9 years earlier. Baek Hanje, age 17.
“Waaaah!”
Quest Scenario has begun.
That was the day I encountered the bizarre phenomenon known as the quest window.
From then on, I carried out every instruction it gave me, one by one, raising both Young Ace's fame and my own creative ability.
Before the quest numbers passed thirty, the difficulty was laughably low. I could clear two or three quests in a single day.
Wish: Young Ace standing in the brightest place onstage
Quest Scenario:
Q13. Internal conflict is the shortest path to ruin. Resolve conflict between members.
A tense atmosphere hangs between Kwon Taeyoung and Cha Yensu, the two eldest members of Young Ace.
Restore harmony between them.
Success: Member trust, Composition Experience +10 pt
Failure: Kwon Taeyoung and Cha Yensu get into a fistfight
Watching those two throw punches wouldn't have been the worst entertainment in the world... but composition experience was worth a lot more. Besides, with the privilege of being the youngest member, this one was practically free.
I shot to my feet and threw open the bedroom door the two of them shared.
One advantage of six members of a flop group living together in a tiny thirty-six-square-meter apartment was that anything worth doing could be reached in five steps or less.
Inside, Kwon Taeyoung sat in a chair at the desk while Cha Yensu lay on the mattress on the floor. They were facing in opposite directions.
They'd fought, but they didn't want the younger members worrying, so they'd locked themselves inside the cramped room and were sulking in silence.
The moment I saw where they were, I knew exactly who my target was.
“Brother!”
I kicked off the floor and launched myself straight onto Cha Yensu.
“Urgh...!”
Young Ace's center let out a grunt that didn't suit his tragically beautiful face at all as he struggled upright. Then, sighing, he gently rubbed the back of my head resting on his stomach.
“...What's up, youngest? Bored?”
“Did you two fight?”
“Hm?”
“...What?”
“Don't fight. You two fighting is scarier than when you're both scolding me.”
Kwon Taeyoung and Cha Yensu awkwardly met each other's eyes.
They both doted on the younger members. Just hearing the youngest say something like that would be enough to shock them into talking things out and ending the argument.
Q13. Internal conflict is the shortest path to ruin. Resolve conflict between members.
Cleared
Calculating success rewards.
See? Way too easy.
I'd earned sixty-five composition experience points in a single day, and I secretly chuckled to myself in satisfaction.
I really had.
I truly had.
And yet—
"Baek Hanje": Confiscating all rewards obtained from the previous quest scenario.
As if that wasn't enough...
Part 1 Additional Penalty — Kwon Taeyoung's death
This insane condition is the very first quest?
There was no way anyone could stay calm after seeing an alert like that.
***
“What the hell, you bastard?!”
Silence swallowed the meeting room after Baek Hanje's sudden outburst.
What's wrong with him?
No idea...
While everyone only dared move their eyes, Executive Director Choi was the first to explode.
“Hey, Baek Hanje! Bastard? Are you—ahem—talking to me?”
His accusing finger swung toward Hanje.
Even so, he was noticeably more cautious than he was with everyone else.
Because the person standing before him was Baek Hanje.
Young Ace was the group that had built K-Dom Entertainment's headquarters, the living legend of K-pop, and the company's greatest cash cow.
Within the company, every single member of Young Ace held enormous influence.
Unlike Kwon Taeyoung, who had accepted a director's position and become tied to the company, the youngest member, Hanzel, had always been completely unpredictable.
Yet what overshadowed even his notorious personality was his reputation as a creator.
The moment Baek Hanje began writing songs was the exact moment Young Ace began its meteoric ascent toward becoming legends.
Even now, with Young Ace's activities on indefinite hiatus, several of the countless hit songs that had come out of his studio still floated near the top of music charts around the world.
Whenever he happened to feel like it, he occasionally accepted requests from other singers.
Those songs had an uncanny habit of becoming massive hits.
That was why other divisions regularly camped outside his studio whenever they had an important comeback or rookie debut coming up.
Whether they received a song or not depended entirely on his mood.
Executive Director Choi's own Division Four had asked for help more than once.
And they would undoubtedly have to ask again.
So he tried to keep his temper under control.
But—
“Wow... seriously. There's a limit to the bullshit people can spout. ...Are you actually insane?”
Baek Hanje sent Executive Director Choi's blood pressure soaring all over again.
Even if he is a priceless genius, that brat's still wet behind the ears!
It was an outrageously disrespectful attitude toward an executive far older than himself.
