Chapter 141
‘What? All skill proficiencies will be reset?’
Stunned, I opened the skill window.
Language skills, breathing, finding the camera, and so on…
All the skills I had painstakingly acquired or mastered by sacrificing my charm were listed there.
So, if I slack off for a moment, does that mean I become a person who can’t even speak Korean?
Of course, it’s not that I wouldn’t try, but has Larry finally gone mad?
I almost habitually cursed Larry before remembering that he was absent and held back the sigh that was rising to my throat.
‘He definitely mentioned something about automation last time…’
So for now, there was no one to complain to about this mess.
I’ll have to ask Larry about it when he gets back.
Unfortunately, this ticking time bomb of a meeting was just beginning.
Earlier, Kang Ji-woo definitely said it.
Let’s each talk about one thing.
So, it means that this damned penalty wouldn’t end with just one, but five in total, one from each of us.
‘If any ridiculous rule comes up, I have to block it no matter what.’
At that moment, Gyun Seong-ha raised his hand.
I watched Gyun Seong-ha’s mouth nervously.
What would he say?
Practice at the company on weekends or holidays, even if we agree with Seo Moon-gyeol’s opinion? Not sleep in the car while traveling for schedules?
However, Gyun Seong-ha said something completely unexpected.
“I hope we don’t divide by age among ourselves or force people to do something just because they’re older or younger.”
Given the topic, and being younger in the group hierarchy, Gyun Seong-ha looked a bit awkward as he spoke, glancing downwards.
“Not that I’m saying we should ignore age and act like friends or that the older ones would use age as an excuse to boss others around…”
His voice trailed off.
To calm him, Seo Moon-gyeol responded calmly.
“Yeah, I understand what you mean.”
“Not making demands based on age. This is important.”
“Yes. Seong-ha brought up an important point.”
Ban Yo-han and Kang Ji-woo, who didn’t seem too interested in age-based authority, readily agreed.
[A new rule has been added to the group ‘ORCA’.]
[Rule 2: Do not make unreasonable demands based on age (Target: ORCA)]
[Violating this rule will reset your wisdom stat.]
Fortunately, this was a rule I didn’t have to worry about breaking.
Still, what’s with the administration bureau and their obsession with resetting things?
Next up was Ban Yo-han, who briefly excused himself to get his personal tablet from the bedroom.
He adjusted the tablet so we could all see it, then turned it on and opened a document file.
“Read this.”
With a reluctant expression, Kang Ji-woo mumbled, looking at Ban Yo-han.
“Is that…?”
“It’s a milder version than what I gave you, so don’t worry.”
What Ban Yo-han showed us was a summary of that infamous ‘No Dating’ report.
Previously, it was 20 pages long, but somehow it had been summarized to about 5 pages, so it didn’t take long to read.
It was a document written objectively from the perspective of Ban Yo-han, who was neither an idol nor a fan back then.
Even after reading just a part of it, I could understand why Ban Yo-han was so sensitive about how he treated fans.
If this was the mild version, what on earth did Kang Ji-woo see?
When we all seemed to have finished reading, Ban Yo-han spoke flatly.
“Dating isn’t necessarily a sin. However, the overall environment of this industry that dehumanizes people, making them endless commodities under capital, is something that must be corrected someday.”
This guy sounded like he’d publish a report on the dark realities of idol life in about 20 years.
“Separately, you now clearly and specifically understand how fatal dating can be to an idol’s career, right? If you still don’t get it, I can show you the full version I gave to him.”
“No, that’s enough…”
“If you still want to date, then maybe it’s a matter of intelligence?”
This… guy, who once got dumped after a week for being inhumane after confessing to a stranger he just met.
He should’ve been born as an AI to be the enemy of humanity but was mistakenly born human…
Without Kang Ji-woo, he’d have zero friends in life!
“I want to go as far as I can, so let’s refrain from dating for now.”
Though I agreed to some extent and wasn’t thinking about dating anyway, why did hearing it from him make me so angry?
[A new rule has been added to the group ‘ORCA’.]
[Rule 3: No dating (Target: ORCA)]
[Violating this rule will reset your intelligence stat.]
Fine, whatever.
As long as I don’t date, it’s fine!
Then, it was Kang Ji-woo’s turn to speak.
“I think there’s hardly any place where you need to be more careful with people than in the entertainment industry. While there are good people like you, there are also many who could have a negative impact on us.”
“……”
“I’m not saying you should just avoid people indiscriminately. But if you think someone might harm you, avoid them. Associating with such people will inevitably bring harm or corrupt you.”
