A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 63

[Solve the following problem and answer.

“Did I ever tell you about catching the bag thief?”

I wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear the detective’s self-praise after so long. But if I didn’t listen, he’d sulk for about a week.

“Alright, perfect timing since I was bored. How did you manage to pull it off?”

“Well, if you insist, I’ll tell you the story.”

I was overcome with discomfort, knowing it would be nothing but self-praise.

“It was the day I took the subway for the first time in ages. That day, I encountered a bag thief and caught him.”

“You taking the subway is surprising enough. You actually go out?”

“That’s not the point… Anyway, listen to the story.”

“Alright, I am curious about how you caught the bag thief. You’re saying the thief took the bag you put on the shelf as if it were his and got off with it.”

“That’s right. He was so natural; it was definitely the work of someone experienced. But who am I? I immediately followed him and chased after him.”

I almost scoffed at the word ‘chased.’ Because the detective’s athletic abilities were terrible. As expected, the thief easily outran the detective and disappeared before his eyes.

“I immediately went up to the Oksu Station office where I got off and checked the CCTV [closed-circuit television].”

“And?”

“I couldn’t find any evidence and was devastated. If I was a pro at deduction, he was a pro at thievery. I could even feel the competitive spirit.”

“I pondered for days and searched. Then, at Cheonggu Station, one stop away, I saw a man with a similar build to the thief I had been chasing leaving the station on CCTV. It hadn’t been long since I lost my bag. But surprisingly, he was empty-handed.”

“Your persistence is truly the best! The thief didn’t go straight out of the station with the bag but took the subway to the next station. And if he didn’t have the bag, he must have taken the wallet out of the bag and thrown the bag away in a trash can or something?”

“No! No! What he was after was my bag. Actually, my bag is from the OOOO brand, and it costs X,XXX,XXX won [Korean currency, approximately equivalent to several thousand US dollars].”

“What? Are you out of your mind? Leaving something like that on the shelf? And losing it? Aren’t you crazy? Why did you even buy something so expensive?”

“Don’t worry. I caught the culprit a little later at Taereung Entrance Station. He was nonchalantly holding my missing bag.”

This was a series of surprises! My friend, the detective, is a luxury addict who buys bags worth X,XXX,XXX won. And he lost that expensive bag so easily on the subway, and then finds it again. What’s even more surprising is that he’s enjoying this process like a sport.

“I’m starting to get nauseous. Hurry up and tell me how you found it and finish the story.”

“I can’t do that. You have to conclude the story with your deduction. How did the thief make the bag disappear, and how could it be found again!”]

“Hmm… That’s quite a difficult problem. First, Oksu Station, Cheonggu Station, Taereung Entrance Station. Oksu Station is Line 3, Cheonggu Station is Line 5, Taereung Entrance Station is Line 6. 3, 5, 6….”

I decided that it had nothing to do with the subway stations. Because no related numbers came up. Then, suddenly, an idea flashed through Do-hyun’s mind.

“…The thief probably enjoyed his time on the subway, then left the bag behind and got off, and was caught when he went back to find it. These days, you can check real-time lost and found items through the real-time lost and found center. I think the detective probably used that system!”

Do-hyun squeezed out all the thoughts he could. Who knew that reading random articles whenever he was bored would help him at this moment.

“That’s correct! Na Do-hyun, you have earned the right to stay in room 3 for one day.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, the random quiz would come up again if two more people came in.

I was proud of myself for solving the difficult problem and lay on the sofa to enjoy my leisure.

* * *

At that moment, opinions were divided in the starting room.

Jin Wook-je was saying that they should catch up with Na Do-hyun as soon as possible, while the others were worried after seeing Mango Juice Writer get caught.

“We need to rush in the early stages!”

“Why don’t you start first, Wook-je, since you’re saying that?”

Korean language top instructor Han Ji-eun said to Jin Wook-je.

Jin Wook-je began to explain why he couldn’t go first in response to Han Ji-eun’s words.

“If I go first, the alliance will….”

“The importance of the alliance will disappear in the later stages anyway. Right? You formed the alliance to be advantageous in the early stages.”

“W-well… Ahahaha…. Our Ji-eun is so smart. Then I will! I’ll try to move up to 3 칸 [kan, a Korean unit of measurement, here referring to rooms or spaces] at once!”

Jin Wook-je reluctantly stood in front of the door. He was thinking of only moving 1 칸 in his mind. If he tried to move 3 칸 at once, he would be sent to the prison where Mango Juice was with an alarm.

Jin Wook-je ran as soon as he opened the door.

He didn’t even see the door. With a whooshing sound, police officers appeared from both sides and chased after Jin Wook-je.

“G-get away from me!”

Jin Wook-je entered the room he saw.

But….

“The suspect has been apprehended.”

“Why me? I entered the room safely!”

