(4/4) Extra chapters are done!
Hyuna pricked up her ears at a sound she heard from somewhere.
‘There it is again…’
When she looked around, she saw groups of people gathered here and there on campus, chattering.
All of them had their heads stuck together, engrossed in looking at something.
And there was one name that kept being heard.
“HS…”
She had not misheard. They were definitely repeatedly mentioning “HS,” her older brother’s pen name.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Hyuna strode toward the cluster of familiar faces.
“Hey, guys!”
A classmate from her department spotted Hyuna and greeted her with a bright face.
“Oh, Hyuna! Did your class just end?”
“Yeah, but it sounded like you were talking about HS….”
“Right! We were talking about him just now!”
As expected, she had not misheard.
Well, up until just a few days ago, Hyuna’s university had been turned upside down by HS showing his face.
Whether she went to the cafeteria, the library, or the lecture halls, all she heard were conversations about the “HS face reveal incident.”
So her heart had been all in a flutter with anxiety, but at the same time, she honestly felt proud and satisfied. On top of that, since it felt like it was because of what she had said that he ended up revealing his face, she also felt a little guilty.
In the end, the move had probably been to protect his family.
But…
Several days had passed since his face had been revealed at the fan meeting, so she had thought things might finally quiet down a little, only to hear people buzzing again about “HS.” It sounded like some new fancam had dropped.
“Did some new fancam or something come out?”
Thinking that, Hyuna asked naturally.
“Ah, the fansite master did post an additional fan meeting preview, but besides that, there’s something even more insane!”
“They posted a fan meeting preview? But what do you mean, something even more insane…?”
“I mean, HS finally made a Stargram account!”
Soon enough, when Hyuna heard something completely different from what she had expected, she unconsciously shouted at the top of her lungs, “What? My brother did?!”
“H-Hyuna?”
Because of that, all the eyes of the people standing around turned toward Hyuna.
“Ah, it’s just, I was surprised that H-HS oppa is doing SNS….”
“Oh, right! You said you were a real HS stan too, didn’t you?”
Hyuna gave a reluctant nod, her expression stiff.
“Y-yeah… I-I’m a real… H-HS stan.”
She hated to death the idea of admitting she was a “real HS stan,” but if she wanted to quell the strange looks she was getting, this was the only way.
However, it only for a moment.
“Anyway, look at this!”
Her classmate thrust the phone screen she was holding toward Hyuna and continued.
“Crazy, right? He even made it under the fandom name? He looks like a cold-blooded handsome guy, but he’s so sweet….”
(Photo)
G-HS Composer | 0 Posts | 120K Followers | 0 Following
Was this really an account her brother had made? Seeing as it even had a verification badge, it did seem to be real.
‘I’ll ask him when I get home today.’
He was someone who had always said he would never ever do this, so what wind had blown for him to go as far as making an SNS account?
Why do you keep doing things you never used to do, making me nervous. Just what kind of trouble are you planning to stir up?
Even so, she did not know if she should call it a relief, but thanks to the fact that her brother’s social circle was extremely narrow, there had been no major damage even after he revealed his face.
Occasionally, there were breaking stories popping up now and then from people saying they had gone to the same school as him, that he was a famous “pretty face” there.
‘But isn’t the nickname “Class 8’s Sleeping Prince” a bit too much of an exaggeration?’
Ah, and more than anything, the fact that she was his younger sister had not yet become known, so there were no annoying situations.
Of course, since they were real siblings, she did often hear that they looked alike, but whenever that happened, she would just say, “I wish my brother were HS too,” and gloss it over.
She did not know how long that would last, but all she could do was hope she would not get found out until at least the fallout from the face-attack settled down as much as possible.
Before long.
“Th-that’s insane….”
Hyuna gave an awkward smile and lifted her thumb.
“But it’s a bit of a shame that there’s no profile picture or posts.”
“Still, the fact that he made an account probably means he’s going to upload photos and do promotions and stuff, right?”
“If he’s going to upload anyway, I hope he posts a ton of that noble face. So we can heal!”
Her classmates started chattering again among themselves in front of the screen showing HS’s account.
Honestly, no matter how much she saw it, it was still a scene she could not get used to.
‘Is my brother really that big of a deal?’ (T/N: Girl, please)
Tilting her head, Hyuna quietly slipped out of the group.
And then, soon.
She opened the Switter app, tapped on the search bar, and muttered.
“Oppa’s fansite master… was it Yoonu-mom?”
Right now, at this very moment, Hyunseung could not help but wonder if the world was not testing him.
Right.
At this level, was this not a hidden camera prank?
“Ah.”
A vague sense of futility and emptiness welled up, to the point that he did not feel like doing anything.
“How can this even be happening?”
Shaking his head as if he truly could not understand, Hyunseung let out a sigh.
It was because Mateo had not so much as read, let alone replied to, the DM he had sent him.
When Mateo had wanted to find Hyunseung, he had gone out of his way, but now that Hyunseung was the one reaching out first, there was no response.
In the meantime, notifications for follow requests he had not even wanted kept going off, draining his battery.
On top of that, because of the flood of DMs, the DM window where he had sent Mateo a message had been pushed all the way down.
No, but….
How were people even finding the account to follow? The fact that the follower count had already gone past 120,000 was amazing too.
