Outed as a Fan, Glimpses of a Regressor's Past
The revamped system, updated after the emergence of the Babel Tower, was dutifully reporting the dungeon's status in real time. It was a stroke of luck for Yul, who had left her terminal behind.
"Was that really all of them?"
Seo In-ah, who had been hiding behind a tree, wiped the sweat trickling down her jaw and asked. They must have already taken down over thirty by now.
"That's not even a hundred."
"……Ah."
"Let's take a break for now. You look beat."
Unlike Yul, who was dressed in simple tracksuit pants, Seo In-ah was still bundled up in his stage uniform. And his stamina was (relatively speaking) on the lower side.
Seo In-ah gratefully accepted her consideration.
Thud.
"Hoo."
He shrugged off the uniform embroidered with golden thread. A uniform concept was number one for suiting any idol without fail, wasn't it?
Yul rummaged through her inventory for no particular reason. Where'd I put that water bottle...
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' clicks his tongue, saying that guy's awfully feeble.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' snorts, saying shouldn't our Yul be able to beat down ten Minotaurs barehanded like she does.
Even Ryu Shin-ah can't do that, Star-nim. Yul mentally retorted as she pulled out a bottle of barley tea. Even in this moment, she'd chosen it with Seo In-ah's tastes in mind.
"Here."
"Ah, barley tea... Thank you."
Seo In-ah took a sip, his expression a little dazed.
That aside.
Yul stared blankly off into the distance. How do I take down the boss without hurting that guy...
Protecting someone while fighting is still a bit... A mindset befitting the undisputed solo play master.
Yul glanced at the quiet Seo In-ah. His default expression was already stoic, but the mood felt heavy.
Probably because of Park Sa-ha.
She knew his reputation for cherishing his members more than anyone.
Yul spoke as calmly as she could. "He'll be fine."
"……Ah."
"He's got Ham-su there, and the other hunters too, so they'll hold the line. Worst case, it'll all be over by the time we get back."
"I hope so."
"Don't worry about that Kim Jae-won bas... jerk... Hunter. The second we head back, I'll crush him."
She corrected her wording several times before declaring it confidently. ...Though her true feelings slipped out elsewhere.
Still, her serious tone brought a faint smile to Seo In-ah's face.
Oh, he smiled.
Yul felt relieved. "There, you're smiling now. You're always expressionless unless you're on stage."
"……."
"Ah, not that that's a bad thing or anything. I'm the same way, after all."
Seo In-ah, fiddling with his water bottle, finally spoke up after a silence. She'd sensed it before.
"You seem to know a lot about me."
"……I did some research because of this incident."
"Sa-ha and Jun-yeol said you even knew our songs from before."
"……."
"You know all our real names too."
Yul broke into a cold sweat. Why is he so sharp? Or did I let it slip too much?
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' feels complicated, saying our Yul... might be done for on day one.
But since it's not certain yet, it's not a full fanguot, so he's comforting...
"You're a fan of ours, right?"
Seo In-ah blurted it out.
......Pardon?
Yul's voice cracked as she echoed him.
He followed up with a combo. "You're a fan. I can tell."
"……."
"Our kids already came out as your fans, so it feels fairer this way... you know."
Otherwise, it was just one-sided. Seo In-ah added with a hazy smile.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' quietly averts his gaze, saying our Yul... forced fanguot confirmed.
......Life fucked.
For the first time in a while, Yul wanted to cry. She'd wanted her fanguot to be voluntary and cool(?).
A sense of deflation pierced through her distortion passive.
Seo In-ah chuckled silently.
A few things 'previous' Park Sa-ha had told him. Lee Sunjwa was a woman. Around their age, not much different. Seemed indifferent but soft underneath.
'Doesn't talk about herself at all.'
Everything he'd heard from him was about Yul. Nothing about himself.
'What's important now is how everything's changed compared to last time...'
Should he tell her? He'd agonized and decided long ago, but he feared how Yul would take it.
"More importantly, Lee Sunjwa-nim. There's something I want to say."
"To me?"
"Yes. But first..."
He hesitated a moment before opening his mouth. "Would you hear an old story?"
His first twenties had been utterly wretched.
"Do you really have to take that path?"
The words poured from everyone. Their family wasn't well-off either. Even his two-years-older sister had looked down at him with the same worried eyes as their parents.
Some might have given up around then, but first-timeline Seo In-ah had been a stubborn teenage boy full of defiance.
What's stopping me from making it?
