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Join the ServerAnd honestly, with a time limit hanging over his head, Shim Eunchan had to try something.
If he was going to fail no matter what, then it was better to at least make an attempt.
If he did nothing, the chance of success was zero.
If he tried, even if the odds were infinitely close to zero, they still weren’t zero.
Watching Hyun Wooyoung lightly shake his head, Eunchan casually moved over and sat beside him.
Wooyoung looked puzzled but shifted over to make room.
“Are you done eating, Wooyoung? Ah, you’ve still got some left. Want to eat together?”
“Yeah. You still have quite a bit left too, hyung.”
“Hmm. I’ve just been chewing slowly.”
“For someone chewing slowly, you’ve barely eaten anything since earlier.”
“Really? I didn’t notice.”
Since when were you paying attention?
The question was difficult to answer, so Eunchan simply smiled.
Poking at a piece of abalone with his chopsticks, he spoke again.
“But you’ve been watching me the whole time? That’s embarrassing when someone’s trying to eat.”
“Huh?… No.”
Oh?
Wooyoung was clearly flustered.
Thinking about the quest, Eunchan picked up the last piece of eel and held it in front of Wooyoung’s mouth.
The tip of the eel lightly tapped against his lips.
“Come on. Say ah—”
“…What are you doing?”
“Hurry.”
Wooyoung stared at him with the expression of someone witnessing a praying mantis perform a somersault and a flying kick at the same time.
Eventually, after Eunchan continued urging him, he reluctantly opened his mouth and swallowed the eel in one swift motion.
As if the chopsticks in Eunchan’s hand were some kind of deadly weapon.
But Eunchan had no time to dwell on that.
He immediately spoke.
“You heard what Sebyeol-hyung said earlier, right?”
If Wooyoung had really been watching him, then he definitely knew.
Eunchan blinked expectantly.
Come on. Answer.
You heard it.
Wooyoung, completely oblivious to Eunchan’s desperation, continued chewing.
The countdown kept ticking.
Chew faster.
Swallow.
Come on, come on, come on.
Outwardly, Eunchan remained calm.
Inside, however, he was burning alive.
Finally, Wooyoung swallowed and opened his mouth.
Yes. Say it.
Eunchan waited anxiously for Sebyeol’s earlier words to emerge.
But instead—
“Are you sick?”
No…!
That wasn’t it at all.
“Do you have indigestion? Are you tired? Why aren’t you eating?”
Nooooo…!
[Quest Failed.]
[Applying Penalty.]
Staring at the merciless system window, Eunchan wanted to throw himself onto the floor.
“Eunchan-hyung? What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing.”
“Ah… Why are you making my heart flutter…?”
“…”
You say it NOW?!
Was this a joke?
Even if someone deliberately scripted it, they couldn’t have timed it this perfectly.
Reality truly was crueler than fiction.
Still half-folded over in his chair from despair, Eunchan stared at the floor and let out a hollow laugh.
“It can’t be helped.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
Fine.
This was enough.
The quest had a time limit.
And unless the target had been Moon Sebyeol, Eunchan hadn’t even known where to begin.
So he shouldn’t be too disappointed.
Sure, it was unfortunate that he couldn’t rank up Wooyoung’s stats.
But Wooyoung was already absurdly talented.
Even without a stat increase, he’d be fine.
And if he wasn’t?
Well, what could Eunchan do now?
He had already failed.
The real problem was the penalty.
What kind of punishment was coming?
While he braced himself, another system window appeared.
Please choose one.
▶ Option 1
▷ Option 2
If there really was someone controlling this system, they were unquestionably evil.
Eunchan selected Option 2.
[You selected Option 2.]
> Physical Ability Reduction Applied.
How about taking this opportunity to get some good sleep?
Seriously.
Seriously.
Seriously.
Whoever designed this thing was a terrible person.
Eunchan bit down on his lip.
Opening his status window, he saw that Physical Ability Reduction had indeed been applied.
Duration: 12 hours.
Twelve hours.
He immediately checked the time on his phone.
That meant the penalty would still be active during the live broadcast.
He had no way of avoiding it.
He would simply have to endure.
Gritting his teeth, Eunchan prepared himself.