“Ah.”
People, originally, are more consumed by desire for what they cannot have.
For example, people with double eyelids envy those with monolids, and people with monolids envy those with double eyelids.
Similarly, being drawn to a bad boy or a bad girl could be seen as coming from the same kind of desire, could it not?
Right now, that was exactly how Hyunseung was.
When he first heard that someone had posted something about him, he had only thought, ‘Did that person from my past life with whom I had that bad relationship suddenly have some change of heart?’ It did not particularly feel interesting.
But when he suddenly heard that the person was now looking for HS with not-so-good feelings, he became strangely more curious and found it more interesting, to the point he could not easily let it go.
On top of that, various obstacles were blocking him from getting through to Mateo, and even when he tried to reach out, the attempts did not go through, so it only made his heart burn all the more.
“Ha…”
Looking at the message that still showed as unread, Hyunseung muttered in a somewhat suspicious tone.
“So that’s how you want to play it.”
It was someone he had been entangled with once before even in his previous life. Of course, it had not been a good connection, but a connection was still a connection.
Because of that, he also knew a method that would force Mateo to have no choice but to contact him. It was something he had vowed he would never use, leaving it as a last resort….
“It cannot be helped.”
Right, when he had a way, there was no need to leave it unused.
Before long, Hyunseung called someone.
“Teacher.”
And then, in a tone laced with a hint of laughter, he added.
“Maybe because the weather is so nice today, I keep craving the taste of oolong tea we drank in that quiet pavilion.”
Mateo might end up hating him even more, but there was something he wanted to ask, even if it meant pressing his trigger.
He would definitely ask. No matter what.
Lee Duseok could say, staking all the years he had lived and the achievements he had piled up, that in his not-at-all-short life he had met very many types of people.
The entertainment industry was an environment where you could not help but encounter all sorts of types of people.
But this was truly the first time.
He could say that, staking his whole life, he had met a type of person he had never seen since he was born.
That was…
His Go opponent, Min Hyunseung.
Clack, tap!
After playing the final move, Hyunseung gave a wide grin.
“So, since I won the game, you will grant the favor I mentioned earlier, right?”
“Ha, my word…”
Lee Duseok let out a sigh that sounded utterly drained. Last time, he had thought he had gone easy on purpose and lost, but that was not it.
The kid had gone all out and driven him into a corner once he had something to ask for, and before he had time to do anything, the game had ended.
“It’s not enough that you only show up when you need something, you even go as far as killing an old man’s spirit.”
“I couldn’t help it either. So please don’t be too upset with me.”
Massaging Lee Duseok’s shoulders in small circles, Hyunseung added in a sly tone, “I’m counting on you.”
“This brat, really…”
For a moment, Lee Duseok glared at such a Hyunseung as if he found him annoying.
“But are you really serious?”
With a rather serious face, he asked again to confirm.
“That you want me to spread something like that to foreign media outlets….”
No, it was something he truly had to ask again.
“Yes, I’m serious.”
Judging by Hyunseung’s firm answer, he clearly meant it. Instead of trying to dissuade him, Lee Duseok simply nodded as if to say he understood.
Honestly, sometimes he acted as boldly as a fearless, naked thunderbolt of a youngster who feared nothing in the world, and at other times he seemed like a man standing on top of the world, slick and shrewd.
It was like a person who had tasted all the bitterness of life and reached a certain realm was wearing the mask of a mischievous, wild boy.
He was a type of person Lee had never seen in his life. That was why he felt drawn to him, and as an opponent in Go he was excellent, so he had ended up granting his requests.
Of course, he had never imagined he would ever ask for this kind of favor. It was entirely different in nature from the requests he had made up until now.
‘Mateo, huh…’
He did not know why this young man suddenly wanted to drag Mateo into it, or what kind of change of heart had taken place in him.
But what was certain was that he felt a renewed anticipation that another tremendous “work” would be born.
This kid was the only one who, in the life of quietly, peacefully just waiting for death, allowed him to hold a soft, budding sense of expectation, and perhaps that was why he felt him to be such a strange type.
“Very well.”
Resting his hand on the Go board, Lee Duseok stood up and added.
“If that’s how you feel, then there’s nothing for it but for me to exert my strength.”
At those words, Hyunseung quietly held out his right hand.
“Please shake my hand.”
“Hm? So suddenly?”
“Yes, please take it.”
Caught off guard by Hyunseung’s uncharacteristic action, Lee hesitated for a moment, but having no reason not to take it, he clasped his hand firmly.
“Why is there so much strength in your hand.”
And then, feeling the grip in his hand, he added in a low voice.
“I know you are full of strength, but I’ve told you over and over that life is best lived with some of that strength released…”
At those words, Hyunseung gave a small smile and shook the hand he was holding.
“Your grip strength is so weak that I’m a little worried whether you’ll be able to use your strength properly, but I’ll trust you and wait.”
“What, you little punk?”
“You should work out a bit too, sir. You’re so scrawny because you spend every day here in the pavilion, enjoying teatime like some noble young lady.”
With that, he quickly pulled his hand away and took a step back.
“Ha.”
Looking at him, Lee Duseok let out a laugh of disbelief.
Truly.
He was a kind of person Lee had never encountered before in his life.
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