As I watched the YW trainees’ video, I couldn’t help but let out sigh after sigh.
It wasn’t just because I felt an unbeatable wall between us.
No? If it’s just about individual skills, I thought I might actually have some confidence.
What I was worried about right now was…, teamwork.
If these trainees debuted in three months, they would be competing against our group, launched from Na Ah Ah.
Of course, we had already built enough public awareness through Na Ah Ah, and our backing by a big corporation was definitely not inferior to YW’s.
But….
‘There’s no way we could have the same level of teamwork as them.’
If Lee Ji-woo is correct, then the YW trainees have been honing their teamwork for the past few years….
After meeting only for a few months for the audition and hastily forming a team, there was no way we could match their harmony.
♬♪♪-!
‘Of course, I still need to see their detailed skills, but in this video, their breathing and eye contact are matched down to the tiniest detail. Truly YW-style, so perverse, right?’
After replaying the video multiple times, I began to understand what Ji-woo was saying.
The YW trainees all inhaled at the same moment, and each individual’s gaze was aligned, making it feel like viewing a single piece of dekalcomania.
This isn’t something that can be achieved simply through repetitive practice.
What’s needed is bonding.
A bond where you can sense what the other understands just by observing their small actions.
But could I feel that bond with the other Na Ah Ah participants?
With close participants like Seo Yoo-jin, Lee Hye-jeong, and Park Yoo-jung, I might be able to, but their debut status was still uncertain.
And the thing I’m most concerned about is….
‘Why? Again? Trying to act all nice? Is there a thorn that grows on your body if you don’t act nice even once?’
‘A team? Ha! We’ll just be active for a year and then part ways, right?’
…It was Yoo Seol.
Unless a scandal suddenly erupted, her debut seemed almost certain.
She had openly shown animosity toward me.
When we eventually became a team, would we be able to feel a bond and harmonize like the YW trainees in that video?
‘Would we just end up fighting even more when we become a team…?’
No matter what future I imagined, I couldn’t picture myself getting along with Yoo Seol.
To think I had to compete against us and these YW trainees….
It felt overwhelming once again.
“Haah….”
In my frustrating state, I stopped walking for a moment and sighed.
And then it happened.
Thud…, tap.
Dook.
Even after I stopped walking, I heard footsteps that then ceased.
“……?”
I tilted my head and looked back.
…There was no one in the dark alley besides me.
“……”
I turned back around and slowly headed toward home.
Then….
Thud-thud.
Thud.
‘……Someone’s there.’
…I realized someone was following me.
My body, or rather Ha Ye-rin’s body, was highly sensitive to various sensations. This included hearing.
I hadn’t noticed it while watching the video, but when I turned off my phone and focused on my hearing, I noticed another pair of footsteps echoing through the alley besides my own.
It could be coincidence…, or perhaps someone going in the same direction as me….
Thud.
Thud.
Dook.
Dook.
…This person walked alongside me when I walked and stopped when I stopped.
I couldn’t help but think they had some kind of intent towards me.
‘…What do I do?’
I exaggeratedly told Sang-gu oppa about this, but our house wasn’t that close.
To get home…, I would have to walk at least five more minutes.
‘If I run…, maybe it’ll take about two minutes….’
I was confident in running, but there was one issue: my outfit.
Since I was wearing a school uniform skirt, I couldn’t run at the usual speed.
Even if my pursuer was just an average-speed guy, there was a good chance I’d be caught.
‘Should I contact Sang-gu oppa again…?’
I thought about calling Sang-gu oppa but shook my head.
He had probably covered a significant distance by now.
I didn’t want to disturb the already busy Sang-gu oppa with something uncertain.
‘Let’s just run.’
I decided to hurry home.
If I pretended nothing was wrong and suddenly took off, my pursuer would be caught off guard.
So, I began to walk at my normal pace while internally counting down….
‘3, 2, …1.’
Boom.
As soon as the countdown ended, I sprinted forward.
“Uh? Huh!”
As I suddenly dashed forward, my pursuer seemed taken aback, forgetting to hide and letting out a startled voice.
“Hey, wait a minute…!”
I tried to ignore the urgent call behind me….
“Y-ye-rin! I’m a fan…!”
“…!”
