Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 32

I found myself wondering what on earth was written there.

 

‘Omegaverse?’

 

Even with my extensive experience in online communities, this was a word I had never heard before. Who was giving who a ride on a bus? Why was an omega even necessary? And then…

 

‘Jjoo-Gong?’

 

What the hell is Jjoo-Gong?

 

I wasn’t sure, but it seemed to refer to Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha. I was half-doubting it at first, but since a photo of Joo Wooyoung and me was plastered right there, it was impossible not to notice. 

 

They probably took the ‘Jjoo’ from Joo Wooyoung’s surname and flipped the ‘Un’ in Lee Unha to ‘Gong’, combining the two into ‘Jjoo-Gong’. Could this be…

 

‘A search-evasion name?’

 

It looked like a code name created to prevent the subjects from finding the posts through searches. Come to think of it, while drifting through various sites to get here, I saw many names that seemed to refer to me—Lee Woo-na, 2-Unha, or even lwh in English.

 

I couldn’t tell whether the fans still hadn’t settled on a single search-blocking nickname or whether this was simply how they did things, but there definitely seemed to be several different versions in use.

 

‘They don’t seem to use code names when they’re writing hate comments, though…’

 

Did they actually want me to read them, or was there some other reason behind it? I couldn’t fathom the psychology of those people… but at least this little community didn’t seem to be hostile toward me.

 

To begin with, there weren’t even any insults written on the page. In fact, seeing that my search-blocking nicknames had almost entirely been standardized to Gong or Un, it looked like the site was actively moderated.

 

Nodding to myself, I scrolled through the page again, only to find that nearly every post was filled with Jjoo-Gong.

 

[Jjoo-Gong: That Sentimental Fellow] [Author: Nice-Han]

[The characters and organizations appearing in this work are fictional and have no relation to reality.]

[Verified][Fan Creation][IdolClassism]

 

I scrolled down.

 

[Jjoo-Bbng: Pinwheel] [Author: Joy-OO]

[The characters and organizations appearing in this work are fictional and have no relation to reality.]

[Verified][Fan Creation][IdolClassism][Bottom Unha]

 

‘This one wrote Unha underneath. And what is a bottom?’

 

Various posts caught my eye. Maybe security was important on this site, because almost all of them had adult verification tags, making it a source of eternal regret that I couldn’t check them. Since I couldn’t veryfy with Lee Unha’s current social security number, all I could do was stand outside knocking on the locked door.

 

Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a post I could actually open.

 

[Jjoo-Gong: Classroom] [Author: Ayashiro89]

[The characters and organizations appearing in this work are fictional and have no relation to reality.]

[Creative][IdolClassism][Jjoo-Un][Bbng-Gong]

 

Suppressing my racing heart, I clicked on the post…

 

“Ah….”

 

I immediately realized what kind of place this was.

 

‘It’s fanfiction.’

 

Apparently, this was a website where people uploaded fanfiction about fictional relationships involving real people. Besides Idol Classism, I saw the names of other memorable idols. I could even see names of characters from manga or anime that I felt like I had seen somewhere before. There was even…

 

‘What is Be-Gong?’

 

I even spotted a combination of Benok and Lee Unha. I had no way of knowing exactly what was happening, but it was definitely a positive sign. A lot of fanfiction meant there were a lot of fans, and seeing my name mentioned so often was proof that Lee Unha was receiving that much attention.

 

In fact, the atmosphere seemed quite good.

 

“This might… actually be a good thing?”

 

If anything, I felt grateful. Being noticed by such passionate creators felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Though I was curious why my name appeared so overwhelmingly often, it was ultimately a pointless question. The answer was already set.

 

‘Is it the Succubus Eyes again?’

 

This had to be the Succubus Eye at work.

 

‘What on earth is this?’

 

There’s no other way to explain it. 

 

‘But it’s only D-rank.’

 

Something felt off. I knew better than anyone that the D-rank Succubus Eyes should, at most, only induced a mild sense of positive feeling. By this world’s standards, it was an ability that wouldn’t even work properly on common street thugs.

 

Of course, it wasn’t as though I knew everything about succubi, but…

 

‘Does it act differently on people with particularly low immunity?’

 

Or was Lee Unha’s version of the Succubus Eyes undergoing some different kind of manifestation? Actually, the dark mage once mentioned that this was the first time a Succubus eye had been transplanted into a human, and he didn’t know what kind of reaction would occur; he had wanted to gather data. 

 

I judged that something in my body might be changing in a strange or completely unpredictable direction. Since I was the type who preferred to satisfy my curiosity immediately, I cautiously broached the subject.

 

I wasn’t sure whether No. 123 was asleep or awake, but I carefully called out to him. Fortunately, an answer came right away.

 

“Hey….”

 

“Huh? What is it, Unha?!”

 

“Ah. You were still awake?”

 

“U-uh, yeah. I was just about to fall asleep….”

