First Fan Meeting (2)
His frame, towering over 190 cm with a massive build, exuded intimidation on its own.
The fans, who had been chattering away happily with laughter echoing everywhere, flinched the moment Oh Tae-woo suddenly appeared.
As he drew near, they shrank back in terror, fearing he might plop down right beside them. When he moved on, they let out deep sighs of relief that it wasn't them.
Finally, Oh Tae-woo found his seat and sat down, leaving the female fans on either side trembling like cats dragged off to the bathroom.
"Man, these chairs. Why are they so damn tiny? Did all the Korea University campus gods close their growth plates back in middle school?"
'You're the huge one here!'
"If I break another chair leg like this, it'll be embarrassing. These things are so flimsy."
'Another one?! What's with that casual tone like you're used to it!'
"Wonder who the guest will be. Hope it's our Jeong-ah for sure."
'Why bring up Yoo Jeong-ah at a campus god fan meet?! You're no true fan!'
The massive lump of protein and fat silenced a several-meter radius around him with its sheer presence.
The fans near Oh Tae-woo desperately wished for every seat to fill up quickly so Jeong Seo-hoon could finally enter.
At last, all the seats were taken.
The very next instant, the main lights snapped off in unison.
Soft blue lighting bathed the stage, and artificial mist rose gently.
Then, the backing track began to flow.
"Kyaaah!"
"Oppa! Oppa!"
"Haksa! Haksa!"
"Professor!"
Kim Yu-ri forgot all about the hulking man beside her and screamed her heart out wildly.
-Walking through time to reach its end
Where my wishes lie sleeping
A song that played everywhere these days, to the point of nausea.
But the voice riding the backing track was different.
Jeong Seo-hoon, dressed in a sleek casual suit from Dark Tone, stepped onto the stage gripping the mic. The fans folded into themselves, entering a rapturous listening mode.
-Where my shattered patience fades alone
All my scattered efforts weep bitterly
Kim Yu-ri felt like her consciousness was drifting away.
Straddling the line between sleep and dreams, she sensed herself being endlessly pulled in by the waves of his timbre.
Strangely, she could almost tickle the sensations of other fans succumbing to his voice.
-I'll reach that place too
More like a tiny dream world than a song, the moment finally faded.
Kim Yu-ri thrashed to reject the sensation of her separated body and mind merging back.
No! I want to stay like this longer! Don't pull me out yet!
"Wow, he sings great."
The snide-sounding exclamation from beside her shattered her immersion, yanking her mind back into her body.
"Damn... it was so good..."
Feeling oddly wronged, Kim Yu-ri glared at Oh Tae-woo but could only glance up at his solid shoulders towering far above her before looking away.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Jeong Seo-hoon."
Jeong Seo-hoon greeted the room, his pristine smile beaming on the massive overhead screens.
Forgetting her earlier grievance, Kim Yu-ri screamed along with the other fans.
"Oppa! Oppa! Seo-hoon oppa!"
"Haksa, I love you! Don't go to grad school!"
The venue erupted into a frenzy of ecstasy.
The electric excitement transmitted vividly to the online stream as well.
The screen, which had been panning over fans lost in collective感動, suddenly focused on one outlier.
It was Oh Tae-woo, the giant who'd drawn eyes from the start.
The stream chat exploded once more.
'As expected.'
While singing, Jeong Seo-hoon checked the power of waves once more.
He freely bent the emotional lines of those who'd flung their hearts wide open to the song.
This time, he avoided stimulating the tear glands.
A sea of感動 tears was fine, but for a fan meet, a bright, upbeat emotional surge felt more fitting.
So he twisted the audience's lines to evoke ecstasy.
Yet he spotted one emotional line refusing to join in.
'Oh Tae-woo, that's him.'
Though he could only see the world in emotional colors now, he instantly knew that lone outlier was Oh Tae-woo.
The sheer size of its hue gave it away.
'Perfect, I needed a control group anyway.'
Focusing on the song, Jeong Seo-hoon bombarded the experimental subject with emotional prods.
He repeatedly tried to sweep the lone holdout into the waves of sentiment crashing around him.
But he stubbornly refused to board, guarding his solitude to the end.
'What is that emotional line?'
His isolated emotion bore a color and shape utterly unlike the other fans'.
A hue and form Jeong Seo-hoon had never seen before—he yearned to uncover its true nature.
Right up to the song's close, he rejected the emotional tide, standing firm like a reef amid the breakers.
"I was worried we might not fill all 200 seats and end up with a half-empty house, but you made it sold out. Thank you so much."
