Episode 6

 

That’s right. If this is really a game, then ending the game will end it all.

 

It was a smart idea, even if he said so himself. Haeun quickly praised himself. If it’s not a game, there wouldn’t have been a comeback stage in the first place, and even if he ended up playing this game because of some strange phenomenon, ending it would put an end to it all.

 

It’s truly a genius conclusion. It’s a shame he didn’t think of it earlier, but Haeun did a great job.

 

“……”

 

After shouting, he waited for quite a long time, but to his disappointment, there was no response. There was no “Ta-da” moment with a game over screen popping up, and no yes/no buttons appearing.

 

…It seemed like the people outside were just cosplay enthusiasts who were very good at acting. A voice reached Haeun’s ears as he desperately tried to reassure himself. This time, however, a phrase flashing pink as if a game script were printed appeared in front of his eyes.

 

『Ending the game is not possible (๑•̀ㅁ•́ฅ✧!!)』

 

It was bright, clear, cheerful, and somehow the emoticon attached to the back of the phrase seemed to be really voiced. It sounded mechanical, like the artificial intelligence of a cell phone.

 

If he only heard the voice, he would have thought it came from a special speaker, but the appearance of the blocks of letters made it a different story. Haeun suppressed his desire to cry.

 

‘What the hell! How is this even made? Is this some kind of hologram?’

 

Even when he waved his hand at the text, it just passed through as if nothing was there. It seemed more like CGI rather than a hologram… The fact that it was computer-generated was evidence enough that it wasn’t real, but Haeun didn’t entertain such thoughts.

 

‘If this is a game, then why can’t I end it?’

 

He had to continue the conversation silently, fearing it might be heard by the people outside. Still, he was fortunate that the system responded to his inner monologue.

 

『‘Eurasha Idol’ virtual reality is still in beta testing stage. (*´Д`*)』

 

『In the beta testing version, ‘Mid Save’ or ‘Save and Quit’ are not possible! (`-д-；)ゞ』

 

‘Then just quit without saving.’

 

『……』

 

Of course, there was no response, as if it was not possible.

 

“What the hell, there’s nothing that works?”

 

“……”

 

“It’s all bullshit, as expected.”

 

It was suspicious how the responses only came when needed. Like a detective searching for a potential culprit lurking somewhere, Haeun looked around.

 

But then, he saw it.

 

‘…..’

 

A mirror.

 

The reflection in the mirror was not the self Haeun knew. The 20-something young man with yellow-dyed hair, ear piercings, and a sturdy gaze was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there stood a smiling boy with bright mint-colored hair and large, round eyes.

 

He looked exactly like the main character’s face displayed on the Eu-Idol main screen. If this was a hidden camera, such a thing wouldn’t be possible unless someone tampered with someone else’s face overnight.

 

Clutching at the reflected face in the mirror, Haeun suddenly accepted the situation. The shock made him oddly courageous.

 

If this really was a game… then was it a playthrough with a difficulty level of ★★★★★★★★★★ where you couldn’t even save in the middle and had to see it through to the end?

 

Haeun posed the most serious and solemn question of his life.

 

‘What do I do to end this?’

 

『Once you see one out of five total True Endings, you can safely exit the game! (´･ω･)(´_ _)♪』

 

The response came as if it had been waiting. However, the term “safely” sounded oddly unsettling. The memories of the “Starvng flop idol of the flop idols” ending popped up multiple times in Haeun’s memories.

 

…Did that mean if he saw a bad ending, he won’t be able to exit safely?

 

‘What kind of fucked up situation is this?’

 

There were only four true endings where he had a passionate love with a target character and one ending where he became a sensational superstar idol.

 

Honestly, Haesun didn’t want to share passionate love with those guys in real life. He didn’t have a girlfriend, but that had nothing to do anything with his desire to have a boyfriend. While it was fine when they were just pictures on his phone, he couldn’t imagine whispering love to real-life humans in such a realistic scenario.

 

So, the only answer was to become a sensational superstar idol. But the problem was that Haeun didn’t know if he, who didn’t even know the dance for his comeback stage tomorrow, could see the last ending.

 

“No… it’s not about whether I can do it. It’s about what I can’t do.”

