This situation... There were several reasons for concluding that it was a coma after the car accident.
The first was the degree of injury.
'The fragment entered my chest at least 5 centimeters.'
It was something I had seen with my own eyes just before, and I rummaged a few more times to see if there was any exaggeration, but I was sure.
It would inevitably be fatal.
As far as I remembered... I was also bleeding profusely.
It's not like the splinter was pulled out, so the prediction wasn't good.
But it wouldn't be an instant death.
'It's not like it's directly driven into the heart.'
It was a late-night road, but it was in the middle of Seoul.
Bae Sejin reported it, so if the police had confirmed it, an ambulance would have come... Then I would have been at least to the extent of wandering between life and death.
'I can't just die and start over... I can't do that.'
... ... It couldn't be.
Secondly, my face that I checked in the mirror.
"... I'm not 29."
I couldn't figure it out right away since I was embarrassed because it was the face of 'Ryu Gunwoo', but I understood it when I looked at it again slowly.
Too young.
'This... At least it's been a while since I graduated from college.'
However, this was the motel where I first woke up as 'Park Moondae', and it was the same date as the calendar I checked at the time.
[202× December]
That is, the timing was not right.
I also checked my wallet on the dressing table just in case.
It was the number of 'Ryu Gunwoo', whose resident registration number changed to a 3 at the beginning.
My spine became chilly.
[Ryu Gunwoo 0X1208 - 3XXXXXX]
20-year-old Ryu Gunwoo.
"What is this..."
However, there were no suicide pills and a suicide note on the bed.
... It was as if I took only Park Moondae's situation and matched it to Ryu Gunwoo.
'It doesn't fit...'
Since I came this far, I thought about the phrase that appeared on the status window again.
[Name: Ryu Gunwoo (Park Moondae)]
-Enjoy your daydream :) -
A daydream.
And not 'Ryu Gunwoo', but 'Park Moondae' was in parentheses... I considered this possibility.
'What if it's because I'm still in Park Moondae's body?'
It lead to the suspicion that I was in a coma and having an absurd dream.
'Besides, the system intervened here.'
... That coin.
If what I saw in my subconscious was the coin I received after clearing the previous status ailment, then this situation was caused by that coin.
Until now, I assumed that it was used in stores considering clichés, but now I had a different guess.
'... Wouldn't it be an extra life like in an arcade game?'
This one too... It suited the game system. I was stupid and laughed at myself meaninglessly.
"Hoo."
Anyway, so, putting all of this together...
I clasped my hands.
"...There will be a way to get back."
If this situation was given as a way to wake up from a coma, I had to wake up.
And usually, the best way to wake up from a dream was to-
"Should I jump?"
This motel wasn't particularly high up, so I wouldn't die if I fell here.
I didn't know if that would be enough.
Besides, Park Moondae's real body could die, so I dismissed it for now.
Next... this was a shocking surprise already, so honestly, I didn't think I'd be shocked enough for anything else.
A lot of it had already accumulated.
'What else could there be?'
I tapped my knee with my finger.
The most standard method remained.
'... Wait for the body to recover.'
External recovery.
I just didn't know how long it would take. I didn't know if I could recover or not.
"... …"
Combining the given situation, I chose the most moderate method first.
'First, look for hints.'
If this was a systemic intervention, there may be hints on how I could wake up while figuring out this dream.
'The status window may respond.'
I stumbled up from under the bed. Then I packed my wallet and left the motel room.
First of all, I had to check what kind of situation 'Ryu Gunwoo' was in this coma.
* * *
"... …"
I gritted my teeth as I brought out my newly opened cell phone.
'It's the same.'
The money situation was the same as when I was 20 years old. The only difference was that I didn't go to college, like Park Moondae.
However, there was no contact with relatives.
'It's convenient...'
Inconsistencies would not appear.
Besides, I realized a crucial point.
'I can still sing well.'
This body had the ability of 'Park Moondae' in reality.
Just like the first time I woke up as 'Park Moondae', this was a fact I realized after going to a karaoke room and singing a song.
All the senses of the stage that I experienced in the body of Park Moondae remained in this body as it was.
'Is it encouraging me?'
In reality, 'Park Moondae' was telling me to go the same way.
As if digesting all of them with the real 'Ryu Gunwoo'...
"... …"
I had to get rid of useless thoughts. Then, let's go ahead with the dream.
'The next thing I did...
It meant hanging out at a nearby karaoke bar to be invited by writer Ryu Seorin.
'It's not difficult.'
What would I do if I actually had to participate?
Although it was painful, the attempt itself was not difficult.
'Because my face doesn't look too bad in the first place.'
First of all, since my singing was S-grade, the possibility wasn't bad.
No other options came to mind, so I decided to give it another try and immediately headed to the karaoke bar.
But it failed.
I didn't know if the date was off or if it was because it was a dream, so I didn't know what the difference was... For several days, writer Ryu Seorin did not visit my karaoke room.
'Fuck.'
And I knew.
'The audition is already over.'
There was no other way.
Realistically, there was nothing I could do right now.
"... ... Hoo."
Again, without any hints, I was stuck in place.
'What does it want?'
Should I pretend to be crazy and climb the roof?
However, the judgment that it was too much of a risk, even though my body would not be normal, did not change.
'Then what can I do…'
The way I could debut...
There was a way.
"... … !"
I knew one sure way.
It was just dangerous.
'... If I'm wrong, I could die in here.'
But if there was nothing I could do anyway, there was no harm in trying.
'I even thought about jumping off the roof, but that's about it.'
I took out my phone and typed in a number that was familiar to me because I had seen it in so many text messages.
There were numbers that I was off by on one or two digits, but it'd be enough if I just sent them all.
