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Join the ServerEven in the hell of group assignments, a faint ray of salvation began to shine.
Of course, I couldn’t be completely relieved yet, but just getting the participation of my group members, who had been the ultimate champions of non-cooperation, felt like a win.
For now, the assignment was on track, so until the video content shoot with Lee Rayoon on Wednesday, there wasn’t much for me to do.
‘Good, at this rate, the Lee Rayoon route is progressing smoothly!’
I barely had a moment to breathe, but game strategy required tremendous multitasking.
After reconciling safely a few days ago, I hadn’t had much contact with Kang Taeyang for a while.
Come to think of it, not long ago, Kang Taeyang had messaged me first, saying I’d been out of touch.
I didn’t want Kang Taeyang to feel hurt, so this time I decided to contact him first.
– Today’s your hospital day, right? What are you up to?
I sat on a wooden bench where the sunlight fell warmly and opened the messenger app on my phone.
I entered the chat window with Kang Taeyang, whose profile picture was surprisingly empty, and sent the message.
“Um… Are you busy?”
But unlike last time, when we’d bantered almost in real time, even after some time passed, the message remained unread.
If Kang Taeyang was at the hospital too, it would be nice to have lunch together…
Should I just call him instead?
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if Kang Taeyang and I were close enough for that.
Still, with a baseless confidence that he wouldn’t dislike it, I pressed Kang Taeyang’s contact.
“He’s not in some kind of trouble, is he?”
Beep. Beep.
The regular ringtone droned on boringly in my ear.
Maybe today wasn’t the day.
Just as I was about to hang up…
– Uh, hello…
Kang Taeyang answered in a voice that sounded half-dead.
The end of his low tone, sunken deep like the ocean, was scratchy and cracked.
“Whoa, what’s wrong? Are you sick, hyung?”
– It’s not that. What’s up?
“Are you sure you’re not sick? But your voice…”
– I said I’m fine.
“No… I was thinking if you were at the hospital, we could grab a meal together.”
I carefully added that while watching Kang Taeyang, who answered a bit irritably.
For a while no answer came, then finally a big sigh, haah, was heard.
– Let’s eat next time. I’m at home right now.
“Oh, okay… But hyung, are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
– ……
“No, I mean, we can eat later, but your voice sounds different from usual… I’m just worried.”
I sensed something unusual.
Even him trying to avoid meeting me was odd, because he wasn’t like that normally.
I wondered if something serious had really happened.
– …Then, Yeon Wooju, do you want to come to my place?
“Huh, what?”
– I’ll text you the address. Take a taxi.
Before I could ask what he meant, the call was cut off curtly.
I hadn’t expected this turn…
I looked down at my phone screen, bewildered.
A message arrived promptly after, with just his home address written plainly and nothing else.
He’d said before that it was quick to get here by car.
It was a little baffling, but whatever, as a player it was my duty to notice right away if a target character had a status abnormality (?).
So I headed to Kang Taeyang’s house without really thinking.
“Ugh…”
As soon as I got out of the taxi, I found myself looking up.
The high security walls surrounding the luxury villa complex so densely made me feel intimidated for some reason.
Even at the villa entrance, I had to get through strict security before I could enter the building.
– Yeah. Come in.
Ding-dong.
When I reached the top floor and pressed the doorbell, Kang Taeyang checked me through the intercom and immediately opened the door.
As I stepped into the penthouse, an interior decorated in white-toned marble, with a view of the river beyond the terrace garden, spread out before my eyes.
Kang Taeyang came down the stairs, dragging his heavy left foot with a thud.
The ceiling was high, and the interior was a duplex, so my mouth dropped open.
This was practically a palace for one person to live in alone.
“Whoa, Taeyang hyung!”
But before I could entertain such trivial thoughts for long, I was startled by Kang Taeyang’s face, which had come close before I knew it and looked gaunt.
“Yeah. Yeon Wooju.”
“Hyung, are you really okay? Why do you look so bad?”
