It was late at night when Yoon-seul emerged from the capsule.
Without the energy to check the community, she collapsed onto the bed with a thud.
“It was fun…”
How long had it been since she felt such a sense of liberation?
Still, there were times when her thoughts wouldn’t quite come out right, and she would scold herself.
But Adella and Na-me took it in stride, patiently waiting for her to finish her thoughts, even if she stumbled over her words.
They were all kind friends.
[I think that’s enough. You didn’t do anything wrong, after all.]
Na-me felt like a grown-up and smart child, as if she were spreading rumors.
However, Yoon-seul was too ashamed of not being able to meet her expectations, sinking deeper into a pit of sadness.
She couldn’t relate to the idea that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“No matter how I think about it, Che-na unnie died because of me…”
She opened the will that the bereaved family handed over with trembling hands.
It was a part that had deliberately not been made public for her own sake.
[In the end, Yoon-seul, to be honest, I’ve always wished you wouldn’t succeed. I can’t tell you how many times I cursed you for cowardly running away from the agency.
But when I saw you again after a long time, you were shining so brightly, contrary to my expectations, that I felt embarrassed and pathetic for having spoken ill of you behind your back.
Thank you for meeting me. If even an anti-fan like me can become your fan, you’ll do well in everything from now on. I hope you find happiness, even for my sake.]
Perhaps the emotions Che-na felt towards her were similar to those Yoon-seul had for Na-me and Adella.
A star shining too brightly silences all the surrounding stars.
For Yoon-seul, Na-me and Adella were such beings.
The reason she also made Kariri’s manner of speaking similar to Adella’s was because she had tried to imitate her while watching the Wagal Nightmare story.
More than anything, she envied the touching relationship between the two girls who cared for each other.
“Why was I born into such a family…”
Yoon-seul shook her head vigorously. She thought it better not to start such negative thoughts at all.
In the first place, this was a competition that Yoon-seul had signed up for with a big heart to bring about change.
Talking with others went more smoothly than she expected, and her condition seemed to be gradually improving.
So, she even suggested a collaboration to Na-me to shake off her trauma, but panic attacks were not something easily predictable.
“Just until the competition… just until the competition…”
She had the intention of doing her best so as not to burden her teammates.
“And after that…”
Yoon-seul couldn’t easily come up with an answer.
As expected, the thought of wanting to give up everything and die like Che-na impulsively came to mind first.
*
“You’re going to the hospital on Sports Day? Why?”
“I told you earlier, it’s for a health check-up.”
“Why does it have to be on the day of the Sports Day?!”
“Because the Sports Day was postponed a week due to the rain. It coincidentally lined up with the health check-up date that was already scheduled.”
“Can’t you skip it? sniffle…”
The Sports Day in mid-May was canceled due to unexpected rainy weather.
Consequently, it was postponed a week, coinciding with the health check-up that had been booked months ago, leaving her unable to attend.
Even while trying hard to explain this fact, the kids didn’t seem to pay attention.
“The Sports Day will happen again next year and the year after. There are so many fun events besides the Sports Day.”
Submitting her leave of absence in the morning, trying to briefly stop by school, was being delayed by the kids’ insistence.
“That’s right, Yuna. Na-me, stop bothering her and let’s go help the teacher quickly.”
“Sigh… I’ve been waiting for today so much… waah…”
“Yoon Si-hoo, make sure to take good care of Yuna. If anything happens to her today, you’ll be in trouble tomorrow!”
“Why me…?”
Teacher Jacqueline handed the leave of absence to them, wishing them to be careful on their way.
It wasn’t far; they could walk from the academy.
With her daily life becoming a monotonous loop of home-school, even a slight change in scenery felt incredibly refreshing.
Could this be what they call severe VR addiction mentioned on the news?
The news kept reporting how more and more patients fell into depression due to the excessive disconnect from reality after being too absorbed in the VR world.
I used my avatar as my true self, so it didn’t apply to me.
Flap-flap
I submitted my information at the hospital in advance and waited.
After that, a dull round of tests continued. The full course was particularly merciless.
I had a CT scan, lay down in a mana resonance device that piqued my curiosity, and even had blood drawn. Thankfully, it was red.
“Look at those shoes, they’re making pitter-patter sounds…!”
“I wish I had a granddaughter like that; I wouldn’t ask for anything more.”
“Ah! I’ll send the results to your email! Thank you for your hard work!”
The nurses waved me off with a-peek-a-boo faces. Am I a baby?
