The Maknae Has to Be an Idol
Chapter 220

A system error? I stared at Do-Seung. Then, Do-Seung proceeded to explain by bringing up what happened to him in one of his regressions.

“I think it was around the time when we released our first official album. The content of the mission was to get support from Yoo Won-Dong for the album production. The risk of failing the mission was our album production getting canceled.”

“I see.”

“Since it wasn’t a death flag mission and we could just prepare for the next album if it failed, I didn’t think too much about it. So, I brushed it off and we ended up really not getting support for our production from Yoo Won-Dong.”

“…So, what happened?”

“Naturally, we failed our mission and our official album got canceled. But then suddenly, Yoo Won-Dong had a change of heart and said that he would support our production.”

“…What?”

“Soon afterward, the system gave an error notice, and all sorts of unfavorable happenings befell him. It was then I realized that the system was unable to fully calculate the madness of the human mind.”

I looked at Do-Seung, baffled. Woon did the same, and Dong-Jun asked why the system was so sloppy. In reality, the system was quite thorough, but I thought Do-Seung was right. The system probably couldn’t calculate the capriciousness of the human mind. In the first place, a flawless and perfect system would’ve no reason to make us regress repeatedly for no reason. I was sure that the system was regressing us so that we could do something in its place.

“So, if the failure risks disappear, even the system can’t do anything about it?”

“Yeah. If the method to clear the mission is iffy, it could be better to just resolve the failure risks themselves. Of course, I don’t know what the side-effects of that would be.”

I pondered about this. Rather than block Bleshu’s debut, I thought I stood a better chance in resolving the failure risks of this mission. Perhaps, I could target the company that would do the manipulation sales so that Bleshu couldn’t get first place. That would hurt my conscience a bit less. Yet, what I worried about were the side effects.

“Did you say that unfavorable happenings befell Yoo Won-Dong after he said he would support the album production?”

“Yeah. As soon as he woke up, he messaged me that he would approve the supplies for production, but on that day, he got caught up in a traffic accident on his way to work, stumbled on the stairs, and had a plant pot fall on his head.”

“…Anyone would be able to tell that the system made those things happen.”

“But Yoo Won-Dong still got to work and approved the production?”

“Well, he was able to evade the traffic accident and the plant pot, but he slipped on the stairs and had to be taken to the hospital.”

“But how did he approve the production support?”

“He called me in his emergency room and gave out orders there.”

“…It really is human madness that the system can’t predict.”

Perhaps, the core to tackling the failure risks was drawing out a madness that the system couldn’t predict.

“But are you telling me that Director Yoo Won-Dong was that serious about his job?”

“Well, Director Yoo Won-Dong is quite a unique character. He’s different in every regression. On some regressions, he’s like a puppet boss, and on other regressions, he’s a man burning with passion for his job. Anyways, it’s weird.”

I got a sense of what Do-Seung meant. Even in this universe, Yoo Won-Dong’s character changed often. Perhaps, it was because Yoo Won-Dong developed several personas while working a couple of decades in the corporate world. He could be like a character in a simulation game whose ending changed drastically depending on the user’s choices. Woon nodded in agreement to Do-Seung’s explanation.

“I also felt that the system had some loopholes from time to time while regressing. It’s usually accurate but not flawless. Though I had never targeted failure risks before, I think it’s a good idea.”

Since that was the opinion coming from the two regressors, I thought it was right for me to aim for the system’s loopholes.

‘But it seems like I keep seeking alternatives rather than confronting the system head-on.’ My attitude towards the system was different from before. Rather than an absolute power, I simply thought of the system as a ‘computer’ that arranged the events of this universe.

‘I hope…I can eventually put an end to this mess.’ My goal was to free myself from the system. To do that, I needed to work hard in making deals with the system and uncovering its secrets. Well, there was that.

“Then, wouldn’t it be better to make it so that Bleshu’s company can’t manipulate the sales? Rather than stopping their debut, we could erase the failure risks themselves.”

“Yeah.”

“I think that will be better.”

“I understand. Thank you for all your input.”

I thought we could end their conversation there since I could take care of the rest. It was then Dong-Jun spoke.

“But how will you replace the company that manipulates sales?” It was a very fundamental question.

“…I will need to figure that one out.” I would be reaching if I tried to replace the answer to that at this spot. I thought if I kept searching, I would be able to replace something, but Dong-Jun posed another question.

“But shouldn’t you at least think about how you are going to replace the information to do that?”

“…” Dong-Jun’s question made me think. He was right. The issue with replaceing a company that manipulated sales was in a completely different realm than what I was used to. I thought if I kept struggling, I would be able to replace a method somehow but some things didn’t work like that. I thought I found a way out of this problem by targeting the failure risks, but I was now back to square one.

In the end, my situation was the same as before and I had to replace a clear method to resolve this issue. The mood in the room turned heavier when Dong-Jun proposed, “That’s why I thought you should try seeking Director Yoo Won-Dong’s help for this mission.”

“…Sorry?”

