Chapter 53

53

Gangi-chae and Im Hyun-su exchanged a flashy high-five, the kind you'd see in the so-called hip scene, and then started telling stories I didn't know.

"Since when have you two been so close?"

"Oh, how embarrassing!"

"Oh, it's too late, too late."

They were joking and giggling... as if they were the best of friends. Im Hyun-su clicked his tongue.

"When we were on Shining Star, I took Gangi-chae as my first disciple."

"Ah, yeah…."

I didn't care. With a bored expression, I nodded, and Gangi-chae, blushing, covered her cheeks with her hands and exclaimed,

"Ooh, are you jealous?"

I naturally ignored her.

Still feeling uneasy, I led the remaining members to sit on the sofa and brought up the main topic.

"We need to revise our title track."

"Money?"

"How about a donation of talent?"

"Do you want to die?"

Im Hyun-su, who seemed to be reliving his past experiences of being taken advantage of, shivered. I shrugged and handed him a piece of paper.

"It's a contract. Write your account number here. Note your desired amount on this side."

"…!"

Im Hyun-su's eyes widened. Then, after a moment of shock, he seemed to be hit by a wave of reality and pressed his forehead.

"…Ah, fuck. Did I just get surprised because you said you'd pay, Seo Hoyun?"

"…."

"Your cool facade is all gone…."

Yeah, whatever. Just write the contract quickly.

I crossed my arms and stared at him. Im Hyun-su, muttering curses, slowly wrote down the contract. Jeong Dae-jun, standing beside him, was confused.

"Huh? Money? Isn't it natural to give it…?"

"Let's start."

I offered the candy in front of him and quietly instructed,

"Let's listen to it again."

This album is another single.

It was only natural. There was no time to make additional tracks.

Im Hyun-su played the song that was planned as the next title track. The chorus that Jeong Dae-jun had hummed during the B-live came out as it was. It was good as it was, but…

'It needs to be better.'

That's right.

'The next song must be great.'

After winning first place on Shining Star, with the increased buzz and recognition, offers for variety shows started pouring in. Honestly, I wanted to do them all, but there wasn't enough time to do every single one. Even after carefully selecting from the schedule, a comeback was still the priority.

Given that I had turned down so many variety shows, the song had to be even better.

"Mix only the second verse chorus part… What if we do it like this?"

"…Oh, that's good?"

In that regard, Gangi-chae was excellent. He had a natural talent for creating addictive melodies.

Ah, Gangi-chae….

This kid is useful.

As I looked at him with satisfaction, Im Hyun-su, who had been quietly watching, suddenly asked,

"When's the deadline?"

"In a week. We're coming back in three weeks."

"Wow, that's really fast."

"The company's intention is to milk all the benefits by timing it right, isn't it?"

"You're always the same, I like that."

"Thank you."

If I left Gangi-chae and Im Hyun-su alone, the song revision would proceed smoothly.

Now, what I needed to do was…

"Why are you staring so intently?"

I needed to approach the other members.

Kim Sung-hyun, feeling my gaze, 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 Sung-hyun is done.'

During the final episode of Shining Star, Kim Sung-hyun had already told me everything. That was what they called "completed." At the same time, the main scenario had progressed to 15%.

'Last time, Jeong Dae-jun and Sung Ji-won were also strange. They spoke as if they remembered me.'

So, it's a simple inference.

Excluding Gangi-chae, who hasn't dropped any hints, the next ones are Jeong Dae-jun and Sung Ji-won. The other members have some connection to me, and the purpose of this game is to listen to each member's past and resolve their grievances.

I am Korean.

So, I'll finish this as quickly as possible.

Ding!

[Seo Hoyun, what are you thinking so hard about again?]

I ignored the system window, which had reappeared with a subtle taunt.

If that's the case, I might be able to return to my original world when I finish this.

The original world. The place where I lived as a PD, where all my career remains. And….

'…Hmm, whatever.'

It could be a false hope. I stretched my neck to the sides and yawned.

Now, what's left is…

"Hoyun, let's practice together for a moment."

Sung Ji-won.

"Can I eat this?"

Jeong Dae-jun.

"Da-jun, pass mine too."

Gangi-chae.

So, who's the next player among the remaining members? As if he knew what I was thinking, the system window appeared.

Ding!

[I won't tell you.]

"Hey, I didn't ask."

[…….]

I have to do all three anyway. The scenario will naturally progress as I follow the quests.

'First, I need to put out the urgent fire.'

I opened the item shop. There was one item floating above it.

['Dance' eyes that see clearly!

- Choreography absorption rate increases by 3 times.

- Experience points accumulate 3 times faster.

Points: 3,000, Valid for 2 weeks]

I have to buy this.

It's better to be prepared.

"Seo Hoyun, aren't you concentrating?"

"I have to."

Im Hyun-su, who was deeply focused on composing, teased me. I shrugged and closed the item window.

I want to buy it. The decision to buy it is made, but…

The problem is where to collect the 'points'.

***

"Hey…."

"Uh-huh?"

"What time do we have to go out tomorrow?"

"Around 3 a.m…?"

"You're crazy…."

The relentless schedule, performances, and new song practice had everyone exhausted. I don't know if anyone was getting more than two or three hours of sleep a day.

"Seniors, go to sleep! I'm going to play a game!"

"You're crazy?"

Gangi-chae, who had been banned from playing games for a week, was bouncing around energetically.

"Wow, young people are really different."

"We're only two years apart."

