NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64
Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 64
“……Pardon? What?”
“Haha, you really had no idea, did you? Even with a phone, what have you been doing with it?”
“I make calls and send texts. Wait, you’re saying there’s a fan…cafe?”
Isn’t that something that happens for celebrities?
I awkwardly answered while fiddling with my ear, realizing that I was that celebrity, and then paused.
Wow, I really can’t get used to this.
“It’s not official yet, but it will be soon. The company seems to be keeping an eye on it.”
“I’ll show it to you a bit later. For now, have some more strawberries.”
Even as I took the fork Manager An Jin-bae handed me, I felt strange and just poked at the strawberries absentmindedly.
What on earth did they see to become fans…? Can it happen that easily?
Feeling uncomfortable, I shifted my posture, but the odd sensation lingered.
“The fan cafe manager is no joke. They even sent a long email to the company asking when it would be made official.”
“I checked it out yesterday too. They’re holding a vote for the fan name.”
“Already? They’re really quick.”
The two continued talking about the fan cafe.
I tried not to pay attention, but the unfamiliar words kept catching my ear, and I found myself quietly biting my nails. Fortunately, the TV announced the start of the show.
“It’s starting!”
I glanced at Jung-hyun hyung, who was now focused on the TV, and exhaled a small sigh of relief.
Just as I felt relieved that the conversation had ended, a foreboding sense swept over me.
‘If Noh Bi-hyuk finds out about this…’
He already captured and sent me every article or post about me. Imagine how much he’d tease me if he knew about the fan cafe.
Thinking about him pretending to interview me about my thoughts on the fan cafe with a fake microphone made me feel tired instantly.
At least I only had to attend school for about a week before winter break right after I was discharged in three weeks.
[“Ah!”]
[“You scared me, Ho-seop hyung!”]
[“Sorry, sorry. I was tense.”]
On the screen, the members were shouting in surprise after taking off their blindfolds.
The scene continued with them touring a village with a guide.
I also watched the screen curiously, having waited inside a building at that time.
The clear blue sky and slightly old but clean white buildings.
People dressed in white, making blue pinwheels.
The sight was so pleasant that it reminded me of the stories of the camera director filming numerous famous commercials.
“The colors came out really well.”
“Indeed.”
Despite the refreshing scenery, the members’ expressions seemed uneasy.
The guide led the anxious-looking members into a gray building, and as soon as the door closed, they bowed deeply.
[“We offer our respects to the spirit.”]
The subtitle ‘??????’ quickly flashed across the bottom of the screen in an antique font.
The members, looking around in confusion, spotted me standing there.
I appeared on the screen faster than I thought. To be precise, only my feet were shown.
[“That drama…”]
The camera, capturing Shin Woo-chul’s whisper and the glances from the other members, didn’t show my full appearance.
As if it wasn’t allowed, only my feet, standing still, were shown vaguely.
An intentionally unedited silent moment lasted for a few seconds.
The youngest member awkwardly bowed, followed by the other members hesitantly.
[“You brought unfamiliar faces.”]
[“Yes, spirit. They want to see the festival.”]
As the members bowed, the camera angle lowered, catching my movement.
The sound of my slippers brushing against the wooden floor was captured clearly.
I had put in a lot of effort to control the pressure on my feet to produce that sound.
The sound came out cleaner than I expected.
Lee Ho-seop glanced at the feet in front of him and hesitantly raised his head.
The camera slowly followed his gaze up to show my face for the first time.
[“You better be careful.”]
[“…Pardon?”]
My expressionless face filled the screen, and the voice of the other person responded in confusion.
I crouched down slowly, bringing my face closer and smiling.
[“You’ll be the first to die today.”]
Lee Ho-seop froze, swallowing hard, and the other members also remained still, unable to make a sound.
A few seconds later, I quickly relaxed my expression and smiled, switching between my face and the confused expressions of the members.
Hmm, I looked more…
‘Scarier than I thought.’
It didn’t feel this way on set.
The eerie music made the atmosphere much more terrifying.
The background music really made a big difference.
Seeing the youngest member’s trembling pupils looking at me, it made me seem like I had immense hidden power. In reality, I was just a con artist.
I glanced at Jung-hyun hyung, who was completely engrossed in the screen, and then turned to Manager An Jin-bae, who was checking reactions online.
Feeling my gaze, Manager An Jin-bae looked up.
“Is there something bothering you?”
“No, I was just looking.”
“Oh, were you curious about the reactions?”
As he smiled and tried to show me the laptop, I quickly shook my head.
Knowing he’d inform me later if there was anything I needed to know, I refused, but he misunderstood and came closer.
“Don’t worry, actor. The reactions are all positive.”
I wasn’t worried.
But seeing his slightly stiff expression, I just nodded.
His face relaxed as he patted my back a few times and then moved away.
I let out a slight laugh at his mature demeanor.
Last night, instead of patting my back, he had desperately clung to me, trying to snuggle.
Well, he was just Mist disguised as Manager An Jin-bae.
‘He’s probably watching even now.’
Being together but never visibly present was something I could never get used to, just like the fact that I had fans.
Will I ever get used to it?
Thinking about the unanswerable question, I looked back at the screen.
