Chapter 251

Chapter 251

It was a good thing that we had been promised a Chuseok holiday after our time stranded on an island filming a variety show. I already had plans for how I was going to spend my time off.

I’m going to press “Reveal the Truth” then… Even if whatever was revealed left me in a bad way, I would have time to recover over the holidays. The members all going home was also a very fortunate thing.

I’ll be able to sort through my feelings on my own. However, Chungwoo’s sudden suggestion threw a spanner in the works.

You’re saying I, your coworker, should join one of the members for the holidays at their home? Was he trying to put a strain on my relationship with one of the members? Chungwoo, in particular, was like me when I was younger and had the opportunity to see his parents whenever we had time off.

Actually, forget it. I didn’t need to go down that train of thought. It was pointless.

I began walking along the mountain path, only to turn to him and ask openly, “Don’t you think it would be inconvenient if I were to join you during your holiday?”

“Not, it’s fine,” Chungwoo replied easily. “It’ll be no different from usual. I’ve already asked that we don’t meet up with any of our relatives this time. The most we’ll do is cook some holiday food, I think.”

He smiled bitterly, obviously interpreting my silence in some way of his own.

“To be honest… meeting my relatives is awkward for me.”

“…!”

“It was through them that I was approached by Idol Incorporated,” Chungwoo continued calmly. “Then the article came out about my family ties… And since then, even my parents have refused to go see our relatives during the holidays.”

I recalled that a writer on the show had called in their relative, namely Chungwoo, when they were desperate to recruit more people. Apparently, his parents were keeping their distance from their relatives, just in case being seen with them caught the attention of reporters.

I chose my words carefully. “That’s wise of you.”

“Haha. Is it? In any case, it’ll just be me and my parents at home. I have a sibling, but they’re away traveling with friends. Oh, and I have a dog, too.”

I said nothing.

“Think about it. You probably won’t get to stay at the dorm alone this time.”

“What?”

The wry smile on his face vanished, replaced by a playful expression. “You’re not aware? The other members don’t want to leave you alone during the holidays, since something strange seems to happen to you every time we do.”

With a moment’s reflection, this didn’t come as a surprise to me. I had nothing to say in my defense as I recalled what had happened in the past.

And they found out about all of it in the end, too. In their shoes, I would also want to keep an eye on the member who always seemed to get into trouble or be embroiled in conflict during every vacation. I would try to look for a way around their scrutiny, but there was a chance that might not work out.

In that case… maybe going to Chungwoo’s isn’t such a bad idea. I wasn’t that close to the guy, so I would be able to keep a certain amount of distance after being assigned my own room. It would be weird meeting his parents, but I could probably put up with it.

Also… I took a deep breath.

There’s a chance I’ll get to see my parents’ photos. There were always people who took photos or videos during big family trips and such.

If I get to see a group photo, at the very least… Maybe I could ask some questions and figure out if my parents existed in this timeline, even if Ryu Gunwoo did not.

But that’s nonsense. I shook those thoughts away. Even if there were records of my parents, seeing them now wouldn’t help in any way. It would only shake me up emotionally.

Don’t get caught up in the bullsh*t in your head. I forced my spiraling thoughts away, gritting my teeth. The sound of my teeth meeting was audible, which might not have been a problem if the guy in front of me wasn’t also able to hear it.

“Is the idea of coming home with me that uncomfortable for you?” he asked.

“…!”

“I suppose it might be… It’s not fun spending time with adults you don’t know.”

I don’t think that’s what you mean… I understood what he’d really meant.

He’s asking if I find him uncomfortable. Chungwoo even seemed a little bitter, but his expression soon relaxed.

“Still. Think about it.”

Perhaps it would have been best to just drop the topic here, but I spoke up.

“You don’t make me uncomfortable. And it’s not that I don’t want to come with you.”

“Uh…” Chungwoo stared at me for a few long moments as he walked, then said glibly, “Okay.”

“I’m not lying… I mean it.”

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks.”

I don’t think you get it at all. I kicked at a stray rock on the ground.

“I don’t want you to feel burdened or anything,” I said.

It wasn’t an easy thing to invite a coworker home for the holidays. Under normal circumstances, he would probably have suggested I go home with one of the members I seemed to be better friends with.

