Whether I saw Cheongryeo as a top-tier industry rival and sunbae or as a lunatic suffering from Reset Syndrome, he was absolutely not the kind of person I wanted contacting me on the first day of my vacation.
Should I ignore it?
The temptation was intense.
…But unlike usual, the fact that it was a call rather than a text bothered me.
Normally he would’ve texted, but he’s calling.
If this was some kind of emergency, not answering could end up being even more troublesome. Something involving the composer, for example.
Fuck, let me rest.
In the end, I sighed and answered the call.
“Hello.”
-Ah, hoobae. Sorry, but you’re on vacation right now, aren’t you?
This bastard had even seen my status message and still called.
“…Yes. We were given vacation time.”
-Then you must be at the dorm.
I had an instinct that if I said yes, I was going to end up facing an extremely irritating situation.
So I changed my answer.
“I was just about to go out. I was thinking of heading out of Seoul to rest somewhere.”
-I see. Then do you have a little time right now?
“What?”
Just when I wondered what kind of nonsense that was, an explanation followed immediately.
-Ah, I’m filming right now.
“…!”
-Um… it’s KBC’s <Instant Roadmap>. The keyword for recommending a location came up as ‘a close hoobae.’
<Instant Roadmap>.
It was a program where, through lots filled with viewer requests, the cast randomly traveled around different parts of the country for half a day.
In other words, a luck-based travel show.
And it was consistently popular enough for VTIC to choose it ahead of their comeback.
I heard one of the segments has them spontaneously get an acquaintance involved. Is that this?
Of all the people who seemed like they might be free, I was probably the one with the best name recognition.
But I had no intention of working on the first day of my vacation.
Especially not with this bastard.
Of course, with the cameras supposedly rolling, I couldn’t openly sound unwilling, so I phrased it gently.
“Um… I’m really grateful, sunbaenim, but I’m genuinely about to leave…… I barely have any time. What should I do?”
When I spoke in a suitably regretful tone, a troubled voice came back through the phone.
-Moondae-ssi happens to be right nearby, so I tried calling… Couldn’t you spare even a moment? You only have to draw one lot.
“…….”
-If it makes you too uncomfortable, it can’t be helped.
I’m fucking uncomfortable, you bastard.
But if I refused here and the footage wasn’t edited properly, I would be the only one who lost out.
There would definitely be people who tried to frame it as me being on vacation and sitting at the dorm yet still being unable to spare even that tiny amount of time, leaving a major sunbae hanging.
And this bastard was obviously taking such a humble stance because he knew that too.
You’re crossing the line.
I was definitely paying him back for this.
“Of course not. Since you’re asking, sunbaenim, I’ll make time somehow.”
-Really? I’m sorry, and thank you. I’ll buy you something good later.
I’d tried nudging things toward the image of him abusing his seniority against a troubled hoobae, but he didn’t take the bait.
Damn bastard.
“Are you coming here now?”
-Yes. I think so. Hmm… We should arrive in about five minutes.
“Understood.”
-See you in a bit.
I heard Cheongryeo laugh through the phone before the call ended.
What a pain.
Suppressing a sigh, I put on a mask and hoodie before heading outside.
Maybe I should’ve gone with one of the others when they invited me.
It might genuinely have been better to follow Bae Sejin around looking at listings for branded apartments in Seoul.
At least I’d get real-estate prices out of that.
This gave me nothing but irritation.
It was morning, just past the commuting rush, so the apartment complex was quiet.
At the main entrance, I spotted a black sedan already waiting.
Apparently whoever was inside had seen me, because a hand waved lightly from the window.
That one?
As I approached, the passenger door opened immediately.
“…!”
Across from me, I saw Cheongryeo holding the steering wheel.
“Hello, Moondae-ssi.”
“Hello, sunbaenim.”
“You came down quickly. Thank you very much. First… should we greet the camera over here?”
Apparently this was a section before the staff joined them, because Cheongryeo was alone in the car.
