Chapter 355. Coming Soon! (3)
Kang Hajin’s expression subtly changed as he checked the message card.
Raising his scarred right eyebrow slightly and squinting one eye, Hajin remained silent for a long time, seemingly trying to interpret the message, before finally speaking.
<Hajin: So… I might not actually be ‘Kang Hajin’ in this place, where I’ve forgotten both my name and identity?>
<Siwoo: There’s no evidence that you’re Kang Hajin. Here, you’re just that guy who likes strawberry milk.>
<Hajin: …Pfft, this is seriously hilarious.>
<Siwoo: I told you, it’s funny, isn’t it?>
While laughing as if amused, both of them were clearly trying to assess the situation quickly. Their tense expressions were captured in real-time, and the comment section went wild.
– So it’s a missing person case? Their first love doesn’t remember their name or identity?
– Thought it was just some random web novel mashup about friendship, but it turns out it’s a group amnesia thriller about finding their identities?
– The mind games between these two masterminds are insanely sexy. Please, I’m begging for a slow-burn detective story in this series. Please, Studio Soti!
└ That’s it exactly.
└ Pleeeeeease.
└ Starting a petition for this now.
– So that’s why they always referred to the characters by nicknames in the captions? Except for spoken dialogue, everything was just nicknames.
└ Omg.
└ Omg omg omg.
└ Seriously though, lolololololol.
Amidst the countless speculations and astonishment, it seemed the two had realized that hiding information from each other would no longer be beneficial. Sharing what they knew would be the best course of action.
Since five minutes was shorter than expected, Hajin spoke first, slightly hurried.
<Hajin: Hyung, did you get any hints besides this? Did you try to request a conversation with the others?>
<Siwoo: Nothing else. But I traded the hint I won from the mini-game with some other winners. What about you?>
<Hajin: …I do have one more. Shall we trade?>
<Siwoo: Can you trust me?>
<Hajin: I’ll have to, won’t I?>
<The two decided to exchange the information they had.>
<Siwoo: (thinking)>
<Siwoo: Alright. We’re nearing the end anyway.>
Nodding, Jung Siwoo shared the hint he received from Doha while folding his arms.
<Siwoo: ‘The male lead’s lover is the female lead, but they might not be partners.’>
<Hajin: What the heck, this is a completely different hint?>
<Siwoo: From what I can tell, the mini-game winners receive hints related to the world’s setting, while the solo winners get personal information.>
<Siwoo: So, Doha’s guess is that each of us has a role, and there’s probably another hint that explains how our roles are tied to the capsule world. What was yours?>
Listening seriously to Jung Siwoo, Kang Hajin pulled out another hint card from his pocket without hesitation.
<‘Jung Siwoo’s role is related to ‘first love.’>
<Hajin: Because of this, I thought you were the male lead. But after hearing your hint, it seems like I’ll need to recalculate everything from the start. Ugh, this is giving me a headache.>
<Siwoo: But at least we got something. We now know it’s highly likely that someone playing the roles of ‘Kang Hajin’ and ‘Jung Siwoo’ are partners. If we assume we’re partners, what kind of capsule world do you think it would be?>
<Hajin: …Well, first love is kind of a universal trope across all genres. I think what’s important is how exactly ‘Jung Siwoo’ is involved. But if I had to choose, I’d lean toward a tragic scenario? It just feels bittersweet.>
The two continued analyzing the world by flipping over the mission cards and even drawing lines with pens to map out their theories. Kang Hajin’s remarkable skill in pinpointing key roles linked to the three capsule worlds and Jung Siwoo’s ability to balance the bigger picture while predicting today’s rules showcased their impressive reasoning skills.
<Hajin: But there’s one thing that bothers me.>
<Siwoo: What is it?>
<Hajin: If there are three capsules and only one person is eliminated, then one capsule…>
Zzzziiiiiii―!
– What’s that?
– Whoa, that startled me.
– What’s with the sudden noise?
