Author: WhatTheFlo

Episode 46

 

The fact that Seongjae, of all people, would shield him and take the flying egg instead—it was unexpected. Seongjae was the type who cared deeply about his own well-being, so no matter how close they’d become, such a gesture of goodwill was beyond imagination.

 

While Haeun stammered something stupid like, “Oh, uh, are you okay…,” Junwoo guided Seongjae inside the dorm, and Ilhyun grabbed Haeun, shoving him through the open door as if to toss him in. 

 

Just before the door closed, the person who had thrown the egg shouted out.

 

“Park Ha! Is clinging to others the only thing you know how to do?”

 

Wow… They must really hate me.’

 

And yet, what was with that oddly familiar “Park Ha” tone? It didn’t suit the hostility. To think that life would bring him to a point where he’d have anti-fans throwing eggs at him. 

 

Well, it wasn’t like he was the one who got hit anyway, and considering that the hostility was directed at “Park Ha” rather than “Park Haeun,” it felt almost like someone else’s problem. It wasn’t particularly shocking or painful to him.

 

After the door closed behind him, Haeun scratched his head and glanced toward Seongjae. He wasn’t sure if he should apologize or thank him. Haeun wasn’t used to doing either, but seeing Seongjae dripping with egg yolk made him feel like he ought to say something.

 

However, this wasn’t the moment to approach him. Seongjae and Junwoo were already arguing.

 

“Why did you take that hit?”

 

“What’s the big deal? It was just a raw egg.”

 

“What if it hadn’t been just a raw egg?”

 

Junwoo was yelling at Seongjae the same way he’d lashed out at Haeun during the God of Live shoot. He seemed upset about why Seongjae had been the one to take the egg. 

 

Haeun, who was also curious, perked up his ears to listen. Back then, Haeun had to endure silently because the system penalized raised voices, but Seongjae, unlike Haeun, fought back unabashedly.

 

“So what, should I have just let him get hit?”

 

“That’s not what I’m saying! If it hadn’t been you, I could’ve―”

 

“You? You were way too far to stop anything. What are you even talking about?”

 

Should Haeun step in and say something like, Guys, stop fighting because of me!

 

The uncomfortable tension between the two made him glance at Ilhyun, hoping for help. Ilhyun, however, simply raised a finger to his lips in a stay quiet gesture.

 

“Already soaked and gross, so why are you holding me up and nagging?”

 

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

 

It seemed like the conversation was over, though not in a pleasant way. Junwoo, clearly annoyed, stormed off into his room. Seongjae muttered in disbelief as he took off the egg-stained outer layer of his clothing.

 

“What’s his problem?”

 

Ilhyun, who had stepped in to take the soiled garment, replied casually.

 

“He’s upset because things got out of hand while he was too stunned to act. Looks like he’s worried about you—don’t be so harsh.”

 

It was a light scolding. Seongjae, like a high schooler brushing off a parent’s nagging, pretended to block his ears with his hands and quickly changed the subject.

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m going to shower. Hey, Park Haeun, don’t even think about leaving your room tonight. Just stay put.”

 

“Huh? Oh, uh, okay.”

 

The sudden shift in focus caught Haeun off guard. As Seongjae’s rude demeanor turned towards him, Ilhyun shrugged it off without a second thought, heading to the laundry room with the soiled clothes. 

 

Haeun, who’d accidentally agreed in his confusion, watched Seongjae walk away toward the bathroom and hastily added:

 

“Hey, thank you.”

 

The problem was, it came out sounding more like a snide remark than an expression of gratitude.

 

『”Seongjae’s favorability level has decreased by 1!”』

 

The system notification chimed just as Seongjae grumbled in response.

 

“Is that how you thank someone?”

 

Haeun realized too late that his awkward gratitude had backfired, making him clam up in embarrassment.

 

“Yoon Junwoo’s acting like a big shot, slamming the door shut like that even though we share a room. Where am I supposed to go?”

 

Still grumbling, Seongjae disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Haeun stood there, staring blankly at the door as if trying to process the exchange. 

 

Meanwhile, Ilhyun returned from dropping off Seongjae’s soiled clothes and struck up a conversation.

 

“You must have been surprised.”

 

“Why were they even fighting?”

 

That question stood out the most to Haeun. Unlike him, who was genuinely puzzled, Ilhyun seemed unfazed, as if this kind of chaos was nothing new.

 

“They do that sometimes. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it or smooth things over. Just go inside and rest.”

 

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

 

When Haeun ruffled his hair in frustration, Ilhyun laughed lightly, like a teacher handling a group of kindergarteners.

 

“Junwoo seems upset that he couldn’t do anything while you were getting hit with the egg.”

 

“But Lee Seongjae got hit instead of me.”

 

“Maybe that’s why he’s mad at Seongjae?”

 

What kind of logic is that? Ilhyun kindly explained with his usual gentle tone, but Haeun still didn’t get it. Seeing his utterly unconvinced expression, Ilhyun shrugged, as if to say he wasn’t entirely sure either.

 

Regardless, it was something to be grateful for that someone took an egg for him. With his original friends, the words he’d said earlier would have sufficed. But Lee Seonjae’s lowered affection level nagged at him. 

 

Still, it didn’t feel like something he should bring up to someone in the middle of a shower, nor did it seem all that important. Shaking off his unsettled feelings, Haeun went back to his room.

 

Why Seongjae shielded him, why Junwoo said, “If it weren’t for you, I would have—,” and the inexplicable fluctuations in favorability levels—all of it left Haeun confused. 

 

But he couldn’t dwell on those thoughts for long because there was something else that bothered him even more: the rumors and hateful comments swirling around him. The content of those malicious words kept resurfacing, interrupting his ability to think about anything else.

