173. Why Are You Looking at Me Like That
173. Why Are You Looking at Me Like That
***
Knock, knock.
Serin turned her head, wondering what the sound was. She saw two women standing at the entrance of the pension.
Both had cute faces that still held a youthful air, and they looked about high school age. They resembled each other so closely that anyone could tell at a glance they were sisters.
And when Serin noticed that both of their gazes were fixed on Eunha, she immediately understood the situation.
'Fans?'
When Serin looked at Eunha, Eunha rose from her seat.
"Serin, please keep eating."
"No. I'll just wait."
Eunha smiled faintly at that and then walked over. As she approached the women who had come, both of their cute faces lit up brightly.
"Oh, sorry for interrupting your meal."
"You're Jeanne d'Arc, right? I recognized you from way off when you were coming over!"
The older of the sisters spoke as if apologizing for the intrusion, while the short-haired woman raised her voice with a bold, bright tone.
"Yes. That's right. What brings you...?"
Even at their reaction, Eunha nodded calmly, and the two women looked at each other and made a small fuss, confirming that it really was Jeanne d'Arc.
Then they took out the pens and small fan cards they had brought and held them out to Eunha.
"It's nothing else—could we get your autograph?"
"I really never thought I'd run into you in a place like this, seriously... Did you come here to rest too, Jeanne d'Arc? I'm really a fan of yours! Ah, seriously, how is there a coincidence like this? Isn't this fate? I was so upset I couldn't make it to your fan meeting last time, but right now it feels like I'm receiving a gift!"
......
After that, Eunha ended up dealing with the fans for longer than expected before she could finally send them on their way.
She couldn't be cold to people who had even brought out fan cards and called themselves fans, and with the thought that Serin was watching, Eunha couldn't easily let out her usual cold words either.
Once the women had left, Serin called out to Eunha.
"Eunha, come on and eat."
"Sorry. Did you wait long?"
As she sat down and spoke with an apologetic look, Serin shook her head.
Then she pointed at the plate in front of her and said.
"How is it, Eunha? Nicely grilled, right?"
When Eunha saw the seafood neatly arranged on the plate, already prepared for easy eating, she looked at Serin with a slightly surprised expression.
"You... did all this already?"
There was quite a lot of seafood, so preparing it all must have taken some work. When had she done all this?
And on top of that, Eunha had planned to take care of Serin today, but since Serin had taken care of her first, Eunha felt both pleased and a little regretful.
"It's nothing, really."
And honestly, Serin found it entertaining just listening to the two sisters talk with Eunha.
Seeing someone I knew being admired like that by other people felt rather novel.
Clink.
Tap.
And so began their late lunch.
The prepared charcoal, the grilled clams cooked right on the iron plate over it—the taste was...
"...!"
The moment she took a bite, Serin's eyes widened.
The distinctive scent of the sea combined with the chewy texture made her smile without realizing it. Grilling and eating outdoors like this definitely tasted different.
Eunha smiled faintly at the sight of Serin so openly showing how much she liked it, and then she too began eating.
Amid the vast, sprawling natural scenery.
The leisurely lunch the two of them shared was passing slowly, yet also quickly.
***
Swish.
When he turned his head.
Swish.
Then he immediately turned his head back.
His gaze kept drifting over, but he kept turning away as if trying not to look. Eunwoo sighed and buried his face in his hands.
"...How are you any different from those paparazzi scumbags?"
Even as he berated himself blankly, Eunwoo remained wrapped in turmoil.
When paparazzi had followed him every day to learn about his private life, he had been utterly disgusted. But now, without even realizing it, he was casting glances at another woman and gradually coming to understand how those paparazzi felt—it even gave him a kind of disillusionment.
"..."
Even though there was definitely distance between them, the women's faces faintly entered his view.
From the sight of them having lunch in one corner of the yard just now, to what looked like two girls getting autographs a moment ago.
In the end, I had been watching without even realizing it.
"But who's the person with Jeanne d'Arc...?"
He wondered if it was a friend, but his gaze was also drawn to the silver-haired woman. Even the woman she was with had an extraordinary appearance.
Her blue-tinged eyes, following the line of her hair tied up high, were striking.
She looked like a foreign model, and I couldn't quite tell whether she was mixed-race or not. But one thing was certain: even to me, who had seen many female celebrities, she was exceptionally beautiful.
Enough that while he was looking to see Jeanne d'Arc, his gaze would inadvertently drift to her now and then.
Then Eunwoo rummaged through the luggage he had brought.
Since it was a prepared camping setup, he hadn't brought much, but he spotted a fan card tucked into his smartphone case.
Eunwoo, who had experienced both the position of a fan and the position of a star, was now caught in immense turmoil.
As a fan, part of him wanted to go over and talk to her directly like the girls he had just seen, and get an autograph on the fan card himself.