"I had no idea what to prepare, so I left it all to my sister. If anything's lacking today, blame her—I'll go home and give her an earful. Feel free to lodge complaints."
The camera panned to Jeong Su-ryeon, who waved half-heartedly with a resigned smile.
"Fans suggested tons of must-see ideas for the meet, so I picked as many feasible ones as possible."
Right then, the big screen shifted to a scene from the drama Illegal.
The infamous moment forever etched in VilLab lore: Lee Jin-wook's final stand.
―Heh, heehee... Another bad guy down. Hahaha, hahahaha!
Finishing his last exchange with Prosecutor Gu Je-man before slitting his own throat in defiance—the fans held their collective breath.
A scene rewatched dozens of times, yet fresh emotion welled up, some sniffling audibly.
"Lots of you wanted to see key acting moments live. So I'm about to show one, but..."
In that instant, among the 200 seats, a thick forearm shot up lightning-fast, silent as a bolt.
Nearby fans stared, baffled by the ajusshi. Jeong Seo-hoon continued with an awkward smile.
"I was going to ask for a volunteer to play opposite the lawyer, but someone's even faster."
Oh Tae-woo rose grandly and strode onstage, ambling like a grizzly scouting for prey.
The other fans stomped in frustration.
"Argh! That ajusshi! So damn quick!"
"Wondered why he raised his hand—ugh, seriously?!"
Stream fans clutched their stomachs laughing.
"The seeds I planted are already sprouting. As long as those shoots remain, even if I'm caught, I'm not truly caught."
As he delivered the line, the surroundings shifted.
Jeong Seo-hoon had become Lee Jin-wook, fully immersed in that Illegal scene.
The dead comrades now appeared distant in the background—a change from before.
It almost felt like their corpses were spectating his performance like an audience.
"Detective, were you chasing me for my sake... or for that suicidal fool with ten million won?"
Lee Jin-wook twisted the title.
Not a concert stage, so no emotional line from his partner.
But he could sense zero wavering.
The lens-crafted scenery began enveloping Oh Tae-woo. Unlike during the song, he didn't resist the light's penetration.
Suddenly, his mouth opened.
"Kid. You're not the only one who's killed."
An ad-lib breaking the flow, yet Lee Jin-wook's gaze didn't falter.
The lens's vividness painted every improv as raw reality.
"So you've killed too, Detective?"
"You knew from the start."
"Heh heh, hee hee. Finally admitting it?"
The sinister cackle would make viewers feel Lee Jin-wook truly revived.
"How many? How many have you killed? Tell me! Hurry!"
"Fewer than you. Way fewer."
"Ten? Twenty? A hundred? Two hundred?"
"Does the number matter, or how and why?"
"What with? Hands? Rope? Knife? Gun? Poison? Tell me! Consider it funeral money for your trip to the afterlife!"
The detective's eyes brimmed with sticky hesitation, crystal clear.
He was fully immersed in this improv. Perhaps, for a moment, he'd even forgotten himself.
That was the lens's power.
"Felt good. That's all I remember."
Lee Jin-wook thrust a hidden knife into the detective's hand—an illusory blade, mere pantomime to the audience.
Brute force yanked the detective's thick arm, the phantom blade tip slashing Lee Jin-wook's throat.
Blood spurted into empty air, memory's bias making it real to viewers.
"Heh, hee hee... Hee hee hee! Heh, haha!"
The unflinching detective's eyes filled with base euphoria, plain as day.
Jeong Seo-hoon suddenly wanted to ask: Is it immersion or reminiscence gripping you now?
"Remember me... We took down another bad guy together... Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
The mad laughter shook the hushed venue, silence lingering briefly before lights normalized.
Jeong Seo-hoon dusted himself off as if nothing happened, forcing a bright grin.
"Oh Tae-woo, your acting is incredible. Let's give him a round of applause."
The fans, breathless spectators, finally clapped in dazed awe.
The jarring shift from deep dive to reality left them disoriented.
"Fun fact: this guy's an actual detective on duty."
"Being a real detective shows in his killer-capture glare. Helped me nail my emotions. Another big round, please."
Genuine applause thundered out.
"Oh Tae-woo, anything you want to say? Go ahead."
Handed the mic, Oh Tae-woo scratched his head, scanning the 199 chicks.
"Uh, that was me just getting swept up in the acting, y'know? Never committed murder or anything. Can't be a cop with a criminal record."
Raucous laughter erupted again.
Oh Tae-woo returned to his seat, and unlike before, Jeong Seo-hoon sensed irregular tremors in his gait.