Chapter 407
In a room where the sun still hadn't risen…
I sat down on a cushion and spoke the thirtieth analysis in a low voice on why going back to reality was better.
"VTIC rarely engages in personal activities, so there hasn't been much of an image consumption. That would be much more advantageous in the long run in comparison to this world where we've already established our images."
"Hmm. In other words, doesn't this just mean that we have proven our capabilities through individual activities?"
"… The fandom will be destroyed."
This bastard. I held back a sigh while he laughed heartily.
"Well, we can stabilize it by focusing on group activities next year. We can refine our image consumption and concept from then on."
"… Why would we need to do that? When you go back, you already have a well-established fandom and a group with a well-established concept."
"I guess so."
The guy readily agreed. But I wasn't fooled.
"However, considering the development potential, this area can be expanded in size. Because there are already proven members and songs."
Fuck.
I pressed my eyebrows. The conversation with this guy had been like this since a while ago.
This guy was extremely crazy.
He just kept countering my logic that said we had to go back, and then I went back to countering him again.
Group potential, market distribution, individual achievement, image, performance…
Literally, we debated over everything possible.
Damn it.
I didn't know how many hours it would take to bite the horse's tail. My head was pounding.
It was alarming because I wasn't hungry or experiencing any symptoms.
"Hm, would you like to drink some water? I don't know if you can drink it."
"I'm fine."
I touched my forehead.
And suddenly, a fundamental question came to mind.
'… Why is he doing this?'
In fact, it was a problem that cannot be resolved rationally.
Both agreeing to one conclusion?
There had to be an absolute branch that was logically perfect, but wasn't that impossible?
When comparing arts and physical education careers, everything was just a realm of possibility. On the contrary, this world… it was slightly superior.
'… This isn't it.'
This was stupid.
I was dragged along by this bastard's momentum and did useless things to avoid being pushed away. I raised my head. Cheongryeo was sitting on the chair in front of the desk in the same posture as before.
I changed my posture.
"You know, this isn't a matter that can be resolved. In the first place, it wasn't like we were sent back in time to see if we were better suited to be idols here."
"…"
From the beginning, this bastard knew it all and actively participated in my plans for a futureless, disposable group with the sole purpose of winning a grand prize.
Now… I remembered what he said earlier.
-Originally, I was planning on just following hoobaenim's opinion, but now that it's come to this, I want to hear what you think.
And after a few hours, my head came to a conclusion.
"You… Are you trying to say that you were one-sidedly cooperating with me so far?"
He was upset because I was hiding something, but he still cooperated with me even though there were other options.
'So there's no reason to cooperate.'
I was speechless. It wasn't a secret that the GM was personally chosen by the system and there was no other way around it. Fuck.
'Bastards.'
But the guy didn't deny it.
"Hm. Hoobaenim seemed more interested in taking care of people than his goals, so I thought about it too."
The guy tilted his head to the side.
"Then… I told you. There is no reason to go back."
"If you look at it from that perspective, there's no reason to go back."
I took a breath. My head became a little clearer.
Was this guy mistaken?
I almost did that too until just now.
"You said something wrong."
"Hmm?"
"Think about it without the career aspects."
I knew it was impossible to compare, but I wasn't trying to say that his career as a first-rate idol was perfect and he should return to that reality.
I remembered what I said to this bastard before, when he was urging me to commit suicide.
-Isn't VTIC on the decline?
We had to talk about other values, not just social success that can be expressed in numbers.
For example:
"In reality, you chose to live on even after experiencing difficulties… Like the albums and experiences you created even after one of your members left."
"…"
"Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Did nothing else matter to him in reality?
These were the experiences he had after deciding to just keep living, rather than trying to restart his life the moment he failed.
An album filled with new songs he had never used before, his first solo career, and a situation where he didn't know what would happen afterward. A group that eventually overcame failure and stood up. An achievement.
A new acceptance speech.
"You actually already decided to return to reality, including that. It's not that you one-sidedly cooperated with me. Don't you think it'd be a waste?"
Cheongryeo was agitated for the first time. I saw him clasp his hands and place them on his knees.
But his answer was distorted.
"Now that I think about it, we could try it again here."
Fuck.
I shook my head.
"It's meaningful because you can't do it again…!"
"No, in the first place… I heard this place was directly created by the system."
Today, I relayed to him the results of Seon Ahyeon's reasoning in the process of recovering his memories.
This world was just a kind of abnormality, a distortion.
Just as we first assumed, there was a high probability that reality was truly different.
"… So, this is a world that really runs on the system, fuck."
I hit the mattress roughly.
"Are you really planning to live here with the system? Because you can suck it up while being the GM or something?"
