I settled myself in the middle of the practice room under the breeze of the air conditioner.

I loosened up my stiff body by doing the three splits I’d learned since my TJ trainee days.

“Uaaaah......”

Normally I couldn’t make such a relieving sound because my juniors would tease me, but today I let it out and reveled in being alone in the practice room.

I stretched and wandered around the room.

I’d been bothered by the ceiling CCTV since earlier.

Should I cover it with something? I thought, imagining myself like a detective in a police movie using an A4 sheet to block the lens, then burst out laughing.

It’d look ridiculous to anyone.

And I’d heard from the juniors that the cameras were installed after that theft incident, and unless something special happened, nobody at the company even checks the footage.

Besides, I wasn’t planning anything weird, so it wouldn’t matter if someone saw me. They’d just think I was doing something strange in the practice room.

Honestly, I hadn’t planned to come here in the first place. I was going to go to the nearby school’s empty sports field since it was vacation, but a warning from the company people a while ago weighed on my mind.

They said we’d soon have sasaeng fans tailing us, so be careful.

Maybe my fate is inseparable from the practice room, I thought as I rose from my seat.

I finished by loosening my shoulders and began the real experiment.

Boxing techniques.

A simple coin trick.

A handstand.

A high-difficulty dance move.

I didn’t need to watch any videos again. After seeing something once, it was automatically stored in my body.

Even if I only thought unconsciously about something, my body moved on its own.

It felt like some strange sensory organ beyond sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste was being stimulated.

If I had to describe it, it was like a current running down my spine... it’s complicated to put into words.

Anyway, whenever I felt that stimulus, I’d understand in my body exactly how to perform the movement without anyone explaining it.

For example, the throw-down move I used when I flung the police officer at Eunpyeong Hospital or knocked over the company president at Lemon Entertainment was like that.

Grabbing the opponent’s arm, crouching down, shifting my center of gravity, and slamming them down—it was as if the sequence played out in perfectly divided film cuts.

An ability to mimic anything at once.

But it wasn’t without limits. The influence of hardware and software couldn’t be ignored.

For example, even if I knew how NBA players dunked or foreign contortionists bent their limbs in bizarre ways, I couldn’t replicate it exactly. I wasn’t a 190-centimeter, muscle-packed giant nor a super flexible rubberman.

If I tried a dunk in this state, I’d probably only reach near the rim and fall back down.

In the end, to perform moves above a certain difficulty, I’d need to meet the hardware conditions myself—like increasing muscle mass or flexibility to change my physical specs.

Of course, understanding how muscles move and applying that to other moves was a huge advantage. I could learn how senior singers used their voices, analyze how models walked, pick up actors’ facial expressions, and apply them to my work.

Still, there were constraints on that side too. It was a software problem.

If you compare it to a game, each person has a maximum development cap. It’s what people call talent.

For example, if my ceiling were 80 points and I couldn’t go above that, but our team’s dance machine had a 120 cap, there’d be a gap.

I was lead vocal, lead dancer, and leader—second best in vocals and dance within the team. I hadn’t tried acting or rap yet, but if I did, I’d probably be second there too.

The given ceiling was unavoidable, but the miraculous ability let me reach that endpoint faster than anyone. That was my conclusion.

Well, anyway, I already knew all this. Since gaining the ability, I’d been researching and learning its applications nonstop.

But I still didn’t understand the principle behind it. I could fully grasp other people’s expressions and dances, but I couldn’t figure out how it worked.

It was like holding a smartphone in my hand. You can search for any information, but you have no idea how the parts inside work. Everything was incomprehensible.

The biggest problems were two phenomena. One was the quasi-virtual-reality experience of reliving the past when I met Professor Choi Yong-jae that day or during the showcase sound accident. The other was when I mimicked the emperor penguin’s movement a few days ago.

Wait. I thought I was just copying the movement, so why did memories surface and I could imitate an animal’s motion?

I was so curious I emailed a renowned domestic neuro-professor, and a month later got a reply saying it was scientifically impossible. I wanted to go show it in person, but then my name would be in academic journals worldwide and I’d be locked up ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ at a secret CIA or NASA base. I’d rather not.

In the end, I had no choice but to browse the internet alone and puzzle it out. Penguins walk on two legs like humans, so okay. But what on earth did memory and movement have to do with each other? And how did memories gush out?

At first I thought it was caused by pressure, but it wasn’t. I experienced intense stress performing a last-minute spot with Teen Spirit at a recent event, but there were no flashbacks then.

If I understood the mechanism, I could exploit it. I wasn’t focused on this for any other reason. If I could vividly experience past memories—if the range of memories this ability applied to extended before the day I gained it... maybe, just maybe, I could see Mom and Dad’s faces. The only way to see their faces now is through their albums or searching “Sun Myung-ju couple” online. But what if I could truly experience them?

Smell Mom’s scent, hear Dad’s voice, feel their skin again. It had been on my mind for a long time.

I shook my head.

Stop moping, Sun Woo-joo. I realized people need to stay busy. If you idle, useless thoughts creep in.

As I laid a mat on the floor and assumed a yoga pose to ease my aching muscles, my phone buzzed briefly.

MovieVillain [Hyung]

MovieVillain [You took my card wallet, didn’t you??]

I tapped my fingers.

Me [Yeah]

MovieVillain [Ugh really]

MovieVillain [Don’t be so cold like Ri-hyuk-hyung, just “yeah”]

MovieVillain [Am I not cute enough for you]

Me [╯°□°]

MovieVillain [(trembling emoji)]

MovieVillain [Anyway, I loaded 100,000 won so I can’t lose it]

Me [Why’d you buy a kiddie card]

MovieVillain [Isn’t that for kids??]

