Chapter 3: The Idol's Technique That Never Fails

- I got so much flak for bringing you here. If you join Team 1, I'll restore my honor right away.

Guak Siljang seemed incredibly surprised when I said I would go to Team 1 without hesitation and hung up the phone. It seems Team 1 is that tough.

I got into the Carnival one last time to pick up Bujeongtae.

Just as I was about to start, a strange roulette appeared before my eyes.

"…Is it because the alcohol hasn't fully worn off yet?"

I rubbed my face with my hand and looked again, but the roulette was still there. When I reached out to grab the switch attached to the roulette, it actually felt in my hand.

[You have obtained a Bronze Ticket.]

[×3]

[You can obtain FF~C-grade potions.]

I thought of what my mother said about alcohol-induced dementia this morning.

It was clear that either the dream or the alcohol hadn't fully worn off. I must have been seeing things because I had wished too hard for a lottery win.

No matter how much I hit my forehead, the alcohol wouldn't wear off. In the end, I decided to spin the cursed roulette. Maybe it would mock me and solve the problem.

When I pressed the button three times in a row, a warning message appeared.

[Tickets are awarded one at a time. Please wait.]

Thinking that even a dream could be so detailed and picky, I waited for the first roulette to spin.

A moment later, the needle stopped at FF-grade.

[FF-grade Health Potion]

[Stable state maintained for 30 seconds.]

The second one was F-grade.

[F-grade Health Potion]

[Stable state maintained for 1 minute.]

Thinking, "Is there no hope in this dream at all?" I pressed the button for the third time.

[C-grade Fatigue Recovery Potion]

[Current fatigue reduced by 10%.]

Then, three small potions fell into my hand one after another.

I alternated between looking at the two greenish potions and the one that was almost green.

Thinking it was crazy, I decided to drink them. In the middle of this, I was still a shallow person and chose the lowest FF-grade bottle for the experiment.

I poured the potion down my throat, and almost immediately,

"What, what is this!"

The hangover was gone.

"…Damn, I won't drink it."

For exactly 30 seconds.

The FF-grade potion, which had an effect that couldn't be called FF-grade, also had a duration that was a waste for an FF-grade.

As soon as 30 seconds passed, the hellish hangover started again, and I had no choice but to tear open the second bottle. The bottle disappeared about 5 minutes after drinking, as if it was being recycled.

As the hangover subsided again, my drug addiction began.

"Where do you get the tickets?"

I couldn't understand people who were addicted to drugs until now. Bujeongtae always said that this was the only drug recognized by the state whenever he ate beef, and he had said the same to me.

But now, I seemed to understand why people get addicted to drugs.

When the potion effect ended, I entered the parking lot of Bujeongtae's apartment, and the urge to vomit came again.

While I was leaning my head on the steering wheel, Bujeongtae, who was also suffering, got in the back.

"You were supposed to camp out, right?"

"At that time, I would have frozen to death. Ah, the hangover is so bad."

"Still, you're thinking of dying first, aren't you?"

Bujeongtae said and flopped down.

When I offered the hangover relief croissants, cream buns, and zero cola I bought on the way, Bujeongtae didn't take them.

"What is this?"

"Zero cola."

"What? Zero?"

"Just drink it. There's not much difference anyway."

"Why are you acting like this since yesterday?"

"It was a really realistic dream of you dying."

I offered again, and Bujeongtae, with a hand as big as a pot lid, opened the zero cola and said,

"Do you see auras too? Our dad always watches that and tells us to quit instant food, which drives me crazy."

"When my mom saw it, she said I had alcohol-induced dementia."

"Ah! Hey, you and our dad must have seen the same thing."

Bujeongtae and I chuckled, and I finally managed to lift my head and say,

"But, Mr. Guak said I'm going to Team 1 now."

"Team 1? Hey, I'll tell you. You and I will keep going together."

"I have to restore Mr. Guak's honor. I owe him a favor."

"What kind of favor? Yun Yongi acted like a jerk at KukseonA first… Ah, after two months of training, they took him away completely."

Even I, who had only been there for two months, felt sorry for someone like Bujeongtae. As the other staff said yesterday, it's also a favor to give the driving wheel to a newly licensed hikikomori.

That's why I cried so much at Bujeongtae's funeral in the dream.

Fortunately, since it was the last day, there was no more talk about the zero cola I gave today.

* * *

Park Hee-young. The Queen of Events.

A 13-year veteran trot singer who debuted at 23 with six hit songs, including two megahits. Although Bujeongtae appears on TV more often, Park Hee-young is unanimously the pillar of the company.

I started working as Park Hee-young's road manager and, after 28 hours, regretted that it might have been better to go with Bujeongtae to learn something.

For 28 hours after being assigned to Park Hee-young's team, I was driving continuously. Except for about 4 hours of rest during the event, I was driving non-stop. It's a miracle that there were no accidents in this 1-team that I drove so recklessly.

I hardly had any conversations with Park Hee-young for 28 hours. She would fall asleep as soon as she got in the car.

When we arrived at the event venue, I ran to hold the parasol and opened the door. Park Hee-young said as she got out of the car,

"Hey, you're holding it too high."

"Ah, I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Who said I'm 'ma'am'?"

Park Hee-young shot me a look with intense eyes. It's not like we have a big age difference, so calling her 'ma'am' is immature, and she's like a guy…

Soon, Park Hee-young went into the building first, and the stylist who followed said,

"Park Hee-young isn't usually like this. This isn't a schedule that leaves any room for humanity. She's been moving continuously for 67 hours."

That was true. The staff were also divided into two teams and deployed.