"…"
"Aren't you the bastard who worked so hard because of the fucking system?"
"…"
There was no answer for a long time. I took a deep breath.
And the voice that came out slowly…
"Hard work?"
I was wondering.
I got goosebumps.
"That… It's a bit hard to agree."
"… !"
"In the end, isn't it true that I had a chance to succeed because I was able to restart?"
Oh, damn it.
"Getting rid of the system was to prevent these benefits from going to others who could not control it. Because it is impossible to control the system."
"…"
"Of course, discomfort may be one of the reasons… But I don't think I was moved simply because of that."
I was speechless. This bastard's problem started from there.
'He's a guy whose mind has been remodeled so much that restarting seems beneficial to him.'
How could I convince him of this?
"…"
Silence began to fall again. I laid my head on the bed, feeling like I had lost my will to fight.
As he said, time was infinite, so I guess I should just keep my mouth shut.
But the surprising thing came after a while.
This bastard opened his mouth first.
In a slightly subdued voice,
"But if it's just for emotional reasons, I understand that you want to go back."
"… !"
"Okay. Because there was also a problem with hoobaenim's parents."
I gritted my teeth.
"And you didn't say anything then either."
Even though I said out loud I thought there was something wrong with my memory.
"That…"
His tone became less dry. He trembled slightly.
"… I'm sorry."
"…"
I suppressed a sigh and closed my eyes.
"You… You thought that if you had told me that you saw a status window, I would have doubted you and my efficiency would have been ruined."
He was a funny bastard.
"I would have just believed you."
"… !"
"Of course, I would have done more surveillance to make sure you didn't do anything unnecessary. But I think you would've studied it with great skill to use it in a unique way."
My efficiency wouldn't have been destroyed, son of a bitch.
"… Is that so?"
"Yes."
I tossed and turned.
"To be honest, I blew everything on you from the beginning about the status window. The things I didn't tell you were for privacy reasons."
"…"
He was the one who stabbed me in the back.
Soon, a low voice was heard.
"Alright."
Hoo.
I rubbed my face.
My energy was depleting.
'Besides that, there's a problem with Gold 2…'
I knew already.
Saying things like "Don't you feel sorry for Kwon Heeseung?" didn't work for this bastard. He wasn't the type of person who was moved while considering such things. He was a guy who saw people as resources.
However, it wasn't like he hadn't changed at all since his reset syndrome and crazy sledgehammer days…
-Here he is. (picture)
-Kongi is sick.
That wouldn't be the case again.
But it was a dead end. If this bastard didn't really understand why he would want to go back…
'Could I interfere again?'
That isn't possible.
'I'm going to fix it and get out.'
I made a conclusion and opened my eyes.
And suddenly I saw it.
A pop-up.
[Error: Moondae… ?]
"… !!"
I almost jumped.
[Error: !]
[Error: I think Moondae confirmed it!]
The pop-up updated happily.
I thought it was Keundal up to that point.
Until these popped up.
[RAB: You finally confirmed it. I was very worried that it might be an emergency.]
[Sejini: Park Moondae, are you okay? Or should I call you Moondaemoondae to make you recognize me?]
[BaeSJ: Answer us.]
What was this?
• * *
Keundal put on all sorts of shows in front of Seon Ahyeon
This meant that time stopped, and Moondae hyung was being threatened(?). At the same time, he was eagerly telling Seon Ahyeon who he was.
Of course, just because Seon Ahyeon was flustered didn't mean he was a fool.
He demanded calmly.
"… If you want me to believe you, show me the evidence."
[That…!]
Keundal thought hard, but he actually knew.
There was no evidence…
'Ugh…'
He couldn't be more sad about not having a body.
As the game stopped, Keundal, completely unaware that he was slowly regaining his human senses, racked his brain.
And he remembered one person.
[Raebin-nim knows about me!]
Ryu Gunwoo, who was tired of the hellish cycle of questions, even certified the existence of Keundal with a detailed explanation.
"But, I… Can we meet Raebin now?"
[Ah…]
The problem was that Kim Raebin was also frozen in time now…
'Is there anything?'
Keundal racked his brain hard. He worked hard on the status window and rummaged through the UI window.
And after that, in the mental world like the detailed code of a complex algorithm…
'What?'
He found something that he could touch on since he was currently 'configuring' it.
There was one line at the bottom, a function that seemed to have been added in a hurry.
[Gold Shop]
Gold?
'… Access!'
Keundal, who had already seen Ryu Gunwoo's mystery show, immediately turned it on.
Then a simple list appeared.
[Chat room opening – 5000G]
[Invitation – 1000G]
He realized right away.
This was it.
'Hyung, I'm sorry for using it carelessly, but I'm still trying to help you… !'
