Finding out Bae Sejin's current situation… Surprisingly, just one Internet search was enough.
'Lee Sejin.'
His profile already appeared at the top.
-Lee Sejin (movie actor)
Latest Filmography: Seahorse (20XX.12.15.)
This guy was a movie star with a high reputation right now.
When I checked the entire filmography, I was connected to a prominent line-up with no sales below 2 million.
At this rate, anyone who watched movies would have heard this guy's name at least once.
[Oh, but he hasn't filmed any dramas?]
Probably on purpose. It seemed like he had managed his work thoroughly since becoming a child actor.
Of course, his name value was high. Considering the current situation where actors were valued over idols, it was almost as high as TeStar's name value.
It seemed like a situation with nothing to mourn, but… The next item found was the problem.
-Agency: Dream K Company
This guy was still under his old agency. They used to promote him as a child actor and caused rumors during the re-contract season to lower his value.
'How shitty.'
Here, instead of taking a break by complaining to the agency, it seems that he received work right away after briefly reorganizing after his child roles.
A career that has been solidly built in lieu of a long hiatus.
His agency diligently sold the name 'Lee Sejin' in the media and social media.
I smoothed my chin.
'It'll be easy.'
[What?]
So this meant that schedule security was lax.
There were few people who would sit in front of an actor's dorm or agency unlike idols, so the information hurdle was low.
'Good.'
I browsed Dream K's official SNS.
Then, I found the employee's personal Inheart account using some information extracted from there, compared and explored them in date order, and came to a conclusion.
'Bae Sejin is currently filming some kind of next project.'
Although it was anonymized, looking at the frequency with which the person presumed to be Bae Sejin was indirectly mentioned on the employee's social media…
[Oh, I guess he's at the company often.]
Right. Especially when Bae Sejin was active, mentions popped up. It was almost as if he went back to work after completing his schedule.
So even now, when he wasn't filming, there was a very high chance that he was at work.
"Hmm."
So, the very next morning after awakening Bae Sejin, I briefly washed up, took my hat and mask, and left the officetel.
Of course, I didn't just believe in probability.
[Bae Sejin: Staring at the boss who's pointing a finger (｀ㅅ ´+)]
I checked the status once and for all.
Then, the route would roughly look like this.
'After finishing filming early in the morning, he got in the car and went into the building to meet the boss?'
Where was the boss? He must be in the company building.
Looking at this, the probability that he was in the company was quite high.
[Then… Would you like to go?]
"Okay."
Let's check it out for ourselves.
His company was located in a corner of Gangnam.
It wasn't a fancy headquarters building like large idol agencies. It was a 4-story old building with no signboard.
So, security was not that tight on the first floor.
It seemed like they'd just leave a sign on the back door where the people who managed the building would come in and out that said, 'No entry except for authorized personnel.'
'Is it over there?'
Sure enough, as I waited in the right spot, a truck stopped and uniformed people came in and out of the back door.
I looked at the timing and naturally moved in that direction. A movement that could be misunderstood as a person with a service job carrying luggage.
Then Keundal's pop-up appeared, shaking slightly.
[Hy-hyung. If you get caught trespassing… Won't there be a problem?]
'It's okay as long as it gets to Bae Sejin's ears, but it doesn't matter because I'll make it no matter what.'
This was done out of fear that the entrance would be blocked, or that LeTi's rookie visit to this agency would be treated as an official visit.
Anyway, wasn't it the agency's building, not another company's building? So, it didn't really matter if I got caught.
'Because I'm also half a public figure.'
Here, I could see the benefits of becoming famous through idol survival shows.
If I said that I came to meet quietly because I was a friend, they would usually believe me, especially if I was someone with a face known in a similar industry, like "Lee Sejin."
'No, whether they believe it or not, it just needs to be able to reach Bae Sejin's ears.'
The fact that he woke up and changed his name to Bae Sejin clearly meant that he found his memories from the time of TeStar.
Then, even if he was shocked by this strange situation, he would still try to meet a stranger who appeared out of nowhere.
'But the worst thing is… The agency is cutting him off without letting him contact others.'
The problem was that assuming that there was no contact information for Bae Sejin, that possibility was not out of the question.
Tuk.
I walked through the emergency door on the outside of the first floor, entered the bathroom, and hid myself in the cubicle.
