The Sneakers and the Fan Club President's Salvation
“Looks like it came out well. Do you like it?”
“Uh….”
Noh Bihyuk couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen.
Watching the dazed boy, I asked, “Want to watch it again?” and he nodded vigorously.
I moved the mouse and dragged the video cursor back to the start.
“Just like the director said, we really do look like twins. Our dance lines are so similar.”
“Yeah….”
He was completely out of it.
I'd never seen Noh Bihyuk this speechless before, so it was funny enough that I secretly filmed him. I'd have to show him later.
On the monitor, a video of Bihyuk and me dancing to the song was playing.
Our movement styles really are different.
The camera work was worlds apart from film or drama shoots. The scenes where we moved boldly to the beat had been edited into something even more dynamic.
When Team Leader Choi said I could look forward to it, I'd just taken it in stride—but she'd been right.
“Someone even left a comment asking who you are.”
“Wow….”
The video I'd shot with Bihyuk had far fewer views than the official version, no question.
I wondered if he'd be upset about it, but one look at his face told me I had nothing to worry about.
After staring blankly at the comments for a long while, Bihyuk whipped his head around.
“How are you this calm about it? This is your first commercial too, you know.”
“That's true.”
“Right. The official version matters more than the one I'm in anyway. Sorry, I was only thinking about myself.”
“You can watch it after I leave. Don't worry.”
Despite my consideration, he waved it off and played the official version himself. And immediately gasped.
“The quality is insane.”
“Right?”
The special video with Bihyuk had been good, but the official version was on another level entirely.
Thick typography popped in and out between the cuts of me dancing.
English words that seemed to carry the brand's identity appeared and vanished along the path of my movements.
It's genuinely stylish.
The ad had swallowed the keywords from the proposal whole.
Freshness, coolness, vitality. And youth.
My hair, outfit, and location changed without pause to match each of the four sneaker colors.
“It really turned out great. Amazing.”
“I hear the director made a name for himself in commercials.”
“Forget the director—you're the one who came out amazing. Look here, and here.”
Bihyuk snatched the mouse with a thoroughly excited face.
The scene he pointed to was one where I'd been especially careful refining my expression. So he really does have a discerning eye.
“I thought it when I tried them on during the shoot, but the design is really pretty. I should buy a pair too.”
“No need. Yours is coming tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“Team Leader Choi asked for your size, so I told her. She's sending them along with mine.”
Bihyuk scratched his head.
“Am I allowed to accept them? Shouldn't I be politely declining?”
“They're counting the sneakers as your shoot fee. Don't refuse—take everything.”
Even as I said it like it was nothing, he kept glancing at me, unsure if it was really okay.
But the next day, the moment he actually saw the sneakers, he lit up like a puppy.
“Insane! Look how vivid the colors are. They came out so good!”
“Right?”
“Which color do you like best? Wow, I love all of them. They're all so pretty!”
Clutching the entire pile of sneakers to his chest, Bihyuk asked with a flushed face.
Color?
“They all look pretty similar to me.”
“What are you talking about? They're all completely different.”
“……Right. My mistake.”
He was dead serious, so I apologized first and picked one at random.
For the first time, I found him scary.
No, seriously, they all look the same.
To borrow Team Leader Choi's words, the colors were supposedly suited to “the ambiguous season straddling summer and fall.”
Refreshing Ocean Blue, subtle Sky Blue, bittersweet Baby Blue, and deep Classic Blue. In other words…
They're all just blue.
I felt a little wronged, but I couldn't bring myself to press the point with that face staring me down.
“You should wear them to school tomorrow. Which ones are you wearing?”
“Hmm. You?”
At Bihyuk's question, I answered lazily while examining the sneakers.
The material was ambiguous. Too thick for summer, too thin for winter.
They really are meant to be worn for exactly one season.
Economically speaking, not a very efficient shoe.
But that night, when I saw Angae come scampering over in the sneakers, I decided they weren't so bad after all.
Ocean Blue suited Angae best.
“Yeonjae, I saw the ad yesterday! Did you learn dance separately?”
“You're a really good dancer. Do you go to a studio somewhere?”
“I saw it on TV and I was SO shocked! You could totally be an idol!”
The moment I walked through the school gates, chaos broke out.
Nobody had approached me like this back during Hello, My Summer.
It was Baek Seojin who cleared away the girls chattering at me without even giving me time to answer.
With her rabbit-like face barking like a dog, she shooed them off, then sat down next to me.
“Next time, don't just smile at them—tell them to get lost. They never even acknowledge you normally, and now they only show up when you're famous? It's pathetic.”