I paused at the mention of “fan.”
Swipe.
When I turned around, a simple-looking man in his mid-20s was staring at me with a pleading expression.
Judging by his appearance…, this seemed wrong….
‘He looks normal….’
With a naive impression and neatly dressed.
Looking utterly ordinary relaxed my fleeing feet, and I lowered my guard a little.
“A fan? You say?”
“Yes…! I always watch Na Ah Ah and vote for Ye-rin every day…! I’m really, really a fan!”
“…Even if you’re a fan, following me secretly like this….”
As I maintained my safe distance, he lowered his head, looking embarrassed, and said,
“Ah… I’m really sorry…! I live in the next neighborhood, and… I saw Ye-rin getting out of the car by chance….”
“……”
“I just wanted to get a signature…, but I’m shy, so I couldn’t say anything and just followed you… Sorry if I made you uncomfortable!”
…He didn’t seem like he was lying.
Seeing him bowing his head and apologizing made me feel a bit sympathetic.
So I said….
“…Do you have paper and a pen?”
“…Huh?”
I stepped closer to him and stretched out my hand.
“You said you wanted my signature. I’ll give it to you.”
“Thank you-!!”
The man soon brightened up and pulled a notebook and pen from his bag to hand them to me.
I began signing on the paper I received from him.
Just for reference, my signature was developed last month based on Ji-woo’s claim that every idol should have a nice one.
My signature, which gave a slightly hasty impression of my name Ha Ye-rin, looked impressive enough that I thought it turned out well….
Slap.
“……”
“……”
As I was signing, I suddenly slapped his hand, and the atmosphere grew tense.
I slapped his hand for no other reason.
“What… were you trying to do just now…?”
“……”
This person….
He was attempting to forcibly hold my hand that was signing.
If I hadn’t instinctively reacted, I might have been firmly caught.
“Ah… um…, I just wanted to shake your hand….”
“……”
The man stammered, claiming it was a mistake, but I could see.
His pupils were growing darker, and his face was reddening with excitement.
Boom.
As soon as I saw that, I immediately turned to run away.
But….
“W-wait…!!”
Thud, thud.
“Oof.”
My long hair got caught on his fingers, and I lost my balance as my hair was slightly pulled….
Thud, bang.
I tumbled down to the ground.
“Ugh….”
Feeling a sting from my leg, I looked down to see blood oozing from a tear in my stocking on my thigh.
But the bigger problem was….
“Are you okay…?”
…That a man was approaching me.
I hurriedly tried to get up…
Zap.
“Ugh….”
I couldn’t do anything due to the sharp pain in my ankle.
I must have sprained it badly.
Running was off the table.
I quickly scanned my surroundings for a rock but found none, grabbing my phone instead.
If he approached me, I was ready to slam my phone onto his temple.
But….
“Y-your thigh is bleeding… if it gets worse, I can’t let that happen….”
“…Get lost.”
“I’ll help you stop the bleeding. …With my hands.”
“……”
Seeing his face coming closer with those pitch-black eyes froze me in place.
He was breathing heavily as he looked at my leg….
‘…I don’t like this.’
After being born into Ha Ye-rin’s body, I had sometimes thought about situations like this.
Each time, I thought those crazy bastards wouldn’t stand a chance against me… but facing it made horror seep into my body.
Jaw.
Before I knew it, I tightly shut my eyes as this monster came up right in front of me.
‘…Dad.’
Please, someone…!
Swipe.
Just as I felt a hand approaching me.
Crash-!!!
“……!”
When I opened my eyes at the sudden sound of something breaking, I saw….
“Ughh…, uh… huugh….”
…The man had his face buried in the ground, unable to let out a proper scream.
Ye-rin Su-ho.
Active under that nickname on various forums, he quickly found out about Ha Ye-rin’s school based on the information he got from the communities.
Then he trailed her from a distance, figured out her home address, and waited for an opportunity to approach.
But….
‘What the hell is that giant….’
Ha Ye-rin spent most of her time at the company office, and whenever she went out, she always had a colossal bodyguard that looked like a thug with her, making it difficult to get close.
‘Damn it… I just want to meet Ye-rin and have a chat….’
