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Translator: uly
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Give Me a Chance
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Already annoyed from waking up in a brand-new body and feeling completely out of sorts, I open my eyes to find two shady guys whispering by my bedside.
Things just keep going wrong since yesterday.
Just as I was about to demand who they were and why they were standing next to my bed, my eyes met one of theirs.
He was a big guy, built like a bear.
He glanced at the other guy and said,
"Manager Hong, I think Ha Jae's awake."
The man then leaned down to look at me.
He had those classic 10:10 eyes.
The outer corners slanted upward like a viper's.
With a hint of sleaziness to boot.
"You're awake, Ha Jae."
He curled his lips into a smile at me.
But somehow, it still didn't make him look any friendlier. That was the trap.
I asked him,
"Excuse me, who are you?"
"We're, uh... your guardians, for now."
"Pardon?"
Guardians...? I blinked rapidly in confusion.
What was our connection? Cousins? ...No way it was blood-related.
It would've been more believable if they'd said they were debt collectors here for Ha Jae's loans.
When I looked like I wasn't getting it, the man pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me.
[(UJ Entertainment) Head of Overall Management Division, Manager Hong Jae-pil]
Ah. Only then did I understand the situation from the business card.
The company must've handled my hospital admission as my guardian.
I'd wrongly assumed family would show up.
"Ha Jae, I don't know how much you remember or from when, but you were a trainee at our company."
"Yes. I heard I got into an accident during dance practice and ended up hospitalized."
"Right. Let's get you discharged first, then head to the company to talk details."
"Got it."
I followed the two out of the hospital.
No separate bill meant they'd already settled it.
The car he drove was a white van big enough for seven people.
It looked spotless—probably a new one for EverPlanet.
Then, the bear-like guy who'd come with Manager Hong opened the back door for me.
"Get in the back, Ha Jae."
"Oh, sure. But, um... what should I call you...?"
"Oh, I'm a manager. Name's Han Hyung-woon. Just call me Manager Hyung."
A manager, huh. I nodded and climbed into the back seat he'd opened.
After Hong Manager came back from smoking a cigarette and got in the passenger seat, the engine started soon after, and we were off.
Once the car got moving, I stared blankly at the backs of the heads of the guys up front.
That's when I noticed my cardigan pocket felt bulky.
I'd thrown on whatever was hanging in the hospital room in a rush and hadn't checked.
Digging inside, I found a wallet and a smartphone.
'Whoa, how old is this thing?'
Seeing the ancient model long gone from the market made it weirdly nostalgic.
I tried to check out the smartphone. But there was one big obstacle.
'Right, the pattern lock.'
Ha Jae must've been pretty security-conscious.
No fingerprint tech yet, so a pattern meant drawing it exactly to unlock.
I'd always found redrawing it annoying and just left it unlocked, though.
What now? I pondered for a bit, then tried some simple patterns.
'...Not the L-shape, huh.'
Square, Z, backwards L...
But no matter how many times I tried, it just kept saying to try again in 30 seconds.
I gave up on the phone and shoved it back in my pocket.
Guess I'd have to go to a service center later to get it unlocked.
Next, I opened the wallet.
Inside were a few bills and an ID card.
[Ha Jae 9X0622-1XXXXXX]
Huh? Same birthday as me. Coincidence?
Finding that unexpected common ground made me feel a strange sense of kinship.
Maybe there was some connection between us.
Still, where the heck was the real Ha Jae, and what was he up to?
Looking at the ID brought the question bubbling back up.
Come to think of it, the system said to ask anything I was curious about.
I can't stand not knowing. Might not work, but...
I mentally called out to the system.
'System, you there? Just one question.'
[Please speak.]
The system popped up a window like it was waiting.
Knew it. Ever since it started reading my thoughts without permission.
'What really happened to the real Ha Jae?'
[SYSTEM will not answer questions unrelated to itself. Please find out on your own.]
'You said I could ask anything.'
[We never said we would answer everything.]
Fair enough.
Still, I hope he didn't die...
I lost the argument with the blue window and turned back to the ID.
The photo matched his handsome features—pretty good shot.
'Damn, he really is good-looking.'
Sharp, cat-like features that looked cold at first glance, but softened noticeably when he smiled.
Not your textbook pretty boy, but a face with a subtle charm. The kind that hinted at a backstory...
Visuals that could've had plenty of demand as an idol... no, overflowing demand.
Until I could get back to my own body (if that was even possible), I'd have to live with this face. It felt awkward just thinking about it.
I slipped the ID back into the wallet.
But then I noticed a small piece of paper sticking out from the slot right above the ID compartment.
What was this? I pulled it out. It was a small photo.
'Must've been raised by his grandma.'
A picture of Ha Jae in school uniform standing side by side with a kindly-looking grandma.
She must've had a tough time supporting her one and only grandson through trainee life.
It made me think of my mom and sister.
Mom, who came up to Seoul without fail every month to support her trainee son, and my sister, who pretended not to care but always slipped me pocket money.
Hope they're both doing well. They have to be. What were they up to around this time, anyway?
The more I thought, the more a new question arose.
This world where I now existed. Was it really the same one I'd lived in?
So far, everything matched what I knew.
But I'd woken up in someone else's body.
And now I had access to this system thing.
With differences this big, could I really be sure this was my world?
