Chapter 195. Guess
“MacGuffin?”
The one known as the cat who once presented Hajin with *The Cat Returns*, username Windy, clicked the link without hesitation as soon as she saw the official notification that the video had been uploaded.
In her haste, she didn’t catch the thumbnail properly, but it seemed to be an image of Trump cards piled up like a mountain.
For a brief moment, she thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be better to just plaster the kids’ faces on the front page for more views?’ But before she could dwell on it, the video began.
♩♬♫♪♬♪―
“Sometimes I think like that.”
A voice with an eerily pleasant tone hit her eardrums through the earphones. Windy, who had been rewatching the self-made content dozens of times a day lately, instantly recognized it as Joo Eunchan’s voice.
Along with Joo Eunchan’s narration, numerous Easter eggs that *Destinies* had discovered—and some that hadn’t been discovered yet—played one by one.
“What are we running toward?”
A clock showing 9:15 slowly started ticking. Simultaneously, someone’s footsteps echoed as they passed through a long corridor.
An accordion performance, as if from a medieval cathedral, faintly played in the background.
“Where will the end of these wings lead?”
The man walking down the corridor stopped. With rhythmic camera cuts, the man’s full body was captured on the screen.
It was Joo Eunchan, with jet-black hair and a black coat reminiscent of a priest’s robe.
With features still retaining a hint of boyishness, Eunchan lifted his head and gazed ahead with eyes full of untold stories. The camera, shot from the side, caught Eunchan’s clear and sharp profile.
“Who are we?”
Then, as the angle shifted, the end of the corridor Eunchan had been looking at was revealed on the screen. There stood a fortress made of hundreds, thousands of Trump cards.
Eunchan bent his knee and picked up a card as if it had fallen from the fortress.
Just as he was about to flip the card over to check what it was―
♩♬♫♪♬♪―
The scene rapidly changed with a swift beat.
Eunchan was no longer in the long, desolate corridor but sitting on a sofa in a cozy, warm space. His outfit had also changed from the black coat reminiscent of a priest’s robe to a navy beanie, a color-blocked varsity jacket, and light-wash jeans.
As Eunchan looked around in bewilderment, the camera followed his gaze, shifting scenes accordingly.
Ding― dililing―
With a languid guitar sound, the camera showed Jung Siwoo casually leaning in one corner of the room.
Like Eunchan, Siwoo had kept his black hair, which had grown back nicely after being slightly trimmed during the *Miro Maze* period. As he casually brushed back the front of his hair that would’ve almost covered his eyes if left alone, his straight and clean forehead was revealed.
Siwoo was playing the acoustic guitar, known to have been passed down from his father, with a light purple guitar pick in his mouth.
“Holy…”
Windy, who had been indulging in the camera angle blatantly highlighting Siwoo’s handsomeness, covered her mouth in awe. Her initial affection for Kang Hajin, and then for Dan Haru, had long since evolved through deep immersion into *Miro Maze* into a full-blown Kairos fandom.
As she marveled at Siwoo’s face assault, the camera, representing Eunchan’s perspective, shifted to another spot.
Sunlight warmly streamed through the window. By it sat Seo Taehyun, lost in thought as he gazed outside, with Dan Haru beside him diligently jotting down in a diary.
Haru, whose hair had been close to a honey color, had lightened it further to a near golden blonde. Dressed in a white short-sleeve tee layered with a brown sweatshirt, he pressed the pen’s tip firmly with his chin.
Noticing this, Taehyun, who had been deep in thought while listening to music with a headset, gestured for him to stop while removing his headset. His ash khaki hair color and the black striped turtleneck and denim jacket he wore complemented him perfectly.
“Is this a campus concept? It’s more relatable to the general public than a deep storyline.”
Compared to Utopia, which came out with an outright coup concept, or Enderway, which positioned itself as an outsider in a fantasy world right from the start, this teaser seemed much more subdued. Windy’s voice held a hint of confusion.
There seemed to be some meaning behind that odd card house, but for now, it just looked like a peaceful scene of members in a cozy hideout. Of course, there might be hidden layers of storytelling that she wasn’t aware of yet….
“…The genius fans will eventually upload their interpretation later, anyway.”
Thinking that was for later, Windy continued watching.
Eunchan’s gaze shifted once more. In the center of the room was Lee Doha, spinning a basketball on his fingers. His neatly styled hair and plain black short-sleeve tee accentuated Doha’s relaxed vibe.
As the angle lowered slightly, a long figure lying on a makeshift bed behind Doha came into view. It was Yugeon, who had dyed his hair a striking silver-blue and was sleeping under what seemed to be his black leather jacket.
Unlike Taehyun, who wore over-ear headphones, Yugeon was using wired earphones and squinted against the sunlight streaming through the window. Doha, noticing this, set the basketball down and gently placed a hand over Yugeon’s eyes to shield them from the light, creating a warm scene.
“These two have been gaining popularity as a duo lately. Has Yugeon opened up to Doha?”
