Kim Raebin walked down the corridor of the hospital room, fixing a box in one hand.
His other arm was still in a cast and could not be moved freely, so he had to be careful.
Kim Raebin kept his mouth shut.
'I can't let any misfortune happen, such as missing this box!'
Still, since the number of media officials waiting around the hospital after the accident had decreased considerably, he was able to enter this far with ease.
This was because quite a bit of time had passed since the news of the shocking car accident.
When the title of 'recovering from surgery in a coma' lasted for more than ten days, they left in search of other prey.
It was like the entertainment industry where incidents happened every other day.
However, the internet was still in chaos with all sorts of pessimistic speculation articles, columns, fan concerns, and anger swirling around.
[TeStar's Park Moondae... Is there a risk of brain death?]
[The Accident of the 'Groom in May' 〈Reconstruction of the Day〉]
[7 days after surgery, prayer for Park Moondae's recovery]
And Kim Raebin only occasionally checked these things on the search engine main page, so he had neither the knowledge nor the time to look closely at the detailed reactions.
That was why he understood only simple facts based on the comments on the official accounts of fans.
'Everyone is paying great attention to whether Moondae hyung wakes up.'
That was basically correct.
It was then.
"Kim Raebin!"
"... ! It's a hospital, be quiet!"
Cha Eugene, who jumped out of the next hospital room, chased Kim Raebin at a terrifying speed using crutches.
He was still hospitalized due to severe injuries from a bigger bone injury than Kim Raebin.
"Are you going to see Moondae hyung?"
"...Yes."
"I want to go too."
Cha Eugene answered firmly and walked along with Kim Raebin.
His composure was unimaginable for someone who had cried a lot during surgery and prayed so fast in Spanish that he couldn't be understood.
'I'm glad Cha Eugene is stupid.'
Kim Raebin briefly envied Cha Eugene, then quietly moved on.
Park Moondae's hospital room was right next door.
"Hyung."
"We are here."
"Y-yes, c-come in..."
Seon Ahyeon, who had been sitting quietly like a stone statue in the hospital room, quickly got up and gave a small answer.
"Moondae hyung, is he comfortable?"
"... Yes, they said there w-wouldn't be any uncomfortable places."
"All right!"
Cha Eugene bravely sat down next to the bed and began to diligently explain his current situation in a mixture of Korean and English to Moondae, who was unconscious.
"Are the fans sending you letters? They should use birds. [Cool. I guess every country has a similar story. Anyway, it's good that they want hyung to recover, right?]"
His middle opinion was that Park Moondae might be listening, but the members did not stop Cha Eugene because it was true that it gave hope in a strange way.
"It seems that the other hyungs have already come and gone."
"... E-Earlier, they went to work."
"Alright."
Kim Raebin nodded and waited for Cha Eugene's turn to end.
It was because what he brought was very important news, so he couldn't be bitten by Cha Eugene's voice.
And seeing Cha Eugene talking for a long time, he resisted the desire to shout, 'Don't waste your visit time with repeated stories!'
'Because we have to be quiet in the hospital room!'
Kim Raebin told himself that he would show a well-mannered appearance in front of the great Moondae hyung.
And in the end, he was able to quietly take over the baton without quarreling with Cha Eugene.
"Hyung, how are you..."
Of course, there was no answer from Park Moondae who was lying down.
For some reason, Kim Raebin felt like he was going to cry. It might have been because it reminded him of his grandmother's time, but he held back anyway.
"I-I have something prepared for you."
Trying to stay calm, he lifted the box and opened it.
The inside of the box was full.
Several sheets of paper with all sorts of lines and musical notes drawn on them, iconic props, and… a laptop.
Seon Ahyeon, who had been standing quietly, widened his eyes.
"This, this…"
"... This is the concept material for the next album."
Kim Raebin answered courageously.
"We are preparing hard, so don't worry at all about your future schedule, and wake up comfortably!"
It was something he did right after he was discharged.
"... …"
Even Cha Eugene was speechless and looked at Kim Raebin.
In fact, this was a very unreasonable act.
Even if Park Moondae woke up quickly, no one knew if rehabilitation and return would be possible right away.
Moreover, it had been a longer time than expected since Park Moondae had not regained consciousness.
It was said that among the medical staff, there was even a story that a full-scale retest would be needed.
