Chapter 133
After the year-end music show recording ended.
We all returned to the dorm and collapsed.
Everyone went into their rooms and fell asleep as if they were dead.
I was no exception.
Then, I suddenly woke up in the early morning.
Having been in the cold for so long, my whole body was still shivering.
The cold was hard for Yoon Cheong’s already weak body to endure.
What I saw as I got up was…
– “Are you awake?”
It was a bundle of cotton.
“You came again.”
The cotton bundle floated around and sat on my knee.
– “It was noisy with people looking for me for a while. Now that the urgent problem is solved, I guess they don’t need me anymore?”
“Something like that.”
The hardest problem had been overcome.
My vocal cords were completely healed.
**Yoon Cheong (Baek Nokha)**
**Singing: 99/100**
My stats had returned to normal.
Originally, my maximum stat was 97, but it had risen to 99… does that mean I’ve grown a bit too?
Director Kim had been sued for embezzlement and leaking company information from Colors.
Kim Ryeo-yu had completely fallen to the point where she couldn’t recover.
She had been removed from <Top of Idol> along with Shin Yuhwa.
As for Shin Yuhwa, I heard he was sued for assault.
CEO Hong had almost completely conquered Colors.
Director Sung seemed to have been quite shocked by Director Kim’s case and was being more cautious.
Of course, CEO Hong wasn’t one to let her guard down completely, so she seemed to keep a proper watch.
What concerned me was that CEO Hong had gained too much power.
There was no guarantee that an ally would remain an ally forever.
…Still, I thought it was better than Director Kim.
After all, no job is perfect.
Anyway.
The only thing left now was to prepare for the next album and win the Rookie of the Year award.
It meant we just needed to move forward smoothly.
– “Did you think so?”
“Isn’t it?”
The cotton bundle grinned with a big mouth.
– “Well, I can grant wishes, but I don’t make prophecies, Baek Nokha.”
Then why did it smile so meaningfully?
“Cotton bundle. I have something I’m curious about.”
– “What is it?”
After pondering, I finally asked the question that had been on my mind.
“What happened to the real Yoon Cheong… Is she doing well? Is she watching me now? Is she okay with everything I’m doing?”
At my question, the cotton bundle was silent for a moment.
Then it floated up gently with the breeze.
– “You had a lot of questions, Baek Nokha.”
“I did.”
– “I can’t answer all those questions.”
The cotton bundle came close to my face.
– “How about asking yourself? If you were Yoon Cheong, what would you think?”
If I were Yoon Cheong.
If Yoon Cheong were watching me now.
“…I think she would say, ‘You’re trying hard.'”
– “That’s harsh. Evaluating yourself as just ‘trying hard.'”
The cotton bundle chuckled and moved away from me.
It seemed like it wasn’t going to tell me anything.
I couldn’t help it.
I hadn’t expected much anyway.
“At least tell me why you came.”
– “I came to settle the score. You’ve completed quite a few small and big quests.”
That was true.
For example,
[<Let’s perform a special stage at the year-end music festival!>
Reward: 50 points]
[<Meet 10,000 fans in person!>
※At a distance where you can recognize each other’s faces※
Reward: 100 points]
Things like that.
– “Good job, Baek Nokha. Your current points are…”
[Current points: 1700 points]
– “This much.”
“More than I expected?”
I had been living so frantically that I hadn’t realized how many points I had accumulated.
– “Of course. Save them well. You never know… there might be a day when you’ll need to use them again? There are still two survivals left, after all.”
“Something else is going to happen there, right?”
– “Well.”
The cotton bundle trailed off. Then suddenly changed the subject.
– “About the past life.”
The cotton bundle suddenly brought up another topic.
– “Do you remember everything, Baek Nokha?”
“Of course, I remember everything.”
– “Really? Then try recalling those memories. What was happening around this time.”
Around this time?
As I tried to recall the memories, my head started to hurt, and I felt an overwhelming urge to sleep.
What happened around this time?
– “You’ll find a way somehow, Baek Nokha.”
How could you be so sure of that?
– “Because my eyes are precise.”
What nonsense.
I chuckled even as I drifted back to sleep.
It was annoying but—
It was oddly comforting too.
***
Blink.
It seemed my eyes opened.
“Cheong Cheong. Are you awake?! Baek-young unnie made rice cake soup. Come out and eat!”
“Rice cake soup… a carb bomb….”
“No complaining about carbs today!”
“Ugh….”
This felt too familiar.
It didn’t seem much different from the nagging my mom always did….
When I came out to the kitchen, everyone was huddled around the table.
“You’re all up early?”
