Chapter 19: Unsettling Numbers

After the press conference ended and I finally got home, I collapsed right in front of the entrance without even managing to take off my shoes.

As I let the tension drain from my body—stiff from an entire day spent on edge—and slowly lowered my eyelids, the moment just before the press conference replayed across my darkened vision like an ink stain spreading.

My body moving on its own, as if someone else were controlling it.

I had felt something similar before—if you could even call it that.

When singing or dancing, there were times when my body seemed to move ahead of my thoughts, guided by practice and instinct.

But that was only when I intended to act, when the “stats” gave a gentle assist to movements I had already chosen.

It was nothing like what happened earlier.

This time, my body had moved without my will, without connection to any stat.

And…

I had clearly felt myself being held and pushed.

It was horrifying enough to realize I’d been physically touched by something with no form.

But the thought that, just like how the game had forced that stumble, it might continue to make unwanted things happen—against my will—just to recreate predetermined “scenes”… that made everything go dark.

But that wasn’t even the end of the problem.

The bigger issue for me was Yeo Hyun-tae, who caught me, and Seo Jun-jae, who asked if I was okay.

Anyone might say, Well, if you almost fall in front of someone, of course they might grab you, or Anyone could ask if you’re alright, but they’d be missing one crucial detail.

Right before I fell, the person behind me had been Chae Han-ul—not Yeo Hyun-tae or Seo Jun-jae.

And Han-ul had actually frozen there, arms outstretched as if he had been trying to catch me.

And yet somehow it ended up being Hyeontae who grabbed me, and Jun-jae who reacted.

Not only that—afterward, the two of them stayed flanking me as if protecting me, and Han-ul, who wore a strangely uncomfortable expression and barely spoke the whole time… everything about it felt suspicious and unsettling.

Ding—

Just then, the notification sound from My Idol rang, cutting through the whirlpool of thoughts.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and launched the game.

A little “New” tag was sitting on top of the gallery icon.

“I mean… I can already guess what it is.”

From this morning until now, there had only been one event significant enough for the game to record.

Sure enough, when I tapped the frame-shaped icon and flipped to the newest page, there it was—a photo of me sprawled pathetically mid-fall, Yeo Hyun-tae’s arm wrapped tightly around my waist, and Seo Jun-jae and Chae Han-ul positioned beside and behind us.

An idol game, yet it insisted on saving every un-idol-like, embarrassing moment possible.

Seeing the gallery only made the unease in my stomach churn harder.

“Ugh, whatever.”

The more I looked, the more I thought about it, and the more the inexplicable anxiety grew.

I shoved the phone away and shut my eyes.

Stop thinking about it, I muttered, trying to organize the mess in my head—but it took only a few minutes before my hand drifted back toward the phone.

“…Sigh.”

Letting out a long breath, I jerked myself upright.

I had tried to push the thought aside, but the truth was—I’d already been suspecting something.

And the reason this bothered me so much was because I was afraid I might be right.

Well, time to confirm whether I was imagining things… or whether my hunch was dead-on.

I grabbed the phone again, relaunched the game, and went straight into the character collection.

Scrolling down the alphabetized list, it didn’t take long before Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae’s names appeared side by side.

I tapped Seo Jun-jae’s name first.

Ignoring the profile photo, the age, agency info—everything a portal site could easily show me—I scrolled straight to the very bottom of the screen.

What I wanted to check was…

[Affection Level | 5.2%]

It was this affection level.

Up until now, I had assumed that affection was just another stat that influenced who debuted on the show.

But after what happened today, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Why did the gallery record events that had nothing to do with being an idol?

Why were only the My Idol Boyfriend contestants listed in the character encyclopedia?

And why did each of them have an affection score?

Both questions suddenly felt far too suspicious.

Which meant I needed to check the numbers—especially for the three people involved in today’s unsettling incident.

“5.2%, huh…”

It was my first time actually looking at an affection stat, so I wasn’t sure how to interpret it, but Seo Jun-jae’s number didn’t seem very high.

Well, he never looked like he particularly liked me to begin with.

Even today, all he did was come closer and ask if I was okay.