"…I'm going to sleep."

I covered up my slip of the tongue and lay down. I'd rather sleep for an hour than play a game. I was used to all-night work from my PD days, but that didn't mean it wasn't exhausting.

'Why am I suffering here, thinking I'll enjoy some luxurious life…'

But there was no choice. I collapsed on the bed, set my phone alarm, and closed my eyes.

If I sleep now… I can get exactly 2 hours and 14 minutes of sleep.

I was immediately overcome by drowsiness.

Ding!

After falling into a deep sleep, the doorbell rang. I ignored it and stayed in bed.

Ding!

…It kept ringing persistently.

"Who the hell…."

I couldn't help but mutter.

I finally opened my eyes, frowned, and fumbled for my phone to answer the call.

"Yes, this is Seo Hoyun."

[Hey, my dear and closest brother, Hoyun.]

"…?"

It's a voice I recognize.

A barking sound came from somewhere, and I was instantly awake. I still frowned and looked at my phone.

[…Seo Hoyun?]

It's Joo Sung.

…Why is he acting like this?

"…Yong…"

I was about to say the reason for the call but quickly stopped.

[Seo Hoyun! You didn't hang up, right?!]

His anxious voice made it clear.

It was around 2 a.m., a time when filming could be in progress. A sudden call, a pretentious and annoying voice.

My sleep-deprived brain quickly deduced the answer.

He's filming a variety show.

"Yes, senior… no, senior."

I pretended to hesitate with the title, remembering the last concept. If any noise was picked up during filming, I'd be 100% blamed, but it was worth a shot to pretend to be close.

I might hear that it's disgusting to suck up to Joo Sung, but I don't care. If he's annoyed, he should be more popular than Joo Sung.

It was also a message that I knew it was a variety show, so Joo Sung on the other side seemed to relax a bit and laughed.

I waited indifferently for him to get to the point, and Joo Sung cleared his throat.

[Hmm, were you sleeping…?]

"…Yes?"

What is this?

This sticky sentiment?

[Seo Hoyun, I watched the last Shining Star program well.]

"…Yes…."

[Congratulations on the first place. You really lived up to what I cheered for.]

[Ah! Joo Sung, really…. (Shh! Be quiet!)]

Joo Sung was rambling, and I could hear someone nearby stifling a laugh.

Hmm, I get it.

'This is a phone mission.'

What's a typical phone mission like?

I thought about it. It had been about 30 seconds since I answered the call, and usually, you had to receive a specific keyword within a minute or 100 seconds to pass.

So, what's the keyword?

"Thank you for calling me."

[Yeah, yeah. I don't really want to hear that you respect me, John….]

He emphasized 'John.' This seems like a hint. A Korean word starting with 'John'… Johnna?

'My head isn't working well.'

[And I don't want to hear that you're handsome….]

What's he saying?

What's the mission keyword, I thought, combining the hints, and suddenly realized as I heard the cast members' voices whispering in the background.

[Don't be nervous!]

[You're doing great, you're doing great! You're handsome!]

'Ah.'

[…I already know what you look like.]

Johnna.

Is that the mission? I was a bit hesitant. I could do it smoothly and hang up quickly, but….

I've received a lot from Joo Sung, and maybe I should give him a little back.

'Let's see, 60 seconds have passed. Since he hasn't hung up, it seems to be a 100-second mission…'

"Hmm…."

5 seconds. I deliberately remained silent. I could see the cast members getting anxious through the phone.

I slowly counted the time in my head and called him.

"Senior."

[Oh, oh.]

I waited long enough, about 10 seconds before the 100 seconds were up, and then asked seriously.

"Why are you doing this suddenly?"

[…….]

"Your appearance is not something to ask others about. Live independently."

At the same time, I could hear an angry voice from the other side.

[Hey!!]

[Time's up! Failure!]

Familiar voices from TV programs were heard loudly. It was indeed a variety show….

I yawned, put on my earphones, and got out of bed.

[Seo Hoyun! Get out here!]

[Ah, Joo Sung! It's a failure, a failure! There's no such thing as a failure now!]

"Ah~."

[You know! You knew from the beginning! You pretended not to know, right?]

"Yes?"

[Yeah, Joo Sung, you should live independently~]

[Are you really close to Seo Hoyun?]

[He said he has no one to call except the members?]

For a while, laughter could be heard through the phone.

[Seo Hoyun~, I'm greeting you late! Let's be lazy and unemployed!]

"Hello, nice to meet you. This is Seo Hoyun."

[Now Joo Sung is raging because it was a phone mission just now! You didn't know, right~.]

I knew.

"Too bad… If I had known, I would have prepared."

[What were you doing!]

"I was at the dorm."

[Did you wake you up?]

"No, I wasn't sleeping."

I was sleeping.

'I can hear Joo Sung's frustrated voice, telling me to just go back to sleep!' He must have been pretty confident. He probably believed I would figure it out.

Yong, … I'll say it again, senior, you got special treatment.

Why didn't you notice it?

[It's a shame to cut off the call with Seo Hoyun, so I'll give you a second chance! How about a speed common knowledge quiz? If Seo Hoyun answers five out of ten questions correctly, I'll provide ramen to Joo Sung~.]

"Common knowledge quiz?"

[Yes!]

"Hmm, I'm not good at common knowledge quizzes…."

[Ha-ha, it's okay! Just do it without pressure. We'll give you easy questions.]

"Ah-ha."

Do you know who you're talking to?