“Swap bodies with Keun Sejin again?”
From the building collapse all the way to swapping bodies.
A function that replays the circumstances of the last “Mission Failed.”
I fell silent as I looked at the option the status window had given me under the guise of a “re-update.”
It was absurd.
Who in their right mind would welcome this function?
After all the hell we went through, who’d want to voluntarily experience being trapped in a collapsing building or screwing up a schedule again? No one wants that thrill.
Did the System assume I’d been obsessively thinking about absorbing a fragment of ■■■ lately? Because every time I resolved a “Mission Failed,” I obtained a fragment, so it drew some connection?
“Any corner store that did demand forecasting like this would be out of business.”
And if the System was already applied to the company, why give me an extra feature that has nothing to do with the workplace? It wasn’t like some famous webtoon licensing its IP then haphazardly pumping out a context-less mobile gacha game.
As if in response, the popup leapt up again.
[Mission Failed: Restoration]
Maximum viewing time: 48 hours
– Would you like to view?
This bastard even had the nerve to remind me of the time limit.
“Get lost.”
I cleared the popup and closed my eyes. A dull ache throbbed at my temples.
...First, let me sort out the situation.
Right now, the members who’ve lost their memories are Ryu Geon woo and Kim Rae bin.
Looking only at the surface, both have been cooperative and haven’t acted out. Yet Geon woo is reluctant to reclaim his memories, and Rae bin refuses to go on stage.
And it didn’t stop there. I recalled Rae bin’s expression earlier—
“But....”
“Earlier Steer Kim Rae bin was watching Geon woo’s reaction.”
He’d done it almost fearfully.
That was something we’d rarely seen while living as Testar, and yet he’d slipped into the habit.
“......”
I reflected on the strange unease I’d felt around Steer Ryu Geon woo over the past few days.
Then I reached a conclusion.
“There’s no other choice.”
Until now I’d held back, worried about stirring up trouble, but at this point avoiding it would just be stupid escapism.
If gentle methods won’t flush it out, go straight for the direct approach.
“I’ll ask everything.”
And I knew exactly who the right person was: the one who possessed both lost memories—the complete package.
“Tell me everything you remember.”
I called the prime mover of the previous incident—Cha Yoo jin—into the kitchen and opened the conversation.
“What?”
“Internal conflicts back in Steer.”
Cha Yoo jin gave me a reluctant look.
“You said you’d cook me something delicious, hyung! You tricked me!”
True. I’d even enlisted Lee Sejin and Seon Ah hyun to split up the two Steer guys—sending one to the choreography studio and one to the workroom.
But it wasn’t deceit, exactly.
“I’ll still cook it for you.”
“Oh.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Kimchi fried rice, please.”
Consider it done.
I opened the fridge and pulled out ingredients.
“Add cheese!”
Got it.
With him standing meekly by my side, I chopped kimchi and asked:
“I’m asking because with things as they are, we need every piece of information we can get.”
“.......”
“I can’t go in blind any longer.”
Silence—implicit agreement.
I started with what concerned me most.
“For starters, Rae bin seemed to be tiptoeing around Geon woo hyung.”
“Umm... Yep.”
He confirmed.
“Why is that?”
Cha Yoo jin frowned briefly, then composed himself.
“Hyung, do you really want to hear this?”
“Yeah.”
“OK.”
He was silent for a moment; I didn’t press, continuing to prepare the ingredients.
Soon his calm voice resonated at the sink.
“Back in Steer, Geon woo hyung was the one who instilled fear.”
“...!”
Unusual word choice.
“He instilled fear?”
“[You know how half the original members of Steer were a total mess. So he led the team like a high-ranking captain—like a rough-and-tumble football captain.]”
Cha Yoo jin shrugged slightly.
“[That is, he didn’t treat team members with the gentleness and inclusivity he shows now.]”
“...For example?”
He furrowed his brow, recalling.
“[He once made a member who skipped dance practice stay in the studio all night, banned from the dorm.]”
What?
I gripped the handle of the frying pan. Cha Yoo jin continued with a scoffing tone:
“[That idiot had to learn the choreography straight through until dawn, almost in tears.]”
