Chapter 28: Rumors

[Seha? Jo Seha?]

An unpleasant voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Dad, please, just be quiet!”

There’s no need to be quiet. From now on, I’ll talk to him myself. Slowly, but firmly, I started walking toward him.

“Uh… Haram, your expression is really scary… No, could you not come any closer?”

There was no reason to listen to him. I stopped right in front of Jo Seha. Because he was much shorter than me, he had to look up at me a little.

“Hand it over.”

“No… I can’t…”

Tap

I reached out and snatched the phone from his hand.

“Jo Jungjae.”

The villain on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then,

[….. Is this Kim Haram?]

Finally, he spoke. Hearing this voice for the first time in a while made it sound even more like a jerk.

“You—looks like you’re planning some ridiculous nonsense.” My voice trembled with rising anger.

“If you keep acting like this, I have no choice. Do you really want me to quit everything?” Even though I’d gotten straight to the point, Jo Jungjae on the other end of the line didn’t react for a while.

[….. I don’t know what you’re talking about.]

“Don’t play dumb.”

Rumors spreading among the program participants. Jo Seha, who suddenly joined Be The Idol and had been following me around from the start. Even sneaking around making phone calls with a banned cell phone. Not a single thing about it sat right with me.

“I’ll clean up the mess you’ve made so far. But if you pull any more crap, I won’t let it go. Got it?”

[….. Haha. Good grief.] Jo Jungjae let out a laugh, as if he couldn’t believe it.

[All I did was call my kid, and now I get this kind of treatment… Hey, Kim Haram.] Jo Jungjae continued. I don’t know what situation you’re in right now. But I’m staying at home meditating quietly, just like I promised you. Didn’t you say not to mess with anything until the Wild Card round is over?]

Ugh…

Shameless bastard…

There was no need to listen any further.

“Get lost.”

Click

The call ended. Naturally, my gaze turned to Jo Seha.

“…Damn it.”

How foolish of me to think, even for a moment, that this guy was different from Jo Jungjae. I raised the phone I was holding right up to my face, then let it fall to the floor.

Crash—!

A loud sound rang out as the corner of the phone hit the cement floor.

“Ah…”

“Hey.”

Jo Seha, who was about to burst into tears as he stared at the phone, hesitated for a moment before looking back at me.

“Ha… Haram…”

“Don’t act up anymore. Just stay put and keep quiet.”

“No… I… just…”

He looked even more ready to cry, his face twisting further. Why are you crying? I’m the one who’s so pissed off I could die right now.

“Listen up.”

I used the coldest voice I could muster.

“When I go back to the set, I’ll treat you exactly the same as before.”

Jo Seha’s gaze flicked to my face, then flinched and looked away.

“We have to film, and I have no intention of ruining our team’s atmosphere any more than this.”

I gently grabbed his chin with three fingers, making him look me in the eye.

“But if you try to mess up the team’s mood any further, I won’t just stand by.” Jo Seha looked at me with teary eyes, then nodded.

“…Okay.”

Once I got my answer, I turned around and headed back toward the filming set.

*****

A little later, I was sitting in my own small, precious Personal Practice Room. At some point, this had become the place where I felt most at ease.

“Haa…”

I lay down, looking up at the ceiling, and covered my eyes with one arm. Jo Seha’s teary face from earlier flashed through my mind.

“Why is he crying…?” I’m the one who wants to cry… Seriously, I mean it.

“Why is being the protagonist so hard…?”

Honestly, ever since I possessed Kim Haram, nothing had ever been resolved easily. And this time… it was a pretty fatal issue.

“What should I do…”

First, I needed to find some way to suppress the spreading rumors and restore my image, even just a little. Rumors…

Yeah.

Rumors could be improved, depending on what I did from now on. I’d already cut off the source of the rumors for now…

At least, I had to make sure Woojin and Hyeonjae didn’t suffer because of me.

‘Hyeonjae… Woojin…’

I miss you guys…

Would it have been a little better if you were here with me right now…?

Just as I was thinking that, Knock knock— Someone knocked on the Practice Room door. Woojin…?

“Yes—”

I answered, drawing out my voice, and heard the door creak open. I peeked out from under my arm to see who it was.

“I thought it would be you, Haram.”