 

“Um… could you look at my eyes for a second?”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

“How do my eyes look to you right now? Anything is fine, could you just tell me exactly what you honestly feel?”

 

“Why so suddenly?”

 

“No reason, just….”

 

“Did someone say something to you?”

 

“No….”

 

“You saw the comments, didn’t you?”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Someone posted a hate comment on your SNS saying you were creepy and bone-chilling.”

 

‘Why is he monitoring my account instead of his own?’

 

And furthermore….

 

[ELF-elves: Why are his eyes so creepy and chilling?]

[Aaa123123123: Stop writing hate comments. Please don’t hurt Unha. Look in the mirror and watch yourself. Your eyes writing hate comments, your eyes reflected in the monitor, are much more bone-chilling.]

 

‘Did this crazy guy even leave a comment? 123123123… No. 123, that’s you, isn’t it?’

 

It looked like an alt account, but he really shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing. If he was going to do it, he should at least make sure nobody could trace it back to him. Even the username practically gave him away, and I found myself getting flustered on his behalf. As I struggled to hide my bewilderment, I heard his voice.

 

“Don’t worry too much about that. Everything those people say is just insane bullsh*t.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Ah, sorry. I just got angry all of a sudden… A-Anyway, Unha, your eyes look really pretty.”

 

“Right….”

 

“How should I put it? It feels like your eyes could suck someone in. Your eyes are already big to begin with, right? So when I look this close, they’re like black holes.”

 

“Black holes?”

 

“Yeah. Exactly like a black hole. In a good way. When I just look at them quietly without saying anything, I feel like I’m being sucked in. Unlike other trainees, you really stand out… and your eyelashes are long, too. Your pupils look completely black, so it stands out even more. I’ve never seen pupils that black before. It’s like you’re wearing lenses….”

 

“Oh. Really?”

 

“Yeah. So really, don’t mind the comments. Those are just people who don’t like you or are jealous of you. I bet even among the trainees here on Idol Classism, there are definitely kids who sneak onto your page to leave hate comments out of jealousy.”

 

‘I don’t know about the jealousy… but I suppose they could be using alt accounts like you.’

 

“Yeah… okay. Honestly, I wasn’t really worried about that… but thanks anyway. But, have you ever felt… anything else?”

 

“Huh? Like what?”

 

I wasn’t sure how to put it.

 

“Like… have you ever had a strange dream? Or felt a weird sensation… or anything else….”

 

No, damn it. This was getting weird. I was already regretting bringing it up.

 

“Huh? What?”

 

“Nothing, never mind. I shouldn’t have asked. Let’s just sleep.”

 

I pulled the blanket over my head. Seeing my firm stance on ending the conversation, No. 123 had nothing more to say and just muttered, ‘Uh, okay. Goodnight, Unha’.

 

‘I can’t ask anyone about this. It’s driving me crazy.’

 

As much as I hated even imagining it, I actually found myself wishing that crazy dark mage would appear for just one minute and explain what was happening. No, a whole minute with that lunatic was too long—just thirty seconds. He would likely realize my condition the moment he saw me and start scribbling in his experiment log.

 

‘Damn it, this is driving me crazy.’

 

I had no way of knowing whether something in my body was changing, but I was terrified that whatever this was might accelerate. It wasn’t just an eye transplant; since I had Succubus blood in me too, in the worst-case scenario, I might grow a tail or wings might sprout from my back.

 

Furthermore, there were other things besides Succubus blood and eyes. I didn’t even know exactly what had been put inside this body, which had openly been treated as nothing more than a toy and an experimental subject.

 

‘The only thing I remember right now is the Siren… but I don’t even know what else is there.’

 

Even I didn’t know exactly what had been put inside my own body. I had no idea what that mad dark mage did while I was sleeping. If my body was changing because of some reaction, I had truly met the worst-case scenario. If my appearance started changing, I’d already be finished. Some government organization I’d never even heard of might capture me and continue using me as an experimental subject.

 

‘As far as I know, Joo Wooyoung doesn’t know much about alchemy or magic either…’

 

Even if he had some knowledge, I couldn’t exactly ask him for advice. I couldn’t just say, ‘Please examine my body’. If he found out this body was an amalgamation created with demonic materials, there was no telling how Joo Wooyoung the Demon Slayer would react.

 

I had no idea how my thoughts had wandered this far, but in the end, I decided to shove the whole matter aside for now.

 

Right now, the priority was to quell the public opinion trying to drive a wedge between Joo Wooyoung and Lee Unha. Ridiculously enough, the answer was right in front of me. The community I accidentally stumbled upon… provided the solution.

 

I didn’t know if this was a cure or a poison, but….

 

‘Should I try it?’

 

[Lee Unha: Wooyoung hyung, sorry for the sudden message, but are you free tomorrow? I’m planning to do a livestream… would you be willing to help me out?]

 

I figured there was no harm in trying.