Chapter 450
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 450
[Contribution: 3?7%]
With that final text, a dark red flame flared up, and the system window vanished, leaving nothing but ash behind.
My heart hammered so hard I could feel the vibrations in my eardrums, and cold sweat soaked my palms.
The fashion show, now reaching its climax, featured a procession of models for the finale. Seeing the head designer emerge, I turned to leave.
"What are you doing?"
At that moment, a strong grip tightened around my arm, and I was yanked backward.
"It’s not over yet."
I turned my head to see Min Ji-heon. His eyes were clouded with bewilderment.
"Why..."
Min Ji-heon seemed to be saying something, but his voice didn't register at all.
Meanwhile, the surroundings dimmed again. It seemed the show had ended.
I pushed through the crowd gathering to exchange greetings and hurried toward the exit.
The cramped space, the jumble of clashing scents, the loud chatter in a foreign language—it all felt suffocating, closing in on me.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Shaking off the dizziness, I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Kang Yi-chae.
The phone rang, but there was no answer. By the time I reached the underground parking lot, I was leaning against a wall, staring blankly into the void.
What was that "contribution," and why were Kang Yi-chae’s stats suddenly accessible?
After a few more failed attempts to reach him, I checked The Dawn’s group chat. Everyone seemed busy; the chat was quiet.
[Kang Yi-chae: So excited for tomorrow! 🤭]
The last message was a playful text from Yi-chae, sent only a few hours ago.
I wiped my face and took a moment to steady my breathing before looking up the number for Yi-chae’s newly assigned manager.
[Oh? Uh, Ho-yun—]
"Where is Kang Yi-chae?"
I cut him off before he could finish, demanding Yi-chae’s location.
[Pardon? Ah... well, actually, he should be at the hotel.]
"Doesn't he have a schedule?"
[Because of Yi-chae’s condition... the interview was postponed. He said it wasn't serious, just a light cold, but he looked quite unwell...]
"...Are you sure he’s at the hotel?"
[I left after the other members went out, once I made sure he took his medicine.]
"I’m sorry, but could you go back and check on him?"
[...Um, yes.]
I could sense the manager’s hesitation—he clearly didn't want to disturb a sick kid who was supposed to be resting—but I felt like this anxiety wouldn't fade until I heard for myself that Yi-chae was okay.
While I nervously bit the inside of my cheek, the manager arrived at Yi-chae’s room. Soon, I heard the sound of a doorbell over the receiver.
[That’s strange. There’s no answer even though I’m ringing the bell. One moment...]
After some rustling, I heard the sound of a door opening—he must have used a master card key.
[Yi-chae—?]
"Is he there?"
[No, he’s not—]
"He might be nearby, so please check the area and call me back."
I hung up immediately.
A curse escaped my lips.
Fuck... calm down. Let’s stay calm.
There had been nothing unusual about Yi-chae when I left the hotel. If anything, hadn't he been incredibly excited about going out with the members tomorrow?
It’s probably nothing.
I needed to get back to the hotel first. Maybe on the way, I’d get a call from the manager saying he’d found him.
Just as I was about to move, suppressing the rising tide of dread—
"You’re driving me crazy, seriously..."
A dark shadow blocked my path.
"How are you so fast?! No, did you forget this is an official event..."
Min Ji-heon, shouting as he gasped for breath, suddenly stopped when he saw my face.
"What is it? What’s wrong?"
I ignored him and headed for the van.
"Hyung, what on earth is going on that you’re acting like—"
Beeeeeeeeeeeeep—.
At that moment, the tinnitus that had vanished returned. Instead of Min Ji-heon’s voice, an ominous, shrill noise pierced my ears.
Ding!
[Opening Item Shop.]
The Item Shop, which I had barely looked at recently while trying to restore Seo Ho-jin’s memories, forced itself open.
[A new item has been granted to Player Seo Ho-yun.]
[Would you like to check it?
Yes / No]
Then, as if someone else were pulling the strings, an item was drawn, points were forcibly deducted, and 'Yes' was automatically selected. A brilliant white light erupted.
[Item: 'Follow Him In'
If he dies, it’s because of you.]
The item window, which usually listed snarky descriptions and various warnings, contained only that one sentence.
Rustle.
Along with a faint sound, I felt the texture of crinkling paper in my right hand. When I opened it, I found a scrap of paper that looked like it had been torn from the corner of a notebook.
Min Ji-heon, standing close by, took a step forward and looked down at it.
'XXth Street, Brooklyn, NY—'
And at the end of the English address—
'Ichae Kang'
—a familiar name.
"Hyung, where are you going!"
My body moved before I could even think about what to do; the only thought in my mind was that I had to find Kang Yi-chae. Min Ji-heon’s horrified shout followed behind me.
Suddenly, I remembered what the manager had told me on the way to the show. Realizing that taking the van or any other public transport would be too slow, I spun around and held out my hand to him.
"Min Ji-heon, you said you rented a car."
"What?"
"Give me the keys."
"No, wait, wait a second. Let’s talk first."
"There’s no time. I’ll explain later, but for now—"
Clap!
Min Ji-heon moved directly in front of me and clapped his hands loudly to stop me.
"Are you insane...?"
He took a deep breath, snatched the scrap of paper from me, and furrowed his brow.
"What is this? What is this that makes a smart guy like you just blindly follow it?"
