[INTRO]
Young Ace debuted near the end of the second generation of idol groups as the ambitious project of K-Dom, a mid-sized entertainment agency.
To survive in an idol market already overflowing with competition, they came out with a concept best described as angel boys in a dystopia praying for peace through hip-hop.
TitleViewsWhat the hell did I just watch? lmao (2) 89
Why are you guys watching comedy shows when there’s a three-minute stand-up routine right here? (4) 113
Mr. President, please pass a law that gives Solar Boys two songs during that slot instead of this flop group. (32) 851
The result, of course, was a complete disaster.
Their intended aesthetic was grandiose, but the cheap-looking sets and painfully budget-conscious costumes made their performances a laughingstock for viewers and the live audience alike.
Calling Young Ace a “flop group” was only accurate.
Everyone expected the group called Young Ace to vanish without a trace within a few years.
Just as predicted, every release after their debut album—their mini albums and full albums alike—hit rock bottom. An overambitious end-of-the-century concept could only be funny once or twice. Before long, even the attention that came from mockery began to fade.
TitleViewsIt’s Young Ace, not Why Ace or Yes Ace... Just one crumb of attention, please... (2) 22
Please, can you look at Young Ace’s faces instead of their clothes or stages? Please... (0) 12
K-Dom, take down your entertainment-agency sign, you bastards. Stop doing whatever the hell you want. (2)55What should I eat for lunch? (15) 187
“We will now announce the winner of the 201X Music Awards Best Artist Award.”
By the time frustration had begun to settle over the faces of the members, who had kept forcing out low-budget albums while desperately trying to deny reality—
“The honorable winner is... Young Ace! Congratulations!”
In their fourth year after debut, Young Ace created a reversal.
“Waaaaaaah!”
The moment the winner was announced, an ear-splitting roar exploded from the audience.
The camera turned to the group that had won Best Artist of the Year—in other words, the grand prize.
The six members stood there with their eyes wide, as if they could not believe it.
“Ah, ah...!”
Then one of them burst into tears and buried his face in his palms. As if that were a signal, all six of them threw their arms around one another.
By the time they came up onstage, most of the members’ faces were soaked with tears. Confetti poured down over the winners’ heads like a shower of flower petals.
“Two, three.”
“Young Forever. Hello, we are Young Ace!”
The acceptance speech microphone went to the leader first. The tall man, who had a heavy, solemn presence, squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to pull himself together, then opened them again.
“Thank you so much. I never imagined I would receive an award this great in my lifetime.”
As the eldest, he was barely holding back his tears, but in the end, a trembling breath escaped into the microphone.
“We thought this year would be Young Ace’s last. But to think something like this would happen to us... This year has been such a miracle that I think I’ll remember this moment even when I die. To our Spades, who believed in us and supported us until the very end—I love you so much, and thank you.”
He bowed deeply toward the Young Ace fan section. The capital-A-shaped light sticks that symbolized Young Ace waved wildly in the air.
The leader then called each member by name, offering praise and thanks [N O V E L I G H T] to each of them.
Cha Yensu, Kim Yeban, Big Room, Yunjin, and then...
“Lastly, our youngest member and the greatest producer, Hanzel. Baek Hanje. Thank you for making the song that allowed us to shine. We’re standing here now because of you.”
Following the leader’s gaze, the eyes of the other members fixed on the member standing at the far opposite end.
The youngest, Baek Hanje, who was two years younger than the member directly above him and had only just turned seventeen that year.
While the older members’ faces were red and blotchy from crying, the youngest looked not merely calm, but almost resolute.
Like a victor who had survived a battle to the death.
‘Fuck. I did it.’
Of course I reacted that way.
Because to me, Baek Hanje, this year’s grand prize had never been a miracle.
It had been something I absolutely had to achieve.
After the older members patted me on the back, I took the microphone after the leader.
“Thank you. I’m truly... happy that we achieved such a good result.”
The handheld microphone in front of my lips shook violently. Everyone thought it was because I was nervous, but in reality, it was because I was clenching my fist too tightly.
