Trapped in the Idol Universe
Chapter 143
Roy was grave. Something huge had happened, as big as me arriving in the Wasteland.
Did the Detention Bureau pretend they didn’t know me?
No. Fortunately, Saeon seems to have handled that mess just fine.
No news is good news, right? Since there’s been no contact.
But the reason I was this serious was...
“F rank! Seo Han Gyeol is F rank...!”
It was because of Han Gyeol.
I’d never seen an actual F rank in my life before, so it hit me even harder.
“Itt!”
Roy, lying still on the bed after returning home, jerked his body and flapped like he’d seized.
He couldn’t calm down over Han Gyeol’s shocking rank.
Seeing him like that, Rose had flapped beside him until just a moment ago, as if joining his fishy antics.
But she’d gone off to sleep by now.
“Sigh...”
What could I do about this?
Out of the four of us, he’d been the biggest worry—and, unsurprisingly, the biggest troublemaker to the end.
‘I should have known from that damned Jade Dragon.’
I’d thought he’d be at least C rank—Yeon-woo had been.
At worst, D?
But F... F was a rank I’d never even considered possible.
Of course he could re-awaken.
He could—but the condition was the issue.
【- Befriend the Wind】
It looked simple enough, but I knew how difficult that condition really was.
That’s why F rank is called worthless.
He couldn’t do anything at all!
He was a burden just by existing!
How could I ask someone who didn’t even know the principles of using a skill to “befriend the wind” and expect anything?
This was serious.
Really, this was way serious.
...
Roy rolled halfway over and buried his face in his pillow.
He hadn’t told Han Gyeol the news yet.
The moment I hinted that he seemed to have awakened, he’d rush off to the Detention Bureau—so why would I tell him?
Besides, Han Gyeol was an entertainer.
His name was unique.
Every time he went out, a swarm of sasaeng fans followed him.
Even if he managed to hide, it would be revealed in an instant.
‘In less than an hour, articles will explode saying he awakened, right?’
Imagining that, Roy grew more horrified. He remembered the day the school labeled him worthless.
The ones who treated him like an invisible nobody, and those who openly mocked and scorned him—they were all burned into his memory.
He’d even kept a special notebook for the worst of them.
That was life at F rank in the Wasteland.
‘They even look down on Muggles when they’re F rank, don’t they?’
Who did they think they were?
So what if they were?
Just like with Awakeners, Muggles tended not to recognize F rank as true Awakeners.
They saw them as slightly stronger than themselves. Yet in emergencies, they expected an Awakener’s duty...
Hypocrisy.
‘And now Seo Han Gyeol is going to be treated like that?’
The thought that Han Gyeol would become the laughingstock made Roy’s blood boil.
My Han Gyeol is mine to protect!
Roy shot upright and made up his mind.
‘I can’t let this stand. At least get him to D rank.’
It would be nice to send him for the re-awakening test at C rank, but that would take too long. So D rank it is.
Roy wanted his brother back within his boundary as soon as possible.
‘So it’s special training again.’
But his resolve lasted only a moment.
Focused entirely on Han Gyeol, Roy had even forgotten that Episode 8 of Star Hero was airing.
He’d completely neglected his own monitoring.
Realizing it belatedly, he rushed to the community forum.
The program had already entered its real second half.
[Title: Park Junseo’s martial arts are on another level]
On any other show they’d be busy pushing Avengers Team, but here they can’t even pull a fast one? lol
They just gave them a penalty
Never saw that coming ㄴㅇㄱ
[Title: Of course Team 1 knows]
That Iroi is god-tier
Otherwise there’d be no reason to put some worthless trash as team leader haha
You can feel the aura of an S rank—honestly, I doubt any contestant there could be unaware.
(Photo of Roy with a halo.jpg)
└ Guess they’re idiots then
└ Can they stand by that comment?
└ That group is science—definitely mad 202-level psycho
└ This Iroi stan is a broken record, just mute them
[Title: They’ll drag it out with missions again, right?]
All the better
When god-tier Iroi gets tangled by K-PD and has to run around doing drudge work—when will I see that again♡
But the mission was fresh
Freezing Seo Hyunwoo in ice was legendary lol, and Team 3’s Shin Joyeon? They just sent him off lololol
Building a royal tomb and watching them struggle was brutalㅠㅠ
But sure, Awakeners flub up well too. Looking forward to next week’s mission
(Screenshot of Team 3’s collective fail.jpg)
└ What does that mean?
