Chapter 305
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 305
Ding!
[Are you really going?]
[Min Ji-heon is a total fraud! Do you actually believe what he says?]
The notifications had been ringing incessantly in my ear since the moment I waited for Min Ji-heon’s shoot to end and set off with him. Perhaps piqued by my continued silence, the System flashed one last message—a noisy, static-filled text telling me to do whatever I wanted—before vanishing.
“That bouquet is huge. Can you even carry it? Won’t it stand out too much?”
The place we arrived at was somewhat familiar. It was the same cafe where I’d talked with him after the final shoot of Please Take Care of the Camera.
The interior was empty, as if he had rented out the entire place again.
“My manager will pick me up later.”
“Aha~.”
Watching Min Ji-heon let out such a vacant sound with that cold face of his made me click my tongue.
I’d known for a while that he was trying to help me, but I couldn't tell if he was genuinely clueless or just trying to avoid the situation. My irritation flared at his habit of dodging questions with vague answers.
But things were different now.
Aside from the fact that I now held the profession of an 'actor,' the flow of events and the basic settings were remarkably similar. Even the people involved. Though I couldn't find any trace of The Dawn or my damn little brother.
In other words, Unknown Idol Tycoon and Unknown Actor Tycoon were under similar controls, meaning the rules applied to me were likely the same.
Furthermore, while I’d had to deal with Min Ji-heon back then without knowing anything, now he was the one watching me warily.
Drinks were already waiting at the table in the furthest corner.
Min Ji-heon sat down first and pushed an Americano toward me.
“Here, drink.”
He acted slow and clumsy, but the bastard was faster at making judgments and reading the room than anyone. I had been consuming nothing but sweets throughout the entire shoot.
This was a deliberate provocation.
“…How did you even get the nickname ‘Min Kind’?”
Min Ji-heon took a sip of his frappuccino with an obnoxious expression.
“Why? Don't you think I have a pretty good personality?”
“Bullshit…”
I irritably pushed the Americano aside and gulped down some water. Min Ji-heon tilted his head.
“I’m serious. I only acted cold toward you, Seo Ho-yun, because your first impression was a bit… off.”
“What? Why?”
“Physiognomy?”
I ended up giving him a flick on the forehead.
Pouting, he swapped our drinks and rubbed his crown with his palm.
“Ouch, that hurts… Can’t you take a joke? Anyway, Mr. Kind-Seo, as you said yourself, there are incredibly thick, black masses clinging all over you. To an extent that even Lee Kang-seok, who’s getting trashed by the public lately, can’t compare.”
“And?”
“Would you want to talk to someone walking around with things like that attached to them?”
…Well, fair enough.
It wasn't like I couldn't understand.
After all, I suspected that my Notoriety Points were the very reason I was dragged into Unknown Idol Tycoon.
Min Ji-heon sipped his Americano while scanning me.
“But it’s strange. Why does it feel like they’re gradually fading?”
“Fading?”
“Hmm…”
Min Ji-heon savored his coffee without answering, but when he saw my fist slowly rising, he spoke up in a hurry.
“Ah, no, I mean, your face looks a bit better now… as if you’ve become a different person?”
I twisted my lips into a smirk.
“Hey, I don’t believe in people turning over a new leaf.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
Fatigue was etched deep into Min Ji-heon’s face from the back-to-back high-intensity filming.
The guy couldn't be naive to begin with.
Not with his abilities, and certainly not with a family history that couldn't be as simple as he’d calmly described. Not after rolling around the entertainment industry from a young age and rising to the status of a top star.
Like me, he must have spent his life becoming an expert at reading others.
“I also believe people don’t change easily.”
Min Ji-heon’s gaze lingered on me intently.
“…But strangely enough, it seems like someone out there truly believes they can.”
“Get to the point.”
“……Seo Ho-yun, you’ve died before, haven't you?”
The only sound in the cafe was the slurping of his frappuccino through the straw.
Min Ji-heon let out a small sigh and continued.
“I’ve always thought it was strange. You look like someone precariously balanced on the boundary between life and death. But if you died and came back to life…”
So?
When I raised an eyebrow, Min Ji-heon leaned forward slightly and whispered in a low voice.
“How did you die?”
“I got crushed.”
“…Ahem, sorry.”
Watching him straighten back up awkwardly, I organized my thoughts and spoke slowly.
“……There are two things I need to achieve to become whole.”
It was worth a shot either way. Whether he told me anything or not, the Min Ji-heon who played 'Min Han-jun' wouldn't exist once I went back.
“Things you need to achieve?”
“First is building Awareness.”
Following the Main Scenario, performing quests, and becoming a recognized first-tier idol.
However, the criteria for 'first-tier' were vague.