 

Lying on the bed, Haeun couldn’t help but keep scrolling through the internet. He remembered seeing a celebrity on a talk show once, upset after looking at malicious comments. Back then, he had thought, If it bothers you so much, why not just avoid looking? 

 

But now that he was in the same position, he understood all too well. Even though he knew the rumors and accusations were baseless, curiosity got the better of him, and he kept searching his name across various sites.

 

There were hardly any people who spoke favorably of “Park Ha.” 

 

The flood of posts riddled with rumors was irritating enough, but the worst were the ones comparing heavily edited photos of Jaewoon with poorly captured screenshots of Park Ha’s performances, all to disparage Park Ha’s character. Looking at those posts made his chest tighten with frustration.

 

‘Damn it, why am I even this angry? It’s not like that’s my real face anyway.’

 

It’s anonymous anyway, right? Should I just leave a hate comment myself? Would the system overlook it if it’s just a comment? Maybe venting would actually make me feel better… 

 

Lost in such thoughts, Haeun opened the comment section. Amidst the agreeing comments, one stood out with 12 upvotes and 287 downvotes.

 

  • “Park Ha seems way nicer. Lee Jaewoon’s face looks full of spite.”

 

It was the kind of comment Haeun wanted to upvote a hundred times. Unfortunately, the replies underneath were brutal.

 

➥ “Blue checkmark? Isn’t this Park Ha himself? LOL”

 

‘No, it’s not, damn it.’

 

Of course, he had thought of leaving a similar comment—only with much harsher words. He stared at the screen as if locked in a staring contest with the replies. 

 

Still, it seemed like at least thirteen people, including the original commenter, were rooting for Park Ha. That thought made him feel a bit better. Rather than continue to search his name and stew in frustration, he decided it was time to do something more productive. Perhaps he should prepare for tomorrow’s (Tomorrow's Superstar) [1] meeting.

 

But as soon as he decided to prepare, he realized he didn’t know where to start. I’ll think about tomorrow’s matters tomorrow. He pushed the thought aside and opened YouTube under the guise of “studying how other idols live.”

 

In the grand idol world of The Idol Chronicles, the undisputed top group was Black Bers, followed by groups like Gloomy. 

 

Since it was a BL game with only male characters to romance, female idols weren’t featured at all, and there was no occasion to interact with them during gameplay. Tomorrow’s Superstar was also a relatively obscure competition program featuring male idols.

 

Haeun had no interest in watching videos of Gloomy, Jaewoon’s group, so naturally, Black Bers became the focus. He searched for Black Bers on YouTube and clicked on their top-ranked song.

 

Since they were acquaintances, his eyes were naturally drawn to Yejun among all the members. He hadn’t paid much attention to him before, but seeing him on video, it was clear why Yejun was the group’s “visual representative.”

 

He clicked through music videos one by one, eventually landing on fan-edited compilations that popped up in the recommended section. Videos with titles like “Cho Yejun’s Adorable Moments” caught his eye. While Haeun didn’t find anything particularly cute about them, they were undeniably entertaining.

 

Then, all of a sudden, the YouTube video froze, and his phone started vibrating.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

Startled as if caught red-handed, even though he hadn’t committed any crime, Haeun dropped his phone. 

 

Was it because he felt a strange sense of shame about watching a fan-made video titled “Black Bers’ Ye-jun, Always Kind to His Fans”

 

Even though no one was around to hear, he grumbled internally, “I wasn’t watching this because I’m a fan, okay? It was just research.” 

 

Muttering to himself, Haeun picked up his phone, still grumbling.

 

“Who the hell is this…”

 

Flipping the phone over, he saw an unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. Probably spam.

 

Haeun wasn’t the type to ignore calls from unknown numbers. Many of his friends were the sort to change their numbers without warning and call out of the blue, so he had little reason to be wary.

 

But now, as an idol, he hesitated to answer just any random call. The phone kept vibrating, but Haeun deliberated until the very last second before pressing the decline button.

 

‘If it’s urgent, they’ll call back.’

 

With that thought, he waited a moment, but the phone stayed silent. It must have been spam or a wrong number. Feeling at ease, Haeun settled back into his spot and reopened the YouTube video he had been watching earlier.

 

Just then, a text message arrived.

 

[This is Black Bers’ Yejun. Please call me back if you see this message.]

 

Haeun dropped the phone from his hand. It slid down and hit the bridge of his nose with a sharp thud before tumbling to the floor.

 

“Ow, damn it!”

 

Letting out a yell, Haeun rolled on the bed, clutching his nose. He paused, deep in thought. 

 

Was it spam? Could someone be impersonating him? 

 

But then again, Yejun had taken his number at one point. Still, even if he had, what reason would he have to call? Why would he suddenly reach out now after all this time? 

 

The most reasonable explanation seemed to be that someone, holding a grudge, was impersonating him.

 

Haeun sat there, holding his phone, lost in thought. But then again… what if it was actually Yejun? This was, after all, a game. And since Haeun had just been watching Yejun’s videos, maybe some kind of event had been triggered because of it.

 

After much deliberation, Haeun opened the messaging app and typed out his carefully chosen reply.

 

[Not an impersonation? Prove it.]

  • 1. For those who have forgotten like me, ‘Tomorrow’s Superstar’ is a boygroup competition show where already debuted idols compete like Kingdom or Queendom on Mnet. It was mentioned on Chapter 30 if you want to reread again. I will just refer with the full name from now on.
Author's Thoughts

Hey guys, this is Flo!
The chapters are released every Sunday at 20:30 p.m. (GMT+8).
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