[I told you not to get close with the members, so why aren’t you listening? Do you think my words are funny?]
I could tell right away from the tone of voice.
The sender of this absurd text was the same sasaeng who had texted me the day of the livestream.
“…….”
‘I’ve been at the broadcasting station since dawn today, but this text … does this mean that this sasaeng also came to the pre-recording today?’
I was making a rough guess, remembering talking to the members on stage, when another text arrived.
[Don’t make me angry. This is a warning.]
‘Warning, my foot.’
As I quietly read the text, Do Yuda, who had been playing with his phone while eating his lunchbox, suddenly stopped and urgently called out to me.
“…Hyung, I think you should see this.”
Then, Do Yuda, who had quickly approached me, showed me his SNS timeline displaying posts from fans he was following.
— Ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠ what should we do, seriously ㅜㅠㅜ this is so creepy.
└ Why why why what’s going on
└ It looks like the infamous obsessive sasaeng, Dalli, has latched onto Seungbeom. I’m so mad I can’t even say anything more
— Are they crazy? An actual sasaeng???
— XXX Everyone, don’t post the photos. Don’t engage. XXX
The timeline was in utter chaos, with frantic discussions about “
Dalli
” flying around everywhere.
“….What the?”
I didn’t understand why Dalli’s existence, which was only known in the underground community, had suddenly become known by our fans. I had been trying not to cause any worry for the Muses, keeping everything hidden without making a big deal out of it, but now it all seemed to have been in vain.
“How did our fans know about this?”
I urgently turned my head and asked, and Do Yuda tapped his phone a few more times before showing me a community screenshot.
“I think it’s because of this. A fan took a screenshot earlier and posted it, but it’s been deleted now.”
I clearly warned you, right?
The photo contained a message with a familiar tone, the nickname “
Dalli
“, and a picture of me talking to Zen in the waiting room.
‘….Secret photo?’
It wasn’t that Dalli participating in the pre-recording, but they had infiltrated the broadcasting station and were watching us. It seemed that, in order to express their dissatisfaction with me not acting according to their intentions, they posted secretly taken photos on a community site to warn me that they were still watching.
‘This bastard….’
— What the hell is the agency doing? They’re not protecting the artist at all, and now a sasaeng has gotten close enough to touch them. Are they being serious?
— This must be the reason why they increased the number of bodyguards. That means Seungbeom knew about them too.
— Where did all the haters who were bashing us, calling us extreme fans who’s “easy to please” and “being treated poorly”, just because they added a few more bodyguards go?
— I think that message is for Seungbeom. What if they’ve been sending him texts and calling him all this time? I’m really worried, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.
The Muses were completely distraught and worried about me.
As if to add fuel to the fire of worry, all sorts of rumors about Dalli were spreading like wildfire. It was clear that the fear of one individual was being unnecessarily amplified.
‘It’s understandable that the Muses are anxious. It’s practically an open secret the agency doesn’t have any leads.’
Whether that sasaeng was upset or not, or whether they warned me or not, I didn’t care about any of that. What mattered to me were the fans. Unable to suppress my complicated feelings as I watched the fans’ reactions, I sighed heavily and quickly began analyzing the photo to find any clues.
‘The quality is really bad. Did they capture a part of a video that they filmed? From the blue hue at the right corner of the photo, it looks like they filmed it through a crack in the door while passing through the hallway and cropped it.’
It was highly unlikely that someone like Dalli, who craved attention, would not have intentionally uploaded a provocative photo. I doubted they were able to capture any photos of the members or myself changing clothes. It seemed like they were exaggerating the story, making it seem as though they had taken a major compromising shot, when in reality, they had just captured a fleeting moment.
‘The time the photo was taken was…..’
When I zoomed in on the photo, I could faintly see the tip of Lee Hwayoung’s headband on the sofa. Since he had only taken it off after the performance, it was clear that the photo had been taken not long ago.
“Zen Andersen Lupin Alexander IV is going to the bathroom.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
It was only a short while ago that I had a conversation with Zen after the performance. My heart sank as I quickly recalled that fact, and I hurriedly got up from my seat.
