Chapter 145

Chapter 145

[Award Received!]

You’ve won the Rookie of the Year award from the most reputable awards ceremony of all—public opinion!

Time cap: Satisfied (Perfect)

Status Abnormality: “Receive an Award or Die” Removed!

: Reveal the Truth ☜ Click!

I needed to first click “Reveal the Truth” and remove the current status abnormality to move on to the next one. The problem was, every time I did so, I was given an unwanted serving of someone else’s backstory.

I don’t want to see anything more about Cheongryeo, that’s for sure. It helped at the time, but I had no desire to know anything more about him. I would prefer to see more of the original Park Moondae’s story.

Come to think of it though, Cheongryeo hadn’t been in contact at all recently. We’d gotten favorable reviews after our appearance on The Nerdy Andy Show, and people I wasn’t really close to had sent congratulatory messages. Even Choi Wongil had texted to apologize and congratulate me.

“Congratulations on going to the US! I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused.”

The text had been simple and to the point, and it immediately reminded me of the simple “Sorry” that I’d received from Cheongryeo. Cheongryeo hadn’t contacted me, though. Even the two VTIC members that I’d met on that one variety show had sent a barrage of emojis.

This is a good thing for me, emotionally speaking. I hoped this disinterest would extend far into the future.

With a toss of my head, I stared at the pop-up window again.

Let’s do this. Whatever I ended up seeing, I didn’t have to read too much into it. I touched the pop-up, and just like before, the lights went out.

***

I was on a moving bus. The engine hummed as people chatted and laughed, seated. The way everyone seemed to know each other and the lack of a map or bus number plastered to the walls suggested one thing.

It’s a rental. This wasn’t public transportation, but probably a chartered bus, carrying a group of tourists, perhaps. It appeared to be pretty old-fashioned—maybe I’d been transported quite far into the past. But everyone seemed quite well dressed, all the same.

Then I noticed something strange. Unlike in previous experiences, I wasn’t just watching through the eyes of a third party. I could clearly think for myself.

What in the world? Growing a little confused, I recognized a familiar face seated in one of the window seats to the left. It was a younger Ryu Chungwoo. He was asleep, his arms crossed and his head leaning against the window. Though he was young, he already had a sturdy frame.

This is... really unexpected. So Ryu Chungwoo’s asleep. What am I supposed to do? Watching him wryly, a memory suddenly came to me. It was something Ryu Chungwoo had once said to me over a drink.

“I was in a pretty terrible car accident when I was little... Maybe something happened to me then, but I began to feel the side effects only after I grew older. I can’t flex the muscles of my hand without shaking.”

Wait, don’t tell me... F*ck, don’t tell me this is what I think it is. I was right, unfortunately. The bus, which had been speeding down a highway, suddenly swerved and tilted to the side.

As the screams of the passengers and the driver intermingled, the windows to the left shattered. Something flew inside—a side mirror, torn clean off. The hunk of metal collided with Chungwoo’s shoulder.

“Chungwoo!” someone shouted.

The interior of the bus was instantly screaming bedlam.

What kind of f*cking psychopath is showing me this in real-time? I tried to reach for Chungwoo, but quickly realized I had no body. I was forced to watch as Chungwoo, bleeding and badly injured, was carried away and loaded into an ambulance. Left behind, feeling quite shaken up, I could hear the ambulance workers and the passengers talking.

“We brought a small vehicle because all we were told in the call was that a child had been hurt.”

“Oh, we’re all right! We can take ourselves to the hospital if need be.”

It was true that only Chungwoo seemed to be badly hurt. The paramedics nodded and ushered Chungwoo’s wailing parents into the vehicle before heading to the hospital.

A couple of the other passengers stayed behind to handle the insurance issues while the rest seemed to have agreed they would call a taxi and be on their way. I was still stuck watching and disembodied.

What in the world? I couldn’t understand why I was still here. Shouldn’t I have gone with Chungwoo? I turned my attention back to the passengers again.

“So are we going to leave, then?”

“Yes.”

My thoughts ground to a halt. Before me were two people I’d never expected to see again, standing there in perfect health. It was my mom and dad.

“You guys can take this one. We’ll take the next one that comes.”

“Why, thank you!”

Yes. I remember that voice. I’d had pictures of them, but not a single recording of their voices. There had once been footage filmed on my first birthday, but that had been lost when I’d moved house, and their voices had quickly faded from my memory.

Sometimes I recalled how they had sounded in my sleep, but the memory never lasted for long, since it was impossible to record them. I felt as though my heart was going to jump out of my chest. All I could do was watch, however, so I continued trying to understand the situation.

It was... a family gathering. The bus seemingly had been transporting some of the members of the Pungsan Ryu clan. This was the same clan that my past self—Ryu Gunwoo—had belonged to, alongside Ryu Chungwoo.

Apparently, Chungwoo had gotten into an accident during a family gathering. Though I felt sorry for Chungwoo, I was glad that I’d remained behind instead of accompanying him. So very glad.

My parents got into a taxi with a few other relatives. I could see some familiar faces, belonging to the people I lived with for a couple of years during middle or high school.

This is definitely a family gathering. I nodded to myself, only for a strange thought to occur to me.

When... was this? My parents were exactly as I remembered them.

