'Did I change my name?'

My spine started to get cold and I didn't like that feeling.

In any case, I shouldn't look awkward.

I immediately picked up the microphone and spoke.

"...I have been Park Moondae since the moment I registered my birth."

"Ahahaha!"

The MC's reaction was good.

This was true.

'As soon as I entered this body, I took a copy of my resident registration, a condensed draft, and a family relationship certificate.'

I wasn't stupid, so this was a normal thing to do. I've looked for all the factors, that might become a problem. Park Moondae has always lived under this name, and there were no other peculiarities. His records were clean except for the fact that he dropped out of high school by his own choice.

'It said in the suicide not that I dropped out because of bullying.'

This means there should be no reason for it to be a problem with my debut.

However, that very specific question of confirming my real name... had a certain point that bothered me.

'I'll have to look it up on the Internet when I'm done.'

"Ah~ They must have asked that because Moondae-ssi's name is so unique!"

The MC immediately wrapped up the question as if he felt there was nothing more to pick.

I watched the other participants receiving questions and waited for the shoot to end.

* * *

I just found an in-depth social media post on the internet.

'So, this was the problem.'

I was a little disappointed.

Since the original account owner was a famous illustrator, it seemed that they quickly teamed up within a short period of time. Although only within the fan community.

It didn't matter if people laughed while making these jokes, but the situation itself raised some doubts.

'I didn't expect that none of the information about me has been leaked.'

Park Moon-dae's date of birth and name were written in his profile. To be honest, I thought my information from high school would be revealed during the filming of the show. I expected at least comments like 'I was in the same school as him, but he was a little weird. He was a loner who dropped out of school' to come out.

And these remarks wouldn't hurt me. On the contrary, since I was the loner at school, the fans would have been reassured that I was not bothering or bullying anyone.

'Is it because my appearance has changed a lot?'

This speculation would make the most sense. When I first entered his body, Park Moondae was skinny and his hair was unkept. Since another person (me) came in the body, the way of speaking, movement and atmosphere of the person would have changed.

Still, the information about Park Moondae will come out one day. I didn't even use an alias as a name.

'I wish it will come out after the program finishes.'

It would be difficult to check it from my smartphone before the live performance starts.

After the filming of the talk show, I went back to the dorms and returned my phone as usual.

'Let's just practice hard.'

Now there was only one week left until the final stage. There is no room for other thoughts.

...But even if I couldn't afford to think about other things, if a problem would to suddenly occur now, I would have no choice but to worry about it.

It was not long after that I felt this.

* * *

It happened in the evening two days later.

As I was half asleep and shoving dinner into my mouth, I got an urgent call from the production crew. From my experiences so far, I thought it was to film for interview cuts. However, the atmosphere in the staff room seemed more serious.

"Moondae-ssi"

The show writer, who cast me at the karaoke room, began to speak in a tone that barely sounded worried.

"Just now on the internet... an article came up."

"...Yes."

I had a bad feeling.

The writer tried to choose her words as it seemed like she didn't know how to say it. I felt a headache coming and reached out my hand.

"Is it okay if I just check the article myself?"

The show writer glanced up and down at me, and handed me the phone. I looked at the screen and a familiar interface appeared. It was the same community website where Big Sejin's school violence controversy arose. And at the top, I saw a title written in a large font.

"......"

What kind of bullshit is this.

A title I could not have imagined made me stunned. It's been a long time since I felt like my head was stuck. I checked the contents of the article with my brains frozen from shock.

Below that was a series of most voted comments from self-proclaimed graduates from Incheon Municipal High School, who claimed to be aware of the incident.

I got chills in my spines.

This was...there was no answer for this.

I'd rather it be hitting someone or stealing money, but stealing a girl's sanitary pad like you had nothing else to steal? Even if you saw this in real life, people would think he was just some pathetic punk, but this is something that happened to an idol audition participant.

"Are you done reading it?"

I read it, but I had nothing to say.

Is this jerk Park Moondae out of his mind?

'Did you write in your suicide note that it was unfair to be bullied, because you committed such an idiotic thing?'

Yeah, well he would have deserved it if he did steal it. But right now, is there any way to prove that this bastard didn't steal it?

"...Yes."

I managed to answer her.

The show writer didn't unnecessarily mention whether the accusations were real or not.

"It would be better for you to think about what to do now."

It means I have to take care of this myself, whether it was to fix the situation or to drop out of the show.

I swallowed and then answered.

"I will... think about it for a momen and...then tell you."

"Yes, please do it quickly."

I couldn't even speak properly.

I went back to the dorm with my mind all messed up. The practice time was still going on, so the dorm room was empty.

I sat down on the bed, since I would have probably destroyed everything on the table if I went to sit there.

And let's try to think about this as calmly as possible.... Fuck it, this sounds like such a pain.