And there were cameras positioned at all sorts of angles around the driver’s seat.
Cheongryeo pointed to the one mounted in front of the passenger seat.
I leaned partway into the passenger seat and greeted it.
“Hello. I’m Park Moondae of TeSTAR……. Sunbaenim, what about the drawing?”
“They said the PD will explain while we’re moving. We’re just going to take a quick loop around this area, so could you answer when they contact us?”
This was getting even more annoying.
But after coming this far, I couldn’t argue about it in front of the camera.
“Yes. Of course.”
For now, I climbed into the passenger seat.
The moment the door shut, Cheongryeo filled the silence.
“Don’t forget your seat belt.”
“Yes.”
Like I’d somehow neglect to put it on without being told, bastard.
I turned to fasten the belt, then suddenly became conscious of the smartphone in my pocket.
Come to think of it, shouldn’t I contact the company?
Since I’d been dragged out suddenly on the first day of vacation, the thought hadn’t occurred to me until now.
But even if I was only making a brief cameo, it would be better for both sides if I reported it.
I should do it as soon as I get out.
Since we were filming, it would be better not to touch my phone unless necessary.
That was when it happened.
……?
I felt a strange sense of incongruity.
…We were filming.
I looked at the camera again.
The light isn’t on.
Normally, an on-air indicator showed as a red light, but this camera had nothing.
No, not just this one.
The others were the same.
…Is it because of the filming setup?
Still, in case there was an error and the cameras were actually off, I reached toward one of them.
At that moment.
Whoosh.
Something suddenly flew at my face and clamped down over it.
“…!”
“Got it.”
Something like a white cloth covered my eyes, nose, and mouth.
My breathing was abruptly blocked, and a strange volatile smell stabbed straight into my brain.
“Mmph—”
Thoughts be damned, I immediately raised both hands to tear the cloth away, but my consciousness clouded almost instantly.
Fuck….
I tried to bite my tongue, but I was too late.
Everything went black.
“…Gasp!”
“Ah, you’re awake?”
My head hurt like fucking hell.
I reflexively tried to clutch it as pain shook my brain, but both my hands came up together.
Clink.
Silver…
Handcuffs.
…Handcuffs?
Even while my skull felt like it was splitting apart, the sense that something was seriously wrong hit me hard.
“Drink some.”
A silicone cup suddenly appeared in front of me.
The person holding it was…
Fuck.
Cheongryeo.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Hmm, drink some water first….”
“Would water go down your throat if you were me right now, you fucking bastard?”
“…….”
If my head had been clearer, I might have responded more calmly.
But I had a rough idea of what had happened, which only pissed me off more.
I pressed both hands against my head as best I could and tried to analyze the situation.
This bastard had told me it was for a broadcast and gotten me into the car, and then some kind of cloth—
Anesthetic?
Then obviously, the broadcast had just been bait to lure me out.
Naturally the cameras hadn’t been on either.
Fuck…!
I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for something like this.
Though honestly, this entire situation was absurd to begin with.
What was this, some crime movie?
I took a deep breath and raised my head again.
At last, I could properly see my surroundings.
…Not an apartment.
Judging by the ceiling and floor, it looked like an old house.
Meaning the chances were high that we were somewhere isolated.
Screaming first won’t help. There’s no way this bastard didn’t account for that.
In other words, it looked like the kind of place where someone could kill a person without being disturbed immediately.
This is insane.
Why the hell was this happening all of a sudden?
I swallowed dryly and forced myself to think as calmly as possible.
Questions first.
“…Why did you knock me unconscious and drag me here? And where are we?”
“I have something to propose. You didn’t seem likely to be enthusiastic about it, so I thought I’d prepare for the long term.”
Cheongryeo shrugged and placed the cup somewhere within my reach.
That was when I realized my legs had also been restrained enough to keep me under control.
Thorough as fuck.
“What proposal?”
“Hmm… it may sound a little cliché. Starting over again.”
I had figured that if this lunatic ever had a reason to bring something up, it would be this sort of thing.