“Besides the mission, regressions, and all that, G&B company is one that plagiarized our songs and is planning to manipulate their sales.”

“…How would I explain that to Yoo Won-Dong?”

“You could think about that gradually, but wouldn’t it be quicker to use Yoo Won-Dong’s connections and reach than to personally replace the sales manipulation company? It’s much more realistic too.”

“Oh.”

“That’s true.”

“You’re right.”

Perhaps, this was the power of collective intelligence. I felt like we were heading towards a more concrete solution. Thus, I thought we could discuss at this spot which way was best for me to explain the situation to Yoo Won-Dong when the door creaked.

Creak.

“What! Why is everyone here! Did everyone eat something without me?”

“Oh.”

“Ah.”

“Haha.”

Yeon-Hoon appeared after finishing his shower. We simultaneously stopped what we were doing and responded.

“Haha…it’s nothing…we didn’t eat anything.”

“You guys are suspicious.”

“We were just conversing.”

“…Hm.”

“You really don’t have to concern yourself about this. Seriously.”

“…Am I…getting outcasted?”

“What?”

“Of course not, Yeon-Hoon.”

“Why would you say something so ridiculous…?”

There was a slight commotion with Yeon-Hoon’s accusation of us bullying him.

“…So, you guys aren’t out casting me?”

“No!”

“There are only five of us. It will be weird to outcast somebody.”

“Don’t worry.”

Like that, everyone forgot about the conversation we were having while busily comforting Yeon-Hoon.

***

In Bleshu’s dorm—all the members went to their rooms to go to sleep. Since there were only two rooms in total, three people used one room while two people used the other room. Though it would’ve been uncomfortable for five grown men to live in a small two-room space, everyone carried out their lives without grumbling. It was because everyone knew that they couldn’t debut again if it wasn’t for this company.

Yet, while their debut day was nearing, nobody appeared to be happy. It was because they were concerned about the plagiarism issue more than anybody else.

“Haa…” Unable to go to sleep, Bleshu’s leader Han Do-Young got up from his bed and went to the living room. He was careful to not make much noise while coming from the second-floor bed to not wake up his roommates. Then, after he got out to the living room, he put on his earphones and listened to his group’s teaser. He also turned Siren’s video on at the same time.

Even he could clearly see how similar the videos were. His company, G&B, seemed to be staying quiet about the issue that they blatantly plagiarized Siren. They didn’t have the resources to get a famous music producer, but the Bleshu brand had grown too big for them to release an unsatisfactory quality work. Thus, the company had chosen the worst method–plagiarism.

Han Do-Young sighed and swiped his face with his hands. He hadn’t slept for more than three hours the past couple of days. He blamed himself for not protecting his group and his guilty conscience kept him awake. He should’ve stepped up and protested as soon as he heard their song and concept. Then, things wouldn’t have escalated to this level. Yet, his strong desire to debut kept him silent and with the leader’s silence, all the other members also sealed their lips.

Thus, though this was a mistake that the company, G&B committed, Bleshu members were bearing the guilt of the wrongdoing. Of course, they were also in the wrong for keeping silent and passing over this matter, but their crime wasn’t so big that it should ruin their only chance of debuting.

Han Do-Young fumbled with his phone. It hung on his mind that he exchanged phone numbers with Siren’s maknae. He thought this could be their last opportunity to keep their conscience.

Yet, even as his thoughts deepened, he didn’t carry anything into action. As he always did, he simply flung his body on top of the bed with a heavy heart.

***

The day brightened and my members and I moved our tired bodies for the morning recording schedule. We were used to waking up early and riding the car half-asleep now. After that, we got our hair and makeup done and got some rest after returning to the waiting room. We ordered breakfast or caught up on some sleep during this time.

Then, we usually went to shoot a variety show or go on the radio, but today, there was no schedule like that and we had some free time. Yeon-Hoon got on the sofa first and fell asleep and Dong-Jun also slept beside him. Woon and Do-Seung placed a mat on the floor and slept. Bringing a floor mat was a necessity whenever we went on a morning recording now.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon, do you want to get some sleep too?” Ms. Seung-Yeon asked while unfolding the mat for me. I suddenly felt like a preschool kid going to nap time, but I knew how important it was to catch up on sleep during a busy activity period. Yet, I didn’t have the luxury to take a nap today.

“No, I’m fine. I need to make a short phone call.” There wasn’t much time left before Bleshu’s debut. I needed to settle everything as quickly as possible in such a busy period as now. I wandered around the broadcasting station to replace a quiet place without people. In the end, I went to my favorite hideout, the emergency stairs. As I expected, there was hardly anyone going this way.

I took my phone out to call Yoo Won-Dong. Since I already thought of how to explain the situation to him, I planned to use it in real life. I hoped that I could use Yoo Won-Dong’s resources to replace the sales manipulation company when I got a call from somewhere else.

Ziing—

—Bleshu’s Han Do-Young

“…?”

The person at the center of the plagiarism issue personally called me.