No. It was almost like a conditioned reflex, the chilling foreboding that settled in my gut. The taxi departed, and I heard my mom’s voice.

“I wonder if that boy is going to be all right? I’m worried.”

“Of course. Everyone must have gotten quite the shock. We should rest for a bit back at the lodgings. We haven’t had a family gathering in such a long time, and then something like this happens!”

“To think they came all the way out to Gangwon Province, only for this to happen! His parents must feel so terrible...”

A family gathering. Gangwon Province. They kept saying utterly terrifying keywords.

“At least Gunwoo’s not here. He’s studying really hard to get into a foreign language high school, isn’t he? I wonder who he takes after?”

“His mom, of course. They’re both so smart.”

“Haha! I can see you two are still very much in love.”

“Haha!”

Laughter rang out from within the taxi. Something was wrong with this situation. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

“We’re here.”

“Let’s rest for a bit and then go back to Seoul on the bus or a train.”

I could see the large house they’d rented for accommodation, a pretty wooden building that blended harmoniously with the mountainous surroundings.

I’ve only ever seen it as a burned-down ruin before now… Please stop. But the people in the taxi were getting out, gathering their things, and going inside. I remained outside.

Stop.

Time sped up as if it had been fast-forwarded. Soon, smoke began to pour out of the house. Small sparks flew from inside. Watching from outside, in broad daylight, the fire was barely noticeable.

But even small fires could kill people, especially in buildings that had no permit and consisted mainly of flammable building materials. The fire caused a toxic gas to be released that would poison everyone in their sleep.

A siren went off, already too late, rattling my brain.

***

It was over. I gasped. I shoved my entire fist into my mouth, but I couldn’t stop myself from gasping for air. I tried shoving my face against the sheets, and finally, the sounds I was making were muffled

What the hell? What was this? What on earth had I just seen?

Why the f*ck did I have to see that? There was something wrong with my brain. I couldn’t think properly. I needed to calm down, because... because...

The W Live tomorrow. Yes. I had a stream tomorrow. We’d stream ourselves having fun in the hotel so that fans in Korea would be able to watch it in the evening. Would I be able to just stand there in front of the camera? Would I even be able to work at all in my current state?

Why do I have to worry about this sh*t at all?

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

Cameras be damned, why the f*ck did I have to see that? Was my life truly that f*cked?

“Park Moondae, you okay? What’s going on?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“What?”

“F*ck! I said don’t talk to me!”

The words were muffled because of the sheets, and not even I could make them out. But the person talking to me seemed to understand what I wanted and fell silent.

Good. I need to think... I need to get my head on...

[Alert!]

Status Abnormality: “Grow Your Audience or Die!”

“Seriously? God f*cking damn it!” I slammed my head against the bedside table.

“Hey!”

“Park Moondae!”

There were more voices now. The bed seemed to fall away from beneath me, and a few hands grabbed me by the shoulders.

“Do you need to go to the hospital? Are you ill?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the matter? Is there a problem? You should tell us. We won’t tell the agency.”

I was drained. I couldn’t explain any of it.

God, I wish they’d just shut up and leave. That was the only way they could help me, but it would be absurd to say that out loud.

“M-Moondae, here.”

Someone shoved a cup into my grip. In my other hand, something small dropped onto my palm... Pills. I tossed them in my mouth and gulped down the water. I thought I might throw up, but managed to swallow somehow. My surroundings grew quiet, as did my tantrum.

“A sedative?” I asked.

“I-it’s a painkiller and a sleeping pill...”

Right. You can’t buy sedatives without a prescription. Putting something in my mouth forced me back to reality. Talking with someone I knew also seemed to help me escape the chaos in my head.

I need to stay calm. I coughed a few times, then looked up at the others.

“I... I had a nightmare. Sorry about the tantrum.”

“I-it’s okay!”

“Are you feeling a little better?”

But the moment I spotted Ryu Chungwoo among the anxious members, I felt the powerful urge to slam that bastard’s face against the table.

I can’t do this. I wasn’t anywhere near getting over my horrible vision, that much was certain. I returned to my bed.

“Again, I’m sorry... I’ve taken some pills, so I’m going back to sleep.” My plan was met with protest.

“No. You need to see a doctor.”

“What?”

It was Bae Sejin, his tone anxious. “I’ll call a manager over. Go get a prescription for sedatives. There’s no reason not to, is there?”

There was no denying his logic. I got out of bed.

After a confused manager rushed over, I was taken to an American ER, then to a pharmacy for sedatives. My excuse was insomnia, and the pills were pretty effective. I had no problem sleeping after that day.

I handled all the other schedules ahead of us, with the exception of the W Live that followed the incident. I sat that one out, citing health reasons. Doing our promotional activities didn’t leave much room for thought.

After all was said and done, I was left with two problems. One was that I now utterly despised the idea of looking at the status window. I had a lengthy grace period for that, so I didn’t have to do anything about it right away. The other issue was the much more troubling one—I couldn’t stand being around Ryu Chungwoo.

A simple hello was okay, but any further conversation nearly drove me up the wall, haunted with recollections of that godawful vision I’d had. As it happened, however, my roommate for our next day of filming was Chungwoo.

This is really getting to me. I would have to choose between potentially sparking rumors of dissension or my mental health.