Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 298

Each of us has a role to play.

Ryu Iden runs around like a madman, Chae Hamin struggles to maintain his composure amidst the jump scares, and I… well, I’m the observer.

‘If a girl goes on a trip to the river?’

What kind of question is that?

Before calling Chae Hamin, I pulled out my phone and searched for a riddle app. ‘Hint,’ it was called. I would have been faster if they’d asked about the author of *Gulliver’s Travels* [a famous satirical novel by Jonathan Swift].

I sighed and typed “fun,” letter by letter, in the language of a country that might actually know the answer to this ridiculous riddle.

Damn it, it’s still nonsense. I almost rewrote it, thinking maybe the answer was “happy” or “relaxed,” but I gave up.

I slumped in my chair and banged my head on the desk.

This doesn’t require logical thought. Riddles like this are all about the playful teasing inherent in folk culture. I’m the one being teased right now.

A question where the answer doesn’t matter, the laughter coming from watching someone who only thinks rationally and can’t figure it out.

I stopped trying to make sense of it and just pondered the possible answers.

These days, most nonsense quizzes rely on wordplay, often using pronunciation. And Korea is pretty familiar with English, so maybe I should consider that too…

…*Gulliver’s Travels*.

That’s how I got the game manual and one hint ticket.

Since I have to solve another one of these damn riddles just to *use* the hint ticket, I should probably try my best to solve this one without it, using the manual as a guide.

―Dong-hwa, Dong-hwa, he’s moving.

“Yeah, he’s moving.”

He’s a living person, Hamin. It would be weird if he *didn’t* move.

―I don’t think he’s a person, what should I do? What if this isn’t even part of the shoot? Should I use the key?

You’re not going to die, Hamin.

While Chae Hamin was panicking, I nonchalantly started reading the manual.

Escape condition: Exorcism.

Um, it’s a ghost that can be physically hit, so I guess I could just whack it with a chair. But seeing as I have to go through a complicated process to exorcise it, it seems like they’ve applied some kind of moral code to the ghost as well. Huh, that’s… good, I guess.

Ding―!

[Don’t be sarcastic!]

―Dong-hwa, I, I got the key!

On the screen, Chae Hamin ran towards the camera, waving the key.

“Open the door and go to Class 4 on the 3rd floor.”

―…Ah, scary. That’s the classroom I used to be in when I was in 3rd grade.

“That ghost is from Class 4 of the 3rd grade. Thirty years ago.”

―On purpose! You’re doing this on purpose! Deliberately! Like it’s real!

Chae Hamin, as if resenting me for talking like a real ghost, flailed his arms while looking at the camera.

Then he glanced behind him and froze. The ghost was about three steps closer.

“Yeah, deliberately.”

I admitted it without hesitation. It’s actually pretty fun. I think I understand the *Gi-jisaeng* [Korean term for someone who enjoys teasing others] a little better now.

I should call Ryu Iden, who’s probably still running around like crazy, and tell him to find his phone. I should probably hang up soon…

“Hamin, just wait in Class 4 of the 3rd grade. I’ll call you again.”

―…Huh? Why?

He looked utterly dejected, like a protagonist in a dystopian novel about to be kicked out of the only safe haven he’s found after wandering for days.

―Don’t hang up! I’ll die!

You’re not going to die, you crazy rabbit. Ryu Iden might die from exhaustion if left alone, but you’re perfectly safe.

Sharing a room with a slow ghost is definitely doable.

“I have to help Ryu Iden too.”

―How, how can you abandon me, Dong-hwa!

What are you even talking about?

―Iden is a traitor!

You were the one who set the whole thing up, hoping he’d forgive you first.

“Um, sorry.”

―…Do you have to come quickly?

“Yeah.”

But I need to hurry a little more now.

I started to take the phone away from my ear to hang up, but he kept talking.

Even if I told him that there might be a ghost, or even if there was, it wasn’t really a ghost, Hamin, it wouldn’t change anything. So I kept my mouth shut.

