1
# Chapter 1
## Hit Enter!
[Upload complete]
Now the comments and recommendations should come flooding in!
“……”
Nothing like that happened.
That had just happened in my imagination.
“Phew.”
I am a web novel author.
I am currently serializing a novel on a platform called Soseoljoa, and believe it or not, I am not an aspiring writer. I am an officially published author.
The problem is…
I have absolutely no popularity.
After roughly calculating it, I was making less than half the minimum hourly wage.
Still, when I included the income from my older works, I made enough to keep food on the table.
“Will it work…?”
“Meow.”
Honestly, I didn't know.
Once I added up the cost of his food and treats, things were always pretty tight.
Sometimes, when I had to survive on a single packet of ramen for three meals, I felt like I was starring in an apocalypse novel all by myself.
Should I try an apocalypse story for my next genre?
“……Let's just watch TV.”
As soon as I picked up the remote, a fluffy white lump jumped onto my lap.
Louis.
Apparently, he was a Turkish Angora mix. His entire body was as white as snow, with just the tips of his ears having a faint cream color.
He was a cat I had raised since I lived in the United States, and I had brought him with me when I moved to Korea.
Whenever I thought about the costs of quarantine, paperwork, and the airplane seat back then, my heart still ached.
But what could I do?
In this tiny world of mine, Louis was the only being I interacted with.
“……I really don't understand why people watch things like that.”
A reality-variety show was playing on the screen.
The kind of program I understood the least.
I couldn't understand what was so entertaining about watching celebrities live luxurious lives.
I couldn't relate to it at all.
Were they supposed to get some sort of vicarious satisfaction from it?
I'm not that interested in watching you guys live the good life!
As someone who specialized in giving unsolicited advice from the comfort of his own room, I had to say, I really hated this kind of thing.
It only made me feel deprived by comparison.
It was number one on my list of programs that needed to be canceled immediately.
Ironically, though, observational variety shows continued to be popular.
Just then, my phone vibrated.
A Soseoljoa notification.
“?!”
I had gained one new subscriber.
I immediately jumped to my feet.
“Louis!”
I picked Louis up and spun around once in place.
Louis stared at me with his tail standing straight up.
“Mraaow!”
I didn't know who they were, but somewhere in this world, there was now one more person who had read all of my novel and even pressed the subscribe button.
Maybe this was what happiness was.
Not that superficial kind of thing they showed on TV.
I carefully put Louis back down and looked at the screen again.
They're still doing that.
The way they were making such a huge fuss over something so trivial was ridiculous.
For reference, they had just been cooking a simple dish, yet the panelists were clapping enthusiastically over it as if they had witnessed something incredible.
I clicked my tongue and changed the channel.
Oh, hi.
After pressing the button a few times, I saw myself on the screen.
It was a movie that had been released some time ago, but let me repeat this: that was me.
Well, to be precise, that was my face.
Park Songhoo.
I had an identical twin brother.
But the lives we lived were completely different.
Unlike me, who spent all my time shut away in my room, my brother was what people called a top star.
If you're wondering how that was possible, the answer was simple.
We had grown up separated.
Our parents divorced when we were six.
My father stayed in Korea with Park Songhoo, while my mother took me with her to the United States.
From then on, we were practically strangers.
The only thing we had in common was our faces.
Our backgrounds, our environments growing up, everything was different. We had lived completely separate lives.
My brother grew up in the heart of Seoul under our father's care, never lacking for anything, while I lived with my mother in an old apartment on the outskirts of California.
Ah, as for what my life in America was like…
Well… I don't think I need to explain at length what happens when an Asian kid who barely speaks English gets thrown into a local school.
Every time they saw me, they would pull their eyes sideways and mock me with racist slurs.
Anyway, as all those things piled up, simply standing in front of other people became terrifying to me, and I grew increasingly timid.
By the time I reached high school, I had become someone who completely shut himself away in his room.
Then my mother passed away.
I was twenty-three at the time.
After that, I returned to Korea and continued living the same life, never stepping outside my room.
It worked out well for Park Songhoo, I suppose. I stayed shut away in my room and lived as quietly as a dead mouse.
The public had no idea that Park Songhoo even had a twin brother.
