LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 344
Chapter 344. Admiration and Salvation (3)
In the end, Joo Eunchan successfully finished the fansign event that day.
At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.
“Eunchan, are you okay?”
“…Ah, yes. I’m fine. It’s just… suddenly, my legs gave out a little.”
As soon as we returned to the waiting room after the fansign, Joo Eunchan collapsed into a chair. Despite his claims, it was clear he had been holding in a lot of tension.
In the end, we had to cancel all the personal schedules for the day and take mandatory rest at the dorm. The company was ready to send any member to a psychological counseling center at the first sign of trauma or mental shock from the incident.
Honestly, I was grateful for the company’s overprotectiveness.
It wasn’t that I didn’t worry about the others, but I was especially concerned because it was Joo Eunchan, given his history.
‘In the previous timeline, this guy dealt with social anxiety and panic attacks…. There’s always the chance that bastard Dolja might try something crazy again.’
However, contrary to my fears, Eunchan seemed to bounce back quickly, smiling more and eating better after that day. I observed him closely for several days to see if he was just pretending to be okay to keep us from worrying, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.
If there was one concern, it was that he had become a little more shy around people. But as long as the other members were with him, it didn’t seem serious.
‘…Is he really okay?’
If he was, that would be a relief.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. So, I decided to enhance the security measures around Eunchan, just in case.
[System Alert: Mental care system for ally ‘Joo Eunchan’ has been strengthened.]
[System Alert: Security has been enhanced. (UP)]
[System Alert: Security has been enhanced. (UP)]
[System Alert: Intruder alert system has been activated.]
‘Does this even work? I’m doing it because I’m anxious, but….’
[System Alert: The system takes offense at the regressor’s doubts!]
‘I’m saying it because things always go wrong. What? Why haven’t we caught that bastard Dolja yet?’
[System Alert: The system has no excuses to offer and avoids answering.]
According to Thirteen, Dolja was hiding among the remnants of past timelines, waiting for a chance to interfere with the current one.
The fact that he had swapped out the main personality of Haru with the rebellious version was also worrying. It seemed like Dolja would make his move soon. It was tiresome to think that the twisted bastard still hadn’t given up on his goal of taking over someone else’s body to survive.
‘If this were a hunter genre, I’d just kill him already….’
The more I thought about it, the more I regretted the fact that my life was stuck in an *idol* genre and not a *hunter* one. In a hunter story, I could’ve just stabbed him with a sword, shot him with an arrow, or used magic to get rid of him.
But here, one wrong step into illegal activity and your life could be ruined in an instant.
“Alright, everyone! Focus! We’re starting the shoot!”
Just as I was lost in thought, PD Kwon’s lively voice echoed along with a clap.
‘Oh, right. I’m an idol.’
The life of a successful idol was *ridiculously* busy. Even if the sky fell, we still had to do fansigns, and even if the ground shook, we had to attend events—that was the virtue of an idol.
What I mean is, despite that shocking incident, we were now standing in front of the camera for our *Today’s Kairos* shoot.
“Kairos’ youth-targeted project! Today’s location is….”
And of all places…
“The land of dreams and happiness, full of adventure and fantasy—Dreamland!”
Aaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!
Screams filled the air, blending with the sound of a rollercoaster in the background as PD Kwon delivered the opening line with his usual enthusiasm. Watching the coaster zip back and forth in the distance, I couldn’t help but feel unsettled, as if it mirrored our chaotic lives.
While the other members stood frozen, staring at the terrifying rides, PD Kwon cheerfully added, in the voice of a capitalist who had tasted the sweet fruit of sponsorship:
“By the way, today’s OKA (One-day Kairos Adventure) is brought to you in collaboration with Dreamland ♥.”
…Ah, thank you, dear sponsors.
“In that case, my lifelong dream and number one bucket list item has always been to visit Dreamland.”
With that, my tone completely changed as I smiled brightly and gave a thumbs-up to the camera, with the terrifying screams of the rides playing in the background.
—
It was a Tuesday morning, one of the slowest times of the week, and the weather forecast had mentioned possible rain. Dreamland wasn’t as crowded as expected.
For a moment, I wondered if we had rented the whole park for the day, but the staff seemed relieved that it wasn’t too busy, meaning it was just good luck.
“Alright, here’s today’s mission. At 8 p.m., you’ll be holding a guerrilla concert here at Dreamland’s Love Plaza.”
“…Here?”
“Yes, here! So, starting now, you’ll need to promote the guerrilla concert throughout Dreamland!”
…Wait, is this really a good thing?
The moment the mission was explained, something felt off. With a bright smile, PD Kwon continued:
“But a regular guerrilla concert would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Today, there’s a target audience size.”
“H-how many people?”
“300. That’s how many seats there are in the plaza’s audience area. So, by 7:30 p.m., you’ll need to gather 300 people for your performance.”
Finding 300 people in a busy amusement park wouldn’t normally be difficult.
But keeping those people around until 7:30 p.m. and having them stay for the concert—that was no easy task. The concert was a complete surprise, so it wasn’t like our fans could rush over here in time.
And today was especially empty.
Even worse, the merciless production team added a few more conditions.
“However, not just anyone can attend! Only those with an invitation from us can enter. Each member will start with just 10 invitations.”
“Only 10? That’s just 70 invitations in total!”
“Exactly. So, what do you need to do?”
PD Kwon’s smile sparkled. I recognized that smile—it was the same one he had worn when he tied a handheld camera to my wrist and made me bungee jump. (Well, I jumped on my own, but the psychological pressure was real.)
Aaaaaahhh!!!
Mooommmm!!!!
The shrieks from a nearby bungee drop ride filled the air. Listening to the screams like a sweet symphony, PD Kwon delivered the final blow.
