Chapter 158
Chapter 158
That's Why I'm Going
***
The bombing at the broadcasting station ended as a failed attempt, but rumors couldn't be suppressed as easily.
Every year, there were always fans who couldn't contain the love and hatred blooming in their hearts and lashed out, but it had been nearly twenty years since someone so deranged had appeared that they didn't even hesitate to unleash actual firepower.
It was an incident that would be etched into the industry's history.
Thanks to Mechanic's swift initial response, the number of casualties remained at zero, but with hundreds of witnesses present, controlling the flow of information was impossible.
It was too closely tied to public safety to be dismissed as a mere incident, so officials came and went from the broadcasting station day after day.
The related communities were ablaze with discussions about Mystic. Some engaged in absurd arguments claiming the members themselves bore part of the responsibility, while others lectured at length about how laughably poor the broadcasting station's security had been.
The one thing they all had in common was that the discussion showed no sign of ending.
The article pinned to the front page refused to come down.
That was why Neria, the leader of Mystic, slammed her hand onto the table the moment they returned to their dorm.
Something that should have happened only in some deserted back alley had taken place in the middle of a bustling district—at a broadcasting station packed with people, no less.
"Again, again, again! Why does every performance have to end with me feeling like this?"
Ideally, they should have been able to finish the day seeing only the smiling faces of their fans.
No, every other group did exactly that and got along just fine. Yet whenever it came to Mystic, some malicious element always appeared as if possessed by an evil spirit.
Always targeting just one person.
Naturally, Neria's gaze turned toward Sakuya.
"Sakuya, I've been holding it in until now, but we need to settle this once and for all. What were you doing before you became part of Mystic?"
"What are you talking about? I was obviously a trainee..."
"You weren't going around meeting random guys through some random matching service or something?"
At the irrational interrogation, Sakuya frantically waved her hands.
"No. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Then what the hell is this situation supposed to be?!"
How hard Mystic had worked, what outfits they had worn, what the highlights of the choreography had been, whose part in the latest song had been bigger or smaller—
Those were the kinds of topics fans should have been casually discussing.
But what was happening now?
They were being consumed as drinking-table gossip throughout the entire colony.
Not as idols, but as illusions.
And yet the other members kept pretending not to see it, making the frustration impossible to bear.
"So I'm the only bitch here?"
Neria didn't want to carry the cross herself either.
But this was an obstacle they absolutely had to overcome.
If they refused to talk about it, stood by, and failed to uproot the problem, they could end up facing the unprecedented situation of being driven out of the industry.
"Is it normal to have to worry about your life every time you go on stage?! Hey, Eliza. Say something."
Eliza met Neria's wolf-like glare, but she was every bit as stubborn.
More importantly, Neria's argument had one fatal flaw.
"That's far too convenient of a fantasy. You also have to consider that Mystic has grown at an unprecedented speed."
"What?"
"You're shifting the blame onto Sakuya because you don't want people questioning your qualifications as the leader."
"Then how do you explain things being quiet whenever Sakuya isn't around? Can you explain that?"
Come to think of it, there had once been a time when Sakuya had fallen seriously ill and everyone except her had gone on stage.
It had been nothing more than an ordinary moment in their daily lives.
Yet it had stayed in their memories because it was one of the few performances that had ended peacefully.
Having run out of arguments, Eliza instead raised a sturdy shield.
"...Starlight will figure something out somehow. B&B is backing us."
After all, B&B had acquired every right to Mystic Hundred from Marstop.
It was also the trophy symbolizing their victory over another megacorp, so it went without saying how much they treasured Mystic.
They wouldn't simply stand by and watch them fall apart.
"They'll abandon us faster than anyone else if they decide the risk outweighs the return."
The signs were already appearing everywhere.
The public was the first example.
When news first broke that someone had attacked Mystic, people expressed concern and worry.
But as more and more similar rumors quietly spread, they merely tilted their heads before treating it as entertainment.
Now that they had grown accustomed to sensational news and their tolerance had increased?
They reacted with little more than indifference.
Worse still, more and more people dismissed everything as noise marketing or called them frauds.
Of course, Neria knew they weren't everyone.
But they were the only ones making their voices heard.
If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before those opinions became the mainstream.
And what frightened her most was the feeling that this wasn't where it would end.
It felt as though she had unknowingly wandered into a swamp.
The thought made it hard for Neria to breathe.
"Sakuya, can't you just leave Mystic?"
"What? We made it this far because of me, and now you're saying you're going to throw me away?"
As Sakuya shot to her feet, Neria stood as well, matching her movement.
"Just stay quiet for a while. If nothing else, you could promote as a Unit. Ah, actually, that'd make it even clearer. We'd find out exactly who the problem is."
"Don't do this. You're going to make me say unnecessary 'words.'"
As the emotions surrounding them intensified, the distance between the two gradually closed.
Once they were standing within arm's reach of each other, it was obvious how the situation would develop.
Eliza stepped directly between them.
"Coming through. Please move aside. Baby on board. Please be careful."
The moment Sakuya let out a snort of laughter, Neria clicked her tongue.
"...You're not a child."
