[During Preview]
The status window, which had just regained color during the Preview, looked off.
There was no font, and almost none of the interface had been implemented.
It resembled a computer operating system booted in emergency mode with only a few functions available—a unique sight I’d never seen before.
But I didn’t have the luxury to look that way now.
“Kim Rae bin! Are you okay?”
“Ugh....”
Kim Rae bin was staggering, having accidentally smashed the back of his head against the corridor wall.
“Lay him down.”
I immediately stepped out of the room and supported Kim Rae # Nоvеlight # bin. Cha Yoo jin wordlessly helped me lower him to the floor, and Seon Ah hyun ran off to fetch a pillow.
“Ugh....”
“Headache?”
“Rae bin, does it hurt?”
“....”
Kim Rae bin didn’t answer. His breathing grew steady and his consciousness seemed to drift away until—
“Gasp!”
“...!”
He shot upright as if waking from a nightmare.
When he opened his eyes wide and spoke:
“Wh-who are you?”
“....”
I’d heard those words before.
“Fuck....”
I pressed my forehead with one hand. Kim Rae bin, still dazed, looked around until he spotted a familiar face and brightened.
“Cha Yoo jin?”
But then his face went pale with horror.
“Cha Yoo jin! How did you enlist? You didn’t renounce your citizenship to volunteer...?”
What on earth was he talking about?
Cha Yoo jin’s expression was equally stunned as he replied:
“...?? Rae bin, have you lost your mind?!”
“...! Could it be that you came to visit me, and I fell, lost consciousness, and forgot?”
No.
From beside me, Big Sejin spoke in a hesitant voice.
“Enlist? Are you saying... Rae bin, you—”
Then he voiced what we all had vaguely thought but never dared to say.
“You went to the military?”
“...? Yes. I’ve just finished basic training!”
A deathly silence fell over us.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘...Christ.’
Steer Kim Rae bin—no, former Steer Kim Rae bin—had been in the military.
“Oh, so... you got your draft notice.”
“Yes! I completed my bachelor’s coursework via the credit bank system, so my enlistment deferral period ended.”
The Steer I knew as Kim Rae bin sounded surprisingly upbeat.
He’d apparently earned a music-related degree online, then got his notice and enlisted immediately.
‘...Steer disbanded, so he had no reason to craft another deferral excuse.’
And it sounded like he’d done well in the service. He summarized his private’s life tersely:
“Though there were some points I didn’t understand, I recalled the advice I got from my sister and didn’t ask.”
Thank goodness...
‘He got lucky.’
With that temperament, you’d think someone would have tormented him as a senior, but apparently no twisted type crossed his path. He was exactly the kind of recruit who followed orders without question.
‘A guy who does what superiors tell him to do.’
Still, it felt strange.
‘At that age, in the military.’
If he were just a college student, 24 would be late but not unheard of. As an idol, it was way too early—most somewhat successful idol groups delay enlistment until late twenties at the earliest.
‘Put another way, this kid isn’t any longer part of a “somewhat successful idol group.”’
...Steer’s Kim Rae bin, I mean.
“So... time has looped back, and I—who’ve debuted in another group—am still active as an idol?”
“That’s right.”
“I see....”
Steer Kim Rae bin, upon hearing this explanation of the supernatural circumstances, blinked dumbfounded. His vision cleared, and spotting Ryu Geon woo standing behind us, he jumped.
“Geon woo hyung...?”
“You’re here too.”
Ryu Geon woo said no more. Though his expression didn’t change, I got the uneasy feeling he wasn’t exactly pleased.
‘Why is that?’
He and I were in the same boat—shouldn’t he be glad? Kim Rae bin wasn’t exactly troublemaker.
“...”
Just as the awkward silence threatened to stretch on, Big Sejin picked up the conversation cheerfully.
He explained that Ryu Geon woo here was the same Geon woo from Steer, that Cha Yoo jin remembered him, and finally:
“Well, to keep going—our group, that is Testar, is currently on a performance competition preparing our stage!”
“Is that so....”
“Yeah! And this arrangement was done by Rae bin!”
Before anyone could comment, Seon Ah hyun hurriedly played music on his smartphone—the finished arrangement of Muddy’s “You May Not Know” that Rae bin had made a few days ago for the competition.
–Umm, umm...
With my humming recorded on demo, the music flowed in.
“....”
Steer Kim Rae bin stared blankly at the muffled, low-quality sound on the smartphone. The exquisite, delicate composition and melody.
Cha Yoo jin, watching the phone, looked uncharacteristically anxious.
‘He must know.’
In Steer, Kim Rae bin hardly got to work on music. Even if he had contributed before, he never had full control. When the agency pushed a clumsy direction insensitively, he’d have to swallow it. Just like that mess during the second team competition for “Like the Burning Sun.”
‘And they probably skimmed royalties by inserting relatives.’
It was essentially exploitation. So having this Testar Kim Rae bin hear his own masterpiece felt almost bittersweet for him, no matter how necessary.
Like back when Steer’s Cha Yoo jin had the same experience.
“It’s amazing! Did I really arrange this?”
“...??”
Cancel all assumptions.
Kim Rae bin’s eyes lit up. Though his expression was a bit fierce, he clearly looked thrilled—even exhilarated.
Seon Ah hyun’s face flushed too.
“Yeah! Do you... like it?”
“Yes. Absolutely... yes.”
Kim Rae bin seemed too overwhelmed to spout his usual enthusiastic commentary on a favorite topic. He appeared to feel genuine joy and emotion rather than awkwardness.
