ji-an doesn't debut, I can just swap bodies with him.'
Then, Won Ji-an would survive inside Do Won-woo's body.
Of course, I'd be the one who died.
But...
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
I had said countless times that the most important thing in the world was myself. I had no desire to sacrifice myself like a hero for others. I just wanted to live for myself.
But when I came to my senses, I was making the same foolish choice as Won Ji-an.
No, was I wrong?
If Won Ji-an hadn't taken on my misfortune, the person standing here would be Won Ji-an, not me.
So, this is it.
I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live like this either.
Even with the means to save Won Ji-an, I didn't want to stay alive in such a cowardly manner.
So, understand my choice.
You can never understand.
* * *
Soon, my vision darkened, and when I opened my eyes, I was inside Won Ji-an's body.
The scene of looking down on everyone from the debut stage flipped all at once.
The place I was standing was the one where those who had not been chosen and whose names were not called resided. It was the spot where Won Ji-an had been just moments ago.
"......?"
Far away, I saw my own body sitting on the debut stage. That is, Won Ji-an inside Do Won-woo's body.
To be precise, it should be Won Ji-an inside Do Won-woo's body.
So this is what my appearance looked like in someone else's eyes. It was disgustingly handsome.
I wanted to ask if I was even thinking about such trivial things now, but my mind kept drifting to useless thoughts, as if trying to avoid reality.
Won Ji-an's reaction was as expected. His face was one of bewilderment, not knowing what the hell was going on.
To make sure he didn't get too surprised, I was thinking of using telepathy to warn him in advance...
But I was afraid because I couldn't predict how he would react to that.
So, I just used it.
At the moment when Won Ji-an knew nothing and couldn't anticipate anything.
His face, which had turned deathly pale as if saying 'What the hell are you doing?'
It was a sight that was almost pitiful. He accepted his own death calmly.
Well, what kind of trick...
He raised both arms and looked at his hands. Won Ji-an's hands were smaller than I thought. And his fingers were long.
This body, which would soon disappear along with me. Somehow, a laugh came out.
Well, now it's being erased.
I had been thinking that this was getting tedious. Now, this body that had taken on my misfortune for me was disappearing. I thought it wasn't bad.
People standing on the distant debut stage were visible. Those who were supposed to debut, and those who had changed their fate on their own.
With only good people there, you should be able to do well.
Looking at Won Ji-an with a distorted expression on my face, I felt a bit scared. Because I was afraid of how Won Ji-an would react after this was over.
"Thus, the top nine of Dream Stage Season 2 have been decided!"
Without time to grieve, the MC continued his lines while looking at the trainees sitting on the debut stage. After announcing the final rankings, his voice had a lighter tone.
"Then, I will announce the group name of the debut group born from this place today."
After the lines ended, a short video flowed on the screen.
A fireworks display was painted on the starry night sky in the screen, and soon the group name appeared.
[Starlight]
After the group name was announced, a short, thick cheer erupted from the audience.
Some trainees sitting on the debut stage were seen chatting about the group name with a slight excitement.
So the group name is Starlight. Well, it's not bad.
After the group name announcement, the nine members of the debut group stood under the dazzling lights and greeted each other.
The debut group that had been waiting for a long time. The people's cheers were particularly loud.
Laugh, a bit.
......Well, even I wouldn't laugh.
"Dream Stage Season 2 will end like this. I sincerely thank the viewers who have been watching until now."
I had a glimmer of hope that they would add one more person at the end, but apparently not.
After announcing the group name and giving a line that was almost a final greeting, it was fine to say there was no one left.
......Still, it was fun.
The last impression was just one word, a self-consolation that didn't match at all.
The further it went, the more painful it was, but there were still fun moments.
I had made my first friends, done joint training, unexpectedly helped and cared for others. Thinking about it now, there were many first times.
I felt many emotions for the first time.
It would be understandable.
Why Won Ji-an told me not to erase his memories.
It was unfortunate, but surely there were happy memories in there.
"Ha ha ha......"
In some emotional atmosphere, the MC suddenly laughed.
I blinked in confusion, not knowing how to react to the sudden laugh. The MC, who should have normally spat out the last lines and said goodbye, was laughing madly.
'......What?'
After stopping his laughter, the MC said.
"Amazing."
At that out-of-the-blue remark, my head was muddled as if wondering what he was saying.
"Really amazing! Do Won-woo!"
The MC held up the microphone and shouted.
"A person who only knew himself, who said that he was the most important and precious thing in the world, is willing to die for others! Everyone, give a hearty round of applause for this shining courage!"
At that moment, a piercing microphone sound of "beep-" rang out.
Along with a somehow twisted sound, the concert hall was filled with applause and cheers. No one questioned the MC's crazy act.
At that moment, I realized. This wasn't reality. This was a virtual space created by this damned system and manipulated at will.
This damned guy, even till the end, was doing crazy things.
Soon, the system wearing the MC's appearance came to me and said.
"You are really amazing. The most interesting human I've seen!"
It looked like admiration at first glance, but there was clearly mockery in the tone.
"As expected! The protagonist-like appearance. Applause for you who became the protagonist from the villain......"
"Shut up."
