Reboot the heyday

The car sped through the streets of Seoul late at night, the streaks of light outside the window stretched into blurry ribbons of color.

Wang Taika gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, because he truly hadn't expected things to get out of control.

That doesn't make sense. A seasoned mental patient like myself is the best at dealing with this kind of mental illness. How could there be an unexpected deviation?
Or is there something that you haven't mastered yet, which is why this problem is occurring?
Upon arriving at the hospital, the company had temporarily sealed off this floor, making it eerily quiet. The person in charge approached, only to be frozen in place by a single glance from Wang Taika.

"Mr. Wang, about this matter..."

"Alright, it's not entirely your fault." Wang Taika walked directly to the brightly lit observation room and saw Quan Meng'er's pale face through the glass. Her wrist was wrapped in thick gauze, her eyes were closed, and her eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes. The liquid in the IV drip bottle was dripping into her veins.

The person in charge reported in a low voice: "The blood loss was considerable, but the rescue was timely, and the major tendons and arteries were not damaged. The vital signs are now stable. However, the body is very weak and needs rest. In terms of mental state, the initial observation is that the patient is extremely depressed and has hardly spoken since waking up."

"This is a good thing. If he wasn't depressed, it would mean there was really no hope for him."

Wang Taika nodded, signaling the person in charge to leave. He stood alone in front of the glass window, looking at it for a long time. Under the lights, Quan Meng'er's face, which had once been full of vitality on stage, was now only silent and ashen. This reminded Wang Taika of the damp and dark swamp in her heart that overlapped with parts of himself, that subtle sense of "kinship".

But clearly, this only applies to a segment of the same kind. Because no matter what happens, people like Wang Taika would never choose to give up on life.

Wang Taika also thought he could help her and solve the problem using what he considered to be effective methods. But the current situation shows that he still doesn't really understand Quan Meng'er.

Judging from the results, she definitely has a problem, and a big one at that. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a "second-generation troll."

However, looking at her motives, it's both disheartening and tragic to find that we can't really blame her. Because you can't blame a mentally ill person for not being able to maintain stability.

If the trolls intentionally caused trouble, then Quan Meng'er's actions were due to an objective loss of mental control.

Wang Taika never defended Quan Meng'er, because wrong is wrong. But the reason he didn't give up on Quan Meng'er was because Wang Taika knew that some things are truly beyond his control.

The biggest conflict is between Quan Meng'er and team leader Jimin.

Was leader Jimin wrong? After the group debuted, they were in a slump; only Seolhyun was popular. As the leader, he was obviously anxious, so while he worked hard himself, he also pushed the other members to work just as hard. There must have been some extreme moments in that process, but he certainly didn't have bad intentions.

Was Quan Meng'er wrong? Someone with an unhealthy inner world and personality flaws is inherently sensitive and suspicious. In such a high-pressure environment, even though the team leader was being stricter in fulfilling his duties, Quan Meng'er felt bullied and targeted. She was clearly wrong, yet it's difficult to find fault with her.

There is no solution to this problem; people who are both pitiful and hateful are the hardest to get along with.

Wang Taika pursed his lips. In the end, the fault still lay with Quan Meng'er, even if she didn't really have any malicious intent.

Another mistake was probably made by the people at FNC Entertainment. They actually recruited such a lunatic into the group. I don't know what they were thinking.

The depth of the swamp in everyone's heart is different, and the ropes and fulcrums needed to break free are also different.

Wang Taika was being too presumptuous. He was able to climb out of the swamp in his heart not only because of his ruthless treatment of his shock, but also because of the people and things he encountered later, which were like ropes thrown out unintentionally and glimmers of light that were lit, even if those lights may not have seemed friendly at first.

"Troublesome." Wang Taika walked to the door.

The door to the observation room was gently pushed open, and a nurse came out and said, "The patient's emotions are still unstable, so it is not recommended to disturb him too much."

Wang Taika waved his hand to indicate that he understood, then pushed open the door and went inside.

