The Perfect Camouflage Crumbles
‘Unbelievable.’
I was genuinely dumbfounded. Winning the fansign lottery was absurd enough, but the fact that I hadn't found out until the day itself was the most ridiculous part of all.
‘How does that make any sense?’
After staring blankly for a long while, I finally managed to speak.
"So, um…."
"……."
"Haah…."
The words just wouldn't come.
"You could have at least told me in advance, hyung."
When I pressed Jinbae hyung, an awkward smile came back my way.
"Jeonghyeon ssi said it was a surprise gift. Was it very shocking?"
Of course it was shocking, what else would it be?
As I sat frozen in disbelief, Jinbae hyung hurriedly handed me something.
"Here's your student ID. You'll need to show it along with your verification code to get in, so please don't forget. Ah, and once you leave, you can't come back in—just so you're aware."
The explanations poured out in a rehearsed stream, as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
‘There's no one I can trust.’
It wasn't only Jeonghyeon hyung who was to blame.
‘To think my accomplice was this close all along.’
Suddenly, everything in the world looked like a lie. I was trembling with the sting of betrayal when his last words snapped me back to reality.
"I'll be waiting at the entrance."
"…What?"
"Yes?"
"You're not coming in, hyung?"
"Why would I?"
The sheer sincerity in his confusion left me speechless.
Then why am I going, you absolute—
No, wait. Don't tell me.
"…You're telling me to go in there alone?"
I didn't want to believe it. My eyes were shaking like an earthquake had hit them.
Jinbae hyung smoothly averted his gaze. You traitor.
"You can do it, Actor-nim."
"No—"
"It's time. Here, put on your mask. Have a good time."
And with a light push on my back, Jinbae hyung sent me on my way.
By the time I came to my senses, I was inside the venue. Crowds of people were seated in their chairs, chattering away. I immediately fixed my mask.
‘Should've worn a hat too, at least.’
A quick scan of the venue confirmed it: the only male in the entire room was me. It was practically a spotlight waiting to happen. My gaze sank to the floor on its own.
I was shuffling dejectedly toward my seat when a thought flashed through my mind.
‘No, wait.’
Maybe if my face were bare, but I was wearing a mask. My face was hidden—how would anyone know I was Lee Yeonjae?
‘I'm not even that famous to begin with.’
Everyone here was a NAID fan. There was no reason for them to care about me. All this anxiety might just be me being self-conscious.
‘Just sit quietly and leave. That's all.’
Thinking that way calmed me down considerably. Every time I felt a gaze on me after that, I chalked it up to my imagination.
‘Nobody here knows I'm Lee Yeonjae.’
At that very moment, the women inside the venue were all thinking the same thing.
‘That's Lee Yeonjae.’
‘It's Lee Yeonjae, isn't it?’
‘Lee Yeonjae, for sure.’
They all quietly exchanged glances. Lee Yeonjae looked as out of place as a man stranded on a desert island. He sat as still as a dead mouse, yet his sheer presence made him louder than anyone in the room.
The woman seated beside him thought:
‘Well, hello there, jackpot.’
She was the personal fansite master for NAID's leader, Kang Yeonbin. The moment she'd laid eyes on Kang Yeonbin, she'd thought, ‘This one's going to make it big!’ and immediately opened her fansite account.
Every member of NAID except the leader, Kang Yeonbin, was a minor. In truth, even Yeonbin had only just become an adult, so he still looked every bit the kid. But a leader was a leader—watching him do his best to wrangle his beagle-like younger brothers made stanning him simply unavoidable.
Why?
‘Because he's f✕ing adorable, that's why.’
Handsome and cute? The moment you feel that, stanning is the only path left.
Her ultimate bias was Kang Yeonbin, but naturally she adored the beagles he raised too. Which meant there was no way she didn't know about Lee Yeonjae—the youngest beagle's friend.
‘Didn't expect him to come to the fansign, though.’
Lee Yeonjae, sitting there in a black mask, would look like a celebrity even if you rolled him down a hill three times first. Surely he didn't think no one would recognize him?
‘Guess they really are close.’