* * *
[Title: This Episode of ‘Mission Clear’ is Seriously the Best Ever LOL]
If you haven’t watched ‘Mission Clear’, you have to!
The story, acting, and production were just perfect. Sigh… why is there only one horror episode this season?
Please keep pushing with horror…. The ratings are good too….ㅠㅠ
—Personally, I’m not a fan of the horror specials on ‘Mission Clear’, but this one was really good. It lingered.
—Yeah, of all the episodes in Season 3, this one was the most entertaining. I watched it live while eating chicken and rewatched it the next day.
[Title: Lee Yeon-jae’s Acting is Insanely Good;;;]
How did someone like him suddenly appear out of nowhere??
I liked ‘Under the Zelkova Tree’ too, but watching ‘Mission Clear’ yesterday was mind-blowing. He really nailed the cringeworthy lines.
—I was in a daze for hours after watching it… I keep imagining how Kim Su-ho felt afterward.
—Was I the only one who got chills in the last scene? The way he delivered his lines without hesitation, even though it wasn’t pre-scripted, was pure ad-lib.
└Exactly… The members are famous for not having scripts, so Lee Ho-seop’s holy water offering was a spur-of-the-moment act, yet he delivered iconic lines… Seriously amazing;;
—The immersion in his character is no joke. Even someone like me who knows nothing about acting could tell he’s the real deal.
└”Real deal,” my foot LOL. Can’t these otakus survive without their ‘real’ jokes LOL.
└Who’s this person who keeps posting hate comments on every Lee Yeon-jae post?
[Title: Why Lee Yeon-jae is the ‘Real Deal’]
Someone keeps mocking in the comments, so I made a new post.
By the way, I’m not a Lee Yeon-jae fan. You might not believe it, but I’m really not. I’m not interested in people of the same gender.
No need for words, just look at the pictures.
(Screen caption of donation message)
—What’s the big deal over just a thousand?;;
└Just a thousand???? Kid, why don’t you ask your mom how much money you have at home?
—This looks like a clever move by Woo-yeon. How much can a child actor earn? It says in the photo too. Woop-yeon Entertainment donated ‘including’ Lee Yeon-jae’s entire fee.
└It’s impressive that he donated his entire fee, regardless of how much it was. He probably had things he wanted to buy too, but he chose to donate. That’s so sweet.
—The fact that he donated to underprivileged children is what touches me ㅠㅠ It connects with the episode ㅠㅠ
└I heard Lee Yeon-jae grew up in an orphanage. That might have influenced his decision.
└He’s from an orphanage?? That’s surprising. He doesn’t look like it;;;
“What does ‘he doesn’t look like it’ even mean?”
The woman frowned deeply while checking the posts.
She almost typed ‘You don’t know anything, so shut up’, but then regained her composure and quietly deleted the text.
‘Get a grip. You’re the official fan cafe manager, after all.’
The company hadn’t confirmed it yet, but she decided to responsibly bear the weight of her position.
She ended it by clicking the report button like a gentleman, then switched to another tab to upload the post she was working on.
Even in this modern era where cafe platforms were dying out, the main page of the ‘fan cafe’ still held its prestige.
It was the Lee Yeon-jae fan cafe she had established a few months ago.
The title of the post she was writing read:
‘[Notice] Fan Name Voting Completed! Thank You for Participating.’
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to use my computer?”
“Take 50,000 won from my wallet.”
“Feel free to use it, sis!”
The woman, discovered by her younger brother while sitting in his computer chair, frowned deeply but quickly changed to a serene expression and left.
She gestured for her brother to leave, who then made all sorts of fuss about how ‘a person with intelligence, virtue, and physique is different’ and how she exuded nobility just by sitting there.
“Lately, there’s been so much trolling….”
Her sharp eyes scanned each sentence meticulously.
She checked for any expressions that could be misunderstood.
Trolling is like a social parasite, and it’s inevitable as Yeon-jae’s popularity rises, but it must be endured.
However, thinking of Yeon-jae, who was probably crying after just waking up from such a terrible accident, made her feel the need to block any possibility of trolling.
‘Isn’t he unable to walk by himself because of the pain? My poor baby….’
At this point, three weeks after the accident, Lee Yeon-jae was perfectly capable of walking on his own.
The official statement from his agency had been out for a while, but she was undeterred.
In her mind, she could only replay the image of a small, beautiful fawn crying in pain.
“I hope Yeon-jae likes this…”
The fan name came out so well that she couldn’t help but feel proud.
She hadn’t planned to decide on a fan name so quickly, but the news of the accident made her feel rushed.
What can fans do for their idols?
Love and money, those were the two things.
Excited by the plans to give various gifts with the official fan name, she found herself defeated by the little, beautiful angel, the fawn, who had donated his entire ‘Mission Clear’ fee to underprivileged children.
‘How can you be so perfect?’
He was indeed the celebrity she chose.
Age didn’t matter at all.
Humming as she mentally organized the tasks needed to send the gifts, she hit the upload button.
* * *
Three days later, Noh Bi-hyuk greeted Lee Yeon-jae, who had finally returned to school, with a bright smile and said:
“Bambi’s here?”
“…? What?”