He wouldn’t usually have provided all those details about his home. That he had done so told me he felt obligated to be nice, and there could only be one reason for that.

“I didn’t get hurt in that accident in your place. I was just damned unlucky,” I said.

He was being nice because I’d taken a piece of metal to my chest in his place.

Chungwoo was silent for a moment, but eventually said firmly, “That’s not true.”

“It is. Given the location of the seats…”

“Moondae, I’ve got eyes. I saw you push me aside. And then you nearly died. Who knows what physical side effects you’ll have to live with now?” He barreled on without pausing for air, “I had to quit my career because of a car accident, and the accident wasn’t even bad enough that it threatened my life.”

I knew this, because I’d seen it with my own eyes. Mention of his accident immediately reminded me of what I’d been shown in one of my truth visions. When his arm had been ruined, he’d wept bitterly.

Maybe seeing that had an impact on me. This was definitely the case. Repressing the memory, I listened quietly as he got what he needed to say off his chest.

“And you… You’re already suffering because of that incident. You don’t have as much energy as you used to. A short hike like this wouldn’t have left you out of breath in the past. The injury and all the time you spent recovering in bed has had a huge impact.”

That’s not true. It’s because I no longer have the Energy Drink trait. I’m going to draw it again in the future, bud, just you wait. I’d used Nectar and erased any of the other side effects as well. It was a silly claim for him to be making, since I’d recovered at an astonishing speed. Everything would be fine after I worked out and regained some muscle.

Gosh. This conversation is what’s making me sweat.

Chungwoo, however, had no idea I was living out the plot of a web novel and was massaging his forehead. “You basically got hurt in my place. How could I not feel guilty?”

Right… The truth was that Chungwoo had suffered through an accident in the past that had forced him to quit archery, which hadn’t been easy for him. This seemed to make my sacrifice all the more meaningful to him. I sighed. Trying to tell him it had just happened that way wouldn’t work anymore.

After a moment of thought, I said, “Fine. Let’s say I did save your life, all right? You can be grateful if that’s what you want. I’ll ask you for help if I need it, so be sure to give me a hand when I do.”

I would capitalize on his gratitude, since he would probably feel more uncomfortable in the end, should I ask him to forget about it.

“Oh, and about my stamina—I’m going to exercise until I’m back where I was before all this, so don’t worry about it.”

He stopped walking for a moment, apparently shocked. He probably hadn’t expected me to cave to his argument so quickly. In the end, however, he burst out laughing.

“Haha!”

Don’t laugh. I don’t want to get attached to you.

He sounded as though a weight had lifted off him when he replied, “All right. I’ll pay you back.”

“Yeah.”

The heavy gloom hovering over us lifted, and I shrugged.

As we continued down the mountain, I said, “But I’m not going over to your house during the holidays. I’m going to the house that will pay me the least mind.”

“Yeah, you do that. Get some rest,” Chungwoo agreed immediately.

I shrugged again. If I really had to stay at someone else’s house, I would stay at the quietest one.

In contrast to my desire for a quiet holiday, there was a ruckus unleashing itself in the outside world following the airing of our variety show.

***

“This is amazing! You’re the best, TeSTAR!”

“Thank you…”

I’d gotten an excited phone call from the production team, and I completely understood why they were so excited.

The show is doing much better than anyone expected. The ratings for the third episode had been no less than 6.1%.

A cable TV idol variety show nabbing such a huge audience? It’s completely unheard of. That number was as high as CVN’s most popular, long-running variety show. We’d won a product-placement advertisement deal for the frozen chicken we’d eaten on the island after the fact, and the sales for that chicken had increased as well. This just went to show how good the reception was to the show.

We’d managed to not only save the show from tanking but also see it bloom into a huge success. The production team couldn’t have been more pleased.

“We definitely want a second season for this!”

“That sounds great.”

The broadcasting station would no doubt be extremely happy as well. I’d heard that a filler pilot episode for another show was meant to come after us, but it was now potentially being scrapped and replaced with a behind-the-scenes special extra episode of our show.

