Chapter 53
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53
Kang Yi-chae and Im Hyeon-su shared a flashy high-five, the kind you’d only see in a "hip" underground scene, and then started rattling on about things I knew nothing about.
“Since when were you two so close?”
“Ugh, get a room!”
“Geez, you’re late to the party, aren’t you?”
They were tossing jokes back and forth and giggling like schoolgirls… They looked like absolute best friends. Im Hyeon-su clicked her tongue.
“Back during Shining Star, I took Kang Yi-chae as my first disciple.”
“Ah, is that so…”
I wasn’t interested. As I nodded with a weary face, Kang Yi-chae shyly covered his flushed cheeks with both hands and squealed.
“Oh my goodness, are you jealous?”
I ignored him, obviously.
I led the rest of the members, who were still hovering awkwardly, to the sofa and got straight to the point.
“We need to revise the title track.”
“What about the money?”
“How about a talent donation?”
“Do you want to die?”
When I teased her, Im Hyeon-su shuddered, likely flooded with memories of being a pushover in the past. I shrugged and handed her a piece of paper.
“It’s a contract. Write your account number here. And jot down your desired amount in the memo section over there.”
“……!”
Im Hyeon-su’s eyes went wide. Then, after being surprised herself, she pressed a hand to her forehead as if having a sudden moment of realization.
“…Ah, f*ck. Did I seriously just get surprised because Seo Ho-yun offered to pay me?”
“…….”
“My pride as Cheong-beom is officially dead….”
Yeah, whatever. Just hurry up and sign the contract.
As I watched her silently with my arms crossed, Im Hyeon-su muttered curses under her breath but slowly filled out the contract. Beside me, Jeong Da-jun looked puzzled.
“Huh? Money? Isn’t it obvious that we should pay her…?”
“Alright, let’s get started.”
I quickly stuffed a candy from the table into his mouth to shut him up.
“Let’s play it again for now.”
This album was another single.
It was expected, in a way. There was no time to produce B-sides.
Im Hyeon-su played the track intended to be the next title song. The chorus that Jeong Da-jun had hummed on B-Live flowed out. It was good as it was, but…
‘It needs to be better.’
Exactly.
‘The next song has to be a hit, no matter what.’
After winning first place on Shining Star, the surge in buzz and recognition led to variety show offers pouring in from everywhere. Honestly, I wanted to do them all, but there wasn't enough time to accept every request. Even if we picked and chose from the schedule, a comeback took priority over group variety appearances.
Since we were turning down so many shows, the song had to be that much better.
“What if we mix just the second verse chorus… like this?”
“…Oh, that’s good?”
In that regard, Kang Yi-chae was excellent. He had a natural talent for creating addictive melodies.
Ah! Kang Yi-chae….
This useful brat.
As I watched him with satisfaction, Im Hyeon-su, who had been staring at Yi-chae, suddenly asked a question.
“What’s the deadline?”
“One week. The comeback is in three weeks.”
“Wow, that’s really fast.”
“You can see the company’s intention to milk the momentum for all it’s worth, right?”
“I love how you never change.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Even if I just left Kang Yi-chae and Im Hyeon-su to their own devices, the song revisions proceeded smoothly.
Now, what I had to do was…
“Why are you staring so hard?”
Target the rest of the members.
Sensing my gaze, Kim Seong-hyeon tilted his head and smiled.
The system window still lingered at the edge of my vision.
[Main Scenario in progress…]
“…Is something bothering you?”
“No.”
‘Kim Seong-hyeon is done.’
During the final broadcast of Shining Star, Kim Seong-hyeon had already poured his heart out to me. In game terms, his route was cleared. At the same time, the Main Scenario had progressed to 15%.
‘Jeong Da-jun and Seong Ji-won were acting strange last time, too. They spoke as if they remembered me.’
Then the inference was simple.
Excluding Kang Yi-chae, who hadn't dropped any hints yet, it was Jeong Da-jun and Seong Ji-won. It meant the members of The Dawn were all connected to me somehow, and the goal of this game was to listen to their pasts and resolve their lingering regrets.
I’m Korean.
Which meant I was going to get this over with as fast as humanly possible.
Ding!