I punched the bed.

There was a dull 'pwack, pwack' sound as I hit the bed, but it did nothing to solve this annoyance.

'This is how you want me to die?'

What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

It was nothing but evil to put me in this situation of waking up in a faulty body, pretending to give this body to me as a chance to level up, and asking me to debut withing a year.

I have a headache. I should have kept the damn 'Unwavering mind' ability.

"Now...what do I do?"

What came after anger was a deep sense of helplessness. There was nothing I could do. Truly. Since I didn't know anything.

If I had my phone, I could have searched...No, this was crazy. I'm not seeing public opinion right now, so this is the end of it.

No matter how much I said I didn't care what other people said, I couldn't guarantee that I'd be okay after seeing an unspecified number of people pouring out mainly criticism of me.

Besides...

'...Those people.'

What would the people who supported Park Moon-dae feel? They spent their money and time as much as they could, and would have never imagined to be stabbed in the back like this.

This is even more ridiculous because it wasn't me who did it but 'Park Moondae'. It's driving me crazy. This was the first time since I became an orphan, that I felt so overwhelmed by a situation.

"....."

Should I give up?

Right as the thought crossed my mind, someone carefully opened the door to the dorm room.

"Uh, uhm..."

"....."

I think I showed superhuman patience by not telling them to go away right now. I sat on the bed and kept my head bowed without replying. My brain was boiling.

"Hey, Park Moondae."

Then, the door swung open and Big Sejin walked in. I guess the rumour has already circulated. It wasn't strange that someone as quick-witted as him noticed it first.

"Was that thing real?"

I don't know.

I thought I didn't say it out loud, but it seems like I couldn't control my mouth because of the extreme stress. That jerk replied to me.

"What do you mean you don't know? Did you really drop out because of that?"

"I said I don't know."

I don't know why he is being so annoying. There's only the finals left anyway, so wouldn't it be an advantage to them if I got off the show?

"...You know you're not making any sense right now, right?"

I clenched my teeth.

"I don't remember."

"What?"

"Fuck. I woke up trying to kill myself and couldn't remember anything. Satisfied?"

Thud.

The loud sound of Seon Ahyun dropping a chocolate bar could be heard from next to Big Sejin.

I sighed. I unnecessarily told the truth.

At least I should be glad that I didn't say anything about traveling back to the past and waking up in a different body. If I even said that I can see a status window, I would be seen as either a mythomaniac or as someone psychotic.

No, what's the point of all that now? If I don't solve this problem then I won't be able to debut within a year.

"Re-re-really.....?"

"Yeah, really."

It's already hard for me to stay calm, but you're making me waste energy with these futile conversations.

"Now that you know...leave me alone. I'll figure it out myself."

"...You said you can't even remember, so how are you going to figure it out yourself?"

"Just get out."

"If you don't know anything about it anyway, it's better to have another person to discuss with. Since you don't even have an agency."

He was right.

"Honestly, it's kind of hard to believe, but I don't think you would lie about this. The rumour about stealing sanitary pads is even weirder anyways."

"Th-that's right!"

"I don't think that someone as calculative as you would do such a foolish thing."

"..!! N-no....I-I don't mean, uh, I-I mean....."

Sun Ahyun broke down.

Big Sejin ignored Seon Ahyun.

"Yeah. It would have been different if it was posted by the actual victim or the victim's acquaintance. But that's not the case."

My head cooled down a bit. I raised my head and looked at Big Sejin. He was sitting on the floor opposite to me. I don't understand why he's so meddlesome.

'Saying that I've helped him.'

Still, it was surprising that he's doing this with the finals right around the corner. He's not in a position to worry about such a thing now.

"First of all... let's say you don't remember this incident. Do you remember anything about what happened in high school?"

"I don't have any memories about high school. When I came to my senses, there was only a suicide note in front of me."

There was a moment of silence.

"... Did you mention anything in the suicide note?"

"There was no mentions about the incident itself. I only expressed how unfair I felt, but that could be about anything."

"This is about you, and you're still acting so cold."

Big Sejin smiled helplessly.

I wanted to laugh, but couldn't afford to.

"Uh, uhmm"

Seon Ahyun tried to stiffly interrupt.

"Th-then... F-finding the person involved and confirming it from them... W-would that be difficult?"

He's talking about the girl who dropped out.

"If we're filming like right now, there's no time or opportunity to find that out...Maybe I'll step down."

The more I talked about it, the clearer the situation became. It is said that the survival rate is likely to be higher, if you get off the bus, put out the fire, and thoroughly check the situation.

"....D-don't do it."

"What?"

"D-don't step down. L-let's wait a bit m-more."

//TN: I'm reading the story as I translate it and this chapter was so difficult ㅠㅠ I felt so bad for Moondae while translating...