Chapter 145

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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[Successful Award!]
You have succeeded in winning the Rookie of the Year award amidst public recognition, ‘the most prestigious domestic award ceremony’!

!Time limit: Satisfied (Great success)
!Status Abnormality: Remove ‘Death if not an Award’!

: Verify Truth ☜ Click!

First, I had to click that ‘Verify Truth’ to remove this status abnormality before I could move on to the next one.

The problem was that every time I clicked it, uncomfortable backstories of others popped up.

‘First of all, I don’t want to see any more of Cheong-ryeo.’

He was helpful at the time, but now I don’t even feel like digging into anything about him.

‘I’d rather see more of the original ‘Park Moondae’s’ circumstances.’

…Come to think of it, I had completely lost contact with Cheong-ryeo recently.

Since the response to our appearance on the was quite good, I received congratulatory texts from everywhere, even from people I wasn’t close to.

I even received an apology and congratulatory text from Choi Wongil.

– Senior, congratulations on your US advancement. I’m sorry for causing trouble in the past.

Looking at that text which only stated its purpose, Cheong-ryeo’s apology text that only said ‘I’m sorry’ naturally came to mind.

However, there was no other contact from him. I only received a bomb of emojis from the other two VTIC members I had met on a variety show.

‘It’s a good thing for my emotional well-being.’

I hoped we would continue this atmosphere of cutting ties with each other.

I shook my head once and looked back at the popup.

‘Let’s go.’

Whatever comes out, there’s no need to overreact.

I touched the popup.

And just like last time, my vision went dark.

* * *

What came into my view was the inside of a moving seat bus.

Vrooooom.

People were sitting in their seats, talking or laughing.

Looking at the exceptionally harmonious atmosphere and the walls without a route map, I could roughly guess.

‘It’s a chartered bus.’

Rather than public transportation, it seemed to be carrying a group of tourists. It felt a bit old-fashioned, maybe from quite a while ago, but everyone seemed to be well-dressed.

And that’s when I noticed.

Unlike my previous experiences, my self was distinct, rather than being in someone else’s position.

‘What on earth is this?’

While I was a bit confused, I saw a familiar face sitting in the left window seat.

It was a young Ryu Chungwoo.

‘……!’

Ryu Chungwoo was asleep, leaning against the window with his arms crossed. Even though he was young, his frame was already well-defined.

It was very… out of the blue.

‘What am I supposed to do with Ryu Chungwoo sleeping?’

While I was looking at that with mixed feelings, a statement suddenly passed through my mind like a flash.

It was a comment Ryu Chungwoo had made during a drinking session once.

– When I was young, I was in a pretty big car accident… I guess something was messed up, because the aftereffects only showed up after I was fully grown. My hands shake when I put strength into them.

‘……No way.’

Please, tell me it’s not that.

But my foreboding hit the mark.

The bus, which had been cruising down the highway, suddenly swerved.

In an instant, the bus lurched.

“Aaargh!!”

The moment the screams and the bus driver’s shouts crossed, the left glass window shattered and something flew in.

It was a torn-off side mirror.

And that chunk of iron struck Ryu Chungwoo’s shoulder.

‘……!!’

“Chungwoo-ya!!”

The bus became a mess of shouts and screams.

‘What kind of psychopath would show this live?!’

Reflexively, I tried to reach out to pull Ryu Chungwoo, but I realized I didn’t have a body.

I watched as an ambulance carried away Ryu Chungwoo, who had collapsed in a truly gruesome state.

……I felt complicated.

I heard the voices of paramedics and passengers talking.

“The report came in as ‘one child injured,’ so the scale of the transport vehicles is currently about that much.”

“Ah, we’re fine! If we’re in pain, we can just go to the hospital later.”

Certainly, the only one seriously injured was Ryu Chungwoo.

The paramedics, who agreed immediately, put only the unconscious Ryu Chungwoo and his wailing parents in the ambulance and headed to the hospital.

The remaining passengers seemed to have agreed that only one or two representatives would stay for insurance processing, while the rest would take taxis to leave the road.

And I continued to remain in this viewpoint.

‘What is it?’

I’d understand if I followed Ryu Chungwoo, but I didn’t know why I was left here.

And the moment my gaze turned back to the passengers.

“Then shall we go like this?”

“Yeah.”

My… my thoughts stopped.

People I thought I would never see again were standing there in perfect health.

…It was Mom and Dad.

“Please go ahead. We’ll take the next one.”

“Oh, thank you~”

Right. That was the voice.

Unlike their appearance, which remained in photos, not a single note of their voices remained.

Because the video I had taken on my first birthday was lost during a move, the voices that remained only in my memory quickly became flat.

There were times when I remembered them in my sleep. But because I couldn’t record them, those too soon crumbled.

I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my mouth.

But because I only had consciousness now, I was able to complete the deduction instead.

‘……It was a relative’s gathering.’

This bus was likely for a gathering of the Poongsangan Ryu clan. The surname of me before I entered Park Moondae’s body, ‘Ryu Gunwoo’… and Ryu Chungwoo.

It seemed Ryu Chungwoo had an accident while going on some family trip.

I felt sorry for Ryu Chungwoo, but… I was so, so glad that my gaze didn’t follow him and I stayed here.

…I was truly glad.

My parents took a taxi with several relatives. I also saw a familiar face of someone who had looked after me for a year or two during middle and high school.

‘It really was a relative’s gathering.’

I was internally nodding when a strange thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘When… on earth is this?’

