NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 16
Chapter 16. The Most Effective Way to Remove a Bomb (1)
“Yes, hyung. I’m sorry. I was startled by the cat and came out without telling you. Yes. Yes, I’ll take care of Taehyun and bring him back safely. Yes.”
The animal hospital was closer than I expected. While Seo Taehyun held the cat tightly and received treatment, I called the manager of the Rookie Development Team, who was probably bewildered by the disappearance of the two of us.
No matter how rampant unauthorized absences were in the industry, I had no intention of becoming such an irresponsible trainee.
‘Seriously, why did he come along?’
If I had been alone, I would have told Ji Suho and figured out how to cover it up, but with him here, there was no other choice. I naturally assumed he would just call a taxi and leave, but he smoothly got in with me.
– “…? Aren’t you going to practice?”
– “How am I supposed to pay the hospital bill?”
– “Aha.”
– “Let’s go together.”
His face looked like a cat pleading to be taken along, so I just brought him with me. Besides, I didn’t have a card to pay the hospital bill.
“……”
“The manager hyung said to come back safely.”
“…Okay.”
On the way, Seo Taehyun and I officially introduced ourselves. We were only a year apart, and using honorifics felt awkward, so we naturally ended up speaking informally. (I didn’t intend this)
Seo Taehyun, who was nicknamed ‘Bright Smile,’ was staring at the cat sleeping in the animal hospital cage with a blank expression, like a grey shadow. I recalled the conversation he had with the director earlier.
– “As long as I’m at Miro, you’ll never debut. You know that, right?”
– “…”
– “Why did you do something unnecessary? If you had just listened to me, you wouldn’t be struggling.”
– “…I’ll be going now.”
– “Cha Minseok found his way smartly, but you’re just stupid.”
I had a hunch that I should open this Pandora’s box, but my lips hesitated to part. I sat next to Seo Taehyun and turned my gaze to the cat.
“How’s the cat?”
“Oh, they contacted the owner. It seems the cat had a microchip. It wasn’t a stray.”
“That’s a relief. …Shall we go then? Hyung told us to come back as soon as possible.”
“…Oh.”
At the mention of going back, a shadow fell over his face. Seeing him like this felt unfamiliar since he was always smiling on TV.
“You seem off since earlier. Don’t you want to go?”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t want to, just say you’re not feeling well and leave early. I already told the manager hyung that we got drenched in the rain.”
This was pure nosiness. Impulsive nosiness.
“Still… What if I miss practice?”
“Did you follow me because you wanted to miss practice?”
“……”
“Nothing in the world is impossible. People just don’t do it because they’re anxious.”
What’s your relationship with the director? What did you do to make him dislike you so much? If the director feels that way, isn’t all your hard work useless?
I crumpled those unpleasant thoughts and wasn’t ready to open Pandora’s box yet. The least I could do was offer a small consolation.
“Or we could wait until the owner arrives.”
[System Alarm: Remaining Time: 00:05:16…. (Completion Rate 93.7%)]
Anyway, the time had already passed while we were on the way here, so there was no urgent need to return to the company. I couldn’t suddenly start helping someone in an animal hospital I visited for the first time. I just planned to be content with saving one cute creature.
“…Thank you.”
[System Alarm: Forty-fifth help achieved! (Completion Rate 99.8%)]
Remaining Time: 00:04:58….
Is this really happening?
Along with Seo Taehyun’s very faint voice, the system window updated with a small ‘ping’ sound.
What is this? They gave me this much? Did he really hate going back to the company that much? I received the highest reward with a whopping 6% accumulated and instinctively looked at Seo Taehyun, the cause of this result.
“…He’s already asleep.”
Seo Taehyun had fallen asleep. He pressed down his rain-soaked hat and sat awkwardly on the animal hospital chair with his head tilted uncomfortably.
I suddenly recalled his previous life that I remembered.
[Chat] What’s Seo Taehyun from Boy’s World doing these days?