Today, Kang Ji-woo seemed unusually cold.
“So, let’s be careful with people.”
[A new rule has been added to the group ‘ORCA’.]
[Rule 4: Be careful with people (Target: ORCA)]
[Violating this rule will add a notoriety stat five times the fame stat.]
How can you not break this?
They say you can understand ten feet of water but not one foot of human mind. How can you tell if someone is good or not?
These administrators who don’t understand human minds…
It’s more reasonable to interpret this short rule ‘Be careful with people’ more flexibly than it appears.
If not, we would barge in and fight.
Now, I was the only one left.
I glanced at the four rules floating in the corner of my vision and declared boldly.
“Everyone, let’s take good care of the looks our parents worked so hard to give us. That’s all.”
Damn it, whatever!
[A new rule has been added to the group ‘ORCA’.]
[Rule 5: Take care of your appearance (Target: ORCA)]
Let it all be ruined!
[Violating this rule will reset your charm stat.]
“……”
We’re really doomed.
‘Ha, but this face is so resilient that even years of being a game addict wouldn’t tarnish it; in fact, it would pioneer a new kind of beauty….’
I thought, trying to stay calm.
‘…It should be fine, right?’
This must be the equivalent of strangling myself with my own hands.
Anyway, with the serious joke that anyone who breaks the rules will have to split a quarter of their earnings with the other members, the meeting ended for the day.
* * *
The next day.
Even though it was the first day of our happy vacation, everyone gathered for breakfast looked pale as if they had bad dreams overnight.
“I had a bad dream.”
Did you really?
Upon hearing more details, it seemed like they had vividly experienced what would happen if they broke the rules set yesterday.
‘Could it be that the penalties also apply to them?’
Strangely, the other members also seemed to have had similar dreams.
Thanks to that, the members seemed to have firmly resolved never to break the rules.
‘The dream must have felt quite realistic.’
Around lunchtime, Kang Ji-woo, Gyun Seong-ha, and Seo Moon-gyeol left the dormitory to head to their respective homes.
“Enjoy your vacation, see you later.”
But Ban Yo-han didn’t seem to have any plans to leave.
“Why aren’t you going?”
“Kang Ji-woo punished me for my mistake, so I’m to look after you during the vacation.”
If I were to guess, it seemed like Kang Ji-woo was worried I’d spend the vacation alone since everyone else was going home to see their families, while I, being a foreigner, would be left alone.
“I’m not staying at the dorm.”
“Going back to the States?”
With a puzzled look, Ban Yo-han asked.
“No. Going to my original place in Korea.”
I planned to spend this vacation at the studio apartment where I lived before moving into the dorm.
“Then I’ll stay there too.”
“Who said you could?”
“I did.”
Ban Yo-han, claiming it was Kang Ji-woo’s orders, stubbornly followed me to the studio apartment, which was conveniently nearby.
To be honest, at first, I wasn’t thrilled about his presence.
But upon facing the studio apartment, which had collected dust in every corner after being vacant for so long, I changed my mind.
Cleaning would be faster with two people than doing it alone.
And Ban Yo-han really did take care of me.
“I’m thirsty…”
“Here’s some water.”
Surprisingly…
“Hyung, can you draw the living room curtains a bit?”
“How’s this?”
Very…
“Hyung! Our dinner…”
“Stir-fried octopus, sashimi, pork hocks.”
“Uh… pork hocks.”
“I’ll order the spiciest one.”
Convenient!
Having someone at home who complied with even the smallest requests without complaint greatly improved my quality of life.
I fondly remembered the housekeeper who used to be my speed dial #1. She mentioned her back hurt last time; I hope she’s doing well.
Anyway, the fact that I didn’t have to move a step from the computer was so appealing that later on, I started asking Ban Yo-han for even trivial things.
Each time, he would glare at me but still stop what he was doing and fulfill my requests.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I feel guilty.”
“……”
“I was wrong.”
“……Stop it; it’s creepy!”
Leaving behind the guy who smiled blandly as if he was genuinely sorry, I refocused on the monitor displaying the music composition program.
Despite Larry praising me as a genius, I hadn’t been able to complete a single satisfactory song so far.
I couldn’t grasp what kind of song I really wanted to write.
While I could create parts, I couldn’t muster the motivation to finish a full song.
However, I seemed to have found a clue during the last music festival performance.
Though it was just an indescribable momentary feeling…
‘I’m really going to create something during this vacation.’