“......”
“[And that kind of punishment went on for years.]”
‘Unbelievable.’
It wasn’t a matter of impossibility given Geon woo’s character—it was a question of reality.
‘This wasn’t the military.’
They were peers of the same age. The nominal leader wasn’t some official instructor—he tried to discipline them like that?
With already headstrong members, the effectiveness must have been limited. Plus they’d just debuted off a hit survival show, riding high on ego.
“And that worked?”
But Cha Yoo jin answered without hesitation.
“[It did.]”
“......”
I understood.
‘So Ryu Geon woo was unexpectedly adept at governing by fear—enough to quell internal chaos both externally and internally.’
They’d managed to hold the company-abandoned group together by force.
I flipped the bacon and began frying the kimchi in its fat.
“So as a leader, he used coercion?”
“Pretty much.”
Hearing his confirmation, I added the cold rice to the pan, breaking it apart.
Repetitive tasks invite thought; I quickly formulated my counterargument.
“But Rae bin would’ve listened without such measures.”
“Me? I listen, too!”
“Have you got a conscience?”
“Uh-uh.”
He looked a bit aggrieved, then offered the real answer.
“Discrimination causes problems. So hyung treated everyone equally harshly.”
“......”
He’d enforced uniform harshness to preempt any complaints.
‘No wonder Kim Rae bin was so on edge.’
Come to think of it, Steer Cha Yoo jin had also obeyed Geon woo surprisingly well at first.
It showed how severe the team atmosphere was under Geon woo, the former national athlete.
‘For a fear-politics meta to work long-term, it had to be that intense.’
They’d stifled rebellion for years—half the group ultimately chose to quit rather than keep causing trouble.
Yet Cha Yoo jin seemed to regret speaking about it.
“Hyung, we fans have a right to keep our illusions. So I didn’t mention specifics... but yes, that was the truth.”
“......”
And I realized:
“You have no reason to lie.”
“That’s right. I’m an honest person.”
I finished the kimchi fried rice with cheese.
Then, to lift Cha Yoo jin’s spirits, I said calmly:
“There’s nothing for you to lose by having your illusions broken.”
“...Hyung, are you serious?”
“I am.”
In the end, Geon woo had made the best choice he could under the circumstances. You couldn’t blame him.
‘Managing those unruly kids with that measure was a miracle.’
What mattered more was this:
“So right now, Steer Ryu Geon woo is forcing himself to act kindly.”
Cha Yoo jin paused, then nodded.
“I think so too. People hate showing weakness. Geon woo hyung is no exception.”
Meaning Steer Geon woo saw his “coercive leader” image as a disadvantage to maintain here.
‘Chances are he never wanted to be so harsh in the first place.’
I cut a pat of butter in half for a new pan to fry the eggs.
Then, looking at Cha Yoo jin riveted by the melting cheese in the kimchi fried rice, I asked:
“Got it. What about Rae bin?”
“.......”
“Do you know why he hates being on stage?”
Cha Yoo jin’s shoulders slumped.
“I don’t know either.”
“...??”
“[From what I remember, Steer Kim Rae bin was... quieter than now. But he didn’t hate the stage.]”
“......”
I left it unsaid that it seemed he simply refused to recognize himself as a performer; saying he didn’t hate the stage was practically the same.
‘Anyway, he really doesn’t know.’
So perhaps something decisive happened to Steer Kim Rae bin after he went to America.
—After the group dissolved. After parting ways with the members.
I made a note to remember the timing.
And then:
“One last question.”
“...OK.”
I brought up «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the postponed question.
“...What happened to Bae Sejin hyung?”
Tap-tap-tap.
The eggs sizzling filled the quiet kitchen.
And then:
“I think we lost contact a few years ago, and he kept appealing the trial verdict, as far as I recall.”
He appealed?
That meant he’d rejected the judgment, implying the drug-distribution charges had stuck, resulting in either prison time or a fine.
“Fuck.”
Distribution usually means prison. I choked back a sigh.
“What was the outcome?”