I was planning to check if Bae Sejin had left the company in the meantime and then draw his movements…
Bang!
Meanwhile, the bathroom door opened violently, and I heard the sound of someone trotting in.
'There's no way the security team has already come out.'
Sure enough, I just heard the sound of the sink being used. I shrugged and checked the status window…
[Bae Sejin: Washing face with cold water (#ㅅ#)=3]
"…"
No way.
I first opened the door carefully.
Squeak.
Then I saw a man standing at the sink.
The guy in a suit was lowering his head and pouring cold water on his face.
And the moment he raised his head, his face was reflected in the mirror.
"… !"
It was Bae Sejin.
The style of the guy who wore a suit without hair dye or contact lenses was clearly meant for an actor.
'It's like this again.'
There was a memory that came to mind right away.
For some reason, Ryu Gunwoo always met this guy in front of a sink.
-Are you Lee Sejin? Sorry. I was surprised because I am a fan.
It was a strange thing. But there was no time to waste in appreciation.
After confirming that there was no one else in the bathroom, I spoke to Bae Sejin.
"Hello."
"Yes."
From the moment I came out of the stall, the guy with mysterious eyes immediately took control of his expression. Indeed, he was an actor.
"I'm a fan."
"Well, thank you. Are you a new employee?"
When I saw the guy getting nervous, I struck the final blow.
"That's not it. I'm a fan of TeStar's Bae Sejin."
"… !"
The reaction came out right away.
"Who are you?"
Bae Sejin immediately became sharper.
It looked like he was going to grab me by the collar at any moment, or quickly block the bathroom.
Was being direct the answer after all?
I opened my mouth right away.
"I'm Park Moondae, hyung."
"… !?"
Tuk.
Something fell behind Bae Sejin.
When I looked down, it looked like a ballpoint pen.
It was probably a tape recorder.
"Pa-Park Moo-"
"Yes. It happened like this."
I guess I should get to the point before this guy freaked out any further.
• * *
Unfortunately, it was impossible to take this guy to any suitable restaurant or café.
Both of us would attract attention, and this guy's current situation was like this.
"It's hard to leave this building."
"What on earth is going on?"
"… There must be a reason for that. Anyway, you, where did you originally leave your body…!"
I didn't know if he really believed me or if he was just pretending to believe me, but it seemed like it was significant that Bae Sejin was also ready to question me.
"Actually…"
"Actually?"
"I was originally born with this body. Park Moondae is my new body."
It sounded like bullshit, so Bae Sejin's shaken face turned pale due to the situation.
"Y-you, are you really a ghost… ?"
"No."
Wait a minute.
In terms of attaching to someone else's body after death, there actually wasn't much of a difference in terms of proof.
[It's different! It's completely different!]
"No. Now that I think about it, it seems similar…"
"No way…"
I corrected my words. If I spoke well, I might be able to get him to believe me.
"Anyway, I've been living as Park Moondae since I participated in
"… … Are you saying it was the same situation now? Just like then, the world has changed now…"
"It might be similar. Anyway, the Park Moondae you know was me from the beginning… Even if you don't believe me, there's nothing we can do."
However, Bae Sejin, whose face was changing colors, responded surprisingly to this remark.
He opened his mouth, sighed four or five times, and then answered like this.
"… I know. You've never changed."
"… … Thank you." "
Even his acting didn't make me feel bad.
"But I won't let this go! This situation makes absolutely no sense, and even you… Explain in detail!"
Even if I wanted to explain it in more detail…
"… In the company restroom?"
"…"
The guy sighed and motioned to me.
"Follow me."
And the place where Bae Sejin took me was the company warehouse near the emergency exit on the third floor.
'Is this a place he used to come to when he wanted to be alone?'
The movements seemed familiar.
Click.
The guy who closed the door hardened his expression and spoke seriously.
"… No one will come for a while. Now, tell me."
"Okay."
I nodded and began to explain the situation so far as succinctly as possible.
"Therefore…"
'I can't get used to it no matter how much I try.'
Still, it was something I did with Cha Eugene once, so the story was quite smooth.
Bae Sejin's face turned black, then white, and then yellow.
But in the end, it turned red.
I understood his reaction to the first part, but why the last part?
"Well, then… Are you that person?"
