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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Boy Rolling Down Stairs (1)
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I returned to the dorm with the members. Even so, the tremor I'd felt just moments ago showed no signs of fading.
After reassuring the members who asked if I was okay, I climbed up to the attic room.
The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock's second hand.
[Main Quest]
- Will you accept 'Find X'?
- YES / NO
I lay on the bed and stared at the system window floating in front of me.
"Am I finally losing my mind?"
I swiped at the air with my hand, closed my eyes and opened them repeatedly, but the system window didn't disappear.
Even after slapping my cheek hard, it stayed put.
I wondered if something was wrong with my brain, making me see hallucinations...
But the vivid sensations and scenes I'd felt then—that couldn't be dismissed as mere delusion.
I'd died back then and returned to the past. And...
'Someone pushed me.'
The hand that had shoved my back—cold and chilling to the touch. Just recalling it made my breath catch.
Who the hell was it? Why did they push me? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.
The one person who'd smiled at my death. Someone who wanted me dead more than anyone, enough to smile about it and gain from it.
'Who could that be?'
I tried my hardest to remember that moment, but strangely, whenever I focused on it, my mind grew foggy like it was filled with static.
I closed my eyes and thought.
"Find X, huh..."
X must be the one who killed me.
I steadied my breathing and slowly raised my finger to press YES. With a flash, the system window switched.
[Main Quest Activated]
A humming sound accompanied the change in text.
[Main Quest]
- Find the murderer X who killed you.
- Reward: ???
I quickly scanned the system window.
As expected, X was that bastard. The reward being a question mark probably meant I'd only find out after completing the quest...
My head started to ache.
Part of me wanted to run to the police station right then and beg them to catch the guy who killed me, but I was back in the past, before the murder even happened.
There was no way the police would investigate a murder that hadn't occurred yet.
'In the end, I have to catch X myself.'
I let out a sigh and dropped my head. Just then, Kwon Hee-yul's words came to mind.
'Always think positively. Got it?'
His constant advice to live life with a positive outlook.
'Kwon Hee-yul...'
I picked up my smartphone and opened my contacts.
His number was still there, but I hadn't reached out to him once since that day.
It was due to a vague fear. Fear that contacting him would make it real—we weren't as close as before.
I started typing a message to Kwon Hee-yul but stopped.
'I'll call later.'
I closed my eyes, trying to sort through my cluttered thoughts. But sleep wouldn't come.
* * *
Early morning. The day we were all supposed to practice together.
I paused in front of the practice room door and glanced at the system window on my right.
[Main Quest]
- Find the murderer X who killed you.
- Reward: ???
"Hoo..."
I sighed and lifted my head.
Just yesterday, I'd been grinding my teeth, vowing to find the one who killed me. But now that I was at the practice room, my mind had cooled.
I'd realized something. Debut was right around the corner.
Even if I wanted to catch X, there wasn't much I could do right now. I didn't have any leads yet.
'For now, focus on debut.'
I could hunt for X later, once I gathered more info. Of course, I'd have to watch my back until then.
I glanced around, then touched the system window with my finger.
[System Window Deactivated]
The window hummed and vanished. I took a deep breath and opened the practice room door.
Click—
As soon as the door opened, music poured out. Cha Jae-hyun was already there, practicing.
He stopped dancing and looked at me.
"Jeong Eun-ho. You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Take it easy. What if you collapse right before debut?"
"That won't happen."
Even so, Cha Jae-hyun gave me a doubtful look.
At his reaction, I had no choice but to add,
"I was just a little off yesterday. I'm really fine now."
"Good to hear."
Just then, the sound of the door opening came again.
I turned to see Song Yu-bin standing there, arms laden with convenience store bags.
"Yu! You made it."
"Yu-bin, you buying drinks?"
"What'd you get?"
Song Yu-bin pulled drinks from the bags and passed them around.
"I picked exactly what you guys like. Jae-hyun hyung, this one. Eun-ho hyung, this. Hee-yul hyung..."
Song Yu-bin trailed off mid-laugh, his smile vanishing. He'd forgotten Kwon Hee-yul wasn't there—a slip of the tongue.
No one said a word. We just exchanged glances.
A long silence stretched out.
'If only Baek Si-woo were here, he could lighten the mood somehow.'
Right then, the sound of someone running up—thudding footsteps—came from outside.
'That sound...'
I turned as the door flew open. And there he was...
"Safe! Not late, right?"
Baek Si-woo.
Speak of the devil—he'd arrived at the perfect moment.
True to form, Baek Si-woo burst in noisily, his face full of energy as he walked over.
"What's up? Why's the vibe so down?"
"Don't you think your energy's way too high? Show some self-awareness."
"Nag, nag!"
With the team's mood-maker Baek Si-woo here, the heavy atmosphere lifted back to normal.
"When do we start practice?"
"After the last one shows."
Everyone's faces turned awkward. Eun Hae-sol still hadn't arrived.
I checked my watch—already ten minutes past the agreed time.
Not only was he a parachute insert, but showing up last?
"Let's wait a bit. He'll be here soon."
And so we waited for Eun Hae-sol.
Ten minutes, twenty, thirty. As time dragged on, our patience wore thin.
Eun Hae-sol was the last to join the debut lineup, and he didn't even live in the dorm with us.
Thinking about him always brought it on—that he felt like an outsider, not truly part of the team.
"I'll call him."
Cha Jae-hyun sighed and pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.
