2. Regression, the Start of a Quest (1)
“Yeon-oh…”
I snapped my eyes open at the sound of my mother’s familiar voice.
Where am I? Who am I?
A familiar ceiling.
I was lying on the bed in my own room.
“Mom…?”
“Yes, dear. It’s Mom.”
My mom and dad came into view. They were looking down at me as I lay on the bed.
It felt like I had just woken up from a long nightmare. A dream where the team I just debuted with disbanded. A dream where I wandered for a long time and ended up living as an unemployed man taking care of my nephews.
But…
Seeing my parents’ worried faces made me snap to my senses.
‘It wasn’t… a dream. It’s too vivid…’
But wait…
There was a massive sense of displacement seeing my mom and dad. Why did they look so young?
“Mom, where are the nephews?”
“Nephews? You only have one, Han-bin.”
“What?”
Mom spoke as if my words were strange. I stared at her blankly. No, why is there only Han-bin?
I picked up the phone lying next to me. There wasn’t just one or two things that were strange.
‘…Wait, isn’t this a model from ages ago?’
It was heavy. It was a phone so old it would be unimaginable to use now.
Why is this here? No, more importantly, why does it look so new? As if I just bought it two days ago.
As I picked up the phone, Mom spoke.
“I heard you were shocked that your fellow trainees debuted first, and I guess it’s true.”
…What on earth was she talking about? It’s been ages since my fellow trainees debuted.
But the moment I found the power button and pressed it.
My eyes widened.
[December 15, 20XX]
The date on the phone… pointed to 12 years ago. It was the same no matter how much I rubbed my eyes.
‘12 years ago means…’
Before I debuted.
Back when I was still struggling as a trainee at Willow Entertainment…
It was when I was seventeen.
***
Am I still dreaming?
Seeing me mutter incomprehensible words, my parents whispered, “He must be in deep shock…” and quietly left the room.
In the empty room, I kept rubbing my eyes and staring at the date on the phone.
December 15, 20XX.
The period right after the other “Willow-i” trainees—except for me—had just debuted as a boy group. I had been in such a bad state that I was given a special one-week break to return home.
I couldn’t believe it, but no matter how many times I checked, the date clearly said 12 years ago. My room’s interior, which had been optimized for putting my youngest nephew to sleep, was now just the room of an ordinary high school student.
I wondered if I was having a long dream. But my memories were too vivid for that.
‘12 years ago… my memories are a bit fuzzy.’
First, I needed to organize the situation.
I jumped up and sat at my desk. Then, I suddenly remembered the diary I was writing in before I fell asleep last night.
The third drawer, where I always kept my diary.
‘…It’s here!’
My eyes widened when I found it.
A mint-colored hardcover diary inside the drawer.
This was a diary I received as a gift from a fan right before my debut. I liked the size and paper texture so much that I had only used this kind ever since…
‘But I didn’t receive this notebook when I was seventeen.’
Meaning, it was clearly impossible for this diary to be in this drawer right now.
Furthermore, the surprise continued after I opened the diary.
‘This is… what I wrote last night before bed.’
The diary I wrote after putting the nephews to sleep and before falling asleep.
Everything was there. Future events that I could never have known at this point in time.
I slowly flipped through the diary from the beginning.
December 15, 20XX, today.
Was it a coincidence?
The point in time I returned to was exactly where this diary began.
The 4th year since I joined Willow Entertainment as a trainee. The year when five out of the six 2nd-generation “Willow-i” boys I joined with debuted together.
The name of that group was ‘Seren.’
Willow Entertainment’s first boy group.
Is there any point in hiding it now?
The one person excluded from those six. That left-behind trainee was me.
‘After that, I… cut off all contact with the other members.’
Was it from then? I always lived like an outsider within Willow Entertainment. I didn’t get close to anyone or form special relationships. I was indifferent, as if it were always someone else’s business.
This stayed the same in the diary entries after I debuted with Hexad Carmit. Though the members’ names appeared, it was just a diary focused on events. No emotions toward them were recorded.
“Why was I like that?”
Thinking about it now, it was my biggest regret.
I always stayed one step away from the members’ conflicts, looking away as if it had nothing to do with me.
But unexpectedly, while raising my nephews, I realized what I had done wrong.
When a small conflict occurs, if you ignore it, it can instantly turn into a massive fight. It was especially true with the kids.
‘The members were all just young kids back then, too…’
They were all teens, or early twenties at most. If only I had stepped up a bit more and understood their hearts…
The group wouldn’t have met such a disastrous end.
‘But now… I can make up for those mistakes.’
