Suspicion (2)
"...Lee Ji-yeon?"
I echoed back in disbelief at the absurd statement, but the goddess simply stood there motionless.
...Wouldn't Lee Ji-yeon give me some kind of hint if she appeared here? I waited a long time, but the goddess showed no sign of moving.
Thinking it over carefully, before warning me to watch out for Lee Ji-yeon, the goddess had dragged out the time, struggling to speak. She said her goal was to break the evil god's curse, but as a goddess, she had duties to fulfill. I didn't know what they were, but she was surely carrying out her work as the Goddess of Luck...
She'd told me she'd used some of her partially restored power to interfere with past records and obtain information. I couldn't grasp any connection between those records and Lee Ji-yeon. In all the countless past lives I'd seen so far, I'd never once encountered a woman resembling her.
Considering how the Demon King and Hero had been born with strikingly similar appearances despite different environments, it was hard to link it to having met Lee Ji-yeon in a past life.
The goddess had gone out of her way to give me a hint, saying I could figure it out, but I uncovered nothing. As I stood there staring blankly at the unmoving goddess, spinning wild theories, no matter how I pieced them together, I couldn't find any connection between Lee Ji-yeon and my past.
After a long wait, the goddess finally began to stir.
"...You okay?"
[...Yes.]
I wanted to question her earlier remark, but it seemed pointless to expect an answer from the goddess. When I asked about her recently restored power, she said it allowed her to see more of the past. This appeared to be the limit of what information she could provide.
"More of the past?"
[...Yes. Your past is far more vast than you imagine. What you've seen so far was only a portion—there are many records remaining.]
[I've compiled them into a list this time.]
A thick tome materialized as the goddess raised her hand, emitting light. Its leather cover and hefty weight felt oddly familiar, like a karaoke songbook.
The cover was blank, but flipping to the first page revealed content in a familiar tabular format.
[Hero 1 - 65y, 0001]
[Hero 2 - 78y, 0002]
[Hero 3 - 82y, 0003]
...
"Isn't this a karaoke songbook?"
[...I prepared it in an efficient format...]
"...Why are there so many Heroes?"
[That's... because the number of times a Hero ended your life is high...]
"...Then what's the number at the end?"
[...I organized the ages in a modern style.]
It was an unnecessary courtesy. Each page was split in half, listing about 200 entries, all Heroes' names. Flipping further, the Heroes ended sooner than expected.
[Hero 263 - 11y 0263]
[Demon King 1 - 512y 0264]
From there, Heroes and Demon Kings alternated. Scattered among them were new names like Saintess, Emperor, Archmage, and more.
Roughly tallying it up, the Demon Kings had the longest average lifespan. Since they used magic, they could probably keep me alive longer. Flipping back to the Heroes, almost none exceeded 100 years.
Scanning the records, I spotted something odd. Worlds with magic had centuries-long entries, which made sense, but there were frequent ones marked 1y or even 0y.
Had I died at such a young age?
[...Those are... records where jealous women who impregnated themselves with you reset the cycle...]
...The shocking details were laid bare. It was more absurd than terrifying. This wasn't love—it was straight-up psychos with mental illnesses.
Since it hadn't happened to me directly, it didn't hit too hard. I just felt a deep aversion to experiencing it myself. Who would willingly endure cruel, agonizing torture in the name of love?
If Hyeon Ha-yeon hadn't appeared before me, I'd have dismissed meeting the goddess as a mere dream. But if Hyeon Ha-yeon and Baek Ga-eun regained their memories and went berserk, how could I stop them? Would I have to sacrifice my body to calm them down?
...That was basically cuckoldry. I wanted to brush it off as a joke, but with similar pasts existing, I couldn't laugh.
...It hadn't been long, but the time spent with them had been enjoyable. Losing the current versions of them would feel regrettable.
"...Saintess? Who's this?"
[The Saintess from before, who caused a funeral procession...]
I'd met death in truly varied ways. Surprisingly, Saintesses, Emperors, Archmages, and such took up a fair share toward the end. The later pages repeated similar patterns, and flipping to the final one...
[Childhood Friend 1 - 17y 8765]
The last page held just that single line amid empty space. Repeating life 8765 times was ridiculous. And now an unfamiliar name appeared.
"...Childhood Friend?"
[...]
Even shooting the goddess a questioning look yielded no reaction. Other entries had intuitive labels like Hero or Demon King, easy to picture. But this late-arriving "Childhood Friend" drew a blank. It wasn't some superhuman lifespan either.