At my interruption, the system seemed flustered and stuttered.
"Eh?"
"Shut up, you bastard."
I no longer needed to hold back.
This was the last moment.
Soon, this damned life would end. I had nothing to lose and nothing to protect.
So, if I could, I wanted to show how extremely a human could change just before death.
"Isn't it fun?"
"......"
"How funny it was to see us desperately trying to live under your shitty system."
Throughout the words, the system maintained a blank expression with only the corners of its mouth lifted in some grotesque way.
"But now that's over. Satisfied? In the end, I'm going to die. As you said, I'll live parasitically in this damned villain's body with a good face and end my life as the protagonist you mentioned, which is also laughable."
At that, a "woo" jeer came from the audience.
"Why are you angry, Won-woo?"
At that moment, Lee Hae-won's voice was heard. When I raised my head, Lee Hae-won was sitting on the debut stage, propping his chin and looking at me.
"You don't have to get so angry. You were supposed to die anyway. What's more disgusting? You tried to push me away and become the protagonist."
This wasn't what Lee Hae-won was saying. All of it was created by the system.
But it felt real.
The expression, the tone, the voice, everything.
"The original protagonist of this work is me, you damned bastard! I was supposed to walk only on a flower path!"
At that moment, Lee Hae-won suddenly stood up and shouted.
At the same time as Lee Hae-won's face distorted, Han I-jae clapped.
"That's right, Do Won-woo. Because of you, my fate changed and I had to suffer through shitty bad comments. But you helped me? If it weren't for you, this wouldn't have happened, right? Do you really think you helped me? Honestly?"
Soon, Kang In-hyeok appeared between them and agreed.
"Yeah, Won-woo. I was originally an extra, and without the system, I climbed to the debut group with just my own strength, but compared to that, you used all kinds of abilities, right? And you're the protagonist? You're sitting there laughing. You're a villain."
A hollow laugh came out.
So, the system, even at the last moment, had no intention of just sending me away.
In the space he created, he wanted everyone to blame and mock me, to make even his own consolation seem ridiculous, and to prevent even memories from remaining.
"To save Won Ji-an, you tried to remove me from the debut group, right, hyung?"
Then Na Jae-hyun said.
"Hyung is really a bad person. How could you make such a choice? I thought it would be okay if I didn't debut because the impact would be small? Thanks to you, my life was about to become X."
Na Jae-hyun's face, dyed with betrayal, glared at me.
Without time to answer, another voice was heard.
"My share decreased because of you."
Lee Hyo-seop, sitting at the very end of the debut stage, stood up and said.
"Thanks to your so-called plan to save Won Ji-an, I became no different from an extra in the lead role."
The words blaming me kept coming.
But there was no impact. From the moment I realized all this was the system's prank, I felt no emotion.
"Ha......"
A hollow laugh came out.
"Yes, I'm sorry that everyone is suffering because of me. What can I do? Should I kneel and apologize?"
I turned in place and carefully looked around the scenery in front of me.
The people on the debut stage, and the people watching me from the audience. The dazzling lights that didn't match the dying me.
"Ha."
There was no beautiful farewell.
The original life was inherently dirty and ugly.
"Go fuck yourself."
I snatched the microphone from the MC standing in front of me and shouted.
"Are you sorry for making the novel like this? No, I'm not sorry at all."
I don't know what I was thinking. When I came to my senses, I was spewing words madly.
"This damned system made me reincarnate into this shitty idol world, raised the freedom of this crazy world, set the condition that if I don't debut I'll die, and so I just tried to survive!"
By now, the jeers from the audience had subsided, and silence filled the surroundings.
"So, I worked hard to die, but in the end, I died today!"
Should I call this the third impression...? Or, is this even something that can be called an impression?
"Even though I died like this, I have no regrets. Even if you all look at me and say I'm crazy, I did my best."
Silence descended on the stage.
After pouring out words without stopping, my heart felt empty and hollow.
At that moment, when I raised my head, I saw Won Ji-an coming towards me.
His face was unreadable, as if I didn't know what he was thinking. One thing was clear: he was angry with me right now.
"......It's like this."
Won Ji-an slapped my cheek.
"......?"
I was dumbfounded.
For the first time in my life, I received a slap that didn't hurt.
"Is this real?"
I looked at him in disbelief, and Won Ji-an raised his head and said.
"Swap with me again."
"......"
"Swap with me again!"
Won Ji-an punched my shoulder wildly and shouted.
"Why are you trying to die in a body that couldn't even debut? Are you crazy?"
Won Ji-an shouted as if cursing.
"Swap with me again!"
At that moment, a sound of something breaking rang out. Cracks appeared in my vision. The space created by the system was breaking, and everything was returning to reality again.
Back in the real world, I saw those who had been pouring out insults and jeers at me earlier standing normally.
So that's it, even till the end, shitty pranks...
I laughed hollowly and shook my head.
"Everyone. This is not the end."
In the midst of everything coming to an end, an unbelievable word came out from the MC's mouth.
"The last seat."
......Eh?
"There is still one last seat left for the debut group!"
With those words, suddenly a chair began to rise from the very end.
It was the last chair with "10" written on it.