Chapter 165

Yoonseul emerged from the capsule late at night.

Without even the energy to check the community, she collapsed onto her bed.

‘It was fun…’

How long had it been since she felt this sense of liberation?

She often found herself blaming herself because her words still didn’t come out as well as she wished.

However, Adella and Name didn’t take it seriously; they waited for her to finish speaking, even if she stumbled over her words.

They were all such kind friends.

[I think that’s enough. You didn’t do anything wrong.]

Name seemed like a grown-up and smart kid, just as the rumors suggested.

But Yoonseul felt so ashamed that she couldn’t live up to her expectations, and she fell deeper into a pit of depression.

She couldn’t agree with the idea that she did nothing wrong.

“No matter how I think about it, Chae Na ended up dying because of me…”

She opened the letter her bereaved family had handed her with trembling hands.

It was information that was purposely not made public for her sake.

[Lastly, Yoonseul, to be honest, I’ve always wished you wouldn’t succeed. I don’t know how many times I cursed you for cowardly running away from the agency. But when I finally got to see you again after a long time, you shone so brightly, contrary to my expectations, and I felt so ashamed and small for only talking bad about you from behind. Thank you for meeting me. Even someone like me, an anti-fan, is a fan of you now, so you will surely succeed in everything from now on. I hope you live happily, even for my sake.]

Maybe the feelings that Chae Na had for her were similar to the feelings Yoonseul had for Name and Adella.

A star that shines too brightly silences all the stars around it.

And for Yoonseul, Name and Adella were such existences.

Especially the reason she mimicked Kariri’s way of speaking similarly to Adella was that she had tried to imitate her behavior while watching “WorOA Nightmare” back in the day.

Above all, the relationship between the two girls who cared for each other was too affectionate and enviable.

‘Why was I born into a family like this…’

Yoonseul shook her head vigorously. It was better not to even start such negative thoughts.

After all, it was a competition she had willingly joined with the determination to make a change.

Conversations with others went more smoothly than she had expected, and it seemed her condition was gradually improving.

So she tried to suggest a collaboration to Name to shake off her trauma, but panic attacks were not easily predictable.

“Just hold on until the competition… just hold on until the competition…”

She kept the thought that she couldn’t cause trouble for her team members and that she must do her best.

“What comes after that…”

Yoonseul couldn’t easily give an answer.

As expected, the first impulsive thought that came to her mind was wanting to let everything go and die like Chae Na.

* * *

“It’s a sports day, and you’re going to the hospital? Why?”

“As I said earlier, it’s for a health check-up.”

“Why does it have to be on the day of the sports day!”

“Because the sports day got postponed for a week due to rain. It just happened to coincide with the health check-up schedule that was already set.”

“Can’t you skip it? Aww…”

The sports day in mid-May was canceled due to unexpected rain.

So the postponement had coincidentally overlapped with the health check-up I had scheduled months earlier, making it unavoidable for me to not participate.

Even though I tried to diligently explain this, the kids didn’t seem to pay attention.

“The sports day will be next year and the year after. There are so many fun events besides the sports day.”

The submission of my absence notice was getting delayed due to the kids’ insistence that I stop by the school in the morning.

“Right, Yuna. Don’t bother Name; let’s help the teacher quickly.”

“Ugh… I’ve been waiting for today! Boohoo…”

“Yoon Si Hoo, take good care of Yuna. If she gets hurt today, you’re dead tomorrow.”

“Why do I have to…?”

I handed the absence notice to Teacher Jacqueline, who wished me to be careful and have a good time.

It wasn’t far; I could walk there from the academy.

Lately, my life pattern had been stuck in the school-home-school routine, so even a slight deviation from my path revealed a whole new scenery.

Could this be what they call serious VR addiction mentioned in the news?

The news about patients falling into depression after being unable to cope with the disconnect from reality due to excessive immersion in the VR world kept coming up.

I was fine since I was using my avatar as my true self.

Flapping—

I submitted a paper with my personal information at the hospital and waited.

What followed was a series of tedious tests. It was a full course, so it was even more merciless.

I underwent a CT scan, lay down in the mana resonance device that triggered my curiosity about its principles, and had my blood drawn. Fortunately, it was red.

“Look at those shoes making a cute sound…!”

“Right? If only I had a granddaughter like that, I’d have no regrets.”

“Oh! I’ll send you the results via email! Good job!”

The nurses waved goodbye to me with cute expressions. Am I a baby?

Since I was drawing attention with my fussiness, I hurried home before more gazes fell upon me.

On the way, I continued reading information about Kariri.