These records could probably be viewed directly with the goddess's power.
[...That... record... is the most... recent information, so my power falls short.]
Watching her struggle to speak, it seemed even this was beyond her reach for now. Regrettably, I couldn't access the "Childhood Friend" details.
*
A few weeks passed in peaceful days. After her brief lapse, Hyeon Ha-yeon's focus visibly sharpened. She was steadily climbing the ranks, hailed as CG Entertainment's rising star. Her family's situation stabilized, gaining some breathing room.
Quick-witted media sniffed around to report on Baek Ga-eun's trainee life, but Baekil Group swiftly moved to control the press. Her acting skills matured daily, earning nonstop praise from trainers.
The goddess's warning about Lee Ji-yeon nagged at me, so I approached her needlessly...
"Your recent antics are kinda cute?"
Seeing Lee Ji-yeon flash a seductive smile while patting my butt, I felt I'd just wasted energy for nothing.
The CEO, who rarely messaged at dawn unless it was urgent, had contacted me. I rushed to work and headed straight to his office.
"Oh, you're here. Sit down first."
I quietly took a seat on the sofa, waiting. Deep in thought, CEO Choi groaned for a while before sitting across from me with a resolute expression.
"Cho-in, I... no, I've got a favor to ask."
"...What kind of favor?"
"...Go meet Han Jeong-suk."
"...Composer Han Jeong-suk?"
Han Jeong-suk had written and composed Lee Ji-yeon's debut hit, Old Love. A veteran composer who'd left countless masterpieces before retiring, her final gift was that song. Its wistful melody, relatable lyrics, and beautiful tone made it a massive smash, laying the foundation for CG Entertainment's growth.
The public knew it as a present from the CEO's old friend. The truth differed.
Childhood friends, the CEO and Han Jeong-suk debuted as singer and composer, achieving success. She debuted as a composer just to stay by CEO Choi Kang's side, but their love never bloomed. The next year after debut, he fell for a fellow singer and married her.
Han Jeong-suk stayed by his side as composer for years before retiring. He divorced amid scandals later, but whether her wish came true remained unknown.
"Yeah. To debut Hyeon Ha-yeon, we need a song from Han Jeong-suk."
"..."
He'd invested time and money hunting for Hyeon Ha-yeon's debut track but found nothing satisfactory.
"...If you bring back one of her songs, we can push Hyeon Ha-yeon's debut way forward."
There was plenty of buzz material. Hyeon Ha-yeon, with her image akin to Lee Ji-yeon and already idol-level popularity inside the company, landing a comeback track from hitmaker Han Jeong-suk would flood the news.
What set her apart from Baek Ga-eun? Ga-eun had flashy looks and an unbeatable background. Though in different fields, Hyeon Ha-yeon matched her in promising talent but lacked backing.
Hyeon Ha-yeon harbored a quiet rivalry toward Baek Ga-eun. While Ga-eun's debut loomed visibly, Ha-yeon just kept practicing on blind faith in "wait and see."
Pretending otherwise, she'd subtly probe me about Ga-eun's activities, her face falling dejected. I couldn't leave her like that. I didn't want to see Hyeon Ha-yeon, who'd trusted and followed me, broken.
"...What if the composer's song doesn't suit us? What's the plan?"
Leaning deep into the sofa, reminiscing with distant eyes fixed on the ceiling, the CEO replied with firm conviction.
"That won't happen."
"...Han Jeong-suk's songs have always been to my taste."
*
I couldn't refuse the CEO's "favor," so I stepped up. He thought she'd welcome him but lacked the courage to go himself, handing me her info instead.
[Seoul, XX-gu, XX-dong...]
Han Jeong-suk's songs remained hugely popular. From an era of lax copyrights, she'd earned well thanks to the CEO. Yet she lived modestly, house and car included.
She hadn't quit composing entirely, reportedly commuting to a small studio. Right now, she'd likely be there, so I headed over.
A modest studio in an outer Seoul commercial building.
"Room 301..."
Knock knock
"...Who is it?"
A middle-aged woman's voice came from beyond the firmly shut door. Had to be Han Jeong-suk.
"I'm Kim Cho-in, team leader from CG Entertainment! Here to see Composer Han Jeong-suk!"
Despite hearing me clearly, silence stretched. Wondering if mentioning CG was a mistake, a click sounded, and the door creaked open.
"...Come in."
The door swung open.