That night, Seo Jung-woo suddenly craved a late-night snack. He had plenty of food stocked at home and a lot of snacks to bring over there, but he wanted to eat udon sold outside.

Seeing him putting on his shoes, Seo Sora spoke as she lounged on the sofa.

“Ice cream on your way back.”

“I'm going out to eat udon.”

“Ice cream!”

“Doesn’t your company tell you to manage your weight?”

“Our president is generous, so we don’t have that kind of thing.”

“They probably did, but it didn’t work on you.”

“Ice cream!”

“Shut it.”

Seo Jung-woo had udon at the neighborhood food stall. After finishing the hot broth and heading back, he stopped by the convenience store to buy ice cream.

There, he ran into Nam Soo-jung again.

“Hey. You. Again.”

“Ah! Officer? Are you following me? I’m not a bad person, you know.”

“This is right near my house.”

“Oh, I see.”

Seo Jung-woo looked at her uniform. She was working a night shift at this convenience store.

“You work here too?”

“Just filling in for a few hours today. The owner usually does the night shift, but something urgent came up.”

“You were working earlier today too.”

She giggled.

“Hehe. So I made a bit of money today.”

“A minor working too much, isn’t it?”

Nam Soo-jung waved her gloved hand.

“If you’re going to nag, leave. Shoo!”

“Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to be a singer? When are you going to do that if you’re always working?”

“I never said it was a dream?”

“Huh?”

“I said I have to become a singer.”

“Same difference.”

“Guess so, right? I heard ES Entertainment will be holding an open audition. I hope it happens soon.”

Seo Jung-woo paused. Currently, ES Entertainment wasn’t in a position to hold open auditions.

He pulled three cone ice creams from the freezer and handed one to her.

“Eat while you work.”

“Wow. You bought one for me too?”

“I was going to buy two, but it said if you buy two, you get one free. Two plus one?”

“Hehe. Thank you for the treat.”

Nam Soo-jung quickly unwrapped the ice cream and started eating it in a hurry.

“By the way, did you eat before work?”

She pointed behind him with her finger.

“See that lunchbox over there? If it’s not sold by now, it’s going to be discarded later. It’s 100% going to waste.”

“Oh, really?”

The convenience store door opened, and high school student Jeong Hyun-su walked in.

“Huh? Soo-jung, you're working here today? Oh? Detective Seo? Why are you here?”

Jeong Hyun-su also lived in this neighborhood.

“My house is nearby. I had some udon and was coming back to get ice cream.”

“Whoa! If you live here, then your sister lives here too?”

“Of course. Even Yoon Nana lives around here. Ah, but you probably don’t know since you're a Lee Seon-hwa fan, right?”

Nam Soo-jung's eyes sparkled.

“Wow! There are celebrities in our neighborhood? Two of them?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to be a singer? How could you not know that?”

“I got cast while working at an opening event, so I don’t really know much about that scene.”

She was originally cast by Wind Planning. But that company wasn’t in a position to take on new rookie singers right now. Even their current artists were about to break contracts.

“And yet you tell me this industry isn’t easy?”

“Hehehe.”

Seo Jung-woo asked Jeong Hyun-su,

“Why are you here?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Oh, going to eat ramen?”

“No, a lunchbox.”

Jeong Hyun-su reached for the lunchboxes at the back. Seo Jung-woo grabbed his wrist.

“Huh? Why?”

“That lunchbox tastes bad. Eat ramen.”

“But I want this lunchbox….”

“Ramen.”

“Alright, alright.”

After pouring hot water into Jeong Hyun-su’s cup noodles, Seo Jung-woo left the convenience store. Nam Soo-jung waved cheerfully.

“Goodbye, police officer!”

Jeong Hyun-su also smiled brightly at Nam Soo-jung and asked,

“Soo-jung, what about me?”

“You get lost! Shoo!”

Outside the convenience store, Jeong Hyun-su placed his cup noodles on a table and sat down, looking a little glum.

“Why is Soo-jung only like that to me? She smiled and waved at Detective Seo.”

Seo Jung-woo unwrapped his cone ice cream and replied,

“Who likes someone who steals their food?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s stuff like that. But hey.”

