NOVEL WEB Chapter 24
Chapter 24
I spent the past few days maintaining an exceptionally harmonious relationship with Go Soo-jong grandpa. We got along so well, it was almost uncanny.
Grandpa kept giving me various tasks to do. Thanks to all the small but physically demanding house chores, my stamina improved bit by bit.
Grandpa also enjoyed playing chess and chatting.
Living alone, he must have been thrilled to find a calm, composed, and attentive conversation partner like me.
Because of that, I felt like I’d heard his fashion philosophy at least ten times.
In reality, my fashion philosophy was “패완얼.”
Fashion completes with the face.
I actively proved that this famous saying, which would go down in fashion history, was not in vain.
However, there was no excuse for dressing poorly here.
If Grandpa caught me later wearing whatever I grabbed, I might get scolded even more than when I said I wouldn’t get married last time…
Just imagining the scolding scared me.
Staying at Grandpa Go Soo-jong’s house for a few days also provided an opportunity to learn about this world.
In fact, the past few days were the first time since I fell into the game that I could spend time without major worries or anxieties.
First of all, I learned almost nothing about ‘On Raon.’
The only possession that could serve as a clue other than the student ID, the cell phone, was as clean as if it had been formatted.
The only calls I received were from people related to Pick Heart.
I tried a few things to figure out my identity, but I didn’t achieve much.
Well… won’t things work out somehow?
I tried to stay positive.
In summary, what I learned about this game world is that, unsurprisingly, many things I know don’t even have a trace here.
Songs I enjoyed listening to, games I immersed myself in all day, movies about loyal dogs that made me cry…
No one in this world knows what I know.
Music, dramas, movies, and other pop culture were all familiar yet completely new.
Delivery apps were filled with franchises I didn’t know, even the names of convenience stores or chicken shops were different.
The video streaming site was not YouTube but Witube. The famous SNS was not Instagram but Startel.
Celebrities and politicians were also entirely new faces.
Did the game developer conceive and set up all of this? If so, they must be a real genius.
However, there were quite a few things similar to real works.
For example, movies with a similar plot and atmosphere to a blockbuster about historical figures.
Or characters that reminded me of children’s animations I watched alone while eating as a child.
The more I knew, the stranger it felt.
A world full of unfamiliar familiarity.
‘I need to work hard to gather information if I don’t want to be seen as ignorant.’
And today was the rehearsal day for the Heart Attack stage on the music show ‘M Stage.’
Grandpa told me as I grabbed my outerwear.
“Take out the trash I left at the entrance when you go out.”
“Yes, sir. …Ugh! What’s in here? It’s so heavy, I almost threw out my back. What would you do without me, Grandpa?”
“How would I manage? I’d do just fine.”
“Oh, come on, you’re lying.”
“Who’s lying to whom?”
“We’re the same age, aren’t we? I’m eighteen, you’re seventy-eight. Year of the Dragon, twins!”
“…Where did I put my cane?”
“I’m off!”
Unfortunately, Grandpa still firmly believed I was a runaway teen.
Even though I explained truthfully that I came up to Seoul from Busan to become a singer, he didn’t believe me, so I let him misunderstand.
Grandpa Go Soo-jong’s AI must be programmed to accept a player with nowhere to go like this, based on his firm belief that I had run away.
It seemed quite plausible.
After about two hours, I arrived at the gym where the rehearsal was to be held.
The staff handed me a sticker name tag indicating my grade and name, along with an orange vest with a ‘B’ printed on the back.
I put the vest on over my clothes and approached the B-grade trainees who were wearing the same orange vest.
Everyone seemed nervous, practicing difficult moves even if only briefly.
As always, I spotted Ban Yo-han, who didn’t seem very interested in additional practice beyond his assigned amount, and asked him a question I’d been curious about on my way here.
“Hyung, how did you shoot your 1-minute PR video?”
“Well, just like this and that.”
Ban Yo-han, who usually roamed around with a leisurely smile as if he had no worries in the world, replied insincerely with an oddly calm face.
Why is he acting out of character?
Could it be…?
“Hyung, are you nervous? If you’re too nervous to do it, it’s okay to give me the center.”
I said, placing my hand on Ban Yo-han’s shoulder with a wide smile.
Ban Yo-han slapped my hand away with a look of great distaste. If he hadn’t, I would have given him a hug as a reward for before.
[Ban Yo-han is dumbfounded that he momentarily worried about such a dog-like guy, convinced that there was a temporary malfunction in his well-functioning brain. Ban Yo-han’s favorability +0 Current favorability +29]
This fox-like jerk called me a dog just because I couldn’t read his mind. From now on, you’re a fox cub.
With a game system and a fox cub, I might end up starting a zoo at this rate.
But why did he worry about me? Could he still be holding onto what happened a few days ago?
If that’s the case, I might feel a little sorry.
“What are you looking at?”
…It’s better to waste sympathy on the soggy corn rolling around my floor back in reality than on this guy.
After a while, the trainees gathered in one place, and the director of the main production, Jo In-soo PD, and the shooting director began to speak in front of us.
