But can you even mistype special characters…? Wait, does that mean someone is typing this directly? Does that even make sense…
“Hy-hyung?”
“Ah.”
Staring intently at the Status Window, I ended up sticking my face toward Go Won sitting beyond it. Go Won was using all his core strength to lean his upper body back.
“Mm?”
“……”
He doesn’t seem badly hurt anywhere as he said, so why is he avoiding eye contact like someone who committed a crime?
Even as I peered at his face, the eyes that used to blankly meet mine wouldn’t turn this way at all.
“What are you doing?”
Not particularly inclined to understand the delicate heart of a twenty-year-old, I grabbed the guy’s chin and turned his gaze toward me.
Then the redness on his face spread to his ears and neck.
“Really, I’m really not lying at all. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
No, I know that.
“Time…! It’s too late, so let’s go home quickly.”
Go Won quickly fastened his seatbelt and clutched the belt across his chest as if it were a lifeline.
It seems the overflowing stamina isn’t a lie. Not annoying twenty, but impossible to figure out at all…
The color of Go Won’s face seen when passing under bright streetlights and the changed color of the Status Window seemed similar.
***
And it became clear that this Quest bastard had no interest in anyone but Go Won, no matter what chaos happened at the company.
The Sunbae Who Paves a Flower Path Part 2
Establish yourself as a K-POP singer
Stage 2 Goal: Achieve CPCE public reputation index top 10
The Sunbae Who Paves a Flower Path Part 2
Clear
Go Won’s name barely made it into this week’s announced CPCE TOP 10.
It was probably an achievement made as the views on variety shows he’d filmed during his promotion period gradually accumulated.
The Sunbae Who Paves a Flower Path Part 3
Rise as this year’s most outstanding rookie
Stage 3 Goal: Win Rookie Award
As a result, a new part began as expected.
Part 3 Additional Penalty: Injury leading to Kim Yeban’s lyricist condition
This time, yACE’s third oldest member, actively working as an actor, was taken hostage.
“Ah shit…”
Q3-1. Summer’s HOT NEWBIE
If all preparations are complete, now it’s time to show your true ability.
Achieve 1st place on HOT 100 chart and 10th place on TOP 100 chart with new song.
Success: Domestic recognition increases, year-end special stage allotted time increases
Failure: Quest Scenario forced termination
Anyway, Newton or whatever—in terms of ‘Go Won’s success,’ it’s someone else’s business, so just release a new song.
But the biggest obstacle to the Rookie Award was still the 4th Division’s interference.
Executive Director Choi came out of the company perfectly fine.
Newton’s maknae was just a bit frightened, and it was for results—he shamelessly claimed he didn’t do anything particularly bad.
“As if that exists.”
I glared at the Quest Window.
“Hey, it’s a crisis. Beep beep. Emergency. You heard it too, right? Some bad guy said he’d ruin Go Won.”
I spoke toward the Quest Window, which still had a suspicious pink tint.
Since that problematic day, the Quest Window hadn’t returned to its original color.
Not that I know for sure, but it must mean there’s been a change in Go Won, right?
“You’re dying to raise Go Won. You threw a fit whenever something seemed about to happen to Go Won. So cooperate this time too. Give me a quest to do something about Executive Director Choi.”
The screen did blink.
But its sluggish attitude seemed like ‘Eh, is there even a need for that?’ which pissed me off.
3-X. Sub Quest
Go to the 4th Division and keep the division head occupied for 1 hour.
The bigger the commotion, the better.
Success: ‘Go Won’s’ album quality improvement
Failure: ‘Baek Hanje’s’ studio confinement for 48 hours
Not even an Emergency Quest, but a side dish-like Sub Quest.
Even the failure penalty seemed to be mocking me, as if telling me not to act out and just quietly work.
“Ha…”
So, since I’d only gain album quality anyway, are you asking if I want to go now and vent for an hour, or give up?
“……”
It was true that resentment lingered from yesterday’s situation ending in such a shitty, annoying way.
Might as well do it, whatever.
An hour of commotion? Sounds fun.
“Hello?”
“……”
“Long time no see. Ah right, maybe not long? I guess I got confused seeing you in broad daylight.”
When I even knocked my fist against my palm as if realizing something amazing, Executive Director Choi’s expression twisted.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you picking fights coming here in the morning?”
“Wow, I really envy you, Executive Director. I’m also realizing this anew as time passes—it seems more comfortable to just live not knowing than knowing a lot. Yesterday too, I ended up knowing something that would’ve been better not to know.”
“……”
“My heart was pounding so much I couldn’t stay still. Ah, did you watch the variety show? When my work doesn’t go well or I’m anxious, I walk around the company. So while I’m at it, can I look around the 4th Division?”
A few employees who didn’t know what was going on watched Executive Director Choi, the division head’s, reaction.
“…What are you so curious about?”
“I said I don’t want to know more. I just need peace of mind. Inner peace?”