Nevertheless, Kim Raebin had been specifically 'preparing' for the next activity as if it were possible right away.
It was to report to Park Moondae, who couldn't even see it because he was asleep.
'I know already.'
Kim Raebin thought to himself.
It was hard to believe that he had spent such a ridiculous amount of time expecting an uncertain future positively.
'But... I've experienced it.'
His grandma had woken up too, so he was sure that Moondae hyung would wake up soon too.
"While preparing... I'll wait!"
Recalling his illogical conviction, Kim Raebin took the box and sat down on the chair next to the bed.
Then, a loud noise erupted from the side.
"That's right!"
"... …!"
"Hyung, wake up, let's have another concert! Let's do a lot!"
"Y-yes! Moondae, I'll prepare... !"
Following Cha Eugene, even Seon Ahyeon, who was downcast, clung to his knitted yarn and shouted as if he had been encouraged.
If someone else had been here, they might have clicked their tongue or looked at them with pity, wondering what kind of blueprint it was.
Still, they persevered.
"..."
Of course, there was still no answer from Park Moondae.
Since reality was not a cartoon, there was no way that a person in a coma would wake up with a call from coworkers.
But they decided to wait and see.
Instead of making plans for a future without Park Moondae, they made a different choice instead.
And that moment of choice was coming to the sleeping Park Moondae.
* * *
The 'Click' phrase in the status window that I hit repeatedly brought a new pop-up with a flash of light, just like in reality.
A familiar image of a slot machine.
I pulled the lever... and the compartments began to turn up.
Between the cells shining with gold, there were occasional platinum cells
However, those spaces were not filled with all kinds of embarrassing phrases like in reality
All the compartments were empty.
"..."
But I just waited for it to stop. Cold sweat dripped from the tip of my chin.
The moment the slow spinning of the slots stopped...
Papang!
[Slot machine jackpot!]
: Draw a Legendary Attribute!
It stopped at the platinum-colored blank.
[Attribute: ___________ obtained!]
The pop-up was blank. As if it could be filled with anything.
'Is it because it's a dream?'
I couldn't tell. But one thing was certain.
Platinum, Legendary Trait.
'It's grade A.'
The grade A trait that I knew... what was it...
When I thought that far, a flash of foreboding passed through me as if I had been hit in the head.
And without realizing it, I opened my mouth.
"Bacchus… 1000."
[Enter Bacchus 1000 (A)?]
[Yes/No]
I raised my hand and hit yes.
The additional effect attached to Bacchus 1000, which had been upgraded to grade A…
-All fatigue recovery speed +100%
If so, what if it went up to S rank?
[Checking out the same characteristics!]
Would you like to synthesize 'Bacchus 1000 (A)'?
Yes.
At that moment, colorful lights exploded in front of my eyes like fireworks.
And the pop-up was updated with a flash of iridescence.
[Synthesis Success!]
You've obtained 'Nectar (S)'!
The sweet taste of life.
- Full recovery of vitality (single use)
"... … !"
This was it.
I sat down on the floor.
'I did it.'
I chose the right option.
My body, which had been standing up before I knew it, sweetly sucked in the rest.
My limbs trembled as I relaxed, and my head was shaking with unanswered questions.
But I did know one thing.
'I can go back.'
The moment I activated it, my body would fully recover and I'd wake up, which fitted perfectly.
The possibility of recovering the body of 'Ryu Gunwoo' in this dream instead of reality... No, shut up. There was no way.
'The status window didn't work here in the first place.'
Besides, didn't it synthesize with the characteristics I originally had in reality as 'Park Moondae'?
This was unconditionally the object of the real body.
My brain was thrilled.
And at the same time... I was nervous.
'I have to do it quickly before the status window becomes inactive again.'
I didn't know what else would happen in this damn dream. I immediately tried to activate the ability 'Nectar (S)' in the pop-up.
And I murmured involuntarily.
"Let's go back."
"Already?"
... When I turned my head, the guy who went back saying he had a schedule pushed his face into the practice room.
It was Cheongryeo.
I instinctively set myself up for a crisis. There were many excuses.
"I didn't think there was going to be more practice, so I meant to go back."
"You're lying."
He strode into the practice room.
'Press it right now…'
Wait, could this crazy guy attack me if he felt that something was out of place with me randomly pressing the air?