Kang Taeyang, his brow slightly furrowed, replied in a hoarse voice.
His dark circles nearly reached his cheeks.
He said he wasn’t sick, so maybe he’d barely slept last night?
“Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Talk to me, hyung.”
“……”
“……”
“Haah… The thing is, I lost my necklace.”
Huh? He lost his necklace?
To think he’d be that broken up over just that…
As I was bewildered by the unexpected answer, a system window popped up right then.
[System – Sudden Quest: “Find the Lost Necklace”]
Help target character Kang Taeyang find his precious necklace containing a childhood story!
(Success reward: Affection +10. If you additionally succeed in collecting past information about the target character related to the necklace, the probability of entering the main quest greatly increases.)
Whoa, a sudden quest!
The system had a plan all along.
Now it really felt like Kang Taeyang’s route was progressing in earnest.
Seeing the mention of main quest entry probability, it seemed like a pretty important turning point.
“I-I’ll help you!”
I didn’t know the details, but it must be an incredibly important necklace to Kang Taeyang.
Of course, I wasn’t in a position to question it.
When I nodded with a solemn face, Kang Taeyang narrowed his eyes and glanced at me.
He seemed more on edge than usual.
“Yeah, I mean… if we look together, it might be easier, right?”
“Well, I’m not sure about that.”
“Still, at least tell me. What does it look like? When did you last see it?”
“……”
“For things like this, someone with no prior information can actually find it better, you know?”
Kang Taeyang pressed his lips together, as if troubled.
Soon he leaned obliquely against the wall and gulped down the bottled water on the table.
He wiped his lips, shiny with clear water, and his eyes gleamed as if he’d made up his mind.
“…It’s not that big. It’s a thin metal plate like a dog tag, with numbers engraved, and a silver chain.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening.”
Come to think of it, when we went to the shower room together last time, Kang Taeyang was wearing a necklace with a crude design.
Then it must be a necklace he always wore…
“I don’t remember exactly when I last saw it, but I definitely had it yesterday morning before I showered.”
“I see… Hyung, did you come to the hospital yesterday?”
“Yeah. These days I only go between the hospital and home. It’s probably somewhere in the house, but…”
Kang Taeyang stopped speaking and buried his face in his hands, as if overwhelmed.
The spacious penthouse, otherwise neatly organized, had been rummaged through here and there like a wild animal had been at it.
He must have been searching all over the house for quite a while.
“Where have you looked? I’ll help search too.”
“I went up to this floor earlier, but I hardly use it since I hurt my leg.”
“Then the first floor?”
“Yeah… I skimmed here in the morning too, but…”
“Then let’s look carefully this time!”
“…Thanks.”
Kang Taeyang, his head slightly lowered, muttered heavily.
Actually, I had a sudden quest too, so he didn’t need to be that grateful.
Still, seeing him like that, it seemed really precious to him, so even if it weren’t for the quest, I wanted to find his necklace for him.
Together with Kang Taeyang, we split up and began searching the house.
If he’d lost the necklace at home, it was likely under the bed, on a side table, or near the sink or shelf in the bathroom.
We searched those areas thoroughly, but unfortunately found nothing.
“Hmm… Where could the necklace have gone?”
Looking toward the wide open living room, every drawer in the cabinet under the TV was pulled open.
Yet the necklace was still missing, and Kang Taeyang was breathing heavily.
As I walked down the hallway and carefully looked around, I noticed trophies, plaques, and game photos lined up along the wall, probably because it was an athlete’s house.
“Oh, hyung!”
“What is it? Did you find it?”
“Ah, no… What’s this?”
A large poster hanging at the entrance to the kitchen caught my eye.
Inside a stadium under bright lights, a fierce game was underway on the dark green field, and Kang Taeyang was sitting on a bench in relatively dark shadow.
Kang Taeyang, his head turned sideways as if looking back at the crowd or someone outside the poster, slightly narrowed one eye and playfully curled up the corner of his mouth.