I didn't know whether it was the agency's decision or Park Songhoo's, but they had chosen not to reveal it.
Imagine having a celebrity you were a huge fan of, only to find out that there was another person who looked exactly like them.
That would feel pretty strange.
It didn't matter to me anyway.
I stayed inside my house all the time, so what difference did it make?
I liked living like this.
No one looking at me.
No one talking to me.
A quiet, peaceful, safe life inside my room.
Park Songhoo and I had agreed on that much.
Maybe he had some conscience, because he occasionally gave me some money as compensation.
I didn't know whether that was his way of pressuring me to keep myself locked away in my room or what.
“It's dangerous outside the blanket. Right, Louis?”
“Grrrrr…”
“Okay, okay. I won't bother you.”
Yeah, right.
I pressed a finger into Louis's belly, and his hind leg shot out like lightning and smacked the back of my hand.
He hadn't extended his claws, so this was Louis's version of a warning.
It meant, Try that one more time and I'm really going to get you.
I obediently pulled my hand away.
Wow… he really can't act.
Park Songhoo on the screen was staring out the window with an unbearably greasy expression.
A textbook example of terrible acting.
I'm thinking about someone.
I'm sad.
I have so much on my mind…
“Pfft!”
Ah, this was even funnier than the variety show.
I genuinely burst out laughing.
Park Songhoo was also heavily criticized for his acting.
He was one of the icons of terrible acting in the entertainment industry.
And yet Park Songhoo was currently the lead actor.
If you're wondering how that was possible, the answer was simple.
A one-trick pony with his face.
You know how there are celebrities who are considered geniuses when it comes to looks?
A male celebrity whose name was always mentioned first whenever people talked about appearance.
On top of that, he was 186 centimeters tall and had a small face, giving him excellent proportions.
“……Ah.”
Wait, was I complimenting myself?
I was looking at the mirror hanging beside the TV when…
[So, pleeease!]
[Just listen to me, okay?]
[This is not the time for thissss!]
“Puhahaha!”
That had to be an act where he desperately needed to use the bathroom.
There was no way that was supposed to be emotional acting during the climax of the movie!
Anyway, although Park Songhoo had become a top star based solely on his face, he had barely appeared on TV lately.
Last year, a video of him swearing at someone in private had been leaked.
I didn't know who had filmed it, but Park Songhoo had apparently lost his temper and unleashed every curse imaginable.
The articles had splashed the words “Top Star's Personality Controversy” across their headlines, and the gossip channels had happily spread the video everywhere.
Things had calmed down somewhat now, but he had received an incredible amount of hate for a while.
Come to think of it, didn't they say he had even paid a penalty for breach of contract?
Even when the controversy broke out, he hadn't contacted me.
I had simply watched my brother get publicly dug up in real time on online communities while eating soy sauce and egg over rice.
Once the personality controversy erupted, even his old remarks were dug up and brought back into the spotlight, and he was criticized for all of them.
People said things like Park Songhoo couldn't hide his emotions because everything showed on his face, that he couldn't control his temper, and that everyone had always known he would eventually fall from grace.
When he was at the height of his career, his blunt personality had been packaged as part of his charm.
But by now, he had long since become someone known for having serious character issues.
Being a celebrity isn't something worth doing, either.
Bzzzzzz—
Just then, Park Songhoo called me.
Why is he calling all of a sudden? Did something happen? No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for him to call me.
For reference, my brother hadn't called me once in the past several years.
Ah, answering this is going to be awkward…
Wait.
What if he suddenly asks me to lend him money?
“……”
There's no way.
Even if he had fallen from grace, there was no way he had less money than me!
Then what on earth was it?
I swallowed nervously and carefully answered the phone.
“H-Hello?”
And then came the words.
“……?”
***
As soon as I hung up, I immediately started getting ready to go outside.
When was the last time I had left the house?
It had been so long that I couldn't even remember.
I opened the closet.
I didn't have many clothes to begin with, so there wasn't much to think about.
Then I put on a black hat and a black mask.
Since my face was identical to Park Songhoo's, I had to cover as much of it as possible.
“Mraaaow.”
Once I was ready to leave, Louis followed me all the way to the entrance and looked up at me.