It was Seo Chanul. What, it’s not Hyeonjae or Woojin. I swallowed my disappointment, and at the same time, the system window about my shaking Trait popped up without fail.

[> Status: Activated (-50%)]

“Ugh, seriously…”

The Trait’s activation rate had already dropped to half. Nothing’s going right.

“What did you say?”

Seo Chanul, who was walking over to me, asked absentmindedly.

“Nothing. What brings you here?”

“I was in a Practice Room nearby, and I saw the light on here, so I came in to check.” With a little grunt, Seo Chanul sat down next to me.

“Strangely, you’re the only one who ever uses this place. Is it rumored to be your private room or something?”

“…Could you be careful with that word ‘rumor’? It’s a bit uncomfortable for me right now.”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

Hasn’t the rumor reached his ears yet?

“…You don’t know? There are rumors about me going around.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Seo Chanul widened his pretty eyes in genuine surprise. Such an innocent look.

…Should I tell him? If even that look in his eyes was a lie, then I, Kim Haram, would give up on humanity as Seo Jimin. After making a small vow to myself, I told Seo Chanul about what had happened today. I guess I just needed someone to talk to.

“Seha did that…?” After hearing my story, Seo Chanul trailed off, looking bewildered.

“Yeah. I’m almost certain. No, I am certain.” I caught him in the act, after all.

“That’s strange…”

“What is?”

“Seha didn’t seem like that kind of person.” Hey, why are you taking his side now?

“You’ve been defending Seha a lot lately.”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that.” Seo Chanul waved his hands in front of him awkwardly.

“It’s just… When I think about what happened after the ranking announcement…”

“Ranking announcement?” Oh, the day I got a C rank and rolled around here in despair.

“What about that day?”

“After you left the dorm that day, Seha kept praising you like crazy.” He praised me?

“You’re lying.”

“It’s true. He said he came here because of you, Haram, and that even when you were at the same company, he really respected you.”

…Really?

Is this that two-faced strategy? Acting friendly to my face and firing missiles behind my back.

“There aren’t any rumors like that in my team at all… Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding, Haram?”

…Now I just feel unsettled.

Then what was that phone call with Jo Jungjae earlier…? He even mentioned my name before I arrived.

…I don’t know anymore.

“I don’t know… I just don’t know.” Let me rest for a bit. Seo Chanul, who was sitting next to me, crossed his arms and looked thoughtful.

“I should talk to Seha about this later.”

“Don’t go that far. Don’t get yourself in trouble too.”

“What trouble?” A short silence fell between us.

…What is this. It’s awkward for some reason.

“How are your team members?”

“Huh? Oh, they’re following along pretty well. The overall balance isn’t bad either.”

Seo Chanul’s team, which had been picked by the most participants, ended up being made up entirely of top-ranked members in every position and rank. The perfect group project dream team.

“Jealous…”

“What about yours?”

“What do you think?”

“I told you. There are weird rumors about me.”

Would the others even listen to me? Suddenly, I remembered the first time I met my team members, and how the mood instantly soured as soon as I mentioned my debut.

‘So that’s why.’

If someone rumored to have a confirmed debut says something like that, of course things would get awkward. It was a miracle I didn’t get cursed out on the spot.

“Hang in there. Try to warm them up. I think you’d be good at that.”

“Me?”

Seo Chanul smiled softly and nodded.

“Well…”

I scratched my head, feeling awkward for no reason.

“I’ll try.”

“Yeah. Give it a shot.” Seo Chanul got up and dusted off his pants.

“Ugh, it’s dusty.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Still lying on the floor, I grumbled, and Seo Chanul giggled. That smile really is pretty. After Seo Chanul left the Practice Room, I fell back into my thoughts.

“Try… huh.”

How can I try so the others will open up to me, even just a little, and listen to what I have to say…

Just then, Soram popped up in front of me with a poof.

[Unclaimed quest rewards and emergency maintenance rewards will now be distributed!]

Oh, finally. The unclaimed quest reward was for resolving the Go Jeongeun incident, so it had been quite a while. Must be something good.

[System update in progress… 17%]

The percentage shot up quickly, and soon hit 100%.

[System update complete!]

[New Stat, ‘Level’, has been added!]

[For clearing the quest, you receive the ‘Item Synthesis’ service and 1 ‘Guaranteed Rank Up Ticket’!]

