Chapter 204: Kkotbi's Revenge
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: Kkotbi's Revenge
She seemed to be saying that clearing up my misunderstanding was more important than her fans', and I couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
It was because I felt like I could finally understand a little why fans hate it when their favorite idol starts dating.
It was probably because they’d be disappointed in an idol who prioritizes their relationship over their fans.
“Yua.”
But seeing Kkotbi like this, Joy seemed to think this was even more unacceptable.
“Let’s put out a correction article right away.”
A correction article.
An article denying the relationship between Shin Jong-hyeok and Kkotbi.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen an article like that yet. It seemed Kkotbi had intentionally not released one.
When I looked at Kkotbi as if asking for a reason, she explained the reality of the situation.
“If we release a correction article now, the arrows will just be aimed at another member, nine times out of ten.”
As mentioned before, Joy was dating Shin Jong-hyeok.
Now that they'd been caught up in this, the suspicion would continue, and reporters would pay even more attention to Blackstar.
After all, this was Blackstar's first-ever dating scandal.
On top of that, a single, unconfirmed article was receiving this much heated attention.
Naturally, other reporters would be chasing after Blackstar with their eyes lit up.
So, Kkotbi didn't release a correction article.
“Reporters will probably start loitering in front of Chae-eun's house soon, too.”
Kkotbi said this as if today would be the last time she'd be here.
“Things will be noisy with this story for at least a month, so I'm planning to halt my activities for a while. It will all resolve itself naturally over time.”
As a fellow Korean, I knew that people in our country have a tendency to get fired up easily and cool down just as quickly.
It was true that Kkotbi's situation would die down before long.
Public interest never lasts for very long.
“So it's okay.”
That's why Kkotbi smiled at Joy, who was looking at her with guilt-ridden eyes.
It seemed Kkotbi had already convinced Joy of this before we even arrived.
Joy looked at Kkotbi with tears welling in her eyes, but Kkotbi just stood up as if to say it was fine and hugged her.
“I just want you to be able to continue your idol career without any trouble, Joy.”
“Yua…”
As a tearful Joy cried in her arms, Kkotbi patted her back reassuringly.
“Our Yua is so kind, isn't she?”
For some reason, Ahyu, who was standing beside me, looked proud instead.
I'd known for a long time that Kkotbi was kind, but I had no idea why Ahyu was acting like that.
In any case, it was a relief to hear she was intentionally letting the scandal be.
I had been worried she'd gotten caught up in something strange.
“Um, Ha-chan-oppa.”
Just then, Kkotbi, having finished comforting Joy, called out to me.
She gestured outside as if asking if we could talk for a moment, and I nodded and followed her.
Ahyu's eyes wavered as she looked at me for a moment.
Her gaze seemed to ask if it was okay for me to leave her here alone. I nodded.
She's the idol you like, isn't she?
Deal with it.
“Hey, what are you two going to talk about?”
Mimi chimed in playfully, but Kkotbi just smiled as if it were nothing and walked outside with me.
Kkotbi walked out onto the balcony, slipped on some sandals, and put some distance between us and the building.
“Ha-chan-oppa.”
In that instant, Kkotbi's expression suddenly changed.
The expression she'd worn while comforting Joy was gone, replaced by the look of a returnee.
“That man, Shin Jong-hyeok… could you investigate him for me?”
Hearing Kkotbi's words, my own expression changed.
“…So there's something going on?”
“Yes. I think he approached Joy intentionally.”
Hearing that, I thought of Shin Jong-hyeok.
His public image was certainly a good one, but to think he'd approached her intentionally…
“…There aren't many reasons for a hunter to intentionally approach an idol, are there?”
Blackstar may be a famous idol group, but they have little to do with hunters.
When I voiced my doubt, Kkotbi sighed, looking displeased.
“Of course, I thought so too. But something feels off. A sense of incongruity, I guess. Hmm, does it sound strange to say it's just a feeling?”
“No, of course it doesn't sound strange.”
A returnee's intuition is special.
Their instincts, honed by surviving hellish crises, are exceptional in this regard—a product of their experience.
So I was certain Kkotbi's intuition wasn't wrong.
“Alright. I'll look into it on my end.”
Eva-noona had just asked me to visit her anyway.
Since she was desperate to repay her debt to me, this seemed like a good opportunity to ask for a favor.
This kind of thing was Beom's specialty, after all.
“Thank you. And, um…”
Then, Kkotbi suddenly glanced at me.
“Um, Ha-chan-oppa.”
“Yeah?”
When I looked puzzled, Kkotbi seemed to make up her mind and looked up at me.
“It's just, for the next month, it'll be difficult for me to stay anywhere.”
For the time being, reporters would be following Kkotbi's every move.
Nothing good would come from getting caught in a compromising situation.
“Um, if it's okay with you, Ha-chan-oppa.”
Kkotbi hesitated for a moment before looking up at me.
Her sparkling, peach-colored eyes met mine.
“Is it okay if I… stay at your place during that time?”
Hearing that, I almost blurted out a "yes" without thinking.
If only it weren't for the fact that Kkotbi liked me.
“Y-Your place… the reporters won't know about it, and I thought I could stay there safely. That's, that's all.”
Kkotbi said this without being able to meet my eyes.
It seemed she knew how incoherent she sounded right now.
What Kkotbi was saying was driven purely by selfish desire.
The problem was that, for some reason, I just found that desire cute.
Well, of course I did.
How could it not seem cute when she was using her earlier words as an excuse to say she wanted to be near the person she liked?
“Hmm.”
For a moment, I thought about being a little mean, but I quickly nodded.
