If you closed your eyes for a moment and opened them to find yourself rejuvenated by enough years for the mountains and rivers to change once, what do you think you'd feel?
For my part, I was extremely displeased.
Having to go through all that tedious GPA-defending and job hunting again—horrible.
No, wait. Maybe this is a good chance to find some way of making a living other than being a reporter.
I shifted my gaze toward the hallucination, which still hadn't disappeared.
'Can't I get rid of this somehow?'
Then, as if answering my question, the two windows vanished in an instant. Just in case, I told them to come back, and they crawled right back out.
"This is driving me nuts, seriously."
I could even control a hallucination at will. The only thought I had was that I'd gone crazy, and thoroughly.
Whatever the case, just standing still and agonizing over it wouldn't change anything.
First, I decided to visit the studio villa I'd originally lived in during this period.
***
'Room 403 won't open? That one's vacant. What are you talking about, student?'
Room 403, where I used to live, had become an empty unit.
Looking again, one of the cards in my wallet was a key card for building access.
Whether by chance or by fate, it was the same design as the one I'd used at the gosiwon where I lived briefly right after graduating from college. Even the room number, roughly scrawled in marker, matched.
Treating the transit card with a measly ten thousand won loaded on it like a lifeline, I made my way to that gosiwon.
Even as I tapped the key card and stepped into the hallway, I was still half in doubt, but nothing unexpected happened. When I punched in the familiar passcode in front of the familiar door, it opened.
Only then did I decide to accept it.
That everything I was seeing was real.
My head was a mess. Where exactly did the changes start and end, and what hadn't changed?
When I plugged the smartphone into the charger in the room, it started charging normally.
I turned it on as soon as it hit about five percent, and after checking all the information I could get for now, the results were as follows.
-Thankfully there are a few million won left in the bank account. Source unknown, though.
-No saved phone numbers. The call and text history had been wiped clean too, so nothing to gain there.
-Dropped out of college.
Next, I looked around the room.
Aside from necessities like bedding and a toothbrush, the only personal belongings in the room were spare clothes, a pure white pill bottle, and one large backpack.
And, though I'm not sure whether this can really be classified as a 'personal belonging'.......
The paper in my hand right now had also come out of this room.
A sheet of A4 paper crammed full of despair over his circumstances, the contents close to a scream.
This must be the suicide note written about in the article.
It felt like I'd be cursed just keeping it near me, so I tried to tear it up right away, but it wouldn't tear no matter what I did. As if such an act wasn't permitted.
'Bring that back up.'
Even though I made the request vaguely, having no fitting name to call it by, the hallucination knew on its own to float only the one with the [Breaking] title before my eyes.
It didn't feel great to have my inner thoughts read at will, but now wasn't the time to be picky about that.
[Breaking] Pyeong Seol-han Fails to Join 'Solar Entertainment'... Found Dead at Home
Pyeong Seol-han was found dead at his home on the evening of the 1st.
The Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul was dispatched around 5 PM that day after receiving a report that a student living in a gosiwon in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, had been found dead. A police official stated, 'So far we have found no signs of foul play, such as homicide, and it is presumed that he took his own life.'
The suicide note found at the scene reportedly contained content expressing despair over his circumstances.
Police are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.
A gosiwon in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Right on the mark, in the end.
The suicide note. Found.
And 'the 1st.' It doesn't say which month's 1st, but considering today is January 1st, it's too creepy to just let slide.
At that moment, new letters rose up in the middle of the first sentence.
Pyeong Seol-han was found dead at his home on the evening of January 1st.
Apparently the body text could even be revised based on feedback, because 'January' had been kindly added.
So that 1st was today after all.......
The current time was 4:50 PM.
According to the article, the police had received the report around 5 PM.
What would happen if I just did nothing like this?
Would I really die? How? There isn't even a window in here. Would I leave this room and jump off somewhere?
No, the article's title said I was found at home. I probably wouldn't be leaving here.
A sudden sense of foreboding came over me, so I went to the door and tried the doorknob.
Clunk.
The door wouldn't open, as if it had been locked from the outside.
And then the window in front of my eyes suddenly began to turn bright red, and I felt as if a command were being typed directly into my head.......
