Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus – Chapter 21

Author: LyraDhani

This was the absolute worst. I was so embarrassed I felt like I could die.

‘It hasn’t even been that long since I gave the Hopeless Trio a piece of my mind.’

To faint immediately after that… how could I be so utterly shameless? That was why I was deliberately keeping my eyes closed.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but strangely, my body felt refreshed—as if I’d had a very deep, long sleep. That realization only made my anxiety spike. I had effectively forced everyone to stop rowing just as we had finally set our course and started moving. I couldn’t bear to show my face.

On the other hand, a part of me felt that fainting was inevitable.

‘I did overuse the Succubus Eyes.’

Of course, Joo Wooyoung’s flawless performance as a mad black mage played a part, but the biggest factor was likely overextending myself with the skill. I had been spamming the Succubus Eyes everywhere with a measly amount of mana that was barely traceable; in a way, it was only natural for my stamina to bottom out.

‘I shouldn’t have used it on the Hopeless Trio….’

Suppressing my complicated emotions, I was just about to slowly open my eyes when…

<Joy.>

<…….>

‘Wait?’

<Joy.>

I heard the Master’s voice.

Naturally, my eyes flew open. I scrambled to sit up.

‘Eh? Uh? What?’

I was confused. I couldn’t understand anything because of that sudden voice. But my body reacted instantly. I hurriedly lowered my body, prostrating myself flat on the ground with my head bowed. It was a reflex born from knowing that the Master hated eye contact when he was lecturing or annoyed.

<Pathetic.>

‘What is this… a dream? It’s a dream, right? It has to be.’

A dream. No, it must be a dream. It had to be. The situation made no sense. There was no way that the first thing I’d see after fainting would be the Master.

It was much more convincing to believe that this was a dream than to believe everything I’d felt and done lately were merely the delusions of the Slave ‘Joy.’

Yet my body refused to move. Even though I knew this was a dream, I felt paralyzed by the terror engraved into my very bones.

I raised my head slightly, and sure enough, the familiar figure of the Master came into view. Long hair, eyes that looked as cold as a sheet of ice, pupils that felt devoid of all emotion, the black hood he always wore, and the necklace around his throat.

<Master?>

<T-that’s….>

<Ah… Ah!>

<Why? You look as though you dislike the punishment I’m giving you.>

<H-how could that be? It is a punishment from you, M-Master! Joy can accept it with a smile and a greteful heart! I am sickened by my own pathetic nature—to stupidly faint during an important experiment! I have committed a grave sin that deserves punishment!>

<Hehe… Hehehe. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you—AAAGH!! AAAARRGH!!!>

A sudden wave of pain crashed through my body. I had only blinked, but my body had been moved somewhere else. Before I knew it, my limbs were bound. Once again, I felt certain this was a dream. The Master was one of the few dark mages capable of teleportation… but moving me without even chanting a single trigger word was magically impossible.

‘Yeah. It’s impossible. Impossib—’

<AAAAAAAAAGH!>

It felt like insects were crawling all over my body. It felt as if those insects were eating through my flesh, burrowing into my organs and my brain. Even though I knew this was a dream, the agony washing over me was real.

It was a familiar pain, but one I could never get used to. Tears were streaming down my face involuntarily, but I knew I mustn’t cry. The Master hated seeing me cry. I always had to smile; I always had to be happy.

<Noisy.>

<Sob… uugh… hurk.>

<Yes, that’s more like it.>

‘This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream.’

<Ugh….>

‘This is definitely a dream. Right. It’s a dream.’

<This… this is a dream! Master… sob… waaaaah.>

<?>

<It’s a dream.>

<Hahahaha.>

<IT’S A DREAM!!!>

<Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!>

Immediately after, my eyes snapped open.

“*Hah… hah… hah. Hah… hah… hah….*”

‘I knew it was a dream….’

“Ugh… hah… waaah….”

‘It was just a dream.’

“Hah. Haaa… hah….”

It wasn’t a laboratory or a torture chamber. This was definitely a room on Earth. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like an infirmary. Just then, someone suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Aaaaagh!!!”

“Whoa.”

“Aaaaagh!!!”

“It’s me. Unha.”

“Aaaaagh!!!”

“It’s Wooyoung hyung.”

Two arms gripped my shoulders. A face that was becoming increasingly familiar came clearly into focus.

“Hah. Haaa. Whew….”

I felt my heart begin to settle instantly. The Vanquisher of the Demon King, the Demon Slayer, was right in front of me. A man strong enough to tear the Master apart instantly if he ever appeared here was standing before my eyes.

The thought that I was safe here finally entered my mind. Even though I hadn’t been particularly anxious once I realized it was a dream, my heart began to truly find its peace.

“Ah… you s-startled me!”

“Ah….”

“You can’t just grab someone’s shoulder like that without saying anything! It’s terrifying.”

“Ah… I—I guess so. Sorry.”

“Whew… I thought my heart was going to stop.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“Anyway, hyung, how long… how long was I asleep?”

“I’m not sure. About 16 hours?”

‘Ah… seriously.’

My mind went blank. Well, at least I hadn’t slept through two days straight, so the one small consolation was that I wouldn’t miss the first performance, but… it was still a devastating amount of time to lose. Excluding the time I normally would’ve been asleep, I’d lost thirteen hours.