As Neria stepped back, the atmosphere, which had seemed ready to burst into flames at any moment, finally settled down.
However, that didn't mean the sofa, which had become as uncomfortable as a bed of nails, had returned to normal. Wanting to break the awkward atmosphere, Eliza's eyes wandered around the room.
What caught her attention was a gift sitting in one corner.
"By the way, unnis. Who bought the cake?"
Thinking Dylan had shown some thoughtfulness for the first time in a while, Eliza picked it up without much concern, only to tilt her head in confusion a moment later.
When she opened the package, she found a letter tucked inside.
[I enjoyed today's performance.]
—A chilling message.
The members gathered around immediately realized it wasn't Dylan's doing.
How could it be? The note had been made entirely from crudely printed letters that looked as though they had been cut out of newspapers.
Considering how few printed publications were sold in the 24th century, it was almost certainly arranged that way on purpose.
No one said it aloud, but it was obvious who had sent it.
After a deathly silence in which not even breathing could be heard, Neria fainted.
***
Mystic's activities were suspended indefinitely.
The public announcement claimed they had decided to take time off to recharge, but hardly anyone believed it at face value.
Not only was it an inappropriate excuse for a rookie group that had just debuted, everyone knew the real reason was the bombing at the broadcasting station.
Even so, Starlight deserved endless praise for accepting the losses and making such a difficult decision.
On the other hand, docking the salary of a manager who had only just joined the company under the pretext of negligence deserved to be condemned a thousand times over—
"Wasn't this the path you chose, hyungssi? I got a nice, fat reward. Just as you'd expect from one of the Three Major Agencies."
"You earned it with what you did."
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Mechanic's armor seemed to shine even brighter today.
He had bragged about it so often that Ga-on had already assumed it possessed extraordinary performance.
But he had never imagined Mechanic would suppress an explosion with his own body.
It was a tactic that truly only Mechanic could pull off.
Mechanic slipped a pipe into his mouth before speaking.
"Anyway, we've got a serious problem."
"You mean because of the bomb vest that guy was wearing."
According to the Public Enforcement Corps' investigation, the bomb vest the man had worn had been homemade.
Everything, from top to bottom, had been made of plastic so it wouldn't be detected during inspections.
No ordinary company would sell something so insane, so the possible sources were extremely limited.
"The most likely place he got it was District 39, but he doesn't have the kind of unusual background that'd connect him to someone selling equipment like that."
Just as Mechanic said, the man had been an ordinary young adult.
One with rather poor academic credentials.
"Even if a Diver told him how to make it, he lacked the materials, the money, and the brains to build something like that himself."
"Hey, you slipped your personal opinion into that last part."
"Still, that's probably the right direction," Mechanic added with a shrug, as though saying idol fans were truly beyond saving.
"Just looking at how he used the detonator as a decoy makes it obvious someone advised him."
"It definitely isn't the kind of trick an ordinary person would come up with."
Of course, it was possible he had figured it out on his own.
But that possibility was immediately disproven by what happened next.
"There's someone behind all this who's targeting Mystic."
"The stalker."
Astonishingly, the stalker had the audacity to visit their newly relocated dorm and leave behind a cake.
Right after the bombing, no less.
Considering that fewer than five people knew the new address, there was no explanation other than that it had been deliberate.
Needless to say, Starlight was thrown into complete chaos.
Forced to leave their second dorm as well, Mystic was now staying inside the agency building.
"He's completely insane."
"I'd like to give him points for staying true to his desires, but it's a shame he's headed in the wrong direction. Otherwise, the 24th century might've gained a truly admirable man."
"That's not what I meant."
Then again, it would only be troublesome if Mechanic actually agreed.
What Ga-on wanted to discuss was Meta-humans.
Sakuya's ability was undoubtedly powerful, but it wasn't the type whose effects persisted.
Then why did people continue acting as though they were still under its influence?
A normal person should have returned to normal as though waking from a dream.
"Normal?"
Ga-on immediately activated his device and reviewed the man's medical history.
Sure enough, he had suffered from depression over the past several months.
The other attackers had been the same.
All of them appeared to have suffered from some form of mental illness, however minor.
'Did her ability stimulate their pathological tendencies?'
If so, then the stalker likely belonged to the same category.
He organized the clues he had gathered one by one.
Highly educated, or connected to the back alleys.
Someone with experience attending performances.
And—
'Someone with a mental illness.'
Ga-on sent everything he had gathered so far to Dobby.
The more search conditions there were, the narrower the investigation became, so the results should come quickly.
Once they identified the culprit, they could either leave it to the Public Enforcement Corps or deal with it themselves.
But that would only extinguish the fire right in front of them.
Unless they eliminated the root cause, people like the stalker would continue to multiply.
"Hm? Where are you going?"
"We've already exchanged all the information we needed, so it's time to part ways."
"You're leaving already? Fine, then tell me about that actress who got your contact information the other day. I'll give you the perfect reaction."
"I'm leaving precisely because I don't want to."
Turning his back without hesitation, Ga-on headed toward the agency.
Taking care of Sakuya's mental health was a higher priority than deepening his friendship with Mechanic.