Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 160:

[Sub Quest – Congratulations on clearing ‘An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth’. Achievement Bonus Points +20]

[Quest Completion Reward]

[Fate> Jo Eunseong, Park Suheon, Kwak Jaeu, Eom Giung Acquired]

[Special Item> ‘An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth’ Acquired]

I wasn’t very interested in Fate right now. The special item caught my eye first.

I quickly clicked on the item name to check the detailed description.

[Special Item]

[‘An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth’]

[You can return the same grudge you suffered from a specific target. However, the user will not suffer from any side effects depending on the use.]

I narrowed my eyes and stared at it for a long time, wondering what that meant. I didn’t understand what it meant by not suffering from any side effects depending on the use…

Anyway, it means I can give back what I got. I tilted my head in confusion, and the explanation changed slightly.

[In other words, the user will not experience any negative consequences from using it.]

So, let’s say someone slapped me in the face. If I slap him back in the same way, I won’t be treated like a scumbag who hit someone else’s face.

[That is correct.]

The status window agreed with me and showed a Correct mark.

It would be better not to use this kind of thing as much as possible. It seemed like it would only bring trouble if I had it… but it might help in a crisis. I pressed the receive button and sent the item to the inventory.

‘Next is Fate…’

To be honest, they were not the worst idols in terms of skills. But they were so mediocre in personality that I didn’t have high expectations.

I decided to check out the Vesper guys first.

[Name: Jo Eunseong – Age 21]

[Skill]

[Buff: – Use quick learning ability and tact to create an illusion of being proficient even if the practice is insufficient – Usage Points 15pt]

I wondered why they called him a lucky guy, but it was a useful skill to have.

The best thing to do is to practice thoroughly beforehand, but sometimes things don’t go as planned.

[Name: Eom Giung – Age 20]

[Skill]

[Buff: – Use unique vocalization to enhance volume by one grade higher than actual vocal level – Usage Points 5pt]

I’ve raised my vocal level to B now, so if I use this effect, I’ll be A. I don’t need to have S-level vocal skills, so it might be more efficient to use this one than Seong-won’s Fate.

Next was AtoX. These guys were also nothing special, just flaunting their natural talents.

[Name: Park Suheon – Age 20]

[Skill]

[Buff: – Temporarily reduce mistakes and nervousness on stage based on high self-confidence – Usage Points 5pt]

As expected. It was nothing but a lower version of the skill our guys had.

At this rate… the item was definitely useful, but the Fate skills were not very appealing…

As I was regretting that, something finally caught my attention.

[Name: Kwak Jaeu – Age 22]

[Skill]

[Buff: – Can remove one status abnormality of moderate or lower severity – Usage point 10pt]

Wow… this is nice. I’ve never been so exhausted that I couldn’t even lift a finger. But with this, I think I can be more active for a longer time.

‘I wish I could use this on the other guys too.’

I didn’t really want to use it unless it was absolutely necessary, remembering the side effects from last time with Seon-woo.

‘It would be a disaster if something went wrong and it hurt their feelings.’

That was the end of the quest reward. It wasn’t like I got nothing, but it wasn’t anything impressive either.

I was feeling a bit disappointed as I was about to leave the room, when the status window popped up a message as if to warn me.

[Recommended deadline for quest completion D-41]

Time had already passed so quickly. I realized that a lot had happened in the meantime. The second mission was already airing.

I had talked to some of the Floss members in my own way.

But there was still a lot of resentment between the fandoms. I had to do something about this in 40 days…

My head was cluttered again, but it wasn’t a problem that I could solve by worrying.

‘Ah. I’ll wait for the kids outside.’

It took longer than I thought to answer the phone. I wondered if they thought I was getting scolded.

As I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and came out to the living room, I saw the members looking at me with worried eyes.

“What’s wrong, did I do something bad?”

As I looked down at them with a bewildered expression, Seon-woo ran up to me and hugged me tightly. What’s this? Yi-jun came up behind me as if he couldn’t stand it and wrapped his arms around me and Seon-woo. I was squished between them.

“You worked hard, hyung!”

Seon-woo cheered me up as if I had come back alive from a war zone.

“It was hard, but it’s just a bad feeling. I’m fine, I didn’t hurt myself too much.”

Besides, there was still plenty of time until the third mission, and there was no urgent schedule.

Thanks to that, we all agreed to enjoy a rare day off tomorrow. I was feeling rather good, thinking of putting down the ‘idol’ Cheon Ise for a while and resting.

“But… I had Kyunghwa hyung with me, but you must have been so lonely by yourself…”

Seon-woo sobbed as if it was his own problem, and Pposili comforted him by circling around his feet and tickling his instep with his fluffy tail.

