What? The… thing?
I don't mean to brag but there were many interesting things about World Most Hated Awakener… of course when you had 20 rewrites, things that were meant to be important to the lore/world became different.
I really for the life of me could not remember what this thing is…. The thing that JeiMi wanted, and so did this guard. I really had no idea what anybody was talking about or how I even managed to steal it from JeiMi in the first place.
Not that, that was the pressing issue…. I really needed to understand what that thing was along with the thing that was talking in my head!
"Ah… no, he is very vigilant," I quietly spoke, deciding to play along until I figured out what this thing was!
I didn't need to see anything more than his eyes to understand he was very displeased by my response. I really wanted to shrink away from his sight.
"Number 19, you disappoint Mr. J," The guard said with an edge on his voice.
I instantly stiffened but I managed to even my expression. Mr. J! I might have a faulty memory but I knew who this was…. Jin JaeYul. The prodigy son of head researcher and sponsor of Haegun Group— Jin JooNam.
To understand the character of Jin JaeYul, you had to go to the sperm donor Jin JooNam. Jin JaeYul was created from the sperm of JooNam without a mother…. He was crafted in a lab with the haunting technology of the Haegun Research Group, unlike the other lab-created children who went crazy or couldn't pass the baseline stability test.
No. JaeYul was… perfect.
At least, that's what they liked to call him.
He was the most stable prototype of Project: Good Child. A predecessor project built to manufacture ideal citizens—smiling, obedient, self-cleaning, self-regulating. The type of boy who said "I understand" instead of "I'm angry."
But they shelved the Good Child program years ago after discovering its major flaw.
It made monsters who pretended to be human.
JaeYul was simply rolled into the next one. Project: Evolution. A higher-tier human development arc that aimed to push past the emotional, mental, and physical limits of what the species could do.
Some people in the facility could run thirty miles per hour. Others could lift small cars. Some could calculate equations mid-combat. Some spoke to insects, or smelled water underground, or bent the outcome of dice rolls with a stare.
Only one person—just one—seemed to have inherited all of those traits. An anomaly. A convergence.
Yoon JeiMi.
The very reason all eyes turned away from JaeYul.
Which was, of course, the reason JaeYul smiled harder than anyone else.
Call: "Number 19, hello?"
I tensed.
The voice didn't come from the guard this time, though. He was already reaching into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a cheap blue toy phone—the kind sold at the counter of some tacky daycare supply store.
He opened the flip.
A soft, chime-like voice echoed from the speaker.
Call: "Hiiii~ This is JaeYul speaking! Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to today?"
I felt my stomach flip.
The voice was too cheerful. Not fake—no, it was worse. It was convincing. Sweet, like honey laced with bleach.
Call: "Oh wait. I know that voice. Number 19, right? Aww, I was watching your file earlier! So cute. You were crying so hard during the needle trial! Don't be embarrassed—I cried too when I was six!"
The guard didn't react. He just held the toy to his ear like it was normal.
Call: "You know," JaeYul's voice dropped a notch. "You've caused a bit of trouble. You're in possession of something you really shouldn't be."
Call: "That thing you stole from JeiMi? Yeah. That was kinda important. Super classified. So, um… yikesies?"
My lips parted but no words came out. I was too focused on the strange way the toy pulsed each time he spoke, almost as if syncing with my own heartbeat.
Call: "Don't worry though. I'm not mad!" JaeYul sang out. "I'm just… disappointed."
I froze.
The guard turned slightly, as if waiting for a command.
Call: "Let's not hurt her yet, hmm? We wouldn't want to ruin something that's finally showing signs of promise. Number 19 is interesting. But still so… undercooked. Tsk tsk. Not like our darling JeiMi."
That name again.
JeiMi.
The unnatural golden boy of this horror show. The one who made JaeYul's perfect record look like a warm-up act. I swallowed hard.
I was starting to understand now.
This wasn't just about a stolen object or some random mistake.
This was a territory war—and I had landed straight in the middle.
Call: "Anyway~!" JaeYul's voice brightened again. "I'll let you go for now. Play nice, Number 19. We're all rooting for you."
Click.
The call ended.
The guard tucked the toy phone back into his coat like it was nothing, and walked away without a word. I didn't realize my hands were clenched so hard until my nails bit into my palms.
So this was it. The system hadn't made a mistake. I wasn't hallucinating.
I had transmigrated into the story I wrote—and ended up in the most dangerous gap between the boy I created and the one who was meant to overshadow him.
I was stuck between Yoon JeiMi and Jin JaeYul.
And unfortunately?
Neither of them believed in main characters other than themselves.
[System Alert!]
📄 Reminder: You are currently inside an unstable version of your own unpublished draft.
📄 Memory sync is incomplete. Key plot variables are redacted or corrupted.
📄 Objective: Survive long enough to regain full Author Control.