It was because of something I'd heard from Ahyu on the way here today.
This would be a good chance to make things clear.
“Okay, you can do that.”
Hearing my words, Kkotbi's eyes slowly started to widen.
It seemed she hadn't expected me to agree at all.
“R-Really?”
“Yeah.”
When I confirmed it again, Kkotbi suddenly froze as if she'd broken down.
At the same time, the corners of her lips began to tremble.
Is she that happy?
I couldn't understand what was so great about living with me, but Kkotbi let out a faint, dazed laugh.
“I-I-I'll do my best!”
Though I had no idea what she would be doing her best at.
“When are you planning to come over?”
“Ah, I'll be there tomorrow morning!”
When I asked, Kkotbi showed every intention of preparing and coming over as quickly as possible.
I had my reservations about a girl so readily agreeing to come to a guy's house.
But this was Kkotbi.
She'd handle herself just fine.
More importantly, the thing on my mind right now was Shin Jong-hyeok.
According to Kkotbi, he had intentionally approached Joy.
‘A reason for an S-rank hunter to approach an idol.’
If he just wanted to meet her, he'd already achieved that.
It wasn't strange for a hunter to pursue someone they liked.
But the fact that Kkotbi was suspicious meant there had to be something more to it.
As I stood there thinking with my arms crossed, I suddenly thought of someone.
Besides Eva-noona, there was one other person who was an expert in this sort of thing, if not in formal investigations.
“Kkotbi. Is it okay if I make a call before I go back in?”
“Ah, yes! I'll go in first!”
Kkotbi, who had been grinning foolishly ever since I told her she could come to my place, belatedly came to her senses and headed inside as I'd suggested.
She seemed so out of it that she nearly tripped over her own feet on the way, and I reached out an arm, but thankfully she managed to get inside without falling.
She's making me nervous.
Anyway, after watching Kkotbi go inside, I raised my phone.
I immediately started dialing a number.
The phone rang for a short while before I heard a click as the call was answered.
[You horny?]
“I'm hanging up.”
[Aww, it's just a little joke. It's rare for you to call me, Ha-chan-ssi.]
The person I was calling was none other than Yu U-jeong.
Just then, I heard the sound of splashing water from the other end of the line.
“Are you doing the dishes or something?”
[Nope. I'm taking a bath.]
“…Don't people usually not answer the phone when they're in the bath?”
[I'm always on standby for your calls, Ha-chan-ssi.]
I decided to just ignore that last part.
If she said she could talk, then it didn't matter.
[So, what's the occasion? The man who never calls and only ever sends texts or KakaoTalk messages?]
“I wanted to ask about a hunter.”
[Is it a woman?]
“What do you take me for?”
[My devilishly charming man, with three girlfriends and an uncountable number of candidates.]
This was why I rarely called her.
She talked way too much nonsense.
“The person I'm curious about is the Korean S-rank hunter, Shin Jong-hyeok.”
[Shin Jong-hyeok? The Country Youth?]
So she did know him.
“Yeah, that's him.”
[Hmm, Shin Jong-hyeok. I know he's got a great body. Hold on.]
Yu U-jeong, who remembered him for a strange reason, seemed to be getting out of the tub, as the sound of splashing water echoed again.
Then came the rustling sound of a towel drying skin, followed by the patting sound of lotion being applied.
“You're making those sounds on purpose, aren't you.”
[Getting turned on?]
“I'm going to get angry.”
[Alright, alright. Just a sec, let me put on some clothes.]
I waited quietly, since she shouldn't catch a cold.
A moment later, I heard the sound of Yu U-jeong plopping down somewhere.
A low hum told me she had probably turned on her computer.
[Shin Jong-hyeok, Shin Jong-hyeok, you say.]
“You have information on him on your computer?”
[There aren't that many S-rank hunters. I did a lot of research on various people back in my Alterz days, for my own sake.]
As expected, she was an expert in this field.
[Age 27, Korean, 186 cm, 79 kg, 7.5% body fat. He's filmed 24 commercials so far, mostly for food products.]
“Why do you have that information?”
[I looked it up while I was at it. Let's see. As for incidents, the worst thing is an argument with a teammate while working as a hunter in the past. His record is pretty clean, isn't it?]
Yu U-jeong sounded genuinely puzzled as to why I was even asking about Shin Jong-hyeok.
And hearing her, I also found myself wondering.
What part of Shin Jong-hyeok had Kkotbi found strange?
“What about his relationships with women?”
[Nothing much, aside from a past engagement. Ha-chan-ssi, could it be that you're finally… into men, like we talked about before…?]
“I'm hanging up.”
[Tch, so prickly. Anyway, if you're curious about this guy, I can look into him a bit more for you personally.]
“You sure?”
[This kind of investigation is my specialty. Ah, come to think of it, I heard Shin Jong-hyeok is dating Blackstar Yua recently. That's a fake scandal, right? That woman likes you, Ha-chan-ssi.]
She even noticed that?
[Wait a minute, now that I think about it, this is about a woman after all.]
“I'm counting on you. Let me know if you find anything.”
I hung up before Yu U-jeong could say anything else.
Just talking to her felt like having my energy drained.
‘Alright, I'll leave this to Yu U-jeong.’
This time, I sent a text to someone else.
The person I texted was none other than Eva-noona.
[I'll be waiting.]
Seeing the immediate reply from Eva-noona, I gave another bitter smile, sent a text telling her what time I'd visit, and put my phone away.
With that, all the preparations to look into Shin Jong-hyeok were complete.
The only thing left…
‘I should go home and clean.’
I had to at least make it clean enough that I wouldn't be embarrassed.