Chapter 121: The Puzzle Begins

Roy hurried toward the rooftop door where Kim Chan was waiting.

He pushed thoughts about the lottery aside for the moment.

No matter how lucky one might be, realistically winning the lottery was a tough prospect.

Besides, there was no way he could ask Earth to rig the winning numbers.

“Hyung, I think you’re lying.”

“Me?”

There was no way.

Roy smiled nonchalantly, but Kim Chan frowned slightly, feeling uneasy about something.

Unlike in the past when Roy couldn’t even tell a proper lie, he had become more sly by the day since arriving here.

Normally, managing his expressions was something completely unrelated to Roy’s life.

But from the moment a camera appeared in his sight or he stepped on stage, it was as if he became a different person, changing his expression.

“You can’t seriously say you’re feeling bloated after eating only that much. It was just three servings.”

“…Ah…”

The lie was exposed, not because of Roy’s calm expression, but because of the amount of Korean beef he had eaten.

“Ber’s already downed six servings. I don’t know how that small body fits all that food. Even the director was amazed.”

Roy knew why Ber had left his seat, but Ber seemed focused entirely on satisfying his appetite, whether Roy was there or not.

“Did you get a call from Heis hyung?”

“Yeah.”

Roy decided to be honest instead of hiding it.

It was harder to keep secrets from Kim Chan and Lee Hajun anyway.

“Hearing about it all secondhand like this makes me want to see Charles hyung too. Since he’s part of your group, he must be a good person.”

Unlike Heis, who had visited the dormitory, Charles hadn’t met any members of Kkoribyul yet.

Roy only guessed from what he had heard that Charles was a very dependable and admirable character.

“So, what’s going on?”

Kim Chan nudged Roy’s side gently with his elbow.

Their busy schedules had left no time for a private conversation.

Roy was definitely up to something but refused to share, so Kim Chan had no choice but to ask directly.

“Um… I actually found traces of a Mud Monster, so I asked Heis and Charles to investigate.”

“What?”

Kim Chan’s voice echoed loudly through the emergency stairwell, causing Roy to quickly place his finger over Kim Chan’s lips.

Kim Chan was aware his voice was too loud, so he quickly lowered it.

“The traces were found in Gangwon Province. As you know, neither I nor we can just drop everything and move right now.”

Seeing Kim Chan’s expression darken with disappointment, Roy changed ‘I’ to ‘we’ in his words.

It seemed to help as Kim Chan’s eyebrows relaxed back to their normal position.

“Gangwon Province? No way.”

“Why?”

Kim Chan suddenly covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

“That’s where our High Cycle seniors are shooting a program, right? Gangwon-do, Samcheok, isn’t it?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The director mentioned it just now, saying the sea near Samcheok is especially beautiful.”

That was great news.

Roy had been uneasy leaving the work to Heis and Charles alone, but if he could use his free time wisely, maybe he could meet up with them on location.

While Roy was quickly thinking through this unexpected opportunity, Kim Chan marveled.

“By the way, did Earth really pick up the Mud Monster’s traces? That’s awesome.”

{As expected, Chan knows how to read people, or rather, Earth.}

After learning about Earth’s existence, Kim Chan often mentioned it excitedly. Earth’s enthusiastic voice echoed vividly in Roy’s mind.

“When does the shoot start?”

“That’s a secret.”

“…Secrets everywhere.”

The sly smile on PD Shimjun’s face popped into Roy’s head. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence.

***

“…We’re starting the shoot right away?”

Roy and Kim Chan returned to the barbecue restaurant, where the number of cameras had multiplied.

Roy tilted his head in confusion.

A sense of foreboding wrapped tightly around his ankles.

{Wow. PD Shimjun really doesn’t mess around, huh?}

Lee Hajun was already being dragged by a staff member, looking half out of it.

Han Jihoo was desperately maintaining a smile, but sweat was already visible on his forehead.

“Hyungs!”

Hajun shouted desperately upon seeing Roy and Kim Chan.

PD Shimjun’s gaze quickly snapped toward the two.

“Oh, you’re here now. I was impressed you didn’t catch on and run away first.”

Shimjun smiled broadly as he approached, an expression that didn’t look quite normal.

Roy and Kim Chan instinctively flinched and took half a step back.

Although he was a civilian, Shimjun exuded an aura hardly befitting a mere culprit.

This was probably what it took to be a star PD.

Before they could even speak, Shimjun hurriedly continued.

“We’re going straight into filming from now.”

“Wh-where are the managers…?”

Kim Chan stammered, looking for Hwang Guman and Gong Taecheon.

While Ki Yonghyeon was dispatched by the Association, the two managed all of Kkoribyul’s official and unofficial schedules.

They couldn’t possibly be unaware that the schedule started today.

“We asked them for cooperation beforehand.”

Shimjun shrugged cheekily, as if this was nothing new.

It was the moment Roy and Kim Chan felt betrayed by Hwang Guman.

“Actually, the main filming is scheduled to start after your music show schedules, but today is like a warm-up.”

Right.

Roy collected his scattered thoughts.

