Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 117

The members’ gazes all converged on one spot.

 

But even then… my gaze was still fixed on Joo Wooyoung.

 

I knew I should be focusing elsewhere, but I couldn’t easily brush this matter aside. It was the first moment I realized that this system might not be a simple anomaly, but something someone created with a specific purpose.

 

No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t easily pull my attention away. I already knew these quests were some kind of reward bestowed upon Joo Wooyoung for successfully completing his mission in the other world, but realizing that they were influenced by his thoughts completely changed the way I viewed the whole thing.

 

Beyond the fact that Joo Wooyoung was directly issuing quests to me….

 

‘Can I be sure I’m the only one affected by this quest?’

 

The thought even crossed my mind. Could the other members—Jegal Hwi, Kim Haejun, Jung Taehee, Baek Suhyeon, and Kim Taeyeol—also be receiving quests?

 

“…….”

 

Maybe the staff of Idol Classism, the fans who loved <Fantasia>, and even the staff of The World had become slaves to a quest influenced by Joo Wooyoung’s subconscious?

 

‘Right now….’

 

Even this absurd concept….

 

Could it also have been influenced by Joo Wooyoung?

 

‘What if someone on the planning team got caught up in one of these quests, and that’s how this absurd concept ended up being created?’

 

It was an outrageous thought, but not completely ridiculous either. If Joo Wooyoung unconsciously longed for the other world, and those thoughts somehow reached someone on Fantasia’s planning team before being woven into our group’s lore, it didn’t sound impossible.

 

‘It really did come out of nowhere, didn’t it? Suddenly Paladins and Dark Mages… Sure, idol groups try all kinds of concepts these days, but this feels off. Besides, it’s not like we were desperate enough to rely on our lore to attract attention.’

 

Nothing was confirmed yet, and maybe I was just getting trapped in my own head, but I felt it was at least worth testing or investigating.

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

As I kept spiraling further and further down that bizarre rabbit hole.

 

Jung Taehee’s voice pulled me back to reality.

 

“Unha. But… who is that?”

 

Only then did I take my eyes off Joo Wooyoung and focus on the door. The first thing I saw was <Fantasia>’s road manager, Hong Dukwang.

 

I’d just watched him getting chewed out by his superior, so unsurprisingly, he looked like he was in an awful mood. I caught his gaze reflexively. A mysterious hostility was visible in his eyes. Even while my mind was a mess thinking about Joo Wooyoung, I reached a conclusion regarding that clear hostility.

 

‘Ah. Does this mean… I’ve made an enemy of the Management Headquarters?’

 

Of course, jumping to conclusions was foolish.… but judging from the atmosphere, that certainly seemed to be the case. I wondered if I had truly made the right choice.

 

But,

 

‘If I’d bowed my head to Director Oh back there, things would’ve ended up even worse.’

 

At that moment, I had to choose a side. Lee Unha wasn’t stupid enough to side with the Management Division instead of the Planning Division.

 

The woman in her late 20s standing next to Hong Dukwang was the proof that my choice wasn’t wrong.

 

‘The person Taehee mentioned is her, right?’

 

Her voice rang out almost immediately.

 

“He-hello, everyone in <Fantasia>. Nice to meet you. I am the Planning Team Leader, P-Park Sangah.”

 

“Nice to meet you!”

 

“Hello!”

 

“Nice to meet you.”

 

‘See? Someone from Planning came down personally.’

 

Hong Dukwang’s voice followed.

 

“…….”

 

“Ahem… ahem… attention, everyone.”

 

“…….”

 

“There was a slight unpleasant incident earlier, but….”

 

“…….”

 

“The company has partially acknowledged that we didn’t listen to your concerns properly… uh… no, rather than acknowledging it… Director Oh… uh… decided that….”

 

“…….”

 

“Anyway… uh….”

 

“…….”

 

“Anyway, Director Oh has decided to be considerate and allow you to have the break you wanted. However, this isn’t simply a day off. You will spend time with Planning Team Leader Park Sangah here to better understand <Fantasia>’s lore and concept. Think of it as an activity… or rather, a schedule, to help wrap up the showcase successfully. Everyone got that?”

 

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

 

I didn’t know exactly what had happened behind the scenes…

 

But one thing was obvious.

 

‘Protecting your pride really is harder than you’d think, isn’t it?’

 

I could tell through road manager Hong Dukwang’s attitude and voice that Director Oh was obsessively worried about saving face. He was desperately packaging this as ‘Director Oh being considerate’ and claiming it ‘wasn’t just a simple day off’, and that bringing the Planning Team Leader here was all something Director Oh did for us.