Why is she so angry?
I was puzzled, but I just smiled and answered.
“They'll get bored and stop eventually anyway.”
“Ugh! I'm worried, seriously worried. You're way too nice. You can't even say a harsh word.”
How exactly does she see me?
“Seojin, I appreciate the concern, but… I'm not that nice.”
“That's exactly what the nice kids always say.”
Baek Seojin shook her head emphatically.
I hadn't said anything because they weren't worth the trouble.
Since talking further wouldn't change how she saw me, I let it go.
“The shoes you're wearing today—they're from the ad, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What color? I should get a pair.”
“Ocean Blue. There are other colors too, so take a look.”
Saying she'd look right now, Baek Seojin pulled out her phone.
Taking advantage of the sudden quiet, I turned my eyes to my textbook. Silence really was the best.
“Whoa, Yeonjae. Have you seen this?”
—It can't even last two minutes.
Before I could even ask what she meant, Baek Seojin thrust the screen in front of my face.
“You know that person you saved? They donated under your name.”
“……What?”
What is she talking about?
I hastily took the phone and read the article.
It was about a high school principal I'd never heard of in my life donating ten million won to a children's care facility—and my name was mentioned.
—I'm told this donation is special, unlike previous ones. Why is that?
It was to express gratitude to the actor Lee Yeonjae. If not for that actor, I would not be sitting in this position. I'm not joking—I might still be on that mountain to this day. I desperately wanted to repay him for saving my life, but the actor's side refused several times. So I resolved to make a donation in his stead instead. Going forward, I intend to use this as an opportunity to begin steady donations to children's care facilities.
So he was a high school principal.
The person smiling brightly in the photo looked far healthier in complexion than he had on the mountain.
That was a relief, but did he really need to donate under my name?
Hiding my mixed feelings, I handed the phone back to Baek Seojin.
“Some people were saying it was staged, but with the other party giving an interview directly like this, it's so satisfying.”
“There weren't many comments like that anyway.”
“Still, it makes me mad. Ugh! You really are too nice. Try learning a thing or two from Noh Bihyuk.”
“Calm down, Seojin.”
I soothed the fuming Baek Seojin.
Poor Noh Bihyuk, getting dragged for no reason while not even being here.
Ever since I'd confirmed the gossip about the orphanage had died down, I hadn't gone looking for people's reactions.
Well, I've got some time—might as well check.
Was he a trainee before? Did he switch to acting from that?
Is it just me, or does entertainment news this year look like it's sponsored by Lee Yeonjae?
The Lee Yeonjae fan club president was happy.
She was wedged into the hellish commute home on the subway, but with the commercial music playing on loop through her earphones, her mood was nothing but bright. Why?
I finally found him.
Because she had, at long last, found the celebrity she could settle down with.
She'd liked Yeonjae ever since he appeared as an extra wearing a yellow hat, and she'd even gone so far as to create a fan cafe herself—but she'd never been fully certain.
But watching Yeonjae dance with that refreshing, eye-crinkling smile, she could no longer deny it.
The god of fandom, who had taken pity on her drifting from star to star, had finally granted one to her as well. A true ultimate favorite.
From here on, there is nothing for me but stanning Yeonjae. And death.
There would be no more wandering.
The president, having finally regained her peace, grinned and pulled out her phone.
In a subway so packed that breathing itself was a struggle, moving her hand was hard—but the power of love was mighty.
What CAN'T my baby do….
She rewatched the commercial she'd replayed countless times yesterday, right up until she fell asleep.
Apparently determined to squeeze the orange dry, the brand had uploaded multiple versions of the video over the course of a week.
From the 15-second TV broadcast version to the full version, even one-take videos for each concept.
She couldn't hide her joy at the merciful, near-daily deluge of content.
The video she was watching now was her favorite of the four concepts.
Keep your eyes on me!
Yeonjae, humming along to the beat-heavy pop song, was simply beautiful.
His usual calm, neatly combed hair was nowhere to be found; his wavy hair swayed with every move he made.
It was a scene she'd already screenshotted dozens of times, but she couldn't help herself and captured it again.
Just as she was enduring her brutal commute, a message arrived from a friend she fanned with.
A link?
Out of nowhere, nothing but a link—no explanation whatsoever.
Normally she'd suspect a voice-phishing scam, but the president knew better.
This was a warning. A warning of her friend's desperate state.
She braced herself and clicked the link. Then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.
Otherwise she was liable to start swearing in a public place.
[Notice] Lee Yeonjae × Lukke — Fansign Event Application Schedule