Was it album sales, fandom size, or annual revenue?
It wasn't even clear if it was judged by the general public or by K-pop fans.
The System Window wasn't just going to pop up one day and say, ‘Ta-da! You’ve reached first-tier, congratulations!’ and obediently send me back to being a PD.
So, I simply picked the most basic element: popularity.
“And the second?”
Min Ji-heon’s eyes narrowed as if he were weighing something.
“Next is…”
Scenario quests.
I hesitated for a moment on how to explain it before deciding to simplify it.
“…Gaining the trust of those around me.”
“Huh?”
Min Ji-heon tilted his head with a dissatisfied expression.
“Is that really it? Awareness and trust?”
I suppressed the urge to let my lips curl upward and kept my mouth shut to look serious.
“I didn't think you were such a dull person, Seo Ho-yun.”
Tapping his finger on the table, he pointed at my drink, suddenly snatched it, and poured it into his mouth. Half the frappuccino disappeared in an instant.
I stayed quiet for a moment, wondering what this pig was trying to do.
“Now, I just snatched and ate yours. Do you think you’ll demand something in return?”
“Money.”
“Aha……”
‘Is that why he doesn't know?’ Min Ji-heon muttered softly before handing me the Americano this time.
“Drink it.”
“I don't like caffeine.”
“…I’ll skip the metaphors. Even if you were to eat my food, I wouldn't say anything. Why?”
He pulled the Americano back and added.
“Because it doesn't matter. It’s not like I’ll die if I don't drink that.”
“And?”
“In other words, small acts of kindness don't require a price.”
Min Ji-heon hesitated slightly, brushing his lip with a slender white finger.
“But, if you receive something important, a corresponding price will surely follow.”
So, for a new life to be given to me—.
“I don't need to finish that sentence for you to understand, right?”
—It meant another life was required.
It wasn't something I hadn't expected. But hearing it directly from someone else… it felt truly disgusting.
“The reason Awareness and trust are vital is likely to fill the parts that remain empty despite that. To force yourself into someone else’s clothes, you need to be granted a certain level of plausibility.”
Min Ji-heon had said something like this before.
That the reason I was rejuvenated, became an idol, and was struggling to survive was because I was loved.
What if someone who wanted to save me sacrificed themselves to create this present?
‘……Fuck.’
Fatigue washed over me instantly. I sank deep into my chair.
“……I guess you weren't entirely unaware of that fact, seeing as you’re not very surprised.”
Thinking about it, if I were Min Ji-heon, I would have been horrified too. To see someone covered in disgusting masses, walking around in a state that was neither dead nor alive.
And all of it paid for with someone else’s life.
“Now, then.”
Just as various thoughts were flooding my mind, Min Ji-heon clapped his hands.
“I think I’ve done my part. Now it’s your turn to give me an answer.”
“…….”
I’d suspected he was being too cooperative, but it turned out he just had no interest in me at all.
Regardless of the other person’s emotions or feelings, he just wanted to quickly satisfy my needs to get the answer he wanted.
I stared at Min Ji-heon before slowly lowering my gaze.
A bead bracelet sat gracefully on his wrist.
“……Ji-heon.”
“…….”
Sensing something ominous in the way I dropped his surname and called him familiarly, Min Ji-heon frowned and leaned back as far as he could.
But the fact that he had already shown up here was the problem.
“How about you use that ability of yours on me, just once?”
“……Pardon?”
The moment Min Ji-heon’s voice cracked in bewilderment,
Ding!
[EXCUSE ME???]
The System Window, which had been pretending to be sulky and gone, jumped out in shock.
[No, wait a minute!]
The text was cracked and distorted at the edges, as if it were panicked.
“Right now.”
I ignored it and spoke firmly.
There was still something I had to verify.
Min Ji-heon put up his guard and curled his body inward like a threatened small animal.
“……Why… No, I don't want to.”
“It’s not that difficult for you.”
“Do you really have to do this? I have a bad feeling about it….”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be nothing.”
“This hurts, you know. For me and for you.”
“No, no, it’ll be fine.”
“…….”
If you’re a professional, the skill of pestering is a basic requirement.
I continued to ignore the System Window, which had been flashing warnings one after another.
“Aren't you curious about what will happen?”
“Ji-heon isn't curious at all.”
“I’m really asking you as a favor.”
Min Ji-heon, who was surprisingly soft-hearted, had trembling eyes at the word 'favor.'
I dropped a line that would sway him further.
“Just once. I’ll give you the answer right after. If you want, I’ll never show up in front of you again.”
“…….”
Min Ji-heon bit his lower lip hard, closed his eyes tight, then opened them and slightly rolled up his sleeve.
