Chapter 210
“No way.”
Cheon Aram, who had heard my plan, shook her head.
“Do you think we would allow that?”
I looked around. Not only Cheon Aram but everyone else seemed to be shaking their heads in agreement.
“Winter, Gaeul, and Yeoreum, whom Team Leader Seon is trying so hard to protect, will suffer a lot.”
“They might suffer, sure.”
“Then…”
“But I believe in the end, they will be able to smile.”
“….”
“Not just those kids, but everyone. If this plan goes as intended.”
After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth again.
“What about Team Leader Seon?”
With an expression too grand for mere subordinates to witness, Cheon Aram didn’t hide her feelings at all.
“What happens to Team Leader Seon? …Isn’t Team Leader Seon part of all this?”
“….”
Feeling grateful that my comrades were the ones asking such questions, I replied.
“Of course, including me.”
*
I wanted to be a good person.
I didn’t want to be a martyr worthy of a biography.
The good person I envisioned was more like a kind neighbor.
You know, the type of person everyone welcomes warmly.
The world isn’t meant to be lived alone.
As we go through life, we’re bound to connect with others.
In those relationships, I wanted to remain a good person rather than a selfish jerk.
That’s why I never turned my back on friends in tough times.
I treated their crises like my own, rolling up my sleeves without hesitation.
I never shied away from offering my time, money, or opportunities.
In the end, did I become a good person?
Did I have the qualifications to be called that?
Time passed, and though I was late, I finally found the answer.
And sadly, that answer was no.
After all, such a title was too much for the me back then.
While pretending not to desire anything, while pretending it was all about goodwill, I had actually sought the image, longing, reputation, honor, and those superficial things from people.
Yet this time was a bit different.
Even without rewards, even without returns, if they could ultimately smile, that was enough.
Therefore, I had no hesitation in my steps.
[At the press conference, reveal all the evidence of the obsession and crimes the members of Girl Revolution committed against the user, proving that Seon Taeyang was merely a victim.]
[Reward – Fragments of the Future]
It seemed my choice didn’t sit well, as the status screen popped up with a quest. I smirked at such a quest, muttering to myself as if to listen.
“Are you going to do it? I came all this way to protect those kids.”
Then, at a speed I had never seen in my life, another quest popped up.
[Expose that the relationship of the two in the press conference was a lie by the mentally ill members, acknowledge just one, and become her lover to protect the user’s image.]
[Reward – Swordsman’s Senses]
…This bastard was really listening to me.
“It can’t be just one. I’m trying to protect all of them.”
[Say everything was due to TwoBear’s oppressive orders, and change to another agency.]
[Reward – 3 Oblivion Potions]
…That’s a memory-erasing potion, isn’t it?
Is this bastard saying to wipe their memories and pretend I don’t know them?
It felt like saying erasing memories is protection, which made me really mad.
I simply ignored the quest window and walked towards the press conference.
In a panic, it seemed like various quests were thrown at me, but I ignored all of them.
As I kept doing that, the status window offered a short quest as if deciding not to add more.
[Leave the press conference immediately.]
[Reward – Regression Candy]
“….”
The moment I first saw the quest flashed back to me.
“Thinking about it, you’ve helped me a lot.”
The way you demand or the things you ask might be rough and somewhat immoral, and also very different from my style, but that status window had always moved in a direction helpful for my success.
“Thanks to your help, a nobody like me has been treated like a genius that couldn’t exist.”
And there’s no doubt that it was thanks to that help that I could come this far.
I couldn’t deny that.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity of regression, especially. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have met connections like this.”
For me, who only had a future filled with regrets about the past, a second chance was an extravagant gift.
So I met Gyeoul, then Gaeul, then Yeoreum, and my comrades.
I should be thankful.
The opportunities given to me during every moment when I could be utterly uncooperative, and the generosity of that status window to give me another chance at success even in this dire situation.
“But this time, I don’t need it.”
Because I love the dazzling moments I see right now more than anything.
And I’m looking forward to the days ahead of me more than going back to the past.
So I didn’t need any extra opportunities.
“If I regress again, I’ll make the same choices.”
Did the status window realize that I had no intention of changing my mind? Instead of presenting more quests, it opened the reward window, even though I hadn’t manipulated it.
And the reward window was faintly glowing with the ‘Buff Reward Selection Ticket’ I received last time.
As if it were saying, “Use this at least.”
“…Thanks.”
I smiled slightly and opened my mouth.
“Use.”
