Lim Sarang
Lim Sarang, leader of Lovely — the girl group currently sitting at the very peak of the public's obsession.
Early in their debut there had been endless talk that the name was a stage alias lifted from the group itself, but astonishingly, it was her real one. Five-foot-seven, a hundred and twelve pounds. From the very start of her career she had single-handedly dragged the long-dead phrase bagel girl back into fashion: narrow through the waist, generous everywhere else. Paired with a bright, open personality, features so flawless there was nothing to pick at earned her the constant verdict that her image and her character were exactly the same. Not only from fans. From other celebrities, too.
And then there was the perfect figure that swallowed all the rest of it whole. None of that image had shown when she debuted as a minor. At twenty-five she chose to shed the old skin and flaunt her appeal without apology, and every time she took the stage, fancam views plastered the upper ranks of the video charts. The bikini she wore at the summer water festival, in particular, was widely credited as the moment that made her stand out even more sharply than before.
That was not the end of it, either. Already perfect on the outside, she could sing as well — leader and main vocal of Lovely. If Lim Sarang, who seemed to possess everything without a single gap, had one flaw, it was this: she had fallen into Haven Online.
She had started at launch two years earlier, and on any day without a schedule she lived inside the game. A girl group riding the absolute top of the charts could never match the people who truly disappeared into it, so she was a little neglectful by those standards — and yet she had still gone ahead and bought the highest-grade capsule, a model priced at well over seven hundred thousand dollars. Mid-play, that capsule's built-in optimal sleep-aid system let her grind at the outermost edge of efficiency. Those habits of hers were fairly famous, among fans and everyone else. She did not post often, but once she started Haven, the occasional life updates on her socials carried more Haven than concert photos.
Dating rumors, of course, never appeared. From debut onward she had been the target of dashes from plenty of male celebrities and a frequent name on ideal-type lists, and still not once had there been trouble with a man. After she started Haven, her points of contact with men all but vanished. So everyone was curious.
"Sarang, what's your ideal type?"
The question waited for her at every variety show and every interview. Lim Sarang always answered honestly.
"Someone who works hard at what they do. Looks? Oh, come on. I don't really look at appearance."
"Then has there been anyone so far who fit that type?"
"Ah. Not yet."
"Maybe no one's looks have quite satisfied you?"
"Hehe. No. There are so many handsome people."
Well, male celebrities crowded her orbit, so everyone let it pass. Variety shows in particular tangled her not only with singers but with genuinely beautiful actors, and when no incident ever followed, the conclusion settled in on its own: her hardworking man had not appeared yet. And you could hardly claim she was after a rich one, either. It was already public knowledge that she had bought a home of her own worth some three million dollars and was dumping six- and seven-figure sums into Haven Online.
That was what people thought. Lim Sarang thought so too. Maybe I'm just not ready to fall in love yet. I love the work too much. And I love Haven Online too much. Maybe I simply don't have the room left to trade feelings with a man. That was what she had believed.
"Ah."
Then she happened to catch a broadcast of the 5-Star Class Pull Apocalypse, and she understood.
"He's handsome..."
She was, in fact, a terminal looks snob. A small face. Clean, open features. Thick brows. Indifferent eyes. Straight white teeth when he smiled. Honestly — the most handsome man in the world? If someone asked, she would shake her head. The entertainment industry was full of people so beautiful they pulled a genuine gasp out of you. Some of them lived entirely off a face, shooting ads and eating their fans' love.
"He really is handsome..."
He looked like he belonged in that tier. At least to Lim Sarang's eyes. No — subjectively, he was better-looking than those people. She had spent a long time inside the industry. She had only belatedly realized what her type actually was, but she was very good at seeing herself clearly, so the sorting went fast.
"He's handsome, and he's a normal person."
How to put it. It was a taste that carried a faint, guilty thrill. She even scolded herself, wondering if she had always been this shallow. A handsome man who did not know he was handsome — no, who had no interest in the fact. A man more absorbed in the work in front of him than in anything so trivial as looks. From then on, whenever she had time, she left his stream notifications on and watched Kim Siwoo. It was fun. Fun enough that she could leave that broadcast running and watch it all day even though all he did was pull.
"Unnie. What's so funny that you're smiling while you watch?"