“You’ll have to do your best to earn more invitations. Kairos, fighting!”
Now I understood how those former contestants on his previous shows felt.
That guy was a demon. A devil, for sure.
Reflecting on the time I used to laugh along with him, thinking it was a fun idea, I silently gazed up at the cloudy sky, feeling as heavy as the weather.
—
The truth is, I actually loved amusement park rides. If I didn’t, PD Kwon wouldn’t have made me do all those crazy stunts in my past life.
The one who couldn’t handle rides was over there.
“I can’t do it. I seriously can’t! No way! Why would I trust that pile of steel to take me 22 meters in the air?”
“You look like you could eat steel beams for breakfast. What are you scared of? Even tigers would ride that.”
“Tell Yoonho to do it instead of me!”
Watching Lee Yugeon, who was clinging to a pole, refusing to ride, Seo Taehyun, wearing an adorable bunny headband, shook his head. It seemed like Taehyun should’ve been the one scared, and Yugeon the one annoyed, but no one in this group ever acted according to expectations.
And there was another guy on the opposite side who wasn’t living up to his appearance either.
“Yugeon, you can ride the carousel with Doha instead. He’s also feeling too sick to handle the roller coasters.”
Despite his large build, Lee Doha had gone pale after seeing the *Mega Spin*. This guy, despite his strong physique, had a surprisingly sensitive stomach and couldn’t handle motion sickness.
Setting my GoPro down on a nearby bench, I approached Jung Siwoo, who was studying the map, and joined him in looking it over. The map of Dreamland, prepared by the production team, had all the rides and corresponding missions and rewards marked.
Siwoo, apparently enjoying himself, had even brought a red pen to mark all the rides he wanted to try. I asked him:
“Hyung, you’re fine with all the rides, right? Judging by all the stars you’ve marked?”
But, once again, Siwoo gave me an unexpected answer.
“No? I don’t know.”
“…What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I’ve never been to an amusement park before. I’ve never ridden anything, so I don’t know if I’m good at it or not.”
“…Then why the stars?”
“If I can’t ride, I’ll make you guys do it instead.”
…Another one to add to my list of people who’d happily force me into a bungee jump.
I instinctively took a step back from Siwoo’s crazy aura, but it was no use—Seo Taehyun, who had been trying to comfort Yugeon, came over.
“Let’s figure out our route. It’d be more efficient to split up. How many invitations should we aim to gather?”
“We already have 70, so we need to collect 230 more. But there’s no guarantee everyone with an invitation will show up, so factoring in some no-shows, we should probably aim to hand out at least 500 invitations. If 30% don’t show, we’ll need about 400 to be safe.”
“True. It’d be pointless if we don’t get enough people to actually come. I’m in favor.”
As soon as the three of us put our heads together, a solid plan started taking shape.
I wished I had classmates like this back in college. Forget a regular bus, we could’ve operated an unstoppable energy train. Meeting these people as business partners instead of classmates was probably the biggest regret of my life.
‘Or maybe it’s lucky I met them as business partners.’
At least I could be certain of one thing: these three were the brains of the group.
Taking Siwoo’s red pen, I tapped the map lightly.
“Let’s form the teams. Two teams might be inefficient, so how about three teams of two, two, and three?”
“Sounds good.”
“Let’s start by pairing the Lee brothers. They can’t handle anything but the kiddie rides.”
“Agreed. Let them ride the carousel and bumper cars all day.”
And just like that, the first team was formed. Siwoo, agreeing with Taehyun, added his own thoughts.
“Then I’ll go with Taehyun. I’m not sure how I’ll handle the rides, so it’s best to pair up with someone who’s good at them.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Sure, but… do I look unreliable to you, Hyung?”
Feeling a bit overshadowed by Taehyun, I raised my eyebrows, but Siwoo just laughed and shook his head.
“Not at all. But you need to stick with Haru and Eunchan. They’re already nervous about dealing with strangers, and if I leave Taehyun with them, he’ll be drained by 4 p.m.”
Once again, his judgment was spot on.
Whether it was “Sparkling” Haru or “Rebellious” Haru, both versions had a way of draining Taehyun’s energy. Since I was already worried about Eunchan and Haru as a duo, it wasn’t a bad suggestion.
“Alright, then. I’ll take care of the youngest today.”
“Oh, by the way, where are they? I don’t see them anywhere.”
Taehyun, glancing around, voiced his concern. Normally, you could tell where they were by the sound of their chattering, but recently, keeping track of those two had become increasingly difficult with the tension between them.
Fortunately, Siwoo seemed to know where they had gone.
“Oh, Eunchan said he wanted to buy something earlier, so he stepped out for a bit. It looked like Haru went with him.”
“So they’re together? I can’t tell if they’ve made up or not… wait, Haru’s coming over.”
We spotted Haru walking toward us, wiping his hands. Taehyun waved at him.
“Haru, where’s Eunchan?”
“…Huh?”
“Eunchan. Didn’t you go with him?”
Haru blinked at us, clearly confused.
“…He went back a while ago. Didn’t he come here?”
“…What?”
Everyone’s faces filled with question marks at the same time. We glanced toward the production crew and staff, but they also looked baffled. Haru furrowed his brow and spoke.
“…Where is Joo Eunchan?”
—
At the same time.
Near the steps of Adventure Tower, in Snack Town.
“Hmm….”
Holding a shark headband recommended by Taehyun, an adorable cat-shaped balloon bought because it reminded him of Haru, and blue cotton candy that made him think of Doha, Joo Eunchan scratched his head.
“Where was the opening location again?”
Ten minutes into *Today’s Kairos: Dreamland Edition* shoot.
A lost child incident had occurred…!