Entering the Fandom
Lately, Choi Gahee had been having a lot of dazed days. It wasn't obvious enough for anyone around her to notice, but every now and then, random scenes would flash through her mind while she was just going about her day.
Like that time after midterms when she, Kim Taeyang, and Kim Hayan had gone out together.
"You never know, I could drive."
"Gahee, come on. Hold my hand."
"I'll grill it for you, so eat up, Gahee."
Maybe because time had passed, or some weird filter had kicked in, the memories were starting to distort bit by bit. Taeyang looked several times warmer and more handsome than in real life, his words echoing in her ears as he gazed at her.
"……"
Thud—
Gahee, who had been studying in her room, smacked her forehead on the desk.
Rubbing her reddened forehead, she lifted her head again.
"Ugh... I need to snap out of it... Haah. I've never been like this before."
Letting out a deep sigh, Gahee pondered deeply.
She figured it was just lingering aftereffects from how much fun they'd had that day.
"Yeah, it was fun that day. The desserts were delicious, the clothes were cute, talking with Hayan and Taeyang was great, and Taeyang was..."
Gahee cut herself off as heat rushed to her face.
"Hoo~ Yeah, he was manly. That really caught me off guard."
Gahee quenched her thirst with some red tea the color of her flushed cheeks.
"It's normal for unexpected sides of a close friend to stick in your memory."
Up until then, Taeyang had just been this cute little brother type she wanted to look after, so it wasn't weird that those moments had left an impression.
After that bout of denial, Gahee dove back into her studies with terrifying focus, finishing her homework in a flash. Once she switched to something else, the Taeyang swirling in her head faded away.
With her mind a bit more at ease, she let out a shallow breath, undid her ponytail, and ran her fingers through her hair to tidy it. She downed the rest of her tea, stretched, then grabbed one of the dolls nearby, hugging it to her chest as she turned on her phone.
She passed the cute puppy character wallpaper and opened SNS.
"I wonder if Taeyang doesn't do SNS?"
She muttered it absentmindedly, not even realizing it, and scrolled on with a hint of regret.
Soon, a string of cute animal photos popped up.
"Hehe, so cute."
Cute things really were the best. Round, fluffy, gentle ones were right up Gahee's alley.
"I wish my boyfriend was cute too..."
She was in the middle of liking a bunch of photos while mumbling that when—
"Huh?"
Hayan had posted a photo in the group chat. Another dessert shop discovery?
Gahee tapped the notification without a second thought.
And then...
Crash!!!!
"Gahee, what's wrong?!"
"Our baby girl~!!"
By the time her parents burst in, startled, Gahee had toppled backward in her chair, gasping for breath.
"Hngh...!"
"Gahee, what happened?! Check on her!"
"Ambulance! Call an ambulance!"
Gahee clutched her heart. Her phone had rolled onto the floor, displaying a photo of Kim Taeyang in a teddy bear outfit, looking pissed off.
————
Late evening, as the sky started darkening, track practice finally wrapped up.
Beep—
"Everyone, good work today!"
"Good work, Coach!!!"
"Yeah, anyone who didn't hit their times, push harder tomorrow—especially Min Iri! Quit slacking off!"
"Yessir~"
"Hahaha!"
The sweat-soaked track team ended on a cheerful note as always. Now it was free time—shower and head home.
Min Iri was packing up to go when some junior girls who admired her came over to greet her.
"G-Good work, Sunbae!"
"Thanks, Taeyang."
"Taeyang?"
"Ah... haha! Sorry, I mixed up with a little bro I know!"
Maybe because she'd been thinking about Taeyang while running, Iri had blurted his name without realizing.
"Anyway, Choweol and Minji, good work too."
Heading to the showers, Iri let the high-pressure water hit her head as she sorted her thoughts.
'Yeah, I do feel a bit bad about snapping at her back then.'
At the amusement park arcade, Iri had gotten mad at Lee Yuyeong. Sure, part of it was Yuyeong being pushy despite Taeyang clearly hating it, but even before that...
She'd felt off for some reason.
Of course, sensing that Taeyang and Yuyeong liked each other, she'd decided to help out first. Per Yuyeong's request, she'd held back on skinship and kept her distance.
But it felt empty and no fun, so she'd hung out with Hayan one-on-one.
Then seeing those two back at the arcade... it still bugged her.
Yuyeong and Taeyang had gotten close enough to bet against each other—that should've been good, but when Yuyeong petted his head, Iri felt this bitter pang.
She always wanted to ruffle Taeyang's hair mischievously or sling an arm around his neck and tease him whenever she saw him, but now she couldn't.
After the soccer team stuff made Taeyang hate it, she'd yelled at Yuyeong to stop... but honestly, Iri had been thrilled.
Deep down, she'd felt relieved and smug that Taeyang disliked Yuyeong.
"Hoo~ Get it together."
What was the point of feeling inferior to a kid younger than her? It'd just make her feel guilty toward Taeyang for no reason.
"Ooh... looks like Iri-sunbae is finally snapping out of it."
"She's always been called a genius, but her times are slipping, so she's probably bummed."