My body began to move on its own.
'I have to find the pill bottle!'
'If I have it, I'll live!'
'I can finally escape this horrible reality!'
My body, moving on its own, opened the lid of the pure white pill bottle and began shaking the contents out into my palm until it was full.
Going by the clues found so far, I could tell right away that these pills hadn't been prepared for any treatment.
A pill bottle with no name written on it.
A suicide note found in the room.
The remark 'I can escape.'
There was no room left for doubt.
...This bastard is trying to die right now.
What kind of pills are these? Sedatives? The ones prescribed these days shouldn't reach a lethal dose no matter how many you take, right?
'This is the end! I can be happy!'
This crazy punk.......
Happy how? There's nothing at the end of death.
Ghosts and spirits get brought up a lot, sure, but so what—are they fully blending into this society and living in it?
No. Most people don't even believe they exist.
I'm the same. I don't believe in a world after death, and I don't believe souls exist. You think a bastard like that is suddenly going to hit the lottery, with a flower-strewn road opening up past the life flashing before his eyes?
I desperately dodged the hand holding the pills as it came toward my mouth. Thankfully, it seemed I could move everything above the neck the way I wanted.
I can't die like this.
I don't want to be in pain, and the unknown road is frightening.
Fear rose to the top of my head and my breathing grew ragged. My heart pounded violently.
If you want to live, don't freeze up. Keep thinking.
Sending me all the way back to the past this kindly and then controlling me—doesn't that mean whoever the culprit is, they want something from me?
What was the reason that window appeared in the first place?
To get rid of it......!
'Become an idol trainee? No. And if I had to debut in 'that group' of all things? Even more of a no.'
'Pyeong Seol-han Fails to Join 'Solar Entertainment'......'
...Ah, don't tell me.
"F—ck, I'll do it! I'll do it, okay!"
What's the big deal, I'll just give this idol thing a shot!
Then the bright red color of the window gradually faded, and before long it went back to its original white.
At the same time, I also regained control of my body, which had been moving on its own.
"Haha, ha......."
Only then did I slump down in relief. F—ck, if I defy it twice, I'll really get dragged down the road to the underworld.
The person in the next room pounded on the wall as if to say I was being loud. Sorry about that. Still, it's a lot better than hearing someone died, I bet.
While I caught my breath for a moment, I recalled the name of the file I'd opened last before ending up in this situation.
[Feature]Idol_I'll_Try_Becoming_One_Myself
The file name and the title written on the hallucination were identical. That file was definitely related to this situation.
The more I chewed on it, the more absurd it got, until a hollow laugh finally leaked out.
Of all things, an idol.
I swear to heaven, I have never once thought I'd like to try being an idol.
Everyone has clothes that fit them, and I'd realized early on that the clothes called 'idol' didn't fit me at all.
And yet, why on earth?
Why make me do this, of all people?
Suddenly a small window rose before my eyes. Unlike the hallucinations I'd seen up until now, this one looked like the messenger I used at the company.
[Unknown: Isn't figuring that out your job, Reporter Pyeong?]
[Unknown: You're a 'reporter,' after all.]
'Unknown.'
...It was the one who sent that weird file.
So what if I'm a reporter?
It's not like I'm on the politics or society desk. What's a mere entertainment reporter supposed to figure out, and how, in this insane situation?
[Unknown: If you don't like it, you can just die~ It's no loss to me, you know?]
That bastard, seriously.
[Unknown: But~ humans tend to lose motivation when you tell them to move without a reward, right?]
[Unknown: If Reporter Pyeong writes this feature article well all the way to the end, I'll grant you one wish, anything at all. Really 'anything.']
[Unknown: Even something like getting 100 billion won in clean cash with no tax worries works too, you know? A chance like this doesn't come easy~ v(^^)v]
You think I'm going to swallow that absurd crap whole? I don't need a wish or anything else, so just put me back the way I was right now.
Then, as if tilting its head, the messenger window tilted slightly.
[Unknown: Got it. I'll do what you want.]
And just like before, my body began to move regardless of my will.
'When I said put me back, that's not what I meant, you crazy bastard!'
