No matter how many times I asked, the answer never changed.
“I’m telling you, I’ve never met anyone named Ban Noah.”
MC Seol Yurang even showed me his SNS with an annoyed expression, confirming that they weren’t following each other at all.
“What the…?”
It felt like I was possessed by a ghost.
“Why do you keep asking about this Ban Noah guy anyway?”
Seol Yurang, who had seemed like a close friend, acted like he’d completely forgotten Ban Noah ever existed.
The other staff members also looked at me strangely.
“What’s with you? Why are you looking for Ban Noah here?”
“We’ve never invited anyone by that name as a guest. The way your face went pale—seriously.”
Everyone on Run, Run, Run! except me had forgotten Ban Noah.
Like we were in some giant prank show.
This isn’t acting…
This had to be the result of a psychic ability—something like brainwashing.
When Je-ha told me about the Jin Yi-rang incident, I never imagined X could use abilities this well.
I’d assumed they could only target a single person at a time. That was my mistake.
X—Ban Noah—could already wield the stolen abilities with full control. As if they were his from the beginning.
There was no other way he could’ve erased all memory of himself from this many people at once unless he had complete mastery of a powerful mental-type ability.
“But it’s weird… I mean, this time we only invited the Secreti members as guests, but there is some trace that another person had been called too.”
“What, is that supposed to be a broadcasting station ghost story now?”
Some of the staff expressed brief confusion over the lingering traces Ban Noah had left, but quickly dismissed it as nothing important.
In the end, I was the only one left remembering Ban Noah. I looked like a damn fool.
That bastard. He left the memory only in me on purpose.
Seol Yurang, pretending to want to be on this variety show… it was all just groundwork to mess with me.
The entire setup was a stage prepared for one purpose only: to confirm whether “Ahn Ga-hyun” was still alive.
Nothing more, nothing less.
When the members of Secreti and I charged in, thrilled for a shot at higher popularity, what kind of satisfaction did that bastard feel, watching us step right into the trap?
Crunch.
I let my guard down too much.
Grinding my teeth in rage, I looked down to see Ra Ho-yeon slowly opening his eyes where his head had been resting on my lap.
“…Yeon Yu-jin?”
“Oh. You’re awake.”
He blinked silently like a dazed goldfish, then suddenly flushed bright red and jerked upright.
“W-what the hell? Why was I on your lap…?”
At his reaction, I blinked in confusion.
“What do you mean, ‘why’? Don’t you remember? Ban Noah strangled you and knocked you out.”
“Ban Noah? Ah… right. That bastard suddenly attacked me.”
I felt a bit relieved that Ra Ho-yeon remembered Ban Noah.
“Exactly! I’m glad at least you remember.”
“…Did something happen?”
“Ugh, don’t even get me started. That bastard Ban Noah used a mental-type ability or something. He wiped himself from the memories of everyone except you, me, and maybe the Secreti members.”
“He can do that?”
“He must be able to. Otherwise, why would I be sitting here feeling like the boy who cried wolf while everyone else treats me like I’m nuts? Even Seol Yurang, who acted like such a close friend, now has no clue who Ban Noah is.”
“No way…”
Ra Ho-yeon sat beside me, looking shaken and lost in thought.
I was so pissed at being played that I grabbed one of the provided drinks and started chugging.
Not long after, Shin Tae-beom, Cha Si-yoon, and Seo Yoon-chae, who had been eliminated earlier, came over.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“We heard you collapsed!”
“The PD said it was nothing serious, but…”
Their faces turned pale when they saw the red handprint on Ra Ho-yeon’s neck.
“Holy shit…”
Seo Yoon-chae looked like he was about to curse, then clamped a hand over his mouth when he remembered they were still on set.
He barely managed to keep his voice down as he muttered through gritted teeth, furious.
“This is nothing? He got strangled! Shouldn’t we be halting the shoot and rushing him to the hospital right now?”
Ra Ho-yeon calmed the angry, growling Seo Yoon-chae.
“It wasn’t enough to kill me. And somehow, whatever that bastard did, no one else can see this mark.”
“…Damn.”
