The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 64 - Party (2)

 

 

Kang Ye-seong calling at this hour?

 

‘What’s going on?’

 

The thought passed as quickly as it came, replaced by a creeping uneasiness as I recalled Ji Ye-chan’s call a few days ago, saying Kang Ye-seong had been acting strange.

 

“Yoo-seong, could you keep an eye on those two for me?”

 

“Okay, hyung!”

 

“And please look after Deok-soon and Soon-deuk too.”

 

“Will do!”

 

Leaving Lee Yoo-seong’s cheerful reply behind, I stepped outside and answered the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

—Ah, CEO! Sorry for calling so late!

 

The moment I heard Kang Ye-seong’s gentle voice, the anxiety gripping my chest melted away like snow in sunlight.

 

I exhaled a breath of relief. “No, I should be the one apologizing. I should’ve checked in on you first.”

 

—I’m doing fine.

 

There was a hint of laughter in his voice, but he immediately switched to a worried tone.

 

—But I heard you were discharged? Is it really okay for you to be out already?

 

“Yes. But how did you find out?”

 

—The others said they saw you at the company earlier.

 

“Really?”

 

—Yes. Nak-hwa and Yoo-soo. They stopped by to take care of some things for the upcoming fan meeting.

 

“Ah, right. It’s scheduled for the end of this month, isn’t it?”

 

—Yes! I’m surprised you remembered.

 

“Well, I am a Nike, after all.”

 

He let out a nervous laugh—he must’ve momentarily forgotten that I was part of Victory’s fandom.

 

“So, Kang Ye-seong. Did you call because of the fan meeting?”

 

—Ah, yes. That’s right.

 

He admitted it right away, then carefully brought up the reason for his call.

 

—I wanted to ask if we could increase the number of security personnel for the event.

 

“Security?”

 

—I just… feel uneasy.

 

It was probably because of Han Yeong-won.

 

—It might sound silly, but… she keeps appearing in my dreams these days.

 

“What kind of dreams?”

 

—Dreams of the fan meeting. I’m talking with Nikes, and then she suddenly appears… calls me ‘the trash holding flowers’… and says it’s been a while.

 

His trembling voice made it clear how frightened he was. To others, it might have sounded like nothing—but I knew better.

 

Kang Ye-seong had foresight.

 

In The Genius Who Came to Take Over the Entertainment World, the original Kang Ye-seong occasionally saw the future in his dreams—one of the special abilities rewarded for clearing missions. It had a time limit, but when it activated, it always mattered.

 

It seemed that ability had resurfaced, even if he himself thought it was just a nightmare.

 

“I understand. I’ll increase security.”

 

If his dream involved Han Yeong-won, we needed to be ready. Kang Ye-seong, clearly not expecting me to agree so quickly, sounded genuinely relieved.

 

—Thank you so much, CEO!

 

“It’s nothing. Just focus on resting and recovering, okay?”

 

—I can rest later. Right now, I have to work hard—commercial shoots, variety shows, everything.

 

I nodded. Fair enough. There was a Victory commercial shoot scheduled first thing tomorrow.

 

“All right, then. I’ll see you at the fan meeting.”

 

—Huh? Oh—yes!

 

Click.

 

The call ended.

 

I looked down at my phone, frowning slightly. I was sure Han Yeong-won had already left for the U.S. with Ji Geon-hyuk.

 

‘Well, this works for me.’

 

It meant I’d be able to confront her.

 

‘The real question is… how is she planning to show up at Victory’s fan meeting?’

 

I just hoped she wouldn’t make an entrance by smashing through the venue.

 

That hope lasted only a moment before I hurried back inside.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung! Do-hwan hyung and Man-deuk hyung are trying to steal all the alcohol from your room and drink it!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong came rushing to me in a panic.

 

When I got back, Seo Do-hwan and Lee Man-deuk were struggling while Lee Yoo-seong held them firmly by both arms.

 

“Yoo-seong! It’s just one more bottle!”

 

“Hey, Lee Yoo-seong! Let go of me! I’ll count to three, and if you don’t— I’ll kill you with magic!”

 

“Yoo-seong! Did you hear that?! He’s gonna kill you! So let go!!”

 

“Yeah! Let go!!”

 

Honestly, the two of them were exactly the same.

 

“Sorry, Yoon-hoo oppa.”

 

“Our hyung is embarrassingly pathetic, isn’t he?”

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk looked ashamed. I didn’t deny it.

 

“Yoo-seong, let them go.”

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

Once freed, Seo Do-hwan and Lee Man-deuk glared at me instead—it was safer than glaring at Lee Yoo-seong, who could crush them effortlessly.

 

I simply chuckled, went upstairs, and brought down another bottle of wine. At this point, letting them drink themselves unconscious seemed like the fastest solution.

 

But then—

 

“Mr. Lee Man-deuk?”

 

Something was wrong with him.

 

***

 

“Perfect.”

 

Han Yeong-won, anxiously refreshing the website, finally smiled in triumph.

 

“Of course. There’s no way I would fail.”

 

She was staring at the second-round admissions list for Victory’s fan meeting—the list that filled slots left open by people who couldn’t attend after the first round.

 

And there it was. Clear as day. Her name: Han Yeong-won.

 

To make sure it wasn’t someone else with the same name, she checked the birthdate.

 

No mistake. It was her.

 

Han Yeong-won smirked.

 

“If they didn’t pick me, I was ready to use the Soul Dominion Art and force my way in anyway.”

 

Her plan had been to disguise herself as staff and infiltrate the venue. It seemed someone caught wind of that idea and preemptively cleared her path.