This moment, which was infinitely close to the appearance of my parents that I remembered.

‘No.’

Like a conditioned reflex, a chilling premonition drummed in my head.

The taxi started immediately.

I heard Mom’s voice.

“I wonder if the child will be okay. I’m worried.”

“I know. Everyone must have been shocked. Let’s rest a bit when we arrive at the pension before heading back. It was a family event after such a long time, goodness.”

“Coming all the way to Gangwon-do for this to happen… I can only imagine how the parents must feel…… Phew.”

Family event. Gangwon-do.

Keywords that shouldn’t come out kept appearing…….

“Still, I’m glad Gunwoo didn’t come. I heard he’s preparing for a foreign language high school. He’s working so hard~ I wonder who he takes after?”

“He takes after his mom, of course. Those two are exactly the same with their high intelligence.”

“Oh my. You two are so close.”

“Haha!”

Laughter made my head spin. Something was wrong.

Something…….

“We’ve arrived.”

“Let’s lie down for a bit, then catch a bus or train to head back to Seoul, shall we?”

Outside the window, a pension was visible.

It was a wooden building with an atmosphere that went well with the mountains.

I felt like I had only seen the charred remains in a photo…….

‘Stop it.’

But the people from the taxi got out together, took their luggage, and went into the pension.

I stayed here.

‘I told you to stop.’

But my vision shifted in an instant. Time was wound forward.

And soon, smoke began to rise from the pension.

Crack- crackle-

Small sparks flew inside. Seen from outside, it was a brightness that was nothing special since it was broad daylight.

But people died from things like that.

Especially in a building built with unauthorized flammable building materials… that is.

Because toxic smoke was generated.

Because they couldn’t get out while sleeping.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP—

The sound of a late siren shook my brain.

* * *

It was over.

“Huuuuh.”

I shoved my hand into my mouth. Even so, a sound leaked out.

I stuffed my face into the blanket. Finally, my mouth was gagged.

‘What is this?’

I didn’t know. What on earth was this situation? Why the hell did I have to see something like this?

My brain was strange. I couldn’t think properly.

I had to calm down. The reason I had to calm down was because… because…….

‘W-Live tomorrow.’

Right. There was a schedule tomorrow. We were going to broadcast our time hanging out at the hotel, timed to the evening in Korea, so…….

Can I stand in front of the camera?

Can I really work in this state… Why do I have to worry about this kind of crap?

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

To hell with the camera or whatever, why the hell do I have to see this? Did I live my life that badly?

“Park Moondae, are you okay? What is it?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“What?”

“I said don’t talk to me, damn it…!”

I didn’t even know what I babbled because of the blanket. But the guy who was talking to me must have understood. He didn’t say anything more.

Good. I need to think… think…….

[Outbreak!]
Status Abnormality: ‘Death if not an Audience’ occurs!

“Damn it, seriously.”

I banged my head against the bedside table.

“Hey!!”

“Park Moondae!”

The noise increased. It seemed more people had arrived.

The bed sank, and several hands grabbed my shoulders.

“…Do you want to go to the hospital now? Where does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Then why are you like this? …Did some problem occur? Just tell us for now. We won’t tell the company.”

“…….”

I was tired.

Since I couldn’t explain it, I just wanted them to shut up and leave. That would be for the best, but it was a situation where even if I explained that, it would sound irrational.

“M-Moondae-ya. This.”

Someone pressed something into my hand. A cup. And… medicine?

I threw it into my mouth and swallowed the water. I felt like it was going to come right back up, but it went down.

“…….”

The surroundings became quiet.

And my head also cooled down a bit.

“…Is it a sedative?”

“…! P-painkillers and, sleeping pills…….”

Ah, right. You can’t buy sedatives without a prescription.

Still, putting something in my mouth brought back a sense of reality. And talking with familiar people made me feel like I had escaped from my messy mind.

‘Let’s stay calm.’

I coughed a few times and then raised my head.

“……I had, a bit of a bad dream. I’m sorry. For making a scene.”

“I-it’s okay!”

“…Have you calmed down a bit?”

But the moment I saw Ryu Chungwoo among the tense faces of several members, I felt a strong urge to slam his face right into the bedside table.

‘This won’t do.’

It was clear that my head was still messed up.

I lay back down on the bed.

“Again, I’m sorry……. Since I took the medicine, I’ll try to sleep again.”

But I was immediately countered.

“…No, go to the hospital.”

“What?”

It was Bae Sejin’s voice. I could feel his tension.

“I’ll call the manager hyung, so go get a diagnosis and some sedatives. ……If you can do it, there’s no reason not to.”

“…….”

I couldn’t deny it.

In the end, I got up from the bed.

Accompanied by the manager who came running in surprise, I actually went through the emergency room in the middle of America and bought sedatives.

The sedatives I received after making up a rough excuse about insomnia were quite effective. From that day on, I slept without much trouble.

And with the exception of one W-Live I missed on the pretext of health right after, I was able to handle the schedule without any problems. Because I could just do it without thinking about anything else.

After sorting things out like that, two problems remained.

One was… that I was damn reluctant to call up the status window.

Since there was a generous grace period for this, it was okay for now. The other side was much more of a headache.

It was that I couldn’t bear to interact with Ryu Chungwoo.

I could manage a greeting at best, but if I went any further, I’d immediately think of that damn ‘Verify Truth’ and it would drive me crazy.

……But as fate would have it, the next filming roommate was Ryu Chungwoo.

‘I’m going crazy.’

I was faced with choosing between discord rumors and my mental health.