Chapter 62: Stalker (3)
“Could she be that sasaeng fan who kept texting Haesol hyung?”
“A girl who looks that normal doing something like that?”
“It's scary as hell. She doesn't look like the type who'd commit a crime.”
“Can you see her face clearly from here?”
“Kinda? She looks pretty decent, actually.”
“She's really pretty, you say?”
The guys' attention snapped back to the window below. Manager Noona was still stubbornly holding off the sasaeng fan. A moment later, a car pulled up near the dorm, and someone familiar stepped out.
“Oh? It's the manager!”
“Don't stick your face out the window.”
“This is getting serious, huh?”
“Leave it to the company folks and let's finish getting ready. We're gonna be late at this rate.”
Even after we were all set to head out, the commotion outside showed no signs of dying down. Then the dorm door swung open, and in came the manager, drenched in cold sweat.
“Manager, what happened?”
The members rushed over, dying to know the update.
“Whew, this is insane. Haesol, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Sure.”
It was exactly what I'd been waiting for.
“Tell me, did you go out late last night by any chance?”
“Last night...”
“No way! Hyung went to bed first yesterday!”
I was about to speak up when Ki Uyeon shot his hand in the air and provided my alibi for me. I'd left the doppelganger doll behind, so from his perspective, it must've sounded absurd.
“Yeah, figured as much?”
The manager's face lit up at Uyeon's words.
“But why are you asking?”
“Sigh. That sasaeng downstairs is insisting she had a date planned with you last night. Wouldn't back down even when I threatened to call the cops.”
“You came up here just to ask about that? Of course it's not true—why even bother?”
“I was at my wit's end, so I was gonna call the police. Had to confirm first, though. If she was telling the truth, we'd need to adjust our stance and smooth things over now.”
“Like Uyeon said, I went to bed early.”
“Yeah! No wonder Haesol hyung's nickname is Sleepyhead.”
“Now that you've confirmed it, I can call the cops with peace of mind. Once they take her to the station, we'll head out for schedule. Hang tight a bit longer.”
“Got it!”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
The manager headed back out. Soon after, a police car arrived, and the sasaeng was hauled away by the officers.
But the incident we thought was over took an unexpected turn.
Somehow, tabloid reporters got wind of it, and the whole thing blew up online.
The sympathy for us flipped after one particular article dropped.
The tabloid rumor exploded, turning the spotlight on me with attacks. We'd skyrocketed right after debut as rookies, so jealousy was rampant—not just from one or two places.
Even censored anonymously, it was obvious who the target was: me.
The agency freaked out upon confirming and rushed to put out a response article. Luckily, Uyeon had snapped a selfie last night capturing me fast asleep, letting us move fast.
The agency's unusually swift damage control cooled the heated public opinion just like that.
But there were lingering effects. A ton of our schedules got canceled over this. As rookies, we'd been booked cheap, and when the controversy hit, they bailed quick.
Some came crawling back once it was cleared up, but Honey Enter turned them down flat—no deals with the faithless.
With the guys suddenly getting unexpected rest from what should've been a packed grind—thanks to my mess—I couldn't help but apologize.
“Sorry, guys. This is all because of me.”
“What're you sorry for, hyung? It's the sasaeng's fault.”
“Yeah, don't apologize. You're the victim here.”
“This really woke me up. Shit like this happens even when you do nothing...”
The sasaeng's antics shocked them, but the reporters spinning baseless rumors as truth hit harder.
I, the actual target, was surprisingly chill about it.
They couldn't believe my nonchalance, fretting endlessly until they realized I was genuinely unfazed—and were stunned.
“How's your mental game that strong, hyung?”
“Yeah, I wanna be like that. Watching from the side, my hands and feet were shaking.”
“Eh... I just thought, 'People sure get worked up over nothing.' Since I was innocent, I figured the agency would handle it fine.”
I've swapped worlds, genders reversed, even my lifelong body changed. The sasaeng thing? I orchestrated it to mess with her, and it blew up bigger than expected— mildly annoying, sure. But with a perfect alibi, if Honey Enter couldn't fix it? Pathetic for a company worth over a trillion won.
And sure enough, they crushed it without a hitch.
Not just commissioning articles—they posted proof on the homepage: evidence of me sleeping that night, audio of the sasaeng ranting nonsense outside demanding I come out. Plus, her prior bust for stalking another celeb.
Irrefutable counter-evidence that flipped opinion irreversibly.
She must be furious, hopping mad. An idol promising dates to fans? Could tank a whole group.
Whether she knew or not, once she blabbed to reporters, the agency had zero mercy.
When sentiment soured, she even offered to spin nice interviews if they let her meet me. Honey Enter, pissed, dug up every scrap of dirt and plastered it online. The smug sasaeng got dragged so hard she couldn't show her face.
Oh well, never got to see her all dolled up pretty in the end.
The company flat-out refused her wish—no meeting me. Haven't seen her since.
With all the gorgeous women around here, why bother with a delusional one?
Getting tangled deeper would've spelled bigger trouble later. No connection, yet she thought we were dating.
Bad food gives you the runs.
With three stunning fiancées-to-be, why her?? My head shakes on instinct. Unless she's a once-in-a-century beauty.
Please don't ignore my little brain down there.
Gotta pick what's safe to eat now that we're debuting.
Anyway.
Once the sasaeng mess wrapped up, we actually gained something from what seemed all bad.
“We're moving the dorm.”
“Where to?”
“Somewhere way bigger and better. Fully secured against sasaeng headaches too.”
“Whoa!!!”
“Same number of rooms, but bigger—way more comfy than now.”
“Awesome!”
“Yesss! Thank you!”
Per the manager, we'd outperformed expectations, recovering investments fast. Plus, with one sasaeng already, who knows about repeats.
“We underestimated Haesol's face.”
“Mmm.”
“Hyung really is...”
“Face cheat.”
“Kinda get the stalker's mindset now?”
“......”
They joked my face manufactures sasaengs—super dangerous. The guys who'd trembled at the scandal news were hyped about the move.
Guess their quick recovery's a blessing?
“Moving aside, pictorial shoot's still on as planned? Not canceled over this?”
“Oh shit, yeah! How's that going?”
“Not canceled!! It's overseas—they probably don't know. Even called during peak drama to confirm.”
“Phew, relief.”
The pictorial was their most anticipated schedule.
“You remember photocard shoot before that, right?”
“Of course! Reality TV at the shoot too. Super excited.”
Photocards—photo cards for fans' faves, aka merch.
“They'll sell like hotcakes. Your character dolls are flying off shelves already.”
Merch sales trickle a tiny cut to me too, firing up the members' motivation. Visibility's great, but no cash in hand kills drive.
A few days later, before the pictorial, we posed for photocards in front of the camera.