A Private Fan Meeting
"Whew..."
Back in her dressing room after the live broadcast, Ha-neul sat down and let out a long, deep breath. Dabbing at the sweat that dancing on stage had soaked into her, she allowed herself a moment of relief that the performance had ended without a hitch.
It's exhausting... but I made it through safely, and the fans seemed to love it. That makes me happy.
Her body was spent, but Ha-neul—the singer the whole country called its Little Sister—celebrated the day with a warm, contented heart.
Poverty had once torn her family this way and that, and compared to other households hers had known a harder life, but she had grown up watching her parents give thanks in all things. Perhaps that was why, even now, enjoying towering popularity and the fortune that came with it, she never stopped striving to stay humble and true to the heart she'd started with, offering her gratitude at every turn to the fans who cheered her on.
I am here because my fans are here. Always give my best. Always stay humble.
Clasping her hands tightly over her heart, Ha-neul renewed that vow once more.
Knock, knock.
"Come in!"
At the knock on the dressing room door she straightened her expression and answered brightly.
"Hello? You're Lee Ha-neul, I take it?"
The woman who entered the dressing room alone wore a crisp business suit and had the brisk, no-nonsense look of an office worker—yet she was beautiful enough that you'd believe it if someone called her a celebrity herself.
Someone from the agency, maybe...?
At any rate, it was a face Ha-neul had never seen before, and she answered, puzzled.
"Yes, that's me. But who might you—"
Shunk.
...Huh?
A sharp sting at her forehead made her flinch on reflex, and she rolled her eyes upward to find the cause. There it was: a slender, elongated tentacle, apparently extending from the woman's body, buried in her forehead before she'd even noticed it was there.
What in the wor—
...Huh?
Her mind snapped suddenly back into focus, and she looked around the dressing room, where she sat entirely alone. Blinking several times, she frowned at a strange sensation, as though something had just taken root inside her brain.
Hmm... something... something feels like I was forgetting it... ah, it probably doesn't matter.
Knock, knock.
"...Come in!"
A flicker of déjà vu washed over her, but she didn't dwell on it—she simply fixed her expression and answered brightly.
"Ha-neul, great work today. The fans were losing their minds out there."
"Oh, really? What a relief."
When my manager unnie came through the door beaming with praise, I felt my own mood lift right along with hers, and I smiled contentedly.
"By the way, unnie—do I have anything else on the schedule today?"
"Schedule? Ah... no, nothing. Go home and get some real rest."
My manager waved her hand as she spoke, her tone meant to reassure me.
I had an extremely important personal appointment coming up, so I was relieved to hear there were no official engagements after this. And for that appointment's sake, I pressed my hands together and begged my manager with the most earnest face I could summon.
"Unnie... could I ask you for just one favor?"
"A favor? If it's you asking, Ha-neul, I'd grant you anything. What is it?"
"The stage costumes I wore today—they get returned tomorrow, right? So, um... would it be all right if I kept them for just one day? For personal use? Of course, I promise I won't let them get damaged in any way."
"Hmm... but why?"
It was only natural for her to be puzzled.
"Well... the truth is, my family was supposed to watch the broadcast today. They want to see me dancing in my stage outfit right before their eyes. That's why I'm planning to leave my makeup on and go just like this... Would that be okay?"
Having dabbled in acting on the side, I put that experience to work, performing the most pitiful look I could manage as I pleaded with her in earnest. There was a slightly crafty calculation behind it, too: unnie had lived and worked alongside me for years and knew my family circumstances better than anyone, so she wouldn't be able to say no.
"Nnnh... no, I mean... o-okay, fine. But those outfits had better come back in perfect condition, you hear me? They cost a fortune. If there's any dye transfer or staining, I'm the one the boss is going to tear into later."
"Of course, unnie! Absolutely! Never! I'll wear them without a single problem! Love you, unnie!"
When my eyes lit up and I fired off a flurry of finger hearts, my manager gave a laugh of helpless surrender.
"Then I'll have the costumes loaded into the car. You're going straight home, right?"
"Ah, actually—we rented a party room, to make it feel like a proper family occasion. You can just drop me off at the place I told you about."
The truth was that both the family viewing and the party room were lies from start to finish, and my conscience stung for it; deep down, I felt guilty toward my manager. But to keep it from showing, I armored my face once more with the acting skills my side career had sharpened.
"All right."
Fortunately, my manager knew how honest I usually was, so without a flicker of suspicion she drove me straight to that place.
To the place where my secret fan was waiting.
"Um... Seong-ha?"
"Mm? What is it, oppa?"
I called out to Seong-ha, who in the middle of our shopping trip had abruptly claimed to be hungry and dragged me into a run-down motel nearby. Unlike her usual self—the her who would already be stripping off my clothes to claim what was hers—she simply sat beside me on the bed, side by side.
"I get that you suddenly said you were hungry, and I can even understand hauling me to a motel... but why are you just staring at your phone? Weren't you the one who said you were hungry?"
Or... does she want me to make the first move this time...?
"Sorry, oppa. Could you wait just a little longer? ...Ah, she's here."
Knock, knock.