“Hyung, where are you going!”
“I need to go pick up Zen.”
I gave Do Yuda a brief reply and immediately ran out of the waiting room.
As I ran toward the restroom, none of the people I passed in the hallway looked like outsiders. All of them were familiar faces I had seen since my days in Prism. Everyone was definitely just staff members busily working in groups, and idols dressed in flashy outfits.
”Is the CCTV being repaired?’
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the CCTV, which was switched off, and called out Zen’s name as soon as I entered the nearby men’s restroom.
“Zen!”
“Oh.”
Then, Zen, who was washing his hands with the same expression as usual, greeted me with a bright smile.
“Leada, did you come to see me?”
“Are you hurt? Did anything strange happen to you?”
I immediately turned Zen’s body around in every direction, checking if there was any sign of harm. Zen’s eyes widened as he spun around to match my movements. But then, in a split second, he looked down at me and planted his feet firmly in place. Then, he calmly grabbed my shoulder and spoke in a soothing tone, as if to tell me to calm down.
“I’m okay. What’s going on?”
“A sasaeng was near us. They secretly took a photo…..”
“Nothing happened. Don’t worry.”
It was only after hearing that response that I finally released my grip on Zen.
After looking around the empty restroom and confirming once again that Zen was unharmed….
‘This XXX XXX XXXXXX.’
A flood of curses exploded in my head like firecrackers.
‘How dare you threaten me with my member?’
Do Yuda’s distant voice, saying, “
They didn’t exactly say they were going to hurt Zen
“, briefly crossed my mind, but it was just my imagination, so it was nothing to worry about.
Standing there with eyes as dark as death, I let out a small chuckle.
“Haha.”
“Oh, my gosh. We’re going back to the dorm ASAP. Manager-hyung will cry.”
Zen, who was stareing at me in horror, quickly threw his outer jacket over my head, then picked me up and carried me out of the restroom. He looked like a criminal dragging a hostage.
“Hey, hey, put me down. You go back to the waiting room.”
“…….”
“Are you asking for it right now?”
“…….”
As I uttered each word slowly and listlessly, Zen’s body trembled slightly. However, he still wouldn’t let go, so I craned my neck and shoved my face into his line of sight.
“I got the first hit, so I can’t just stay still like this. You know that, right?”
“We need to get help from the bodyguard. Even if a branch goes wild, it will only break.”
“I told you it’s fine? Let’s see who breaks first. My head is spinning right now.”
“It’s not fine. Your eyes are spinning. Yu-chan said that Leada needs to tone down his temper a lot.”
1
‘Why is this brat so strong?’
Han Seungbeom’s body was so weak that it wasn’t easy to break free from Zen’s arms, who had a big difference in size. If it were my original body, this wouldn’t have been a problem. What a shame.
Ah, of course, if I really set my mind to it, getting free would be something I could easily do.
The problem was, I didn’t know how to do it without hurting Zen.
I took a deep breath, got a quick reality check, then decided to take a step back.
“I’ll just ask that person then. I need to find out if there were any witnesses before people forget. But I can’t ask the bodyguards to do that for me. I’ll just ask real quick and go straight to the waiting room. Promise.”
I motioned to the cleaning worker in front of the restroom, and Zen seemed to hesitate a moment before replying.
“Please promise for Muses.”
‘Ah, this meticulous brat.’
In the end, I nodded my head in agreement with that declaration, and only then was I allowed to set foot on the ground again.
With Zen out of the way, I immediately approached the cleaning worker and asked.
“Did you happen to see an outsider pass by?”
“Yes? An outsider?”
He seemed startled by suddenly facing Han Seungbeom’s face, staring at me blankly with eyes that seemed about to pop out. I didn’t show any reaction to his response and continued speaking.
“Yes, not the performers or staff.”
“I’m not sure. There were only people I always saw….”
He was lost in thought with his chin resting on his hand, and he spoke in a small voice, as if unsure of his memory.
“Ah, there was a woman in the men’s restroom earlier. When I entered, she got startled and ran out. It seemed like she was about to do something strange, but when someone came in, she ran away. Why?”
“Do you remember what the person looked like?”