 

In reality, it probably had very little to do with Director Oh’s consideration. He likely made some kind of deal with Director Gu. The fact that the Planning Team Leader came here was proof of that. They’d clearly taken what I’d said an hour earlier seriously.

 

Sure enough, I saw staff members dragging a large mobile monitor behind the Planning Team Leader.

 

In the center of it all was Team Leader Park Sangah, who was visibly trembling. She was sweating so much from nerves that, honestly, she didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

 

‘This is… our Planning… Team Leader?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Wait, isn’t she a bit young to be a Team Leader?’

 

“…….”

 

‘How did she even get that position?’

 

Looking at her current behavior, she didn’t look competent at all.

 

“…….”

 

“Ah… um… well….”

 

“…….”

 

“I… it was so sudden that I couldn’t prepare a proper presentation… yes… so… I’m sorry. Pl-plus, it’s my first time doing this kind of PPT. Come to think of it, I should have explained this sooner… no, I should have met you all sooner… so… I don’t know how to start, but… I’ll do my best….”

 

No matter how I looked at her, she didn’t feel like your typical team leader. I started seriously wondering if I should revise my evaluation of Director Gu for putting her in a team leader position.

 

I hoped she’d seem different once the PPT started, but even then, there wasn’t a trace of professionalism to be found.

 

‘Or maybe she’s just a different type.’

 

Regardless, it was clear she was unaccustomed to this kind of presentation. You could tell just from the way she spoke.

 

“Fi-first, the planning for <Fantasia>’s lore was done by our team. I am in charge of it. There are many reasons why this kind of lore came about… but… it’s difficult to tell you everything about the company’s internal affairs, so….”

 

“…….”

 

“I hope you’ll understand that there were complicated circumstances. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you or that I’m hiding something; I don’t really know the details myself.”

 

“…….”

 

“Of course, we do the planning for the concept and lore, but it’s not like we aren’t influenced by other departments, including the Business Headquarters.”

 

“…….”

 

“After meeting after meeting about how the company could maximize operating profits, this was the result… I-I’ll admit it may have wandered a little off course… even I think that sometimes… but I don’t think it’ll go in the direction you’re worried about.”

 

“Ah….”

 

“I mean things like the costumes… that sort of thing. We’re working closely with the art director and the visual team, so you don’t need to worry about that. That’s probably what you’re most concerned about… r-right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you ha-have any questions? Mr. Kim Taeyeol?”

 

“No. It’s not really a question… I mean, I roughly understand, but… why… did you have to put in… jobs and stuff… how does that relate to… operating profit….”

 

“It’s probably the merchandise.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Merchandise. I don’t know the exact details either. I think the people higher up than me discussed it… and crucially, they thought it would be strategically advantageous to build a lore by taking the narrative of Idol Classism exactly as it was. It seems there was some influence from investors too… Ah! I-I shouldn’t say that! Pl-please forget that part.”

 

‘As if we could.’

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

I looked around and saw the members staring at Team Leader Park Sangah with blank expressions.

 

Immediately after….

 

“Ah. Then next, I should explain the concept. First, everyone knows about the ‘Hidden World,’ right? Right? You can think of that Hidden World as a fantasy setting, the kind we usually talk about.”

 

“A fantasy world…?”

 

“Yes, yes. There are some secondary settings involved, but explaining all of that would be too complicated for you… so it’s easier to just think of it that way. Actually, as you know from reading the lore book… <Fantasia> is….”

 

She suddenly launched into a rapid-fire explanation.

 

Honestly, she was talking so fast I felt I couldn’t even understand her properly. She passionately explained the enormous setting, the skills, the character classes, our mission—everything.

 

Before long, I understood why she’d been given this position.

 

‘She’s… incredibly passionate.’

 

I could feel her passion. I could feel how much she loved and cherished this lore and concept she had created. She kept talking without stopping, rambling on until she was practically out of breath.

 

More than half of it was incomprehensible noise, but I quickly realized that this wasn’t some lore thrown together as a joke over drinks. About thirty minutes into her passionate speech, she finally calmed down.

 

Then:

 

“Ah. Silly me. I should show you the music video that’s scheduled to be released.”

 

Without any warning:

 

“I-I’m sure it’ll ease your worries. The first time I saw it, I completely lost my composure too… O-Of course, this isn’t the final version! I heard they’re still planning to polish it right up until the very end!”

 

The music video currently in production began to play on the mobile monitor.

 

“…….”

 

‘Wait….’

 

“…….”

 

‘What on earth is this quality…?’

 

My eyes widened.

 

‘Is this a movie?’

 

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—I couldn’t believe if what was currently playing on the screen was actually real.

 

‘Seriously… how did they do this?’