Why does the company go as far as hiring bodyguards to prevent fans from meeting idols personally?
Ye-rin Su-ho considered giving up on meeting Ha Ye-rin but….
‘Wow… but Ye-rin is really…, so…, so beautiful….’
After seeing Ha Ye-rin from a distance, her real appearance was several times prettier than he had expected, and his feet wouldn’t budge.
So, he collected himself and started an infinite wait in Ha Ye-rin’s neighborhood.
Waiting for when she might be alone…, he merely waited for a chance to appear.
And that chance came sooner than he thought.
Seeing Ha Ye-rin getting off in his neighborhood and heading home alone, Ye-rin Su-ho cheered inwardly and followed her.
At that moment, all he wanted was to get a signature from Ha Ye-rin and have a few words with her.
But the moment he stood in front of her and faced her….
‘…Do you have paper and a pen?’
‘You said you wanted my signature. I’ll give it to you.’
He felt something snap in his head, and before he knew it, he was reaching out towards Ha Ye-rin.
Slap.
“……”
Ye-rin Su-ho.
Although he was preparing to return to university and living the life of an internet ghost for now, he was a man who had ventured into many things.
During his freshman year at 20, he had kissed and even done more with his girlfriend.
But in this moment, he could firmly declare.
‘Ah….’
The 0.1 seconds of contact he had with Ha Ye-rin gave him more stimulation than any other affection he had experienced with his ex-girlfriend.
‘Ah….’
Now, observing the bleeding leg of Ha Ye-rin beneath her school uniform skirt, he reached a peak of excitement.
‘If just touching her hand gave me such stimulation….’
What would it feel like to go deeper?
Thud.
From that moment, Ha Ye-rin’s fan Ye-rin Su-ho no longer existed.
No, perhaps he was never truly there from the start.
Ye-rin Su-ho was now just….
Wanting to ruin the clueless Ha Ye-rin before him….
Swipe.
And just before his hand reached her.
Crash-!!
‘……Huh?’
In that moment, Ye-rin Su-ho felt the world flip upside down.
Initially, he thought he was feeling that sensation of touching Ha Ye-rin.
But….
‘…Huh?’
He was actually being flipped over.
And at the same time….
Whoosh.
“……!!!!”
An intense pain he had never experienced before flooded from his head to his entire body.
“Ugh…, ugh…!!”
With a plop, his head struck the ground.
Ye-rin Su-ho immediately attempted to rise, but a heavy hand pressed him down, preventing him from doing so.
“Ughh…, ugh…, huhhhhh….”
“B-boss!!”
When Ha Ye-rin called the person “boss,” Ye-rin Su-ho desperately turned his head to glimpse the face of the one pressing him down.
And….
“Ughhh…, huhhh…”
The one referred to as the boss had a face that looked like a demon,… a face that sent shivers down Ye-rin Su-ho’s spine, staring down at him.
Thud-!
“Ugh…!”
As soon as he made eye contact with the boss, the man lifted Ye-rin Su-ho’s head, slamming it back down repeatedly.
Thud-! Thud-!
Thud-!!!
“…Cough, cough…, p-please…, stop…!”
As Ye-rin Su-ho felt his face becoming crushed, he begged with tears streaming down.
In return, the boss whispered into Ye-rin Su-ho’s ear as he held his head.
“…I’m going to kill you from now on.”
“……Huhh, huhhh.”
“It’s going to hurt a lot. You’ll think the pain you’ve felt in your life was just a child’s play.”
With that, the boss flipped Ye-rin Su-ho’s body and….
Crash-!!!
He slammed a rock-like fist into Ye-rin Su-ho’s solar plexus.
“……!”
With a pain that felt like it would suffocate him, Ye-rin Su-ho let out a scream, but the boss covered his mouth, preventing any sound from escaping.
Crash-!!!
“………! Ugh…!!”
With each fist slammed down, Ye-rin Su-ho began to comprehend the meaning behind the boss’s words.
Everything he had faced up to now felt like mere child’s play.
But what terrified Ye-rin Su-ho even more at that moment was…
Whoosh.
…The gaze of the boss looking down at him.
Fully experiencing what killing intent felt like, Ye-rin Su-ho could only surrender his body entirely to the terror and overwhelming pain.
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