I closed Seo Jun-jae’s profile and tapped the name right beneath his: Yeo Hyun-tae.

I dragged my finger from the top to the bottom of the screen—

[Affection Level | 27.1%]

I instinctively rubbed my eyes.

Did I misread 2.71%?

I pulled my hand away and stared hard at the screen again.

No matter how long I looked, the decimal point sat unmistakably between the 7 and the 1.

I had no idea what this meant.

Maybe… maybe the original “Sim Jaeseo” from Take Care of My Son—the pre–age-twenty Jaeseo—had known Yeo Hyun-tae?

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.

First of all, I had never even heard the name “Yeo Hyun-tae” while playing MySon, and his behavior definitely hadn’t suggested anything like familiarity.

If they’d known each other, he would’ve shown some sign when he’d seen me in front of the shower room.

Which meant, for some unknown reason, Yeo Hyun-tae really did have a sky-high affection score toward me—27.1%.

And that was why he had greeted me first, encouraged me, and even shoved past Han-ul to catch me when I was about to fall…

So… did that mean what I was thinking was actually correct?

A sudden wave of goosebumps shot up my arms, and I shook my head hard.

There was still one person left—jumping to conclusions would be premature.

I scrolled down the list of My Idol Boyfriend contestants, searching for the final name.

I tapped Chae Han-ul.

[Affection Level | 50.3%] [Unlock]

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

I had expected Han-ul’s number to be relatively high—he had been the person I spent the most time with during filming, and he’d been uncommonly friendly toward me.

But fifty percent?

That was beyond anything I’d imagined.

Even if this was just a measure of “general positive feelings,” wasn’t that number way too high?

I narrowed my eyes at the digits, and that was when I noticed a strange button next to his affection score.

[Unlock]

Neither Seo Jun-jae’s nor Yeo Hyun-tae’s profiles had anything like that.

The combination of the unusually high affection score and this unexpected new feature sent a chill through me, but at this point, not pressing it wasn’t an option.

With slightly trembling fingers, I tapped the button.

A new window popped up.

[SYSTEM: UNKNOWN
Unlock conditions not met.

Unlock unavailable.]

[Unlock Requirements]
– Player: Age verification complete
– Character: Age 19 or older / Affection level ≥ 50%

…What kind of nonsense was this?

It had the audacity to give me an unlock button, only to claim I couldn’t unlock it.

Was I supposed to be grateful it at least “kindly” listed the requirements?

I read the message again—and at that moment, an alarming possibility flooded my mind.

A male contestant’s affection level… age verification… character age 19 or older…

No way.

No.

It couldn’t be… right?

I forced myself to push down the thoughts expanding uncontrollably and shut the game off.

This was all because I’d just been sitting still.

I dragged my exhausted body up and started handling the few chores around the house—there wasn’t much to do, but I needed to keep my hands busy.

Maybe if my body stayed occupied, my mind would quiet down.

Unfortunately, every thought I tried to shake loose only gathered together tighter.

“Ah… I’m screwed.”

In the end, my legs gave out and I dropped onto the spot.

What I’d feared… it seemed like it was true.

“Jaeseo hyung!”

A familiar voice rang out from far behind me, and my shoulders jumped instinctively.

I considered turning around but quickly decided to pretend I hadn’t heard anything and started walking faster.

But then hurried footsteps thudded from behind, someone grabbed my shoulder, and my body was spun around.

“Hyung!

I’ve been calling you from all the way back there—didn’t you hear me?”

“Huh?

Oh.

You called?”

I tried to sound as natural as possible, but awkwardness leaked into my voice anyway.

Han-ul must’ve picked up on it, because he made a thoroughly displeased face.

Damn it.

I should’ve invested more into the acting stat…

“Ah, hyung!

You did hear me but pretended not to, didn’t you?”

“No, no, I really didn’t hear you.”

People kept going on about me being an AI or whatever, so maybe that was why my behavior had gotten like this.

Even to myself, I sounded like some creaky robot desperately denying everything.

Han-ul’s dissatisfied expression didn’t fade, but he didn’t press the issue either.

Instead, he simply stepped closer and stood right at my side.