Fans who scrutinized the reality show down to the second had subtly sensed that Yugeon was somewhat awkward with the other members. Windy, who had voted for Wonho instead of Yugeon in the final vote, often found herself wondering, ‘If only Wonho had been chosen instead of Yugeon….’
But that was meaningless now. Even so, she couldn’t help but wish that Yugeon would show a bit more enthusiasm for being part of Kairos.
♩♬♫♪♬♪―
A tender melody repeated, like recalling fond memories from childhood.
Looking around the room, Eunchan once again stared down at the card in his hand, still appearing confused. The card had the Spade Ace symbol that had appeared in the very first Easter egg.
“…But you know.”
Then, breaking through the warm melody, the narration came again. The voice was more mature, firm, and tinged with mischief than Eunchan’s.
And next to Eunchan on the sofa, someone else plopped down.
It was the last member of Kairos who had yet to appear.
“Oh, my God. Kang Hajin with red hair!”
As soon as she saw the burgundy-colored hair dyed like the sun, Windy couldn’t help but scream.
“Yeah, using the final day for Dan Haru and then ditching it would’ve been such a waste. Oh, this is insane. This is perfect.”
Thinking it was going to be all black hair for the debut album based on the profile pictures and reality show, Windy now sighed in relief. While she liked the other members too, Hajin’s red hair was so impactful during *Miro Maze*’s final day that it would’ve been a waste not to keep it.
With his red hair, a black shearling jacket, and a silver drop earring dangling from one ear.
Kang Hajin, exuding perfect bad-boy vibes, even had a red lollipop in his mouth!
With a friendly expression, Hajin draped his arm over Eunchan’s shoulder and, with his other hand, snatched the card from Eunchan’s hand. Smiling as he looked at the still confused Eunchan, Hajin spoke.
“Is that really important?”
With those words, the Spade Ace in Hajin’s hand began to burn from one corner. He flicked the card onto the table in front of them.
On the table, there was a tower of Trump cards, similar in shape to the massive card fortress Eunchan had encountered earlier.
Eunchan stared blankly at the burning card tower.
The scene then cut back to Eunchan, in the black robe, also watching the massive card fortress burning at the end of the corridor.
The beautiful BGM played as the card fortress burned.
Just as Windy began to feel a strange sensation from the movie-like atmosphere, the scene cut to a full shot of all the Kairos members gathered in that warm hideout from before.
“Guess.”
As the voice spoke, the screen faded to black, as if a candle had been blown out.
Hajin’s voice, playful like the Cheshire Cat who teased Alice in a fairy tale, whispered.
“What’s real?”
At that moment, elegant English fonts appeared on the black screen, signaling the end of the teaser.
“…What the hell.”
A teaser video just over a minute long.
As the playback bar reached the end, revealing there was no more content, Windy clutched her head in frustration.
“What the hell are these lunatics bringing…?”
How much money did she have left in her account?
Windy groaned quietly as she hit the replay button.
* * *
While numerous *Destinies* were busy theorizing about the concept and possible fan sign scenes as they watched the cryptic teaser.
The man who would soon be known as “the guy with the red hair,” or later, “the guy with
the red candy” or “the guy with the Kairos shearling,” Kang Hajin, was also entering a new phase.
[System Notification: ※☆★ I’M BACK!!!! ★☆※]
“Alright. Good to have you back.”
[System Notification: The system is displeased with the fixed regressor’s reaction!]
“Should I throw a party for you…?”
Thirteen had returned.
[System Notification: You have unclaimed rewards]
[System Notification: You have unread information]
[System Notification: A new quest has arrived]
[System Notification: Information about the Chosen Regressor has been updated]
“Isn’t it a bit too much as soon as you arrive?”
[System Notification: The system is depressed because of the mountain of overdue tasks]
[System Notification: ヽ(●ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ●)ﾉﾟ]
With a ton of red notifications.
Knowing this would happen, Hajin had connected to the subconscious space as soon as he arrived at the dorm. He leaned his tired body back on the sofa and nodded.
“Sort them by priority.”
[System Notification: What new feature have you added while I was gone?]
Regardless of Thirteen’s bewilderment, Hajin sorted the categories with a few finger taps, arranging the red notifications in order. Ignoring Thirteen’s shocked scream, Kang Hajin clicked on the notification at the top.
[System Notification: A new quest has arrived]
“Yeah. It’s about time for the quest to be updated.”
On the familiar translucent blue screen, Hajin’s new quest appeared.
[Single Quest 03.]
**‘The Boy’s Desire for Happiness’**
Content: Congratulations on the successful debut.
To protect everyone’s dreams and happiness,
The group’s solid position and successful journey are essential.
Fill in the past timelines and change them.
Survive the idol wars and win the Rookie Award.
Success Reward: Block the Returning One’s timeline interference possibility.
Failure Penalty: Increase the Returning One’s timeline interference possibility.
The inevitable had come.
Hajin’s eyes gleamed fiercely.