Chapter 3
“I got so much criticism for bringing you in. If you go to Team 1, my reputation will recover immediately.”
Director Kwak seemed genuinely fascinated that I agreed so easily to go to Team 1, then hung up. It seemed Team 1 was really that rough.
I got into the Carnival van one last time to pick up Boo Jung-tae.
And just as I was about to leave, a strange roulette wheel suddenly appeared in front of me.
“…Am I still not sober?”
I rubbed my face hard and looked again.
The roulette was still there.
I reached out and grabbed the switch attached to it.
It was real.
[You have obtained a Bronze Ticket.]
[×3]
[You can obtain FF to C-rank potions.]
I suddenly remembered my mother talking this morning about alcoholic dementia.
Either the dream hadn’t fully ended, or I was still drunk.
Maybe I’d wished too hard to win the lottery and started seeing things.
Even banging my forehead didn’t wake me up.
In the end, I decided to spin the damned roulette.
Maybe if it landed on a dud, I could laugh at it and be done with this nonsense.
I pressed the button three times in a row.
A warning popped up.
[Tickets are issued one at a time. Please wait.]
For a dream, it was annoyingly detailed.
I waited for the first roulette spin.
Soon, the needle stopped on FF-rank.
[FF-Rank Stamina Increase Potion]
[Maintains a stable condition for 30 seconds.]
The second was F-rank.
[F-Rank Stamina Increase Potion]
[Maintains a stable condition for 1 minute.]
Thinking even my dreams had no hope, I pressed for the third one.
[C-Rank Fatigue Recovery Potion]
[Reduces current fatigue by 10%.]
Then three tiny potions dropped into my hand.
Two light green ones.
One darker green.
I thought I was insane, so I decided to drink one.
And because I’m shallow even in situations like this, I opened the lowest-grade FF-rank bottle first as a test.
I swallowed it.
Almost immediately—
“What, what is this?!”
My hangover vanished.
“…Damn it, I shouldn’t have taken it.”
For exactly thirty seconds.
The FF-rank potion had effects too good for FF-rank…
And a duration so short even FF-rank felt wasted.
The second thirty seconds ended, and hellish hangover instantly returned.
I had no choice but to chug the second bottle.
After being used, the bottle slowly disappeared about five minutes later.
Maybe it recycled itself.
When the hangover vanished again…
My drug addiction began.
“Where do I get more tickets?”
I had never understood people addicted to drugs.
Whenever Boo Jung-tae ate premium Korean beef, he used to say it was the only drug approved by the state.
Now…
I understood why people got addicted.
By the time the potion wore off, I was entering Boo Jung-tae’s apartment parking lot and nausea came back.
While I was slumped over the steering wheel, Boo Jung-tae climbed into the back, looking miserable too.
“I heard you slept outside?”
“Should’ve just frozen to death then. Ugh, this hangover is killing me.”
“Even with respect for elders, you think about dying before me?”
He flopped down after saying that.
I handed him the hangover croissant, cream bread, and Zero Coke I’d bought on the way.
He frowned.
“What’s this?”
“Zero Coke.”
“What? Zero?”
“Just drink it. It’s not that different.”
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you since yesterday?”
“I told you, the dream where you died felt incredibly real.”
I held it out again.
Boo Jung-tae opened the bottle cap with a hand as big as a pot lid.
“You watch those health shows too? My dad watches them and keeps telling me to quit instant food.”
“My mom saw one and decided I have alcoholic dementia.”
“Oh! Maybe she watched the same episode as my dad.”
We laughed.
Then I finally raised my head and said,
“Director Kwak says I’m moving to Team 1.”
“Team 1? Listen to me. Stay with me.”
“I have to help restore Director Kwak’s honor. I owe him.”
“What honor? Yoon-yong hyung treated you like crap during that audition show… Ah, I spent two months raising you and now they’re stealing you.”
Even though he’d only known me two months, Boo Jung-tae actually sounded disappointed I was leaving.
Just like the other staff had said, he was the kind of overly nice person who let a shut-in with a fresh driver’s license handle the wheel.
Maybe that’s why I cried so much at his funeral in the dream.
Thankfully, maybe because it was my last day, he didn’t comment anymore about me forcing Zero Coke on him.
* * *
Park Hee-young.
The queen of event performances.
A thirteen-year veteran trot singer who debuted at twenty-three, had six hit songs, including two mega-hits.
Boo Jung-tae appeared far more on television.
But everyone agreed the company’s real pillar was Park Hee-young.
And after only twenty-eight hours working as her road manager…
I began to regret not staying with Boo Jung-tae to learn instead.
For twenty-eight hours straight after joining her team…
I did nothing but drive.
Aside from about four hours asleep during an event.
Driving.
Driving.
Driving.
It was a miracle Team 1 hadn’t caused accidents operating this recklessly.
During those twenty-eight hours, I barely spoke to Park Hee-young.
Because the moment she got into the car, she slept.
We arrived at an event venue.
I ran ahead, held up a parasol, and opened the door.
As she stepped out, she said,
“Hey, you’re holding it too high.”
“Ah, sorry, noona.”
“When did I ever let you call me noona?”
She shot me a fierce glare.
But calling her “ma’am” felt rude because of the age gap.
Calling her “singer” felt too distant.
She walked inside first.
The stylist following behind said,
“Hee-young unnie isn’t normally like this. But this isn’t a schedule a human can keep their personality through. We’ve been moving nonstop for sixty-seven hours.”
She was right.
The staff were even rotating in two teams.
What amazed me was that Park Hee-young performed on stage at the same quality she had sixty-seven hours ago.