After finishing both the dry rehearsal and camera rehearsal, Eunchan returned to the waiting room and collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily.
When he’d seen Physical Ability Reduction, he’d assumed it meant feeling slightly weaker.
That wasn’t it at all.
His entire body had begun to hurt.
The system should have just written:
“Feels like your muscles are melting.”
That would’ve been much more accurate.
Thinking about the notification window made him grind his teeth.
His body felt heavier.
His head throbbed.
He thought he might even be running a fever.
Worried about alarming the members, he’d secretly taken painkillers earlier.
They had done absolutely nothing.
This wasn’t ordinary pain.
And he had to endure it for twelve hours.
After the performance, he didn’t care what happened.
But somehow, he had to make it through the live stage.
At least their performance order was relatively early.
That was one small blessing.
Leaning back against the chair, he closed his eyes and pressed himself against the cool wall behind him.
“Eunchan, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just been a while since I’ve been under stage lights. They’re a little bright. Let me rest for a bit.”
Jung Minyu had come over to check on him.
Even speaking was difficult.
His throat felt rough and dry.
He knew he shouldn’t worry everyone.
But he also didn’t want to pretend he was fine, overdo it, and end up making mistakes on stage.
As time passed, it felt as if burning marbles had been placed behind his eyes.
His condition was clearly worsening.
If he was going to collapse, he could do it afterward.
First, he had to finish the performance.
Nothing life-threatening was happening.
Nothing was actually wrong with his body.
It was just a penalty.
And it would only last twelve hours.
He just had to endure some pain.
How desperately had he wanted to stand on a stage again?
Whenever he remembered the empty days of his previous life—staring blankly at walls, unable to do anything—he reminded himself how fortunate he was now.
I can do this.
This is nothing.
I can do this.
Like a self-hypnosis mantra, he repeated it over and over.
Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around the waiting room.
Thinking back, B the 1 had never suffered from serious internal conflicts.
No member had caused scandals.
No one had become a major problem.
Lee Haemin had left the group and redebuted elsewhere, but that was simply him finding his own path.
Jung Minyu enlisting after leaving the group wasn’t wrongdoing either.
If there had ever been a problem member in B the 1—
It was Shim Eunchan himself.
And even then, the remaining members had stayed by his side.
He was grateful he could be on the same team with such good people once again.
He blinked slowly.
Maybe it was his imagination, but his eyes felt suspiciously warm.
Opening the status window, he checked.
Star Power: A
Vocal Ability: B → B−
(Reduced due to Physical Ability Reduction)
Performance: B → C
(Reduced due to Physical Ability Reduction)
Appearance: A
Mental Strength: SS → A
(Original Value Before Buff: F)
(Reduced due to Physical Ability Reduction)
Traits:
Status Effects:
“…”
Reading the status window, Eunchan’s lips twitched.
The existence behind this system had clearly sent its conscience beyond the moon.
Otherwise, it would never inflict something like this.
No.
Who was he blaming?
Ultimately, this was his own fault.
He had been careless.
Too complacent.
Letting out a long sigh, Eunchan closed his eyes again.
His eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
He wanted to lie down immediately.
But he couldn’t.
Just a little longer.
He wasn’t about to complain because his body hurt.
He couldn’t show fans a mediocre stage.
The audience didn’t care what happened behind the scenes.
An idol had to smile and deliver the best performance possible under any circumstances.
Excuses came afterward.
No complaining.
He had stood on stage in situations far worse than this.
Covering his eyes with one hand, Eunchan reflected on everything.
The years spent singing and dancing in places that barely qualified as stages.
The days after his failed plastic surgery, when his condition deteriorated so badly he could barely move from his bed.
The place he had always wanted to return to—
The place he had always longed to stand—
Was the stage.
How many times had he dreamed of meeting fans there again?
How many times had he sworn that if he were given another chance, he would give everything he had?
And now—
Just because his body hurt?
Just because things were difficult?
He couldn’t waste the second chance he’d begged for.
Eunchan clenched his fist tightly.
From somewhere deep inside him—
From his heart itself—
A new strength seemed to emerge.
I can do this.
No.
I have to do this.
The live broadcast began.
You’ve got to see this next! How to Avoid Regression will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : How to Avoid Regression
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