“Hey hyung, but why are you calling him Joo Dan-nim?”
VTIC Joo Dan.
Why did this guy suddenly pop up on my list of brains to borrow?
To be honest... there aren’t many candidates.
“...Ah.”
I hadn’t been running around telling everyone about my situation in the first place. Body swapping, returning to the past, the system—no one but the few I’d had to share it with knew.
And among them, he seemed the least squeamish about it.
He’s a bit... unusual, but maybe that could help. So, with nothing to lose, I contacted Joo Dan.
Out of courtesy, I asked about his life.
“How’s army life, sunbae?”
–There are plenty of issues with the conscription system’s efficiency, but I’ll skip that.
“...Mm, right.”
I wondered how he was treated in his unit, but decided to focus on my own problem.
Let’s see...
‘He’s in the barracks, so there must be guys eavesdropping nearby.’
A call from a celebrity always attracts attention, even if you pretend otherwise.
I needed to mislead them about the topic.
“Actually, I was ‘gaming’ and wanted to ask you something about this ‘system.’”
I laid the groundwork, calling it a light hobby chat, a psychological test of sorts, before mentioning the system issue.
In short: mission failure led to body swapping, and these status messages popped up...
After some Q&A, he finally responded:
–Body switching... a romantic comedy cliché, isn’t it? It’s not exactly my specialty.
“...”
Should I hang up?
‘Hold on.’
I had to use his brain, so I held back.
“I wanted to hear your unique third-party perspective. What do you think?”
Silence, then after a moment, Joo Dan said something I’d never imagined.
–Have you considered that perhaps there was never a mission to begin with?
What?
A few days later.
TeSTAR’s comeback preparations proceeded smoothly, without major incident.
Originally we planned a hard-hitting concept for a long-awaited album, but since ‘Savior’ had already been intense, we toned down the mania.
‘It was a wild theme.’
We needed a tempo adjustment before going there again.
So we opted for a stylish, broadly {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} appealing mini-album.
Thus the concept was...
“American public high school–style high teen!”
The idol essential.
...Alright, I won’t lie: I thought, “We’re at that age where we can still pull this off.”
“Ah~ how long do we have left before this feels forced? Sob, it’s so sad. I need to manage myself better~”
“Actors in their thirties play high schoolers all the time. Don’t think so extreme.”
“Aah... yes. You’re right.”
By the way, Seon Ah hyun smoothed over that awkward back-and-forth.
“E-everyone’s outfits look great. You all look like high schoolers...! The stage will be awesome, too.”
“Ah~ right, I can guarantee that!”
Yes. We really nailed it.
[Oh... no need to be this cheesy.]
For the music video and stage, we consulted Cha Yoo jin, who gleefully determined every role.
Everything proceeded to schedule—and still is.
“Mundae Mundae, about that body-swap issue...”
“You don’t need to worry about it now. Just wait a bit.”
“...Okay.”
Thus, comeback prep went off without a hitch.
No problems.
But I hadn’t forgotten the status window.
And a few days later, on the day I checked it again:
[Sudden Event!]
Status Abnormal Mission Failed: Restore Original State (2)
–Everything returns as if nothing happened
: Until next start D-?
I realized something.
‘Keundal.’
[What??]
I took a deep breath.
“I figured out the swap date.”
[...!!]
“Look at the status window. See how ‘D-??’ became ‘D-?’?”
I pointed.
The countdown was ticking down digit by digit—two digits to one digit means one thing.
From 10 to 9.
“Nine days left.”
And if it follows the same time window as last time...
“It’s most likely around 11 PM that night.”
The night of January 21.
Thankfully, it’s just before our comeback stage. I mentally replayed the schedule for that day.
[So... does that mean you’ll clear the schedule at that time?]
“...”
Here’s the tricky part.
“You can’t do that.”
[...!]
“I go to work as Ryu Geon woo, and you handle the schedule as Park Mundae.”