He bought both right away.
New features were opened.
He manipulated the pop-up.
[Do you want to enter the chat room?]
"… !"
[I'll call Raebin!]
And the moment Seon Ahyeon accepted admission at the pop-up after much deliberation, he flew like crazy and went to Seoul.
And he contacted Kim Raebin, who was receiving makeup touch-ups at the Gearco photo shoot.
Of course, Kim Raebin was in a stopped state, since he wasn't an error like Seon Ahyeon.
'But!'
He already knew who was in the chat window.
A person who offsets abnormalities in the system.
[Do you want to enter the chat room?]
The golden circle was absorbed into Kim Raebin's connection system, and the error spread.
'It's working!'
He was connected to Seon Ahyeon through the chat window, which was also the status window, which was also the spirit of Keundal, so the errors were all shared.
And a new chat was created.
[RAB: … ??]
[RAB: Is this by any chance a dream?]
Keundal held back his cheers.
• * *
[Error: And that's how we can send a message to Moondae]
'… Okay.'
I nodded, looking at the frantic conversations taking place in the chat room.
I roughly understood it. Kwon Heeseung was sending out a tearful SOS, while Keundal was handling it well.
But that was it.
'… Is this what I need?'
Honestly, I didn't know what help I could get from these guys just from chatting.
'No, even if it's not a chat, there's no harm in beating this bastard right now.'
No matter how much I thought about it, I was surprised to see Keundal taking such a big leap that I wanted to take a risk of my own. I glanced through the chat window somewhat hesitantly.
[Tiger: Hyung, what's going on? Are you fighting?]
[BaeSJ: Did you really meet the guy who put us here?]
Besides, these guys probably didn't get a detailed explanation, so they just knew that I was in trouble. After thinking about it for a while, I sent a chat message.
It was about what I was thinking.
[Apple: That's not true, I need to persuade someone]
[BaeSJ: Who!]
At that moment, a pop-up suddenly appeared at the top.
[8 people]
[※! Gold remaining: 5000G※]
Hmm?
[Leader: Guys. It seems like energy is being consumed every time we chat. Let's just talk to Moondae and give advice.]
There was no reply acknowledging whether everyone had understood the situation.
"…"
After thinking for a moment, I hit chat.
I didn't know what this meant.
[Apple: At what times does everyone feel like going back to reality the most?]
I might get a hint. It was better than not doing anything.
After a while, the chat window was updated with full text.
[Tiger: When I want to perform on stage!]
[RAB: There were various examples, but the most frequent one was the moment when I really wanted to listen to an album we released.]
[Error: When I went to the airport alone today, I remembered the time we spent together. I think it's during those kinds of times.]
It was filled with performances, albums, activities, accommodations, and various answers.
Ryu Chunwoo, who says that the TeStar slogan came to mind when shouting slogans, and Bae Sejin, who spoke about when idol performances appeared in the algorithm through WeTube.
And the final answer.
[Sejini: When I miss the me from back then.]
What they had in common…
It was a moment that evoked strong longing and nostalgia.
Emotional memory.
"…"
I entered the chat.
[Apple: It was helpful. Thanks.]
The moment a notification window popped up saying that gold was being used…
I heard talking.
"What are you looking at?"
It wasn't surprising. I even did it openly on purpose.
I opened my mouth to the guy.
"I have a chat window filled with companions right now."
"Hmm?"
"If you don't know, don't try to check. Because it seems expedient."
The GM shouldn't see it. Couldn't the system stop it?
Then the guy laughed.
"You're thorough."
"Yes."
I was silent for a moment, then asked the guy.
"Can I use my status window function here?"
"With administrator permission."
"I want to try it."
"…"
Cheongryeo did not refuse.
I brought up my companion list again.
[Shin Jaehyun: Thinking about what my colleague said (//~^)]
I slowly opened my mouth.
"You've been on the companion list from the beginning."
"Yes. Because I'm the GM."
"You've had your memories from the beginning."
I raised my head. Cheongryeo was standing.
"But you've never been awakened."
"…"
Let's consider its function.
In the first place, adding a function to return memories to awakening was an expedient function that Keundal and I extracted from the explanation of 〈127 Section〉.
This meant that it was not officially included in the system.
'Then…'
I could understand why that was such a harsh approach. Because it was a function that wasn't envisioned in the first place.
'When everyone got their memories back, they said it felt like waves of emotions and memories were rushing in… Right?'
I opened my mouth.
"Would you like to give it a try?"
"The reason is?"
"Because it might give you new information."
The guy seemed lost in thought for a moment.
But soon, he nodded with strange eyes.
'Okay.'
I pressed the awakening button for my companion, Shin Jaehyun.