Cellix Punk #2
Cellix Punk #2
Buzz.. Buzz..
"Hello?"
I answered Shim Chae-a's call.
Her voice sounded very urgent. As she wished, I stopped on my way to school and went between the nearby buildings.
"Why did you call me here?"
"...First, put this on."
In her hand were a mask and a wig.
"You know it's a mess right now, don't you? The scale has gotten too big to simply call it 'getting attention'."
"...Hmm."
In other words, she wanted me to hide my identity.
Somehow, I had seen a few people with cameras at the school gate. I just thought they were perverted bastards, but it turns out they were paparazzi who came to photograph me.
...I didn't like it. Not that I didn't like the paparazzi, but I didn't like being told to hide my identity.
"Why? Wouldn't it be better to promote myself at a time like this? I have no intention of hiding."
"...What?"
She's a heroine who strangely likes to hide. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Shim Chae-a's bare face yet this Hoicha.
"I've always wondered... why don't you take off your mask?"
"That's...."
I wanted to see Chae-a's face. A lacking desire... I impulsively reached out my hand.
She took a small step back like a startled deer.
"We're partners, after all, so I think I have the right to see your face."
"Ugh.."
I reached out my hand once more. My words must have stung her, as she only flinched but didn't run away.
Beneath her fierce eyes, the mask covering her face slid down. Her uniquely sexy face was revealed.
"...What the fuck, you're so pretty."
" ... "
Perhaps because it had been a long time since I'd seen her, she looked beautiful enough to make me stare blankly.
"Anyway, I'm going first, okay?"
"What, ...w-wait!"
I walked confidently to the school gate with my head held high. For the first five steps, I didn't receive any attention, but from the sixth step, gazes gradually began to gather.
"Oh... isn't she that trending Ingsta goddess?"
"Where? ...Wow, she's really pretty."
"What? Wasn't she a graduate?"
The paparazzi, hearing the commotion, rushed in like hyenas.
Click.Click.Click.Click.Click.Click.
The sound of shutters began to click madly.
It wasn't particularly threatening. They just wanted photos for an article; no one tried to stop me. Feeling more relaxed, I struck a few poses for fun.
I bit my lip and flashed a mischievous smile. The shutter sounds grew faster. It was a ridiculous situation.
Confidence sometimes creates an unapproachable charisma. As if the surroundings had become a sanctuary, no one could intrude.
My face grew even more confident. If the attention wasn't harming me, there was no reason to avoid it. It was the most boisterous moment of my life, yet there wasn't a single uncomfortable spot.
I didn't know... but I guess I might have a bit of an attention-seeking streak.
* * *
Last night,
Lee Ji-yoon's post started gaining attention. Delighted by the unexpected fortune, I stayed up late making clothes to sell.
'Ugh... I'm tired.'
I woke up and ate breakfast.
My body felt stiff because I had fallen asleep at dawn. I opened Ingsta and checked Lee Ji-yoon's account. Since it had been on a rising trend for a while, I thought she would have gained a good number of followers by now.
...The number of followers was enormous, far exceeding my expectations; it was literally a frenzy.
My mind couldn't keep up with the situation. I quickly rolled my eyes to understand. There was a post I hadn't seen before.
A bizarre photo of her flaring her nostrils and grinning strangely. I looked at the comments. They were setting off fireworks, congratulating her for receiving the most likes in a short period.
"......"
The follower count had increased tenfold compared to yesterday; a normal life was now out of the question.
I was the one who made her use social media. A strong sense of guilt, that my ignorant actions had caused trouble, struck me.
At the very least, I should have mosaicked it before uploading.
'......She won't be able to have a normal school life like this.'
I packed a wig, hat, and mask for Lee Ji-yoon to use in my bag. There wasn't much time.
I called her. Lee Ji-yoon answered shortly after, but her voice was hoarse. This only increased my urgency.
She walked to the location I told her to come to without much resistance. I offered her the wig and mask to protect her identity.
She frowned, as if she didn't like it.
"Wouldn't it be better to promote myself at a time like this? I have no intention of hiding."
"...What?"
She spoke in a highly self-sacrificing way for the sake of business. Her impression, which had seemed merely lighthearted, now felt dependable.
"I've always wondered... why don't you take off your mask?"
" ... "
She reached out her hand and pulled down her mask. My whole body stiffened with tension.
"...What the fuck, you're so pretty."
Because her tone was one of disbelief, her sincerity felt even more impactful.
"I'm going first, okay?"
As if there was nothing more to say, she walked out without hesitation.
"...W-wait!"
'There are paparazzi in front of the school!!'
Lee Ji-yoon didn't seem to have grasped the situation properly. Indeed, for an ordinary person to gain celebrity-level fame overnight... it did feel unreal.
I tried to follow and forcibly stop her, but as people's gazes quickly began to gather, I couldn't possibly hold her back.
I pulled up my mask. I was so anxious and nervous that I didn't know what to do.
Click.Click.Click.Click.
The violent shutter sounds made my heart pound.
...Contrary to my expectations, Lee Ji-yoon walked gracefully like a crane. She was stable, not getting swept up by her surroundings.
Later, she even had enough composure to playfully strike a few poses.
She wasn't swayed in the slightest by the gazes of dozens or hundreds of people.
She was a person who lived an extremely independent life, completely unlike myself.
* * *
What should I say...
My classmates' gazes were focused on me, but in a different way than when I was a bully.
Envious gazes wanted to talk to me. I hadn't done anything particularly great, yet I had become a star overnight.