└ Anyway the winner is Iroi
[Title: Iroi fans all look like they’ve gone psycho]
Did they all get hypnotized in the 3rd survival round?
The moment the real champ admits they’re not the best, there’ll be a riot
└ At 22, who’s gonna tell Iroi “No”?
[Title: Iroi’s got full-blown celebrity syndrome]
(Photo)
Long-sleeve hoodie + mask + hat in this weather... if it’s hot, take it off, damn
└ He’s fire type—must be cold
└ Don’t you see him sweating buckets??
As always, half the chatter was about the broadcast, half about me. But now the hate comments had grown worse...
My attempts to level up looked like a brutal gimmick to everyone.
But celebrity syndrome? That was beyond harsh.
I closed the community in anger and squeezed my eyes shut to swallow my rage.
Iroi, control yourself.
‘Yeah. What do normal people know?’
No need to respond to every clueless insult.
They didn’t scratch me at all.
So now I’ll think only of Seo Han Gyeol.
Thankfully or not, recalling his face made me remember his rank and cool my head.
‘Worrying only delays our return.’
To get back to the real world, I must turn Han Gyeol into someone useful and drive away the Chaos Evil as soon as possible.
I set D-day in my mind and vowed—
Before break ended, I would make Han Gyeol at least D rank.
✧
As a result, Roy became Han Gyeol’s shadow.
The pretext was easy.
“I’ll protect you. Like that day.”
Han Gyeol had already faced death once at Daegwallyeong. His fear of Blood Fiends was at its peak.
So right now, what mattered to him wasn’t the penalty fee or treatment and rest at the Awakened Hospital.
It was god-tier Iroi. Me.
“Really?”
“Yeah. You probably couldn’t sleep either.”
“Roy...”
When Iroi answered generously, Han Gyeol nodded vigorously with a hollow expression.
He wasn’t hurt, so it’d be awkward to stay in the hospital. And his manager’s complaints about a mountain of schedules couldn’t be ignored.
Today, it was a blessing that he was such a devout believer in shamanism.
Having faced death once, he clung even more to the shaman’s words.
No sooner had Iroi offered than Han Gyeol, overcome with emotion, grabbed his hand.
“Thank you so much. What virtue did I earn in my past life to meet you all?”
I don’t know about virtues, but I recall getting slapped with the nickname “Slapdash.” Honestly, he was terrible at dancing.
“Enough. Show me your schedule. I’ll accompany you until the next shoot.”
“Schedule? Okay! Just a second.”
As Han Gyeol rummaged through his bag for a tablet, I felt a sting on my ribs—a blatant glare. His manager.
He scowled, not bothered to manage his expression.
He must’ve been furious about me carrying Han Gyeol out yesterday.
But I didn’t care. Even as an F rank, Han Gyeol had awakened, and now I couldn’t stay with First anymore.
It meant we’d cross paths less and less.
I kept my head from turning toward the manager. He suddenly spoke.
“You really plan to stick with him?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“I won’t.”
“If that’s so—”
At the same moment, the tablet was thrust toward me. Han Gyeol’s schedule.
But...
“...?”
“I told you you’d regret it.”
Moments ago, that glare I thought was hate turned out to be condolence. Like someone warning, “Don’t cross that river.”
Seeing Han Gyeol’s schedule, I almost screamed.
Those devilish First people were exploiting my brother to the bone!
A pre-produced drama backed by a major OTT, plus film, commercials, variety shows.
And all back to back.
For an entire month!
Every moment outside transit was filled with scheduled work—that’s what it meant!
“Damn it!”
Is this a humanly digestible schedule?
Roy lost his words for a moment and just moved his lips. Then he found his voice.
“W-what is this?”
“It’s the actor’s schedule.”
Han Gyeol, who’d heard our conversation, approached.
“Oh, the tablet was there? No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
He came over, smiled innocently as we both looked at the tablet.
“...You’re smiling?”
“Why?”
Why, indeed. You’re smiling at this insane timetable?
Since I offered to guard him, his schedule was mine too.
And that meant we were screwed.
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