‘Ah.’
And I realized why this was possible.
‘He believes he’s debuted with Testar.’
He hadn’t distinguished himself from Testar Kim Rae bin. He perceived this situation as a continuation on his own timeline.
And that was possible not just because he was naïve.
‘Because of our attitude.’
We treated this Kim Rae bin exactly as before, so he seamlessly accepted us as acquaintances who didn’t remember him. Plus, there were already two people here with Steer memories—and one was a friend from trainee days. He couldn’t help but let his guard down.
‘The conditions aligned.’
He was so much like his past self, and it all happened so suddenly that he had no time to react. Lucky break.
I slowly calmed myself, realizing I’d been uncommonly tense.
Just as the mood warmed and Seon Ah hyun, impressed by Steer Kim Rae bin, was about to play another track, Cha Yoo jin asked casually:
“So, Rae bin, want to arrange the next stage?”
“Me?”
“Oh~ yeah. If you’re interested, just say so, Rae bin!”
Kim Rae bin’s eyes widened, then he grew serious.
“Isn’t that too lofty an expectation? But if I try and produce something... would you consider me among the candidates?”
Relief and joy flickered across the members’ faces.
‘He’s still Kim Rae bin.’
“Of course!”
“Thank you!”
As everyone smiled warmly, Big Sejin piped up energetically:
“Then let’s start preparing our stage!”
“...?”
At that moment...
“I... need to perform on stage!”
Kim Rae bin said that, but his tone was more of shock or dismay than realization—as if he’d just been hit by hail.
In other words, it was negative.
“You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I think it’s better if I don’t.”
“...?”
He answered matter-of-factly:
“Through experience, I’ve realized I’m not cut out for broadcasting or stage activities.”
“What...?”
The members went rigid. I froze too.
‘What does that mean?’
He hadn’t lacked stage ability in Steer.
‘Internal info.’
I glanced at Cha Yoo jin, who’d been in the same group—his expression was tinged with sadness.
“...”
I got a bad feeling.
Fortunately, someone else jumped in... but no, not him.
Before I could stop it, Bae Sejin spoke up.
“What are you talking about? You’re great on stage!”
“Eh?”
Startled by Bae Sejin’s outcry, Kim Rae bin looked even more confused when he recognized Bae Sejin’s face.
‘Has he caught on?’
It was the face of Lee Sejin (A), who’d been kicked out over a drug scandal early in Steer. Sure enough, Kim Rae bin, with a resolute expression, asked politely:
“...? May I ask your name?”
“I’m Bae Sejin.”
“...! Do you happen to know the former child actress Lee Sejin?”
“....”
I could practically hear Bae Sejin’s unspoken reply: “Of course I do!”
Then he answered out loud.
“It’s me!”
“...?!”
Kim Rae bin was aghast. I pressed my forehead.
But at the same time I thought,
‘Better to let this blow over in a less serious moment.’
Whether it was drugs or whatever.
‘Seal the misunderstanding for good, maybe curse at Bae Sejin’s real father, and move on.’
Given the circumstances, the drug smuggling issue was probably that bastard’s doing.
But Kim Rae bin suddenly glanced at someone to confirm.
‘...?’
He looked at Ryu Geon woo.
“But.”
“Rae bin. You must be very confused and tired. Let’s have you rest for now.”
Ryu Geon woo replied immediately, then gave us a wry smile.
“Will that be okay?”
“Ah... sure!”
“This is Rae bin’s room!”
“Th-thank you....”
At Ryu Geon woo’s reasonable words, we hurriedly supported Kim Rae bin to the bed. He lay down in a daze.
“...”
And I became aware of Ryu Geon woo.
That strange feeling from earlier.
‘Just now, he stopped Kim Rae bin from speaking further.’
I made a note of it.
Of course, first we had to dig into Kim Rae bin’s stage-avoidance claim.
“Amazing....”
This was Steer Kim Rae bin’s reaction to seeing hundreds of millions of views and fan comments on his fan-cam. The members who had fetched the videos felt a glimmer of hope.
“See? I knew it.”
“I still think it’s impossible for me to perform at that level.”
“Huh...?”
“To deliver that kind of stage is beyond me.”
The members were stunned. Even Seon Ah hyun, with a determined look, said:
“But when you were in our group... you performed so well on stage!”
“...? Must’ve been some trigger or bloody hard work.”
Kim Rae bin replied coolly:
“I’m sorry, but that wasn’t me.”
His tone was chillingly definitive.
Testar fell silent.
‘Fuck.’
I fought the urge to squeeze my eyes shut.
‘So he had issues.’
This was definitely a rejection of idol activities. Something was off.
But that day’s absurd incident didn’t end there. As Kim Rae bin watched the stage videos, something finally caught my eye. It was in the Preview status window’s popup content.
[New Feature Preview (extra)]
– Fragment Log Access
‘Fragment log?’
At the very word that had caused this mess, my focus sharpened. I skimmed to the next line.
[Help: Through “Fragment Log Access,” you can reproduce mission-failure scenarios from when the System owner absorbed a fragment.]
What?
Wait, if it meant the mission-failure scenario I’d lived through....
‘No way.’
I reflexively checked the feature.
[Fragment Log Access]
– Mission Failed: Building Collapse
– Mission Failed: Restoration
The first was literally the building-collapse disaster. Unless I was insane, I wouldn’t replay that.
But...
‘...The second one.’
– Mission Failed: Restoration
Returning to Ryu Geon woo’s body.
The function to swap bodies with Keun Sejin had just opened.
