Chapter 159

└ I thought that too haha all those debut rumors, must have been tortured by agencies

[Title: Look at This Outfit, It’s Epic]

(Park Yeonwoo capture.jpg)

Black lace shirt??? Long hair??? Fishnets??? Pure ascetic sexy

Roy, what do you usually think when you watch Park Yeonwoo....

[Title: The World Where Roy, Park Yeonwoo, Kim Taeeon, Seo Han Gyeol, and Namchinnam Are a Group]

(Shiro capture.jpg)

Is this actually real somewhere in the universe? Otherwise it couldn’t be this believable...

└ I want to go too

└ Let’s go together...

Fortunately, the viewers seemed to think Roy had just been badly mistreated by the entertainment agencies.

But the memories Roy had almost forgotten surged back, and he felt panic rising again.

“Roy, are you okay?”

Taeeon’s worried voice came, but Roy shook his hand away and stepped back several paces.

Then he slowly looked around.

It was the familiar waiting room for the music show.

Members in stage costumes, the manager hyung, the busy staff—all of them staring at him.

“Ugh.”

Seeing the scene he thought he’d never witness again made Roy gag.

He clamped a hand over his mouth and bent at the waist, and the startled members rushed over to surround him.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Why are you like this? Feeling sick?”

“Hyung, we need medicine. Do we have any?”

“Uh? Uh uh! Wait a second!”

The manager hurried off to find the bag, and the remaining members patted Roy’s back and shoulders, unable to hide their concern.

But Roy hated the touch—it felt like shackles squeezing his breath.

“Here, I brought medicine! What do you need? Antacid? Gastritis pills? Anti-diarrheal? Pick anything.”

The manager dumped pill packets on the floor and began listing them, and Yeonwoo immediately scolded.

“Just pick one? You have to ask what his symptoms are first.”

“Oh, right. Roy, where does it hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Only then did the manager, looking embarrassed, ask about Roy’s symptoms.

With another schedule coming up, he was worried Roy would insist on going to a hospital.

“...I’m fine. Just kidding.”

Roy finally calmed and shook off their hands, standing up.

The members’ faces fell at his “just kidding,” and they began to lecturing him—but then, clank!

A crashing sound rang out as the mirror across the room shattered into pieces.

“Whoa.”

“What was that?”

“Because of Roy, right?”

“Maybe.”

Hearing the exact same lines as before sent a chill down Roy’s spine.

‘No matter how the situation changes, what must happen will happen.’

He stared at the broken mirror shards with a hard expression. Then, guided by the manager’s hand, he left the waiting room.

They arrived in the underground parking lot.

Roy volunteered to get into the passenger seat.

“I told you to sit in back. You look pale. You weren’t faking before.”

“I’m fine.”

“Geez, stubborn as always.”

The manager let out a sigh and started the engine.

“If you get sleepy, just sleep, okay?”

“Okay.”

Roy forced a smile and glanced back. The members were already fast asleep.

He watched them quietly until the manager told him to buckle up.

“You’re acting weird today.”

“Just tired. Who schedules a regional fan sign for comeback week?”

“Man, you came alive again so fast. I’ve apologized over a hundred times. Cut me some slack, please.”

“Don’t overdo it. It wasn’t that bad.”

The manager chuckled low at Roy’s curt reply and finally drove off.

Leaving Sangam-dong behind, they got on the highway, which was unexpectedly clear, and picked up speed.

Normally Roy would have fallen into a deep sleep and been snoring by now—but this time he was fully alert.

Not only could he not sleep, but he was eager to see the moments before the crash.

‘What must happen will happen.’

Even if he couldn’t prevent the crash, he might at least confirm what happened just before it.

Roy folded his arms and stared ahead in silence.

“Aren’t you tired? Try resting your eyes.”

“I’m not tired.”

“That’s strange... I thought you’d pass out within minutes.”

“Focus on driving. What if there’s an accident?”

