Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 31.2
“By any chance, are the police in charge of controlling the crowd around Arena Station and the area out front?”
“No? I heard it’s being handled by the arena’s own staff. Why?”
“Ah, it just seems like there are too many people.”
“You’re unusually busy today, Myeong-hyeon.”
My manager laughed, finding it amusing that I was talking and asking more questions than usual. I had been worried that I might look suspicious for acting differently, but thankfully, neither the manager nor the noonas seemed to suspect anything.
“I’ll just step out to the restroom for a moment.”
I quietly slipped out of the waiting room. Instead of heading to the restroom nearby, I put my phone to my ear and went straight into the emergency stairwell right in front of me.
[This is the 112 emergency call center. How may I help you?]
“Ah, yes. I wanted to report that the area around Incheon Phirius Arena Station is extremely crowded with both people and cars.”
[Ah, yes, there’s an event taking place there today, so higher-than-usual congestion is expected.]
“Could I request for some personnel to be dispatched for traffic and safety control?”
[We’ll first send patrol officers nearby to assess the situation.]
“Please do. I’m worried there might be injuries.”
[Understood. Your report has been filed.]
Of course, for an event this large, any request for police cooperation should normally be made by the organizers or the local government through official channels, but I filed the report anyway—just in case.
If only I knew the exact time and location of where the fire would break out, I could respond more effectively.
“Haah…”
I felt frustrated.
The fact that I, who became a YEARZ, was recalling memories of an accident from twenty years ago kept leading me to these thoughts. It made me feel as though I was destined to prevent that very accident—like it was something I had to do.
“YEARZ, please start getting ready for the red carpet in 30 minutes.”
When I returned to the waiting room, a staff member from the event organization entered, asking us to prepare for the red carpet entrance. The members, who had been lounging around, slowly began to get up.
“Does Baek Jae-heon not even have swelling after waking up from a nap?”
At Joo I-rip’s comment, I glanced over at the sofa. Baek Jae-heon was already awake, sitting with his long legs crossed while staring at his phone. On the way to Incheon, he had kept glancing my way, but after arriving, he hadn’t looked up from his phone even once. Somehow, that felt both relieving and uncomfortable at the same time.
“Hey, Baek Jae-heon.”
The first thing I needed to do was see if I could borrow some clothes, so I quietly sat down beside him.
“What.”
He glanced at me and then turned off his phone screen. Before he did, I caught a glimpse of a news article. I thought I saw the words <Incheon Arena>.
“Could I borrow your casual clothes after the performance?”
“No.”
So it was one of the two: ignoring or rejecting me. But wasn’t that a bit too blunt?
“These clothes are too itchy. I don’t think I can keep wearing them.”
“You’ll change into the stage outfit later.”
“That’s different.”
“No.”
“Just once, please.”
Swallowing my pride, I clasped his arm with both hands and gave it a little shake, pleading with him to lend them to me just once.
“…Please.”
He blinked rapidly, looking caught off guard by my behavior. I knew he probably didn’t like it, but honestly, neither did I. In all my sixty-eight years of life, I had never acted like this before. My face burned with embarrassment.
“…No.”
Still, he firmly refused again. At least he was a gentleman about it. He didn’t shake off my hands, probably realizing that if he did, I’d die of humiliation right there.
“Myeong-hyeon, let me fix your hair a bit.”
“…Yes.”
In the end, I was the one who backed off first. I let go of Baek Jae-heon’s arm and sat down in front of the mirror, where the hairstylist noona was waiting.
Haah… there was no helping it now. I’d have to turn into a woodcutter. Once the AAM ended, I would return to the waiting room ahead of everyone else and steal Baek Jae-heon’s casual clothes.
“Baek Jae-heon, are you hot? Your ears are red.”
Hearing his name, I glanced in the mirror and saw Go Hee-min passing by, making a teasing remark at him.
Baek Jae-heon was silently looking down at his arm. Maybe Go Hee-min was right—he did look hot. Even though it was late autumn, almost winter, the heater in the waiting room was blasting, and all the members were wearing thick, heavy suits for the red carpet.
“I’m not—”
“…Ahem.”
Shit.
As he lifted his head to respond, our eyes met in the mirror. I quickly looked away and cleared my throat, realizing he had caught me staring.
Haah… I really must be cursed with embarrassment today.
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