PAID

As soon as I woke up in the morning, I was greeted by an absurdly long message from Shin Se-hee—5,700 characters, to be exact. My jaw dropped in disbelief.

“…What the hell is this?”@@novelbin@@

I read the message once, then twice, and even a third time. No matter how many times I went over it, I couldn’t make sense of the situation.

How had things escalated to this point?

The message from Shin Se-hee painted a picture of a different version of myself—a tortured hero, crushed under the weight of expectations, wallowing in self-loathing and inner turmoil.

So… let me get this straight. Sophia managed to extract a few words I supposedly said during my Mua state, posted them on the fan café, and from there, this entire melodrama was created?

A dry laugh escaped my lips.

From a handful of fragmented words, the party members had concluded that my self-esteem was in tatters.

Baffled, I continued reading the lengthy message. It detailed how Sophia had taken steps to strengthen internal controls and how the situation was currently unfolding.

If you ever feel ready to share with the party members, you’re more than welcome to. However, in my personal opinion, it might be a bit early. I think you need more time to process everything, don’t you?

I nodded to myself.

She was right. Honestly, I wasn’t ready yet.

The night before, swept up in the atmosphere, I’d babbled on about all sorts of things to Shin Se-hee. At the time, I’d even thought it might be okay to share with the others. But back in my hotel room, as I mulled it over, doubts crept in.

How would my relationships with the party change after sharing? How would I navigate their reactions?

I wasn’t prepared for any of it.

Oh, by the way… if the party members seem a little odd today… please just go along with it as naturally as possible, okay?

“Jin Yu-ha’s almost here!”

“What!? Already!?”

“Hey! Kang Do-hee! Watch your strength!”

“I just meant to press it gently!”

“If you don’t put some heart into it, it won’t feel genuine!”

“Ugh, why did we call him up so soon!?”

“I thought we were ready!”