 

‘There must be a clever little rat among them…’

 

She let out a low, sinister chuckle—but it faded quickly.

 

“Lee Man-deuk?”

 

Scrolling further, she froze at one particular name.

 

“Lee Man-deuk… could it be…?”

 

A sapa guy. The very same sapa scum Ji Geon-hyuk once tried to recruit.

 

‘Is that really that sapa guy?’

 

She narrowed her eyes.

 

“Come to think of it, that sapa guy was obsessed with Victory.”

 

He was the one who used strange sorcery to replay choreography videos over and over, threatening to kill her if she ever ruined their stage. But then she snorted dismissively.

 

“Hmph. Probably not him—just some Beggars’ Sect trash,” she concluded.

 

There was no way only one man in the world had that name. So she brushed the thought aside and smiled again.

 

“Just wait for me, you trash holding flowers.”

 

The idea of stealing that body again and taking the stage made her heart race.

 

‘My internal energy has already surpassed the Seventh Cycle. I won’t fail the same way twice.’

 

Han Yeong-won chuckled softly.

 

‘This time, I’ll take over completely… and rebuild my followers.’

 

Just envisioning it filled her with delight.

 

Meanwhile—

 

“Kang Ye-seong? Why are you suddenly shivering?”

 

“I—I don’t know…”

 

Kang Ye-seong trembled as a chill ran up his spine. And somewhere else, another person was shaking just as violently.

 

“Hyaaaahhh!”

 

It was none other than Lee Man-deuk.

 

***

 

Lee Man-deuk, staring at his phone, suddenly jolted as if electrocuted and leapt to his feet.

 

“It’s done!!”

 

Done… what exactly?

 

Seo Do-hwan popped open the wine I’d handed him and asked, confused:

 

“Man-deuk hyung, what’s up with you?”

 

“The Victory fan meeting!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I got selected for the Victory fan meeting! My name is on the second-round list!”

 

Lee Man-deuk bounced around like a rabbit, tears streaming down his face.

 

“Shit! If I hadn’t gotten in again, I was gonna threaten that bastard Kwak Yoon-hoo into letting me go!”

 

Then he suddenly grabbed me in a crushing hug.

 

“And if threatening didn’t work, I was gonna mind-control him instead!”

 

This crazy guy. Who proudly says that to the person he’s planning to mind-control?!

 

“Uwaaaah! CEO Kwak!! You’re the BEST!!”

 

“Um, Mr. Lee Man-deuk… I don’t handle the fan meeting lottery—”

 

“Thank you so much!!”

 

Before I could finish, he lifted me—literally off the ground. The levitation spell hit so fast I had zero time to react.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung!!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong panicked.

 

“Wow! He’s flying!”

 

Seo Do-hwan clapped like he was watching a circus show. Right—how did I forget this guy was also a bit unhinged?

 

The only one actually worried for me was Lee Yoo-seong. Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk were frozen in horror.

 

So basically, Lee Yoo-seong and I were the only sane people in this room.

 

“Man-deuk hyung! Put Yoon-hoo hyung down! What if he gets hurt?!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong grabbed him by the collar and shook him—but…

 

“I’m going to see my Muse!! Woooooh!”

 

He wasn’t listening. Not even a little.

 

“I love you, Victory!!”

 

Then he whipped out something—a Victory official lightstick.

 

Where the hell had he even been hiding that? Pocket-dimension storage?!

 

He tapped the little LED screen, then swung it around wildly.

 

[♡ I’m coming ♡ ♥ Victory ♥]

[♡ I love you ♡ ♥ Victory ♥]

 

The messages flashed in bright, sparkling colors.

 

“I’m coming! I’m comiiing!!”

 

He sprinted around the living room, waving the light stick like a madman.

 

Hah…what a complete nutcase. Thank god this is a detached house. If this were an apartment, the neighbors would’ve called the cops already.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung! What do we do? Can you get down?”

 

“No.”

 

Unless the levitation spell on me was dispelled, coming down wasn’t an option, and there were only two ways for that spell to end: either Lee Man-deuk willingly canceled it himself, or something interrupted his mana supply.

 

Between the two, I chose the latter.

 

“Yoo-seong.”

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

“Knock that bastard out for me, will you?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Thwack!

 

The moment he replied, Lee Yoo-seong struck the back of Lee Man-deuk’s neck, knocking him out cold. The crazed mage still waving the Victory lightstick crumpled—and I dropped straight down. Thankfully, I didn’t get hurt.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung, are you okay?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong caught me just in time.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

 

Once my feet were solidly on the floor, I gave one more instruction.

 

“Can you knock out Seo Do-hwan too?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Whack—!

 

Seo Do-hwan dropped just like Lee Man-deuk.

 

“What should we do with them now?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

After a short moment of thought, I said,

 

“Throw them outside.”

 

“Yes, hyung!”

 

With a cheerful grin, Lee Yoo-seong tucked both of them under his arms. What greeted them the next morning was dew-covered grass—

 

“Gah! What the f—?!”

 

—and each other’s stunned faces.

 

The moment their eyes met, they freaked out and scrambled to their feet.

 

“Are you kidding me—Kwak Yoon-hoo!!”

 

“Aaagh! Shit! What was I doing last night?!”

 

“Hey! Kwak Yoon-hoo!”

 

Seo Do-hwan, who remembered nothing, started shouting for me, while Lee Man-deuk, who remembered everything, clutched his head like a madman.

 

I simply sipped my coffee and enjoyed the show. And just like that, our delightful little discharge-celebration party came to an end.

 

A few days later—

 

“Hello! We Get Victory! I’m Victory’s leader, Muse!”

 

Victory’s fan meeting had begun.