#5

“Ah……”

Huh? What’s this? I looked at Nam Yisol with a puzzled expression. The atmosphere had become strangely tense at the mention of packing their belongings.

“Is it because you have too much to pack? If that’s the case, don’t worry. I can call someone to help. Just let me know roughly how much you need to take……”

“There’s nothing.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s nothing to take from here.”

The one who spoke so firmly, leaving no room for reconsideration, was Tartarus’ leader, Jung Hosu. With an icy demeanor that rivaled Secretary Sung Yoojun’s, he gave off an aura like an inanimate sculpture—stunning and awe-inspiring to look at, yet seemingly devoid of any soul.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I slowly blinked and shook off the notion. That was too much of a leap to make about someone I had only just met and barely spoken to.

“I see. Understood. Then, we’ll skip the company belongings…… Are you all currently living in the same dorm?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, could you give me a rough estimate of how much you need to take from the dorm? It doesn’t have to be exact. I need an idea so I can arrange the necessary personnel and vehicles for the move.”

Since all five of them were living together, they must have quite a lot of things to bring. Moving all of it to a new place would be…… Wait. Did I even have a place for them to move into?

I had brought up the idea of moving because I wanted to get them away from that crazy president as soon as possible. But having just entered this game, I had no idea what kind of assets I had. Should I casually ask Secretary Sung Yoojun later? But what if there isn’t a dorm yet? Would I need to arrange for them to stay in a hotel until I could secure one?

Leaving them with President Lee Yongjun was out of the question, no matter what. As I quickly ran through various options in my mind, I tried to figure out the best solution.

A hotel might be the safest bet. It would take care of their meals and provide a certain level of security. Any belongings they didn’t immediately need could be stored separately. But did I even have enough money for all of that?

I rubbed my chin, thinking about the clothes and shoes I was wearing, as well as the debt mentioned in the contract I had seen earlier. Even with my lack of knowledge about fashion, it was obvious that my clothes and shoes were expensive. And President Lee Yongjun’s debt? The amount was so massive that it made my head spin.

Someone who could afford to lend that kind of money and wear such high-end clothes probably wasn’t broke…… right?

Based on those clues, I cautiously assumed that my financial situation wasn’t too bad. But since I hadn’t seen any solid proof, I couldn’t be certain.

‘It would be nice if I could check my bank account or at least see a document listing my assets……’

Just as that thought crossed my mind, an odd sensation washed over me.

Suddenly, a semi-transparent window appeared before my eyes—something I had never seen before.

[Would you like to check Player Goo Won’s information?]

[Yes / No]

As soon as the unrealistic situation unfolded, I shivered and turned to look at the Tartarus members. I wanted to check if they could also see this strange phenomenon. However, as if time had stopped, they remained completely still, not moving an inch.

“Euiseo-ssi? Yisol-ssi?”

I called out to them in a bewildered voice, but no response came. They just stood there, frozen in place. What the hell? Did time actually stop? That’s impossible…… No, wait. The fact that I ended up inside a game in the first place is already impossible. If that could happen, then maybe other strange things could happen too.

Quickly accepting the bizarre phenomenon, I turned my attention back to the translucent window floating in the air. Then, cautiously, I reached out and clicked ‘Yes’.

As soon as I did, the floating window disappeared, immediately replaced by a new one.

[Player Goo Won’s Information]

[Player Goo Won’s Asset Information]

[Player Goo Won’s Idol Development Information]

[Player Goo Won’s Applied Package Information]

My eyes widened at the words ‘Asset Information’. This was definitely useful. Without hesitation, I selected the asset information option.

