DPI-04

4. Kang Su-woo

Kang Su-woo. 19 years old, a 2nd-year trainee from the 4th generation of Willow-i.

He was the most relaxed and laid-back person among all the trainees. Even before I returned to the past, he was the member who appeared everywhere on TV after Hexad Carmit disbanded, thanks to his incredible variety sense. He was a playful and cheerful “gag character.”

I always knew he had a chill personality, but after gaining the status window, I could see it clearly. I realized just how carefree his life actually was.

It was the same when I checked everyone’s “Worry Level” earlier. His was overwhelmingly lower than the other Willow-is! So I thought, Ah, this guy is truly as peaceful as ever.

Of course, that peace probably came from confidence. He was just that talented. He was a genius who always achieved above-average results without even trying that hard. That was Kang Su-woo.

‘Or so I thought…’

Looking at the back of his head right now as he groans while clutching his phone… isn’t that Kang Su-woo? The number floating above his head is a whopping 30! It was the highest “Worry Level” I had seen among any of the trainees so far.

‘That laid-back Kang Su-woo has a worry level of 30? What kind of problem could it be?’

Beyond the worry itself, my curiosity took over. What kind of big event could have happened to make his worry level jump like that?

‘Surely it’s not something serious?’

But even for someone as relaxed as Su-woo, if something truly terrible had happened, his worry level wouldn’t be just 30. I was creeping up behind him to see what was going on when…

— Ding!

A quest popup appeared with a cheerful sound.

[Quest: Tell Me Your Worries!! (1)]

There’s someone who looks like they have a worry…

Let’s go and ask what’s on their mind!

▶ Talk to the member who looks like they have many worries.

Deadline: By midnight, December 16, 20XX

Reward: My Baby is the Best! (lv. 1)

The quest popped up at just the right time. “My Baby is the Best”… the skill name feels a bit like something a mom would say.

‘Anyway, if I got a skill, I should use it.’

I’ve decided. My first target is you, Kang Su-woo.

As I got closer, I saw Su-woo was incredibly busy tapping away at his phone with both hands.

“Su-woo Hyung?”

“Huh?”

Su-woo turned around with a confused expression. It made sense since I wasn’t usually very close to him, yet here I was talking to him. But he had a mild personality and got along with everyone. He looked at my face, gave a friendly smile, and replied.

“Oh, it’s Yeon-oh. What’s up?”

“I noticed you’ve been frowning at your phone for a while. Is something wrong?”

“Frowning? Me?”

Startled by my words, Su-woo pointed to himself with his index finger. A popup appeared next to him.

[Did it show? Usually, no one would notice…]

I always thought he was a guy with endless composure, but seeing his caught-off-guard face was actually quite cute. Right, even this Kang Su-woo is only 19 right now. As I stared at him, he finally let out his usual giggle.

“No, well… it’s nothing. Really.”

“Hmm.”

It seems he has no intention of opening up easily. I decided to borrow the power of the ‘Speak Honestly’ skill.

— Ding!

Immediately, I felt a subtle change in Su-woo’s expression, even though he had just been trying to brush it off.

“But Hyung, you looked so serious looking at your phone. Are you sure nothing happened?”

“Eh, did I really look that serious?”

Su-woo scratched his head awkwardly, and his inner thoughts began to pour out.

“It’s really nothing big, but this just isn’t working out.”

He laughed as he showed me his phone screen.

“Do you know this game?”

A game? My ears suddenly perked up.

I was a massive gamer myself. On my days off, I used to lock myself in my room and do nothing but play games. Once, I didn’t leave the house for a whole week. Later on, it was so hard trying to play while avoiding the eyes of my nephews. Whenever the kids talked about games, my sister-in-law would glare at me as if to say, “It’s all because of you!” But Sister-in-law, if it weren’t for games, how could I have handled the stress of watching eight boys at once…?

Anyway, my curiosity exploded. What kind of game could make a worry level rise that much? What game could make the ever-relaxed Kang Su-woo worry this much? I hoped it was a game I knew. If there was a way to help, I felt I could solve it for him.

“A game? Which one?”

“Have you heard of it? It’s called ‘Pocketmon Go.’”

I practically jumped when I heard the name.

“Pocketmon Go? Hyung, you play this too?”

“Ack! You scared me. My heart almost stopped, man.”

Su-woo laughed and pretended to clutch his chest at my intense reaction. But I was just as surprised to hear the name of this game after so long.

Pocketmon Go. It was a mobile game where you walk around the streets catching Pocketmons that appear everywhere. It became a huge hit through word-of-mouth as soon as it was released… and eventually became a global phenomenon.

I was a huge “heavy user” of this game myself. Even a homebody like me used to wander around the local park because of it.

But timing-wise, it hasn’t even been a year since it was released… Around this time, I would have just been getting past the “noob” stage. I wondered how many decent Pocketmons he had.

‘Sigh, before I returned, I had Pocketmons I’d raised for 10 years…’

While the miracle of returning to the past was something to be grateful for, I did feel a bit of regret that all my Pocketmon data was gone.

But that wasn’t the priority right now. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened the game.

“I play Pocketmon Go too, but I had no idea you played it, Hyung. Give me your friend code.”

“You play it too? Oh… nice to meet you! It’s surprisingly hard to find people who play this.”

Su-woo’s eyes widened in surprise. We spent most of the day together in the practice room and shared a dorm (even if we weren’t in the same room), yet we didn’t even know we played the same game. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. We really knew nothing about each other in the past.

