Chapter 94
Chapter 94
January 1st, the new year dawned.
Hyelin, who had fallen asleep early and woken up late, belatedly discovered that Sorasum's header had changed and was now browsing through the reactions of people who had been burning up since dawn.
—Wtf lol
—What's this
—Looks like the company shut down
The background behind that last reaction was as follows.
Sorasum's changed header featured a single signpost set against a backdrop of lush green trees, an asphalt road, and a blue sky.
An orange diamond-shaped sign with a black border.
Inside it, in crude, bold sans-serif font, were the words 'DEAD END'.
......For a header meant to announce an idol group about to debut, it was an utterly absurd choice.
—Ended before it even started
—Gotta respect the small-fry company vibes for real
—But the sky is blue so idk maybe there's still a chance for a refreshing concept
Hyelin racked her brain seriously too.
'What on earth could it mean.'
Dead End? The end of death?
Or did it mean they were going to end the entire music industry?
Whatever it was, what kind of rebellious concept was this?
It was ominous as hell, but Hyelin opened the search bar just in case.
As someone who usually broke out in a panic attack at the sight of English, there was a chance it secretly had some incredibly positive other meaning.
And... there really was another meaning.
'A road with no exit.......'
A dead end.
'That's just as bad!'
They hadn't even debuted yet, so why was it a dead end from the start?
Hyelin let out a deep sigh and muttered in a spirit of total resignation.
"Just, whatever it is, just debut already."
Even if it was ominous, there was no stopping her heart from racing.
Because this bizarre and ominous image was, in any case, a clear signal that debut was imminent.
Just that fact alone made her heart swell.
'Something will drop at midnight tonight, right?'
Whether it was teaser photos, a video, or at least a group name logo motion....
"Oh my god, don't tell me the group name is Dead End?"
If that was really the case, the Sorasum channel would properly burn to the ground tonight with the wails and rage of fans who had waited half a year.
Hyelin loaded up a lengthy hate comment in her head and waited for midnight with a trembling heart.
And at 00:00.
A new video really did appear on the Sorasum channel.
[prologue]
A simple title, and a pitch-black screen with no thumbnail.
What stood out more than that was the video length.
'15 seconds.......'
At this length, it was nine times out of ten a group name reveal.
More nervous than when checking her grades, Hyelin pressed play.......
'Ah, I can't watch!!!!'
She was terrified the group name would actually be Dead End.
She scrambled onto Wit with the feeling of getting a preventative shot. She was the type whose mind felt more at ease after seeing a spoiler.
But, the spoiler existed nowhere.
—No but the teaser doesn't end ;; Seriously when does it finish
└Why? Are they too handsome so you keep watching?
└No it literally doesn't end
—I told you guys to cut it just from the teaser you crazy bastards let me sleep wtf
—What is this what is this so???
The teaser doesn't end?
'A mere 15-second clip?'
Bewildered, Hyelin forgot her tension and clicked the video as if entranced.
And then, instead of the grand music she had imagined, an 8-bit tune that sounded like it came from an arcade game played out.
The screen was filled with pixel art that matched the music.
White clouds flowed under a vivid blue sky, multiple layers of green mountain ranges and jagged conifer trees.
In the center, letters with pronounced pixels floated.
[Before embarking on a new adventure, shall we pack a map?]
>Pack it
>Don't pack it
And two related videos popped up at the top right and bottom of the screen.
'......A choice game?'
Just as Hyelin was blankly watching the screen, a message notification dinged.
[Juha: Unnie]
[Juha: Sorasum's out here telling us to play games]
[Juha: What's this]
Hyelin was equally baffled, but it seemed like she had to move to the next step to find out anything at all.
She decided to follow the game's rules for now.
'Of course you have to pack a map.'
Hyelin clicked the video next to 'Pack it'.
A short loading screen appeared, then a new video immediately began playing.
The same background and same BGM played, the only difference being the text in the center.
[To the east is a forest teeming with wolves, to the west is a cave with treasure. Where shall we go?]
>East
>West
'What's there to agonize over? Obviously... treasure, right?'
Why would you go to a forest teeming with wolves?
Scratching her neck, Hyelin clicked the 'West' thumbnail.
Another new video played, and this time.......
A treasure chest icon sparkled across the screen, and large text appeared.
[You obtained treasure!]
[Congratulations. The adventure has ended.]
"Wow, treasure!"
Pleased by the congratulatory message, Hyelin smugly took a screenshot.
Then she thought.
'So what am I supposed to do now?'
Was there some kind of code hidden in this picture?
Not wanting to use her brain late at night, Hyelin quickly returned to Wit. She planned to crib off other people's answers.
—Treasure so what now how do I exchange this
—I keep getting the treasure ending...? Is that a good thing?
—Don't pick the normal choices. Only go for the ones that seem messed up
'Don't pick the normal ones?'
Following that advice, Hyelin hurriedly went back to the first video and clicked 'Don't pack it'.
The video that popped up then was... definitely different from before.
Unlike the 'Pack it' route which had no changes, a very slight misty fog effect was added over the entire screen.
[Shall we go north where a dark forest lies, or south where fruit trees can be seen?]
>North
>South
'They said to pick the messed up ones.......'
Without hesitation, Hyelin clicked the 'North' thumbnail, which looked suspicious to anyone.
Then a video with thicker fog than before played.
There was a change in the BGM too. The melody line was still bright, but crackling noise began to mix in between.
