Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

The hot packs I had given were now being distributed by the managers to the fans. The hot packs Baek Jae-heon should have been holding were in their hands instead. If it went like this, people would definitely start talking. Where on earth did he go?

“Cheonmyeong! Cheonmyeong! Give me one too!”

I was scanning the crowd to find Baek Jae-heon when a fan’s voice made me turn my head.

“Ah, yes. Here… Wait, are you really dressed like this?”

“Of course! I have to dress up to come see my boyfriend! You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“I can’t believe you, in this weather…!”

I was shocked when I saw what the fan was wearing. At this hour, when you would still feel cold even in thermal underwear under a long padded coat, she was standing there in a short skirt that did not even reach her knees and just a blouse on top.

And then she said something even more outrageous. If I had a daughter in my past life and she said she was going out like that to see some celebrity, I would not only have blown my top but maybe even fainted.

I bit down on my lower lip and shoved three hot packs into her hands. Then from around us, there were exclamations of “Ooh~!” filled with envy, so just in case, I immediately glared and raised my voice.

“Your parents will be upset, so all of you have to come dressed warmly. No exceptions!”

Honestly, I wanted to say “Don’t come at all,” but I figured if I said that, they would just be disappointed in a different way. So instead, I scolded them to dress warmly. The fans all answered in unison, like baby birds, with a chorus of “Yes—!” that was so cute I almost laughed.

“Promise me!”

“Yes!!!”

It really felt like I had become a high school teacher. Ah, come to think of it, Officer Lee once said something like that in my past life.

“Sir, I think you would have made a great teacher.”

“Why?”

“You have this kind of gentle charisma.”

“Yeah, right.”

If I had not become an idol, maybe being a teacher would have suited me, just like he said. And if I am ever born as a human again in the next life, maybe I should try being a teacher then.

Pff— I laughed to myself at the silly thought.

After finishing the short meeting with the fans, I went into the broadcasting station building, greeted the staff as I passed, and returned to the waiting room. That was when I saw Baek Jae-heon, who had disappeared earlier, already inside.

“Are you sick?”

No matter how arrogant Baek Jae-heon could be, I did not think he would do something that would immediately stir up gossip the day after debut. So I thought maybe he had gotten sick and came in early, and I walked up to ask.

“…No.”

Baek Jae-heon answered with his eyes closed, but he looked more drained than usual. He really was sick.

“Then… is it because you couldn’t sleep?”

“…”

“Get some proper rest now.”

Was it because of me that he could not sleep yesterday? Thinking that, I brought a blanket and draped it over him so he could sleep a little.

“…”

“…What is it?”

He opened his eyes slightly and looked at me. For a moment, I wondered if this made him uncomfortable, if he felt burdened.

“…”

But then he just closed his eyes again. I quietly stepped aside, deciding to give him space so he could rest.

“Baek Jae-heon.”

Suddenly, Joo I-rip walked up and called his name in a low, heavy voice. From the tone, I could tell he was displeased that Jae-heon had left the hot packs to the managers and come in ahead of us.

“…”

But Jae-heon did not open his eyes even then. I could not tell if he was deliberately ignoring him or if he really was too tired to respond. Either way, tension immediately filled the waiting room.

“Baek Jae-heon!”

When Joo I-rip raised his voice, startled gasps came from around the room. Finally, Jae-heon slowly opened his eyes, looking annoyed and exhausted, and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “What do you want?” So he had ignored him on purpose the first time.

“You realize that everyone must have seen you come in like that, right? Why would you act like that? I heard you are not even sick. You are not the only one who is sleep-deprived and exhausted. We all are, and so are the fans. But you think you can just act like that because you are tired?”

I was taken aback. I never expected Joo I-rip, who was always smiling and joking, to react so sharply. Even if he had something to scold about, I thought he would do it with a smile. For him to raise his voice like that… It reminded me that people always have more than one side to them. No wonder the company made him the leader.

“Wait, Joo I-rip. He couldn’t sleep last night because of me…”

Before Baek Jae-heon could even explain himself, I quickly cut in. I had always hated noisy arguments, and besides, it was true that he had not been able to sleep because of me. I was also the one who insisted on giving out hot packs in the first place. Since I was the root of the problem, I felt it was only right for me to intervene.