#36

Team Leader Seohee spoke in a cheerful tone as she finally brought forward the other hand she had still been hiding behind her back. In her hand, wrapped in transparent plastic, was an egg tart.

“Tada! I got a separate one just for you, sir.”

Winking playfully, Team Leader Seohee flashed a bright smile. In the end, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh accompanied by a small smile.

“Don’t eat it right away. Wait until you’ve digested a bit. Or better yet, take it home and share it with the kids. They’re still staying at your place, right?”

“Yes. They’re still staying at my house.”

“Isn’t it inconvenient for you?”

“The kids must be more uncomfortable than I am. I’m fine.”

As I accepted the egg tart and responded gently, Team Leader Seohee tilted her head slightly.

“Still, after living alone, suddenly sharing your space with others must come with a lot of adjustments.”

“No matter how much I have to adjust, it’s nothing compared to living with my boss.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

Team Leader Seohee nodded in agreement as if she had just realized some profound truth. I carefully set the egg tart she had given me down on my desk and continued.

“I’d like to move them to a dorm as soon as possible for their sake, but the situation isn’t favorable.”

Contrary to my optimistic expectations that the situation would resolve quickly, fans still gathered around the dorm, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tartarus. Even though quite some time had passed since the location was exposed, there were still persistent visitors, making me feel increasingly exasperated.

By now, one would think they’d give up after waiting so long without seeing Tartarus even once. But they never did. It was as if they felt a duty to keep coming.

“Wait, are they still showing up at the dorm?”

“Yes. Every day, a large number of people arrive at dawn and stay there until nearly midnight. Some even spend the night in front of it.”

“Oh my…… It’s still January, so it must be freezing. I don’t know whether to admire their dedication or call it foolish. It’s great that they love our kids, but it would be nice if they could do so while respecting boundaries and taking care of their own health.”

Team Leader Seohee spoke with a shocked expression while turning to Secretary Sung Yoojun, who nodded in confirmation. I wholeheartedly agreed and nodded along.

“But with so many people gathering, haven’t the residents reported it? If moving is completely out of the question, it can’t be just one or two people causing the problem.”

“Fortunately, there haven’t been any complaints or reports filed so far. The nearby residents don’t seem particularly bothered by it.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Listening to their conversation, I leaned my elbow on the desk and rested my chin in my hand.

This was the strangest part of the whole situation. With fans crowding the area daily, the local residents should have filed complaints or reports about the disturbance. Yet, no one had done so.

It must be inconvenient for them—so why hasn’t anyone reported it? I had even given orders to respond immediately in case any complaints were filed.

Could it be that this world, being inside a game, operates differently from reality? Maybe the people here are unnaturally tolerant? But then again, judging from what Secretary Sung Yoojun and Team Leader Seohee were saying, that didn’t seem to be the case. They also found it strange that no complaints had been made.

“This is definitely odd.”

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that no one has filed a complaint or report. If it were me, I would have done so immediately.”

“Same here. It’s not just for a day or two—if that many people were loitering in my neighborhood for days on end, I’d be completely fed up.”

I had casually thrown the remark out there to gauge their reactions, and their agreement came back without hesitation. Secretary Sung Yoojun also nodded, indicating that he shared the same sentiment. Confirming their responses, I lifted my chin from my palm and let out a small sigh.

Is this really happening because it’s a game? Could there be some kind of predetermined rule stating that fans must always be gathered outside Tartarus’s dorm and that the local residents would never complain about it? But if that were the case, why didn’t this happen at their previous dorm? That was the part that didn’t sit right with me.

“It’s a shame, though. If the residents had at least filed some complaints or reports, we could have used that as justification to try dispersing the fans from the dorm’s vicinity.”

I was deep in thought, absentmindedly stroking my chin with a serious expression when Seohee’s words made me flinch.

Dispersing them.

That phrase stuck clearly in my mind.

Like Team Leader Seohee had just mentioned, I, too, had thought that if complaints or reports were filed, I could use that as a reason to disperse the gathered fans. I had even given subtle instructions to the staff to attempt it if the opportunity arose.

……Could it be because of that? Because I tried to disperse the fans? No, more than that—because I tried to move Tartarus into the dorm?

Narrowing my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest.

Now that I thought about it, the day the dorm’s location was leaked was also the day Tartarus was supposed to move in. Back then, I hadn’t given it much thought, but now that it overlapped with this situation, it felt suspicious.

It was starting to seem as if something was actively preventing Tartarus from moving into their dorm. Of course, this could just be an overblown assumption, but still……

I started considering the plausibility of my own thoughts but then realized—what was the point of trying to apply logic to a world inside a game?

I had already encountered plenty of irrational things here. So, one more strange occurrence wasn’t out of the question. Reaching a simple conclusion, I nodded to myself.

However, just because I accepted the thought didn’t mean it was the truth. That was why I decided to approach this issue more cautiously.

“Sir? Sir?”

“……Yes?”

As my mind returned from its deep focus, I noticed Team Leader Seohee calling me with a puzzled voice. Lifting my head to see her standing in front of me, I followed her gaze as he gestured toward the office door with her index finger.

“What are you thinking about so hard? If you’re busy, should I come back later?”

At her cautious question, I shook my head.

“No, there’s no need for that. My apologies. I got lost in thought for a moment and was being rude.”

“No need to apologize. It’s fine. It wasn’t anything urgent anyway.”

At the mention of business, I looked at Team Leader Seohee with curiosity. I had assumed she had just come to bring me a snack, but apparently, she had something else to discuss.

“Business? What business? Oh, rather than talking like this, would you like to sit down?”

Since I had thought she’d leave right after handing me the egg tart, I hadn’t offered her a seat. Quickly rising from my chair, I gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa. For a moment, Team Leader Seohee looked hesitant, but soon, as if she had steeled herself, she moved forward with a determined expression.

……What’s going on? Why does she look so serious? Her demeanor was different from usual, and even though I didn’t know what this was about, I figured it must be something significant.

Feeling slightly tense despite myself, I sat down in the single-seater sofa opposite her. Team Leader Seohee, with a resolute face, finally opened her mouth.

“Sir.”

“Yes, Team Leader Seohee?”

“I need to say this very carefully…… very, very carefully……”

She hesitated, lowering her gaze slightly.

Seeing that, I swallowed dryly. What could he possibly be about to say that’s making her act so unlike himself? Feeling uneasy, I stared at Team Leader Seohee as she kept her eyes on the floor.

“……What do you think about preparing Tartarus’s next album?”

“……What?”

“Their next album?”

Considering how tense I had been while waiting, the question felt almost anticlimactic. My voice came out in confusion, and Team Leader Seohee, seemingly flustered, quickly continued.

“It’s been quite some time since their last release, and fans are starting to ask when the next album will drop. Sure, they’ve been doing individual activities, but as you know, that’s completely different from releasing a full album. I understand that you want to let them rest a little longer—I really do. But I believe this is the perfect time to start album preparations. Even if we begin now, it’ll take at least a few months. If we delay any further—”

“Wait, wait. Just a moment, Team Leader Seohee.”

I cut her off, stopping the flood of words spilling out of her mouth. At my interruption, Team Leader Seohee clamped her lips shut and watched me cautiously. Suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape, I carefully spoke.

“So, you came here to propose preparing Tartarus’s next album? There’s no other pressing issue?”

“Huh? Oh…… Yes. That’s all I wanted to discuss. Nothing else.”

Hearing her confirm it so easily, I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her expression had been so grave before bringing it up that I had genuinely thought something serious had happened. I was relieved that wasn’t the case.