Chapter 7

“Hello, I’m Lee Haewon!”

Standing on stage, Lee Haewon greeted everyone with a bright smile.

True to his nickname, “Happy Virus,” he radiated positive energy just by appearing.

“He’s such a cute kid.”

“Thank you for thinking I’m cute!”

The moment Lee Haewon laughed loudly, the previously stiff atmosphere quickly softened.

That carefree side of him was exactly why he gained so many fans in the original story.

Not only the audience, but even the masters and production staff adored him.

“I heard you brought a guitar.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then shall we hear you play a little?”

As soon as the words were spoken, a staff member brought a guitar onto the stage.

Lee Haewon naturally slung it over his shoulder and stood in front of the standing microphone.

“Wow, he seriously looks adorable.”

Reactions burst out from the trainee seats as Lee Haewon’s face appeared on screen.

There was a reason people called him “squirrel-type handsome” and fell into the fandom so quickly.

The strange thing about him was that the moment this cute-looking guy started singing, his entire atmosphere completely changed.

― ♩♪♫~

The song he started playing was My Beloved by Han Iyoung, originally released in the 1990s.

Even though it was an old song, it was considered a classic and was still frequently covered on music programs.

― My dear
Why won’t you say anything

The moment Lee Haewon’s soft, gender-neutral tone filled the room, the atmosphere changed instantly.

‘So that’s what his voice sounds like.’

Until now, I had only vaguely imagined it based on the novel’s descriptions.

Now I understood why people reacted so strongly.

A tone like that was rare.

‘It’s definitely not the kind of voice you hear often.’

― Even if I say I love you
With all my heart
If fate still won’t let us reach each other
Isn’t that too sad?

Just like the novel described, Lee Haewon’s guitar skills were excellent.

Even someone who knew nothing about guitar could immediately tell he was good.

― My dear
Can’t you look at me
Just once?

‘As expected, the protagonist is different.’

This performance was what made viewers recognize Lee Haewon’s talent.

Right after the first rank evaluation aired, one of the top comments said he felt more like a completed artist than a trainee.

“That’s all.”

After finishing his performance, Lee Haewon smiled brightly.

“Wow, you’re really good at guitar.”

As soon as the performance ended, Shin Suyeol immediately picked up his microphone like he had been waiting for this moment.

“Where did you learn guitar?”

“I taught myself at home.”

“What? You learned by yourself? This level?”

Shin Suyeol clicked his tongue in disbelief after hearing the answer.

“You’re a genius if you taught yourself to this level.”

“Thank you.”

Embarrassed by Shin Suyeol’s intense reaction, Lee Haewon smiled shyly.

“The guitar was great, but your singing was good too. Honestly, this song gets covered so often that it can feel predictable. But Lee Haewon’s tone is so unique that it felt like I was hearing the song for the first time.”

Just like in the novel, endless praise followed.

“Then shall we see your prepared stage?”

Since the short performance alone was already this impressive, expectations for the main stage became even higher.

In the original story, things went roughly like this:

Lee Haewon sang well during the main stage but showed clumsy dancing, leading the masters to say he still needed more effort.

Despite the slightly disappointing evaluation, Lee Haewon acknowledged his weaknesses honestly and showed a healthy mindset about improving in the future, earning people’s affection.

That was how it should have gone.

‘Why?’

Not long after the stage started, Lee Haewon suddenly stopped singing.

Confused murmurs spread through the trainee seats.

“Did he forget the lyrics?”

At the unexpected change from the original story, a red system window appeared before my eyes.

[The tragic fate originally assigned to villain Do Wonwoo is being transferred to protagonist Lee Haewon.]

‘…What?’

What did that even mean?

Even while confused, my mind quickly tried to understand the situation.

‘So because I changed fate, the misfortune got transferred to the protagonist instead?’

Lee Haewon stood frozen blankly, apparently having forgotten the lyrics completely.

“Please, do something. Keep dancing, improvise, anything.’

But as if time had stopped, Lee Haewon could not move at all.

The masters, who initially looked sympathetic, slowly began showing disappointment too.

‘At this rate, he’s going to fail.’

If things continued like this, the flower path from the original story would quickly turn into a road of thorns.

Honestly, if the protagonist ended up ruined like this, there was not much benefit in staying close to him anymore.

I could just watch this as someone else’s problem and move on.

But—

‘Open system window.’

I immediately activated the system.

“This is episode 5, the rank evaluation arc. The song the protagonist performs here is “Clear Weather Warning”….’

Because I had reread the original story countless times, I had already memorized the lyrics.

Someone might ask how I could possibly memorize an entire novel like that.

Well, maybe it sounded annoying, but for me, it really was not difficult.

‘I never imagined the studying ability from my past life would be used like this…’

I quickly activated the telepathy function.

[Choose a target for telepathy.]

‘Lee Haewon.’

[Choose between Transmission and Insight.]

‘Transmission.’

[Please enter the content you wish to transmit to Lee Haewon.]

Closing my eyes, I recited the full lyrics I had memorized in my head.

If the transmission succeeded, Lee Haewon would remember the forgotten lyrics and continue the stage.

[Transmitting…]

Of course, there was no guarantee.

The success rate was only 25%.

If this failed, then maybe this really was just fate the protagonist had to accept.

[Telepathy successful!]

Ah, it worked.

I had been worried it might fail, but somehow it succeeded despite the low probability.

The moment Lee Haewon received the lyrics, he regained his senses and continued the performance.

‘Good.’

At least the atmosphere had barely recovered now.

“…Thank you!”

After finishing the stage, Lee Haewon bowed deeply while holding the microphone with both hands.

