Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Regardless of how I saw him—as either a top-tier idol and competitor with more experience or just a lunatic who was obsessed with resetting the timeline—he was definitely not the sort of person I wanted to talk to on the first day of my vacation.

Maybe I’ll just ignore him. The temptation was strong. However, the fact that this wasn’t just a text, which was usually how he communicated, bothered me.

He’d normally have texted. Why did he call? If this was an emergency, it might end up meaning trouble for me if I didn’t take the call. For instance, it could have something to do with the composer.

F*ck, just let me rest. With a sigh, I took the call.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Moondae. I’m sorry to bother you during your vacation.”

This bastard called me after he saw my profile?

“Oh, no problem.”

“Then you must be at your dorm.”

My gut told me that I would be faced with a very irritating situation if I told him that I was. I decided to say something different.

“I was just about to leave since I’m going to go rest in the countryside.”

“I see. Do you have a little time right now, then?”

“Huh?”

I wondered what nonsense he was cooking up this time, but my question was soon answered when he explained, “Oh, I’m in the middle of filming, you see. Uh... the show is Instant Roadmap, with KBC. I’m supposed to call a close associate to get a hint for my next destination.”

Instant Roadmap was a show where guests would draw from a random viewer-populated list of destinations and travel throughout the country for half a day. In a word, it was a randomized travel show. It was also a show that had been popular for a long time, so much so that VTIC had chosen to appear on it before their comeback.

I heard it can involve someone close participating. Is this it? I seemed to be the most popular person on his list of acquaintances who was free at the moment, but I had no intention of working on the first day of my holiday. And especially not with him.

He was probably being filmed as we spoke, so I couldn’t show how much I disliked the idea. I firmly refused him.

“Uh... I’m very grateful for the offer, but I need to leave soon… I have very little time. I’m sorry,” I said, making sure to sound moderately disappointed.

He seemed troubled by my response. “You were nearby, so I thought I’d ask you… Are you sure you don’t have a brief moment to spare? All you have to do is draw a destination. Though it can’t be helped if it’s too much trouble.”

It’s far too much trouble, you bastard. But if I refused now, and the editors didn’t do their job properly, I only stood to lose out. There were bound to be people who would claim that I thought I was too good for a popular idol who was my senior, even though I was on vacation and resting in my dorm. The fact that he was being so polite probably meant that he was thinking the same thing.

You’ve just crossed a line. I would get back at him for this no matter what.

“Of course not. I’ll do my best to make time. It’s you asking, after all.”

“Really? Thank you. I can’t overstate how grateful I am. I’ll treat you to a nice meal later.”

I’d hoped to make it look like he was bossing a younger idol around, but he wasn’t falling for it. Bastard.

“Are you coming right now?”

“Yes. I think... I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Sounds good.”

“See you soon.”

I heard his laughter through the phone. Then the call ended.

What a pain in the ass. Repressing a sigh, I put on a face mask and a hoodie before leaving the building.

Maybe I should have gone with one of the members. It would have been better to join Bae Sejin in looking around at Seoul apartments for sale.

At least then I could have gotten an idea for the current market. Now, I was left with nothing but frustration.

The complex was quiet since most people had already left for work for the morning. I found a black sedan waiting at the gate. Someone waved a hand through the window, apparently having spotted me.

Is that the one? I approached, and the passenger side door opened.

Cheongryeo was visible, sitting behind the wheel.

“Hello, Moondae.”

“Hello.”

“You came down so quickly. I’m so grateful. Why don’t we… say hello to the camera here first?”

Apparently, no staff intervention was required since Cheongryeo was alone in the car. Cameras had been installed at various angles, mostly focusing on the driver’s seat. Cheongryeo was pointing at the camera that pointed at the passenger seat.

I leaned into the seat and said, “Hello, I’m Park Moondae from TeSTAR… Uh, Cheongryeo, you said there would be a draw?”

“The director will tell us more while we drive. We’ll drive around this area for a little while. Can you pick up for me when he calls?”

Things were only growing to be more of a pain in the ass, but I couldn’t complain. There were cameras pointing at me, and I’d already come down to see him.

“All right. Of course.” I would get in the car for now.

Cheongryeo began to talk as soon as the door closed. “Don’t forget your seatbelt.”

“Of course.”

You really think I’d forget it, you bastard? I was about to reach for the seat belt when I remembered the phone in my pocket.

Wait, shouldn’t I tell the agency about this? I’d forgotten since he’d contacted me on the first day of my vacation, but it was probably best to report this, even if it was a brief cameo appearance.

I’ll have to call them as soon as I get out of the car. With the cameras running, it was best not to touch my phone. That was when an odd feeling hit me.

The cameras… I glanced at the one pointed at me.

It’s not on. Most cameras blinked red when they were running, but this one wasn’t blinking. In fact, none of them were.

Is it because we’re filming in a car? Wondering if it was an error or something, I reached for it. Then something came at my face and was pressed firmly against it.

“There.”

A white cloth covered my eyes, nose, and mouth. I couldn’t breathe, the alcoholic stench coming from it immediately causing my head to pound.

“Mmf!”

My hands flew to my face, trying to pry it away from my mouth, but I was fading fast.

F*ck… I tried to bite my tongue, hoping the pain would keep me awake, but it was too late. I passed out.