I wasn't unaware that I was being irrational. I remembered the system’s warning not to believe anything I saw, and I knew this could be a trap set by 'something outside' to put me in danger.
"Ha..."
But Kang Yi-chae had vanished into thin air. How could I just stand still?
"If you’re not going to help, just get out of my way."
As I snatched the paper back and started walking, I heard a low mutter.
"Ah... I really didn't want to get involved again."
Min Ji-heon ran past me and clicked his key fob toward a black SUV with heavy tinting. He yanked open the driver’s side door and gestured to me. I quickly hopped into the passenger seat.
"Take a breath, will you?"
Min Ji-heon glanced at my complexion and let out a small sigh.
"...Fine. While we’re heading to the place on that paper, give me that explanation you promised."
"...Those 'masses' that were attached to me."
"Yeah."
"Kang Yi-chae took them instead."
"Wha—What?!!!"
The SUV swerved.
Min Ji-heon shook his head and gripped the steering wheel tighter, asking again.
"For... how long?"
"...About half a year."
From the end of January, when we failed to win the Daesang, until the end of July, when we were filming the song camp.
I buried my face in my hands for a moment, then looked up after a dry rub of my face.
"—He was sick once, but he seemed fine after things returned to normal. I told him to keep an eye on it just in case, but..."
"How could he be fine? Those things attached to you... a living person isn't meant to bear them. If he looked fine after carrying them for half a year... there are only two possibilities."
Min Ji-heon bit his lower lip and added.
"Either those masses were desperately holding back, or Kang Yi-chae hid it so he would appear that way."
I couldn't say anything more.
Just as I felt like time was moving at a goddamn snail's crawl, the vehicle finally came to a stop.
We had arrived in front of a house located in the suburbs.
I scrambled out of the SUV and ran into the yard, which was overgrown with unkempt vines. Pushing through the thick leaves and kicking aside piles of scattered trash, I grabbed the knob of the faded gray front door and threw it open. I strode inside, searching for Kang Yi-chae, when I caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of shoes in the room to the right, past a pillar.
"Fuck...!"
Driven by a dark premonition, I rushed over and found Kang Yi-chae lying unconscious.
Dried bloodstains remained on his philtrum and chin, as if he had suffered a nosebleed.
"Yi-chae."
I called his name repeatedly and tapped his cheek, but there was no response.
He was clearly breathing, but seeing him limp as if he were dead made savage assumptions and foul theories churn violently in my mind.
Just as I was about to hoist him over my shoulders to carry him out—
"Hyung, put Yi-chae down for a second."
Min Ji-heon, who had caught up late, blocked my path and stopped me.
"I don't think taking him to a hospital will do much good."
Adding that, Min Ji-heon took off his coat, spread it on the floor, and urged me to lay Yi-chae down. I closed my eyes tight for a moment, then let out a deep breath and carefully lowered him.
Min Ji-heon examined Yi-chae’s body thoroughly before speaking with some hesitation.
"...You know, Yi-chae’s current state... it’s similar to when you collapsed at the broadcasting station... after you encountered that person named Jeong Cheong-yeon and passed out."
I shifted my gaze from Yi-chae to Min Ji-heon.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know exactly, but he’s probably in a similar state to what you were in back then."
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
If what Min Ji-heon said was true, Yi-chae might be trapped in something like the 'Unknown Actor Tycoon.' Moreover, time flowed differently there compared to the real world.
"It was hard for me. Being left all alone in a strange place, wondering if I could ever go back, if people would remember me."
And how much Kang Yi-chae had hated that time.
"Wondering if everything I believed was reality was actually a dream, or if I had truly gone mad. Being buried in those thoughts."
"Is it..."
I looked back at the paper I was still clutching.
"...Is it very dangerous?"
Min Ji-heon only stared at me silently, but I could easily deduce the answer hidden in that silence.
"...What if we do what you did for me before?"
"Are you trying to actually kill him? Your situation and Yi-chae’s are completely different."
Since I had once used him to visit my unconscious mind and reboot the system window, I thought I might be able to get some help this time as well.
But Min Ji-heon crushed that intent.
"You exist on the very boundary between life and death, but Kang Yi-chae does not."
I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
As I tapped my palm against my head, unable to think of a single solution, a memory of something the system always harped on suddenly surfaced.
It said that if there was inevitability, it could operate this world without major side effects. That was why it was always nagging me to increase my awareness and complete quests.
But I don't have the luxury for that right now.
If inevitability was what built this place, I could use it to find a breakthrough.
However, I had no idea how many quests would be needed to revive Yi-chae, nor when the system window that had turned to ash would be reconstructed.
"...—I understand how you feel, and I want to help as much as possible, but let’s not try anything reckless—... He could really die—..."
Min Ji-heon continued to talk, but his words scattered before they could reach me.
I couldn't just sit back and watch.
I needed a powerful method that wouldn't take much time. Not some quest, but something stable that could provide even greater plausibility—...
"Kid. Got something on your mind?"
"...Ah."
"If you do, spill it. Hyung will give you some counseling."
A conversation we had long ago while filming a music video flashed through my mind.
"...—First, you need to pull yourself together. If we go back and think it over slowly, we’ll find a way."
"You’re right."
"......Huh?"
Sensing something was wrong, Min Ji-heon began to back away uneasily.
"Ji-heon."
I stepped in close and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward me. The bracelet on his wrist made a clinking sound.
"Try killing me."