From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show-Novel

"You know, sometimes I wonder if we're created by the shigher being," Akira said. "How cyou get the good looks, the good talents, and a good mind, too?"

"Don't sell yourself short, Akira," Jisung said. "Although, he's right. What did your parents feed you while growing up?"

"Nails," June responded, causing the two to turn to each other in confusion.

Then, June clicked his tongue. "Anyway, I'll be here for a little longer, so you guys might as well get ssleep."

Jisung shook his head, wanting to support June until the end.

"You said earlier that this has a million possible combinations," Jisung said. "How many have you tried so far?"

June flipped through his notebook and sighed in frustration.

"354," he answered.

Akira whistled. "Well, that's a lot, but you still have a lot more to go."

June sighed. Would he be able to do it until the end of the month?

"Wait," Akira said, sensing June's determination. "Don't tellthat you're going to try a million combinations just to open the briefcase."

"That's the plan," June muttered, not really having a better idea.

"Wait!" Akira repeated, placing his hand over June's. "I thought you were smarter than this. I bet you'd die before you even open that damn thing."

"There are a million possibilities, but that doesn't mean I will only be able to open it on the millionth try," June reasoned.

"What if my 500th combination is the real one?" June asked. "Or maybe even this one," he said, his heart filled with hope.

However, as he attempted another combination, he was once again disappointed that it didn't open.

"Well, considering your luck, it might just be the millionth try," Akira chuckled.

"Hmm," June said, placing his hand under his chin and stroking it. "So, you're tellingthat I should work my way backward."

"No," Akira and Jisung said at the stime.

"The universe has it out for you. No matter what order you take, you'll still probably end up guessing a million times before you open this damn thing," Jisung said.

June clicked his tongue. "What do you suggest I do then? I feel like I've tried everything."

Akira shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I just don't think that trying a million codes is a good idea at all."

Jisung sighed, also feeling lost.

"What is even in this briefcase that's making you go insane?" he asked.

June pursed his lips and looked at the scratched briefcase.

"Everything," he said. "I believe it could contain everything."

Jisung hummed. "Then, it must be something very important."

June nodded. "You could say so."

"Well, if I die and ever plan on leaving something important in such a briefcase, I wouldn't randomly select the numbers," Jisung said.

"What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"It seems like the item inside the briefcase is quite important, so I would want the combination to be something valuable to me, too."

"So, instead of looking at others, I'd look at the owner of the briefcase," Jisung continued.

"I'd look into their life and what was important to them."

"What do numbers have to do with it, though?" Akira asked.

For a moment, Jisung's words made sense. However, Akira's question snapped June back to reality.

Akira sighed and stood from the floor. "Well, now that I think about it, a million combinations might actually be the best idea."

June groaned in frustration.

"Well, I'm tired. Our concert is the day after tomorrow, so I need sbeauty sleep," he said.

Jisung sighed and also stood. "I guess my suggestion didn't make sense, hmm?"

"Anyway, I'll also go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow with the rehearsals and all."

"Aren't you going to sleep yet, bro?" Jisung asked. "You need more sleep than the rest of us."

June nodded. "Just a few more minutes," he said. "I'll go to bed right after, I promise."

"Alright," Akira shrugged. "Make sure to sleep before midnight, okay?"

June nodded, waving at them before turning his attention to the briefcase.

"Alright, the 387th combination," he muttered.

However, before he could input it, the lights suddenly shut off, engulfing the room in darkness.

"What the heck?" he muttered. "A power outage at this moment?"

He waited for a few moments for the power to cback on, but to no avail.

June clicked his tongue. "Azure doesn't even have an efficient generator?"

"Maybe this is a sign from the universe tellingto go to sleep."

With that, June stood from the couch to walk to his room amidst the complete darkness.

However, just as he stood, he found something strange about the briefcase.

There seemed to be something glowing from the metal material.

June frowned and sat back down on the couch, squinting his eyes to see what was glowing.

Then, he froze when he realized what it was.

"It's glow in the dark," he muttered.

It seemed like there were really clues in the briefcase that he failed to see!

With that, he brought the briefcase closer to his face to see the symbol.

However, they were actually letters!

GMJEPK

"What the heck does this mean?" he muttered.

He retrieved his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight. Then, he wrote down the letters in his notebook, assigning the letters with a corresponding value based on their order in the alphabet.

"Is it this?" he muttered, feeling hopeful.

Was it as easy as this?

However, it didn't open once again, making June sigh in disappointment.

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

With that, he closed his flashlight, trying to look for something else.

June wasn't hopeful. So, when he saw another set of letters on the other side of the briefcase, he was once again surprised.

Compared to the letters from the beginning, this particular one was actually a coherent word.

June squinted since it was more faded than the past letters.

"Y," he muttered.

"O."

"U."

June frowned in confusion. Then, the lights cback on.

At that moment, the letters disappeared.

However, with his surroundings lit up, June could now see his reflection on the metal material of the briefcase.

"Me?"