Just as Hajin was about to say something more, static noise suddenly blared across the entire broadcast.
The screen split, showing the other pairs conversing in different rooms.
– Attention, everyone.
The familiar voice from the opening broadcast filled each room.
– Now, the final partner matching to recover your identities will begin.
– This partner matching will take place over three turns, with each turn lasting 20 minutes.
– During this time, you may search for clues about your identity and partner or board a capsule with the person you believe is your partner.
– However, the number of attempts to board a capsule and the times they open are limited, so choose wisely.
The production team, anticipating that audio alone wouldn’t be enough to convey the rules, provided a summary of the round’s rules on the small monitors in each room.
<Partner matching will be conducted over three turns, each lasting 20 minutes.>
<In those 20 minutes, you can search for hints or board a capsule.>
<Capsule boarding chances per turn: 1T – 3 times, 2T – 2 times, 3T – 1 time (final).>
<Capsule opening times will be announced via broadcast.>
<When boarding a capsule, you must state your exact name and role to receive the matching results.>
<Various items around the location can help or hinder your matching.>
<If either name or role is incorrect? – No reaction.>
<If the two are destined partners and board the correct capsule? – Green light.>
<If either the partner or capsule is incorrect? – Yellow light.>
<If both the partner and capsule are wrong? – Red light.>
<Find the correct partner and board the capsule within three turns to avoid punishment.>
<Fail to escape by the end, and a lonely trip to Jeju Island awaits you.>
The tense expressions of the members left in each room were shown in close-up.
The monitor then began a countdown.
<5>
<4>
<3>
<2>
<1>
<START!>
<Good luck :)>
Simultaneously, the doors to each room automatically opened.
The moment the doors swung open, without any hesitation, the members bolted outside, signaling the official start of part two.
* * *
From that point on, the content of the variety show unfolded even more rapidly. As usual, with so much happening, the pacing picked up as the unnecessary segments were swiftly cut, and the most significant scenes were densely packed in.
-Tae-hyun: What now? Can’t we just check by boarding a capsule? Let’s just do it. (Confused)
-Yu-geon: (Frustrated)
-Yu-geon: Stop messing around and come down, quickly.
-Tae-hyun: Why, what’s up…?
One of the funniest moments was Tae-hyun, who hadn’t received any hints, recklessly rummaging around like a world-breaking character.
Normally, Tae-hyun would have quickly grasped the situation and generated content. But now, completely clueless, he wandered around spouting nonsense, unintentionally causing chaos.
-Siwoo: Hajin, want to try boarding the capsule with me? Even if we’re wrong, it’s good to confirm it.
-Hajin: Deal. Let’s try the capsule by the hospital ceiling. If anything comes up, it’s a bonus.
Siwoo and Hajin, who seemed to have the most information, moved decisively. As soon as the gates opened, they ran to the capsule and checked their partner-matching results.
<Q. Please state the information of the passengers (Name / Role)>
<Hajin: Kang Hajin, first love of the male lead.>
<Siwoo: Jung Siwoo. My role is… male lead?>
<The result of your partner matching is…>
<(No result)>
Just as expected, their matching result was no reaction.
In a brief interview inserted afterward, the two confirmed their theory that Kang Hajin’s name wasn’t ‘Kang Hajin’ in this world.
Next up was Doha, who had collected the most hints from the mini-games among the members.
<Doha, listing out the hints he’s received>
<The male lead’s lover is the female lead, but they might not be partners.>
<When all the roles are gathered, you can complete a novel, but not everyone exists in the same novel.>
<Traces of your name and role may be closer than you think, hidden in your memories.>
Doha seemed to think it was crucial to interpret these cryptic hints first. He entered a room with a whiteboard and started making a large chart. He wrote the names of the three capsules across the top and the names of the members along the side, filling in the spaces with the roles typically found in dramas and web novels.
<Male Lead>
<Female Lead>
<Second Male Lead>
<Second Female Lead>
<Villain>
….
