This Might Work

Huh. This might actually work.

The scene the Future Fragment showed me left me feeling hollow. It was Gyeowool, her eyes glazed over, unable to finish the recording properly. Then Yoon Jung using that as an excuse to bully her. After that came the image of her taking antidepressants and sleeping pills, scrolling on her smartphone for a while before crying herself to sleep. It was heartbreaking to watch her suffer so much mentally.

The way Yoon Jung and the other members treated Gyeowool in those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scenes didn't look like how colleagues should treat each other at all. From what I could see, she was clearly being ostracized. It was a miserable situation.

Thinking about the affection we'd built up, I even considered teaching her some practical, battle-tested tips on how to act cute toward people who were avoiding her. But objectively speaking, none of this was particularly important to me.

"So where the hell did the 'No Financial Gain Restriction' go?"

There was nothing in that future scene that could be turned into money or useful information. Where were my lottery numbers?

"The urgent problem right now isn't Gyeowool, who just landed a job. It's me, the unemployed bastard! You useless system!"

It wasn't that there was zero financial benefit to be gained from the future I'd seen. But it was minimal. At best, it looked like Alcest—including Gyeowool—would succeed, which would probably have a positive effect on SS Entertainment's stock price. That was decent information from a long-term investment perspective, but my ambitions weren't small enough to be satisfied with something that safe.

"No, you piece of shit. This Future Fragment wasn't something Gyeowool used. I used it, right? Then it should have given me information I could actually use!"

I grumbled even though I knew I couldn't communicate with the system. It was a foolish hope that something might drop like when it gave me the Regression Candy last time.

"Oh my god, thank you! System-nim, I am eternally loyal!"

I immediately dropped to my knees and offered my gratitude. After performing three full bows, I calmly read through the quest details. The content felt strangely off. It used provocative words but was so vague that it was hard to grasp the exact meaning at first glance.

Poach Gyeowool and make another deal? What kind of nonsense was that? She had already signed a contract and been placed in the debut team. How was I supposed to steal her away…

…Wait a second?

Come to think of it, Gyeowool was being bullied, wasn't she?

The moment that thought hit me, it felt like electricity was surging through every single neuron in my brain. The vague sentence that had been floating in my head instantly gained weight, flesh, and muscle until it transformed into a solid, concrete plan.

Use the bullying as grounds to nullify Gyeowool's contract. Even if SS tried to cling to the contract, it wouldn't matter. From what I'd read, the contract stated that if the company was at fault, it could be terminated through reasonable negotiation.

It wouldn't matter if they used SS's power to threaten us either. I could simply counter by threatening to make the incident public. If I successfully poached her, the rest would be simple. There probably wasn't anyone who wanted Gyeowool as badly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as Cheon Jonghun did, but the fact that she possessed extremely high value wouldn't change.

If I recalled the memories from my previous timeline, finding a new trading partner would be child's play.

I was certain. This would work.

The reward wasn't bad either. From my experience using it in the previous timeline, I remembered it granted the ability to play any song perfectly on any instrument. There would surely be ways to use it—stepping in as a substitute if a session musician bailed, for example.

The only remaining obstacle was my conscience. My conscience, burdened by the current situation that required me to commit an act that went against professional ethics, asked me a question.

But is it really okay to steal something we've already traded and sell it again? Won't this make Cheon Jonghun hate me?

I answered.

Fuck that. They stabbed me in the back first.

I closed the job search site I'd been staring at blankly and began fleshing out the detailed plan. To carry this out cleanly, there were things I needed to prepare.

And then three days passed.

Dressed in a rented suit, I headed toward SS Entertainment's practice building.

"Is this really okay?"

My older sister, who was also wearing a rented suit and gold-rimmed glasses to project an intellectual image, asked me. I wasn't sure what she was asking if it was okay. Did she think the clothes didn't suit her?

"Yeah, it's fine. It looks good on you. The clothes make the man! The man. If you went on a blind date right now, they'd definitely ask for a second meeting."

"Not that, you idiot! I mean is it okay for me to impersonate a lawyer!"

Oh, so that's what she meant.

"It's fine, sis. I'll be doing all the talking anyway."

I wasn't expecting her to play a major role.

"You just need to hand over a business card, look professional, and say one line: 'I will be recording this conversation.' If we reach an agreement on terminating the contract, we'll hire a real lawyer afterward."

There was no need for actual legal consultation regarding the contract. I already knew all the necessary knowledge, and I'd even studied how it differed from the version ten years in the future just in case. In fact, having a real expert might actually get in the way.

Because my plan was to mix in a bit of illegality and nonsense and snatch Gyeowool away through sheer audacity. So my sister just needed to set the right atmosphere.

"I don't know why I used up my vacation days for this."

"Ah, so you're just going to ignore that Gyeowool is being bullied? After eating from the same pot with her for two weeks?"

My sister frowned as if my words gave her a headache, pressing her fingers to her temples.

"Ugh. I must have committed some sin in a past life to be born as this guy's older sister."

"Then am I blessed to have been born as your little brother?"

When I laughed and joked around, my sister let out a small snort of laughter and roughly ruffled my hair. As expected, my sister was easy.

We got out of the parking lot and headed toward the C annex where Gyeowool's practice room was located. As we passed the main entrance and entered the internal lobby, a security guard blocked the gate.

I tried to brazenly walk past the guard and through the gate. Naturally, the guard stopped me.

"Excuse me. Only company personnel are allowed beyond this point. Do you have a prior appointment?"

