translation by mourningmoor
Was it a coincidence, or was it Yoo Noah's scheme?
After the N Live incident, Yoo Noah naturally joined our team.
On top of that, he even pulled some strings through Gyuhyung to get a staff access pass.
Ah, maybe it’s not pulling strings but rather magic.
Mental magic.
Anyway, Yoo Noah, who ended up marking us closely like a staff member, explained his actions to the fans through N Live.
He said he decided to follow his juniors' tour to return to his roots.
Fortunately, L.I.T.'s side permitted it, so he could stay right beside us and breathe the same air.
Not as an artist, but as a staff member, he wanted to gain various experiences.
From time to time, he would share his life as "Staff Yoo Noah" through SNS.
ARCHE fandom was in complete chaos.
They had feared that his sabbatical year might lead to retirement, but hearing Yoo Noah say that he was deeply inspired by watching his juniors perform made everyone sigh in relief.
Naturally, this reaction led ARCHE fandom to actively support L.I.T.
The New York concert tickets had sold out a while ago, and more people started seeking scalpers to get additional tickets.
The media's attention turned to us, and we found ourselves under many more watchful eyes.
That much attention made the concert feel more burdensome, but the pressure only drove us to finish it successfully.
Several broadcasting stations in New York praised our concert.
Korean aesthetics, a dreamlike story, flawless performances, and astonishing vocal skills.
They showered us with every extravagant compliment possible.
All in all, it was a highly satisfying performance.
To celebrate our success in New York, a party was held at the hotel where we were staying.
It was hosted by MK, a world-renowned hotel chain and one of our sponsors.
Agencies, production companies, sponsors—
Everyone involved in the North American tour gathered at the party.
However, instead of attending, we chose to connect with our fans through N Live. The general consensus was that hanging out with fans was much better than a loud party.
"Thank you to all the fans who came to see our performance today."
"The fan signs you made with placards were seriously amazing. Filament is truly the best."
While on N Live, we each took turns sharing our thoughts on the New York concert.
"Wow. Hanjoon hyung splashed water, and it hit me right in the face, you know? He just had to do it while I was singing, so all the water went straight up my nose. I even coughed because of it."
"It's okay. Filament sang well on your behalf."
We were surely exhausted, but no one looked the least bit tired.
That's how much fun it had been.
That was when it happened.
No one was supposed to come, yet the hotel room doorbell rang.
Our managers had keys, so they wouldn’t need to ring the doorbell.
Siu, who was sitting closest to the door, got up and trotted over.
Then, he opened the door.
"Ichan-ah. Did you order room service?"
"No."
We had all just eaten cup noodles for dinner. Room service?
As we stood up, a hotel staff member was already pushing a trolley into the room.
Since we were in the middle of a live stream, the other members couldn’t step away from the camera.
"We didn’t order room service, though?"
The hotel staff smiled and replied,
"The sponsor wanted to send up some food since you’re today's main stars but didn’t attend the party."
Then, they unfolded the trolley into a round table.
Champagne, cake, and all sorts of dishes filled the table.
The members didn’t seem to mind and even happily showed the food to the camera.
After setting up the celebratory meal, the hotel staff bowed and began to leave.
Or at least, they tried to.
"Aren’t you a little too old to be working at a hotel like this?"
Time had already stopped.
The entire world froze, except for me, the hotel staff, and Yoo Noah, who was likely still having a great time at the party.
If Yoo Noah had any sense, he’d be running here soon.
"May I ask for your name, Master?"
The elderly man in a crimson uniform slowly turned around.
His gray eyes glowed with a faint red hue.
It felt similar to a demon king’s aura, yet distinctly different.
"So you finally came to see me. I sent you the invitation quite some time ago."
Then, the old man curved his lips into a thin smile.
It was a confident smile, one that indicated immense power.
"I didn’t really need to see you now, but since you kept sending that invitation, I thought I’d drop by. Out of courtesy."
Courtesy, huh.
He just downgraded my invitation by calling it a mere courtesy.
"Well, it also seemed like the proper duty of a sunbae welcoming his hoobaenim."
"Hoobae?"
Ha, what a funny person?
A laugh escaped from me.
Then, the old man approached me with a meaningful smile.
“Don’t be hostile towards me. Great Mage.”
He came right up to me and carefully examined my hand.
“I am not your enemy. I’m your comrade.”
Then, he slowly scanned my face.
“And a senior from a distant past.”
His eyes were filled with emotions so complex that I couldn’t even read them all.
“I am also someone who desperately hopes you will regain your original power.”
“You… What are you?”
I had expected a villain drenched in greed, but instead, it was the complete opposite.
Eyes dyed in achromatic colors, tangled with all sorts of emotions. Within that distant depth, even a faint sorrow was interwoven.
“Well, what could I be?”
His voice was bitter as well.
“At the very least, perhaps someone very similar to you?”
It was at that moment.