Before more eyes began to stare at me for all the excitement, I hurried home.
As I walked, I continued to read about Kariri.
What was heavy on Yoon-seul’s mind was undoubtedly the “Idol Che-na Death Incident.”
It was a tragic event where, overwhelmed by punishing schedules and the agency’s exploitation, she ended her own life.
I vividly recalled the memories of every billboard outside and news report being inundated with tributes to Che-na.
The delay in releasing the will was to expose the agency that had forced Che-na into sex work during her trainee days.
And even now, fierce legal battles were ongoing.
The mayor of Seoul, who was implicated, had resigned due to bribery charges but continued to strongly deny any physical contact with minors.
Indeed, it was a complex and dirty world.
Before I got lost in the labyrinth of Tree Wiki, I returned to the main point.
Anyway, the connection with Kariri stemmed from the fact that the collaboration happened just the day before Che-na’s death, in addition to being trainees in the same agency.
When Yoon-seul left the agency and began her journey as a virtual YouTuber, Che-na debuted at 18 with the four-member idol group “NV.”
After achieving modest results, she released a solo song that hit globally, leading the agency to promote her continuously.
[Che-na April 2049 World Tour Schedule.jpg]
Looking at the organized schedule laid out by a fan, it was indeed a grueling pace that made me nod my head.
Having done that without a break for over two years, it was too much for a young child.
[Kariri/Controversies and Incidents
2.15. Idol Che-na Death Incident]
This section confirmed that everything listed was merely signs of Che-na’s suicidal ideation.
There were notes about her lack of motivation, mentioning chest pains during broadcasts, and that she had refused to sing a song proposed by Kariri, along with comments that she wished to become like ‘wild chrysanthemum.’
“How ridiculous. How is Yoon-seul supposed to know about this?”
I was particularly enraged reading speculative bits suggesting Kariri’s broadcasting style could have provoked Che-na’s suicidal thoughts.
Each small detail must have pushed Kariri to the brink.
As I was growing critical about doing broadcasts, I received a call from Professor Cheon.
[Na-me, are you still outside? Did the health check go well?]
“Yes, I’m almost home. They said I could get the results via email later.”
[Then could you come home quickly? We have something to discuss.]
“Are you home now? Okay, I’ll be right there.”
I knew he had gone to work early this morning, so I wondered why he was suddenly home at this hour.
He shouldn’t have dementia already. Just to be safe, I decided to buy a bag of walnut snacks on the way back.
It’s not like I wanted to eat it myself or anything.
When I returned home, it was just shy of two o’clock.
Such an awkward time; if I had finished a little earlier, I could have gone to watch the Sports Day.
Looks like I would have to postpone the experience of the academy’s Sports Day until next year. I wonder if our class won?
“I’m back.”
He really is home?
On the shoe rack, Professor Cheon’s black shoes were neatly placed.
“I brought some walnut snacks on the way back. I wonder if you’ll like them.”
There was no answer. He must be in the master bedroom.
I deliberately turned around and took off my shoes, making sure to avoid bending over.
After confirming my small shoes were parked neatly between his, I securely closed the sliding door.
“Did you come back?”
From the hallway, Professor Cheon’s figure was already half-visible.
“Oh, you were in the kitchen? What were you doing to not answer me—”
There was a man sitting across from Professor Cheon.
An awkward figure who raised his hand was someone I knew very well.
“Haha… hello…”
“Cheon Sae-min?”
What are you doing here?
*
“Cheon Sae-min is your nephew?”
His accent was thick enough to make it sound like a curse, so I spoke clearly again.
“Is he really your nephew?”
With a startled expression, Cheon Sae-min jumped up to answer.
“Umm, yeah! This is our uncle!”
“I called him.”
Why?
What a coincidence.
I was a bit taken aback and couldn’t speak properly.
I knew Professor Cheon’s younger brother had cut ties with him, but I hadn’t really had any reason to be curious about that side of the family.
However, suddenly Cheon Sae-min was claiming to be his nephew, leaving me perplexed.
Professor Cheon silently handed me a letter.
[Seoul Serious Crime Investigation Team
No. 2051-00628
To: Cheon Sae-min, No-name]
Subject: Notification of Re-investigation Request Processing Results]
“What is this?”
There was restrained emotion in his voice.
I looked at Sae-min, and he shook his head with a troubled expression.
His lips mouthed, “I didn’t say anything.”
“I wish you could hear it directly from Na-me.”
Today felt like it was going to be a long one.