The Confucian instincts instilled in me over decades wanted to politely answer the guard's courteous question. But I couldn't do that.

I was a guardian who had reached the peak of anger over how Gyeowool was being treated. Right now, I couldn't see anything in front of me. I was going to charge straight through.

After completing my self-hypnosis, I glared at the guard with eyes blazing with fury and said,

"I am Gyeowool's guardian. I came here to protect her because she's being bullied. Are you still going to block me? Is this action in line with company policy from above? If this is your personal judgment, can you take responsibility? I plan to report this to the public, you know?"

The moment the word "responsibility" came up, the guard stepped back with an awkward expression. Such was the sorrow of a salaried worker.

"In that case, first let me verify your identity…."

The guard's request was reasonable, but if I wasted time here and it reached Cheon Jonghun's ears, the situation could get complicated. I decided to handle this quickly.

"Ha, do you really think I don't know you're trying to stall for time with these tricks?"

"Attorney Seon Dal-rae. I will be recording this conversation."

It was a perfect assist from my sister. The guard, seeing my sister's face which made her look like a money-obsessed lawyer, silently stepped aside from the gate. We hurried through before he could change his mind.

"So what are you going to do now?"

My sister asked with her face hardened to look like a cold-hearted attorney. The way she fully committed to whatever role she was given was truly reassuring.

"I'm going to make Gyeowool cry."

"What kind of nonsense is that now?"

It wasn't nonsense.

"The truth is, there's no concrete evidence that Gyeowool is being bullied. The girls aren't careless enough to get caught on CCTV."

Since the bullying controversy didn't spread even in the future when they were actively promoting, they weren't the type to leave evidence.

"The debut team has their phones taken away by SS, so there's no way to record anything. That means Gyeowool probably doesn't have any evidence either."

"Then how are you going to prove she's being bullied? From what you're saying, they don't seem like the type to leave visible injuries either, right?"

"That's why I need to make Gyeowool cry. The tears of a victim become evidence!"

I kindly explained to my sister, who was looking at me with an incredulous expression.

"The one who needs to prove anything isn't Gyeowool. It's the four members of the debut team and SS who need to prove they haven't been bullying her. Well, if they don't want to prove it, they'll just have to experience how many reporters and netizens will come swarming in just from the suspicion alone."

"Is this kid actually crazy?"

"Think it'll work?"

"Yeah… it might actually work."

Having shared that certainty, we headed toward Gyeowool's practice room like a runaway train.

We flung open the closed door and entered the practice room. Lily and Coco were drinking water and resting. I asked them,

"Where is Gyeowool right now?"

"Gyeowool?"

Coco asked back stupidly, as if thinking, Who is this person and why is he asking this? However, Lily behind her stiffened and avoided my gaze, as if something had caught her attention. I smelled the scent of a big catch.

My sister seemed to have noticed the same thing and glanced at me. I gave her a small nod before beginning the interrogation.

"Miss Lily, you're hiding something right now, aren't you?"

"…Yes? Me? No! I'm not hiding anything?"

"Haha, Miss Lily, are you sure you can handle the consequences of that statement?"

When I gave her the signal, my sister began reciting the civil law, special laws, and various articles and clauses I'd taught her like a spell, threatening Lily. To someone who actually knew the law, it was just a meaningless string of nonsense, but it was more than enough to scare a fourteen-year-old Lily who was experiencing this kind of situation for the first time.

"…Sob, hic, she'll probably be in the storage room where they keep the cleaning supplies. …I have nothing to do with it."

Lily finally burst into tears and confessed. After confirming the location of the storage room, we ran there quickly.

"Han Gyeowool. Are you joking right now? When the choreography formation changed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠diamond, what did I tell you to do?"

"…You told me to move backward."

"Right, you remember well? But moving to the left means you want to collide with me, who has to move to the right, doesn't it? Or did you simply want to screw me over?"

Her words weren't wrong. It was true that Gyeowool and Yoon Jung had collided. But the demand itself had been wrong from the start.

Given the nature of the choreography, which required instantly changing formations, for Gyeowool to stably perform the next move, she needed to shift sideways to secure her position. If she backed up far to avoid Yoon Jung, she wouldn't be able to execute the following choreography properly.

The correct solution would have been for Yoon Jung and Gyeowool to practice crossing sideways together without bumping into each other. However, Yoon Jung only demanded that Gyeowool avoid her on her own and showed no intention of cooperating.

Even so, Gyeowool didn't point that out. She simply apologized.

"I'm sorry, unnie. I won't make a mistake next time."

Yoon Jung poked Gyeowool's chest with her finger as if prodding her.

"Next time? How?"

Every time Yoon Jung poked Gyeowool's chest, Gyeowool staggered. It looked like tears would fall at any moment, but Gyeowool barely held them back. As if that sight annoyed her, Yoon Jung raised her hand with full force.

"I asked what you're going to do next time!"

"There won't be a next time."

At that moment, a man appeared and grabbed Yoon Jung's wrist, stopping her.

Gyeowool looked at the man who had blocked Yoon Jung with one hand while catching her falling body and pulling her into his embrace. It was Seon Taeyang.

Ever since becoming part of the debut team, Gyeowool had been holding back her tears the entire time. Because she wanted to become someone worthy of the trust Taeyang had placed in her. Her constantly bursting into tears wouldn't match his expectations.

"…Teacher Taeyang."

But the moment she saw Taeyang's face, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.