If word got out that Lee Yeonjae—the hottest actor of the moment—had come to their fansign, it would only help NAID. Even if he was first known as "that male idol who's close with Lee Yeonjae," once the core fans took root, the label would fade away on its own. That was just how it worked.
‘I need to find the right moment for a two-shot with Yeonbin.’
While Kang Yeonbin's fansite master was scheming, she carefully addressed Lee Yeonjae.
"Excuse me…."
Lee Yeonjae flinched. His pitch-black eyes went wide, as if they might pop out of his head. They practically asked, ‘Wait, can you see me?’
Kang Yeonbin's fansite master was dumbfounded. Then who else would I be looking at?
"Here, have some."
"Huh? Why…?"
"The fans brought them to share."
"Oh—thank you."
Lee Yeonjae accepted the snacks, looking completely at a loss. A handmade sticker—one she'd printed yesterday and painstakingly attached one by one—was stuck on top of the snack bag.
"I don't have anything to give you in return. What should I do?"
"Don't worry about it."
Kang Yeonbin's fansite master promptly turned her head away.
‘Can't have him getting the wrong idea.’
She had no ulterior motives toward Lee Yeonjae. For a fansite master, there was only Kang Yeonbin. The snacks were more like a small token of goodwill—a request to keep being close with NAID in the future.
When she turned away with a face that showed zero interest in him, Lee Yeonjae looked faintly relieved.
"Sorry, but could I ask you something?"
It was quite a while later that Lee Yeonjae, rustling around in his snack bag, finally spoke up to her.
"Of course."
"Do fans normally share snacks like this?"
"There's no set rule, but besides giving things to the members, fans do share among themselves sometimes. We're all fans of the same group—it's about enjoying it together, you know?"
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
Perhaps because his curiosity had been satisfied, Lee Yeonjae broke into a bright smile. The eyes visible above his mask curved beautifully. The people around them stirred faintly—maybe they'd all been sneaking looks this whole time. But her love for Kang Yeonbin was rock-solid, and the fansite master managed to keep her poker face.
"Is this your first fansign?"
"Yes. So I'm a little nervous."
"No need to be. Once you're standing in front of the members, you'll forget everything you planned to say anyway—so just drink in their faces while you're at it."
Not that I'll be doing the drinking in—privately, whenever I want.
Kang Yeonbin's fansite master swallowed that last part.
"Yeonbin's my ultimate, by the way. Who's yours?"
"Ah, I'm…."
At her question, Lee Yeonjae's eyes wavered wildly. The way he floundered was honestly adorable, but the fansite master remained expressionless as ever.
"I like all of them. The, um, what's it called… all…?"
"You mean an all-fan?"
"Yes! That's it. An all-fan!"
Lee Yeonjae smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. At the small sound of his laugh, the surrounding area briefly went quiet.
‘…He's cute.’
Kang Yeonbin's fansite master slapped her imaginary self across the face. Get a grip! Are you going to abandon Yeonbin and cheat on him?
Stanning two people at once was a sin, plain and simple. Dual-stanning was a word that needed to be erased from this world entirely.
By the time she'd given her imaginary self a good twenty-beat thrashing, a cheer went up through the venue. The fan signing event had finally begun.
‘What a relief.’
The power of a mask truly was mighty. When the woman next to me struck up a conversation, I panicked for a second, but thankfully she didn't seem to know who I was. Even when she hesitated forever before asking her question, she answered mine so matter-of-factly that I relaxed.
‘Studying paid off.’
I'd memorized the word "all-fan" wondering when I'd ever use it—and here I was, using it this naturally. I felt genuinely proud.
‘Coming to a fansign isn't so bad.’
I'd been flustered at first by the unexpected situation, but now that I was here, it wasn't bad at all. No—it was actually nice. Being surrounded by fellow fans, the whole atmosphere was warm and friendly.
‘Though that's probably just because nobody's figured out I'm Lee Yeonjae.’
If I ever came again, I'd definitely bring snacks. I tucked the several treats people had shared with me into my pockets. I was just thinking I'd have to wear this same mask next time, too.
"Hello, everyone!!"
The NAID members burst onto the stage in a burst of noise. The fans screamed.
"This is our first fansign, so we may be a bit rough around the edges, but we'll give it our all. Thank you so much for coming all this way."