Though this is all largely thanks to coincidence and luck. Our island trip had been a series of unfortunate events, and the unpredictable nature of it all had probably made things very interesting. That wasn’t something that would be easy to replicate, and I wasn’t sure about the viability of a second season.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to be nice about it. The production team for this show had kept their promise. As soon as we were no longer stranded, they’d used what remained of their budget to give us a truly luxurious holiday. We’d probably eaten at least three snow crabs each. Uh, in Eugene’s case, it was more like five.

“We’d love to be on a second season, if our schedule allows. It was really fun,” I said.

“Oh, you’re so kind! Thank you, Moondae!”

That should do it. I ended my call with the director, who was calling all of the members one by one with great excitement.

“Was that the director?” Bae Sejin asked.

“Yes.”

“He keeps on calling,” he grumbled.

I shrugged. “He’s feeling pretty good about how things turned out. The show is doing so well.”

“That’s true…” Bae Sejin muttered despondently. “Everyone saw us lose our minds…”

Right. We were the butt of the joke. Bae Sejin and I sat in silence in the van, thinking back to all the silly things we’d done and how it had all been exaggerated, playing out in vivid detail in episodes two and three.

Now I’m afraid of what our next round of fansigns will bring…

The silence was broken moments later by a voice coming from the driver’s seat.

“Sejin, this is the place, right?”

“Yes! It’s this apartment complex.”

Bae Sejin quickly pulled himself together after glancing at the navigation app.

I guess having your own apartment with no mortgage goes a long way to improving your mood. I had a feeling this was the reason for his sudden perkiness anyway.

“It’s the top floor!” Bae Sejin said, visibly excited. “My mom said she’d be home.”

“Right.”

I’d decided to spend our holiday at Bae Sejin’s house. I’d heard that he was planning to just stay home and spend time with his mother. I even had a great excuse for choosing him.

“Y-you could think of it as a housewarming!” he’d said.

“Sure, we could do that.”

“…?!”

“Thanks for inviting me.”

And just like that, I accepted his offer.

I’d feel really bad if he didn’t actually think I’d accept his invitation. I’d bought some expensive fruit and meat just in case. If my being here wasn’t working out, I would just stay a couple of days to be polite and then leave. I would be fine either way.

“Welcome! So you must be Moondae!”

“Hello.”

“Come on in!” Bae Sejin’s mother was a gentle-looking and cheerful woman. “I just rewatched your variety show. You kids really had a rough time out there…”

As far as I was aware, Bae Sejin was an only child, and she’d probably found it hard to watch him go through all that while stuck on some remote island.

“But it was still really fun to watch!”

“Uh… right.”

It was great that she’d had fun watching the show, I supposed. In any case, Bae Sejin got along well with his mother, just as I’d guessed he would.

“You look amazing in person, too, Moondae! Sejin’s told me a lot about you ever since his time on that audition show.”

“Wh-when did I do that?” Sejin protested.

“You said there was this guy who was an amazing singer!”

“Ugh!”

Bae Sejin sputtered with embarrassment, and his mom laughed out loud as she hugged him tightly. It was nice to see.

Bae Sejin eventually calmed down after his mother patted him on the back. He got to his feet.

“Let me show you the room you’ll be staying in…” he said.

“Right. Thank you.”

I decided to refrain from making fun of him. As I quietly followed him to the room I would be staying in, I was given the opportunity to look around the house.

“I chose the wallpaper myself. Sky blue.”

“It’s nice and clean.”

He cleared his throat. “It’s not bad. And check out this cabinet!”

“Wow.”

He seemed very proud that he’d been able to pay for the apartment himself, and grew more and more cheerful as time went by.

We ate the fruit I’d brought, and before long, evening had arrived.

“This food looks amazing,” I said.

“It’s not much, but enjoy!”

We had mung bean pancakes and bulgogi japchae. Bae Sejin had pre-ordered food from a famous restaurant, not wanting to make his mom prepare all the food by herself.

This feels like a real holiday. I couldn’t deny that I was having a pretty good time.

“No, I’ll do them—” Bae Sejin said.

“Forget it. Give me the dishes.”

After finishing my bowl, I forced him to hand me the dishes, and I washed them before returning to my room.

“Phew.”

I closed the door, lay down on my bed, and folded my arms. I’d told Sejin I wanted some alone time in my room, since I had some calls to make. This would give me plenty of time to do what I needed to do.

“Status window.”

It was time to click the Reveal the Truth button.