Seo Jung-woo cautiously asked,

“Do you know anything about Soo-jung’s parents?”

“She said they passed away.”

“I see.”

“She only has a younger sibling, who’s really sick. She’s working this hard to pay for their treatment. I felt like I couldn’t just stand by while talking to you earlier, so I worked up the courage and asked.”

“Did the sibling get injured…?”

In that other world, there were many effective medicines for injuries.

“No. It’s some kind of rare disease, and the medication isn’t covered by insurance, so it’s really expensive.”

That world had excellent wound treatment, but this world had better medicine for diseases.

“About her becoming a singer—she’s planning to use the signing bonus to get her sibling new medicine. She said it costs around 20 million won.”

“Which hospital is the sibling getting treatment at?”

“I didn’t ask, but should I find out? Oh!”

Jeong Hyun-su suddenly raised his hand high.

“Am I your assistant now? You're Holmes and I’m Watson, right? Whoa!”

“Watson was a doctor. Are you good at studying?”

“No. Why are we even going there?”

Seo Jung-woo looked back at the convenience store.

“Must be tough. She’s so cheerful, though.”

“That’s why her nickname is Mugoongsu.”

“She’s good with a bow? Has an archer specialty or something?”

In that world, there were skills related to archery. If awakened, they allowed for more accurate shots.

If one awakened swordsmanship skills, both melee defense and offense improved, which helped in close combat. Having a swordsman in the team to check approaching enemies increased the hunters' survival rate.

But bows weren’t very useful. There were skills to improve accuracy or rapid-fire several arrows, but they didn’t mean much.

Regular people with automatic rifles were more effective than someone firing arrows using those skills.

People who awakened archer-related skills didn’t use bows—they used guns. Thanks to the accuracy or rapid-fire sub-skills, they shot better than the average person. So, archer skills were seen as inferior versions of firearm skills.

“Nah. It’s because she’s infinitely positive—‘Mu-han Geung-jeong Soo-jung,’ so Mugoongsu. It should really be Mugeung-su, but everyone just calls her Mugoongsu.”

“Infinite optimism?”

“No matter how bad the situation is, she's always positive.”

“Ah, that’s why you like her.”

“Yes. I mean… Ah, no, it’s not like that!”

“Then do you like her because she’s pretty?”

“W-We’re just friends!”

“You're unexpectedly fun to tease.”

Flustered, Jeong Hyun-su picked up the still-uncooked ramen with his chopsticks and ate it.

“Hot!”

“Let it cook more before eating.”

“Soo-jung, you know… The company that was supposed to debut her is about to go bankrupt, so she didn’t even get her signing bonus. But even so, she’s still super cheerful. She really is ‘infinite positivity.’”

Seo Jung-woo realized a problem.

“Hm? Wait. She was going to use the signing bonus for her younger sibling’s medical expenses? And they were giving her twenty million won as a signing bonus?”

Seo Jung-woo glanced at Nam Soo-jung inside the convenience store.

“To her? She doesn’t even have experience performing as a singer. If she got cast while working a part-time job at an opening event, then she probably doesn’t even have any trainee experience.”

Jeong Hyun-su blew on his ramen and ate it, grinning.

“She’s super pretty, though.”

“So you like her because she’s pretty after all?”

“N-No, that’s not it.”

“But you know what? In the entertainment industry, being pretty is just a passive skill. It’s a given. Everyone’s pretty. Unless you’re especially beautiful like Seon-hwa, no one stands out. She’s not quite at that level.”

Jeong Hyun-su objected.

“Soo-jung will be just as pretty as Lee Seon-hwa when she gets older. She’s still in high school, you know.”

“No, Seon-hwa was much prettier at that age.”

“She just doesn’t dress up, that’s all.”

“Even with a dirty face and greasy hair, she was still pretty.”

“You talk like you saw it yourself?”

“I did.”

“But when she was filming dramas or catching that stalker, she didn’t have a dirty face or greasy hair. There’s no drama or movie where Lee Seon-hwa looks like that either. I know because I’m a fan.”

“It wasn’t in a movie.”

When Seo Jung-woo rescued Lee Seon-hwa during the Yeouido defense battle, she was around the same age as Nam Soo-jung is now.