“……You’re the type of person who could sell an air conditioner in Antarctica….”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Even then, he hesitated several times, muttering curses under his breath.
“Sigh….”
As I waited, pretending not to hear, I soon heard the clinking sound of the beads on his bracelet hitting each other.
“【O fragment filling an empty vessel.】”
At the same time, the world before my eyes wavered, and it felt as if every blood vessel in my body was constricting.
“【This is not your place…】”
But that was all.
The agonizing pain that used to surge from deep within, the sharp ringing in my ears, and the way time used to flow slowly like a movie in slow-motion.
All those things that made me feel like a foreign object sticking out alone…….
“【I command your expulsion.】”
None of it was detected.
Even Min Ji-heon’s voice, which used to hiss like a snake yet drone as if underwater, was clear and distinct in my ears.
The System Window remained quiet, without any ERROR messages.
Drip.
Just then, I felt a warm sensation from my nose.
“…Gasp…….”
The reddish liquid was blood.
The pressure that had been tightening from all sides suddenly released.
“A nosebleed, you’re having a nosebleed!”
As I slowly raised my hand to wipe under my nose, Min Ji-heon’s face turned pale.
“Aaaah, this is why I said I didn't want to do it……!”
He hurriedly pulled out some tissues and handed them to me.
“Ugh, I really hate the sight of blood… Wait, you’re the one who suggested this first, Seo Ho-yun. I tried to stop you.”
My head throbbed a little, but I didn't feel bad. Min Ji-heon was also perfectly fine.
“Are you okay?”
Min Ji-heon had used his ability only twice before.
Once when we met at the Korean restaurant.
And once when we went to see Kang Yi-chae’s mentor performance.
Both times, a severe backlash had struck my body as well.
“Should I call your manager? Should we go to the hospital?”
“Ji-heon, shut up for a second so I can think.”
But this time, a nosebleed was all?
‘Is it because this is Unknown Actor Tycoon?’
If so, it contradicted my premise that both worlds would operate under similar rules.
Which was the truth?
Was the current situation an exception, or was my guess correct?
“What is it? Why aren't you saying anything?”
Min Ji-heon fidgeted as he looked at my narrowed eyes.
‘It doesn't seem like he knows anything more than this.’
Having finished my business with him, I stood up while still holding my nose with one hand. I was tired and wanted to rest.
“That’s enough. Good job.”
“……Eh?”
As I tried to walk away, Min Ji-heon blocked my path with wide eyes.
“Wait! I haven't heard the answer yet! Aren't you going to keep your promise?”
“Ji-heon.”
I pulled out the soaked tissue, tossed it onto the table, and spoke.
“Did we, like, sign a contract or something?”
If you’re so upset, you should have recorded it.
Seeing Min Ji-heon’s jaw tremble, I turned around without regret and left the cafe.
I texted my manager with one hand while blocking my nose again with the other. Blood that hadn't stopped yet ran down my wrist and stained my collar.
“Hey.”
And in a low tone, I called for the System Window.
“Get over here before I get angry.”
Ding!
[……You’re already angry.]
The guy who would usually be throwing a fit about why I asked Min Ji-heon for such a thing was quiet. However, the blue light was flickering violently, as if it were extremely anxious.
Seeing that attitude, my conviction grew.
“Hand over the Player Guide.”
[PD Seo Ho-yun, who has been living his life ruining others', has been possessed into Unknown Actor Tycoon.
Except for specific individuals, no one remembers you as a PD.]
[In order to escape this world and return to where you originally lived—to become an idol again—you must clear Unknown Actor Tycoon.
If you fail to clear it, permanent logout will become impossible.]
[Become a Hallyu star or a ten-million-viewer actor!]
A Hallyu star, or a ten-million-viewer actor.
“Interesting, very interesting.”
[…What is?]
Lately, since rebooting the System through my subconscious, I had been enjoying a peaceful life as a reward for my hard work. No errors, no instability.
Thus, I wanted to verify it through Min Ji-heon.
I hypothesized that if I didn't receive a major blow from his ability, my current state would be quite stable. Even if I couldn't eliminate the variable of being in Unknown Actor Tycoon instead of Unknown Idol Tycoon.
And in the end, look.
I’m perfectly fine.
“Are you planning to have me clear this and send me back now?”
[Pardon?]
In such a situation, a glitch suddenly occurred and I was moved to Unknown Actor Tycoon. Even through a person who remembers me from my PD days.
Somehow, isn't it too convenient to be a coincidence?
I took my hand away from my nose and smirked.
“Hey, you bastard.”
To sum it up, there was a high probability that the reason I dropped here wasn't because of an error.
In other words, the System intentionally dropped me here.
“Did you want to make me an actor that badly?”
Into a wonderful world where I can earn double the points.