Just as Executive Director Choi opened his mouth to snap back, Kwon Taeyoung grabbed Baek Hanje by the shoulder and sharply snapped his fingers in front of his face.
“Baek Hanje. Look at me.”
“...Huh?”
The familiar gesture from his leader immediately brought Hanje's wandering gaze back into focus.
“It's been a while since you've spaced out like that.”
“...Yeah... uh...”
Only then did Baek Hanje seem to remember he was standing in a meeting room. His eyes swept around the room before he spoke again.
“Oh. Did I really say ‘bastard' out loud just now?”
“......”
“Damn... it's been so long that I slipped. All right, give me a second. I'll clean this up.”
Running a hand through his bangs, he suddenly turned toward Gowon.
“Right. Actually, I was talking to you. You. Gowon. If you keep standing there hesitating like an idiot, of course things end up like this. If you've got something to say, say it loud enough for people to hear.”
Baek Hanje strode across the meeting room until he stopped directly in front of Gowon.
“All right. Go ahead.”
Baek Hanje already had the face of someone who looked a little like a delinquent. Standing there with that swagger, it genuinely looked as though Gowon was being threatened.
“......”
Oh. Not bad.
But inside, Baek Hanje was quietly impressed.
His mouth stayed firmly shut, but the glare fixed on him was fierce.
So that was what he'd been hiding behind those tightly clenched fists.
“Senior.”
The call was so quiet that only the person standing directly in front of him could hear it.
Despite his pretty face, Gowon's voice was unexpectedly low.
“......”
Silence returned.
A faint laugh escaped the corner of Baek Hanje's mouth.
“Yeah, yeah. You're glaring at me like you want to kill me, but I get exactly how you feel.”
He stepped away and looked around the conference table.
“He says he'd like one last revision from a producer who's actually good at the job. That'd be me, right? Seriously, you little punk. Instead of standing there like a statue, you should've just said that from the start. You and I are talking later.”
“Hey, Baek Hanje...”
“If even I can't fix it, then you can discuss giving the song away after that. I'm heading back to my studio.”
It was obviously a story he'd invented on the spot.
Everyone in the room knew it.
No one could say a word.
Baek Hanje shamelessly finished speaking, turned around, and walked straight out of the meeting room.
“Hanzel's acting exactly like he did seven or eight years ago. Is that what it takes to be a genius?”
Shin Namwon muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear.
The action had neither context nor logic.
But because it had come from Baek Hanje, somehow that alone was explanation enough.
And simply knowing Baek Hanje had started working on the song filled Division Five with hope—
while anxiety spread across Executive Director Choi's face.
In the end, he clicked his tongue and looked away.
Only Gowon's eyes remained fixed on the conference room door for several moments longer.
***
My studio had been built with more care than most executive offices in K-Dom Entertainment.
The view outside overlooked lush greenery.
Every kind of instrument and equipment imaginable had been installed.
The recording booth was practically a professional studio transplanted intact.
It was the company's way of saying,
"Write lots of songs here. Produce as much music as you want."
After returning to the studio and making sure the door had closed behind me, I collapsed into the chair that had become an extension of my own body.
I dragged a hand roughly across my face, steadied myself, then clenched my teeth and spoke into empty air.
“Quest window.”
Pop.
Wish: ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■.
Quest Scenario:
A Senior Paving the Road to Glory
Final Success Reward: ■■■ ■■
Failure Penalty
① Gowon: ■■
② Baek Hanje: Confiscation of all rewards obtained from the previous quest scenario.
Confiscation List
Creative Ability: 4,811,390 pt
Dance, Vocals: Lv. MAX
Fame of affiliated group Young Ace
Unity among Young Ace members
......
...So this must be the fundamental wish behind the quest, just like "Young Ace standing in the brightest place onstage" was before...
“So the quest I have to complete immediately is...”
Q1-1. Crisis on the Brink!
A major crisis has struck the debut prepared with the utmost effort.
Overcome the situation and safely release the precious debut album.
Success: Successful solo debut, obtain title [Rookie Singer]
Failure: Forced termination of the quest scenario
Time Limit: 527h 04m 35s (D-22)
A translucent window shaped like a cue card floated before me, visible to no one else.
Something that belonged in a virtual reality movie.
“...It's real...”
The quest window I'd loved and hated had returned after nearly ten years.
And instead of giving me time to feel sentimental about our reunion...
it was filled with the absolute worst possible news.
What are all these black squares hiding?
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