Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

The car heading to the fan sign event was much brighter than usual. Outside the window, it was warm like spring, and the members’ laughter filled the space. Just knowing that after today we would get a month-long vacation made all the fatigue melt away.

Even in this excited atmosphere, the manager kept giving endless warnings.

“Everyone, don’t run around recklessly during your vacation. Be careful. No dating. Even if you meet friends, make sure no photos get taken.”

It felt like I had heard that for the tenth time already. Usually, I would have replied halfheartedly with “Yeees~,” but today, maybe because everyone was in a good mood, we all replied loudly in unison, “Yes!” The manager chuckled briefly and shook his head.

I leaned slightly on Baek Jae-heon next to me and murmured quietly.

“After we hang out this time, let’s go to my house.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. It’s dangerous to leave you alone at the accommodation. You won’t even be there a week anyway.”

Baek Jae-heon seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded briefly.

“Got it.”

Suddenly, I wondered if going to my house might be a burden for him, so I added,

“Is it uncomfortable for you?”

Baek Jae-heon paused briefly, then shook his head. He added a reason as if to clarify it really wasn’t a problem.

“I was worried your parents might feel burdened.”

“My parents?”

“Yeah. They want to see their son as much as they can, but if I’m with you, it takes up their time.”

I felt relieved. So it wasn’t me being burdensome. He was thoughtful, and I almost reached out to pat his head. If the other members weren’t around, I would have patted his head endlessly.

“My mom likes your face a lot. She won’t feel burdened at all. Don’t worry.”

“In that case, I like it.”

Baek Jae-heon smiled softly and nodded. He liked the idea of coming to my house. I turned on the family group chat and sent a message. My parents had already been worried about whether Baek Jae-heon would be okay. When the news about Baek Jae-heon’s father allegedly making financial threats came out, they had even suggested that if he had nowhere to go during holidays, he could come to our house. This time, I told them it wouldn’t be good for him to stay alone at the accommodation for a month. Naturally, they said it was fine for him to come with me.

“But you’ll still have to sign a lot at your father’s dojo. I heard the adult class has grown a lot this time. But all the new students are women and fans of mine.”

“……But isn’t your father in danger then?”

“Didn’t you see him?”

“Oh, right.”

Baek Jae-heon seemed to recall my father’s appearance and laughed, nodding as if there was no need to worry. As the head of a judo hall, he could easily handle three grown men at once if a fight occurred.

“We’ve arrived.”

Guided by the road manager, the members filed out of the car.

The fan sign venue was a small auditorium-type hall collaborating with a cosmetics brand. After doing light touch-ups on hair and makeup in the waiting room at the back, we hurried onto the stage.

The fans clapped and welcomed us, and my eyes quickly searched for the camera taking pictures of me. A woman holding a massive camera met my gaze and raised her hand slightly. I waved and smiled back. She was my top-choice home photographer, always taking exceptionally flattering and well-edited photos. I was grateful to her for consistently posting legendary pictures.

I made all sorts of poses for the camera—cat ears, dog ears, ribbons. She coolly gave a thumbs-up, and I turned to other photographers in the crowd, posing diligently for them too.

“…Hmm?”

Then someone beside the home photographer caught my attention. Where had I seen that person before? I racked my brain but couldn’t recall. It wasn’t one of my fans, since I generally remembered all my fans. They weren’t holding banners or photos either, so I had no idea whose fan they were. Perhaps I had seen them somewhere before.