The smell of disinfectant mingled with a faint stench of blood. Quan Meng'er stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes vacant. Hearing footsteps, her eyes flickered slightly. Seeing it was Wang Taika, her pupils contracted almost imperceptibly before returning to their lifeless state, even tinged with a resigned numbness.

Wang Tai pulled up a chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't soften his voice, but asked in a flat tone that revealed little emotion, "Why?" Quan Meng'er's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Do you feel like I'm locking you up, treating you like a piece of troublesome trash?" Wang Taika continued, his words direct and even somewhat cutting: "Or do you feel like your teammates have completely given up on you, and the world has lost its meaning?"

Quan Meng'er's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she remained silent.

Wang Taika wasn't in a hurry. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on her bandaged wrist: "Or do you want to see me this way?"

Quan Meng'er's breathing seemed to pause slightly.

"You just want to take a gamble, whether it's really dying or seeing me, it's fine. Because both outcomes are acceptable to you, right?" Wang Taika asked.

Quan Meng'er blinked, unsure if it meant she was agreeing.

"I even suspect that you want to use your death to leave a thorn in my heart, making me feel guilty for the rest of my life." Wang Taika sneered, "I understand people like you, or people like us. Revenge must be permanent, otherwise it won't be right. For you, this is the only way to get revenge on me. Compared to me, don't you think the conflicts between you and Jimin are insignificant?"

Quan Meng'er glanced at Wang Taika but didn't say anything.

Because Wang Taika was right, now Quan Meng'er hates Wang Taika the most. As for the things that happened in the group before, now that she thinks about it, it doesn't seem like a big deal.

They are so narrow-minded that they can only wholeheartedly hate one person, and have no other thoughts.

Seeing Quan Meng'er's expression, Wang Taika couldn't help but laugh: "You're overthinking it. I can't possibly feel guilty. If you hate me, I'm still happy to oblige. But there's one thing I need to make clear: you can hate my attitude, but don't hate my actions. I'm the last person who'll be kind to you."

Quan Meng'er shook her head, looking resistant.

Wang Taika said, “At least I still thought of saving you once. I had you separated not because I thought you were trash, nor because I abandoned you. On the contrary, it was because I saw the stone in your heart, and I saw that you were being crushed by it, almost being buried in the soil. I wanted to pull you out of that environment where you were constantly being hit by the stone, to give you an absolutely quiet space where no one would bother you, so that you could find that crack to breathe and see your own heart clearly. But it seems that I wasted my time.”

"I'm so tired," Wang Taika said. "So I'm curious about something: why can't you calm down? Why are you so restless? It's like you have to do something to show your pain. This isn't right, at least not what I expected."

Quan Meng'er's eyes gradually reddened, and tears silently slid down her cheeks, disappearing into the hair at her temples. But she still bit her lip, remaining silent.

“I don’t believe your tears.” Wang Taika curled his lip and said, “I’m not here to comfort you, nor to hear your apology or repentance. I don’t have the time or the obligation. I’m here to tell you that your life is your own, and no one can stop you from doing whatever you want with it. But since you’re now under my name, your life or death will cause me trouble. AOA has just started to gain some traction, and if your mess gets out, all our previous efforts may be wasted. I know you don’t care about anyone in AOA, but this concerns my interests.”

These words were cruel, yet like a cold knife, they cleaved through the thick fog of Quan Meng'er's self-indulgence. Her eyes finally focused, filled with shock, bewilderment, and a trace of clarity after being stung.

She finally uttered a hoarse, nasal voice: "You beast."

Wang Taika said, "If you do something wrong, you should apologize. You were wrong in this matter. If I were wrong, I would apologize too."

Quan Meng'er gritted her teeth and said, "Heh, I've never seen you apologize, not to anyone."

Wang Taika shrugged, utterly shameless: "Because I didn't make a mistake! On the contrary, I saved you, and your attitude is the one that's wrong."

Quan Meng'er said, "Listen carefully, no one asked you to save me, and I didn't force you to save me!"

Wang Taika frowned: "What? You have this physical defect and why didn't you say so earlier?"

Quan Meng'er: "Hmm?" (End of this chapter)