But because of the mistake, the bright smile and cheerful energy he had earlier were completely gone.

“Hmm…”

A short silence fell over the masters’ seats.

“Did you forget the lyrics?”

The sharpness in Shin Suyeol’s voice was completely different from the praise he gave earlier for the guitar performance.

“Honestly, memorizing lyrics is the absolute basic requirement for a singer.”

As expected, criticism like this was unavoidable.

“You memorized them, but you got too nervous, right?”

“Yes… I-I think so.”

“I understand. If it’s your first time on a stage like this, your mind can suddenly go blank. But you recovered and continued well afterward.”

Normally, this would have been followed by praise for his song choice and advice about improving his skills further.

But—

“Still, this isn’t a stage where only one or two trainees are performing for the first time. I personally think mental control is also part of skill.”

The story was now moving in a completely different direction from the original novel.

“…I’m sorry.”

On the screen, Lee Haewon blinked with watery eyes.

He looked so upset that it seemed like he might burst into tears at any moment.

Anyone seeing that face would struggle to say anything harsh to him, no matter how strict they were.

“Let’s start discussing the ranks first.”

In the end, the masters’ criticism did not continue for long.

“He made a mistake, so technically his rank should be lower.”

“But his singing was really good.”

“And if he learns dance properly, I can definitely see potential.”

The relaxed confidence from earlier had completely disappeared from Lee Haewon’s face while he listened to the masters discussing him.

Now only desperation remained.

After a long discussion, the final result was announced.

“Trainee Lee Haewon. C rank.”

Even though he made a mistake, Lee Haewon still received the same rank as in the original story.

After hearing the result, Lee Haewon bowed deeply in relief.

Cold sweat covered his forehead, showing just how nervous he had been.

“You did well, Lee Haewon.”

He could not hear me, but I mouthed the words while looking at him.

Maybe understanding my meaning, Lee Haewon gave me a grateful look in return.

* * *

Looking back, competition had always been familiar to me.

I spent endless hours sitting in the same place studying and solving problems, constantly struggling to win.

And after all that bloody effort, the result was always one of two things.

Either stepping on others to climb upward—

Or ending up beneath someone else’s feet.

“I was sick yesterday and couldn’t come to school. Can I borrow your notes?’

There was once a kid who asked me that.

I do not even remember the name anymore.

That kid was also an outsider in class.

Unlike me, though, they did not choose to become isolated.

They had simply been pushed out by everyone else.

‘No.’

I refused.

Because once I lent my notes to one person, everyone else would come swarming over asking for them too.

I did not want to show kindness without reason.

From my experience, if kindness continued long enough, people started treating it like a right.

Most people I knew were like that.

Instead of being grateful for kindness, they only thought about how to take advantage of it more.

After seeing that ugly side of people over and over, I stopped wanting to help others.

Most importantly, I was in no position to help anyone else.

I could barely survive myself.

But somehow, before I realized it, I was helping Lee Haewon.

I did not fully understand why.

Maybe it was because of how he looked the first time I met him.

The way he innocently accepted kindness, believing it was sincere without realizing there was a purpose behind it.

Maybe that made me want to help him.

Or maybe I simply wanted to ease my own guilt.

“…Acting self-righteous really doesn’t suit me.”

Right then, Lee Haewon returned to his seat and gave me an awkward smile.

“I completely ruined it.”

“It’s fine. Just do better next time.”

Even while saying that, my feelings were complicated.

Thinking about how the misfortune originally meant for me had transferred to Lee Haewon made it hard to know how I should comfort him.

Honestly, when I first read the novel, there were times I found Lee Haewon annoying.

But now, I just felt sorry for him.

“What did this guy even do wrong? He ended up carrying someone else’s fate instead of his own.’

“Still, it’s okay!”

Lee Haewon smiled brightly from beside me.

“Like you said, I can just do better next time. I’ll keep working hard.”

Did he know?

That his fate had changed because of me?

Looking at Lee Haewon smiling harmlessly, I did not know what kind of expression I should make.

‘Still, one thing is certain….’

There were no longer fixed roles like protagonist and villain anymore.

This world no longer followed the original story.

Which meant predetermined fate could simply be changed by my own hands.

* * *

“Good work, everyone.”

After all the rank evaluations ended, filming officially wrapped up.

Then the trainees moved to the dorms.

“Alright everyone, please check the room assignment chart and head to your assigned rooms!”

The trainees crowded around the chart to check their room assignments.

‘Originally, Do Wonwoo was supposed to go to the F-rank dorms, but since I became C rank, the room assignments should have changed completely.’

In the original story, the people who shared a room with Lee Haewon were other major characters.

Han Leejae, Kwon Hakjin, and Na Jaehyun.

Those three were originally assigned to his room.

‘Honestly, now that fate has changed, even Lee Haewon isn’t guaranteed safety anymore. After all, Do Wonwoo’s tragic fate transferred to him.’

Logically, I knew there might not even be any advantage left in staying close to the protagonist.

But for some reason, part of me still hoped we would end up roommates.

“We’re in the same room!”

At that moment, Lee Haewon shouted excitedly.

“We really are.”

On the room assignment chart, Lee Haewon’s name and mine were listed under the same room number.

‘So Han Leejae got removed.’

Originally, Han Leejae was supposed to room with the protagonist instead of me.

But because fate had changed, he ended up elsewhere.

Right then, Han Leejae happened to meet my eyes before immediately turning around and walking away with his suitcase.

‘We really keep making eye contact.’

For some reason, ever since the rank evaluations began, our eyes have kept meeting repeatedly.

‘Don’t think too much about it.’

Thinking that, I headed toward the dorm room.