***

I gasped the second I woke.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

I had an excruciating headache. I immediately tried to press my fingers against my temples, feeling as though my brain was rattling around loose inside my skull, but as I moved one hand, the other was dragged along. There was a pair of silver handcuffs binding my wrists.

Handcuffs? Despite the terrible pain in my head distracting me, I realized that something was very, very wrong.

“Have some of this,” the voice said, pushing a silicon cup to my lips.

F*ck. It’s Cheongryeo.

“What the hell is this?” I asked.

“Uh, first, have some water.”

“Would you feel like drinking water in my shoes, you son of a b*tch?”

I would have reacted more calmly if my head had been clear, but the fact that I could already guess what was going on made me even more angry. Putting both hands on my head as best I could, I tried to piece through the situation. He’d had me get in the car, saying it was for a TV show, and then some kind of fabric had been pressed against my face.

Was it an anesthetic? In that case, the entire story about a show was a lie. The cameras had been duds, too.

F*ck! I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for something like this. Not that this entire situation made any sense—we weren’t in a crime movie. I took a deep breath and looked up, finally able to take in my surroundings.

This isn’t an apartment. Based on the state of the floors and the ceiling, this was probably an old house. Which probably meant we were probably at some secluded location.

I could start screaming, but no doubt he’s taken that into account, too. Nobody would even notice what was going on until it was too late if he decided to kill me here.

Are you f*cking serious? Why was he doing this all of a sudden? I swallowed thickly and tried to think as calmly as possible. First, I’d ask him what was going on.

“Why’d you knock me out and bring me here? Where are we?”

“I have a suggestion I’d like to make. I didn’t think you’d like it, so I made sure we had plenty of time on our hands.” Cheongryeo shrugged and put the water down on a nearby table.

I realized then that my feet were tied as well. He’s thorough, this asshole.

“What suggestion?” I asked.

“Uh… You might be tired of hearing it, but I thought we could start over.”

I knew this was the only reason this lunatic would give me, but the timing was so random. “I thought I told you I was happy with how things are. You said you’d try to make do as well.”

“Oh. About that.” He looked down at me, perfectly calm. “There’s a bit of a problem.”

“What?”

“One of my members is about to be charged with a crime. It’s a nasty one. I don’t think I can cover for him. He’ll be removed from the group, of course… but the scandal of it all will make it impossible for us to have our comeback on schedule.”

Goddamn it. I felt despair wash over me, as I swallowed nervously again.

“Still… there will be no problem for the rest of the group if we can remove that person, right?”

“I’m sorry? Haha. Moondae, don’t act like you don’t understand.” Cheongryeo smiled. “VTIC isn’t a ten-person group. A member dropping out is a big deal. Our reputation will suffer because of this, and that means it’s all but certain this is the beginning of the end for us.”

He pulled a chair up and sat opposite me. “The agency is already talking about shifting focus to a new group, so wouldn’t you agree with my assessment?”

I couldn’t let him continue down this road. I needed to divert it somehow. “In the future I know of, VTIC wasn’t ever involved in any scandal like that. I have no doubt it won’t be a big deal—”

“I thought you were too busy studying to keep up with the news?”

“VTIC is such a big group, and I’m sure I’d have heard about it if something so huge—”

“Haha. You’re trying too hard.”

He obviously wasn’t going to listen. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he started bashing my head in at any moment.

A weapon. Is there a weapon? I looked around, looking for anything with the potential to be a weapon within reach.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m wondering where we are.”

“Oh, we have plenty of time for you to make your decision”

What the hell was this, now?

“Though it depends on what you choose to do, of course… Hmm, I guess I should tell you what I’m thinking.” He smiled at me and said, “Why don’t you consider killing yourself?”

A chill traveled down my spine. He’s a f*cking lunatic.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“I thought you might say that. I knew you’d find the idea repulsive the way things stand.”

He nodded casually. “Killing yourself doesn’t exactly sound pleasant, does it? But I’d like to avoid doing the deed myself, if I can.” He didn’t offer any explanation or justification by saying something like It would be a crime.

“I can’t be sure that you’ll travel back in time if you’re murdered, and I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

I stared at him.

“You feel the same way, don’t you? It would be a disaster if it turns out you can’t go back to the beginning.”

“I already told you that I don’t think I’ll return if I die—”

“You will.” Cheongryeo locked eyes with me. “You will, whether you want it or not. So don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Oh, and there’s one other thing I wanted to tell you. You shouldn’t just believe people when they call you up, like I did today. If I was going to invite you to the show, I’d have told you in advance. Keep that in mind. Someone might try to pull a fast one on you one day.”

Cheongryeo rose from his chair. “Let’s take our time building a plan together so we know what will be best for you when we start over. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, either.”

I said nothing.

“Rest up for now. You’re on vacation after all” He hummed a wordless tune as he opened the door to the room and left. He closed the door politely behind him, leaving me alone.

I let my breath go at last, cold sweat trickling down my spine. My wrists were sweaty, too, under the cuffs.

At least he didn’t kill me right away. Who knew when he would change his mind though and decide to just do away with me? What a sh*tty situation.

I couldn’t believe I’d let him fool me. Has my f*cking brain gone on vacation, too?

I banged my hands against the floor in a rage, cuffs and all. It made a dent in the floor, but the cuffs remained undamaged. It didn’t matter.

I’m getting the f*ck out of here… Alive. No matter what it takes. You bastard, I’m going to make sure you regret not having bashed my skull in with a sledgehammer when you had the chance.