But the timing came completely out of nowhere.
“I believe I told you I’m satisfied with my current situation. And didn’t you say you’d try adapting too, sunbaenim?”
“Ah, that.”
Cheongryeo stared down at me without the slightest movement.
“A problem came up.”
“…What?”
“One of the members is going to be indicted in a criminal case.”
“…!!”
“He got tangled up in something ugly. I don’t think it can be cleaned up. Removing him from the group is obviously a given, but… considering the fallout, I don’t think the comeback can proceed as planned.”
Fuck.
My vision seemed to darken.
I swallowed.
“……Even so, if that person alone leaves, wouldn’t the rest of the group be fine?”
“What? Haha. Hoobae. Why are you pretending you don’t know?”
Cheongryeo smiled.
“VTIC isn’t some ten-member mega-group. If one person leaves, the impact is huge. There’ll be image problems too, so this is almost certainly going to be the starting signal for our decline.”
Cheongryeo dragged over a chair and sat across from me.
“The company has already started bringing up the next group. Hmm. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to say it’s over?”
This won’t work.
I need to redirect him.
“…In the future I came from, I never heard any major news involving VTIC. It probably doesn’t become a major incident and just blows over—”
“You said you were a civil-service exam candidate and didn’t know much.”
“VTIC is such a huge group that if it were an incident on that scale, I definitely would’ve seen it on the news or somewhere—”
“Haha. Don’t try so hard.”
“…….”
He wasn’t in a state where he would listen to anything.
It wouldn’t have been strange if he suddenly smashed my skull in right now—
A weapon.
I immediately scanned the area within his reach.
I was checking for anything that could be used as a weapon.
“What are you doing?”
“…I was wondering where we are.”
“Ah, we have plenty of time, so I think you can wonder about that slowly.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Of course, it depends on your choice, hoobae… Hmm, I should get back to my proposal.”
Cheongryeo smiled as he asked,
“Would you like to kill yourself?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Fucking lunatic.
“Are you insane?”
“I knew you’d say that. This is around the point where you’d feel resistant.”
He nodded casually.
“I suppose directly killing yourself does feel unpleasant, right? But I’d prefer to avoid killing you myself too, if possible.”
No ordinary reason like because it feels wrong came out of his mouth.
“I don’t know whether you’ll go back if you’re murdered…. I don’t want to introduce unnecessary variables.”
“…….”
“You feel the same way, don’t you? We should avoid the horrible possibility that for the first time, you can’t return.”
“I’ve already explained more than enough that I don’t think I’ll return when I die—”
“You will.”
Cheongryeo met my eyes.
“Even if you don’t want to go back, you’ll go back, so don’t worry.”
“…….”
“Ah, and there was something I meant to tell you… Hoobae, you shouldn’t trust casting offers like the one from earlier. Naturally, when a show calls an acquaintance, they discuss it in advance before filming. Remember that, in case you ever get tricked by a scam or an empty promise next time.”
Cheongryeo stood from the chair.
“Then let’s slowly make plans together for what direction would be better for you when we start over. If there’s anything you’re curious about, ask whatever you like.”
“…….”
“Get some rest. You said you were on vacation.”
Cheongryeo hummed softly as he opened the door and walked out.
Click.
The door closed again with a small, polite sound.
“…Haa.”
Cold sweat ran down my spine where tension had gathered.
Sweat had pooled beneath the cuffs around my wrists too.
At least I avoided becoming a corpse immediately.
But I had no idea when that bastard’s mind might twist further and decide, Actually, killing him would be easier.
What the fuck was this situation?
I got caught here?
Did my brain melt because I was on vacation? Fuck.
Overcome with boiling rage, I slammed my cuffed hands against the floor.
The floor chipped.
The handcuffs were perfectly fine.
Didn’t matter.
I’m getting the fuck out of here alive somehow.
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I’ll make you regret not smashing my head in with a sledgehammer while I was unconscious, you son of a bitch.