I startled at the knock on the motel door—there was no one who could possibly be looking for us—but Seong-ha, as if she'd been expecting it all along, rose and opened the door with perfect ease.
"...Huh?... H-Ha—Ha-neul!?"
When someone beyond anything I could have imagined stepped into the room, I cried out in shock, raising my voice to shout the visitor's name.
"Hello! I'm Lee Ha-neul, singer!"
Dressed in the exact same stage costume I'd seen on the TV screen only hours before, she bowed her head like an idol delivering her signature introduction and greeted me brightly, smiling.
It felt like a dream. I received that greeting with a dazed face, unable to manage a proper reply, and simply stared at her.
A face so delicately small it seemed almost unfair; black hair given a soft perm and falling gently to her shoulders. Within her crisp features still lingered the fresh bloom of a schoolgirl, and her eyes shone, brimming over with purity. Even the light red lipstick and eyeliner—full stage makeup that lent her a grown-up polish—couldn't quite conceal that young, innocent image.
She stood 170 centimeters tall, a fitting height for a woman, and her figure, slender to match her small face, carried not a trace of excess flesh. Her supple, snow-white skin and the lines of her body suggested Pilates or yoga rather than any punishing gym regimen.
The white dress bared the whole line of her pale shoulders, its medieval-princess sleeves wide enough to billow and float with her every movement. The hem stopped two handspans above her knee—precarious enough to set any man's heart smoldering, even knowing full well she must have safety shorts on beneath.
Down to her clicking pale sky-blue heels, the outfit matched the stage costume perfectly, and she was so beautiful—like the pure, radiant heroine of a fairy tale—that for a moment I lost myself entirely.
"Um...?"
When I went on staring at Ha-neul in silence without answering, she called out to me carefully. Belatedly realizing how rude I was being, I snapped back to my senses and barely clawed back my composure.
Only hours ago I had spoken with the monster about Ha-neul, and scarcely any time had passed before she came looking for me. If so, there was only one conclusion to draw.
I looked at the monster without a word, and the moment our eyes met, it very quietly turned its gaze away, dodging mine.
I knew it...
"Um, M-Miss Ha-neul... could I ask you to wait just a moment?"
I had no way of knowing whether the Ha-neul before my eyes was a shape the monster had taken or truly the woman herself, but for the moment I would assume it was really her, and speak with courtesy.
"Oh, yes, of course! Please, feel free, oppa Hyun-ok! Hearing 'Miss Ha-neul'... makes me a little shy."
Just as she'd said, Ha-neul smiled a bashful smile and demurely folded her hands together.
...God, that is so damn cute.
And "oppa Hyun-ok"?
Kgh! M-my heart...!
"Ah, then... Ha-neul-ssi...?"
"Just call me Ha-neul! You're my senior, after all. Honestly, I'd be even more comfortable if you spoke casually with me."
As Ha-neul beamed sunnily and said nothing but pleasant things, my heart—already aching in more ways than one—ached all the more.
I'm not dreaming right now, am I?
When I squirmed in the sweetest possible torment, the monster, which had been avoiding my eyes, shot me a wary, sidelong glance of concern.
"Ahem... th-then, H-Ha—Ha-Ha-neul, would you mind waiting over there, seated, just for a moment?"
"Of course~"
When I courteously indicated the chair in the room with both hands, Ha-neul answered brightly, without a trace of suspicion or displeasure, and quietly took her seat. The instant she sat down, I snatched up the monster's hand and stepped out of the room.
"Oppa, what's wrong?"
"You're one to talk—what's your deal with me...?"
As though fleeing reality itself, the monster feigned ignorance, speaking in Seong-ha's voice rather than its own. The soaring bliss of moments ago now felt like a lie as my head began to throb; rubbing my temples, I asked as coolly as I could manage.
"I'll ask you straight. That person... I mean, the Ha-neul in that room—is she you...?"
"No."
When I put the question carefully, the monster shook its head side to side.
"Then who is she? Don't you dare tell me it's coincidence. You obviously pulled something. Tell me the truth."
Pressed in earnest, the monster had no choice but to lift its evading eyes and confess, honestly, what it had done. In short: it had approached Ha-neul behind my back and lightly retouched her common sense and her memories. According to the monster, it had altered her only within the strictest bounds of causing no harm to anyone around her, and it swore there would be no effect on her schedule or her career going forward.
I had heard from Arin that the monster possessed such abilities, but actually feeling the truth of it firsthand left me tangled up inside, unsure how I was supposed to respond.
"Haah... I'm grateful you were thinking of me... I am... but..."
"Hyun-ok. Once this day is over, she will forget, cleanly, everything about having met you, and from tomorrow she will return to her ordinary life. No matter what you do to her. And should any harm come to her in the process, I will set it right—even if I must twist the memories of all humanity to do it."
Rarely one to cut me off, the monster spoke in a voice brimming with resolve, unbending. Then, sidling close with a lascivious little smile, it whispered into my ear.
"And I have made it so that whatever you demand of her, she will accept as simple common sense. In other words—for today and today alone, she is a doll who will follow your every word without a single question. Honestly, now... doesn't that stir something in you?"
The monster let its hand drift downward with feigned casualness, rubbing at that place of mine, coaxing me with slow, clinging insistence.