“Then where?”

Seo Jung-woo changed the subject.

“But something’s strange. Wind Planning gave her a twenty million won signing bonus? Just from casting her on the street? Isn’t that a scam?”

“Come on, no way. Wind Planning is a big company.”

“The CEO’s a murderer.”

“Ah, right. But I heard they’re about to go under anyway. Soo-jung said she’s looking into other companies too. She’s not going to sign with Wind, so it shouldn’t matter, right?”

Seo Jung-woo boasted.

“Then I’ve rescued a young girl from the clutches of a scammer.”

“Wow. That sounds so smug, but I can’t argue because it’s true.”

Jeong Hyun-su slurped up the last of his noodles and spoke.

“I really hope Soo-jung does well. I hope she gets back to studying too. Unlike me, she used to be really good at it.”

“She was good at studying too?”

All that remained of Seo Jung-woo’s ice cream was the tip. He ate the last bit and stood up.

“You leaving?”

“No, I just remembered something I forgot to tell her.”

He walked back into the convenience store.

Nam Soo-jung asked,

“Do you want anything else?”

“No. I mean you.”

“You're not going to tell me I can’t work here, right? You’re not that evil, right?”

“Go to ES Entertainment tomorrow at 7 p.m. Then someone will listen to your singing.”

“Huh?”

“I know the company president. I just talked to him, and he said he’s free tomorrow evening.”

Nam Soo-jung gasped in awe.

“Wow. You’re amazing! You know Oh Dong-Cheol!”

“Why is that a requirement for being amazing?”

“Are you going with me for the test too, mister?”

“I told you, I’m not becoming a singer. Just go there tomorrow, sing for President Oh, and if he says you don’t have a chance, then give up on becoming a singer and try something else. Like studying.”

Nam Soo-jung didn’t really take his advice seriously.

“Wow! Oh Dong-Cheol is going to listen to my singing in person? What an honor!”

“Don’t get too hurt if you get rejected.”

“I’m really good at singing, you know? Wind Planning said they’d debut me right away.”

“Ah, yeah. Sure, sure.”

“If I pass tomorrow, I’m going to tell President Oh to contact you right away! Let’s see if you still smirk like that!”

“Okay, okay. Just don’t overdo the part-time work.”

As soon as he stepped outside, Jeong Hyun-su asked,

“What did you say to Soo-jung?”

“Told her to go to ES Entertainment and get her skills evaluated.”

Jeong Hyun-su’s face lit up.

“Ah, you saved the president of that company recently, right? I saw the video too. So you’re putting in a good word for her?”

“If she’s not good, I told him to kick her out immediately.”

Jeong Hyun-su nodded without complaint.

“Yeah, I guess. Oh Dong-Cheol was a famous singer, so he’ll know right away if someone can’t sing and cut them instantly. But Soo-jung sings really well, so I think she’ll pass.”

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“Hey. Was President Oh really that famous a singer?”

He knew Oh Dong-Cheol used to be a singer, but hadn’t cared enough to find out how famous he was.

“Of course. Before he quit, he was really successful.”

One of the reasons he hadn’t cared was because, in the other world, he had no memory of hearing Oh Dong-Cheol’s songs.

‘Maybe he didn’t make it over there, or he did something else, or maybe…’

He didn’t want to look into why Oh Dong-Cheol didn’t succeed in the other world. If he died to a monster, the thought wouldn’t be comforting.

As Seo Jung-woo walked home, he called Oh Dong-Cheol.

“You said you’d be free tomorrow evening to listen to Soo-jung’s singing, right?”

– Of course. But I didn’t get her contact info…

“I happened to run into her in the neighborhood. How about 7 p.m.?”

– You’re personally sending her? Then of course I’m free. If Detective Seo is also providing her with songs from Dimension as a set, I’ll pass her even if she’s a bit lacking. Skills can be taught. Hahaha!

“President Oh, I heard you’re the type to immediately cut people who don’t have talent?”

– Normally, yes. But if a Dimension song comes as part of the package, that’s a different story. Why would I cut someone who can succeed?

“There’s no song package included. I want you to evaluate Soo-jung’s skills objectively.”