NAID's leader said. Despite the dependable words, the hand gripping the microphone was trembling.
‘Guess he's nervous.’
I was watching without much thought when a low curse drifted over from beside me.
"F✕ing hell, he's so cute…."
It was the woman who'd shared her snacks with me first. I pretended not to hear and stayed quiet. It was a little scary, honestly.
After the remaining members gave their greetings too, the fan signing began in earnest.
"Did you enjoy our performance?"
"Loved it! You were all so cute!"
For their first fansign, the NAID members were surprisingly smooth. Bihyeok I could understand, but even Euntaek was holding fans' hands like it was nothing. Unbelievable.
‘And I was a nervous wreck at mine.’
Remembering my own first fansign made me embarrassed all over again.
‘Some people are just born for this celebrity business, I guess.’
As I waited for my number to creep closer, my turn arrived before I knew it.
The first one up was Lee Euntaek. The moment he checked my face, Euntaek froze—then snorted a laugh.
"Hello there. What's your name?"
He took my hand naturally as he asked, and I hesitated.
‘I probably shouldn't say Lee Yeonjae here.’
After a moment's pause, I gave Jinbae hyung's name.
"Please write Ahn Jinbae."
"What? You?"
Euntaek dropped the formal act immediately. With a casual tone that anyone could see was meant for someone he knew, I hurriedly whispered.
"Hyung, keep it down."
"What? Why?"
"These people don't know I'm Lee Yeonjae."
"…?"
Euntaek's expression turned strange.
"Just treat me like some random fan. Because of the mask."
"…What on earth are you talking about?"
"Just act like you don't know me either, hyung. Use formal speech."
I was terrified the fan next to me might overhear. I stopped whispering and repeated myself in a slightly louder voice.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd write Ahn Jinbae."
"You little…."
Euntaek signed, wearing the face of a man witnessing the most absurd thing he'd ever seen.
"Did you enjoy the performance? How was it?"
I said don't use informal speech.
‘This guy never listens, I swear.’
I couldn't exactly snap at him, so I just mumbled along—and mercifully, it was time to move on.
"Thank you for your hard work."
I hurriedly let go of his hand and stood, and Euntaek glared after me. What, worried you'd look bad in the photos? Tsk.
"Hello there."
"Ah! An—"
"Please write Ahn Jinbae."
The other members were no different. The moment they saw me, they'd light up and start dropping into casual speech, forcing me to blurt my fake name out first in a panic. Like Euntaek, the rest wore expressions of pure confusion.
The only one who reacted differently was the leader. Kang Yeonbin, was it? When I quickly explained the situation, he blinked a few times, then said he understood.
"Was it difficult getting here?"
Truly, a leader is built different.
He'd switched to formal speech without missing a beat, and I felt relieved.
"Not at all. My guardian brought me right up to the entrance."
"That's good to hear~. Did you enjoy today's performance?"
"Yes. You were all really good."
Kang Yeonbin gave a mature, grown-up smile. It looked quite natural, but I could see his shoulders were stiff with tension.
‘He's feeling the pressure badly.’
It was ironic that while all the members beamed away happily, only the leader was strung tight.
To say it or not. I hesitated a moment, then spoke slowly.
"I overheard some of the fans talking earlier."
"Yes? Yes?"
"They kept saying how cute you are. That you're handsome, that they love how hard you work."
Kang Yeonbin blinked.
"But not one of them said they liked you because you're perfect."
"……."
"You don't have to be perfect. Just keep doing what you're doing. Right now, you look really great."
A staff member gestured from behind, and I stood up right away. Kang Yeonbin's gaze followed me naturally.
‘Fighting.’
I mouthed the word silently, then moved to the next seat.
‘Just Noh Bihyeok left now.’
I was thinking I'd better explain the situation to that guy extra fast when my eyes met Noh Bihyeok's.
And before I could stop him, he bellowed:
"LEE YEONJAE!!!"
Noh Bihyeok beamed, radiant as the sun.
"Man, I was so nervous I thought I'd die! Get over here quick—I'll sign for you!"
"……."
From far away, I could feel Lee Euntaek smirking at me. I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘…Damn it.’
And so, the perfect camouflage lay in ruins.