[You changed the breed of the dogs you owned, but you didn't raise one this time. Maybe it was because of the schizophrenic rumors that ruined you last time.]
Because the person who would respond to this phrase was confirmed.
Only the person concerned would not be able to ignore it as spam.
There was no such thing as future, past, or restart. He wasn't the kind of person to be shaken by such obvious things and would contact me.
Which was why I had to be this specific to make him agitated.
"... …"
After sending the texts, I spent a few moments waiting for the confirmation to pop up.
And after a while...
Ding.
-Who are you?
The call came right away.
To the words that came out of nowhere, I answered calmly.
"I'm someone like you."
He should have understood this.
And after a short and bloody phone call, I saw him in the conference room inside LeTi's agency.
"... …"
"You're here."
It must have been a break, so he managed to find time to meet me even though it wasn't late at night or early in the morning.
Even if it was the first week of the activity, he would have identified my personal details first in this situation.
Even now, I contacted him to get a clue, but it was clear that he would have left the investigation behind my number.
I nodded my head to the guy wearing the cap.
"Like I said... Restarting."
He looked at me without expression and then threw a comment.
"How many times?"
"Three."
Then, the atmosphere changed completely.
"It hasn't been long."
Cheongryeo responded calmly, then unhooked his arms and placed them on the table.
'... He finished the calculations.'
Since I haven't done it a few times yet, I thought I could shake it off.
And seeing that he didn't know who I was even though it was my third time... He must have been thinking that he could never go back to the past.
'Let him misunderstand.'
There was no need to say useless things about my coma and all of that. I shouldn't.
Whether this bastard was reconstructed from the knowledge in my head, or the system intervened and made him look the same as the real thing, at this point he was just a crazy bastard with Reset Syndrome.
I spoke quietly.
"First of all, I apologize for the rude words in the text message. You wouldn't have replied if I said something else, so I had to do that much."
"Oh, is that why you said that?"
"Yes. Somehow."
Of course, it was a lie, bastard.
"Hmm... How many years from now?"
"Three years later."
"Ah, three years… How am I living?"
"You live well. The general consensus was that VTIC is the winner of the grand prize again this year."
"I see."
It may not have been as long as the period he came from, but 3 years was a fairly usable number. It was enough to distract his eyes.
'... Let's not talk about him going solo.'
This was not a hand to consider right now.
Once he started thinking about it, there would be no end.
Cheongryeo chuckled.
"Looks like we got along pretty well."
"Even after you realized that you wouldn't go back even if I restarted, you managed to go back."
"That sounds plausible."
Cheongryeo nodded.
And he asked a question with a smile without agitation.
"So, why did you contact me?"
"I have come to make an offer."
I spoke as naturally as possible, as I had already done.
"I want to debut here. As soon as possible."
"Ah, that must be your mission."
"... …"
Cheongryeo replied with a smile on his face.
"And you... Can I call you my hoobaenim?"
"Yes."
"Is that so? You must be saying that you will provide me with information about the future."
"That's right."
I thought he would come out with lines like 'How can I trust you' right away.
Wasn't he in a happy situation where a person he would want to keep an eye on came to him on their own accord?
However, the affirmation did not come immediately.
"However... How will you debut?"
"LeTi doesn't support solo activities. Now, the trainees... There are no guys to debut."
"Ah, you must have already known. Since you came back from the future."
He was probably blocking solo or rookie debuts.
He was afraid that his own group activities would be neglected and that group activities would be hindered.
Instead of saying that, I said the solution I had in mind.
"... There are members I have in mind. We debuted together last time."
"Ah. Who?"
"There is an audition program starting soon, and they are cast members."
For a moment, I thought of those who came to mind.
"...During the program, there is an opportunity to be officially invited to another agency..... I want you to invite them."
It was called
(TN: Casting Call: The part in Idol Co where different agencies try to persuade contestants to join their agency instead of participating in Idol Co after taking a 10-question quiz)
... Even here, no matter what I did, I should just debut with them... Couldn't I do it?
I swallowed.
"That's why I need your help."
And the bastard in front of me would hit the back of my head at some point to cut off the buds that would become a threat, so I had to wake up before that.
* * *
The first thing Ryu Chungwoo heard was the sound from a machine.
And when he opened his eyes, what he saw was the hospital ceiling.
"... … !"
He got up right away.
Then, he felt a hand helping him lie down again.
"... His consciousness is back!"
"You must not move. Lie down."
Having made it a habit to trust the doctors' words due to his long athletic days, he reflexively relaxed his body.
Then, he laid back down and checked his condition.
His feet were immobilized. They probably weren't cracked or broken.
'... Not an arm, fortunately…'
No, he no longer had to make his arms his top priority.
However, he should be thankful that the wound was not severe.
"... … Hoo."
Ryu Chungwoo let out a long sigh and tried to straighten his mind.
The surroundings were noisy. He put the situation together.
'... There was an accident.'
The former manager.
It seemed that the passengers were safely transported to the emergency room.
Being a celebrity, it seemed that they were somewhat considerate of privacy, but he could still hear people talking.
"... Fine…"
"Here is your guardian…"
Everyone would be surprised. It was fortunate though.
'... Since I was the last one, everyone must be doing better.'
It was because he came to his senses before his parents came. Maybe everyone…
At that moment…
What had happened before he lost consciousness flashed into his vision in an instant.
"...Doctor!"
"Yes?"
"Moondae… What about Moondae?"
"... …"
"Moondae, Park Moondae. Do you know him?"
"... … I guess I'll have to check him out too. First of all, the patient is relieved and resting."
Ryu Chungwoo knew it too.
… It was a lie.
Click. The door was closed.
Ryu Chungwoo was overwhelmed with indescribable emotions at that moment.