📄 System Host: Emile White (Author | Unknown Role | Unranked Civilian)
📄 Affection Level (Yoon JeiMi): 1% 💋
📄 Fear Level (You): 99% ☠️
The thing again. System… As a webbook author and a reader there was no way I was unfamiliar with it. The thing that followed the unsuspecting transmigrator to another world.
Some had the heaven defying system…
Some had the god making system….
What the hell is the Dangerous Male Lead Rehabilitation System?
"QQ…" I whispered. "That's what you call yourself right? The ai inside my head? You said it the other time," I started.
There was no response to my words but still I continued, "Tell me what the hell 'the thing' is."
There was a short moment of silence then—
[QQ: Eep! QQ doesn't know either! QQ believes it is either a data key, a soul fragment, or a metaphor!
QQ IS GUESSING BASED ON WRITER TONE!!]
"…."
I'll be damned…. I really did have a system. Suddenly I felt a small sense of relief at this moment, knowing I had some type of golden finger in this crazed world.
"Tell me everything I need to know…"
[QQ: Absolutely!! Please allow QQ to pull up the onboarding presentation~~ 💖]
A faint, glittering window appeared in my mind's eye, complete with bouncing bullet points and sparkles that made me genuinely want to scream.
[Welcome to the Dangerous Male Lead Rehabilitation System!]
[QQ: Congrats! You've been bound to a ✨ Top Secret ✨ project intended to stop the end of the world by rehabilitating… drumroll please… the protagonist of your own draft!]
I blinked.
No. Wait. Pause. What did it just say?
[QQ: As the original creator of "World's Most Hated Awakener," you are now responsible for ensuring Yoon JeiMi does not destroy the planet! Yay! 🎉]
A vein twitched near my eye.
[QQ: You were selected because your intimate knowledge of the character makes you the best candidate to guide him toward emotional growth, moral alignment, and healthy romantic development! (Results not guaranteed.)]
Healthy romantic—
"I'm sorry—" I gagged on the words. "You want me to rehabilitate JeiMi?"
[QQ: Yep yep! 💘 Or the world ends! Either way, no pressure!]
No pressure, it says.
I stared blankly at the inside of my own skull, re-evaluating every decision that had led to this moment.
[QQ: Mission Path: Softening! Guide Yoon JeiMi into trust, affection, and eventual attachment! Make him want to live for others… and ideally you! 💍]
"No. No. You don't understand," I whispered out loud, rocking slightly. "This man eats people."
[QQ: ❤️ Yes, but metaphorically.]
"HE ATE A MONSTER IN CHAPTER 11."
[QQ: Oh. That's right. Hm.]
[QQ: ❤️ Character development, then! QQ believes in you! 💪✨]
"You believe in me?"
[QQ: Mhm!]
"You," I deadpanned, "…don't even know what the thing is."
[QQ: 💢 That's uncalled for! QQ is trying their best!!]
"And what if I don't do it? What if I die?"
[QQ: System will automatically reassign target to secondary candidate.]
"Oh, good. Who's that?"
[QQ: None available. World ends.]
I dropped my head into my hands.
The system didn't even pretend to offer options.
"Is there anything useful you can tell me?" I croaked. "Anything at all about where I am, what I should do next, what this… 'thing' is—?"
[QQ: Hm… let's try again! Initial reconstruction of canon plot timeline currently at 43%. Please be aware of inconsistencies due to Author Memory Decay™.]
I braced.
[QQ: You are currently inside Evolution Facility Branch 3, Wing B. Current status: Detained. Nearby threat: Jin JaeYul. Proximity threat: Yoon JeiMi. Danger Level: 💀💀💀💀💀]
Five skulls. That had to be a record.
[QQ: Inventory check—! You currently possess:
— 1 (one) potentially dangerous item, referred to as "The Thing"
— 0 (zero) allies
— 1 (one) emotionally unstable Male Lead
— And a questionable amount of mental fortitude! 🎉]
"…I'm going to die here," I whispered, fully slumped.
[QQ: But wait, there's more! 🧨]
I flinched.
[QQ: Countdown to Main Apocalypse Event: 2 Days, 3 Hours, 16 Minutes.]
Everything in me went cold.
"Two days?"
[QQ: Until the sky cracks and humanity collapses, yes! 🌎🔥]
"So I'm supposed to fix JeiMi in… 48 hours?"
[QQ: Yep.]
"Do you know what happens if you try to fix JeiMi too fast?"
[QQ: 🧠 Brain stabbing?]
"…That did happen in Draft 9…"
[QQ: QQ's memory confirms! Multiple times, in fact! ☠️💔]
I curled into myself.
The blood had drained from my face, and I could feel the icy weight of realization settle into my bones.
This system.
This chirpy, idiotic, emoji-ridden disaster.
It was completely and utterly useless against JeiMi.
And the world was going to end in two days.