"Does that mean we get to see Iri-sunbae run every day?"
"Eh, who knows how long the resolve lasts."
Oblivious to her fangirls watching, Iri finished organizing her thoughts.
'Forget all those gross feelings from that day.'
She was too old to sulk over not being able to tease a little brother figure. Time to quit messing with boys like a kid.
As she changed after showering, a chat notification pinged on her phone.
"Hm? New dessert spot?"
Iri tapped it casually.
What came up was Taeyang in a teddy bear outfit, looking pissed.
"Ha... this is why I can't quit Taeyang."
As if her earlier resolve had vanished, an excuse to tease him popped right back up.
"Gasp! Sunbae, nosebleed!"
Iri grinned at the photo for a while, oblivious to the blood trickling from her nose.
————
Meanwhile, Seong Juyeon...
"Hm? Hayan find another new dessert?"
It was a photo of Hayan's little brother dressed as a teddy bear.
"Cute. Should I show Seonwoo later?"
She shook her head. Sharing some random guy's photo without permission felt off.
"Wonder what Seonwoo's up to."
Juyeon's attention shifted straight to Seonwoo.
—————
The next evening after the teddy bear photo leak blew up.
My sister, who'd been in a cold war with me, came to my room trying to make peace and knelt on the floor like she had no face left.
"Noona..."
"Haha, sorry."
"Sigh~ So who did you send it to?"
I crossed my arms on the bed, glaring as I asked.
"Well..."
Hayan-noona avoided my eyes as she answered.
"The group... chat..."
"........."
".........Heehee?"
"It's not 'heehee'!"
"Eek—"
"That's a portrait rights violation! You know that?"
"How should I make it up to you?"
Hayan-noona asked cautiously. She had no clue how pissed I was, thinking it was just her usual grumpy little brother routine.
Others might think it's no big deal sharing cute pics with friends, but this is serious!
Iri-noona would use this as ammo to tease me—we'd bicker and I'd yell like always, so that's fine. Nothing new there.
Juyeon probably doesn't care about me anyway. All her attention's on Seonwoo right now.
The problem's Gahee-noona. I don't think I've built any favor with her, but who knows what ripples this'll cause.
I know I'm not cute at all, but others might see it differently.
"Sigh~ So what's the reaction been?"
"Oh? You were worried about that?"
Hayan-noona looked relieved, like oh, that's all it was~, so I shot her another glare.
"Huh?"
"Hahaha, well..."
Hayan-noona dodged my gaze again. What the hell kinda chatter went down?
No, think positive. Maybe the reactions were meh. That'd be perfect—my worries over nothing.
And sure enough, Noona's answer wasn't bad.
"Everyone but Juyeon didn't reply."
Noona glanced at me slyly as she said it.
"Juyeon-noona?"
"Yeah, she just left a cute emoticon."
"I see."
I let out a relieved hoo~.
"They're all busy, so they probably just didn't comment."
Hayan-noona was totally misunderstanding. She thought no reactions would make me mopey and was tiptoeing around it.
"Nah, the no-reaction's a relief."
"Eh? But Taeyang, didn't you like this outfit?"
Hayan-noona pointed at me—or rather, the bear onesie I was wearing—with her finger.
"Wouldn't it be sad if you wore a new fave outfit and got no feedback?"
"This!! I wear it just 'cause it's comfy for sleep!!"
With the current weather, it was perfectly cozy—no blanket needed. I'd have to ditch it if it got hotter, though.
I defended myself with a slightly embarrassed face, and Noona just laughed, said "Got it," with her usual sunny innocence, clearly clueless.
"Sigh~ Seriously, don't spread my pics without asking!"
"Got it. I'll ask permission next time."
And that wrapped it up. Since she was reflecting, she'd be careful from now on. No flags raised, so I wasn't mad anymore.
Not like I was furious when she posted it anyway—just freaked out and scared.
"Phew~ Glad you're in a better mood, Noona feels relieved."
"Fried chicken."
"Huh?"
"Gotta pay for the portrait rights."
She wasn't sliding past that. That's one thing, this is another.
"Hahaha... you're thorough."
Chicken ordered, Noona left. I'd dumped all the chores on her over this, so today'd be chill.
The bear onesie was so cozy after washing and changing that lying down made me drowsy. But chicken first—gotta force myself up.
With the mittens connected to the sleeves, I'd have to change to eat. Too lazy now, so later when it arrives.
No one's coming over except family anyway.
I plopped on the living room couch for some easy TV.
Thought about checking Cho Yuli's SNS—fragile mentality and all—but the onesie covered my hands, no phone use.
Whatever, change when chicken gets here.
Time passed, and finally—
Ding-dong!
"Taeyang, Noona's got rubber gloves on—can you get it?"
"Sure."
Man, it's been forever. Grab it quick, change, eat.
I yelled "Coming!" without hesitation and flung the door open.
Never dreamed I'd drop my guard like that.
Should've checked first.
Click—
"........."
"Hi, Taey... Gah—! Hnngh...!!"
"...Not the chicken?"
No, more importantly—why's Gahee-noona here when I ordered chicken?