Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Manager Will Join Us... (1)
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"Playing the song."
Click. As Kim Jung-hyun pressed the play button, the demo track flowed out from the amp.
From the intro movement to the verse's sharp group choreography, and even the high-difficulty dance break.
I poured everything I'd practiced into it with all my might.
Kim Jung-hyun watched me intently from start to finish.
Then, three minutes later, as the choreography ended with the final pose, he grinned and clapped.
"Good. The moves are all precise. You did great too, Jae. Not a single mistake. Now, let's each add our own flair and polish it up."
"Thank you!"
"Yeah, but don't let your guard down. Let's push just a little harder from here."
Ah, what a proud feeling.
There was nothing more satisfying than getting approval from Kim Jung-hyun, who seemed kind but was actually incredibly strict.
And the notification window that popped up right as the choreography finished made me even prouder.
[SUB QUEST [A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step] completed.]
[Click the button to claim your reward. Click!]
I did it.
I'd gone through hell for a week for this.
Remembering that dizzying moment when my stamina had dropped to 2, I clicked the reward button.
The quest rewards came one by one.
[Experience gained.]
[SPECIAL ITEM, 'Tiger Essence Extract' x3 acquired.]
[-BLIND- reward arrived. Claim? Y/N]
A blind reward. Come to think of it, this is my first blind reward.
Wonder what they hid it for. If the system went to the trouble of concealing it, it can't be something ordinary.
Unable to resist my curiosity, I hurriedly selected Y. Then,
[The first truth hidden beneath the veil of memory is revealed.]
Along with a sentence I'd never seen before, my vision suddenly went white.
And then, an unknown scene began unfolding in my mind like a movie.
* * *
Pure white ceiling and walls. The footsteps of medical staff hurrying back and forth.
The university hospital, where lives hung in the balance, was always bustling day and night.
At that moment, a boy with a youthful face dashed through the space.
He flung open the door to one room with a loud bang!
"Grandma...!"
"Jae-ya..."
Lying in the hospital bed was an elderly woman.
She had a kindly face, but she looked so ill that even speaking seemed difficult.
The doctor checking her condition by the bedside turned to the boy and asked.
"Are you family of Kim Soon-ja?"
"Yes, yes. She's my grandma."
"Yes. Well, I hate to say this... but I have to tell you. Cancer cells have been detected in Kim Soon-ja's body."
"...Pardon?"
"The detailed biopsy shows stage 4 pancreatic cancer. And it's already spread throughout her body... I'm afraid you'll need to prepare yourselves. I'm sorry."
The boy's face filled with despair at those words.
After that, he stayed by his grandma's side for quite a while.
Whenever a call came in, he'd bow his head and ask for understanding.
Because she was his only family.
But even that time didn't last long.
"Jae-ya..."
"Grandma! Are you feeling better?"
"Our puppy... you have to... become a singer... and live happily... Got it?"
"...Grandma?"
"I love you... my puppy."
"No, don't. Grandma, please don't go. Don't leave me alone... Grandma...!"
Due to her condition being even more severe than expected, on a winter day not long after the diagnosis, the boy's grandma passed away.
The boy was alone now. No one to rely on, no one to give his heart to.
But he didn't even have the luxury of time to grieve.
He had to honor her dying wish.
To become a singer and live happily, no matter what—just like she'd said. So, the boy practiced harder than anyone at his agency.
Even turning his back on the other trainees, sweating blood in plain sight and out of it, devoting himself solely to practice.
A few months later, the boy's name made the debut lineup.
"Congrats on joining the debut team, Jae-ya. Keep working hard from now on. Your grandma's surely cheering you on from heaven."
"...Thank you, CEO."
With the kind CEO's encouragement, the boy took another step toward his goal.
He always threw himself into practice.
He'd skip meals because he gained weight easily, and his sensitive nature caused friction with the younger member who'd be in the group, but still, the boy was giving his all.
No one could work harder than him.
However, there was one man who looked on the boy with displeasure.
"Why does CEO Oh like that kid so much? Tsk. We should've just gone with Yoo Jin-young. Common sense says the assemblyman's son is better, right? Not some nobody we don't even know."
The man muttered as he glared at the boy with a venomous expression.
Malice plastered all over his face.
Starting with singling him out for harsh feedback at monthly evaluations, he subtly pressured the boy.
"Jae, you need more practice. Your singing's a mess, dancing's a mess. Keep this up, and you won't debut."
"...I'm sorry."
"You guys go rest. Jae, you stay."
"Um, Manager Hong... still..."
"You wanna stay too, Su-rim?"
"...I don't mind staying, but Jae..."
"Shut it. Then you stay too."
After the boy joined the debut team, the pressure intensified.
The man planted managers as spies and ramped up practice on top of the already grueling debut schedule.
It was insane.
But the boy couldn't complain.
He was young, weak, and just a trainee.
He had no right to speak up to the man.