Kkoribyul still had a full week of music show schedules ahead.

The exact filming date was kept vague, but he had expected there to be some leeway.

“All right, no more dithering. Let’s move.”

“Uh, uh…”

Shimjun turned Roy and Kim Chan around and pushed them along.

They could have resisted with some effort, but there was no way they could push away a star PD.

Roy and Kim Chan had no choice but to follow.

“You’ll need these.”

Shimjun handed them black blindfolds.

‘What on earth was he taking them to?’

In truth, even with the blindfolds on, Roy and Kim Chan could sense their surroundings through their other senses.

This was just a way to maximize the footage for the cameras.

“Today’s just a first meeting, so don’t feel too pressured.”

“A first meeting?”

“You’ll meet the High Cycle members who selected you.”

…Ah.

Other members had been led away one by one by staff, but Roy and Kim Chan were paired together.

Kkoribyul had eight members, but High Cycle had one less.

So one High Cycle member would film with two Kkoribyul members.

“By the way, the location we’re heading to is top secret, even to the production team. We’ll be careful moving there. If you somehow find out where it is, please don’t let fans disrupt the shoot later.”

The car carrying Roy and Kim Chan finally started moving.

With their vision blocked, their hearing sharpened and the engine’s sound thundered in their ears.

“Beep.” (These guys are dumb. What good is a blindfold if only the contractor wears it?)

Ber, who had been perched on Roy’s shoulder, let out a funny chirp.

“Oh, right. Spirits, can you all stay in here for a moment?”

As soon as Ber cried out, Shimjun pulled out a large net bag.

The spirits, who had come out of the room as Roy left the rooftop, were perched on various parts of his body.

“Poreureu.” (Ber, your big mouth.)

Aqua pouted and stepped into the net bag, clearly displeased.

It was cramped and stuffy.

“Uum.” (I’m fine.)

***

After Aqua, Solum slipped inside as well. Purring softly, he curled up, clearly liking the cozy space.

‘Earth, can you see where we’re heading?’

Despite PD Shimjun’s worries, it didn’t matter to Roy if the spirits were inside the net bag.

He had Earth, who was even better at sensing the situation.

{We’re moving toward Pyeongchang-dong.}

‘What was there?’

Roy racked his brain but couldn’t think of a notable place.

‘Could it be Senior Kim Tae-jin’s house?’

When Shimjun said they would meet a member of High Cycle, Roy was already sure it was Kim Tae-jin.

{The exact home addresses of Kim Taejin and the rest of High Cycle aren’t public online.}

‘That’s for the best.’

It was probably to prevent obsessive fans from showing up at their homes.

Kkoribyul’s dormitory, which Han Jihoo had found, was also very secure, so they had had no problems living there so far.

“We’ve arrived. Please get out carefully.”

As Roy and Earth continued to speculate, the car finally stopped.

Though blindfolded, Roy and Kim Chan easily got out.

“Piii.” (Can I get out now? This is stuffy.)

Unlike the other spirits, Ber fluttered his wings restlessly, unable to bear it.

“Por!” (Stop being noisy and stay still!)

Aqua snapped sharply, finally silencing Ber.

A gloomy energy drifted from inside the net bag.

“You can take off your blindfolds now.”

Following Shimjun’s instruction, Roy removed his blindfold.

The sense of liberation was strong, even though it hadn’t been on long.

“It’s a detached house.”

Roy had wondered why they’d been so secretive, but it was just an ordinary house.

His head whipped back and forth.

Correction: not ordinary — an enormous house.

The fence alone seemed well over three meters tall. Even with a running start, a civilian would struggle to scale it.

Centered around a two-story mansion was a spacious garden.

“Pia.” (Compared to other houses I’ve seen here, this one looks pretty good, contractor. Of course, it’s nowhere near the place you lived on the continent.)

The garden had all kinds of trees and flowers, and even a pond on one side.

Lys flapped his wings, circling around Roy’s head.

For the spirits, a place like this—with nature even if artificial—was much more to their liking than the Kkoribyul dorm.

“Well then, you’ll start your mission now.”

“A mission?”

“Yeah.”

Before they could even properly look around the exterior, the mission was announced.

Kim Chan half-opened his mouth in surprise, then regained composure and looked back at Shimjun.

“What is this?”

“This was created by the person who will be your mentor.”

Shimjun handed Roy and Kim Chan each a puzzle board.

The problem was, the puzzle pieces themselves were nowhere to be seen, only the board.

“From now, you two must find the puzzle pieces hidden in the garden and complete your respective boards.”

At Shimjun’s next words, both Roy and Kim Chan were speechless.

The number of puzzle pieces looked to be at least 48.

“It’s a competition. Whoever completes their puzzle first will receive a special reward.”

A competition, of all things.

Roy exchanged a reluctant glance with Kim Chan.

‘Looks like we’re dealing with someone extraordinary.’

Their eyes conveyed this thought to each other.

“You have 10 minutes. The one who finishes first will get the reward; the other will face a penalty.”

Roy, who had been planning to take it easy, felt his lashes tremble.

Then a light smile crossed his face as an idea struck.