Was it because I wished so hard to turn back time? I really did travel back to the past.
Right now is before the debut survival program starts.
The decisive reason why the relationships in Hexad Carmit turned bad was mostly due to incidents during that survival show.
And…
I knew exactly why our relationships hit rock bottom, incident by incident. Even the things I couldn’t remember clearly because they happened so long ago were vividly recorded in the diary.
‘There must be a reason why I returned to this specific point.’
I won’t repeat the same mistakes. Not the relationships with the members, and not the way my career ended as an idol.
This time, it will be different.
I won’t let this second chance go to waste.
I hardened my resolve. But at that moment.
— Ding!
Suddenly, a clear, cheerful sound rang out, and something floated in the air.
A status window, like something out of a game, appeared before my eyes.
‘…A status window?’
Normally, I would have been terrified.
But maybe it was because I had just experienced the massive event of time travel?
It wasn’t as shocking as seeing the past date on my phone earlier. I began to examine the status window in front of me.
Name: Song Yeon-oh
Age: 17
Occupation: Trainee
Vocal (Rap): C+
Dance: B+
Visual: B
Charm: A
Composition: –
Skill: –
Status windows differ in every game. In my case, since my occupation was “Trainee,” it seemed to show up this way. An idol-specialized status window, if you will. It showed my stats quite objectively.
Sub-vocal, lead dancer.
And my best stat was “Charm.”
‘It means I’m the one who brings in the fans.’
I was a bit disappointed that my Visual was a B since I had some confidence in it, but I suppose it can’t be helped since I’m still young and haven’t been “polished” as a celebrity yet.
However, as I scrolled down, the “Skill” column caught my eye.
Skill… “None.”
As expected, I didn’t have any notable skills yet.
‘Is there nothing else besides being able to see the status window? How do I get a skill then?’
Just then, a popup appeared over the window.
[Quest: Adapt to the Regression!! (1)]
Yeon-oh! Welcome back to the past! Let’s walk on a flowery path from now on!
If you’ve returned to being a Willow-i, you should find your place!
Yeon-oh can do it! Fighting, Yeon-oh!
▶ Tell me your wish!
Deadline: By midnight, December 15, 20XX
Reward: Voice of the Heart (lv. 1)
Ah… of course.
I stood there blankly for a moment, then nodded. Quests after regression are a classic rule.
But was it just my imagination that the status window felt strangely kind?
The system seemed quite friendly toward me. It was a positive signal.
‘Wait… the “(1)” after the quest name means there will be quests (2) and (3) following it.’
Quest, deadline, reward. I had seen these systems at least once while gaming, so it wasn’t hard to understand. Games always have rewards.
But… Voice of the Heart? Does that mean I can hear other people’s thoughts?
Come to think of it, every time I clashed with the members, I felt frustrated wondering what they were thinking. It seemed the system was preparing the skills I needed as rewards.
‘Well, I’ll find out once I do the quest.’
[Quest]
▶ Tell me your wish!
The first mission was very easy. Telling a wish is nothing.
I turned my phone on again.
December 15. The deadline is tonight.
Then, shall I try it?
“… .”
However…
Even though I thought the quest was easy, the words didn’t come out easily. Perhaps it was because the weight of that wish was not light to me at all.
‘A wish… tell it my wish.’
The reason I desperately wanted to turn back time.
Fundamentally, what was that reason?
It wasn’t just about wanting to succeed as an idol.
I felt so much regret. Regret for only thinking about myself and not looking into others’ hearts. Regret for never properly listening to our misunderstandings and fights…
If I had listened to the members one by one, just like I did for the kids…
We could have gone together.
But if I act the same way now that I’ve returned, everything will just repeat. I will never repeat what I regretted so much before.
‘Uncle, what is your dream?’
My nephew Han-bin’s clear voice echoed in my head.
I opened my mouth toward the status window floating in the air. Stripping away all pretenses, I spoke only the truth deep in my heart.
“My wish is… to debut with the members as Hexad Carmit again. This time for real… all with one heart, happily.”
I continued.
“I want to stand on stage together. Without regrets, giving it my all.”
— Ding!
The cheerful sound rang again, and a popup appeared.
[Quest: Adapt to the Regression!! (1)]
▶ Tell me your wish! : ★ACHIEVED★]
[Reward is being issued]
[Reward: Voice of the Heart (lv. 1)]
Focus on the person whose heart you want to read!
It will appear in short sentences.
‘The reward!’
When the popup closed, the content of my status window had changed.
Name: Song Yeon-oh
Age: 17
Status: Trainee
Vocal (Rap): C+
Dance: B+
Visual: B
Charm: A
Composition: –
Skill: Voice of the Heart (lv. 1)
‘I got a skill.’