The door suddenly burst open, and Yoo Noah entered.
“Jess?”
In an instant, the old man's gaze turned icy. Then, he looked at Yoo Noah with a peculiar expression.
“So, it was you. The one who saved my child.”
Does this old man also see the red glow in Yoo Noah’s eyes? His expression shifted by the second, as if he had discovered something bizarre.
Ignoring the old man completely, Yoo Noah approached me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Only after confirming my well-being did Yoo Noah finally turn his gaze toward the old man.
Then, he spoke as if he had just stumbled upon something extremely bothersome.
“What is this now?”
“Well. I wonder too?”
The old man finally burst into laughter.
It was an arrogant laugh, as if he had never met anyone who stood so confidently before him.
“You’re both amusing. Very much so.”
After laughing to his heart’s content, the old man pulled out an envelope from his inner pocket and handed it to me.
“The last concert venue is in Dallas, right?”
On the black envelope, the word ‘Invitation’ was stamped in gold letters.
“I have a house there. Come. I’m inviting you both.”
Gesturing towards the envelope, the old man continued to look at us with eyes full of curiosity.
“How fascinating. A Great Mage who rules over mana and a Demon King who loathes mana, together. The whole Parapara is going to be flipped upside down.”
“…What?”
“That’s it for today.”
Raising his hand to cut off my question, the old man shook his head.
“If you’re curious about my story, accept the invitation. Until then.”
And with that, he disappeared.
For a long time after the old man vanished, neither of us said anything.
Yoo Noah was the same.
Then finally, he muttered,
“He’s an Armanian. He’s not from this world.”
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
What was going on? My mind was in complete chaos.
The old man used <Trace of the Mind>. The old man knew the meaning of the markings on my fingers. The old man knew that I was the Great Mage of Armania. The old man knew about the Demon King’s existence.
“Who the hell is he? What is he? How does he know? No, how did he even come to this world?”
Before me, at that.
The Gate to the Otherworld had never once opened in history. I was the first to open it. Officially, at least.
“What the hell?”
Clutching my head with both hands, I felt overwhelmed by thoughts that refused to be sorted out.
“Jess.”
Yoo Noah grabbed my arm.
“Whatever he is, he’s dangerous.”
“I know.”
I knew. It wasn’t that he wasn’t dangerous, just that he was different from what I had initially thought. No—if he truly came from Armania, then he was far more dangerous than I had imagined.
“And right now, it’s time to move the clock again.”
Ah, right. We were in the middle of a live broadcast.
I had stopped time because I couldn’t just let him go after sensing his presence.
“How long do you plan to leave your teammates like that?”
The members were holding up their cameras, showing the food on the table to the fans. Their faces were brimming with happiness, sharing the joy of the concert’s success.
Just the thought that this happiness could be disrupted left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Jess, think about it slowly. We still have time.”
Yoo Noah reassured me as I spiraled into a panic from my tangled thoughts.
“And… I think I already have a rough answer.”
Yeah, I think I have a rough answer too.
And that’s exactly why it’s even more of a mess.
Because this doesn’t make any sense.
* * *
We finished all our schedules in New York and moved to Chicago.
A large apartment in downtown Chicago was given to us as our accommodation.
This was because our Chicago tour included filming our own content.
Gathered in the living room of the four-bedroom apartment, we immediately began filming.
“Do you like the house?”
Producer Jeon Soo-oh, who accompanied us on this tour for our own content, asked.
There were cameras attached all over the living room, kitchen, and every corner of the rooms—there was no way anyone would like it.
But the members nodded along, saying they really liked it, just as written in the script.
“You’ll be staying here while you're in Chicago, so just think of this as your accommodation and show yourselves as you normally would.”
Of course, there would be small events in between, like deciding who would do the dishes or who would sleep where through games.
“First, you need to decide on the dinner menu. And go grocery shopping.”
In the end, we all headed to the supermarket.
It was the largest supermarket in downtown Chicago.
The production team allowed us about an hour of free time here.
It was to buy ingredients for dinner as well as daily necessities like underwear, socks, and T-shirts.
Since it was rare for all of us to go grocery shopping together, the members looked excited.
It seemed like I was the only one who couldn’t smile properly.
“Try smiling a bit.”
Yoo Noah scolded me.
This guy—he’s even shamelessly made his way into our own content now.
Normally, I wouldn’t have allowed it, but at this point, the pressure of having to rely on the Demon King’s hand left me no choice.
So now, he was acting completely at ease, blending in with the members as if he had always been one of us.
“I thought about it carefully.”
The reason I was feeling uneasy was that I hadn’t fully regained my original power yet.
If I could just recover my strength, there would be nothing to fear.
“What I need is more recognition. More fans.”
“And?”
Yoo Noah, lifting a bottle of wine, placed it in the cart and looked at me.
“Let’s enter that.”
I pointed at a poster stuck to the wall.