“It’s amazing that Cheong Cheong didn’t wake up.”
Kim Geum looked at me with amazement.
“There was so much noise from the construction upstairs. How did you not wake up even once?”
“…Really?”
The cotton bundle must have put me into a deep sleep.
I sat down casually at my seat.
“I kept trying to wake you up to eat rice cake soup, but you wouldn’t get up.”
Ryu Bo-ra handed me a spoon.
“Sorry. I’ll get up early next time.”
“No need for that. But unnie.”
“Yeah.”
I answered as I took a bite of the rice cake soup.
Seo Baek-young’s cooking skills were improving.
The seasoning was just right.
“Do you still have nightmares? You were talking in your sleep a lot.”
“Ugh.”
The unexpected question made the rice cake stick in my throat.
Kim Geum patted my back firmly.
As I drank the water Seo Baek-young handed me, I barely calmed down.
“What did I say in my sleep?”
“Something like ‘damn cotton bundle.’ I thought you were dreaming about a monster.”
…Technically, it was a monster.
It looked cute, but it had a dark interior.
“Yeah. I guess I did have a nightmare like that.”
I forced a smile and avoided the question.
It was a relief.
At least I didn’t say anything suspicious in my sleep.
“By the way, about that, the Top Idol MC.”
Yeon Juhong said as she stuffed five pieces of rice cake into her mouth at once.
“There’s an article out, and they say senior Day will be the MC!?”
“Wow.”
Everyone’s faces showed the question, ‘Why?’
“Well, senior Day has always been interested in hosting radio shows and variety shows. It makes sense.”
“Do you think he’s working well on our song?”
“Oh.”
I took out my phone and placed it in the middle of the table.
“Speaking of which, I think the demo came out yesterday. Do you want to listen?”
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Kim Geum quickly pressed the play button.
Even though she didn’t say it, she seemed really concerned.
Well, it’s understandable since she wanted to compose the song herself but had to leave it to someone else.
She must have been worried and uneasy.
Anyway.
As soon as the song started playing, we were all shocked.
Shoo-ryoo-ryung li-ta li-ri-ta
To-ro-ron ddi-rip-ta-ri-ri
Boom boom boom pa-pa-pa-pa boom pa-boom-pa
“….”
That’s how the demo song was.
“No way….”
“The song… the song is definitely… it’s definitely good. It’s made just as we requested….”
“Isn’t that senior Day’s voice? It’s even more annoying because he sang it so well.”
Juhong, you must have learned that expression from the internet.
“No matter how much it’s a demo, why did he put such ridiculous lyrics to it?”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
I sighed.
“Senior Day sent a message with the song. He said he couldn’t come up with perfect lyrics for this song. He wants us to try writing the lyrics.”
“…Isn’t our shoot starting tomorrow? Are we supposed to write the lyrics and make a guide song by then?!”
“That’s really impossible. We should just invite a few professional lyricists to write it….”
“We don’t even have time for that, honestly. So, we have to do it ourselves.”
While everyone’s expressions were getting darker.
There was one person whose face was brightening and eyes were sparkling.
“I’ll do it!”
Kim Geum, who had been waiting for a chance to work.
***
Bzzz.
Got it, got it.
“Dishwashing is done. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Okay, okay.”
Leaving the members behind, I grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom.
Bzzz.
This phone had been ringing continuously since earlier.
It wasn’t Yoon Cheong’s phone, but my own.
What’s with all the calls? It’s making me anxious.
As soon as I locked the door, I turned on my phone.
Notifications flooded the screen.
[“Moment”, a massive rookie girl group debut after 5 years]
[The massive rookie arrives… 5 major agencies launch “Moment” girl group]
[<Inleven>, debuting from the 5 major agencies’ “Moment”… set to sweep rookie awards]
[This year’s biggest rookie <Inleven>. Official debut in February]
Ah.
I finally understood.
What was happening around this time.
And what the cotton bundle wanted to say.
The original owners of the rookie award had now appeared.
<Inleven>.
A six-member girl group that had explosive popularity in my previous life too.
They won the rookie award as soon as they debuted and almost won the grand prize the following year.
But they didn’t.
Because of a controversy that broke out afterward.
That’s why it said I would be able to make it.
Because I knew the truth.
But even if I knew the truth this time, it wouldn’t be easy to uncover it….
However, if I couldn’t reveal the truth,
We could lose the rookie award.
I absolutely had to do it.
[<Inleven>, caught in a chart manipulation controversy? Moment: “Not worth responding to”]
[From music to albums? The massive rookie <Inleven> embroiled in chart manipulation controversy]
But is it really possible?