“…You’re going to move around like that?”
It was what Jung Dusik said the moment he saw Han Seongtae leaving the house.
At the question, Han Seongtae looked himself over and nodded.
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s not a problem exactly, but… won’t it be uncomfortable?”
“It’s fine. This is pretty uncomfortable to put on, so it’s actually easier if I just wear it in advance.”
“If that’s the case, then… I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Jung Dusik scratched the back of his neck, and then nodded.
At his reaction, Han Seongtae tilted his head.
‘Is there some kind of problem?’
From the reaction alone, it felt like there was an issue with the costume, but Jung Dusik did not say anything.
Thinking it probably was not a big problem, Han Seongtae got into the car right away.
“You said we’re stopping by school first, right?”
“Yes. Minseok and Rina are going to move with me too.”
“I know Minseok, but who’s Rina?”
“She’s a first year in my department. A junior I got to know while helping with the musical this time.”
At Han Seongtae’s words, Jung Dusik nodded as if he understood.
Watching him, Han Seongtae turned his head to his smartphone.
Bzzzz, bzz!
At the smartphone that had been buzzing for a while now, Han Seongtae could not help letting out a soft laugh.
—Kim Minseok: Hey, where are you!
—Kim Rina: Senior, I’m with your friend right now.
—Kim Minseok: I’m alone with Kim Rina and it’s awkward as hell.
—Kim Rina: He’s been really anxious this whole time. Is he actually okay?
They already met.
In the same place, the way the two of them reacted was opposite enough to be fun to read.
—I’m on my way. It’ll probably take about 20 minutes, so wait a little.
After sending the text, Han Seongtae took out the script.
Just because it was Halloween did not mean the fact that he had to practice disappeared.
When there was time, he had to practice in the gaps.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ suggests that, at least for today, you should enjoy yourself instead of thinking about practice.]
‘This isn’t practice.’
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ asks back what you mean it’s not practice when you’re looking at the script.]
‘I’m just reading the script. Like reading a book. It’s different from practice.’
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ mutters that they think they understand what it means that a genius’s thinking is different from an ordinary person’s.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says Han Seongtae is someone they recognize as persistent.]
Reading the script and talking with the gods, he was able to arrive at school without realizing how time passed.
“You’re coming right back, yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll wait here.”
“Yes. Thanks for giving me a ride today, hyung. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten to Itaewon.”
“As your manager, it’s something I should obviously do. Hurry and go.”
“Yes!”
At Jung Dusik’s gesture, Han Seongtae smiled and moved on.
The path toward where Kim Minseok and Kim Rina were.
Murmur, murmur.
For some reason, the more he walked, the noisier it seemed to get around him.
At the stares that felt like they would bore holes through him, Han Seongtae slightly turned his head and looked to the side.
“Hey, hey, he’s looking this way.”
“So what if he is? It’s not like we did something wrong.”
At some point, people who had gathered around were staring hard at him.
Some of them were even holding up their smartphones, taking pictures of Han Seongtae.
“It’s Halloween and he really went all out, huh?”
“Look at his body. How much do you even have to work out to make a body like that?”
“You think he’d be a popular actor for nothing? Han Seongtae, he’s got a reputation for being hardcore. There’s even a rumor he ate only chicken breast for half a year to make that body.”
“At that point shouldn’t he feel sorry for the chicken?”
People who recognized Han Seongtae, and people who were admiring his costume.
One person became ten, ten became dozens in an instant.
Click, click.
Every time a smartphone took a picture, the flash that went off made his eyes sting.
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ beams, telling you to enjoy people’s attention.]
Even if you enjoy people’s attention, isn’t this too much?
After only a brief glance around, Han Seongtae hurried his steps.
Even if he had gotten used to the stares, the burden was still there.
“Wow. Han Seongtae, this is insane. You came all the way here like that?”
“Yeah. I didn’t feel like changing. I just wore it from home.”
“Unbelievable, unbelievable. At that point, you saying stares are burdensome is a lie and you’re just enjoying it, aren’t you?”
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae laughed and shrugged.
“Where’s Rina?”
“She’s changing clothes right now. Looking at her, she prepared like she was really going all in too.”
“Mm. You suit it too.”
“…Are you messing with me?”
At Han Seongtae’s words, Kim Minseok let out a laugh like it was absurd.
Unlike Han Seongtae in a full body suit, Kim Minseok was just wearing a suit that gave off a very Western vibe.
With the mustache stuck on, he looked like a textbook butler.
It felt very different compared to Han Seongtae.
“But you actually suit it pretty well. You could probably even film a hero show.”
“Really? If it suits me, that’s a relief. I worried a lot about whether this would be okay.”
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ frowns, asking if you worried that much, couldn’t you have just done something else?]
At the message from The One With a Thousand Faces, Han Seongtae let out a faint laugh.
What Han Seongtae was wearing now was a Batman costume.
So from the standpoint of The One With a Thousand Faces, who had played the role on the opposite side of that, it seemed they felt a little uncomfortable.