Isn’t he supposed to debut as an idol somewhere? I thought he’d be the most successful among Boy’s World outputs, but he disappeared after some solo activities.
* * *
– He debuted as a solo artist last year, but the response wasn’t great.
└ The song was good, though. I still listen to it.
└ Wow, long time no see. I was the one crazy about Cherry Boy for a while.
– It seems his life isn’t going well; honestly, his talent is top-notch among current idols.
└ That’s a bit much; suddenly dissing everyone.
└ What diss? LOL, it’s a fact.
Boy’s World Seo Taehyun. Cherry Boy Seo Taehyun. In the end, Seo Taehyun, who shone for a moment and then faded away. If someone wanted to change their life even after hundreds of regressions, it would be someone like him, with a life like Seo Taehyun’s.
‘Will you be one of the successful debut cases?’
Something small within the fixed events.
It was the only rule I found after going through five regressions. Within the fixed events that must happen, people often changed small things easily due to their own will.
So, would Seo Taehyun’s ‘fixed’ event be wandering around various debut groups or ultimately disappearing from the entertainment industry?
I watched the rain pour down heavily. It was an unknown end to the day.
* * *
[System Alarm: Surprise Quest!]
Content: Bonus time for the exhausted you☆ Explore your surroundings and offer as much help as possible!
Success Rewards:
[Final 99.8% Achievement!]
[Success Reward: Heartwarming story post-debut (Top)]
[Success Reward: Offset unexpected event (Seo Taehyun’s departure)]
[Success Reward: Unexpected luck (Cat’s gratitude)]
Success rewards will be given out.
* * *
Weekends were meant to be spent in bed at home, but unfortunately, I was back on the swing in the playground.
‘Darn Kang Hawon.’
Thinking of my pesky younger brother who kicked me out mercilessly because he had a lot of homework, I stomped on the sand. The gritty sand infiltrated my slippers, making only my feet dirty.
‘I should wear sneakers next time. Seriously.’
It was a bit unfortunate that there was no option not to come, but what could I do? Escaping the semi-basement and moving into a warm, cozy apartment with my own room was still a bit of a distant future story.
“Hmm, what should I do first?”
I activated the
Soon, a notification window without any text appeared in the air. Grabbing the edge, I resized it, causing the system to protest.
[System Alarm: The system is…, not a tablet PC…!]
So what. If I use it that way, that’s it.
Since it wasn’t originally implemented but was created for some reason, it seemed to have various loopholes, but anyway, I was using it well, so I had no complaints.
“Alright, let’s start with organizing the information.”
Without a pen, I scribbled down the information I had gathered so far with my finger. When I found it too bothersome to write, it automatically typed what I thought.
‘…This is better than expected.’
Seeing the well-organized notes gave me a sense of satisfaction, feeling like I got a tablet PC for free, something I didn’t have even in the first life.
“So, what should I do first?”
Although I had a rough plan in my head, I needed someone who could verify if it was feasible and accurately identify information that neither Joo Eunchan nor Dan Haru knew.
And fortunately, I had a ‘companion’ who was very suitable for that.
“System window.”
[System Alarm: The system responds.]
“View companion ‘Ji Suho’.”
[Ji Suho (Awakened One)]
Epithets: ‘Of burning passion’, ‘The darkest shadow’
Trait: Star Maker☆
– He ‘destinyfully’ recognizes the potential to become a star. (Accuracy rate 77%)
– Depending on the potential to become a star, different colored auras appear.
Special: Due to contact with the Chosen Regressor, he is influenced by the ‘past timelines’ (Deja vu)
[You can check the current status and location of the recruited companion, and if necessary, call them (10 cash required).]
It seemed that various additional systems had been added after creating the cash system. I’ll make good use of them.
By the way, how does the call function work?
Out of curiosity, I paid 10 cash and pressed the call button.
“…Nothing’s happening?”
The system window showed that it was calling Ji Suho a few times, like a call connection screen, and then it disappeared.