I kept screaming curses in my head right up until the pills were about to go into my mouth, and the force controlling my body vanished once again.
[Unknown: You literally just thought you'd really die if you defied it twice, so why are you doing this? Are you stupid? ('_')]
This punk.......
It seemed I'd earned someone's serious grudge somewhere, but who would hold a grudge this big against me?
...It's not just one or two people, so I have no idea. Damn it.
Was this the karma of mechanically spreading tabloid rumors, coming back around like this?
[Unknown: If you want to know, don't run away and hang in there till the end!]
[Unknown: Don't forget I'm on Reporter Pyeong's side~ (^^)b]
And with that, the messenger disappeared.
Even when I repeated in my head for it to come back out, there was no sign of it.
What a joke. If you were really on my side, you wouldn't have put me in this bizarre situation.
"This is why people should live good lives. Live dirty and you get divine punishment......."
If I'd known it would be like this, I would've quit being a reporter long ago and studied for the civil service exam. Then maybe I wouldn't have been dropped into this sh—tty reality as so-called divine punishment.
I laboriously got up and lay down on the bed. Then I entered the phone number on Kim Ji-su's business card into the phone and pressed the call button.
What else can I do. There's no way to solve this right away, so if I'm told to do it, I do it.
I have to survive first, after all.
***
Kim Ji-su, who picked up before the ringtone had even sounded twice, strongly dissuaded me when I said I'd come to the company building myself. Then she drove her own car all the way to the front of the gosiwon.
Coming to pick me up the moment I called—just how desperate were they?
As I sat in the passenger seat, Kim Ji-su asked me some simple questions. What I liked, whether I was interested in idols, and so on. There were no awkward topics, so I obediently answered everything she asked.
Before long, we pulled into the alley where the Solar Entertainment building stood. The building, which I hadn't seen in a long while, was different from how I last remembered it.
It wasn't a matter of old versus new. This was definitely the building they'd used before.
As soon as we finished parking and stepped inside, it hit me anew that this place was an entertainment agency.
Because a handsome man whose every line was elegant, as if drawn stitch by stitch by a master with a fine brush, and a handsome man whose round, distinct features were packed in perfect balance into a tiny face were walking toward us.
For better or worse, they were familiar faces.
"Uh......."
The elegant one froze up for a moment when he saw me, then immediately composed his expression and smiled brightly.
"Wow, Ji-hyuk-hyungnim! You came back......!"
"No."
It's best to nip a misunderstanding firmly in the bud from the start. I politely held out my hand toward him as if offering a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Pyeong Seol-han."
"Ah... um. Aha! Yes! Hello~ I'm Namgung Hyun!"
The handsome man who introduced himself as Namgung Hyun clasped my hand tightly in both of his and shook it eagerly, as if he were glad to meet me.
His attitude was clearly friendly and there was a smile on his lips, but an odd reluctance showed in the way he looked at me.
Following him, the handsome man beside him also greeted me politely.
"Hello. My name is Ha Hyun."
Having finished his greeting, Ha Hyun looked at Kim Ji-su and asked.
"Team Leader, who is this?"
"He's a trainee who'll be joining the debut team from now on. I'll introduce him to you guys too once he's done meeting with the CEO!"
"Then Ji-hyuk-hyung......."
Ha Hyun, who had been about to ask something, hurriedly shut his mouth.
Kim Ji-su looking for Baek Ji-hyuk outside, Namgung Hyun asking if he'd 'come back,' Ha Hyun leaving a question about Baek Ji-hyuk hanging.
'This, don't tell me.......'
Just then, the elevator arrived in the lobby. Watching Kim Ji-su press the button for the fifth floor, I asked.
"Team Leader Kim Ji-su, may I ask you something?"
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
"Is the person named Ji-hyuk a trainee here too, by any chance? He seemed to be an acquaintance of the people I just met."
In an instant, Kim Ji-su's face was colored with panic. Why was she making that face? Don't tell me she'll say no.......
"To be exact... he was a trainee. Not anymore."
...So he was.
Is that okay? Any other member aside, wouldn't losing that 'Baek Ji-hyuk' cause all sorts of problems?
That guy's supposed to be your group's leader.......