Chapter 56

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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‘Did Park Moondae change his name?’

I had a bad feeling that made the back of my neck go cold. Anyway, I shouldn’t look awkward. I immediately picked up the microphone and spoke.

“…I’ve been Park Moondae since the moment my birth was registered.”

“Uhehe!”

The MC had good reactions. This was the truth.

‘As soon as I entered this body, I checked the resident registration, the abstract, and even the family relation certificate.’

I wasn’t a fool; it was a natural thing to do. I had looked for every element that could potentially become a problem. Park Moondae had lived with this name throughout, and there were no other peculiarities. Other than the high school dropout he had recorded himself, it was clean.

‘The suicide note even said the dropout was due to bullying.’

It meant it wasn’t a reason that would be a problem for a debut. However, that specific ‘verification of name change’… definitely had something that weighed on my mind.

‘I should look it up on the internet as soon as it’s over.’

“Ah~ I guess they asked because Moondae-ssi’s name is so unique!”

The MC concluded the question immediately, perhaps feeling there was nothing more to extract. I waited for the filming to end while checking other participants receiving questions.

* * *

I just found a social media post that had become a meme on the internet.

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[I’m curious about what Moondae did for a living, but nothing comes up. Could he be an alien who changed his name?]
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‘This was the problem.’

I felt a bit dejected. Since the original account owner was a famous illustrator, it seemed it had quickly become a meme in a short period. Though it was within the fan community.

-(That… makes sense!)
-Seeing how serious he is about eating, he must be an alien. He was dispatched to investigate Earth’s food culture. Anyway, he is.
-Moondae’s main body has puppy ears. I saw it.

It didn’t matter if people laughed while making such jokes, but the situation itself did raise some doubts.

‘I didn’t expect nothing to come out at all.’

Park Moondae’s date of birth and even his name were written in his profile. Honestly, I expected his high school of origin to be revealed in the middle of the broadcast. At the very least, I had even expected comments like ‘I went to the same school, and he was a bit strange. He was a kid who wandered alone and then dropped out.’ And this level of statement wouldn’t even be a blow. Rather, the fans would have been relieved that he wasn’t in a position to bully anyone since he was a weakling at school.

‘Is it because his impression changed so much?’

This guess seemed to be the most plausible. When I first entered this body, Park Moondae was skinny and had shaggy hair. Furthermore, since a completely different person (me) had entered, his tone, movements, and atmosphere would have changed as well. Still, the story would come out eventually. It wasn’t as if he was using a pseudonym.

‘I’d prefer if it came out after the program ends.’

Since it would be difficult to look at a smartphone until the live broadcast. After the talk show filming ended, I returned to the dormitory and handed in my smartphone as always.

‘Let’s just practice hard.’

There was only a week left until the final stage. There was no room to think about other things. …However, even if there was no room, one would have no choice but to think about other things if a problem arose immediately. I came to experience this not long after.

* * *

The incident broke two days later in the evening. While I was half-asleep and shoving dinner into my mouth, an urgent call came from the production staff. From my experience so far, I thought they would take some interview cuts. However, the atmosphere in the staff room was serious.

“Moondae-ssi.”

The writer who had cast me at the karaoke room began to speak in a tone that barely sounded worried.

“Currently, on the internet… a post has come up.”

“……Yes.”

I had an incredibly bad feeling about this. Even the writer was choosing her words while having me in front of her, as if she didn’t know how to say it. Feeling a headache rushing in, I held out both hands.

“Could I perhaps just see it for myself?”

“Mmm, okay.”

The writer scanned me from top to bottom and quickly handed over her phone. I looked at the screen. I saw a familiar interface. It was the same community where Keun Sejin’s school violence controversy had appeared. And I saw the title written in a large font at the top.

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[Reason for Park Moondae’s Dropout: Caught stealing sanitary pads lol]
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“…….”

What kind of bullsh*t is this? I felt dazed by the title I hadn’t even imagined. It had been a long time since I felt my mind being completely blocked. With a brain that wasn’t working properly due to shock, I checked the content.

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It’s already out that Park Moondae is from Incheon Sijeong High, so I’ll skip the explanation.
I went to Sijeong High and I’m the same age as Park Moondae. Park Moondae was in Class 3, and he was a really gloomy and strange kid. Actually, I didn’t even know his name. I only knew he was Ajusa’s Park Moondae after seeing him become famous.
Yeah, but don’t be relieved yet, you fans lol. ★It’s true that Park Moondae was caught stealing sanitary pads from a girl in the same class and dropped out because of that.★
Even because of this, the girl whose sanitary pads were stolen also had strange rumors spread about her and dropped out not long after.
And quite a few kids know about this? There was a commotion for a while, wondering if a school violence committee would be held lol. Although Park Moondae dropped out and ran away!
In case you don’t believe me, I’ll certify my graduation album and school uniform. But even without this, kids who know will continue to come out~
[Photo] [Photo] [Photo]
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Below that, testimony posts from netizens claiming to be from Sijeong High and knowing about this incident were listed as best comments one after another.

“…….”

My spine went cold. This… was a dead end. It would have been better if he had hit someone or stolen money. He stole a girl’s sanitary pads because there was nothing else to steal? It was something I would have thought of as a hopeless bastard even if I had seen it in reality, but such a thing broke out for an idol audition participant.

“Did you finish reading?”
“…….”

I read it, but I had nothing to say. Was this Park Moondae guy crazy?

‘He did such a pathetic thing and wrote in his suicide note that it was unfair to be bullied?’
Right, if he hadn’t stolen them, it would have been understandable. But the problem was whether there was a way to prove right now that he hadn’t stolen them.