“Senior, you’re here?”
With a creaking sound, one person appeared.
Seeing her, Han Seongtae and Kim Minseok fell silent for a moment.
Just like Han Seongtae’s Batman suit, Kim Rina was also covered head to toe in black.
A full body tights suit.
She was dressed as Catgirl, one of the roles from Batman.
“How is it? Do I look good?”
“Um… yeah, it’s okay.”
“It suits you.”
At her question, Kim Minseok and Han Seongtae gave awkward smiles and nodded.
It did suit her, but he was a little worried whether it was okay to go outside like that.
“Thank goodness. I worked so hard to make this!”
Unlike Han Seongtae’s worry, she was clearly pleased with her outfit.
At her spinning around in a circle, Han Seongtae let out a chuckle.
Yeah, as long as she was satisfied, that was what mattered.
“Then shall we go? Dusik hyung is waiting outside.”
“Okay!”
“Let’s go!”
At Han Seongtae’s gesture, they nodded with excited faces.
[Hey, a legend showed up!]
A post went up on an internet community.
A best post with over a thousand views.
「[Hey, a legend showed up!]
I’m in Itaewon right now, okay?
Since it’s Halloween, I expected everyone would come in cosplay, right?
I’m in a skull costume too.
But this legend showed up and totally ate up all of Itaewon.
It’s these two people dressed as Batman and Catgirl.
Wow… even from far away, they stood out immediately.
I’m attaching photos.
Take a look.
They’re inside the ‘Baekta’ bar in Itaewon right now.
If you come now, you can see them.
I’m still just staring like an idiot.」
—AceIsDead: Thought it was bait, but I called a taxi as soon as I saw the photo. Itaewon is ten minutes from my place. I’m going right now to see.
—WhereIsTheRemote: The cosplay quality is insane. Wow… at that level, isn’t the actor himself here? Catgirl is Catgirl, but Batman is just… damn… even as someone who’s been lifting for five years, those muscles are insane.
—LifeManual: At that level, I think this year’s Halloween legend is those two people. They just tore it up.
—CriminalFigure: Why are you not even mentioning the butler behind Batman? He dressed up well too.
—SmashTheHammer: What, there was someone like that? I had no idea.
That post captured Han Seongtae’s group.
Batman and Catgirl, and even the butler.
The sudden buzz they gained could not help but create people’s excited reactions.
The community was filled entirely with talk about Han Seongtae’s group, and more people were moving to see them.
Han Seongtae himself, at the center of the buzz, was not paying much attention to their interest.
“Hey, did you see this?”
A chicken place that reeked of Halloween atmosphere.
Kim Minseok abruptly held out the smartphone he was holding to Han Seongtae.
At the action, Han Seongtae tilted his head, but immediately checked the screen.
“…What is this?”
“Crazy, right? Everyone’s only talking about us right now.”
“What is it?”
“This. The community reaction right now. Everyone’s admiring our costumes.”
“Wow….”
A small sound of admiration came from Kim Rina as she looked at the community reactions Kim Minseok showed.
Even while dressing up, she had not expected to get people’s attention to this extent.
So she could not help being more surprised.
“Look around. Everyone’s only looking at us, I’m telling you.”
“I get it. But why are you so excited?”
“It’s fun. In my life, when am I ever going to get this much attention? You have to enjoy it when you can.”
At Kim Minseok looking completely excited, Han Seongtae also let out a laugh.
Seeing people’s reactions, it really did seem a little fun.
“Hey. With reactions this good, wouldn’t it be fine to do cosplay later for a fan meeting too?”
“Yeah, I think so too. If you cosplay, senior, everyone would love it.”
“The two of you are really excited. I’ll decide on my own.”
At their words, Han Seongtae smiled and shook his head.
Then Jung Dusik’s voice reached his ears.
“No. It’s not bad, actually.”
“…Hyung?”
“These days, it’s the age of media play. The more of a topic you become, the higher your recognition will get, right? And stuff like this can be an event too.”
“No, why are you like this too, hyung.”
Somehow, everyone was acting like they were desperate to make him cosplay.
Han Seongtae could not help feeling a bit flustered.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ says it’s because you’re fun to dress up.]
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ nods, saying they don’t like that you wore a Batman costume, but it does suit you.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says they are curious what you will dress as next, and looks forward to next year.]
The gods were the same.
As he let out a deep sigh at them, the corners of Han Seongtae’s lips lifted slightly.
Still, he thought something like this was not bad either.
At the very least, compared to his past life, there were happier days, and more enjoyable times.
If it were his past life, he probably would not even have been able to imagine time like this.
‘If it’s good, it’s good.’
He would enjoy Halloween perfectly, all the way to the end.
Han Seongtae smiled and wandered the streets with them.
Halloween passed by quickly like that.
—Jung Dusik: Seongtae, the director said he wants to meet about the audition. Do you have time?
Now it was time to return to his main work.
T/N: Oh myyy, I was not expecting his costume choice!
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