Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 53.1
“Ah…!”
A startled sound escaped from me before I realized it.
“Jae-heon! I came again!”
As soon as the fan standing in front of Baek Jae-heon moved aside, another fan snatched the album right out of my hands and stepped up to Jae-heon with a bright smile.
“…”
I was so shocked that I couldn’t help but stare at her. But she didn’t seem to notice my gaze at all. Her eyes were filled only with affection as she looked at Baek Jae-heon. Unlike when she was in front of me, silent and expressionless, she had completely changed and now spoke to him with cheerful enthusiasm.
“Did you miss me? I missed you so much, Jae-heon.”
Her tone was light and full of playful affection. A chill ran down my spine. I had sat through countless fan sign events, and even if someone wasn’t meeting their favorite member, they would usually greet you politely or at least say their name. But this fan had stared at me in silence, only to suddenly turn into someone else in front of Jae-heon. It left me feeling strangely unsettled.
“Ah… yes.”
Baek Jae-heon seemed to notice the change as well. Normally, he would have continued the conversation naturally with a fan-service line, but this time, he only gave a short nod with a stiff expression. His reply was brief, and his smile looked forced, as if drawn on with effort.
For a moment, the air felt thick and uncomfortable.
“Kyaaa! Cheonmyeong!”
The next fan appeared, and the atmosphere instantly shifted. It was a Chinese fan. Hearing her call my name loudly with that unique accent brought life back into the moment.
“Oh, haha. Nǐ hǎo.”
I quickly brightened my tone and greeted her, smiling and waving as if nothing had happened just before. The strange tension from earlier was soon drowned out by the cheers and the sound of camera shutters. Still, deep inside, that uneasy feeling lingered.
“Xièxiè!”
“Zàijiàn~.”
When the fan signing ended and we returned to the waiting room, everyone let out a long breath at once. I immediately collapsed onto the sofa. Just sitting there for hours surrounded by cheers and flashing lights had left my clothes damp with sweat. When our manager set down some water bottles and light snacks on the table, the members slumped into their seats one by one.
“Whew… There were so many people today.”
Ji-hak stretched his legs as he spoke.
I let out a slow breath as I listened. The thought of that time during Aseudae, when I couldn’t stay until the end or properly say goodbye to fans, still weighed on me. I had worried the same thing might happen again today, but thankfully, I managed to stay until the very end and face the fans.
‘At least today, I was able to show them I’m doing a little better.’
That thought brought a small sense of relief, but then the scene from earlier flashed across my mind. That fan. The one who hadn’t said a word to me yet turned into a completely different person in front of Jae-heon. No matter how much I tried to push it away, the image refused to fade.
Just then, Ji-hak spoke again.
“Did anyone else see that fan earlier?”
“Which one?”
Joo I-rip asked back.
“The one who didn’t say anything to Myeong-hyeon hyung, but acted totally different with Jae-heon.”
Apparently, Ji-hak, who had been sitting beside Jae-heon, had seen it too.
“Oh, the one who didn’t say a word, right?”
Joo I-rip, who had been the first to sign on my left, seemed to remember as well. That fan probably hadn’t spoken to him either. From start to finish, she looked like someone who had come only for Baek Jae-heon. Since she had to get signatures from me and I-rip first before reaching Jae-heon, she probably handed us the album just for formality’s sake, without any intention of conversation.
“But the weirdest part is, after getting Jae-heon hyung’s autograph, she skipped mine, Soonbok hyung’s, and Hee-min hyung’s and left right away.”
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