[Mr. Seo Ho-yun, I wonder what you’re working those little gears in your head so hard for now~.]
I ignored the snide remark from the system window, which had reappeared after sulking.
If my theory was correct, I might be able to return to my original world once I finished this.
The original world. The place where I lived as a PD, where my entire career remained. And…
‘……Well, whatever.’
That might just be wishful thinking. I cracked my neck from side to side and stretched my arms out.
Now then, as for who’s left.
“Ho-yun, let’s practice together for a bit.”
Seong Ji-won.
“Can I eat this??”
Jeong Da-jun.
“Da-jun, pass me one too.”
Kang Yi-chae.
The question was, who among the remaining guys was the next target? As if it knew what I was thinking without me saying a word, the system window popped up.
Ding!
[I’m not telling you, neener-neener.]
“Yeah, I didn’t ask.”
[…….]
I had to do all three anyway. If I followed the quests, the scenario would eventually be cleared.
‘First, I need to put out the immediate fire.’
I opened the Item Shop. An item was floating at the top.
[‘Dance’ Eyes Wide Open, Dynamic Visual Acuity!
- Choreography absorption speed increases by 3x.
- Experience points accumulate 3x faster.
Price: 3,000 Points
Validity: 2 weeks]
I had to buy this.
It was better to be prepared.
“Seo Ho-yun, aren’t you focusing?”
“I am.”
Im Hyeon-su, who was deep in the middle of composing, asked mockingly. I shrugged and closed the item window.
Buying it was fine. Buying it was a given, but…
The problem was where to gather the ‘Points.’
* * *
“Hey….”
“Yeah?”
“What time do we have to leave tomorrow?”
“Around 3 AM…?”
“That’s insane….”
Everyone was exhausted from the non-stop schedule, performances, and practicing the new song. I wasn't sure if we were even getting two or three hours of sleep a day.
“Go to sleep, hyungs! I’m going to play games!”
“Are you crazy?”
The ever-energetic Kang Yi-chae was bouncing around, saying he was going to play the games he’d been forced to quit for a week.
“Man, young guys really are different.”
“You’re only two years older than me.”
“……I’m going to sleep.”
I glossed over my slip of the tongue and lay down. I’d rather get even an hour of extra sleep than play games. I was used to all-nighters from my PD days, but that didn't mean it wasn't grueling.
‘What kind of wealth and glory am I even chasing to be suffering like this here too…?’
But a slave has no choice. I collapsed onto the bed, set my phone alarm, and closed my eyes immediately.
If I slept now… I could sleep for exactly 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Drowsiness washed over me the moment I lay down.
Ring, ring!
A ringtone went off while I was deep in sleep. I ignored it and stayed down.
Ring, ring, ring!
…It rang persistently.
“Which bastard is it…?”
A pleasant tone didn't exactly come out of my mouth.
Eventually, with a scowl, I fumbled for my phone and answered.
“Hello, this is Seo Ho-yun.”
[Right, my very dear and closest little brother, Ho-yun.]
“……?”
I recognized the voice.
But hearing such utter bullsh*t made me snap awake instantly. I stared at the phone, still frowning.
[…Seo Ho-yun?]
It was Ju Woo-seong.
…What is wrong with this guy?
“What do you want—”
I was about to ask for his business when I quickly stopped myself.
[Seo Ho-yun! You didn’t hang up, right?!]
Hearing his frantic, desperate voice, it was obvious.
2 AM. A time when filming could very well be in full swing. A sudden phone call. A forced, pretentious voice.
My sleep-deprived brain seemed to kick into high gear and instantly produced the conclusion.
This guy is filming a variety show.
“Yes, hyung… I mean, sunbae-nim.”
Remembering our previous concept, I even pretended to stumble over the honorific. If any noise happened during filming, I’d be the one getting cursed out 100%, but it was worth a shot to act close.
People might say it’s nauseating to see me clinging to Ju Woo-seong, but I didn't care. If they were jealous, they should be more popular than Ju Woo-seong.
It was also a message that I knew it was a variety show, so Ju Woo-seong on the other end laughed with a hint of relief.
I waited indifferently, wanting to get it over with and hang up, when Ju Woo-seong cleared his throat.
[Ahem, were you sleeping…?]