His broad shoulders and well-developed back muscles stood out, and his forearm, holding a drink with a silver base and sparkling blue accents, looked heavy.
“Hyung, were you an energy drink model too?”
“Ah, that. It’s a pictorial I shot last year or so.”
“Wow…”
“Yeon Wooju, a weakling like you shouldn’t even think about drinking that. It seems healthy, but actually it borrows from tomorrow’s stamina to use today.”
“The company paying you would be hurt if they heard that. Then why did you hang the photo so huge?”
“Hmm, don’t I look pretty handsome in that photo?”
Ugh, what a show-off.
Of course, I’d asked because I thought it was an unusually attractive photo, but he knew it too well, so I felt deflated for no reason.
Maybe my slight pout showed, because Kang Taeyang, who’d been staring at my face, gave a big shrug.
“Kid, getting all sour over a joke.”
The man who could make even excessive self-consciousness seem understandable burst out laughing.
At the same time, my pouty lips curled back in.
It felt like the first time I’d seen Kang Taeyang smile all day, and that was a relief.
“How far have you looked?”
“Ah, I think I’ve checked most of the veranda and living room.”
“Then just in case, I’ll check the kitchen!”
I was about to pass by the kitchen when a door at the end of the hallway caught my eye, so I opened it.
Inside the alpha room, there were many unexpected items: starting with a teddy bear, a plastic figure resembling Kang Taeyang, even paper cranes.
As I was looking at the objects with a light layer of dust, I felt a presence behind me.
“Oh, hyung. Is this the room where you keep gifts from fans?”
“Well, something like that.”
“Taeyang hyung, you had a hidden hoarder side…”
“Hey, would I just throw away things fans gave me?”
“No, it’s not that… but it just looks like a lot.”
“Looking at you, Yeon Wooju, it seems you see me as some kind of mess.”
“Oh, but what’s this? Wow… Hyung, you even write replies to fan letters by hand?”
“Just occasionally when I have time. These days I barely can, though.”
I threw various questions at Kang Taeyang, who was now stuck close behind my back.
Was it because I’d seen the words ‘past info collection’ from the system?
Of course, I wasn’t searching the house for that purpose, but I couldn’t help becoming a bit conscious of it.
In the end, even after thoroughly searching the entire house, we couldn’t find the necklace, but at least I got to know Kang Taeyang a little better.
“Is it really important to you, hyung?”
“It’s fine, what’s the use of talking about something already lost.”
Kang Taeyang waved his hand dismissively and answered in a cool tone without regret.
But his face was dripping with disappointment.
“Ah, what time is it now? I’m super tired.”
With a thud, Kang Taeyang plopped down on the recliner sofa.
He covered his eyes and head with his forearm, looking limp and drained, just like a dispirited puppy.
I wondered if I should feel that way about someone with such a big house and a successful career, but I felt sorry for him.
“Sigh, what do I do…”
Unlike before, when I’d freaked out at the slightest physical contact with Kang Taeyang, this time I carefully reached out and touched his shoulder first.
Fortunately, he didn’t swat my hand away.
“Hoo…”
Pat, pat.
When I lightly patted his shoulder, his thick chest rose and fell roughly.
Yeah, people always feel more upset when someone comforts them.
Honestly, I still thought it was a bit much to be this upset over a necklace, but Kang Taeyang looked genuinely distressed.
It must have been very precious to him.
Then again, I’d probably react similarly if I lost my parents’ keepsake.
Just imagining it made me feel distant and hollow, and I sank into helplessness too.
Even if it wasn’t for the quest, I wished I could help Kang Taeyang somehow…
As I was lost in thought, something suddenly occurred to me, and my mind lit up for a moment.
“Ah, Taeyang hyung!”
“…Yeah, what?”
“I think I might know where the necklace is!”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Oh No, The Girl I Possessed Has Come Knocking On my Door! is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Oh No, The Girl I Possessed Has Come Knocking On my Door!
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