[For the emergency maintenance, you receive the item ‘Synthesis Material (A Rank)’!]

“Oh.”

A bunch of colorful things appeared before my eyes all at once.

“What’s Item Synthesis?”

Before I could even finish asking, Soram spread his hands with a ta-da! and a new window popped up in front of me.

“It looks just like a Pokemon trading machine.”

With trays on each end and a slot in the middle, the hologram design also displayed the items I currently had.

[ > Synthesis Material (A Rank) *1
> Guaranteed Rank Up Ticket *1]

Hmm…

“So, you combine two or more items to make a new one, right?”

[Correct!]

“And if you use the Guaranteed Rank Up Ticket, you get something even better?”

[Exactly!!!]

Nice. Got it. Well, since it’s come to this—

“Soram, let’s open the last three boxes I have left.”

[……?!]

Why are you so surprised?

I can’t just keep hoarding them like some sacred relic forever. And besides…

“Now feels like the perfect time to use them.”

I was exhausted in every way. This kind of frustrating buildup didn’t suit me. I hope something amazing comes out. I quickly opened the High, Mid, and Low-grade boxes one by one.

[ > Synthesis Material (A Rank) *1
> Level Up Candy (B Rank) *1 > Rod of Love (B Rank) *1]

The results weren’t that great. So even high-grade boxes don’t always give good stuff.

“Soram, you appearing was a real stroke of luck, huh?”

Soram puffed up his chest with pride at my words.

[That’s right!!]

Heh. Still, you make me smile.

“If I use a Guaranteed Ticket with even one A Rank, does it guarantee a rank up?”

Soram nodded his head enthusiastically next to me. It’s a pretty user-friendly synthesis system.

[Please select two items to synthesize using !]

I glanced over and picked two items.

[Synthesizing and !]

The two items slid in from either end, and the holographic machine started whirring noisily.

A moment later, with a cheerful sound, a new item popped out.

[You have obtained !]

Oh, this looks really good! I quickly checked the effect.

[ > Item Name: Trait Awakening Quest
> Rank: A
> Effect: Grants a quest to awaken a new Trait
– Unlock your limitless potential!
This item will help you find it!]

Hmm… Not bad for the long run, but not an item I can use for immediate power. A bit disappointing. I’ll have to be satisfied that my rank stayed at 3rd class.

“I still have one more shot.”

I put the remaining items into the machine.

[Synthesizing and !]

[Using the to obtain a higher rank item!]

The hologram machine spun even more noisily than before. If anyone else could see this, the neighbors might have called the cops.

And then, with even flashier effects, the item spat out.

[You have obtained Magic Mirror !]

Magic mirror? Like the one the Snow White queen used?

[ > Item Name: Magic Mirror of Truth
> Rank: S
> Uses Remaining: 3
> Effect: Once per day, gives an accurate answer to any question you ask.
– The mirror that only tells the truth and the correct answer!
Since it has limited uses, let’s not ask who’s the fairest of them all.
You’re the fairest!]

“Oh… This is definitely useful.” Things were already as bad as they could get, but at least now I could objectively know ‘just how bad’ things were. No reason to hold back.

“Can I ask just one right away?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the system window with the item description faded away and formed the shape of a mirror.

[Please ask your question.]

Letters appeared inside the familiar egg-shaped mirror.

“Hmm… Then…”

I organized my thoughts and spoke.

“Excluding myself, how many participants currently know bad rumors about me?”

How far have the rumors really spread? Depending on the mirror’s answer, maybe I should just start over in my next life. Clouds swirled inside the glass of the mirror, then a clear number appeared.

“Huh…?”

[2 people]

Two people? Is that even possible? Can you even call it a rumor if only two people know? All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind. As I stared at the mirror in confusion, clouds swirled inside again.

[3 people]

Wait, did it just…increase?

Bang

I burst out of the Practice Room into the hallway.

“Seo Chanul!!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs, and Seo Chanul came running from a nearby Practice Room.

“What’s wrong?! What happened?!”

“You didn’t just tell anyone what I said, did you?!”

Maybe he caught my urgency, because Seo Chanul shook his head quickly.

“No, I’ve been here the whole time! What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain in a minute!”

I ran down the hall and out of the Practice Hall.

‘Hurry, I have to find him.’

My rumor was still in the making.