“I think she was wearing glasses and had long hair. Was something going on?”
“…No, everything is fine. Thank you for letting me know.”
I briefly glanced at his face, which showed curiosity as he asked me a question, then bowed slightly in greeting before turning back down the path I had come with Zen.
“Seungbeom-ssi!”
Before I even arrived at the waiting room, I noticed the manager, with a distressed look on his face, wandering around searching for me. He must have heard the story from Do Yuda and got terrified, so he was looking for me.
After briefly apologizing to him, I entered the waiting room while still being held by the manager, and this time the members jumped up and approached me. It seemed that they couldn’t leave the waiting room because the manager restricted their movement.
“Hyung! You really scared me.”
“Nothing happened, right?”
I nodded and answered the members who looked anxious, “Yeah, I just went to pick up Zen because I was worried something might happen to him.”
“Thank goodness….”
Despite the fact that Zen and I had returned safely, the members lowered their heads in a somber mood, unable to get rid of their uneasy feeling.
‘The members’ moods plummeted to rock bottom in an instant.’
They were jumping up and down with happiness after finishing the first pre-recording, but that happiness was nowhere to be seen anymore.
That’s the way stalking works.
It was the act of stepping into someone’s life with dirty feet and ruining even the smallest details of their daily life and happiness. Nothing more, nothing less.
After remaining silent in deep disgust, I opened my mouth to speak to the manager.
“Manager-nim, can you please explain the situation to the broadcast station and check this for me?”
***
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
As I was quietly waiting in the middle of a deserted area with my hat pressed tightly to my head, I heard the sound of footsteps.
With my hood pulled down low, I reached out and grabbed the wrist of the person holding a phone to stop them just as the sound of footsteps grew very close.
“Han-Han Seungbeom-ssi?”
I stared at his face, which revealed a flustered look, and asked.
“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”
“Yes?”
“…….”
When I remained silent despite hearing words that expressed his embarrassment, he briefly glanced at the name tag on his chest before answering.
“….My name is Kim Youngki.”
I smiled at him, unlocked the cell phone in my pocket with my free hand, and then spoke quietly.
“That’s interesting. The broadcasting station said Kim Youngki-ssi didn’t come to work today because of his grandfather’s funeral….”
Then, with my head tilted slightly, I continued speaking while staring steadily at the sasaeng in front of me.
“Where is that nonsense coming from?”
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Translator’s Corner:
Seungbeom is saying “his head is spinning” like literally because he’s being carried by Zen and was turning his head to face him with much efforts, but it’s also expressing that his mind is about to lose control (either angry because of sasaeng or angry because Zen rudely picked him up lol). Then Zen replied, his eyes looks like they’re spinning (literally), like eyes that looks it’s going to popped out because the person is extremely angry. Basically, MC is just angry angry. ↩︎
My phone charger’s cable is stopped working properly and refused to make the battery up (I swear I literally just bought new cable last month???) and all the nearby stores are closed because of new year asdfghjkl I’m #cooked
Anyway … this arc … I really can’t stand it asdfghjkl the last stand i can’t stand an arc like this was in Woo Kangwon’s arc likeee WHO DO YOU THINK YOU AREEEEE I’M GOING TO KLL YOU MYSELF DONT YOU DARE TOUCHING MY BABIES!!!
Oh if you wondered how small Seungbeom is, he’s not small … he’s really tall, but he’s so skinny. Like the taller you are, the more skinny you look if you’re skinny, right? He’s like that. And he’s physically weak too, so that’s it. In addition, the Pantheion’s members are all bigger than him except Danbi … and that’s only because Danbi is still a kid who’s not finishing puberty yet …. not to mention, Danbi always had a calm serious expression, so he looked threatening too …
Like MC calling them chicks every 3 seconds so we got an illusion that they’re small, but they’re actually big guys … and the ones who looked weak are only Seungbeom and Kiryang, with Do Yuda looked not harmful because his cheerful personality … that’s why everyone is confused why he’s treating the members like they’re weakling when Han Seungbeom literally looked the most weakling of them all. Pantheion’s members are all just humoring him.