If it was truly my world, then what about the original me? What happened to him?
Part of me wanted to threaten the system into spilling the truth.
But I needed some leverage for that.
Sigh... I leaned my head back against the headrest with a sigh and gazed out the window.
The Seoul scenery flashing by looked much like what I remembered.
But the face reflected over it still felt a bit unfamiliar.
It'd probably take some time to get used to.
* * *
UJ Entertainment was in Gangnam-gu, the mecca for entertainment agencies.
Not like the big players with their flashy standalone buildings, but they had a whole clean floor in a decent building.
The company wasn't hurting for money, at least.
Probably thanks to RedBee.
RedBee was the girl group that had grown UJ Entertainment to this size.
Without them, they'd probably have gone bankrupt.
Following the two into the rep's office at the far end of the company, a man who looked mid-40s was waiting for me.
"Ha Jae, you're here."
"Say hi, Ha Jae. This is CEO Oh Woong-jae."
"Oh, hello."
"Good, how's your body feeling?"
This was Oh Woong-jae?
I couldn't hide my surprise at his name.
Oh Woong-jae was a famous composer with multiple nationwide hits everyone knew.
From what I recalled, 'My Love', '100%', 'Even After Going Around'—at least three.
His songs spanned dance, ballad, hip-hop... all addictive choruses regardless of genre.
Copyright royalties alone could've bought him a few properties in Seoul easy.
Never thought I'd meet Oh Woong-jae like this.
I nodded at his question but couldn't tear my eyes off him.
Felt like staring at a celebrity.
The CEO patted my shoulder like he was relieved.
"Good to hear. Let's sit and talk, then."
"Yes, CEO."
I sat on the black sofa in the middle of the room.
Oh CEO and Manager Hong sat across from me, facing each other.
It reminded me of the past. Never had good memories in situations like this.
And from the vibe... didn't look like good news this time either.
Then, the CEO spoke first.
"No point dragging it out—straight to the point. Ha Jae, you really remember nothing? They said you even forgot your own name, according to the doctor."
"Yes."
"Then you've forgotten all the debut group songs and choreography you practiced too."
"Yes, no memory."
Of course, hearing them might jog something.
EverPlanet was decently successful digitally, after all.
Might be songs I'd heard before.
"And your trainee life too?"
"Honestly... I kinda remember the dance and vocal basics training."
"Oh? Up to where?"
"Just the fundamentals training."
Had to lay that groundwork to have a shot at anything.
"Ah, I see..."
But my words seemed taken another way, as the CEO's voice trailed off.
Manager Hong's expression shifted subtly too. Like he was saying 'see what I mean.'
'Annoying.'
The CEO let out a deep sigh, like the ground might cave in. At the same time, Manager Hong pulled a slim document from under the table and handed it to me.
At the top in big letters: 'Exclusive Management Contract'
"My exclusive contract?"
"Yeah. Flip to the back page—look at the part underlined in red?"
I nodded, skimmed the contract briefly, and flipped through the pages one by one.
Contract term: 7 years, revenue split: artist and company 5:5, adjustable per addendum...
Not bad terms. Right at industry standard.
But the issue was the red-underlined part he mentioned.
"It says there that if your fault causes issues with activities, you pay the penalty fee and terminate the contract."
Seemed obvious enough. Not really a poison pill. But it could work very against me right now.
"Ha Jae. The debut group's members are set, and the schedule's locked. Debut in just two months."
"..."
"But in our judgment, in your current state, even starting prep now, debuting would be tough. Years of practice down the drain."
"..."
Not just any trainee—an injured one—and they were trying to cut him loose like this?
I got it, but it was still too much.
I stared silently at Manager Hong.
Seemed like he was the one pushing this decision.
Maybe a prick of conscience, as Manager Hong cleared his throat awkwardly.
Imagining the real young Ha Jae with no memories and nowhere to go made it feel even worse.
Especially since I'd been through something similar before.
"Still, considering the time invested, no penalty fee—just the NDA clause... Wait, you don't remember anyway. Yeah, so. We'd like to terminate the contract here with no other conditions."
You can't be an idol with no memories anyway. Better to look for something else, right? Manager Hong added with an awkward smile.
I was so floored I had nothing to say.
Wanted to deck the guy right then, but that'd kill any debut chances for sure, so I held back.
I set the contract down on the desk and looked back and forth between CEO Oh and Manager Hong.
The CEO looked guilty even saying it, avoiding my eyes.
What to do... Anyway, I had to debut with EverPlanet.
Only one way, then.
I spoke to them in the most confident tone I could muster.
"Give me a chance."
"What?"
Their faces went blank.
I continued.
"I get what you're worried about. You think since I lost all my memories, I don't have the skills for debut."
"...Pretty much."
"So give me a chance to prove I can make it to debut level."
From their side, if I proved my skills, sticking with the planned group was way better.
No reason to refuse.
"And if you still think I don't fit the debut group then, I'll pack my bags and leave on my own."
Though it'd kill me.
It was a life-or-death gamble for me. But no choice.
"Huh..."
My firm stance seemed to throw them off.
They hadn't expected me to counter like this.
Manager Hong rubbed his chin, putting on a serious thinking face.
In that moment, a blue window popped up in front of me.
[A SUB QUEST has been generated. Would you like to check it? Y/N]