“Hello, I’m Shin Jae-han, in charge of today’s shooting.”
To summarize the long speech by the shooting director and Jo In-soo PD that followed:
We’re starting the rehearsal now, but from A-grade on stage to F-grade below, don’t even think about going home until it’s perfect.
It was a ridiculous statement.
‘If we were perfect, we’d all be A-grade, not BCDF.’
Such words formed on the tip of my tongue but disappeared soon after. You don’t argue with the boss.
The stage was heart-shaped.
More precisely, four heart-shaped stages gathered in sequence with their pointed parts inward, forming a shape reminiscent of a four-leaf clover.
The lighting was rose-colored, just like during the mentor evaluation.
A former trainee from Muk Hye-sung’s class, standing next to me, spoke with a trembling voice as we watched the stage move.
“I knew it moved, but the speed is faster than I thought… Can we really dance on that?”
His pupils were trembling as much as his voice.
“Don’t worry. The Earth is spinning right now, and people are moving just fine.”
“Former class president, thanks for the comforting words.”
“It’s nothing.”
A little later, trainees from each grade headed to their positions, wearing peach-colored earpiece mics, and the rehearsal began.
* * *
Again, again, again. And again.
Is there a word that better expresses a rehearsal? This was almost like dog training.
It was hard enough to dance properly once, but doing it repeatedly with only brief breaks made my throat burn and taste like blood.
Every dance break felt like my lungs were being torn apart, making it hard to keep a straight face.
‘If it’s like this during the recording tomorrow, it’ll be a disaster.’
Earlier, I even received a warning notification that my fatigue level had reached 70.
I looked at the other trainees to endure the moment I wanted to give up and sit down, and my willpower increased as well.
If they gave us a break in between, it would be different, but the only time we could stop our limbs was when the director shouted the dreadful “Again!” and the moving stage returned to its original state.
I wish ‘again’ was designated as a banned word in the program.
“You there, far left in C-grade! Yeah, you. You’re off-beat! Again!”
The director shouted again.
Hey. That side was much more off than this one. He’s not even correcting mistakes properly, just yelling that we’re wrong.
I don’t know what he’s trying to achieve.
From behind me, I heard someone mutter, “Damn it….”
It seemed like a curse aimed at the overly strict or perhaps power-tripping director rather than the trainee who made the mistake, so everyone pretended not to hear it.
Honestly, it’s understandable.
For reference, I was refraining from cursing these days.
What if I couldn’t curse at a truly critical moment because of this stupid filtering?
Consider it a last resort, so to speak.
It wasn’t just the trainee who cursed who was dissatisfied.
Discontent was gradually building among other trainees, but no one dared to speak up.
Even the well-performing A and B-grade trainees, who didn’t make any obvious mistakes, silently pleaded for mercy with their facial expressions.
C-grade trainees, who made relatively more mistakes, and D and F-grade trainees, who were practically walking on a minefield, couldn’t lift their heads out of embarrassment and shame.
If I, a B-grade who danced from the middle, found it this hard, how tough must it be for the A-grades who had to dance from start to finish?
I had raised my stamina quite a bit, but I felt like I
’d die if I kept going.
How many hours has it been?
Without a clock, I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like three or four hours had easily gone by.
The rose-colored lighting now looked blood-red.
Just as I was about to check my fatigue level, Ban Yo-han spoke to me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look so good.”
Really? It was a meaningless conversation since I couldn’t rest right away.
I opened my mouth to say I was fine again, but another trainee beside me looked at me and widened his eyes.
Ban Yo-han’s expression was similar.
“Hey, On Raon, you’re nosebleeding!”
At his urgent shout, I felt something flowing under my nose.
A nosebleed? I didn’t think I was that exhausted.
…As I was thinking that.
[Your fatigue level has reached 100.]
[From now on, HP will decrease instead of fatigue. Rest is recommended. Pay attention to managing your fatigue.]
[As a penalty for failing to manage fatigue, you have incurred the status effect: Bleeding (Area: Nose).]
…This damned game never lets me have a peaceful day.
A staff member, startled by the sudden commotion, reported the situation via radio.
[If the bleeding doesn’t stop, HP will decrease by 5 every minute.]
[Due to the status effect: Bleeding (Area: Nose), HP –5]
Are you kidding me?
My level and stamina had increased significantly, so I wasn’t worried about immediate danger, but theoretically, I could die from a nosebleed.
This is insane.
I reflexively tried to press my nostrils with my sleeve but stopped because I couldn’t bear to stain the few clothes I had with blood.
I didn’t want to realize the preciousness of one piece of clothing this way.
Eventually, the B-grade stage that had been moving towards the A-grade stage stopped, presumably because the situation was conveyed.
The voices of B-grade trainees around me asking if I was okay finally reached my ears.
My vision was red, perhaps due to the intense lighting or the system’s special effects.
[If the bleeding doesn’t stop, HP will decrease by 5 every minute.]
[Due to the status effect: Bleeding (Area: Nose), HP –5]
Alright, I get it.
No need to say it twice.