“There’s nothing we can do. No one else on set even remembers Ban Noah. The only thing we can do is pretend nothing happened and keep shooting.”
“What a fucking joke…”
As Seo Yoon-chae fumed, Ra Ho-yeon turned to me.
“…What do you think?”
“About what?”
“This whole situation. That guy—X, or Ban Noah, whatever. He knows who you really are now. Don’t you think he’ll come after you harder from now on?”
“…You were supposed to be unconscious. You heard all that between me and Ban Noah?”
“It just kind of happened. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“I know.”
Sorry for dragging you into this.
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated, then stopped. The stylist had spent forever on my hair—I couldn’t mess it up.
“For now… looks like the shoot’s going to resume. Let’s just finish this, and then we’ll talk.”
“Got it.”
“Phew. I hoped this day wouldn’t come, but… I think we should bring Je-ha in too. We all need to discuss this together.”
The moment I said that, all the Secreti members turned to me with wide eyes like startled rabbits.
“…Are you serious?”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Wait, are you sick or something?”
“…Wait—this Hyun Je-ha guy isn’t going to do a Ban Noah and wipe our memories after we talk, is he?”
Ra Ho-yeon, Shin Tae-beom, Seo Yoon-chae, and Cha Si-yoon all reacted differently, but they were clearly suspicious.
I let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“We’ve already come this far… I didn’t plan it this way, but now that you know the truth, you’re basically on my and Je-ha’s side. And since you know, I doubt Ban Noah’s going to leave you alone either.”
At that, Ra Ho-yeon slowly rubbed the mark on his neck.
“You’re right, Ra Ho-yeon. Ban Noah knows who I really am now, and we don’t know how he’ll act next. To fight back, everyone involved needs to come together and make a plan.”
***
[Me: I need to talk to you about something important. Can you meet me at the park?]
[Je-ha: ㅇ0ㅇ?!]
[Je-ha: U-uh, okay.]
[Me: Thanks. Oh, and if possible, bring the Baekho Unit too.]
[Je-ha: ……?]
[Je-ha: Is this serious?]
[Me: I just got found out by the Secreti members.]
[Je-ha: What?!]
[Me: And I ran into X during the last schedule, too.]
[Je-ha: What the he—]
[Me: Let’s just talk in person. You’re right—it is serious.]
***
Late at night.
The moon was hidden by thick clouds, leaving the night so dark even moonlight couldn’t escape.
The Secreti members and I made our way to the park.
Of course, since Ban Noah had been skulking near our dorm, we chose a different, far-off location to meet.
Dressed to avoid attention, we moved quickly and arrived at the park.
And there, as always, was Je-ha, waiting for me.
Je-ha had probably brought a stealth artifact again. He stood out in the open, dressed casually and relaxed.
“Hey. You made it, Ga-hyun.”
His snow-white hair shimmered in the dark, and his bright blue eyes were filled with unmistakable affection as he looked at me. The Secreti members all froze in place.
Seo Yoon-chae muttered quietly,
“I thought he’d be some huge, thuggish cult leader type from the way you talked about him… but he’s a total heartthrob?”
Hey. Je-ha’s an S-rank, you know he can hear that.
I wanted to smack the back of his head and shut him up, but Je-ha suddenly pulled me into a hug before I could do anything.
“I’m so glad you’re safe…”
“Uh, uh, y-yeah.”
He checked me all over, gently touching my arms and face, as if confirming for himself I wasn’t hurt.
“You’re really okay? If that bastard left even a scratch on you…”
“I’m fine. Ho-yeon was the one who got a bit choked out.”
Ra Ho-yeon pulled down his collar to show his neck, but Je-ha didn’t spare him a single glance.
“Sorry, but… the only one who matters to me is you.”
“O-oh…”
Suddenly, Ban Noah’s voice rang in my head.
“Oh, come on. You still haven’t noticed? Even I can tell he’s in love with you. Poor Je-ha—he still hasn’t managed to confess properly, huh?”
Ohhhh noooo.
I mean, yeah, Je-ha had said he liked me, but I hadn’t really thought about it.
But now even that bastard knew Je-ha had a crush on me?
God, now it was super awkward.