“……Pardon?”
What is this?
What’s with this cringey sentimentality?
[Ho-yun, I enjoyed watching your program, Shining Star.]
“Yes….”
[Congratulations on first place. You’re exactly the person I expected you to be, the one I cheered for.]
[Ah! Woo-seong, seriously…. (Shh! Be quiet!)]
While Ju Woo-seong was spouting nonsense, I could hear the faint sound of people giggling and then quickly stifling their breath in the background.
Yeah, I figured.
‘It’s a phone mission.’
How do phone missions usually go?
I racked my brain. About 30 seconds had passed since I picked up, and usually, these missions were cleared if you got a specific keyword within 1 minute or 100 seconds of calling.
So, what was the keyword?
“Yes, thank you for calling.”
[Right, right. It’s not like I particularly want to hear that you… freak-! ishly respect me….]
He put a lot of emphasis on ‘freak.’ That seemed like a hint. An English word starting with ‘freak’…
…Freaking?
‘My brain isn’t working well.’
[And it’s not like I want to hear that I’m handsome…]
What kind of nonsense is this?
I pondered what the mission keyword could be, trying to piece the hints together. During the brief silence while Ju Woo-seong waited for my answer, I suddenly realized it when I heard the voices of the cast members whispering very softly.
[Don’t panic!]
[You’re doing great, you’re doing great! He’s handsome!]
‘Ah.’
[…I already know what I look like.]
Freakishly handsome.
Was that the mission? I hesitated for a moment. I could just give it to him and hang up quickly, but…
I’d actually received quite a bit from Ju Woo-seong, so maybe I should look out for him a little.
‘Let’s see, 60 seconds have passed and he hasn’t hung up, so it’s probably a 100-second mission….’
“Hmm….”
5 seconds. I stayed silent on purpose during that time. I could practically see the cast members getting anxious through the phone.
I counted the time in my head and then called out to him.
“Sunbae-nim.”
[Yeah, yeah.]
I waited until there were about 10 seconds left of the 100, then asked with a dead serious voice.
“Why are you being like this all of a sudden?”
[…….]
“You shouldn’t ask others about your own appearance. Please live your life independently.”
Immediately, a frustrated shout erupted from the other end.
[Hey!!]
[Time’s up! Failure!]
The boisterous voices I often heard on TV came through the receiver. As expected, it was a variety show filming….
I let out a huge yawn, plugged in my earphones, and got out of bed to leave the room.
[Seo Ho-yun! You, come here!]
[Ah, Ju Woo-seong! I told you it’s a failure, a failure! No more ramen for you!]
“Yeah~.”
[You knew! You knew from the start! You pretended not to know on purpose, didn't you?]
“Pardon?”
Yep.
[Woo-seong, he said you need to live independently~]
[Are you sure you’re actually close with Ho-yun?]
[I heard he has no one to call except his members?]
The sound of laughter echoed through the phone for a while.
[Seo Ho-yun! Sorry for the late greeting! This is Let’s Play, Eat, and Be Unemployed!]
“Hello, this is my first time greeting you. I’m Seo Ho-yun.”
[Ju Woo-seong is throwing a fit right now because that was a phone mission! You didn’t know, right~?]
I knew.
“That’s a shame…. If I’d known, I would have prepared something.”
[What were you doing!]
“I was at the dorm.”
[Did we wake you up?]
“No, I was awake.”
I was sleeping.
I heard Ju Woo-seong’s resentful voice shouting, ‘Just tell that guy to go back to sleep!’ Seeing him so indignant, he must have been quite confident. He probably believed I’d catch on.
Woo-seong…. I’ll say it again, but hyung specifically looked out for your screen time.
Why can’t you realize that?
[It’s a shame to just hang up with Seo Ho-yun like this, so we’ll give you a second chance! How about a Speed General Knowledge Quiz? If Seo Ho-yun gets five out of ten questions right, we’ll give Ju Woo-seong his ramen~.]
“A general knowledge quiz?”
[Yes!]
“Hmm, I’m not very good at general knowledge quizzes….”
[Haha, it’s okay! Don’t feel pressured. We’ll keep the questions light.]
“Ahaha.”
Do you even know who you’re talking to?