“It wasn’t that bad. I just wanted to pay them back for being so irresponsible.”

Then Seon-woo blurted out something I had never heard in my life.

“You’re too nice to be a traitor, hyung.”

“?”

Too nice to be a traitor? I laughed reflexively.

“Thanks for saying that. Don’t worry too much and go to bed early. It’s late.”

I patted the head of Aeongi, who had come over with interest in the three of us huddled together, and started to get ready for bed.

I wasn’t too worried about the gap between us.

But I said what I wanted to say.

No… actually…

‘If you think I’ll take care of you and say nice things to you just because I’m selling as a dad image, you’re mistaken. I don’t want to be, nor do I intend to be, a guardian for you guys.’

I wanted to say that, but it was too much to say until then.

It wasn’t something I couldn’t say, but I thought about the external impact if it leaked, and it was better to stay as a nice person until the end.

Well, whatever. I finished my preparations quickly and before I knew it, it was almost 1 o’clock.

‘Let’s go to bed.’

Tomorrow was a day when I needed a different Cheon Ise than the idol Cheon Ise for a change.

“Ah…”

The next morning. I slept according to the nature of Cheon Ise’s body and woke up after 10 a.m.

It was a wake-up time that I couldn’t even think of when I was Lim Hyun-seong, but it wasn’t that surprising.

Today was the first day I went to the office of [Composition], a solo label for Climax that I was told was finalized last week.

I was ashamed to be late for work as the representative, but I had no choice because I didn’t have time to prepare for the second mission and the early preparation for the third mission.

“Are you up?”

As I opened the door and came out, Kyunghwa and Seong-won were having an idea meeting with various materials spread out on the table.

“Hey, if you were having a meeting, you should have woken me up. I could have helped you out a bit before I went to the office.”

As I approached the table, Kyunghwa immediately waved his hand.

“No, you should prepare your meal if you’re going to eat and go. We’re just doing a concept collage, so we’re not doing anything that great.”

Maybe it was because they saw me suffer for almost 90 minutes yesterday, not giving any ideas or participating at all.

They were not the type to not cooperate, and they didn’t want to poke me to watch them, but they were very diligent from the morning.

“Then I’ll prepare something simple for you guys to eat.”

As I rummaged through the refrigerator in the kitchen, Yi-jun quickly opened the door and came out.

“Oh, if you’re having breakfast, me too.”

As always, he was peaceful and shameless. But I couldn’t hate him too much because he always did more than his share.

“You go over there and join the meeting.”

As soon as I faced Yi-jun in the morning, Seong-won frowned.

“I don’t like seeing your face as soon as I wake up either.”

Yi-jun picked up a piece of paper on the table and grumbled. We seemed to get along a little better, but… ugh.

But I guess I have some affection for him. Maybe one day they’ll suddenly decide to get along.

…No, honestly, I wouldn’t believe it even if I saw it with my own eyes.

After a peaceful breakfast, I was getting ready to go to work and Seon-woo rubbed his eyes and whined.

“Ah… I want to sleep a little more…”

Today, except for me, the members had a normal holiday schedule. He said his family was coming to pick him up later for dinner.

“Sleep more. There’s a salad in the fridge, so have that for lunch.”

I pulled up the blanket that Seon-woo had pulled up to his waist and covered it up to his chin.

It was already December. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep like this. I turned on the heating, but the house that I moved in not long ago still didn’t have warmth.

“Uhng…”

I don’t know if Seon-woo heard me in his sleep or if he was just throwing a tantrum, but he muttered something and buried his face deep into the pillow.

“Sleep well.”

It wasn’t something you’d normally say in the middle of the day when the sun was high in the sky, but I wanted him to rest well today.

I left Seon-woo, who had fallen asleep, and the other members, who had started their daily activities, at the dorm and headed to a small office near the company building.

I could have used a building owned by my family, but I wanted an office that wasn’t too far from either the dorm or the company, so I had some limitations.

I prioritized the geographical location, but unfortunately, I had to settle for an old building.

‘Well, I don’t need a big office anyway, since I don’t have many people to work with right now.’

I parked my car in the basement of the office building and took the elevator up. Hmm… I felt the eerie atmosphere of the old building.

‘Maybe I should have gone to a building owned by Cheon Soo Group, even if it was bigger and busier…’

As I regretted my choice, a dark shadow suddenly appeared behind me from the darkness, like a ghost from a movie.

“Ah!”

It had long, tangled hair, a head bowed like a hanging corpse, and a white outfit that looked like a shroud.

I was startled and pressed myself against the wall, trying to escape.