[Player Goo Won’s Asset Information]

─ Premium-Class Company: Goo Won Entertainment {Owner: Goo Won}

─ Premium-Class Residence: Name Undecided {Owner: Goo Won}

─ Premium-Class Villa: Name Undecided {Owner: Goo Won}

─ Premium-Class Bank Account: Balance (Beep—) Billion {Monthly (Beep—) Billion Sustained Income}

─ Exclusive Secretary from Veteran Package: Sung Yoojun {Status: Bound / Owner: Goo Won}

─ Exclusive Manager from Veteran Package: Ahn Siwon {Status: Bound / Owner: Goo Won}

※ Once bound, items cannot be unbound.

……What the hell is all this?

As soon as I clicked on asset information, a flood of text appeared, making my eyes widen in shock. How many times does the word ‘premium’ even show up? And why is there so much money in my account? Do games normally give this much to new players? Is this how idol management games usually work?

My head spun with endless questions. As someone who had barely played any games—aside from the ones pre-installed on a computer or the ones I had occasionally glanced at while my younger sister played—this situation was completely incomprehensible.

“No, no, no, no. First, calm down. Having a lot of assets in a management game is a good thing. Yeah. The more, the better. This is definitely not a bad thing.”

Muttering to myself, I forcefully tore my gaze away from the word premium and the absurd number of zeros in my account balance. Instead, I focused on two names that had been nagging at me.

Secretary Sung Yoojun. Manager Ahn Siwon.

They were clearly people, so why were they listed in my asset information? And why were they labeled as bound? Bound means they can’t be traded, right? Like, permanently mine within the game?

I stared at their names with a conflicted expression before shifting my gaze to the disclaimer at the bottom.

[※ Once bound, items cannot be unbound.]

Reading that, a bad feeling crept over me.

……Surely this game isn’t treating Sung Yooojun and Ahn Siwon as items, right?

They were the only two in my asset list marked as bound, so I couldn’t help but suspect it.

There’s no way. I mean, you can’t just classify people as items, right?

Even as I tried to dismiss the thought, I could already feel myself leaning toward ‘This game is definitely treating them like items’. My temple throbbed painfully as I pressed my fingers against it, sighing in frustration.

What kind of messed-up game is this? Who the hell designs a system that treats people like possessions? And don’t even get me started on what it did to the Tartarus members. This whole thing rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I first heard about it.

Annoyed, I closed the asset information window. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I clicked on Idol Development Information.

[Player Goo Won’s Idol Development Information]

Tartarus – Contracted

─ Jung Hosu: Misery Level – 95.74% {Today’s Change: 0%}

─ Nam Yisol: Misery Level – 98.66% {Today’s Change: 0%}

─ Yoo Euiseo: Misery Level – 90.23% {Today’s Change: -3.1%}

─ Lee Gaon: Misery Level – 99.77% {Today’s Change: 0%}

─ Lee Daon: Misery Level – 95.71% {Today’s Change: 0%}

[※ Feel free to make the idol group Tartarus as miserable as you want!]

……What the actual hell? I barely got past one shock, and now an even bigger one comes crashing down? Misery Level? MISERY LEVEL?! And what? ‘Feel free to make them as miserable as you want?’. This insane game is really testing me. Just how the hell does it see people? And why are their misery levels so ridiculously high?! What the hell happened to them for it to be this bad?!

I couldn’t bear to keep looking at the semi-transparent window in front of me. Instead, I buried my face in my hands. With my eyes shut tight, all I could see was pitch darkness.

……Is this really my future?

“Haah……”

A sigh slipped past my lips before I could stop it. What was the game developer even thinking when they made something like this? I slowly lifted my head and glared at the floating window still hovering before me.

No matter how I tried to ignore it, this just felt wrong. Ordering me to act in a way that makes someone miserable? Even when they were just game characters, the idea had already rubbed me the wrong way. But now that they were living, breathing people right in front of me? It felt even worse.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit me, and I pressed my fingers against the bridge of my nose, kneading it slowly. The slight pressure helped clear my head a little.

……Fine. I don’t care what this game wants me to do. I’m not playing along.

With that resolution set in my mind, I reached out and dismissed the Idol Development Information window.

I had no intention of looking at proof of how miserable they were any longer.