[The Buff Reward Selection Ticket is being used. Please choose a reward.]
…Well, there’s nothing else, right?
I recalled the moment when the old Yuri first revealed her talent to the world and chose my reward.
[‘Voice of the Historical Fraud’ is being used. For one hour, the user’s voice will have ‘historical’ persuasiveness.]
Clearing my throat, I opened the door to the press conference room.
Filled not with tension and anxiety, but rather with anticipation for the future.
*
Amidst countless reporters staring at me, the veteran journalist Park Hyung-seok asked.
“So, to start with the scandal surrounding the Girl Revolution…”
I interrupted him.
“Before that, I have some materials I’d like you to look at.”
“…Materials?”
“Yes, materials. I assure you, they won’t be a waste of your time, so please take a look.”
“…This is relevant to the current issue, right?”
“Don’t worry; it would be harder to find someone in this country who isn’t connected to this material.”
I gave a reassuring smile to the skeptical reporters and operated the projector.
My goal is to protect the children and, furthermore, to ensure these kids can continue their activities under the name Girl Revolution in the future.
To achieve this goal, the children must not take the lead role.
If they do, they’ll inevitably be influenced in some way.
Therefore, these kids must be supporting actors and victims.
To generate public opinion that will protect the kids under the justification that fans had no choice.
That is the minimum condition for the team Girl Revolution to leave behind.
However, in the face of this absurd issue of ‘three active idol members and their manager’s simultaneous love scandal,’ any vague gestures will seem like an attempt to cover up the incident.
In fact, I was indeed harboring such intentions right now.
So, I prepared something.
Something that couldn’t possibly be seen merely as an attempt to cover up and that would make this sensational scandal be regarded as ‘just’ a scandal.
“Could you please look at the screen for a moment?”
The reporters all focused on the images emerging from the projector.
The massive screen was divided into eight sections, showcasing various videos, photos, documents—none of the names were fully exposed, but you could easily guess who they were from the hints provided.
The reporters stared at the screen with bewildered glances, which soon transformed into shock.
“…Wait, isn’t that the party representative?”
“That’s the shade that sold over a million copies of this album, right?”
“That third screen looks like our president… Oh my god, it’s real!”
“Looks like a blind man…, crazy, this is insane!”
In the past, I had used the dramatically unlikely ultra-rare info reward ‘Unbelievably Deep Transaction History (Legendary)’ to dig into the doctor who nearly got Jin Yeoreum caught up in a doping scandal.
It displayed overwhelming abilities, just like its unheard-of grade label.
It literally showed me ‘everything’ related to that scumbag.
What was revealed gave me chills all over.
Ban Seong-cheol’s so-called new business of turning celebrities into products for prostitution was hardly new.
After all, it had been deeply rooted and thriving already.
That doctor was a broker targeting sports hopefuls.
The names, histories, and information that came up were far too risky for a mere manager like me to be holding.
No joke, there were enough materials in there to ignite a scandal that could change governments, or what you call something that has the potential to strangle the necks of public figures by the dozen, if not the thousands.
I realized that knowing this, and acknowledging that this doctor was brokering deals involving sports stars and hopefuls put me in massive danger.
Even if I assumed I only knew a fraction of what he did and who he dealt with, I figured that was plenty for the powers-that-be to ‘deal with’ me.
Still, I used some of that data to prove Jin Yeoreum’s innocence.
Of course, I had some strategies. I intended to use this data as a shield instead. I aimed to use other info rewards to investigate more specifically and create a nuclear bomb of truth that couldn’t be buried deep in my heart.
Thanks to the reward’s performance, I hadn’t attempted such a thing until now, but I didn’t stop. Attempts to silence me could happen at any moment.
Of course, I ended up using it all completely differently than intended.
That’s right. I wanted to prepare myself with a lifeline in case they tried to cover up that I uncovered this later on.
So, based on the top scam reward ‘Deep Transaction History,’ I carried out every quest that came my way, and after five years of gathering what could only be described as cheat keys – various information-based rewards – I successfully entangled the big shots that could only be called the roots of this scandal.
What the reporters are seeing now is that final outcome.
Bigwigs from politics and business, regardless of gender, and including actors, male idols, solo vocalists, VJs, models, sports stars, anchors, professors, gamers, artists, lawyers, medical professionals, and even religious figures.
“…Damn.”
Idol members’ dating rumors?
From now on, this country won’t have a moment to care about such things.
“…What the hell is this?!”
I’ll make sure this country burns so that no one has the time to worry about such silly dating rumors.
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