“I don’t remember. [I think the rest of Steer chose not to look up the final decision.]”
Cha Yoo jin’s voice sounded a bit bitter.
“But I do know this: Sejin hyung is a wholly moral person now. So... [I believe it was either a misunderstanding or just terrible timing.]”
“...Alright.”
That was it.
‘So every Steer member knows, at least implicitly, that Bae Sejin’s charges were upheld.’
It made it all the more surprising that here, Steer Ryu Geon woo treated Bae Sejin kindly and gently.
‘Hmm.’
I formed a few hypotheses as I turned down the induction stove.
Then I placed two soft-fried eggs atop the cheese-infused kimchi fried rice.
“All done.”
“Wow!!”
In an instant, all of Cha Yoo jin’s worries vanished. It was a good sight.
A little later, the others who’d gone to the entrance came back in a flock.
“Wait, kimchi fried rice without us?”
“I’m using delivery, hyung!”
“Aw, that’s so cheap, Yoo jin.”
I watched the Steer guys awkwardly mingling in the gap and made a decision.
First, the basics.
‘This situation is too tangled.’
From what Cha Yoo jin explained, Steer’s causality web was far more complicated than I’d thought.
How can I guide both guys to recover their memories satisfactorily without stepping on any landmines?
‘This is insane.’
And even if everything miraculously ends well, the problem remains:
‘Whether they recover their memories depends on this System update.’
I can’t guarantee that.
I don’t fully understand how this System works.
Therefore, reasoning about it is hazy, and my conversations circle aimlessly.
Ultimately, without grasping this fundamental part, there’s no clean answer.
– Why did the update restore Steer memories?
– When will the original memories return?
The System’s mechanics.
And under the current conditions... I thought of a way to find out.
‘Then I must find out.’
If I hesitate, it’ll drag on again and a bomb could go off out of my control.
‘I can’t let that happen again.’
Here, following direct dialogue with the parties involved, comes the second phase of the “direct approach”:
– Direct analysis of the System.
And to catch a tiger, you have to enter its lair.
I resolved:
‘I’ll take the risk.’
And when you assume the risk, you have to do it yourself to be sure.
So that dawn...
‘Status window.’
For the first time in ages, I voluntarily summoned the game System.
And I checked the incomplete System popup again during the “Preview.”
[Mission Failed: Restoration]
Maximum viewing time: 48 hours
– Would you like to view?
Forty-eight hours was probably the maximum penalty period I’d received when Park Mundae’s and Ryu Geon woo’s bodies swapped last time.
‘The fact it says “maximum” suggests I might be able to end it voluntarily.’
At worst, I’d get an answer within 48 hours. Conveniently, tomorrow’s the weekend.
My competition stage isn’t prepared yet, and Keun Sejin’s workplace is closed.
Perfect timing.
“Hyung, are you really going to do this?”
Yes.
“Understood....”
Keun Sejin, whom I’d been persuading for hours, finally agreed to my plan.
And not long after:
“Hoo.”
I opened my tired eyes in bed.
Ryu Geon woo’s bedroom ceiling came into focus in dim light.
But there was no time to linger.
‘First, connect.’
I immediately accessed the view from Park Mundae’s perspective, where Keun Sejin was inhabiting the body.
[Accessing Fragment Log]
My vision split in two as the images were projected in my mind.
‘Good.’
I’d done this before.
And from it I learned one fact:
‘If bodies are swapped, I can connect to the host’s perspective via the status window, just as Keun Sejin did.’
That meant I could take it a step further.
So I proceeded to the next phase:
—Like being sucked into a typhoon or black hole....
‘Tricky.’
Recalling Keun Sejin’s vague description, I focused on the surface of the status window appearing in my view....
I don’t know how much time passed.
‘...!’
As if sinking, my consciousness was drawn in.
Into the status window.
‘Got it!’
Inspect and alter the System structure.
Just like Keun Sejin had repeatedly accessed the System—from the daydream incident to the building collapse—through the status window.
[■■■■■■■■■]
‘I’ll just... leave you in a comatose, irrecoverable state.’
I began my System analysis.