―Keep, keep watching me on the screen.

“Yeah.”

―Don’t take your eyes off me!

“…Yeah.”

―I’m going to watch the broadcast, if you take your eyes off me even for a moment! If you take your eyes off me even for a moment, uh, I, I, what should I do? Save me, Dong-hwa.

What should you do? You’ll be fine.

Chae Hamin looked around and cowered, as if terrified by his own words. Schools are usually eerie when they’re empty.

“I won’t take them off.”

It’s not hard to reassure him, just so he doesn’t have a cardiac arrest.

* * *

Ryu Iden laughed like a maniac after hearing the story.

“So, you’re still watching him now?”

―Yeah.

“Wow, won’t you watch me too?”

―I have to keep the promise I made first. Besides, you looked like you were having fun.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of fun. It feels like hide-and-seek.”

Ah, this is going to be edited out of the broadcast. I was relieved and let something slip.

“No, I’m scared to death! Watch me too!”

This is a pretty picture.

―Thinking about the broadcast… Anyway, your escape condition is to become a resistant human.

“My goal is to be the only asymptomatic person in a zombie world!”

Ryu Iden said that and started running again.

―There’s one on the upper floor too, so go to the lower floor.

“Okay!”

―Your school’s science teacher created zombies while experimenting.

“Isn’t there a drama about that?”

―What’s more important than that is that the science teacher broke the key into five pieces and scattered them around the school.

The science teacher is his homeroom teacher. What’s with this setting? His student came to him as a teacher, and he released zombies.

Ryu Iden chuckled at the subtly strange setup.

“Oh? But, if you keep watching Hamin’s screen, you can’t look at the manual again.”

―I memorized it.

“…I really… what would have happened if you had devoted yourself to studying?”

Ryu Iden stopped talking. He already knows the answer.

―I’m more curious about you.

“What is it, *hyung* [Korean term for older brother or male friend] ?”

―What would have happened if you had become an athlete?

“What would have happened? I would have been sad because I couldn’t meet you guys.”

Ji Dong-hwa was silent on the phone. He’s probably making a disgusted face.

“Anyway, where should I go?”

―Go to the science lab first.

“Okay!”

―I’ll call you when you get there.

“Okay! Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if the *hyungs* [Korean term for older brother or male friend] lost to their younger brother in something like teamwork?”

―…Um, he’s probably doing well there too.

“I don’t know. I think they’re fighting a lot.”

Ah, there’s a zombie! Ryu Iden said goodbye one more time and ran around the science lab as fast as he could.

If I want to chat and joke around a little, I’ll have to get rid of them all.

* * *

“Hyung, that’s not it.”

―Hyeon-jae―, one more time.

“…Um, just a moment.”

Lee Hyun-jae grabbed his head. He was happy to see his friends after a long time, but he didn’t realize this hardship was waiting for him.

A situational drama titled ‘Teacher’s Supplementary Class.’

A supplementary class where you can only escape by solving high school problems and passing the test.

Seok-joon steals the test questions from the faculty room (Dong-hwa or Iden would have laughed in disbelief), memorizes the questions, solves them, and passes the test.

As a result of the experiment, the teachers in the faculty room only chase people out if they hear a sound. They can’t imagine that anyone would have the audacity to steal the test papers.

That’s the problem.

“When I instruct you, turn left, count to 3, and go straight with your head down, stop after about four steps…”

How can I explain this in words, and how can he memorize it? Lee Hyun-jae suppressed the deep sigh that rose from within.

―I don’t have the confidence to memorize it, Hyun-jae.

“…Actually, I know it too.”

Lee Hyun-jae was experiencing in real time how precious paper is and how great written language is.

Thanks to the faculty room not having cameras, Lee Hyun-jae struggled to interpret Seok-joon’s words and find the path.