"Oh... hello!"
A shaggy-haired woman wearing glasses, about the same height as Ha-yoon, spoke to me.
"...?"
"Um... if it's not too much trouble, could I... get an autograph...?"
"My autograph?"
"Oh... s-sorry..."
Her rapidly crestfallen expression reminded me of Ha-yoon. I quickly grabbed the pen she brought and scrawled 'Lee Ji-yoon' in her notebook.
"I don't really have a signature... is this okay?"
"Huh?... Th-thank you!!"
"Hey, what's there to thank between friends?"
"I'm your f-friend?!!"
'If we're classmates, we're all friends in the end, right? Is there anything special about me?'
Surprisingly, I wasn't intoxicated by the popularity; I was thinking very rationally. Fleeting popularity cools down as quickly as it heats up.
This was also why I didn't find the overheated attention burdensome. As my mind was at ease, I could fully enjoy the popularity.
"Oh, it's Ji-yoon!"
"Ha-yoon!"
I stroked Ha-yoon as she hugged me. She seemed not to have heard the news, as she looked the same as always.
"...Today, everyone's attention is really on Ji-yoon, isn't it?"
"Indeed."
Thanks to Ha-yoon's consistent reaction, I was able to find balance in my daily life.
I entered the classroom. Classmates I had never spoken to before started talking to me.
It wasn't particularly uncomfortable. I smiled and responded appropriately. The fresh scent of skin surrounded me, and I almost got an erection.
I went up the stairs to my designated seat in the back. ...Suddenly, fierce Snake Eyes appeared and blocked my path.
"...Could you move aside a bit?"
A dignified gaze, fitting her tall stature, looked down at me.
"...Is it because you've become a bit famous? I like your eyes."
" ... "
Perhaps because my mind was preoccupied, my heart remained calm even when facing her cold Snake Eyes. I didn't know her intentions, but Kim So-yoon no longer felt difficult to deal with.
"Well, if you're not going to move, that's fine, I can just go back."
"...Pass."
Kim So-yoon leaned against a desk, crossing her arms. She tilted her chin, as if telling me to pass. She looked even more arrogant than usual.
'...Why is she really doing this? I have no idea what her intention is.'
I went up the stairs, holding Ha-yoon's hand. I could feel Kim So-yoon's blatant gaze, not hidden in the slightest.
It wasn't particularly scary, but I also didn't want to forcibly confront a power struggle that I could avoid. I don't have a hobby of stirring up trouble.
When I sat down, classmates around me asked for an Ingsta follow. I cautiously expressed my refusal.
'Surely, they wouldn't be offended by a follow refusal, would they?'
I consider my Ingsta account not a personal account, but a company (?) account. I intend to use its purpose and actual usage solely for business.
"This is a drawing I did yesterday, what do you think?"
Ha-yoon opened her album and showed me a picture of a drawing.
"Ohh! It feels alive, doesn't it?"
It was a drawing I hadn't seen before.
While I was chatting with Ha-yoon for a while, Shim Chae-a took a seat about three rows away from where I was.
It was a seat far from where she usually sat.
'...What is it? Is she doing that because she has something to say to me?'
"Chae-a, why are you sitting there? If you're going to sit, come sit here."
I pulled back the chair next to me.
Shim Chae-a stared blankly at the empty chair for a long time. She carefully got up and sat in the seat next to the one beside me.
"...You could just sit right next to me, you know."
"...Too much attention is focused on us."
Indeed, as if determined to get neck disc problems, my classmates kept turning around to look.
"Even so, we're partners, aren't you being a bit too cold?"
"...Just make sure you find Nongdurim Station tomorrow."
"...Oh, right, I forgot."
" ... "
"Heh... it's fine as long as I remember now, right?"
Chae-a's expression turned slightly cold.
"...The clothes you'll wear tomorrow are limited edition clothes to be posted on social media."
"Ohh... are the preparations already finished?"
"No, the only quantity available is the clothes you'll wear, and the sales quantity will be decided based on the number of interested people."
"Aha."
It seems she plans to take photos and upload them tomorrow, then gauge the reaction and do pre-orders.
I think it's a standard and efficient strategy. No matter how many followers you have, if no one wants to buy, making clothes for a hundred days is meaningless.
"Is your workshop at Nongdurim Station?"
"...It's not a workshop, we're going to my house."
"Your family will be there too, then?"
"I live alone."
" !!! "
'Now, she's going to invite a strange woman into her house? She's really crazy...'
Her spirited remark almost made my dick magnificent.
Of course, nothing special would happen. Contrary to my expectations, she had called me purely for the photoshoot.
"First, take this."
"...?"
It was a hat and a mask. I didn't understand why she was handing them to me again when I had refused them earlier.
"You might get stalkers, you know. If you come tomorrow barefaced, I'll pretend not to know you, okay?"
"...Alright."
Since I had seen paparazzi in the morning, I fully understood her caution.
Class began, and Ha-yoon opened her textbook and studied diligently. I sat blankly, drawing bizarre doodles in my notebook.
I rested my chin on my hand and spied on Shim Chae-a.
From the side, her glamorous breasts caught my eye. The sheer volume, as if tearing through her hoodie, made me gasp.
'...I want to rub my dick on her breasts.'
There was something that would make even a huge, aroused man moan.
"...Ji-yoon, what are you looking at?"
"...Huh? Nothing."
"Hmm..."
Ha-yoon made an uncomfortable expression.