He'd vowed to succeed spectacularly and stand before them again. With that resolve, he came to Seoul and started auditioning in earnest.
But reality didn't bend to his will. In the end, he joined a small agency as a trainee.
When he first stepped into the cramped dorm with so few trainees, his pride had stung fiercely.
"Hey, hyung! I'm Kim Yu-jun."
"......Hey. Hi."
A kid two years younger than him. To Seo In-ah, already nearing the end of his twenties, even that age felt enviable.
"In-ah hyung's sleeping."
"Shouldn't we wake him? It's In-ah hyung's lesson time..."
"Let's wait. Hyung stayed up late writing songs yesterday."
Park Ho-young, Han Jun-yeol, Park Sa-ha. The other three.
He hadn't been that close to them, nor had there been time to get close. He'd been too busy whipping himself.
If only my parents supported me like yours do.
I don't have time. How long can I keep waiting...
His resentment had spilled onto them innocently. Inferiority, impatience.
......No. Why am I thinking like this? Blaming them won't change anything.
Self-loathing. The things he'd bottled up tight inside.
His skills weren't the issue, but the CEO, weighing his unstable mindset, finally decided.
"Kim Yu-jun, Park Sa-ha, Han Jun-yeol, Seo In-ah, Park Ho-young. That's your final debut lineup."
"Ah...!"
Yes, it worked. Finally.
For the first time, Seo In-ah felt relief. Thinking everything would go smoothly from here.
But he still didn't know how high and cold the walls of reality remained.
Seo In-ah remembered every moment of his twenties vividly.
"I'm sorry. I can't hold on anymore."
It hurt too much. And he was ashamed of his immature younger self.
The kind of idol people called "who?" First-timeline DoubleBlack, in other words.
Three years after debut, the CEO finally bowed his head before them.
Gates had appeared, and new idols rose in the world.
"Lee Sunjwa! It's Lee Sunjwa the hunter!!"
"Holy shit! Film it, film it!"
"Hunter-nim, just one look here please!"
"Report it fast! Go live!"
Hunters. Beings who dictated national prestige, saved people, charismatic and overwhelming.
Especially with 'Lee Sunjwa Killer' stealing the world's spotlight, the Korean entertainment industry stagnated for a while.
Heroes who saved the country were far more groundbreaking than distant celebrities.
DoubleBlack became a sacrifice to that trend.
......Must be nice for you.
That evening, when the CEO announced the group's disbandment, Seo In-ah stood in the rain, gazing at Lee Sunjwa streaking across the distant sky.
The gate-torn sky, the silver staff slicing through rain, black bobbed hair.
A person in stark contrast to his own ruined state, where everything had ended.
A protagonist who succeeded from the start, unlike him. A hero.
Must be nice. A winner who never knows failure.
Why didn't my efforts get rewarded? Why not the rest of those guys'...
"Hyung!"
Kim Yu-jun came running through the rain.
"Why are you out in the rain? You'll catch a cold. Come inside."
"......Why'd you come out? Aren't you packing?"
Kim Yu-jun smiled awkwardly. His eyes were slightly red. He'd been crying.
"Couldn't see you, hyung. The kids are inside too. Let's at least grab dinner—I'll pay..."
"No. Stomach's acting up."
"......Hyung."
He grabbed Seo In-ah's sleeve.
"We made it this far thanks to you."
"……."
"I know how hard you worked. We can keep going..."
"Thanks to me?"
Resentment boiled up. Why are you comforting me? You're no different. Why comfort me instead of yourself?
His eyes stung.
"You saying we flopped because of me? Fuck, at least make your empty words believable! It's all over now! Unless we go back to the past...!"
"Hyung...!"
"......I don't have family who can afford to watch me fail, like you!"
Self-loathing made his words harsher. Seo In-ah roughly wiped his tears and shook off Kim Yu-jun's hand.
"Let go, I said let go?!"
"Hyung, wait. Calm down...!"
"Let go!"
Smack—he finally swatted the hand away. His foot slipped on the rainwater.
And then...
Vroooom—!
"......!"
His body flew backward. The truck horn blared in his ears.
His inner voice laughed bitterly as he looked up. I wanted to do well.
Really well, to be acknowledged. To succeed without envy.
"Hyung!!"
Kim Yu-jun, leaping into the road to grab him. He owed that annoyingly kind bastard an apology.
But now it was truly too late.
Screeech, boom—!
That was the last memory of his first twenties.
When he opened his eyes again.
"......20XX?"
It was the point when he'd just come up to Seoul.