"What?"
"That… Ryu Gunwoo-ssi. The one who cheered me on!"
Ah, that.
'This guy didn't have a strange expression for no reason.'
Although I had a mix of Park Moondae's features, he seemed to recognize Ryu Gunwoo back then from this face. I touched the back of my neck and opened my mouth.
"… That's right, but I didn't intentionally try to deceive you. I really meant to support you."
Bae Sejin held out his hand in a hurry.
"No, no, thank you … … Wait a minute. But you were also Park Moondae at the time, so the timing doesn't make sense… ??"
"That's also complicated."
I never thought I'd say this. I briefly explained the story of the real Park Moondae and Keundal.
Keundal was surprisingly excited and meddled from time to time.
[So, please tell him that I passed the civil service exam thanks to him!]
And surprisingly, Bae Sejin was not overwhelmed by this unrealistic situation. However, like Cha Eugene, he did not fully understand it.
On the contrary, his face became increasingly serious, and he began to offer various analyses.
His humanities knowledge stood out.
"Do you know what a time paradox is? I think your situation is similar to that…"
"Then isn't this situation like some kind of mock test? It's similar to reality but with a less difficult feel."
"Maybe something like virtual reality. There's a movie. Like the Matrix…:"
I answered all these words as sincerely as I could.
But the bottom line was this.
"I don't know. I'm just guessing."
It was still all unknown.
"Anyway, I'm betting so far that we can go back structurally… It's in progress."
"… Idols and even grand prizes."
"Yes."
"… Okay. That makes sense."
Bae Sejin took a short, deep breath. I guess he had been hearing too many crazy things and was running out of capacity.
And perhaps because of that, Bae Sejin also said something similar.
"Then we're going back to reality anyway, so this is like a dream."
"Yes."
"That's good."
"… ?"
What?
"Just you wait. I'm going to come with a huge crushing blow."
"What?"
"This agency!"
Bae Sejin spoke with burning eyes.
"It's not real anyway, so that's good. Everything is a mess here, and we need to see a proper legal solution."
"Uh…"
Of course, I had no intention of stopping him.
"But if acting here is fun for you, wouldn't it be okay to have some fun?"
When he was in TeStar, his personal activities were put on hold and he had little chance of building a career in acting.
Before we went back, I thought it would be quite beneficial to experience the environment here for practice and check his future personal activity plans.
However, Bae Sejin was unstoppable.
"I like acting! But not like this."
"Why?"
The guy clenched his fists.
"These jerks always force the same type of character on me… !"
"…"
"Here I am, playing similar psychopath roles for four years now. Even when I look at it, there hasn't been any variety!"
"Hmm."
Yeah, it was okay if he got pissed.
"Lee Sejin" was a famous actor in name and reality, so it made no sense for him to not be able to choose a single movie as he pleased.
'Isn't it normal to be able to abuse power by throwing out scripts?'
Wasn't this pure unfair treatment?
So it suddenly came to mind.
"Hyung, I was wondering why you don't have contact information…"
"… ! How did you know… … That's right. They talk about mental management and don't even let these kids use their personal smartphones."
Bae Sejin muttered with a cold face.
"Why are they treating me with restrictions?"
Civil law terms appeared, and it seemed like he had been thinking about the past ever since he joined TeStar.
"… It must have been difficult."
"Actually, it didn't matter much as long as I could act. Looking at public opinion, it wasn't a murderous schedule like when I was young, and my mother paid the bills enough to live well…"
The guy's face blurred, and then his eyes lit up.
And then he clenched his fist.
"But since I am who I am, there is no need to endure this any longer, no matter how unreal it may be."
"Yes."
The guy coolly made a declaration.
"I'll leave everything behind! Are you preparing to become an idol now?"
"Yes, that's right."
I talked about LeTi's survival show in moderation. After nodding his head, Bae Sejin seemed to have made up his mind and shouted.
"I'll go out there too!"
Hmm.
"Wouldn't it be difficult?"
"Why!"
"You're 25 years old."
"…"
Yes.
Bae Sejin, 25, the oldest among those I checked so far, turned red and lowered his head.
'Isn't it inevitable that you have to be a certain age to succeed as an actor rather than a child actor?'
By the time the brief speculation passed…
"…Am I too old to be an idol? When we did 'Idol Inc.,' there were contestants of similar age."