I spoke deliberately.
“That’s what we have to do that day.”
[Why, why is that?]
“Because that seems to be how to end the mission-failure effect.”
I recalled my conversation with Joo Dan a few days ago.
That outlandish suggestion.
–...What if there was no mission in the first place?
–Yes. You try to eliminate the culprit, only to find there was none—a hollow narrative. It’s so overused it’s become a cliché-breaking cliché.
Honestly, I couldn’t agree with that twisted logic.
But the sentence itself sparked an idea the moment I heard it.
“You changed my status-abnormal failure into a mission failure. So the system never considered there to be a mission. It was originally just a status abnormality.”
And...
“Originally, a ‘mission’ means... a goal I set arbitrarily via the status window to earn a reward.”
Through the trait you gave me: ‘mission disposition.’
“But you can’t create that to begin with.”
The popup paused.
“You don’t have a status window.”
Therefore, for Keundal, the concept of a mission can’t exist.
[So... the mission... doesn’t exist.]
Exactly.
‘When there’s no mission, a mission failure pops up and retroactively makes it seem like there was one.’
The algorithm got tangled by force-fitting the replacement.
Thus...
“Now, a mission failure will always occur.”
Instead of resolving a non-existent mission.
“When the failure effect happens, we should approach it by releasing the target.”
–...According to your theory, that’s just like the building-escape game strategy.
Where you escape the collapsing building and lose the system’s ‘target.’
Rather than guessing at a mission that never existed, focus on what happened after the failure.
‘Then the situation becomes obvious.’
I chuckled.
“Remember what we did after we swapped bodies?”
[Uh, I stayed with TeSTAR, and hyung followed as the road manager...]
“Right.”
So, to put it plainly:
“You lived Park Mundae’s original daily life properly, and I went AWOL from Ryu Geon woo’s original life.”
[...!]
“That’s why only Park Mundae was released from the target.”
Like this:
[Target lost: “Park Mundae (1 / 2)”]
[Releasing in progress]
[Remaining target: Ryu Geon woo (2 / 2)]
Now the goal is clear.
“We need to make the system think we’re living our own lives without swapping. Then the target will be lost.”
Keundal was silent for a moment.
Then the popup reappeared.
[Then I’ll stay as TeSTAR’s Park Mundae one more time, and hyung will stay as civil servant Ryu Geon woo...!]
Exactly.
I nodded.
‘That’s it.’
I felt relieved now that we had a perfect conclusion and timing.
‘Once we execute it properly...’
[Wow, contacting Joo Dan was really a brilliant move! He seems like a great person!]
“...”
Huh.
That’s... kind of much.
After getting his helpful response, I had asked him cheerfully, “What girl group is popular in the army these days?”
And he answered:
–I don’t know. We each access modern civilization on our smartphones after work. No need to gather around mass media like TV.
–...
–Though security restricts our range of apps.
–Right.
I never thought someone would say, “Watching idol groups on TV isn’t the trend anymore.”
–Oh, send regards to hyung Jaehyun.
And I have no idea why he told me that, since he’s not our group’s leader.
Anyway... Cheongryeo, I’ll see you somewhere without having to contact you. It’s awards season.
Finishing my recollection of the talk with Joo Dan, I sighed.
“...That helped. So on the night of the 21st, if we swap, I should explain what we’ll each do on the 22nd.”
[Ah, I’m not going to work that day!]
“...? Ah, right.”
The 21st is Saturday... so the next day would be Sunday. I nodded.
This made things much easier.
“Then I’ll pick up where you left off that day. What did you plan to do?”
[Um... I was planning to rest all day Sunday!]
I had a feeling.
But his next reply surprised me.
[But on Saturday night... I’ll probably be out.]
He’d be out at 11 PM?
“Okay. What are you doing out then?”
And the unexpected answer came.
[Actually... I’m going to a fan signing!]
“...”
Why would you go there...?
