By Zephyria 
“……”
[ ……. ]
I searched Secret and Yeon Yu-jin on several anonymous online communities and social media, but the results were the same.
It would have been a relief if there was at least some interest.
Most people were posting question marks, wondering who Secret was, and even those who knew were mostly cursing at Yeon Yu-jin.
Despite being a rookie, he was considered lazy and irritable. His stage presence was zero, and his fan service was minus a hundred.
A handful of fans were furious at Yeon Yu-jin for his terrible live performances and were flooding the comments with insults.
The most popular internet post related to Secret was this:
Yeon Yu-jin, leave the group.
I don’t have time for a one-person protest.
(Attached photo of a banner)
[Comments]
⤷ Lololol, daebak
⤷ Such an attention seeker
⤷ Yujin, did you see this and go “Kuwek?”
⤷ Thanks to you, Yujin, nothing surprises me anymore
⤷ Shouldn’t you be ashamed and leave on your own at this point?
⤷ Agreed, what did the other members do to deserve this?
⤷ Since he’s a Guide, send him to work in a Dungeon. It might suit him better than being an idol?
…See more…
“That’s intense.”
[ Terrifyingly so. ]
Yeon Yu-jin’s image online was the worst.
Even the few Secret fans were praying for Yeon Yu-jin to leave the group.
The comments, filled with malice, ridicule, and criticism, made my stomach churn just reading them. Even though I’m not really Yeon Yu-jin.
‘So, is that why that guy punched me as soon as I woke up?’
Ra Ho-yeon… was it? A young Esper 1, a Secret member like Yeon Yu-jin.
It was obvious that he had a lot of pent-up feelings towards Yeon Yu-jin.
‘The others seemed similar.’
All four Espers in the team were hostile towards Yeon Yu-jin, the Guide.
Even if they didn’t express it as directly as Ra Ho-yeon, the way they spoke to him carelessly made it clear that they looked down on Yeon Yu-jin.
‘It seems separate from the fact that Yeon Yu-jin is a problem member, though.’
Having spent ten years entangled with Ability Users in the military, it was easy for me to spot shady people.
‘Was Yeon Yu-jin always so listless from the start?’
I would need to look into that more closely.
Anyway.
“There’s no need to see more. Yeon Yu-jin is completely broke.”
[ What should we do then…? ]
“It’s impossible to get stronger with the assets Yeon Yu-jin has.”
As I lounged on the bed in the hospital room and spoke lazily, the sprout on Potato’s head withered.
[ A-Are you going to give up like this? ]
“I can’t do that.”
It wasn’t like there was no way.
“The only problem is… whether I can use that method.”
[ What is it? ]
“The money I diligently saved while closing Dungeons when I was An Ga-hyeon.”
If I could go to the special Ability User-only vault where that money was safely stored, I could escape this penniless situation.
Espers and Guides who went to conquer Dungeon Gates had to face the risk of death at all times, so they were paid a guaranteed amount as a life allowance.
The amount paid per case was large, so there were cases where the families of Ability Users who were greedy for money would kill them for it.
To prevent this, the government separately commissioned the Special Ability User Association to create a secret vault that only Ability Users could access.
‘Since I could never leave the front lines, that money was as good as rotting away in the vault…….’
But now I was alive again, and I needed money, so the situation had changed.
Many of the early Espers and Guides had close relatives who had died, so there were concerns that if they died, the money would simply revert to the government.
To prevent complaints from erupting, the government announced that if no family members came to claim the money for 20 years after the Ability User’s death, it would then be returned to the national treasury.
“This year marks exactly 20 years since I died.”
[ Gasp! Then we have to go to that vault and get the money back! We have to get it before the government takes it back! ]
“I wish I could…….”
Unfortunately, Yeon Yu-jin and An Ga-hyeon were completely unrelated strangers.
Not only did they have different surnames, but I had never even heard of having any Yeon relatives in my family, even when the world was peaceful.
