Chapter 229
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229
[WARNING!]
[PL E RRO RE R??AYER IS ∂ING??∂]
[WARNING!]
[ER PL■O∂ IS LOAN■■??ING!■]
[WARNING!]
"…Fuck, fuck!"
The system window, which had been flickering with ERROR messages, erupted in a spray of blood-red light before the warnings blared again.
Every time I blinked, horrific afterimages flashed before my eyes.
My hand gripping the door to the emergency staircase overlapped with my hand closing a car door.
As I fumbled along the wall to head down the stairs, I felt a seatbelt being fastened across my body.
"I'm going crazy, cough, urgh…."
I forced my flickering eyes wide and covered my mouth, struggling to steady my trembling legs.
Even as my mind grew increasingly hazy, I repeated the thought over and over.
I need to hide. Anywhere, as long as I'm alone and away from people's eyes.
If I just rest for a bit, I'll get better.
Ding!
[PL∂YER IS LOAN■■??ING.]
Cough! Blood spilled from my lips against my will.
"Fuck…!"
I considered calling a manager, but the thought of being dragged straight to a hospital made me hesitate. Taking a taxi wasn't an option either; my stage outfit was stained with blood, making me look incredibly suspicious.
[PLAYER IS ∂ING??∂]
No, even if that weren't the case, where could I possibly go in this state?
The dorm? Home?
Could I even make it out of the broadcasting station without running into fans or sasaengs?
Thoughts spun in circles inside my head.
[MAIN SCENARI■ 57% COMP■ETE.]
[CHARACTER 'SUNG ■-WON' IS SUSP■CIOUS OF ■■■—]
Judging by my rapidly deteriorating health, hiding and trying to endure this wasn't the answer.
I had a strong gut feeling that if I stayed here, tomorrow morning's news would be about 'Idol S' found dead alone after collapsing in an emergency stairwell.
"It's okay, calm down, fu—…."
I tried to find a way out as I descended the stairs one by one, but my vision swayed.
I grabbed the handrail and slumped down. A violent fit of coughing seized me.
It felt as if my entire body was being shattered and reassembled.
It was so agonizing I felt nauseous.
I gritted my teeth and tried to move one more step when—
—SLAM!
"……!!"
The emergency door flew open.
I'm screwed!
The world was spinning so much I couldn't even see straight, but the instinct to not get caught made me recoil automatically.
Just as I turned to scramble back up the stairs, someone grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
"Found you."
It was Min Ji-heon, breathing heavily.
"You look like a walking corpse. Why?"
Ji-heon flinched slightly upon seeing my state, but he quickly supported me and hurried down the stairs.
"Gasp, urgh…. Why are you here?"
"I was just at the station."
"What does that…."
"How could I go home and leave a dying man behind? Not a nice guy like me."
"Besides, I told you I could see it," Ji-heon added, his voice echoing as if he were speaking underwater.
Is this a stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune?
At least I could get out of the broadcasting station now.
The moment I felt a sense of relief, my nerves, which had been fraying as if scraped by a blade, finally snapped.
"Ah, hey—…! Wake up—……!"
Ji-heon's startled face, his continuous muttering, the metallic scent stinging my nose.
After that, only fragmented scenes passed by like still photos.
Blink.
When I came to, I seemed to be inside Ji-heon's car.
I suppressed a rising cough and asked, "Where are we…."
"My place. Just hang on a little longer."
His usual vacant tone was gone, replaced by heavy irritation.
I stared blankly at the spinning ceiling of the car. The roar of the engine grew louder as Ji-heon accelerated.
My anxiety rose in tandem with the noise.
I clutched my throbbing head, and then—blink.
"PD-nim, what were you actually thinking?"
"What?"
When my vision returned, Ji-heon was gripping my shoulders and muttering something.
My nose must have been bleeding again, as the front of my clothes was soaked. No, given the fishy taste in my mouth, I might have vomited blood.
"Why isn't it working?"
"Cough, ack…!"
"This is driving me crazy!"
Ji-heon, who had been fiddling with his bracelet, also began to bleed from his nose. The way he looked at me was filled with the despair one feels when watching someone die.
Then, I heard voices again from somewhere.
“PD-nim, are you even human?”
That voice just now belonged to a woman.
My vision flickered again, and before I knew it, I was standing in the entryway of Ji-heon's house.
Ji-heon, who was swaying along with my stumbling body, lost his balance, and we both collapsed onto the living room floor.
Through my blurred vision, the blood staining the white carpet stood out with startling clarity.
Ji-heon quickly rolled me onto my back.
"【O fragment that ■ills the empty vessel.】"
Tires screeching against the pavement, a brilliant blue sky.
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
My body tilting to one side, a static-filled radio, a steering wheel spinning frantically….
"…Hey, hey."
My body felt like it floated up before plunging back down.
A sensation of strangeness I hadn't felt before washed over me.
I raised a trembling hand and grabbed Ji-heon's collar.
"…What was that just now?"
"What?"
"Min Ji-heon, one more time… show me again."
Ji-heon, looking flustered, grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down to keep me still.
"What… now is not the time for that! Just stay still!"
Then, he squeezed out words through gritted teeth, as if in pain.
"【Your ■■ is here ■.】"
[WARNING!]
──A steering wheel… spinning frantically.
My eyes flew open.
"【Your ■■ is correct.】"
[WARN—….]