‘Wait a second.’
Right, I do have a fan signing scheduled that Saturday. Specifically, TeSTAR’s.
–Oseong AI assistant “Curious Vega” advertising model TeSTAR fan-sign event!
A corporate ad model fan signing.
‘But why would a civil servant attend...?’
[Because... I won?]
Ah, to get his autograph...
“...”
I bowed my head.
[I’m–I’m sorry! I wanted to surprise you that day, but I think I was too thoughtless hyungㅠㅠ Should I cancel?]
“No.”
As much as possible... let nothing else affect the timeline. Live it as it is. No need to risk it.
‘Actually, this is perfect.’
We can see each other’s faces right before swapping.
Since the signing starts in the evening, it’s a perfect chance to note any oddities.
“Alright. Then please take a taxi home from there.”
[Yes!]
My conversation with Keundal ended cleanly there.
But when the day of the fan signing arrived...
A not-so-clean incident occurred.
“So after the signing you’ll return to the dorm and become Keundal again? Between 11 and midnight?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Just confirming.”
Ryu Cheong woo patted my shoulder as he passed by. I drank some water in the waiting room and changed costumes.
‘Nothing unusual.’
But immediately, that damned “unusual” happened.
“They’re saying the organizer’s issue will delay us about an hour and a half...”
“......”
“We don’t have anything scheduled after this. Maybe rest and adjust your condition...?”
The manager trailed off. “Adjust condition” sounded nice, but it meant we’d be leaving late—which sucks.
‘And since the advertiser is Oseong, we can’t push back.’
Oseong is a huge conglomerate. Anyway...
I pressed my temple.
‘If I refuse and claim illness to leave early, is that too risky?’
Normally...
‘I’d wait and fulfill the schedule.’
Damn. With no subsequent schedule, this fan signing is essentially confirmed. Canceling would cause a massive ripple effect.
‘...Should we go through with it?’
Or maybe I should do something unpredictable.
I clenched both fists. Then—
“Mu-Mundae...!”
“...!”
Seon Ah hyun sat beside me.
“It’s okay. Usually... by the time you think of the signing’s schedule, it’ll end before then. Don’t overthink it—do what feels right for you, Mundae.”
“Indeed. Statistically speaking, it will likely be inside the car or the waiting room after the event!”
“......”
I looked at the others around me and nodded.
Surprisingly, I felt a bit calmer.
“Alright.”
But I soon regretted that decision...
I never expected that during the signing, the brief talk segment would be delayed again due to equipment issues.
And that this damned system countdown would move a bit earlier than I anticipated.
...So when I came to, I was in this state.
Blink.
Somehow I was holding a pen behind a high school girl in line.
A hamster headband bobbed on her short hair.
“......”
Beyond her, I saw Ryu Cheong woo finishing autographs with a smile.
Our eyes met. I immediately looked away.
“...?”
He looked puzzled. Then realization dawned on his expression.
And in the seat right next to him sat a familiar face laden with all sorts of extravagant fan-meeting accessories.
...It was me. Park Mundae.
[Hyung...!]
‘Maybe I should collapse and get taken away by an ambulance.’
At this point, I could consider defusing the situation and surviving this turn somehow.
But having seen this, I couldn’t do that.
[Sudden Event!]
Status Abnormal Mission Failed: Restore Original State (2)
–Everything returns as if nothing happened
: 47:59:59 until end
Forty-eight hours until termination.
The time had doubled.
A bad omen.
‘If this continues... I might swap permanently soon.’
I turned back in line. No one was there.
So it was just me and the girl in front—two signatures, then done.
“......”
[I... I feel like I could really collapse this time...]
‘...Listen up.’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘You are TeSTAR’s Park Mundae.’
[...]
And I...
‘...am just a light fan getting autographs from the members.’
I tried not to stagger as I stepped forward toward Ryu Cheong woo...
Thus began the worst role-play on earth.