In this manner, every time Hyelin clicked a suspicious choice, the video was gradually encroached upon by thicker fog, and the music's glitches worsened until it slowly transformed into an eerie melody.
And a moment later.
A screen that looked like the final fork in the road finally appeared.
[Up ahead is a dead end. Shall we keep going?]
>Keep going.
>Go back.
The screen was already so consumed by dense fog that even the letters were faint, approaching near pitch-black darkness.
The BGM was no longer a cheerful 8-bit tune either. A slow, ominously repeating monotonous melody was mixed with noise and bizarre sound effects, transforming into a sound that sent chills down the spine just by listening.
Amid the suffocating tension, Hyelin gulped dryly.
'There's no going back now!'
Hyelin took a deep breath and pressed the video with trembling fingers.
'......Keep going.'
And then.......
The video played.
* * *
A train door with a colorful, eye-catching design. Someone in a school uniform stood in front of it.
Who it was could be recognized just from the back view. It was the familiar hair color etched into fans' minds from <MAKE100%>.
Soon the doors slid open from side to side, and Seo Cha-gyeom stepped onto the train. The camera deliberately didn't show his face, only capturing the area below his neck.
Inside the quiet train car, without a single passenger. The interior was a strange harmony of highly saturated primary colors, like a child's toy.
As if the sight was familiar, Seo Cha-gyeom naturally walked in and took a seat.
Sitting by the window, he indifferently reached out and picked up the charging cable attached beside the armrest.
And then he... brought it to his left wrist and plugged it in.
The charging port naturally burrowed into his skin, and digital numbers clearly appeared on the skin of his wrist.
[0%]
The camera angle slowly moved, capturing Seo Cha-gyeom's profile as he gazed out the window. His face was still obscured by shadow, not clearly visible.
Outside the window he stared at, the exact same pixel art that fans had just explored by navigating the choices unfolded.
Screech, thud.
The train began to move slowly, and the blue mountains and conifers rendered in straight dots left horizontal streaks as they zoomed past.
And then a lyrical piano melody began to flow. It was the exact same melody as the 8-bit BGM that had persistently tormented fans' ears moments before.
[1%]
[2%]
[3%]
The numbers on Seo Cha-gyeom's wrist rose, and the pixel scenery flashing past the window began to be enveloped in thicker and thicker fog.
[94%]
[95%]
The numbers climbed without stopping.
And the moment the number reached [96%].
Flicker, flicker flicker—.
The lights inside the train car began to blink unstably.
At the same time, Seo Cha-gyeom's shoulders, which had been utterly still until now, twitched minutely.
He looked up briefly at the blinking lights, then soon lowered his gaze back down to his wrist.
There, numbers were no longer displayed but... lines of text with unknown meaning floated.
[NOT THE END]
[KEEP GOING]
[Start over]
The phrases flickered, repeatedly appearing and disappearing like warnings.
And then.
[RESET]
The moment that phrase appeared.
Boom!
A deafening roar sounded, and a blackout came.
A moment of silence. Shortly after, the screen brightened again to reveal the train, fallen on its side and hideously crumpled.
Through the broken gaps of the train, primary color paint, as if leaking oil, flowed out and stained the gray asphalt road.
A moment later, a figure staggered out of the wreckage, squelching through the puddle. It was Seo Cha-gyeom.
And the screen switched to Seo Cha-gyeom's first-person perspective.
A foggy, gloomy conifer forest.
An asphalt road.
The jarringly vivid train and paint, standing out alone.
Seo Cha-gyeom's gaze, which had been looking around in apparent confusion, soon stopped on a long arrow drawn on the road.
He stood in place for a moment as if hesitating, then began walking in the direction the arrow pointed.
The camera caught his feet up close. His sneakers, smeared with paint, left colorful footprints on the pure white road markings with every step.
And when the paint no longer stained from Seo Cha-gyeom's sneakers.
The angle slowly pulled away, capturing the entire road at length.
On the asphalt, a giant phrase written in white paint was revealed.
[DEAD END?]
Seo Cha-gyeom was standing on the question mark.
The camera, which had been capturing the road in wide-angle, slowly zoomed in, bringing Seo Cha-gyeom closer.
He was staring ahead of himself.
Exactly, at the signpost standing alone on the road completely obscured by dense fog, making the other side invisible.
[HAZERD]
Seo Cha-gyeom's pupils, looking at the signpost, moved as if peering beyond the fog.
At that moment.
Letterboxes formed at the top and bottom of the video, the screen stretched long from side to side, changing to a 21:9 cinemascope ratio.
As if in a side view. Seo Cha-gyeom standing alone, the signpost in the fog, and the landscape beyond were all captured in one frame.
Beyond... five figures were standing.
They looked like comrades, they looked like a boss that had to be overcome, and they looked like family at the final destination.
What was certain was that they were waiting for Seo Cha-gyeom.
Simultaneously, that completely familiar arcade melody soared explosively, this time arranged with an electronic sound.
The somewhat wistful atmosphere was no longer felt.
Only a solemn tension and resolute will remained, as if finally signaling the start.
The screen, returned to its original ratio, close-upped Seo Cha-gyeom's face once more.
Seo Cha-gyeom's eyes, which had wavered for a brief moment, soon hardened with resolve as if he had made up his mind about something.
And he took a step forward beyond the fog, toward the other side.
His back filled the screen, as if covering the camera lens, and naturally transitioned to a black screen.
Over it, a logo was drawn.
[HAZERD]
That was their group name.