Apparently, he found it strange that his housekeeper, who never went outside, was suddenly leaving the house.
“Hey, don't worry. I can go by myself and come back safely.”
“Meow…?”
“I-I really mean it! I'll be back!”
I confidently opened the front door.
Stay calm.
My fingers trembled as I pressed the elevator button.
It's okay.
I'm just going to the hospital.
Then I'll take a taxi back and it'll be over.
It's simple.
The doors opened.
There was one person inside the elevator.
Gasp!
Our eyes met.
I reflexively lowered my head and pressed myself into a corner.
Why did the ride down to the first floor feel so long?
[First floor.]
I quickly rushed outside.
Two women walking in the distance glanced at me.
A man passing by turned his head to look at me.
Did they recognize me?
Could they tell just from the eyes sticking out above my mask?
Ah, maybe I'm walking strangely?
Once I became conscious of it, I could feel my walk becoming unnatural.
How am I supposed to swing my arms naturally?
When I normally walk, does my arm go this way or that way?
The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was moving like a robot.
The Kakao Taxi I had called in advance was waiting in front of the villa.
The moment I got into the back seat, I bowed my head and pretended to stare out the window.
“You're quite tall. Be careful not to hit your head.”
“……”
“The weather is really nice today.”
“……”
The taxi driver had initiated small talk!
“Ah, yes! The weather is nice! The weather is great!”
The driver looked at me through the rearview mirror with a puzzled expression.
He looked like he was wondering if I was sick.
“Your destination is a hospital. Are you feeling unwell?”
“Ah, um, no, it's just…”
The driver nodded as if he had somehow understood and didn't say anything else.
Thank goodness.
“Th-Thank you for the ride!”
After all sorts of twists and turns, I finally arrived at the hospital.
Just as my brother had instructed, I entered through a separate entrance connected to the underground parking lot.
The VIP ward could be accessed without going through the lobby.
Apparently, security was of the utmost importance.
Park Songhoo was the one who had fallen from grace, but for some reason, I felt like I was the one who had committed a crime.
[VIP Room]
I stood in front of the door.
I raised my hand, then lowered it.
I took a deep breath and raised it again.
“Phew…”
Knock knock—
“Come in.”
I opened the door and stepped inside.
Only then did I take off my hat and mask.
My brother, dressed in a hospital gown, was sitting against the hospital bed at an angle.
“Oh, you're here?”
I glanced at him several times before finally managing to speak.
“H-Hello.”
“I told you to drop the formalities.”
“Ah, but, um, on the phone you clearly…”
My brother had apparently been diagnosed with terminal cancer over the phone without any warning.
Yet the person sitting in front of me looked completely fine.
His complexion was good, he didn't seem to have lost any weight, and his voice was strong.
His face was exactly the same as the one I'd seen on TV earlier.
“Why? Can't believe it?”
“Ah, no. It's not that…”
“It's true. Pancreatic cancer.”
“……”
“They say pancreatic cancer has almost no noticeable symptoms. That's why it was discovered so late.”
My brother looked up at the ceiling.
“I only found out yesterday. I hadn't been feeling great lately, so I went in for a checkup. I never expected them to tell me it was pancreatic cancer.”
“But, um, don't celebrities get regular health checkups…?”
“Indigestion, back pain. At first, I thought it was just stress. You know what I've been going through lately.”
He was referring to his period of self-reflection.
Because of the personality controversy.
“And then they told me I have about three months left.”
“……”
I didn't know what kind of expression I was making right then.
“Hey, we're twins who came from the same womb. At least pretend to be sad.”
Park Songhoo said that.
……Honestly, he was right.
It was shocking, but I wasn't exactly devastated.
No matter how identical we were as twins, we'd been separated at six and had lived as strangers ever since.
I didn't know anything about my brother's childhood, his preferences, what he normally did, or anything else about him.
I knew absolutely nothing.
Besides, we'd barely even kept in touch.
For me, there was only Louis.
So, if I was being completely honest, he was basically a stranger…
“This bastard. I even gave you spending money from time to time. I guess all of that was pointless.”
“Ah, th-thank you for that!”
“Hey, if you're really grateful…”
Park Songhoo looked straight at me.
“Go on a variety show in my place tomorrow.”
“?”
What?