Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Where exactly did things start going wrong? Was it when the members announced they were going to do something weird and I didn't stop them by force? Was it when I didn't find the sudden appearance of the rabbit flag strange? Was it when the members dragged me to the center and I stood there without thinking? Or was it when I got a little too hyped up, struck an ending pose, and even fired finger guns at the camera?
Looking at it like this, there are so many mistakes that I don't even know what to say. Ah, I really must have lost my mind back then.
But here's the thing. Any proper idol should know how to strike a pose the instant a camera appears, no matter the situation. The center position is always right for an idol. I haven't debuted yet, but I'm still an idol. My actions and decisions were simply the most idol-like thing to do.
“Even I have to admit that's a pretty lame excuse. My life, seriously...”
No matter what I say, I'm already the leader of Blood Rabbit, Rabbit Vader. As expected, there really is no such thing as justice in this world.
“Wow, so this is how it turned out~ Blood Rabbit, huh. I wondered why they asked me to draw a rabbit. Our Jiyeong really had a plan all along.”
“I didn't exactly hope for it to turn out this way... but it's definitely not a bad name. Blood Rabbit. I quite like it.”
“Rabbit, huh. It sounds weak, but... looking at how things are, I don't think there's a name that fits us better.”
“Rabbit. Lucky.”
With a single dispatch, our members had turned me into the boss of a phantom organization, yet all they cared about was the name Blood Rabbit.
The person who liked the name the most was Seong Jiyeong. Probably because of the word “Blood.” After all, the PMC she led in the first timeline was called Dragon Blood. She was most likely the one who came up with that flag too. She had dyed the entire background red. What was she, a vampire? Why did she like blood so much? She truly possessed an incomprehensible worldview.
Tasha, who was relatively normal when not in combat, seemed slightly dissatisfied with the name “Rabbit” because it sounded weak. But since all our equipment had rabbit ears attached, she had no choice but to accept it. She wasn't wrong about that. Especially since we'd even revealed our identity with that flag.
As for Yu Hana and Ji Seoeun, I had nothing to say. These two were... well, the masterminds behind this whole situation. One was the culprit who attached rabbit ears to all the equipment, and the other was the traitor who reported our members to Psyker Mad.
Especially Yu Hana. She looked genuinely delighted, as if she'd accomplished something incredible. Probably because I received the most screen time and lines on Psyker Mad out of the five of us. Since she knew my personality pretty well, she must have known exactly how annoyed I'd be in this situation.
If I had to nitpick, everyone except Tasha, who just got swept along, bore some responsibility for this mess. If Seong Jiyeong hadn't made that suggestion in the first place, things wouldn't have gone this far. Hmm, so in the end, was Seong Jiyeong the true root of all evil? Yu Hana played the role of the meddling sister-in-law, which made her even more irritating, but the one actually throwing the punches was Seong Jiyeong.
And our mother-in-law Seong Jiyeong, who had beaten me to a pulp and even knocked me out, now extended her hand toward me with a bright smile.
“Watching this footage again, I can see just how clean our operation was. Na Yeri, you really are quite something.”
“...The operation itself was simple. We could've rescued the hostages without any of this.”
I meant it. When dealing with villains, the most important factor is ultimately the strike team's combat power. Our team's firepower had exceeded my expectations, and we probably could've wiped those guys out just by charging in head-on.
“That's not true. How efficiently we use our time is also important. There were hostages, after all. If we'd gone in with nothing, we definitely would've been running around in chaos.”
Seong Jiyeong's words weren't wrong either. If we hadn't gone in with a clear plan, we probably would've been dragged all over the place. There were hostages and even bombs involved.
And above all, the results themselves were excellent. There were casualties, but every single one of them was an employee of Seou Industries who had been working as hired thugs. Considering what those bastards had done at the lab, it was just a case of the ones who deserved to die dying in moderation. The hostages who escaped from the second floor to the outside weren't injured at all, so from Seong Jiyeong's perspective, it must have been a very satisfying ending.
That was probably why she looked so pleased, which was unusual for her. A Seong Jiyeong who wasn't acting haughty somehow felt precious.
The achievement window was also acknowledging the results. It seemed Seong Jiyeong had started feeling a special bond with me. This achievement window really knew how to show up at the most inconvenient times.
The achievement related to Seong Jiyeong was “Knows Good Food, Reliable Girl.” For some reason, the “Knows Good Food” part felt more impressive than the “Reliable Girl” that came after. This girl was secretly sensitive about food, and among the members, I was the only one whose taste was similar to hers. Well, it was probably a good thing.
There were more important matters than this. The truly strange part was that even she wasn't saying a single word about me becoming the leader of a phantom organization after this operation. What was this absurd situation?
For Seong Jiyeong, thinking she should be the leader was only natural. So why was she accepting this situation so naturally? But I couldn't ask her the reason.