Me [You loaded 100,000 won without knowing..?]

MovieVillain [OMGㅠㅠ I bought it because the design was exactly my taste...]

MovieVillain [Anyway please keep it as a collector’s item]

I replied I’d keep it and rose from my spot. I decided to stop thinking about that.

“I should get to work.”

There wasn’t just one or two things to do. The most important was working on new songs. I needed to prepare for the second album soon, so it’d be good to write tracks in advance. Maybe it wouldn’t become a title track like a firework again, but having songs was better than nothing.

As I fired up my work drive, my phone buzzed long this time. It was Seok-hwan hyung.

“Hello”

-Are you at the company now?

“Uh, I’m doing something...”

-I was going to tell you when you were with the kids, but there’s good news.

Seok-hwan hyung’s voice sounded clear over the receiver.

-Your school uniform ad shoot schedule is out.

A school uniform ad—that was the main project I wanted to share with fans as a Chuseok special for Dice Around the World. After the radio show, I heard they were negotiating with a uniform company, and on the day we became the top candidate, it was confirmed. To be exact, we met the advertiser and sealed the contract the day after the music show.

The mood was very friendly. Seok-hwan said the company had been poking around cunningly until then and acting timid.

“Uniform ad trends have changed, you know?”

Seok-hwan, who was driving, said to me in the passenger seat.

“Before you went to the military, only top stars did them.”

“That’s right. If a senior at TJ who was doing well shot a uniform ad, the company would print bromides and hand them out to trainees as motivation.”

“Nowadays, the trend has changed.”

My manager explained.

“There are four major companies dominating the industry, but the market size is limited. They have to slice up every pie, so they can’t get much by marketing with top stars like before.”

“So they’re using rookies, Director?”

“Precisely. They’re using rookies who seem likely to break out. Using a mega-famous idol doesn’t significantly boost sales, so they’d rather buy a low-cost lottery ticket and enjoy the publicity effect.”

Our faces brightened at that. It meant clothing industry people, who are sensitive to trends, valued our potential—and judged it worth securing early.

“What do we do? I’m not ready to blow up yet.”

The maknae’s joke sent us all into laughter. It was our first ad shoot schedule ever, and everyone looked fresh after sleeping over twelve hours. The dark circles had vanished and our faces looked vibrant. I felt the same. Although I stayed in the studio until midnight, I’d gotten enough rest afterward.

“What did everyone do yesterday?” I asked.

They answered:

“Jung-hyun and I had a family gathering. His parents suddenly said they were coming up to Seoul.”

“Oh, what did you eat?”

“Eight servings of premium sirloin.”

Jung-hyun replied proudly while Bi-ju shot me a quick glance. Her long lashes blinked rapidly, like a deer caught stealing crops. Why was she like that?

“We were going to invite you, hyung, but it was such a last-minute plan.”

“You didn’t have to worry about that.”

“I called you but...”

“I had my phone on silent because I was working last night.” I laughed and shook my hand. I thought I’d committed some grave sin, but she seemed sorry for not inviting me to what she considered my good deed.

As I waved it off, Ri-hyuk suddenly spoke up.

“I didn’t do much. I just read a book at the dorm.”

“What did you read?”

“The Courage to Be Disliked.”

He held up the book. The yellow cover read The Courage to Be Disliked. I admired the title.

“Isn’t the title enough of a dare already?”

“Shh, really. And don’t laugh.”

“I thought it was a book you wrote the moment I saw the title, hyung.”

“Shut up, Wang Ji-ho.”

“Uh oh? Are you going to hit me or not? If you tap me with that corner, the robot vacuum currently en route will boomerang back to its home base.”

Ri-hyuk’s eyes darted between the robot vacuum and Ji-ho’s head. The vacuum won. Ri-hyuk exhaled and returned his gaze to the book. Ji-ho poked his head between the front seats.

“Hyung, aren’t you going to ask me?”

“You rolled into my spot yesterday and spent an hour talking about what you did with the girls.”

“I had more to say... but I won’t.”

The playful maknae then looked at me with a mischievous smile.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“You look really happy today.”

“Of course. I got plenty of rest.”

“I don’t think that’s it. I know that look. It’s the grandfather expression you get whenever you talk about the military or old times. Is it because of the uniform shoot?”

I flinched.

“You’re right.”

Ri-hyuk closed his book and chimed in.

“I was like, why are you all like ‘What did everyone do~ our kids~’ today. You must be excited to wear the uniform again, you old man.”

“Hyung, you’re wearing a uniform after so long?”

“Woo-joo hyung, it’s been ages since you graduated high school.”

“No, it’s not like that.” I tried to explain, but it didn’t land. It was true—because I’d dropped out, I’d barely worn my uniform and still felt a bit sentimental. I was definitely excited, though it didn’t last long.

“Hmm?”

We were on our way to the agency to hear about the ad concept and schedule. Suddenly we passed a familiar neighborhood. Cheongdam-dong appeared and I saw buildings I knew well.

Wait, this is—

“Seok-hwan hyung.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“You didn’t tell me the agency name for our meeting today. Which company is handling this ad?”

“It’s run by a major entertainment company, but...” Seok-hwan scanned my face, then calmly said,

“It’s called TJ New Media.” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

At that moment, the building I’d seen so often emerged before us. The symbolic, artistic edifice of K-pop in the heart of Cheongdam-dong. It was the headquarters of TJ Entertainment, where I’d spent six years.