“Ha! You don’t trust my driving? I used to drive ambulances in my day~”

The manager bragged about his driving skill.

Suddenly the surroundings flashed bright then dark, and through the side mirror a strong light flickered.

BRAAAA!

“What the—?”

Roy turned to look behind and saw the car behind them flashing its headlights.

They weren’t going slow, yet the tail car kept honking insistently.

The manager frowned, glancing in the rearview.

“Crazy bastard?”

He muttered that he’d avoid the jerk out of fear or disgust, flipped on the right turn signal, and decided to let the other car pass.

Roy’s memory of hearing horns before waking stirred faintly.

This meant... there wasn’t much time left until the crash.

“...!”

Sensing something ominous, Roy scanned his surroundings.

He noticed a black hole opening in the middle of the sky.

‘What is that...?’

It definitely hadn’t been there moments ago.

As he leaned toward the window to check the sky, the vehicle jolted violently.

WHOOOM!

Simultaneously, a grotesque face leapt into view beyond the passenger-side mirror.

Ashen skin, blood-red eyes.

A Blood Fiend.

“?!”

Roy’s eyes went wide.

Was the Blood Fiend here because of the Blue Portal? Or did fiends appear on crash day too? He was confused.

But thought didn’t last long. He had only one task: eliminate the fiend.

Clang!

Roy reached for the side mirror and grabbed the fiend by the throat without hesitation.

FWOOSH!

Flames burst from his grip, and the fiend turned to ash without a scream.

“Ah! What the—? Hey, you maniac! Why’d you break the window?”

The manager, who had just moved into lane two, shouted at Roy.

Originally, upon seeing the fiend, he should have swerved toward the center guardrail into oncoming traffic—but Roy’s swift action prevented the crash.

“This is insane. Are you okay, your hand?”

“Watch the road!”

As the manager kept glancing aside and losing focus, Roy snapped at him.

“...What’s going on?”

The commotion woke the members one by one.

BRAAAA!

Despite giving way, the tail car continued honking, even following into lane two.

The manager’s patience was wearing thin; he frowned and kept peering into the rearview.

“Why does this lunatic keep—”

Just as he was about to curse, Roy unbuckled his seatbelt with a click.

“You maniac, what now?”

“Hyung, pull over.”

“This is the highway, are you serious? How do you stop here?”

“Merge into lane three and stop!”

“How do I stop with that freak tailing us?”

At that moment:

CRASH! SCREEECH!

A truck traveling outbound smashed head-on into the center guardrail and crossed into their lane.

The ear-piercing metal screech and flying guardrail fragments filled the air.

“Ah!”

The manager slammed the brakes and turned the wheel, but it was too late to dodge the skidding truck.

And in that instant, Roy saw it clearly: a flash of red eyes in the truck driver’s seat.

‘A Blood Fiend?’

Locking eyes with a fiend, Roy’s mind went blank.

Before any other thought could form, instinct drove him to kill it, and he kicked open the passenger door.

“Roy!”

Before the manager’s call finished, Roy was thrown from the van.

“Iroy!”

He could hear the members calling, but he didn’t look back.

Until a noise forced him to turn his head.

CRACK— CLANG!

Fragments from the overturned truck rained down on the van.

“?!”

A piece of metal pierced the glass and lodged deep in the passenger-seat back where Roy had just been.

If he’d stayed there, it would have pierced his abdomen.

An unknowable surge of emotion rose, and Roy clenched his fist tight.

‘At least the members are safe.’

He forced himself to swallow and looked away.

But relief was brief. Dark red oil seeped from the bottom of the overturned truck.

The oil on the road crept toward the van, and severed wires sparked beneath the truck.

“...No.”

Roy’s face drained of color. It was only a matter of time before the oil ignited.

He had to pull everyone from the van immediately.

Just as he planted his foot to sprint—

BOOOOM!

A deafening explosion hit, and everything went white.