<Doha: (deep in thought)>
The scene of Doha meticulously writing down possibilities played out to the background music typically used in famous quiz variety shows. Then, the scene abruptly shifted to―.
– Huh
?
– What’s this?
– LOL what?
– The chicks, lololololol.
With a sudden shift in atmosphere, a cute BGM started playing, zooming in on another room.
Unlike the others, who were seriously racking their brains, a pair buried under adorable toys were highlighted.
<Eunchan: Oh! Hey, Haru, Haru! That piece earlier!>
<Haru: …This one?>
<Eunchan: Doesn’t it fit here?>
<Haru: Yeah, it does.>
…The youngest duo, who looked like they were solving puzzles more suited for kindergarten than a mystery, with their neatly dressed school uniforms resembling kindergarten outfits due to their enthusiasm.
With a close-up of Eunchan gleefully solving the puzzle, his interview followed.
<Q. Why did you start solving the puzzle instead of focusing on the final matching?>
<Eunchan: Well…>
Looking a bit embarrassed, Joo Eunchan thought for a moment before answering.
<Eunchan: When I went outside, the older guys were scarily rummaging through everything, and I didn’t really understand the rules. But since there was a puzzle in the room Haru and I entered, I figured solving it might reveal something.>
<Q. Really? (Suspicious)>
<Eunchan: …I only planned to solve a bit of it, but then I got really into it… and… yeah.>
<Eunchan: (avoiding the staff’s gaze)>
<↑↑Prioritized solving puzzles over partner matching↑↑>
– Oh, Eunchan, lololololololol.
– Aigoo, lololololololol.
– Our kitten got too absorbed in his puzzle…
– Didn’t Joo Eunchan spend six hours untangling like 30 necklace chains once?
└ Where’d that rumor come from?
└ Coordinator’s Insta Story.
– Haru could have gone out, but lololol.
└ Normally, Eunchan does what Haru finds fun, and Haru does what Eunchan enjoys. They have a mutual support system.
└ Haru’s not really competitive unless it involves physical stuff, lololol. He probably enjoyed peacefully solving the puzzle with Eunchan.
Though they were smaller within their group, compared to average high schoolers, the sight of the two large boys sprawled on the floor, working on a puzzle, was portrayed in an adorably cute way.
Through the window of their room, the camera occasionally caught glimpses of the older members, running around frantically and shouting as they searched for clues or aggressively sabotaged each other. It was a stark contrast between the two groups, separated only by a door.
<Tae-hyun: …?>
<Tae-hyun: Is this the hint room?>
With 10 minutes left in the first turn.
While wandering around the set, Tae-hyun came across an unfamiliar room and muttered to himself.
“…No, Tae-hyun, don’t go in, please…”
Watching himself on the meeting room TV, Tae-hyun grabbed his head in frustration. The other members, upon recognizing the room’s interior, fell into an awkward silence.
<Tae-hyun cautiously enters the mysterious room.>
<Tae-hyun: What is this place?>
“Ah, no…”
Sending a desperate telepathic message to his past self, Tae-hyun winced as his plea went unheard.
On the screen, Tae-hyun now stood in the center of the room, reading the notice that hung there.
<Tae-hyun: ‘Welcome to the Room of Reenactment’…?>
With Tae-hyun’s narration, the camera zoomed in on the notice.
<Welcome to the Room of Reenactment.>
<Here, you can receive hints about which world you’re from.>
“No, Tae-hyun, stop! Don’t read anymore!”
<The verification method is simple.>
<Pick a card from the pile…>
<Tae-hyun: …and reenact the scene written on the card in front of the camera, with maximum immersion (Important☆) and realism (Very important★).>
“Noooo! Let’s stop watching this, please…!”
“Why? It’s just getting good. Should we start recording this, Siwoo hyung?”
“I’m already filming. Doha, could you screenshot this?”
“Should I capture it with my tablet for higher resolution?”
“Are you two seriously brothers!??!”
…Thus began the infamous, self-inflicted dark history of *Kairos*!