That showed just how extraordinary she was.
The stylist continued.
“Go get an iced Americano from Starbucks. Venti.”
“Again? She already had one earlier.”
Starbucks was twenty minutes away by car.
On the drive back with the coffee and ice separated, I kept thinking about my potions.
“…Should I pour it in?”
But however much I thought about it, slipping a substance into someone else’s coffee felt morally wrong.
In the end, I gave up.
First, I needed to know what this stuff even was.
* * *
This is not something to brag about.
But the reason The Idol Chosen by the Nation got huge ratings…
Was me.
Because I was the “trash personality” villain.
I received enough hate back then for several lifetimes.
And because of that, I became someone who feared being disliked more than anything.
And now…
It seemed Park Hee-young already disliked me from day one.
After barely exchanging words with her, we finally ended a seventy-six-hour nonstop schedule.
Park Hee-young reclined fully in her seat and told the staff,
“If anyone wants drinks later, tell me.”
Then she fell asleep.
Instantly, the atmosphere among staff turned cold.
Everyone rushed to the group chat, afraid she might wake up.
[I seriously can’t. Going home after 76 hours and if I go home drunk again, I’ll get divorced.]
[I drank with her twice in a row last time. I’m out.]
[Let’s draw lots fairly.]
Apparently if Park Hee-young drank, she’d definitely get wasted, start cursing her ex-boyfriend, and taking care of her was hell.
I volunteered without hesitation.
[Then I’ll stay and talk with her.]
The second I typed it, everyone looked at me.
“R-Really? You okay? You drove the most.”
“I joined midway, so I’m fine.”
“Wow. Being young is nice.”
Actually…
It was not nice.
And I was not fine.
Honestly, I was right on the edge of death.
But I had a potion worth testing.
* * *
“And that bastard… I should call him out here.”
Park Hee-young, while cursing her ex-boyfriend, suddenly tried to call him.
“Noona! Please calm down!”
“Who are you calling teacher? Call me noona!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
At last.
The title issue was settled.
Now I understood why the staff had all quietly fled.
Her drinking habits were terrible.
“I’m calling him! Right now!”
“No, noona! You’ll regret it tomorrow!”
“I’m doing it! Bring out Song Kang-won!”
I desperately snatched away her phone.
After getting hit a few times, I staggered back.
My vision spun.
I felt like collapsing.
That was when I drank the potion.
The power of recovering 10% stamina was enormous.
My energy had been near zero.
Then suddenly…
Ten percent of my full stamina came back.
Only then could I control Park Hee-young.
Even in drunken rage, she was much smaller and thinner than an average adult woman.
I lowered both her arms and looked her in the eyes.
She stared back, almost tearful.
“What, punk? What?”
“Let’s go home now. Why waste time thinking about your ex?”
“That’s… true, but still!”
“Go sleep, noona. You’ll be tired tomorrow.”
Having enough energy to soothe someone was incredible.
Before, when I was irritated too, her anger only escalated.
But hearing a calming voice…
Her fury deflated like air leaving a balloon.
Then Park Hee-young started sobbing.
And nodding.
Everyone in Team 1 liked her.
Apparently she was naturally as kind and human as Boo Jung-tae.
Just seeing how she always took care of staff during holidays proved she was a good person.
Anyone who can keep a good personality after seventy-six hours of nonstop travel…
You should suspect they’re a machine.
Once I had stamina again, I became generous enough to think that.
I carried the unconscious Park Hee-young to her parents’ house and laid her down.
Then I left.
I got in a taxi, collapsed at home, and the moment I fell onto my bed—
A status window appeared.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[First Fellow Singer]
[You have obtained a Bronze Ticket.]
[×5]
[You can obtain FF to C-rank potions.]
“This thing really gives rewards?”
I had used up all my stamina.
Anything would help.
Though…
The phrase fellow singer bothered me a little.
I pressed the button while lying down.
The roulette spun.
A system message appeared.
[Divine potions do not contain human ingredients.]
[No matter how much you consume, they do not cause addiction.]
Guess it knew I was suspicious.
I sat up.
Or maybe everyone who saw these weird windows got the same notice.
I still had no idea why this started at all.
“But do I really have to spin the roulette five times?”
[Once you obtain your first Silver Ticket, all tickets can be used at once.]
“…Can you hear me?”
I waved my hand through the status window.
Nothing touched.
Anyway, I spun four times without checking.
Four potions dropped out.
Two FF-rank.
One E-rank.
One D-rank.
The E-rank restored 3%.
The D-rank restored 5%.
I drank all four immediately.
Then spun the last one.
A shining ticket dropped.
[First Silver Ticket Achieved]
[From now on, all tickets can be used at once.]
[You have obtained a Silver Ticket.]
[×1]
[You can obtain D to B-rank potions.]
“No wonder the first four were all trash!”
At this rate I was developing a gambling addiction alongside drug addiction.
A ridiculous hope appeared that spinning Silver might give Gold.
But roulette usually fails when you’re greedy.
So I just put the ticket in my wallet.
Once I recovered even a little stamina, there was something I had to do.
I opened the rooftop room door, stepped out, and lit a cigarette.
I don’t know how many I’d thrown away half-smoked because someone interrupted me.
Smoking for the first time in seventy-six hours while half-dazed felt incredible.
Taking hurried drags, I called a number I found online.
“Uh, someone at a club gave me a cigarette, and I smoked it… I’m worried it might’ve been drugs.”
No matter what—
Before giving this stuff to anyone else…
I needed it tested first.