‘You see that, you bastard quest window?’
The gray window that was the source of my fury and joy appeared translucently before my eyes.
Wish: Young Ace standing in the brightest place onstage
Quest Scenario:
Q118. Win five grand prizes in 20XX. (5/5)
—Music.com Song of the Year
—Music.com Album of the Year
—Korean Popular Music Awards Grand Prize
—VBC Year-End Arts Festival Grand Prize, Music Category
—Music Awards Best Artist Award (New!)
Success: Young Ace’s fame (+200), member unity (+110), hidden reward
Failure: Young Ace permanently disbands
This strange window was visible only to me. Likewise, I was the only one who knew the contents of those damned quests.
Even seeing it again, it still sounded insane.
‘Five grand prizes?’
To achieve that, we needed not only a hit song that would stay at the top of the charts all year and follow-up tracks that would drive our popularity, but also constant appearances on every kind of stage and variety show throughout the year, enough to make the public aware that we existed.
While surviving a murderous schedule and making a legendary album where even the B-sides all charted, I nearly developed hair loss, hand tremors, and arrhythmia before I even left my teens.
‘Honestly, when the quest window first appeared in front of me, I thought I’d finally lost my mind.’
I wondered if I was escaping into hallucinations because I couldn’t accept the reality that Young Ace could no longer continue.
But for an illusion, everything it showed was far too realistic.
Most importantly, the quest window never lied. If I succeeded, it gave the promised reward. If I failed, it made me pay the price.
‘Persuade the members to complete a combined total of five thousand hours of dance practice, beg a producer on your knees if you have to so we can get on a variety show...’
It was full of completely absurd demands like that.
Still, as I carried out instructions that were practically threats, the flop group Young Ace slowly began to see the light.
Our performances became a hot topic. We left strong impressions on variety shows. Fans poured in, and our digital-chart results rose.
It was also true that without the quest window, Young Ace never would have reached this position.
Well, one way or another.
‘I did it.’
Young Ace had now risen to the ranks of top-tier idol groups, where no one could deny them.
But this was only the beginning.
The other members were probably thinking the same thing. There were still many higher places to climb.
After all, Young Ace had spent all that time crawling through the gutter, and had only just started soaring this year.
“Young Ace will keep working hard forever.”
I bowed deeply to finish my speech, then straightened.
In that brief moment, the window before my eyes had changed.
Q118. Win five grand prizes in 20XX. (5/5)
Cleared
Reward will now be received.
Even without the alert appearing, I could feel it overwhelmingly: the quest rewards, “Young Ace’s fame” and “member unity,” had skyrocketed.
‘Ha. So what’s the next quest? If five grand prizes came first, do we have to win at the Billboard Awards next year?’
Even as I asked the question with a crooked attitude, I could feel a smile forcing its way out.
The exhilaration of sprinting toward a goal with the determination to die if necessary—and then achieving it—was addictive. It made me ready to throw myself forward again as if my life depended on it.
I wanted to stand here again next year and deliver an even better stage before the fans’ joyful cheers.
All quest scenarios required to fulfill the wish have been completed.
Congratulations, requester “HANZEL” — Baek Hanje!
Reward: Permanent increase to composition ability (+20%)
The user’s wish, “Young Ace standing in the brightest place onstage,” has been successfully fulfilled.
Ending quest.
Thank you for using this service.
But before I could even finish steeling my resolve, the translucent window vanished before my eyes.
“Huh?”
My bewildered voice slipped into the microphone I still hadn’t let go of.
“Uh, what?!”
Laughter burst out here and there at the sudden sound, and the older members, still teary-eyed, started taking care of their stunned youngest member.
But I, the person actually involved, could hardly pull myself together.
‘Quest window. Quest window!’
The window that had blocked my view at all hours, to the point of being annoying, during the 118 quests I completed would not appear.
‘Road to Glory! Transparent window? Wish?! Is it really over just like this?’
Like magic from a fairy tale, scattering away after granting a wish.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter