Seo Hojin’s painstakingly gathered evidence did its job.
The moment I left the apartment, I contacted the manager and delivered the files to WH Entertainment’s legal team. The staff there processed the matter swiftly and with practiced faces. From their perspective, resolving trouble before it spiraled into a scandal was the top priority, so they wrapped it up quickly.
I had also made sure to ask about other relatives, just in case. Later, I was told they were all living ordinary lives, completely unrelated to me, in worlds far away from this.
Still, I couldn’t feel at ease. I double-checked, again and again.
‘...I’ll have to keep constant watch from now on.’
But there was something else gnawing at me even more right now.
Partial RESET
A chance to reset a portion of things.
Required points: 300,000
Ever since meeting Seo Hojin, even while throwing myself into preparations for the year-end stage, juggling ads and individual schedules for days on end, my mind kept drifting back to the system window floating in the corner of my vision.
Would retrieving those memories really be for my brother’s sake?
If you thought about it simply—discovering that the idol you thought was your brother was actually a scapegoat PD, or that this place you thought was reality was actually some worthless “Nugu Idol Tycoon” game world—that kind of truth was worse than not knowing.
And Seo Hojin, who had erased his childhood completely.
Wasn’t it after I dragged him back from my uncle’s grip that I prayed, begged, wished countless times for this?
When all the quests were finished and I returned to the original world, I planned to take this Seo Hojin with me, no matter what. I had even judged that a few short words at that moment would be enough to tell him what mattered.
Yet even as I listed reasons why a reset was unnecessary, uncharacteristically, I couldn’t make a conclusion and kept hesitating.
Even putting aside my selfishness, the memories buried in forgetfulness were simply too heavy.
I stared blankly out the car window at streets brimming with Christmas decorations, then once again glanced over the missions the system had tossed out at me not long ago without explanation.
[Quest Arrival!
Finish shooting the luxury brand beauty line perfume advertisement, and conduct an interview at the flagship store.
Success: 15,000 points
Failure: Permanent stamina debuff]
[Quest Arrival!
Surpass the record for magazine pre-orders featuring the luxury brand’s beauty line perfume ad with The Dawn as model.
Success: 15,000 points
Failure: Massive charm stat decrease, future ad shoots with said brand forbidden]
Easy missions, with extremely reduced penalties.
It seemed the system was trying to smooth things over, but ironically, seeing it only made my mood worse.
I sighed faintly, composed my expression, and before I knew it, we had arrived at the schedule location.
I stepped out of the van and entered the building. Immediately, a medley of fragrances stimulated my senses.
“Seo Hoyun-ssi, this way!”
The space had been arranged as a pop-up store for the luxury brand’s beauty line perfume.
Before opening to the public, they had invited The Dawn—the ad models—to film an interview video for YouTube and granted us advance admission.
“Thank you for coming even though you’re busy. I heard you have another schedule this afternoon—we won’t take up too much time.”
A marketing team staff member greeted us politely.
It seemed they {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} were serious about targeting the Korean market this time. The store emphasized both glamour and refined elegance. The perfume displays were tastefully placed, and above all, the layered scents wafting softly through the space blended together, elevating the atmosphere.
“Ooh... why does it smell so tasty? I’m hungry.”
“Eh! This is my scent, you thief!”
Though cameras were already following the members, we had heard beforehand that the store-walkthrough shots would be used only as intro and filler footage with BGM, so everyone chatted freely without filtering.
But once the actual interview began, they spoke as if they were master perfumers, fluently describing their impressions.
“This scent personally feels especially wintry to me. On top of a sweet vanilla base, there’s a coolness from spicy notes, and when deep woody undertones are added, the whole thing settles with a heavy presence.”
Of course, the boldest of them all was Kang Ichae.
When the interviewer asked him to sum up the perfume in one phrase, his eyes curled into crescents.
“It’s a fragrance that brings back memories of my forgotten, precious winters.”
Hey, weren’t you just saying it smelled delicious?
While sniffing earlier he had muttered things like “Makes me crave ice cream,” “I’m starving.” Now he was flashing a smile as alluring as the very perfume he was promoting, as if none of that had happened.
‘Shameless bastard.’
I shook my head, fed up, while Kim Sunghyun, Jung Dajun, and Sung Jiwon clapped earnestly in admiration.
Anyway, with Ichae’s interview safely finished, my turn came next. I wrapped up the coverage without any major issues and wandered the store waiting for the others to finish. That was when a marketing staffer approached me.
“Working with The Dawn for our beauty line launch really feels like a godsend. The year’s almost over, but it’s honestly the best decision we made.”
“Haha, no, the honor was ours.”
Even though the brand’s beauty line hadn’t officially launched in Korea yet, expectations had skyrocketed purely from its name value. With word spreading that The Dawn was modeling for it, overseas sites were seeing advance purchases rise.
The employee couldn’t stop smiling, certain of success.
“I was shocked at how perfectly you expressed what we wanted! The head perfumer for this line saw the final ad and was floored. Said you’d captured exactly the winter mood they wanted. Oh! It’s playing now.”
Following the staffer’s gesture, I turned to see the edited advertisement projected across an entire wall.
In the dim blue dawn, dressed in a simple coat over a black knit, I leaned on the stair railing at an apartment entrance, looking up at the sky as snow fell. Despite the neat outfit, the slightly bent Converse sneakers gave off a faint nervousness.
As if timing something, the finger tapping the perfume bottle in my hand stopped. White breath drifted from red lips. Pulling my coat tighter, my gaze shifted as if it landed on someone beyond the camera.
Then the perfume’s name appeared, and the video looped back to the start.
“The theme was waiting for a loved one, with the fragrance they remembered, right? I didn’t give detailed direction, just said I wanted longing, sorrow, and a hint of weariness layered over a quiet scene... and you nailed it so perfectly!”
In truth, my mood back then had been such shit I barely remembered how I even got through it.
“The unspeakable turmoil in your expression! Just that one shot filled in an entire empty narrative by itself!”
“My face looks flushed, doesn’t it? You’re flattering me too much, I’m embarrassed.”
“Pfft, flushed? You looked pale. You’re not only flawless professionally, you’ve got a great personality too.”
Honestly, that ad hadn’t been flawless professionalism.
I barely remembered filming it, just fragments of staff exclaiming afterward how impressive it was.
I smiled at the marketer’s request to consider their next product positively, then headed back to where the members were gathered. Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae were whispering while looking at my face projected on the wall.
“—That shot of Hoyun hyung sitting spread-legged like an uncle got cut. That was the highlight.”
“Right? Without that, it’s not the complete Seo Hoyun package.”
“Hey. Shut up, you two.”
Wary of the brand staff overhearing, I clenched my teeth and muttered like a ventriloquist. Ichae just hunched his shoulders and pretended to be scared, exaggerating.
Clicking my tongue inside, I let the interview proceed.
Finally, the last to stand in front of the camera was Sung Jiwon.
“Um, I liked this perfume called ‘Oblivio’ the most. The perfumer said they were inspired by the saying that forgetfulness is a blessing from the gods—.”
It started out ordinary enough. But the longer he spoke, the more strangely grating it became.
“Wow...”
Even the members, who had been about to tease him, ended up wide-eyed and reverent.
“As expected, God Jiwon...”
“Seriously... I’m ashamed I even tried to joke.”
“Uh?”
The others threw in awkward comments, embarrassed at themselves, while Jiwon only smiled brightly.
.
.
.
After wrapping up the pop-up store schedule, we arrived at the Gayo Star Battle venue and had to dive straight into the prerehearsal.
Checking every detail to avoid even the slightest mistake, we finally returned to the waiting room when a notification chimed.
Ttirring!
Ttirring!
[Quest Success!
The magazine featuring the luxury brand’s beauty line perfume ad with The Dawn as models has surpassed historical preorder numbers.
Success: 15,000 points rewarded.]
[Quest Success!
Successfully completed the luxury brand’s beauty line perfume ad shoot and conducted the interview at the flagship store.
Success: 15,000 points rewarded.]
As the quest completion screens popped up and points were settled, another window appeared.
[Quest Arrival!
Before December ends, draw an explosive public reaction through an article about Seo Hoyun.
Judged by article view count.
Success: 15,000 points rewarded
Failure: Slight decrease in Dance stat]
When I desperately wished for it, the system starved me. Now that I hesitated, it was showering me with points, as if to push me toward a reset.
‘Whatever. If I’ve got them, I’ll use them someday.’
I stared at the glowing blue box with a bitter expression when suddenly Jung Dajun leapt at me, face flushed with excitement.
“Wowwww! Hyung! Hyungs! We’re last today!”
“You just realized that, Dajun?”
“You didn’t check the cue sheet?”
“Eh?! You guys knew?!”
“Of course...”
The maknae darted his eyes around, flustered by the members’ lukewarm stares.
The cue sheet leak had people raging online that this was WH Entertainment’s party. The final stage was The Dawn’s, right after Hi-Five, with even the special stage belonging to Chae Jungwoo of Black Call, who hadn’t performed in over a year.
“...But, hyung.”
Clinging to my arm, Dajun asked timidly.
“Is it Hojin hyung’s birthday today?”
Raising an eyebrow, I looked down at him. The answer, bizarrely enough, came from Kang Ichae, slouched on the sofa crunching chips.
“I saw it pop up on talk. I even sent him a gift.”
“Hojin’s birthday? Wait, then that time Hoyun went to the department store—was it to buy him a present?”
No, it wasn’t.
But Sung Jiwon’s expectant eyes made me too lazy to explain, so I stayed quiet.
Kim Sunghyun, stealing Ichae’s snacks, added in agreement with Jiwon.
“Hoyun’s surprisingly good at remembering these events. Type to keep track of anniversaries.”
“Hm... but he won’t be able to go home today. Gayo Star Battle won’t end until after midnight.”
“It’s fine.”
Truthfully, ever since becoming an adult, it was rare for me to celebrate Hojin’s birthday on the day itself.
To me, birthdays were nothing more than the day you were born. I only kept up the tradition because I wanted to honor our parents’ old rule: “Always celebrate birthdays.”
So today was nothing special either.
Still, I figured I should at least send a message. I unlocked my phone and saw one already waiting on the lock screen.
[Little Brother Bastard: Hyung, you know...]
[Little Brother Bastard: About last time—]
When I tapped preview and opened the chat, several lines had already been deleted.
[Little Brother Bastard: (This message was deleted.)]
[Little Brother Bastard: (This message was deleted.)]
[Little Brother Bastard: Never mind lol]
[Little Brother Bastard: Just wondering when you’re coming home again]
‘Tch.’
Acting like he’d noticed I was hiding something.
[Me: I can’t today]
[Me: Sorry]
I almost ignored it but ended up sending the bare minimum I’d planned.
After that, time dragged with bits of practice and joking around with the members, until finally—
“Woah...”
The third part of Gayo Star Battle began.
And the very first performance was by none other than Chae Jungwoo.
【Ah— Tell me,】
It was his first official stage in almost a year and a half.
The near-deafening cheers shook the hall.
Seeing Chae Jungwoo smiling brilliantly, I stifled a groan.
【that this is my christmas present】
Black Call was being Black Call.