Because a new message had come crashing down on me.
Your narrative is expanding.
Your role is Supporting Role 1 (Villain).
Complete your own History.
The achievement window... it wasn't just for show?
In the first timeline, I never managed to collect even 10 achievement points until the day I died. That was because these achievement points were heavily biased toward the idol side. It seemed there was something more hidden here as well.
In any script, the fewer the number of a role, the more important it is. Even among supporting roles, Supporting Role 1 is naturally more important than Supporting Role 17. Did that mean my role in this story had become more significant?
Then what exactly was I supposed to do? And what did it mean that my narrative had expanded? Ah, my head hurts. Whatever, I'll just let things happen as they will. I really don't know anymore.
While the debut team members were watching the video uploaded to Psyker Mad in the dorm, there was another person watching the same footage. It was none other than Planning Team Manager Cha Wooseok from Cha Entertainment.
When the Blood Rabbit members struck their ending pose and fired finger guns at the camera, Manager Cha clenched both fists and shot up from his seat.
“Phantom, phantom... Yes, this is it. Our debut team... we're going with this.”
Having found the final piece for their debut, Manager Cha Wooseok compiled all the internet reactions to phantoms he'd collected so far, various media coverage on phantoms, and people's responses into a single document. It was material to report to the head of Cha Entertainment, CEO Cha.
And this time, he planned to finally confirm the concept for the next debut team.
The next day. Afternoon. Manager Cha Wooseok handed over the carefully organized materials to CEO Cha.
CEO Cha, who had been looking through the documents with a somewhat displeased expression, let out a deep sigh and handed them back to Manager Cha.
“So... you're saying we should go with a villain concept after all?”
“To be precise, it's a phantom concept. It's a bit different from being a villain.”
“Do you even know that those phantoms are wanted criminals? Golden Roll, Gray J with a 300 million won bounty. Even the most famous phantoms are ultimately criminals.”
“But the situation is changing. Please look at this.”
What Manager Cha showed CEO Cha was the part where Blood Rabbit was making their exit. It was exactly the scene where I had been sighing repeatedly.
“Doesn't it look incredibly idol-like no matter who sees it?”
“No, this is...”
“The public reaction has been explosive as well. We're entering an era where idols can pull off villain concepts, or at least phantom concepts.”
“But...”
“Honestly, don't you agree, CEO? Our debut team members have such unique vibes that a normal concept wouldn't work for their debut. That's why we haven't been able to finalize a debut concept yet.”
CEO Cha was indeed troubled. There hadn't been anything that really clicked with him. In that sense, the phantom concept was certainly unique and impressive.
“Can our kids really pull this off?”
“It's a concept that only our debut team can pull off. I'm certain of it.”
“A delicate girl like Yeri... with a villain concept.”
“CEO, we have to acknowledge what's true. Miss Yeri has changed a lot. It's not just me who thinks so. Director Kim Bong-yeon also confirmed that Miss Yeri's aura is quite deep. If you check the edited CF footage later, you'll be completely convinced.”
“...She's changed. That's true. Ha...”
CEO Cha was also aware that Na Yeri had changed significantly. Her aura had become much more mature—no, to be exact, excessively mature. The change had started after the psychiatric consultation that took place after joining the debut team. From then on, Na Yeri's vibe had suddenly shifted. Most of the staff understood it not as a person suddenly changing, but as the parts of her that had been mentally suppressed finally expressing themselves normally.
Since her biggest problem—interpersonal relationships—had improved dramatically from that point, they didn't see it as a bad change. However, lately there were concerns that the change had gone too far. It had developed beyond maturity into something decadent and nihilistic.
And what drove the final nail into those concerns was Director Kim Bong-yeon's evaluation. The director, who never spoke empty words when it came to his subjects, had definitively labeled Na Yeri's image as decadent + nihilistic + femme fatale. It was an image that simply couldn't be handled with a normal concept.
“And when you add Seong Jiyeong, Tasha, Ji Seoeun, and Yu Hana to that, there isn't a single concept other than villain that they could pull off. Fortunately, public opinion on phantoms is extremely favorable these days, so let's seize this opportunity.”
Manager Cha's opinion was extremely reasonable, but CEO Cha still had one last card left. It was because there was one member in the team who didn't fit the phantom concept at all.
“Let's say Yeri can do it. But what about Hana? That child clearly doesn't suit a rough, dark concept no matter who looks at her.”
“...CEO, are you really asking that?”
“...What?”
“No, you were there that time too, CEO. Just tell Miss Hana to open her eyes. That'll solve everything.”
At Manager Cha's words that Yu Hana just needed to open her eyes, CEO Cha was momentarily at a loss for words. It was because a certain incident from the past suddenly came to mind.