What? Did it just eat my 10 cash?
Buzz—.
“……?”
Just when I was thinking about how to make it spit out my cash if it was really a scam, Ji Suho suddenly called.
But something…
felt ominous.
“Hello?”
– “Was it Kang Hajin just now?”
“What do you mean?”
– “I suddenly had a very strong thought that I should contact Kang Hajin right away.”
Unbelievable.
“…It’s just your imagination. I don’t have telepathy powers.”
– “But it somehow feels possible with you.”
“No, it’s not.”
So that’s what the call function was. I desperately maintained my composure and spoke about the main topic.
– “Well, I guess I should hang up then….”
“No, I have something to talk about, so let’s meet.”
– “Something to talk about? Sure, I’ll come to your neighborhood then.”
Is it about finding that person? Ji Suho asked in a serious voice, and I gave him an appropriate answer today as well.
“No. I’m planning the Ji Suho promotion project.”
– “What?”
“Let’s make you the director, Ji Suho.”
It seemed like I was going to kick out the current director soon anyway.
* * *
Seo Taehyun had never missed weekend practice since joining Miro. Today was no different.
– “Still…. What if I miss practice.”
– “Did you follow me because you wanted to miss practice?”
– “……”
– “Nothing in the world is impossible. People just don’t do it because they’re anxious.”
Taehyun shook his sweat-drenched hair and turned off the audio player irritably. He could feel in his body that there was no efficiency in practice because he couldn’t focus.
“What can I do about being anxious.”
Taehyun had always been anxious. Even during Boy’s World, after being eliminated from Boy’s World, and even more after joining Miro and falling out with the director.
The one and only dream he had been clinging to for a long time. Having already tasted its splendor, Taehyun could never give up that sweetness.
“…Ah, that hyung said something unnecessary.”
Taehyun, who had been lost in thought for a while, finally got up with a sense of frustration. No matter how he thought about it, practice was impossible today. It was all because of that Kang Hajin hyung. Taehyun decided to rationalize it that way.
As he came out of the shower, the phone rang as if waiting. The caller was ♡DanGae♡. It was saved by Dan Haru himself. Taehyun smiled and answered the call.
“Yes, Haru.”
– “Hyung. Please don’t hang up.”
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden.”
– “I’m going to try to convince you to skip weekend practice and hang out, and it would hurt if you hang up.”
Ha ha, a small laugh burst out. Haru always approached him like this. Brightly, cheerfully.
“Want to go eat tteokbokki?”
– “…Who is this? My Taehyun hyung would never eat tteokbokki on the weekend!”
“Fine, if you don’t want to eat.”
– “Hyung, there’s a rule in the universe that you’ll be punished if you eat tteokbokki without Dan Haru.”
Excited by his own words, Haru shared the meeting place and time in his characteristic clear voice before hanging up. Taehyun changed into comfortable Converse sneakers. Without realizing it, he was humming a song.
The staff found it quite strange to see Taehyun in comfortable Converse sneakers instead of practice shoes. As he adjusted his bag and headed out, the sky looked especially clear and blue today.
“Seo Taehyun?”
“Oh. Sungwoo hyung.”
“Are you done practicing today? That’s unusual.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m meeting Haru.”
Sungwoo greeted him warmly when they met in the hallway. Taehyun, who wasn’t comfortable or close with him, gave a proper greeting and tried to pass by, but Sungwoo stopped him as if he suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right. Minseok is debuting in the second half of the year. It’s confirmed. Did you hear?”
“…Really? That’s great.”
“What? He didn’t tell you? Wow, that guy’s really too much.”
“We haven’t been in touch since he moved companies.”
“Hey, he should have told you at least. In a way, he’s debuting thanks to you.”
And always,
“Cha Minseok took your spot and went to Renes.”
“…What?”
“Renes wanted you originally, but he sold you out and went there. You didn’t know?”
Bad news always came at times like this.