Even on the way to schedules, the members asked, watching a smile that would not come down off her mouth. Every time, she showed them.
"Whoa. Stupid hot. Who is that?"
"An actor? A celebrity? Did he start streaming?"
"No. A regular guy."
A man whose face made the pulls fun even when the pulls themselves were not. Watching Kim Siwoo rejoice over drawing a 5-star class, she rejoiced with him from the heart, and she donated while hiding what she felt. Two years of quiet conviction — playing the game without telling anyone — shattered under a double combo: her love of Haven, plus her interest in the ideal type she had finally found.
And so the chance was made. A chance to help with Kim Siwoo's setup. She went to meet him in person, spending without hesitation even the title of popular celebrity, the thing she hated most.
Of course she knew. An in-game face was not a real-world face. Haven Online was another reality, so you could not get plastic surgery for free — but if you had the money, you could tear a face apart and rebuild it as much as you liked. And the Kim Siwoo on stream was already rich enough to burn several million dollars on class pulls. Naturally she assumed the face was surgical. She did not care.
I'm not going to date him anyway...
Plenty of people became lovers and got married off a connection made in Haven. The game had an enormous player base to begin with, anyone of any age or gender could enjoy it, and it was virtual reality — of course that happened. If the gap in appearance was severe, meeting in reality might be a little awkward, but if love had already grown inside the game, a person could probably tolerate a certain distance. Lim Sarang was happy just looking, so she did not need to go that far. This was not a love in which you met, dated, and fell. He was the vague ideal of a face she had only ever pictured in her head. A man had appeared with the exact face she wanted, not a single detail missing, and the fact that it was a game made her bolder still — even though it was dangerous, even though she had been so clean that other people would have spun a scandal out of far less.
"Ahahaha."
All through the broadcast, Lim Sarang's presence was not large. A little advice from the side. A few items she had gone and gotten by sincerely asking favors of acquaintances she did not usually ask. Even so, the setup came out better than she had imagined, and she was proud. On top of that she had spent nearly half a day looking at a face that was truly her type, so she was satisfied. And she had watched the growth of a 5-star mage, a dream of hers inside the world of Haven, so there was nothing left she wanted.
Separate from all of that, of course, was the shabbiness of facing reality, which she had no choice but to endure. Comparing Fireballs had depressed her so badly she ended up crouched on the ground.
"I'm depressed..."
A rough hand settled on her head. She did not quite lift her face — only her eyes. Of all moments, they met Kim Siwoo's, smiling right in front of her. She ducked at once. It was warm. Had being stroked by a large hand ever felt this good? She had not looked in a mirror, but her face burned hot enough that she knew it had gone scarlet. For a while she kept her head down. Fortunately, he did not seem to have seen.
"Whew."
Who would ever know. The most popular female idol alive — courted by countless men, ranked first on ideal-type lists — was suffering alone over a customized face inside a game. She hoped this would not be the end. She would hide it all the way through. If she imagined anything beyond this and actually wanted it, a great deal would change, but for now just looking was happiness enough.
"At least let me pay you back..."
"Ah— no, it's fine!"
The moment they had to part arrived, and Kim Siwoo brought up repaying her. Lim Sarang waved him off. Honestly, she wanted to shout.
Just watching from beside you was proper healing! It's a face I'd pay money to look at, so I should be the one thanking you!
Swallowing the words before they escaped took everything she had, and she did not even register what excuse she was actually making. Which was why the next line caught her off guard.
"Let me buy you a meal. Accept my friend request."
"Sorry?"
The sudden words, and the friend request driving in with them. In the middle of her stammering she had already pressed accept. Kim Siwoo, face just as red, had already turned and was fleeing.
"W-wait! Siwoo!"
Where had the courage come from? Looking back, Lim Sarang could not remember. In that moment it felt as if her instinct had simply yelled. She gathered herself and spoke to the Kim Siwoo who turned around. As casually as she could. At ease. Just as a colleague who had made a good broadcast together for a day. And pretending to be a fan who had watched that broadcast from the start.
"Would it be all right if I... took just one photo?"
The instant the words left her mouth, her mind went pure white.
Kim Siwoo's broadcast has ended.
And as she took in that message together with the sight of him running toward her, smiling, she could not hide her own smile.