But on the other hand, Eunwoo knew better than anyone how it felt to have fans show up on a day off, and he knew she would dislike it if he went over.
"Right. Obviously. Jeanne d'Arc must have come here to rest too."
The reason she came here was surely to rest without being disturbed by others.
He could tell just from the way she had handled the fans who had come over a moment ago.
The way her expression had subtly furrowed had been clearly visible to Eunwoo's eyes.
And I was here for the same reason—to spend some quiet time alone.
Would Jeanne d'Arc be any different?
Thinking rationally, for Jeanne d'Arc's sake, the right thing was to pretend he hadn't seen her and not pay her any attention.
Even as he thought that, words tinged with regret slipped out for no reason.
"An opportunity like this won't come again."
But could such a huge coincidence ever happen again?
Jeanne d'Arc was already known to be hard to meet.
Among fans, TSJ match tickets were known to be harder to get than tickets for most famous singers.
Unless you succeeded in the practically impossible ticketing, it was safe to say there was almost no chance of meeting Jeanne d'Arc.
A day like this, like fate that would never come again.
Eunwoo's reason and emotion clashed endlessly.
Should he give up his desire to meet her as a fan and quietly pass by for her sake?
Or should he go over, say he was a fan, and disturb the mood of someone who had come to rest?
"..."
As he blankly stared at the fan card amid those thoughts.
The image of Jeanne d'Arc shyly kissing the championship trophy appeared vividly.
The fan card Eunwoo was looking at was the 2029 Summer Season limited-edition Jeanne d'Arc fan card.
Among Jeanne d'Arc fan cards, it was known to be quite rare.
Only 100 of the cards had been produced as special commemorative merchandise for the year the ACK League first launched.
Eunwoo hadn't gotten this fan card through luck—he had simply paid a large sum to buy one that had been listed on an auction site.
The fan card had cost a little over 2 million won when he bought it. It was expensive, but Eunwoo liked both its rarity and the artwork on it.
The sight of her showing joy at achieving something was unlike Jeanne d'Arc's usual cold image—it was like a moment where she revealed her true feelings.
After staring blankly at the fan card for a while, Eunwoo finally finished deliberating.
As he quietly lowered the hands covering his face.
He swallowed his regret.
"Right. A fan... since I'm a fan."
Hadn't Jeanne d'Arc recently said she wanted to rest, even taking a break during the league?
So.
If he was truly her fan, he should know how to give up.
"......"
Wasn't just seeing her directly like this from a relatively close distance enough to be satisfied?
Eunwoo rationalized his decision, convincing himself that not approaching her was the right thing to do.
***
That enjoyable times pass quickly was like an unchanging truth. The afternoon had passed, and evening was now approaching.
After finishing their meal, Eunha and Serin had looked around the inside of the pension and talked, and just by walking along the well-kept trail within the grounds, the day had already begun to fade.
The two of them had followed the trail down to the large lakeshore below the glamping grounds.
Even the wide lakeshore area seemed to be separately designated, and the lakeshore, which offered quite beautiful scenery, was somehow quiet with not a single person around.
"Sometimes, just looking at a lake like this isn't so bad."
After gazing at the lake for a moment, Serin sat down on a broad rock nearby.
Then she called out to Eunha.
"Eunha?"
She patted the spot beside her as if telling her to sit. Eunha naturally sat down next to Serin.
With the two women sitting close enough to almost touch, gazing out at the lakeshore, the scene itself became a picture.
After that, without saying anything in particular and without even looking at each other, the two of them savored the lakeside scenery as the sunset deepened.
The sky, gradually turning red and colorful as the day faded.
Beneath that sunset sky, the sight of the blue lake being dyed red was enough to steal both of their gazes.
And as the heat that had raged as if angry slowly cooled, as if its temper was settling, the weather itself grew calm—there was no better time to enjoy the view.
"This must be what they call healing, right?"
Serin, who had been gazing at the lake, spoke in a mysterious tone.
"I think so."
Serin's figure, staring blankly at the sunset-lit lake, looked as if she had fallen completely under the spell of the scenery.
Since she seemed mostly satisfied, Eunha felt satisfied too.
'What a relief.'
She had thought Serin would like it, but seeing her look so directly satisfied brought a sense of relief.
She had worried Serin might feel burdened, but right now she seemed content to some degree.
As Eunha gazed at Serin, the sunset dyed her silver hair red, making her look almost otherworldly.
Even though they were under the same sky, in the same place, looking at the same view, Serin had a different air about her.
A mysteriousness with a detached atmosphere, as if she were not of this world.
Serin had that kind of specialness.
"..."
As if entranced, Eunha gazed steadily at Serin.
When that continued for several minutes, Serin turned her gaze from the lake and looked at Eunha.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"