 

Haeun didn’t want to imagine him kissing, holding hands, dating, and sticking to the same guy. Besides, all the guys in this game were irritating to the core. Love? He’d rather commit murder.

 

He needed to pull himself together. Haeun firmly resolved, 

 

“Even if I have to face a tiger, I’ll survive as long as I keep my wits.”

 

There was a slight error ^[1] The actual proverb is this: Even if you get bitten by a tiger, you will survive as long as you keep your wits. , but since there was no one to correct him, it was still a good thing.

 

???

 

『It’s Day 1 of gameplay!(*´-｀*)ゞ Today’s the day of your comeback stage! (_ _*) Fighting!』

 

The system’s voice greeted Haeun, as soon as he woke up.

 

The tutorial ended without any gains during the past day. His resolution to pull himself together hadn’t gone as planned. He had heard several comments that he didn’t look well, likely due to staying up all night, and even stopping his legs from trembling involuntarily was a struggle.

 

Among the members riding in the car, Haeun was the one trembling the most. Although everyone seemed tense, no one looked as dealy pale as him.

 

Haeun, self-proclaimed to live and die by his swagger, would have normally found the experience of riding in a van to the broadcasting station quite satisfying. But now, it was far from a situation he could enjoy.

 

An ordinary person like Haeun, who hadn’t even debuted yet, was on about to perform on a comeback stage.

 

“Ha…”

 

“Are you nervous?”

 

Seongjae briefly glanced at him as if to say “pathetic” and then lost interest, while Junwoo seemed to be relieving tension by staring at his phone game. The one who initiated the conversation was the leader, Il-hyun, sitting opposite them.

 

“Uh, I’m a bit nervous.”

 

His casual response was actually a miracle considering the extreme tension he felt. He replied, somewhat stiffly, encouraging everyone in the room as if to reassure them.

 

“You’ll do well. You’ve worked hard.”

 

…However.

 

This was the result.

 

“…”

 

A suffocating silence. Here was an idol who almost cursed and suddenly did ageyo during the interview just before their comeback stage.

 

The members all seemed to be in a daze. Rather than panicking or being in disarray, they were almost unresponsive. However, that didn’t mean everything was okay; in fact, their lack of reaction seemed to indicate they were too shocked to respond.

 

The first ones to regain their composure were the MCs. While they must have had plenty of experience hosting, dealing with a situation like this was probably a first for them. Nevertheless, they managed to wrap up the interview with a closing remark and hurried the members off-camera.

 

Among the members, it was Il-hyun, the leader, who was the first to regain his senses. He half-guided, half-pushed the members offstage. Even after they hurriedly escaped to a place out of the camera’s reach, silence lingered among them for a while.

 

Even Junwoo, who had never shown proper confusion in the game, seemed perplexed. His expression still bore traces of bewilderment.

 

“You…”

 

The first to speak was Seongjae. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

 

“You…..What have you done?”

 

At first, his voice trembled as if he were scared, but it grew increasingly intense.

 

“What are you doing right now? Did you lose your mind? Would you have sworn if you had gone a little further?”

 

Seongjae was usually sharp-tongued and quick to anger, but this time, his anger was justified. He was rendered speechless by the situation.

 

“Are you trying to ruin our album? No, not just the album, but the entire group?”

 

It wasn’t just anger; he genuinely seemed bewildered. Under normal circumstances, he might have stepped up to confront the situation, even if it meant appearing on a recorded broadcast. But now, it was live on air, right after the scene where Park Haeun was about to swear was broadcasted. Haeun felt ashamed, bowing his head as if he were a criminal. He was so embarrassed that he almost forgot about the shock of having to go onstage soon.

 

‘What the hell should I say in a situation like this? Someone please tell me.’

 

As if responding to his muttering, a system window popped up with options:

 

‣ “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to think that way…!”

‣ “I, I had my reasons for doing that.”

‣ “I, I’m sorry. If you want me dead, I’ll die!”

 

Why was there a choice about dying? None of the options given sit well with me. No matter what I say, can this situation even be salvaged?

• 1. The actual proverb is this: Even if you get bitten by a tiger, you will survive as long as you keep your wits.