He thought it was over with just that, but Dong-hwa’s words about him being a damn PD were accurate.

―Should I borrow paper and a pen?

“Do you think they’ll give it to us that easily? It’s exam period, so they’ll chase us out just for going in and saying something.”

―People are nice―, Hyun-jae.

“No, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that their nature is evil?”

Lee Hyun-jae racked his brain.

He pushed aside the violent thought that it would be faster to just get caught and expelled.

It’s not that he doesn’t like it, but his *hyung*, who is only a year older than him, is always so naive that Lee Hyun-jae sometimes feels frustrated to death.

―I’ll try.

And as soon as he said ‘Hello―’ over the phone, he heard ‘Get out!’, and as soon as he said ‘I need some paper and a pen―’, he heard ‘I told you to get out!’ from our Joonie *hyung*.

―…That was bad, Hyun-jae.

“I told you people are evil.”

―But I still believe―. They’re probably doing this because it’s a broadcast―.

“Even if it’s not a broadcast, if you go into the faculty room during exam period…”

Stop. Lee Hyun-jae slapped his own cheek.

He can’t be arguing like usual. Iden isn’t here to mediate, and Dong-hwa isn’t here to watch and laugh.

“Hyung, I have a feeling… this is a competition.”

―A competition?

“Yes. I have a feeling there will be a penalty?”

―Wow, it would be fun to get a penalty with you―.

You crazy.

He knew that he lived in the world with a smile, and he knew that his desire to win was close to zero.

He even knew that he initially refused to appear on the survival show because he didn’t like the competitive nature of it, but the company persuaded him because this *hyung* was the only one who could rap well and was handsome! (But it was a public secret that Ryu Iden persuaded him to go!)

“I… want to win.”

Lee Hyun-jae respects Seok-joon, but at this moment, he hates his *hyung* who knows how to love even losing.

When else can I officially beat my *hyungs* if not for something like this?

Dong-hwa is managing the situation with the other two, so the penalty will be given appropriately.

―Then, I’ll win.

This *hyung* is always like this. He lives like water mixed with water, but he doesn’t hesitate to help others.

In Lee Hyun-jae’s eyes, he’s the kind of person who would get scammed if he lived alone. And he’s the kind of person who would still laugh and ask if you need his liver and tell you to take it.

“…I’m glad, *hyung*, that you debuted with us.”

What would have happened if he had been caught by a bad person? At least Hamin is aware that he is being scammed, but this guy would probably live without even knowing he was being scammed.

―I like that too―.

Lee Hyun-jae grabbed his head as he watched Seok-joon’s expression loosen powerlessly. He doesn’t even think about the hidden meaning.

“…Okay, context isn’t always important in a conversation.”

Let’s do an experiment. How much do they react to sound?

“Hyung, can you go in now and walk a little louder?”

―Okay!

Even if Lee Hyun-jae speaks in a small voice, he has seen them chase him out as soon as he speaks, so they must be sending a signal to hold him back by some means.

In other words, it means that Lee Hyun-jae cannot tell him the direction with ‘words.’

No wonder they put a strange sign called ‘Silent Faculty Room’ in the faculty room. It must have been a hint.

‘They wouldn’t be telling us to memorize it.’

If that were the case, they would have put himself or Dong-hwa in there.

Then he has to find out how it reacts to sounds other than words, and how much it reacts to.

After that, he will be able to send a sign to stop or go in a certain direction.

Lee Hyun-jae burned with a desire to win. He doesn’t know what the reward is or what the penalty is, but he is confident that he can persuade them.

“I want to tease Iden like Dong-hwa at least once…”

He’s teasing him well enough now, but Lee Hyun-jae wasn’t satisfied. Originally, if you’re the youngest in any group, you dream of revolution at least once in your heart.

“…Night self-study too.”

Imagining saying ‘Hey’ to Hamin or Dong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jae felt good just imagining it. It can be said to be a slightly twisted love for his *hyungs*.