The pouring gazes stung. In the hearts of some who didn’t know the situation, it seemed resentment formed like ‘Baek Hanje the crazy bastard is abusing his power.’
But the process of reading flinching signs from some of those people and picking them out like ‘Ah, you’re in cahoots with that bad guy!’ wasn’t too bad either.
“I’m hungry, do you have snacks?”
Is there no additional reward if I play around for more than an hour?
***
Evening time.
Kwon Taeyoung summoned me from the studio.
I thought he’d say something about the rampage at the 4th Division, but what dropped in front of me was some document envelope.
“What’s this?”
When I opened it, several blurry photos came out. Most had shaky focus, but what was certain was that they were photos of Executive Director Choi meeting with someone.
What unfolded after that were several pages of documents written about suspicions of entertainment, embezzlement, and external meetings.
“Dig starting from here.”
“Oh…”
No, this human Kwon Taeyoung. He’s really switched from his idol self to his management self now.
“How did you even get this?”
“By eye-eye.”
When I didn’t understand immediately and looked up at him, he boldly declared.
“I broke in. Dawn yesterday, into that division head’s office.”
“…Who did you send?”
“How could I send someone else for this kind of thing?”
In other words, that human went himself. As I gaped in shock, Kwon Taeyoung gathered and organized the scattered materials on the desk.
“That chaos happened at night, so I figured they’d be distracted too.”
“Wow… No, what if you got caught?”
“I couldn’t attack Jungho who trespassed into the A&R room. Same thing. Could K-dum tarnish my image?”
Well, that’s true.
‘I was child’s play compared to kicking an expensive car and rampaging while talking back to an executive director…’
Even I, who constantly heard being called a crazy bastard, sometimes became solemn in front of the members.
Especially Kwon Taeyoung belonged to the genteel side of yACE, but when he pulled crazy stunts, the scale was extraordinary.
“Still, I thought they would’ve noticed by this time. Are they still distracted by yesterday’s events?”
…Ah.
‘Was telling me to go scratch Executive Director Choi’s nerves because of this?’
Earlier, I rummaged through the 4th Division this way and that in front of Executive Director Choi like a hamster that escaped its cage.
I even chased him to the division head’s office and held a review session saying to manage the break room, is this snack good, is that snack good.
Executive Director Choi got so heated he left the company. Because of that, he seemed not to have noticed that an intruder had visited the division head’s office last night.
‘Is my display of rudeness achieving Kwon Taeyoung’s perfect crime…’
Just then, the division head’s office door swung open without even a knock.
“Taeyoung-ah.”
The person who entered with a confused expression was Manager Park from the Management Office. He confirmed that the visitor to the division head’s office was me, relaxed in relief, and firmly closed the door.
“The 4th Division is in chaos right now. No, not just the 4th Division—the whole company is about to be turned upside down.”
“Why?”
Ah, damn. The perfect crime was an illusion.
“Newton filed a complaint with the Central Audit Office.”
Hm?
“…What did you say?”
“This morning the kids came to the company and secretly from the 4th Division… Haah. The 4th Division must’ve been distracted too—no one knew the kids came to the company.”
“…Oh my.”
Kwon Taeyoung, apart from understanding Newton’s anger, had an expression worried about what aftermath their choice would bring.
“Oh my, it’s complicated. The management can handle that matter among themselves—I’ll be going to work now.”
I got up from the sofa while backing out. Their gazes followed me but I quickly left the division head’s office.
Eventually, when I stood alone in the hallway, I rubbed half my face as if dry washing.
The one-hour gap I created by scattering the 4th Division personnel’s attention.
The incidental effect that moment created was Kwon Taeyoung’s perfect crime, and the main effect was Newton’s complaint.
They tried to harm the maknae member, and even their own safety was threatened. It was Newton’s desperate choice after they could no longer trust Executive Director Choi.
3-X. Sub Quest
Clear
Rewards are being calculated.
The quest completion window that appeared in the midst of this—I looked at it with a disgusted face.
“Wow…, haha. Diversely fucking crazy.”
I wondered why the reward for rampaging through the 4th Division was Go Won’s album quality improvement.
If this matter escalates, Executive Director Choi will take a hit.
But separate from that.
‘Newton’s next activities also become uncertain.’
School violence victim? Of course it’s unfortunate.
It was definitely a good thing that society’s gaze toward school violence perpetrators became cold.
But perception and consideration for victims couldn’t follow that much.
Because while pretending otherwise, they’d frame them, say they don’t seem like victims, and even while active, people would emerge saying they’re disillusioned unlike before.
‘Moreover, since they took down the division with their own hands, activities themselves will be difficult too.’
If Newton is forced to take a break while the incident’s aftermath dies down, within the past 5 years, Go Won will be the only male idol left who debuted at K-dum.
In other words.
‘Rolling stone or whatever, he’ll have no choice but to receive concentrated support.’