“Why! Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

“You actually went to the Emergency Room, Unha.”

“…….”

“They said you were nearly hospitalized.”

‘Do you think hospitalization is just that easy?’

In the other world, I might have bounced between temples and sickbeds every other day, but while on Earth, I had never really been in and out of ERs. He seemed to think that collapsing automatically meant hospitalization, but it was not that simple.

Since I was lying here in the facility’s infirmary instead of a hospital, they had probably done some basic examinations, decided I was just sleeping soundly, and brought me back here. I probably even mumbled some nonsense in my sleep during the process.

“Fortunately, they didn’t find any major issues there, and the doctor here said it was likely exhaustion… but they were definitely worried.”

“I see.”

“You took that big fall on stage before. They said that might be the cause, and they want you to get a CT and an MRI tomorrow. I heard there was even some talk among the staff when you collapsed—about whether they should drop you from the show for health reasons….”

“Drop me? For what? I can’t be dropped now. All the staff here know that for a fact.”

“Even so….”

“And what’s this about a concussion? I’ll gladly get a CT scan or an MRI. They won’t find anything wrong. But we don’t have much time, so let’s finish the stage first. Are the other hyungs all asleep? This isn’t the time for this; let’s go practice, hurry.”

“No. I think it’s best if you get some proper rest this time, Unha.”

“No, I’m perfectly fine. You know that, hyung.”

“I think it’s better if I talk to the doctor and the PDs first. I’ll go get them.”

“I really can’t be dropped. I can even practice right now, so there’s no need to bring the doctor.”

“Even if your body is fine—even if you’ve recovered physically—your mental fatigue might not be healed yet. Unha, you’ve clearly been under a lot of pressure and stress… resting is the right thing to do right now.”

“The stage is right around the corner, what do you mean ‘rest’? Everyone in this industry works through fainting; they have panic attacks during concerts and work while hooked up to IV drips. Haven’t you heard stories of idols nearly dying while dieting?”

“Unha.”

“I honestly don’t understand why you’re being so dramatic all of a sudden. Hyung, there’s no need to call a doctor. I’ll go tell them myself that I’m fine and there’s no issue.”

“No.”

“There are only three days left. Actually, less than three days. If I start going around for hospital tests just because I fainted once, everyone will make a fuss and I won’t have time to practice. That’s how small problems turn into real ones.”

“Lee Unha.”

“If I just act like it’s nothing, it’ll pass. This isn’t the time for this; we should be practicing. Once they see me jumping around perfectly fine, they’ll know I’m okay.”

“No. You need to rest.”

“If I rest now, there’s no time to practice. I’d rather be a bit tired and exhausted than be a laughingstock on stage.”

“You have to listen to me, Unha.”

At the weight in his voice, I looked at Joo Wooyoung. For a brief second, I saw his cross-shaped stigma flicker in his eyes. He was trying to stay calm, but it seemed his emotions were starting to surge despite himself.

In a way, it was a good sign for me. It was proof that the great Joo Wooyoung was getting worked up because of Lee Unha, of all people.

However, if I assumed that emotion was the precursor to a final goodbye… honestly, it was enough to snap me into a state of pure dread.

‘Wait, it’s not that, right?’

There were stories that Joo Wooyoung never abandoned a companion, but that only applied to the battlefield. In reality, despite how much he cherished his comrades, many people were eventually unable to stay by his side.

There was the mage who was eventually left behind because the gap grew too wide as Joo Wooyoung continued to grow. There was the shield-bearer who lost an arm in battle—and worse, reached a point where Holy Power couldn’t restore it—forcing him to retire. There was the elf who survived a massive war by a hair’s breadth but was so mentally traumatized she could no longer stand on a battlefield….

I remembered many of them.

And I knew that, in fact, Joo Wooyoung didn’t abandon any of them. The mage from the early days was removed from the party but remained as an assistant to Joo Wooyoung and gained great honor. The armless shield-bearer gained immense wealth and became a royal instructor under Joo Wooyoung’s certification. The elf was the same; she used her wisdom from her long life to act as an advisor, providing great help and strength in the subjugation of the Demon King.

But in the end, had all been left behind. They played the roles of advisors, assistants, or mentors… but ultimately, they were bounced out because of unfortunate accidents, their own immaturity, or a lack of talent.

What I wanted was not a position where I was bounced out and pushed to the sidelines.

If I kept being pushed out, I would surely be pushed all the way back to the other world. To put it bluntly, I had to be in a position where we defeated the Demon King together and laughed together until the very end. I had to be right next to Joo Wooyoung, not outside the screen.

That was what this Emergency Quest demanded.

‘You… you aren’t, right? You aren’t planning on leaving me behind here, are you?’

A wave of anxiety washed over me—the fear that he might truly be thinking of cutting Lee Unha loose here. That he might judge Lee Unha as unsuitable to be a member of his party, both in the short and long term. The fact that he wouldn’t even let me participate in practice right now seemed to prove it.

‘I’ve already lost 16 hours. No, 12 hours excluding sleep… if I fall further behind now, it’s going to be a total disaster.’

Was he planning to just leave me out entirely because it would be a disaster?

Joo Wooyoung looked me straight in the eye again and continued.

“Don’t come to practice. That’s the right decision.”

It felt as though the sky had come crashing down.