While I was quickly weighing the profit and loss, Cheongryeo stood across from me.
Cheongryeo stood across from me.
And... He opened his mouth with a sullen face.
"Well, you don't have as much guts as I thought."
"What?"
"You said it was your third time? I thought it would be a bit hasty to try to restart with just this at this time."
Oh, was that the story?
Well, this bastard had no way of knowing that this was a dream I had in a coma.
It seemed that he understood it in the way of 'going back to the beginning'
I responded by lowering the level even more.
"I'm not restarting. I was seriously thinking about it for a while, but I mean really going back to the dorm."
"Is that so? Then, listen."
It didn't even work.
He continued talking nonchalantly, with a face that showed how he was convinced that I had made up my mind to restart.
"First of all, the two people you collected... It's a bit messy. They're not always cooperative. You saw it, right?"
"... …"
"From now on, it would be better to wait a month or so before deciding on people to join. I think you were a little hasty this time. Were they pretty good before?"
"That's right."
He laughed.
"You just picked them because you wanted to be with them."
"... … !"
Cheongryeo… had a strange face.
It seemed that the distant past had popped out of nowhere.
And he muttered.
"... Well, since it's just the beginning, it doesn't matter if you do it once or twice."
"... …"
I didn't bother answering.
Instead, after a while, I deliberately threw his words lightly.
"But if I restart, let the kids debut. I will give you some good information."
"Hm, those two?"
"You already said they're not good. I don't think they'd pose a threat to VTIC."
Cheongryeo shrugged.
It seemed that he didn't get it, but he agreed. In this case, if there were no problems, there was a considerable probability that he would do it if he was offered something.
I saw off the calm guy, almost letting him out.
And I sent him several reservation e-mails.
[August 202X.txt]
Future knowledge to arrive every two weeks.
And... I had to deal with prosecutors finding out about Bae Sejin's father's gambling house.
-It is an illegal gambling house that deals in large quantities of drugs. Please be sure to check.
I wouldn't be here any longer anyway so it wouldn't matter if the reporter turned out to be me.
'...It'll get a little better with this.'
Lastly, I searched for and sent the hospital contact information of Seon Ahyeon's current counselor in real life to Seon Ahyeon's parents in this dream.
- This is the teacher I consulted with, and it helped me a lot.
Tak.
After I was done, I closed my smartphone, which somehow refreshed me.
'... Is there anything left?'
It was then.
"Oh- Are you close with Cheongryeo sunbaenim?"
When I turned my head, the guy who had gone out looking at his smartphone returned to the practice room.
I looked back at the pop-up for a while, then replied to Lee Sejin.
"... So-so."
"Is that so?"
"Oh, but I won't introduce you to him."
"... …!"
"That bastard is crazy. Be careful in the future."
"... ... What?"
He looked like he heard something wrong. He had an actual normal human face that I hadn't seen in a while.
"... …"
Maybe the moment I left, this damn dream would disappear.
So this was just self-satisfaction, but what was the matter with that?
I opened the closed smartphone again and quickly spoke to him.
"I'll introduce you to a composer instead of that bastard, so listen carefully. You will use it when you debut."
"What?"
I sent a text to him out of the blue. It was the contact information of the composer who was still unknown.
Geeying!
The vibrations were loud, and Lee Sejin had a bewildered face.
"Now, contact him here... After listening to the sample, pick number 3 or number 7. Because that will work out."
"... What's this suddenly?"
I chuckled.
"Actually, I think you would choose that one just by listening to it. You've said it once."
"... … !"
Because he said it in real life.
Lee Sejin's eyes were clearly shocked. Then, as if carefully choosing his words, he rubbed his face with one hand and finally opened his mouth.
"Uh, thank you, but I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you calm down and then talk to me later? No, why is sunbaenim a crazy person…"
Seeing all the layers coming off, I suddenly had a thought.
'...If I had more time, I could have solved a lot of things.'
Somehow, it was kind of fun.
I looked at him for a moment, then turned and headed for the door.
"Hey, wait."
"See you again."
In reality.
There was nothing more to do here.
I waved one hand behind me and left the practice room without hesitation.
The popup was still floating in my field of vision.
[Do you want to activate 'Nectar (S)'?]
(※Warning※: Consumable attribute/single use)]
"Yes."
And then my vision burned white.