We headed up to the dorm and into Su-woo’s room. We spent a long time having a great time talking about Pocketmons.

As it turned out, Su-woo was at Level 14. This game requires you to walk around and catch monsters to level up. But for a trainee who only goes back and forth between the company and the dorm, fast leveling was impossible. However, Su-woo’s real worry was something else.

“Look at this. How can a level-up quest be this cruel?”

Su-woo had filled his experience bar for Level 14 and only needed to finish one quest to level up. I looked at the quest on his screen. And when I saw it, I couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

‘And here I was wondering what he was so worried about…’

– Add 5 Friends.

In Pocketmon Go, you have to be friends to send gifts and trade monsters. However, one unexpected hurdle in the game was that it required a certain number of friend additions for specific level-ups. It’s not a difficult quest, but if you don’t have friends nearby who play, it’s a total disaster.

“Hyung, first, add me.”

I read out my friend code to him. Su-woo typed it in diligently, clutching his phone with both hands.

‘This guy was really serious about the game.’

He’s still just a kid. I couldn’t help but smile. If I had known this sooner, would we have had a fun time gaming together even before I returned?

“Ah, very thank you. Now I only need four more… but where am I going to find the rest…?”

After adding me, the quest changed to 1/5, but Su-woo’s expression didn’t brighten much. When I checked his worry level, it showed no signs of dropping.

Su-woo looked at my phone with a dejected face and said, “Hey, how did you reach Level 25? Do you have friends nearby who play? Can’t I register those friends too?”

“I don’t have any friends nearby who play either.”

“But you’re Level 25? Then how did you fill the 5 friends?”

“There’s a way.”

“Tell me the way. At this rate, I’m going to quit the game at Level 14.”

“Look at this.”

I grinned and opened the internet browser on my phone. I went to a specific site and turned the screen toward him. It was a board on a Pocketmon Go community website.

“…This is…!”

There, row after row of people were posting their friend codes, desperately looking for friends.

‘Looking for gift exchanges! 0000-0000-0000’

‘I log in every day. Please add me! 0000-0000-0000’

‘The level-up quest requires 30 friends T_T 0000-0000-0000’

Su-woo spoke with a dazed expression, as if he were seeing a whole new world.

“You mean… I could get these just by searching a few times…?”

“Who adds actual ‘real-life’ friends these days? You should have searched the internet.”

“The world really has become a convenient place. To think you can get Pocketmon friends from the internet.”

He chuckled, saying he’s gotten old. This guy is only 19… how dare he say that in front of me… Sigh.

“People post a lot of guides, too. If you get stuck while leveling up, just search for it; most things are there. Keep that in mind.”

“Hey, thank you so much. I’ll give you lots of gifts. I’ll send them every day.”

Su-woo began typing in the codes from the board with a beaming smile. In an instant, his character reached Level 15 after adding five friends.

At that moment, I saw Su-woo’s worry level—which had been 30—drop back down to his usual level below 10.

— Ding!

[Quest: Tell Me Your Worries!! (1)]

▶ Talk to the member who looks like they have many worries: ★ACHIEVED★]

[Reward is being issued]

[Reward: My Baby is the Best! (lv. 1)]

When activated, the confidence of the person you are talking to increases by 150%.

‘Increases the other person’s confidence? This could be quite useful.’

And I gained another achievement.

— Ding!

[Friend List: Interaction with Kang Su-woo has unlocked his Likability!]

‘Nice! Kang Su-woo’s Likability is open!’

I looked at Su-woo, who was happily absorbed in his game. What a cute guy. To think his biggest worry was being stuck in a game.

Before I returned…

Su-woo was someone everyone found easy to be around because he was always bright and good at joking… but those who actually got close knew. He was a person who drew very clear lines between himself and others.

And if you crossed that line, that “thoughtless-looking” face of his would turn quite terrifying. How did I know? I didn’t want to find out. It was a fact I only learned after several huge fights during the Hexad Carmit days. After falling out with the members he fought with, we never saw his smiling face again…

‘Ah, it was truly terrifying before I returned.’

That’s why I thought getting close to the members again wouldn’t be easy. This was a good start. Honestly, unlocking Su-woo’s Likability was mostly down to luck. Who would have thought the Pocketmon Go game I enjoyed would be the bridge?

‘Still, I should praise myself for checking the worry levels so carefully.’

If I keep checking worry levels like this, I’ll find more opportunities soon. I resolved to use the “Sharp Eyes” skill as part of my daily routine.

A notification rang as if to celebrate my new start.

— Ding!

[Additional Reward: Point System Unlocked!]

As an additional reward for unlocking Likability for the first time, the point system is now open, and 3 points have been issued.

Points can be earned randomly upon quest completion and used to raise your stats!

Current Points: 3

A system to raise stats with points. Does it mean my Vocal C+ and Visual B? I’ll have to try raising those privately later.

‘Anyway…’

Only one person unlocked so far. Out of all the former Hexad Carmit members in the Friend List tab, only one has opened. This is just the beginning.

Ga Du-in.

Han Ji-hyuk.

Cha Un.

Hong Ui-rim.

Targets I need to conquer soon. If I keep checking their worry levels, another opportunity will surely come—just like how I solved Su-woo’s problem and opened his Likability.

Just as I was thinking that…

Another opportunity approached quickly.