"Yes. However, it's not that kind of problem."
I explained slowly.
"Since hyung has already accumulated a lot of experience as an actor at your age, it means that the public will have unnecessary opposition to hyung if you were to appear on an idol program."
This meant that it was a problem because he was a 25-year-old actor who had achieved a lot already.
He was at his peak as well. Unless Bae Sejin was overwhelmingly better at idolizing than acting, it would only be a pain.
If we were going to return to reality, there was no need to endure that kind of pain.
Bae Sejin, who was groaning, eventually sighed and admitted.
"… You're right."
"Hmm."
However, it seemed that he hadn't given up on being supportive.
The guy clenched his fists.
"Then, I'll push you properly."
"What?"
An ambitious smile appeared on the guy's face and then disappeared.
"Anyway, if your hypothesis is right, there's no need to worry about the long-term future or my influence here."
"Yeah, that's right."
The guy laughed lowly.
"I… In reality, there are more than just one or two types of corruption in this agency that I have discovered so far."
No way.
"I'm going to hire a lawyer and punish them. Let's see if they can act shamelessly even when their weaknesses are discovered. Instead of leaving, I will fix the agency properly!"
The guy's eyes sparkled with passion. Okay… He wasn't an idol but an actor, and rather than fighting over public opinion, he was just trying to correct his boss' habits.
"I will support that."
"Okay!"
The guy looked proud, but now he even made a suggestion with an excited face.
"When that's over… I will have a say in activities. Then, should I open a social media site and ask my fans to vote for you?"
"No."
Those were scary words.
After discussing the issue of fairness for a while, we postponed the matter until after my debut.
'I can't have any runaway locomotives.'
Bae Sejin, who didn't worry about the future, had become a joyful superhero.
"Then, you…"
And the moment when the story about the current situation was about to continue…
Ring-.
My smartphone rang.
"Oh, I have to buy a phone too."
"I'll give you my number first."
And that was when I opened my smartphone.
There was a text message.
-Hello. This is Lee Sejin from GY-ROP! Is this Ryu Gunwoo from Wise? (smiling emoticon)
"…"
Okay.
This was the guy I was supposed to contact after filming was over.
Bae Sejin, who was watching from the side, was interested.
"… ! Did you find Lee Sejin too? So, he remembers too, right?"
I opened my mouth slowly.
"No."
"We met by chance, but there is still no way to return his memories."
"…"
Bae Sejin lost his momentum. And he stood next to me as if to quietly comfort me.
"He was closest to you. Well, Lee Sejin and Seon Ahyeon…"
And then he carefully asked a question as if he came to a realization while he was talking.
"Have you seen the news about Seon Ahyeon?"
I nodded slowly. Bae Sejin seemed to be fidgeting, and then he patted my back with a large motion.
Tuk-tuk!
"No… Just get in the car and go back! You- you're good at making plans like this. … We will do well!"
"… Yes."
I sat quietly in the warehouse with Bae Sejin for some more time. It was funny, but he made me feel a little more at ease.
And after some time…
"I think I'll come and look for you soon… I'll contact you right away when I get a phone. I'll get one today."
"Will it be okay?"
Bae Sejin snorted.
"Once I have a number, what can they do about it?"
And that afternoon…
A new group message room had been opened.
[TeStar / 3 people]
The first person to send a message was not me, but Cha Eugene.
-Cha Eugene: Is that Bae Sejin hyung? WOOOOW
-Bae Sejin: (Greeting hamster emoticon)
-Bae Sejin: You seem to be doing well. I heard that Raebin is doing well too.
-Cha Eugene: YEEESSS (sunglasses emoticon)
Somehow I felt like things had gone back to before.
-Cha Eugene: Let's add the rest of the members quickly!
He even posted a notice.
[Take your 7 STAR! Cheer up!]
I saw the phrase that I hadn't seen in a long time and slowly hit the keyboard.
-That's right (dog emoticon raising both arms)
Although there were less than half of the people, it still wasn't a bad feeling to have a shape.
Not long after, episode 4 of
"Hyung, filming starts today, right?"
"Yes."
"Goodbye, take care… I'll see you soon."
I left the officetel again and headed to the filming location.
And I would encounter the most competitive rules in this survival program.