What's amazing is that Park Hee-young performs on stage with the same quality as 67 hours ago. She has that much ability.

The stylist continued,

"Please buy an iced Americano from Starbucks. Venti."

"Again? You just had one."

I went to Starbucks, which was 20 minutes away from the event venue, to get ice and coffee separately, and on the way back, I kept thinking about my potion.

"…Pour?"

I kept thinking, but I felt some guilt about pouring drugs into someone else's coffee.

In the end, I resigned myself. I needed to find out if this was the right ingredient first.

* * *

This is not a boast, but I carried the ratings of the idol show, KukseonA, with my terrible personality.

Because I received so much hate that others couldn't finish in a lifetime, I became a person who considers being hated by others as my worst fear.

But this time, I seem to have rubbed Park Hee-young the wrong way from the first day.

I couldn't even have a conversation with her, and finally, I completed 76 hours of continuous scheduling.

Park Hee-young, who was lying down with the seat fully reclined, said to the staff,

"Tell me who wants to have a drink later."

Then, Park Hee-young fell asleep.

At that moment, the atmosphere among the staff became cold. They started chatting frantically in the group chat, worried that Park Hee-young might wake up.

[It's really not possible for me. I'm going home after 76 hours, and if I go in drunk again, I'll get divorced.]

[I drank twice in a row last time, so I'll skip this time.]

[Let's do a ladder draw fairly.]

When Park Hee-young drinks, she will definitely get drunk, and then she will curse her ex-boyfriend, and taking care of her is hell.

I volunteered without hesitation.

[Then I'll talk to her and go in.]

As soon as I wrote in the group chat, all the staff looked at me simultaneously.

"R, really? Are you okay? You drove the most."

"I joined in the middle, so I'm fine."

"Hey, being young is good."

Actually, it's not good and not fine.

To be honest, I was on the verge of death, but I had a potion to experiment with.

* * *

"So that guy… I should call him out."

Park Hee-young, who was cursing her ex-boyfriend, suddenly tried to call him.

"Teacher! Calm down!"

"Who's a teacher! Call me 'ma'am'!"

"Got it."

Finally, the title was settled.

Park Hee-young's drinking habits were so bad that the staff's gradual avoidance was understandable.

"I'm going to call him! Right now!"

"No, ma'am! You'll regret it tomorrow!"

"I'm going to! Bring him out, Song Gang-won!"

I desperately tried to take her phone. After getting hit a few times, I turned around.

When I felt dizzy and was about to fall, I drank the potion.

The power of 10% health recovery was immense. My extra health, which was converging to 0, was restored to 10% of my total health.

Only then could I control Park Hee-young's strength. No matter how drunk and uncontrollable she was, Park Hee-young was much slimmer and shorter than an average adult woman.

I grabbed her two arms and looked her in the eye, and Park Hee-young looked at me with a pained expression.

"What, what."

"Let's go home now? Why are you spending so much time thinking about your ex-boyfriend?"

"That's… That's true, but!"

"Go to sleep, ma'am. You'll be tired tomorrow."

Having the energy to calm her down was a big deal. Even when I was as frustrated as Park Hee-young, her anger subsided like a deflating balloon at the calming voice.

Park Hee-young started sobbing and nodded her head.

Everyone in Team 1 liked Park Hee-young. She was originally as human and kind as Bujeongtae. Just seeing how she takes care of the staff during holidays shows what a good person she is.

If someone can maintain their personality after 76 hours of continuous scheduling, they must be a machine. With my regained energy, I received such a generous evaluation.

I carried the unconscious Park Hee-young and laid her down in her parents' house, then came out.

I took a taxi and entered my house, collapsing on the bed. At that moment, a status window appeared before my eyes.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[First Fellow Singer]

[You have obtained a Bronze Ticket.]

[×5]

[You can obtain FF~C-grade potions.]

"Is this really given?"

Since I had used up all my energy, I hoped for anything to happen. The part about "fellow singer" was a bit annoying, though.

Anyway, I pressed the button while lying down, and the roulette spun, and a system window appeared.

[The potion of the gods does not contain human ingredients.]

[No matter how much you take, you won't get addicted.]

It seemed to know I was suspicious.

I sat up. Or maybe it was just a notice given to everyone who sees such strange windows. I don't know why they started appearing in the first place.

"But do I have to spin the roulette five times?"

[From the first Silver Ticket, you can use all tickets at once.]

"Can you hear me?"

I swiped the status window with my hand, but nothing happened.

Anyway, without checking, I spun the roulette four times, and four potions came out.

Two FF-grade, one E-grade, and one D-grade. The E-grade restored 3%, and the D-grade restored 5%.

I drank all four bottles and spun the roulette one last time.

Then, a shiny ticket fell.

[First Silver Ticket Unlocked]

[You can now use all tickets at once.]

[You have obtained a Silver Ticket.]

[×1]

[You can obtain D~B-grade potions.]

"No wonder they gave me four pieces of trash!"

I was on the verge of developing both drug and gambling addictions.

I had a vain hope that spinning the Silver Ticket would yield a Gold Ticket, but since the roulette usually fails when greed overflows, I just put the ticket in my wallet.

When my health was slightly restored, I had something to do.

I opened the door to the attic and took out a cigarette. I don't know how many I threw away after lighting them, but smoking after 76 hours in a dazed state was exhilarating.

I quickly puffed on the cigarette and called the number I found on the internet.

"Ah, I smoked a cigarette given by a foreigner at a club and I'm worried it might be drugs."

No matter what, I should have done a drug test before giving it to anyone.