“This is room 5. You have violated the rule that you can only move 3 칸 per day, so you have no choice but to go to jail.”

“Ugh….”

That’s how Jin Wook-je was dragged to jail.

This left Plasma, Han Ji-eun, Choi Do-yeon, Boo Jin-hyun, Yoo Myung-han, and five others in the starting room.

Han Ji-eun said as if she had guessed that Jin Wook-je would end up like this.

“From now on, there is no alliance. It’s funny that an alliance exists in a situation where individuals must escape first. To win 300 million won, you have to trust your brain, not an alliance.”

* * *

A melody came to Do-hyun’s mind as he was enjoying his leisure in room 3.

It was a British rock-style title track candidate that PD [Production Director] Lee Joon-hyuk had played for him. He had asked me to write the lyrics for this song.

Since the use of personal items was prohibited in this program’s rules, Do-hyun couldn’t bring anything, so he searched for writing materials.

“Do-hyun, what are you looking for?”

The staff asked, seeing Do-hyun busily walking around.

“Actually, I was wondering if there were any writing materials. Since personal items are prohibited, there’s nothing to write with even if I want to write.”

“Ah! You were looking for writing materials. If you tell the staff, you can be provided with writing materials. One piece of paper and one pencil. This is how it’s provided. One piece of paper and one pencil are provided per floor.”

“Thank you!”

Do-hyun folded the received paper in half and wrote down the lyrics that came to mind. At first, keywords were written, but soon the keywords led to one word, and the word led to a sentence.

“Hmm… For now, it seems to go well with the melody. And since the song title was tentatively ‘Save me,’ this also seems good.”

While feeling proud while writing the lyrics.

Whoosh─!

It sounded like someone had come out of the room.

I heard the sound of running.

Who came out of the room this time?

While Do-hyun was curious, the door to room 4 opened.

The person who arrived was none other than professional gamer Plasma!

I didn’t even guess that Plasma, who seemed like he would be the most passive, would come to room 4 right away.

“Plasma, did you come straight from the starting room?”

Do-hyun asked, as he couldn’t know the exact situation outside.

“That’s right. I came right away. I’m glad I made it safely by a hair’s breadth. But how do we proceed?”

“If you look at that desk, there’s a problem placed there. You have to solve it.”

Plasma sat down at the desk. Then he read the paper carefully. Considering that he is the best professional gamer in Korea and has outstanding brainpower, I thought he would solve it at an incredible speed.

Do-hyun’s prediction was correct. As soon as he read the problem, Plasma raised his hand.

“I recently lost something on the subway and found it. I think the detective probably found it through the subway real-time lost and found center.”

The staff, seeing Plasma solve the problem so quickly, told him to take a good rest.

Do-hyun thought that he should become closer to Plasma at this opportunity, so he roughly folded the lyrics he had written and put them in his pocket, and then spoke to him.

“What’s the alliance situation now?”

“As soon as Jin Wook-je left, he was arrested and went to jail. So the alliance fell apart. Web novel writer Mango Juice is also in jail. The rest of them haven’t moved yet. It seems like they’re watching and will move a lot at once.”

Plasma answered everything that Do-hyun didn’t even ask.

As Do-hyun expected, the alliance collapsed before a day had even passed. Whether the solidarity of the alliance would increase or not depended on the members of the alliance.

But if two of the alliance members went to jail, the alliance would naturally collapse.

“Hmm, anyway, it’s nice to meet you in the same room like this. Shall we talk about games? I don’t think anyone will challenge room 4 anymore today. I think there are people who will start leisurely from tomorrow.”

Plasma shook his head at Do-hyun’s relaxed attitude.

“No. Another person will be coming soon.”

“Who?”

“Professor Park Ji-hoon or PD Cha Jae-hyun. I think one of them will definitely come.”

“Ah? I wonder if Professor Park Ji-hoon solved the problem well…. Do you know what room PD Cha is in?”

“He said he was going to room 3. I guess he’s waiting for an opportunity and will come to the next 칸.”

“Ah, that won’t do.”

Do-hyun was troubled. If PD Cha challenged one more 칸 and came, Do-hyun, Plasma, and PD Cha would have to solve another reasoning problem, and one of them would be eliminated.

Do-hyun hoped that PD Cha would not come to this room.

“I see.”

Plasma asked Do-hyun a question.

“By the way, what was the quiz in room 2? Was it a reasoning quiz like this?”

“No. It was about finding a key. It was a bit easy.”

“Oh, it must have been about finding a key and finding a device that the key goes into.”

He certainly had a quick mind. Do-hyun was newly impressed and continued.

“That’s right. I’m impressed by Plasma’s genius brainpower.”

“No. There’s bound to be something that needs a key where there’s a key.”

Plasma said as if it were natural.

“Do-hyun, what were you doing after solving the problem here….”

Whoosh!