The Special Ability User Association’s criteria for ‘family’ was at least a relative within the sixth degree of kinship.
If I didn’t meet that condition, I wouldn’t be able to access the vault even if I knew where it was.
“If I try to force my way into ‘An Ga-hyeon’s’ vault, I’ll probably just get a beating from the security system…….”
Being only a D-Class Guide and having a body as shockingly weak as ‘Yeon Yu-jin’s,’ I might actually die from that attack.
There was no way I could waste my newly received second life so meaninglessly.
[ Then what should we do? ]
“Hmm… there’s only one way to do this.”
[ What is it? ]
I said to Potato, who was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
“Shut up and charge in.”
[ What?! ]
Under Potato’s suspicious gaze, I calmly made plans to go outside.
“I want to go out, Manager Hyung.”
“Huh?”
First, I had to get permission to go out from my manager, Kim Hyun-soo.
Kim Hyun-soo was registered as Yeon Yu-jin’s guardian at the hospital, and I knew that my every move was being reported to the President and the director through him.
“I’ll be back soon. Anyway, I’m recovering quickly for someone who was in a major car accident, so I’m almost fine now, you know?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Was it because my original Ability, ‘Resurrection,’ and Potato had found me?
Yeon Yu-jin’s body was showing a miraculous rate of recovery. So much so that the doctor examining me was surprised.
‘My body is already as good as new.’
There was no problem with going out and being active.
“Why do you want to go out?”
He’s wary that I might cause an accident.
Kim Hyun-soo, who cut fruit for me and took care of my meals, was a pretty good person, but he knew how to separate work from personal matters and didn’t neglect his duties as a manager.
It was clear that he had received orders to prevent me from causing any trouble. He came to visit me every day to check on my condition.
‘It’s a relief that I’m a Failed Idol with no schedule.’
Thanks to that, I was able to take the time to go out. It was ironic.
“It was a big accident. I wanted to visit my deceased mother’s charnel house, even if it’s just for a moment, to show my face.”
“Ah…….”
Kim Hyun-soo, a sentimental ajusshi, reacted immediately to my words. He couldn’t hide the look of pity and sympathy on his face.
“I almost died, and… since I lost my memories, I miss my mom even more. I don’t remember her now… but I thought that if I went to the charnel house, I might remember something.”
Adding the touching words that I wanted to regain my memories, the Manager finally surrendered to me.
“Well… I can’t stop you.”
“Really? Then I can go out?”
“I’ll contact the President and the director first. You can go out when they give their permission.”
“Thank you!”
‘Easy.’
According to plan.
For the past few days, I had been eating, sleeping, and living quietly in the hospital room.
I also eavesdropped on Manager Hyung’s conversations as he went to the emergency staircase to report the situation through phone calls after bringing me food or snacks.
Because I had been quietly living like a dead mouse, Manager Hyung’s expression was bright, and the content of the calls didn’t seem bad.
Here I am, desperately requesting to see my deceased mother, would it be an easy request to refuse as a fellow Korean?
How many calls went back and forth?
“…The President has given his permission.”
Yes!
“Thank you!”
“He gave permission, but he said it would be best to focus on taking care of your body, so he said to come back within half a day. So you must return before sunset tonight.”
“Yes, of course.”
The conditions were so easy that I was confident I could keep them. The charnel house I used as an excuse was several hours away round trip, but the An Ga-hyeon-only vault I was going to was located not far from downtown.
‘When they said they were going to install the vault with the Special Ability User’s precious money in downtown Seoul instead of near the workplace, I protested like a mad dog……. They say you never know what will happen in life. That saying is true.’
At the time, it seemed like a trick the government was using to avoid giving money to Ability Users, but now I was just grateful.
Thanks to that, I could arrive at my desired location after only a few subway stops.
I wasn’t lonely because I had Potato in my crossbody bag. I didn’t go hungry thanks to the allowance Manager Hyung gave me.
“Let’s see……. Where is it? Ah! There it is!”