Ring, ring, ring—
Cha Jae-hyun's arm holding the phone slowly lowered.
"No answer. Let's just start without him."
The wait felt utterly pointless.
As we moved to our positions to begin, Song Yu-bin spoke up in an irritated tone.
"Isn't this too much?"
"..."
"Honestly, he's the one who needs practice the most out of all of us. At least text if you're running late. If he's gonna act like this, why'd Hee-yul hyung have to...!"
Song Yu-bin clamped his mouth shut. Mentioning Kwon Hee-yul's name made everyone's expressions harden.
"Yu-bin."
"...Sorry."
What a mess the situation had become.
Even Baek Si-woo seemed to think it wasn't his place to butt in and just chugged his drink.
In the heavy mood, Cha Jae-hyun silently turned on the speaker.
Our debut track [Blue Sky Below] flowed from it.
[Blue Sky Below] was an upbeat song with a message to always smile, where bright facial expressions mattered most.
That's why we—gloomy-faced just moments ago—suddenly grinned like different people and started dancing.
How long did we dance? Before we knew it, the sun was setting outside the window.
"Let's stop and take a break..."
Click—
Everyone's eyes snapped to the door. Eun Hae-sol walked in.
He stood tall, head held high, without a trace of apology.
Looking at him, rage boiled up to the top of my head.
I glanced around—everyone else wore the same stony expression.
'What a shameless face to come back with.'
Cha Jae-hyun said with a look of disbelief.
"You're really late."
"Sorry."
"Doesn't look like you're sorry."
"Sorry."
"I told you. We've got less than a month till debut. You've had way less practice time than us, so you need it more. You can't show up this late."
"Sorry."
Like a robot, Eun Hae-sol just repeated "sorry."
Cha Jae-hyun turned away, his face saying he didn't even want to talk.
"Fine. Let's practice."
Then Eun Hae-sol let out a deep sigh, like the ground was caving in. We all stared at him, dumbfounded.
Something inside me snapped.
"Hey. Eun Hae-sol."
"..."
"Do you think you're good enough?"
Eun Hae-sol tilted his head, looking at me.
"Don't you ever think you need to put in effort? You know someone got kicked out of the debut group because of you, right? He trained for seven years."
"..."
"He worked himself to death."
Eun Hae-sol said nothing. I figured he had nothing to say.
As I turned away with that thought—
"So what?"
Unbelievable words came from Eun Hae-sol's mouth.
Hearing that, the last thread of my self-control snapped.
"What did you just say?"
I stormed right up to Eun Hae-sol.
"Say it again. What?"
The members nearby sensed trouble and rushed over, pulling me away from him.
Cha Jae-hyun blocked me and said,
"Eun Hae-sol. Get out."
Eun Hae-sol didn't budge.
Finally losing it, Cha Jae-hyun yelled,
"Get out!"
Bang—
Eun Hae-sol slammed the door shut behind him irritably.
"Hoo..."
I ran a hand through my hair, steadying my breath. Coming back to my senses, I saw the members standing there with worried looks.
Cha Jae-hyun peered into my face.
"You calmed down?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"I get why you're mad. But you can't do that. You know what I mean."
"Yeah. I know. Sorry."
"It's not like you. Is it because of Hee-yul? You've been off since he left."
Baek Si-woo, who'd been listening, chimed in slyly.
"It's not just Jeong Eun-ho acting weird. We're all off. Even Jae-hyun hyung cried drinking that night."
"Why bring that up?"
At Baek Si-woo's sudden reveal, Cha Jae-hyun's face turned beet red.
Baek Si-woo shrugged.
"Just saying, don't ride Eun-ho too hard. Did you see Eun Hae-sol's attitude today? He deserved it. And you know he can't hold back when it comes to Hee-yul."
At that, Cha Jae-hyun looked at me helplessly.
He patted my shoulder.
"Head back to the dorm first today. Get some rest."
* * *
On the way back to the dorm.
I looked up at the sky, painted with sunset.
Walking the street, I thought.
The world is so damn unfair. Some guy debuts in one shot because he's the CEO's son, no effort needed. Another gets booted in one go for lacking connections.
I knew this industry was dirty and cruel, but...
'So what?'
It burned inside me.
"You bastard."
I chucked the drink can in my hand into the trash.
"Haa..."
Confirming the street was empty, I muttered softly.
"System window activate."
[Main Quest]
- Find the murderer X who killed you.
- Reward: ???
I stared at the system window.
I still had zero info on X, but let's at least think about it.
'Who killed me?'
First suspect: Cha Jae-hyun. The team's eldest and leader. Seems strict but full of affection. No way he'd commit murder. Pass.
Second: Baek Si-woo. My only same-age friend. Thoughtless, simple, with insanely high energy. Him murdering? Ridiculous. Pass.
Third: Song Yu-bin. The maknae. Follows his hyungs well, gets heated sometimes, but just an adorable kid. Can't even kill an ant—murderer? Pass.
That leaves Eun Hae-sol...
"Could it really be him?"
He'd only recently joined the debut group; we had no connection.
We'd just had a blowup today, but before that, barely any conversation.
No incident that would make Eun Hae-sol hate me enough for X.
'Maybe he's a psycho who kills randomly.'
I shook my head.
'No, X might not even be a member. Then the pool's too big...'
My thoughts reached that point when a system window popped up.
[Sub Quest]
- Will you accept 'Boy Rolling Down Stairs'?
- YES / NO
This is...
"What's this now...?"
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