But I didn’t have time to be surprised by every little thing. The next quest window popped up immediately.
[Quest: Adapt to the Regression!! (2)]
Well done! You achieved the first quest!
Now I’ve found a path for you to achieve your wish!
Let’s meet other people and find out what they are thinking!
▶ Know their hearts!
Deadline: By midnight, December 15, 20XX
Reward: Voice of the Heart (lv. 2)
I felt it when it told me to state my wish… the system seemed to know what I truly wanted better than I did.
The regret of not being able to do anything for the members. The regret of being a bystander to the discord.
If I could understand and empathize with their hearts even a little, could I prevent those fights in advance? Perhaps that feeling is what summoned this skill.
‘First…’
If I finish this quest, the level of “Voice of the Heart” will go up by one. There must be a reason why it’s pushing me to level up this skill. For now, I need to check how this skill can be used.
Whose heart should I check first?
I turned on my phone screen.
****
“Woo-hyun! Over here!”
I waved my hand in joy as I saw the face getting off the bus.
Chae Woo-hyun. My friend from elementary and middle school who lived in the same neighborhood. It was a familiar yet strange face. It felt weird to meet the guy I just had a drink with last week as a 17-year-old. Was he always this cute and fresh-faced? Meeting my friend again after returning to the past, he just looked like a baby.
“Oh~ Idol!”
Woo-hyun cracked a joke as soon as he got close. After passing the Willow-i audition in the 8th grade and moving to Seoul, I didn’t have many friends in my hometown. Woo-hyun was one of the few friends I kept in touch with even after becoming a trainee.
“What’s up? You rarely came down to Daejeon. Usually only for holidays.”
“True. How have you been?”
“Well, since vacation is starting soon, my mom is busy setting up my academy schedule.”
Woo-hyun shrugged, saying it was hard because of his mother who was passionate about education. He looked like an ordinary 17-year-old high school student. Even though he was only two years older than my eldest nephew Han-bin was before I returned, Woo-hyun’s kind smile was very comforting. Was it nostalgia?
Sorry, friend. I have no ill intent(?), but you’ll have to be my test subject today.
I chose my friend Woo-hyun because reading my parents’ hearts felt uncomfortable. He was one of my few close friends since we were young. Since we were close enough for me to tell what he was thinking just by his expression, looking into his heart wouldn’t be too shocking.
As we walked toward the busy street, I pulled up my status window and checked how to use the skill. Then, I naturally widened my eyes and focused on him.
‘Show me your inner thoughts…!’
…
…….
…Pop!
“…!”
Something did appear. A mysterious question mark floating over Woo-hyun’s head.
…A question mark?
What? Is it not working? I tried focusing again.
‘Hmph, focus…!’
But again, a question mark popped up.
…Is this not how it works?
“Whatcha doing?”
When I hesitated, Woo-hyun looked at me as if I were being strange. Well, I guess I would look weird to anyone…
It seemed I would have to check this again later.
I changed the subject and asked.
“I’m hungry. Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Hmm… let me see.”
— Ding!
I heard the now-familiar notification sound. A welcome sound effect.
When I turned my head, I saw a popup window floating over Woo-hyun’s head.
‘It worked!’
It wasn’t that I could read thoughts unconditionally; it seemed a questioning process was required. I quickly read the popup.
[I want to eat pizza…]
While I was glancing at the popup, Woo-hyun spoke.
“I’m fine with anything. Let’s eat whatever you want.”
‘Pfft.’
This kind, cute guy. He wants pizza.
Holding back my laughter, I decided to choose pizza for the dishonest Woo-hyun.
“Should we have pizza? Since it’s been a while, it’s on me. Let’s go!”
“What? You’re still a trainee. Where would you get the money…”
“Hey, when you’re a trainee, you’re so busy you don’t even have time to spend money. I’ve saved up my allowance. Let’s go! To Pizza 1004 that you liked!”
“Really? Then since you’re paying, could we also get the salad bar and spaghetti…”
“Woo-hyun, your conscience has completely disappeared since we last met…”
After choosing the menu while laughing, the notification kept ringing as we headed to the pizza place.
— Ding!
[Quest: Adapt to the Regression!! (2)]
▶ Know their hearts! : ★ACHIEVED★]
[Reward is being issued]
[Reward: Voice of the Heart (lv. 2)]
The range for reading hearts increases. The opponent’s thoughts will appear in longer sentences.
‘Oh, leveling up is so easy…’
But that wasn’t the end.
— Ding!