Right, the steering wheel.
The bizarre sense of unfamiliarity started there.
The car accident when I was twenty, the one I could never forget no matter how hard I tried.
The steering wheel I saw in that vision wasn't the one from that day, which had been etched so cruelly deep into my memory.
When the accident happened with my parents, I was sitting in the seat behind the driver. In other words, I was in a position where it was difficult to see the steering wheel clearly. Especially in such a desperate situation.
But in the scene being replayed, it was right in front of my eyes.
And above all, everything about the accident being shown to me now was horrifyingly vivid.
"【This is your place.】"
I couldn't hear my parents' screams.
[─────.]
All sound ceased.
Strength drained from my entire body.
The truths I had been foolishly missing began to rush in like a tide. At the same time, events that had felt like disconnected dots began to link together.
[I can erase your memories.]
The system that said it could erase memories.
But why had I forgotten?
And the other forgotten incidents.
There were definitely more things I had lost.
Both here, and in that other world….
"……Ugh!"
The moment I realized this, it felt as if my soul was being ripped from my body.
"……Uh, uh? What's happening?"
Ji-heon's panicked voice reached me first. Then I vaguely felt a cold hand slapping my cheek and my body being shaken.
"Another seizure?!"
Ji-heon muttered incomprehensible things to himself several times.
"Should I do it? If even that doesn't work…."
"Ugh……. Urgh!"
"…Ugh, I really didn't want to do this……."
A moment later, something was fastened around my wrist.
I bit my lower lip hard as the pain surged again. Ji-heon, muttering, "Better than cleaning up a corpse in my house," grabbed my hand.
"—Listen carefully."
[E R R O R]
[SYSTEM CONFLICT DETECTED.]
[E R R O R]
[X?ynchronization: 3?1%??]
"I'm going to kill you once and send you to your unconscious."
"…What?!"
Is Min Ji-heon insane?
"Wa-wait! Don't worry. See this? I put my bracelet on you."
Ji-heon lifted my arm slightly.
The sensation of something being fastened earlier must have been Ji-heon's bracelet, strung with black beads.
"This will help you come back to life. ……Probably. It's just separating your soul from your body for a moment."
"Are you fucking crazy?!"
"Think of it as a reboot. It's the only way you can survive right now."
[E R R O R]
[E R R O R]
[X?ynchronization: 2?4%??]
"I don't have much time, so I'll keep it short. There are unknown things tightly tangled inside you right now. That's what's causing this mess."
"……!"
"You have to find out what they are."
Blood flowed like tears from the corners of Ji-heon's eyes as he caught his breath. His long, blood-stained eyelashes trembled, casting faint shadows.
"Hyung, Ho-yun hyung. Get it together. Can you ─── hear me? When ─ appears ──── don't, don't trust ──, and above all, don't get attached. Because it's only ──── to get out."
"What… what?"
"Whatever comes out─ don't be ─duced."
Ji-heon's words leaked through the gaps of my fading consciousness.
"Ex-explain it properly…!"
My focus barely returned long enough to catch Ji-heon's pale face.
"Let's see each other again safely."
He flashed a faint smile.
Then, he raised both hands, which were clasped together, and slammed them down hard onto my chest.
"Wait…!"
You should at least explain things properly, you son of a bitch!
In the split second I thought about how I'd definitely punch him at least once next time—
Snap.
"【Depart from the vessel.】"
The fuse blew.
.
.
.
Ring… ring….
Ring… ring….
A telephone was ringing loudly.
My eyelids were clamped shut, and my heavy body wouldn't let me move so much as a fingertip.
The stuffy air, the smell of musty dust, and the scent of coffee wafting through an artificial air freshener suggested that my expectation of facing the car accident first was wrong.
Ring… ring….
Ring… ring….
I tried to twist my body with all my might. It wasn't easy.
Then, the sound of footsteps approached, and the noisy ringing suddenly cut off.
"Yes, QBS Entertainment Bureau. ……Ah, yes! What brings you…. Everyone's gone down now. Pardon?"
…QBS?
"PD Seo…. Uh-huh."
What?
"……!"
PD Seo?
A surge of superhuman strength allowed me to bolt upright.
An assistant director with a familiar face was staring at me, looking slightly intimidated. He held the receiver with both hands and spoke cautiously.
"……Yes, PD Seo isn't here right now."
The assistant director, who had been bowing his head and repeating "Yes" for a while, let out a small sigh and hung up the phone.
"Ugh, the Bureau Chief is making such a fuss about where you are, and it's only New Year's…. I feel bad for lying. You'll cover for me later, right?"
"…Where is this?"
"……Are you being sarcastic?"
The assistant director tilted his head, frowning slightly.
I slowly lowered my gaze to look at my body. I even fumbled over myself with my hands.
The bloodstains were nowhere to be found.
"……Wh-what's the date today?"
"…Huh? It's January 14th."
"No, what year is it?"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Leaving him to recoil in disgust, I began searching for my phone like a madman.
Soon, the phone in my hand showed a letter from a young Seo Ho-jin as the wallpaper.
"I know the year just changed, but still……."
"Wait, wait…."
And clearly displayed above it was the date.
January 14, 20XX.
"What's wrong? Did the Bureau Chief really give you a hard time when you went up there last time?"
Approximately one year and nine months ago, the day after I transmigrated into that shitty other world….
"PD Seo?"
It was that very next day.