What weighed on Yoonseul’s mind was undoubtedly the ‘Idol Chae Na Death Incident.’

It was a tragic event where she ended her own life, disheartened by an excessive schedule and the agency’s exploitation.

I clearly remembered how everything was plastered with tributes to Chae Na, from outdoor billboards to news reports.

The reason the letter was delayed in being revealed was that the bereaved family wanted to report the agency that had forced Chae Na into prostitution during her trainee days.

And even now, fierce legal battles were still ongoing.

The Seoul mayor, who was charged alongside her, admitted to bribery charges and resigned, but he still strongly denied any physical contact with minors.

It was indeed a complicated and dirty world.

Before I got lost deeper into the maze of TreeWiki, I returned to the main topic.

In any case, the connection with Kariri was that their collaboration happened the day before Chae Na’s death, and they were both trainees at the same agency.

When Yoonseul left the agency to become a VTuber, Chae Na debuted at the age of eighteen with the four-member idol group ‘NB.’

After achieving mediocre results, when Chae Na released a solo song, it became a worldwide hit, leading the agency to continue promoting her.

[Chae Na April 2049 World Tour Schedule.jpg]

Looking at the schedule organized by a fan, it was indeed a brutal timetable that made me nod in agreement.

Doing this without a break for over two years must have been too much for a young girl to endure.

[Kariri/Controversies and Incidents

2.15. Idol Chae Na Death Incident Related]

Even the elements I could verify in this section merely listed the signs of Chae Na’s suicide.

Her lack of motivation in everything, mention of chest pain during broadcasts, and refusals of Kariri’s song proposals or comments about wanting to be like ‘Chrysanthemum’ in one of Kariri’s songs.

‘This is ridiculous. How could Yoonseul know about this?’

I felt most infuriated reading the speculative parts that suggested Kariri might have fueled Chae Na’s suicidal thoughts during a corner dedicated to spilling one’s inner feelings, given Kariri’s broadcasting style.

These little pieces must have pushed Kariri to the edge.

Amidst my thoughts of doubt about broadcasting, I received a call from Professor Cheon.

[Are you still outside, Name? Did you have a good health check-up?]

“Yes, I’m almost at my house. I’ll receive the results via email later.”

[Then can you come home quickly? We have something to discuss.]

“Oh, are you home right now? Yes, I’ll be right there.”

I knew he had gone to work early in the morning, so it was strange that he was home at this hour.

He couldn’t already be showing signs of dementia. I worried and decided to buy a bag of walnut cookies on my way home.

It was definitely not because I wanted to eat some.

When I returned home, it was slightly before two o’clock.

Had I come back just a little earlier, I might have been able to watch the sports event.

Ultimately, my experience at the academy’s sports day would have to be postponed until next year. I wondered if our class had won.

“I’m back.”

Did he really come home?

Professor Cheon’s black shoes were neatly placed in the shoe cupboard.

“I brought walnut cookies on my way back. I wonder if he’ll like them.”

There was no response. He must be in the bedroom.

I deliberately turned around to take off my shoes. It was to ensure optimal movement to avoid bending my waist.

After confirming that my small shoes were parked neatly between his shoes, I made sure to close the sliding door properly.

“Did you come?”

I could already see Professor Cheon’s back from the entrance.

“Oh, you’re in the kitchen? What are you doing that you didn’t answer—”

Opposite Professor Cheon was another male figure sitting.

The person awkwardly raising his hand was someone I knew very well.

“Haha… Hello…”

“Cheon Semin?”

“What are you doing here?”

* * *

“Are you saying Cheon Semin is your nephew?”

No, the accent was so strong it made it sound like a curse, so I spoke clearly again.

“Your nephew?”

Startled, Cheon Semin jumped to his feet to respond.

“Uh, uh, yeah! This is our uncle!”

“I called.”

Why?

What kind of coincidence is this?

I was so bewildered that I struggled to find the right words.

I knew that Professor Cheon had a younger brother who had severed ties with him, but honestly, I had no reason to be curious about that family.

But suddenly, Cheon Semin claimed to be his nephew, and I felt a wave of confusion.

Professor Cheon silently handed me a letter.

[Seoul Major Crime Investigation Agency

No. 2051-00628

To: Cheon Semin, Noname]

Subject: Resubmission Request Processing Result Notification]

“What is this?”

I could see the restrained emotion in his words.

I glanced at Semin, who shook his head with a troubled expression.

His lips formed the words, “I didn’t say anything.”

“I’d like to hear it directly from Name.”

Today was definitely going to be a long day.