Under the man's gaze, the boy wilted more each day; at his voice, he shrank; at his orders, he wasted away.
"Jae-ya, seems like your stage fright's gotten worse lately. Why so tense?"
"...Yeah."
The stage fright that already held him back ballooned because of it.
The boy couldn't take it anymore.
If this kept up, he'd die before debuting.
"Ha Jae! What're you doing? I told you to practice. Were you slacking when I wasn't here? This manager's useless. I said watch him, and you let it all go to shit..."
"...Manager."
"What, punk?"
"I... I can't do this."
"..."
"It's too much. I take lessons as scheduled, practice with the others, so why me alone..."
So the boy mustered his courage and spoke up. He said it.
That it was too hard. That he couldn't take it.
But the result was,
"You cocky little shit, talking back?"
Slap-!
Devastating.
The boy collapsed from the man's beating.
Crash! As his body tumbled across the floor with the noise, the man sneered and prodded him with his foot.
"Hey, punk! Cut the act and get up. Not getting up?"
But the boy didn't stir.
Only then did the man realize how serious it was.
"H-Hey... what's wrong with him. Hey, Ha Jae! Ha Jae!"
When the boy opened his eyes again, he saw the white hospital ceiling.
Fortunately, aside from minor abrasions, there were no major injuries.
But the boy still remembered what the man had done.
Knowing that, the man came to see him in secret. And said,
"Jae-ya. From now on, I'll push you properly. So keep what I did to you a secret from CEO Oh. Just between us. You wanna debut, right, Jae-ya?"
"..."
"Think about it. Even if you tell CEO Oh, nothing changes. You think I'll get fired? No, even if I do, I'm still in this industry. Burying you is nothing..."
"Got it."
"Huh?"
"I said got it. Just... don't lay a hand on me again."
"Of course, Jae-ya. No worries. So you'll do as I say? Yeah?"
The boy desperately wanted to debut.
So he had no choice but to endure.
That was his way of surviving.
But in the empty hospital room, the single tear he shed in secret spoke volumes of his anguish.
* * *
With the boy's tear, the unknown scene stopped playing.
My mind returned to reality.
And with a ding! sound effect, blue notification windows popped up one after another.
[Viewing the first truth of 'Second Life': the memory tied to Ha Jae's accident. One step closer to the truth of 'Second Life.']
[Experience gained.]
[LEVEL UP! 'Ha Jae's level rises to 3.]
[Claim your second LEVEL UP reward. Click!]
But none of the notifications registered.
Because of what I'd just seen.
I knew his grandma had passed, but I had no idea Ha Jae's accident happened like that.
So, the real culprit behind it all was that bastard Hong Jae-pil.
'No wonder it always felt off.'
That creepy feeling really is scientific.
They say your ancestors dance on the button to warn you.
Looks like that's true.
So, summing up what the system showed:
One, after his grandma died, Hong Jae-pil abused Ha Jae, who clawed his way into the debut team through sheer grit.
Two, when Ha Jae finally spoke up about the hardship, he assaulted him, causing the collapse.
Three, no witnesses meant no backlash. Real Ha Jae didn't lose his memory, so Hong Jae-pil used threats to silence him. Probably debuted smoothly because of it.
But this time, I played amnesia, so feeling uneasy, he tried framing it as my fault to kick me out.
Now the puzzle in my head clicked into place.
Knowing the truth blew my mind.
How could a manager beat a trainee like that—especially a debut trainee?
And threaten the kid he put in the hospital to keep quiet.
Even if he didn't like him, that's crossing the line.
Haa... I sighed and clicked the level up reward button.
Unlike the first, no choices this time.
[Second LEVEL UP reward: Item 'Lucky Four-Leaf Clover' acquired.]
[Lucky Four-Leaf Clover
: Infuses you with lucky energy. Luck +100% for 1 hour.]
A Lucky Four-Leaf Clover...
What situation would need luck?
I stared at the new four-leaf clover in my inventory window, then closed it.
It'll come in handy someday.
Anyway, what to do about that bastard Hong Jae-pil.
Ignorance is one thing, but now that I know, I can't let it slide.
Even if he's outstanding in planning and marketing, he's my enemy now.
And he probably doesn't see me as an ally either.
One thing's for sure: a company employee with rotten morals is like a sprout on a potato in a career—pure poison.
Now that I've spotted the sprout, I need to cut it out clean. But,
'Even as a debut trainee, how can one trainee take down a manager...'
No way a single trainee could oust someone at manager level.
I stroked my chin, deep in thought.
There has to be a way. Think... there must be one...
That's when it happened.
The practice room door opened, and an unpleasant voice pierced my ears.
"Kids, practicing hard?"
Speak of the devil.
Old sayings never fail.
I looked up and stared at the face I least wanted to see right now.
"Just passing by, stopped in for a sec."
UJ Entertainment's head manager, the main culprit who backed real Ha Jae into a corner—Hong Jae-pil.
Wearing the mask of a nice guy, he smiled our way.