“……Yes.”

I barely managed to answer. The writer didn’t even bring up useless questions like ‘is it true or not.’

“I think it’s better for you to quickly think about what to do.”

It meant I should handle it myself, whether it was resolving it or dropping out. I swallowed and answered.

“…Please wait a moment, I will think about it and tell… you.”

“Yes. Please be quick.”

I was at a point where I couldn’t even speak properly. I went back to the dormitory in a state of shock. Since it was still practice time, the room in the dormitory was empty. I felt like I would break everything on the table if I sat at it, so I sat on the bed. And I tried to think as calmly as possible… F*ck, what do you mean by trying.

I punched the bed. A dull ‘thud, thud’ sound rang out, but not a single bit of this anger was resolved.

‘Am I supposed to die like this?’

What the f*ck am I supposed to do about this? In this situation where I was shoved into such a flawed body and pushed to debut within a year while pretending to give me level-ups as a favor, I could find nothing but malice. My head ached. I should have taken that damn Imperturbability trait.

‘Now… what should I do?’

What rushed in after the anger was, ridiculously, a deep sense of helplessness. There was nothing I could do. Really. Because I didn’t know anything. If I at least had a smartphone, I could search… No, that was a crazy thing to do. The fact that I was currently not looking at the public opinion was why it ended at this level. No matter how much I had lived without caring much about what others said, I couldn’t guarantee that I would be fine even after seeing an unspecified majority pouring out raw criticism.

Furthermore…….

‘……What about those people.’

I mean, what would the people who supported Park Moondae have felt? They spent money and time as much as they could, so they wouldn’t have even imagined being betrayed in this way. It was even more absurd because I hadn’t done it. I was going crazy. This feeling of being overwhelmed by the situation was the first since I became an orphan.

“…….”

Should I give up? Around the time that thought briefly crossed my mind, someone creaked open the dormitory door.

“E-excuse me…….”

“…….”

I thought I was exercising superhuman patience just by not telling them to get lost right now. I didn’t respond and continued to sit on the bed with my head lowered. It felt like my brain was boiling.

“Hey, Park Moondae.”

At that moment, the door burst open and Keun Sejin came in. I guess the rumors had already spread. It wasn’t strange that a quick-witted guy like him noticed first.

“Is that story about you true?”

I didn’t know. I thought I didn’t answer, but apparently, my mouth was not being controlled due to extreme stress. That guy responded.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Did you really drop out because of that?”

“I said I don’t know.”

I didn’t know why he was being so annoying. It was only the final left anyway, so wouldn’t it be an advantage for him if I dropped out?

“…Do you know you’re talking nonsense right now?”

I gritted my teeth.

“I don’t remember.”

“What?”

“F*ck. I woke up after trying to kill myself and I don’t remember anything. Happy now?”

Thud, thud. The sound of Seon Ahyun, who was standing awkwardly next to him, dropping the chocolate bar he was holding was loud. I lamented. I had told the truth for no reason. Should I consider it a relief that I didn’t blabber about my body being switched and returning to the past? If I had even said I could see a status window, I would be undeniably labeled as a mythomaniac or a psychopath. No, what did all that matter now? If I can’t resolve this anyway, debuting within a year was far from possible.

“I-i-is it true…….”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

It was already hard to stay calm, and they were making me use energy in a useless conversation.

“If you understand, then just… leave me alone. I’ll settle it myself.”

“…How are you going to settle it when you say you don’t even remember?”

“Just get out.”

“Anyway, if you don’t know anything, isn’t it better to have someone to discuss it with? You don’t even have an agency.”

“…….”

He was right.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe, but I don’t think you’re the type to lie about something like this. The rumor about stealing sanitary pads is even more strange.”

“Th-that’s right.”

“Because I don’t think a guy as calculating as you would do such a stupid thing.”

“…!! A-ah, no…… That’s, that’s not what I meant, uh, I mean…….”

Seon Ahyun broke down. Keun Sejin ignored Seon Ahyun.

“Right. It would have been different if it was posted by the victim or the victim’s acquaintance. But I see that’s not the case either.”

“…….”

My head cooled down a bit. I raised my head and looked at Keun Sejin. Keun Sejin was calmly sitting on the floor opposite me. I didn’t know why a guy who didn’t seem like the type was meddling like this.

‘Is it because I helped him with his situation?’

Still, it was unexpected that he was doing this with the final right around the corner. Not that I was in a position to care about such things right now.

“First… let’s assume you don’t remember this incident. Do you remember anything from high school?”

“Whether it’s high school or whatever, I have no memories at all. When I came to my senses, there was only a suicide note in front of me.”

A moment of silence passed.

“…Was there any mention of it in the suicide note?”

“There was no mention of specific incidents. There was an expression that it was unfair, but that’s something anyone can say at any time.”

“You’re calm, considering it’s about yourself.”

Keun Sejin let out a weak hollow laugh. I wanted to snort, but I didn’t have the mental room for it.

“E-excuse me.”

Seon Ahyun struggled to join the conversation.

“Th-then… would it be… d-difficult to find and confirm if the… p-person involved is there?”

“…….”

He must be talking about the girl who supposedly dropped out.

“With filming going on like now, there’s no time or opportunity to find her. …Unless I drop out.”

…The situation became clearer as I spoke. First, dropping out to put out the urgent fire and finding out the exact situation would probably have a higher survival rate.

“……D-don’t do it.”

“What?”

“D-don’t quit, and let’s w-wait a little.”