Bambi Is Not Famous

Seo Jio stared at me in silence for a long while.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because it's fascinating."

The tension around his eyes had loosened into something soft.

"I knew you were kind… but it's genuinely surprising. Doesn't it exhaust you, living like that?"

"Seo Jio."

He always does this right when things are getting somewhere.

"If you don't want to answer, just say you don't want to. Stop being sarcastic about it."

At my words, Seo Jio let out a quiet sigh.

"Sorry. I don't really get many chances to talk about my mom."

"No. I was the one sticking my nose in where it didn't belong."

I moved to get up from the sofa, and Seo Jio hastily grabbed my wrist.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, Yeonjae. That was my mistake."

He swallowed hard.

"I had no right to snap at you over this. I'm really sorry. About my mom…."

"……."

"She hasn't called."

Seo Jio smiled.

His usual lazy, half-lidded expression looked more brittle than ever today.

The cat was never me. It was always Seo Jio.

He was camouflaging his raw nerves behind a placid smile.

Like a cat that had already made up its mind to bolt.

"I never thought you'd be the one to ask me that. I guess I reacted more sharply than I meant to. I'm really sorry."

"I'm the one who crossed the line. It won't happen again."

When I brushed it off casually, Seo Jio hesitated.

"No."

"What?"

"You're… allowed to cross the line. It's okay."

Even as he said it, he sounded uncertain, like he was testing the words out for the first time.

I had no hobby of tormenting confused kids, so I waited quietly. It took him a long time to open his mouth again.

"Thank you for asking first. Nobody knows I've been waiting for my mom to contact me."

"Not even your father?"

"Nobody ever brings her up. My stepmom might get hurt, you know?"

She's a good person, so I don't want to wound her.

The way Seo Jio smiled as he said it was the most childlike I had ever seen him.

I watched him for a moment, then spoke.

"Then call me whenever you feel like talking about her."

"……Why would you go that far?"

Well, was I a pushover or something?

It wasn't as if I had any particular fondness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for him.

What was so great about a kid who hissed the moment you reached out a hand?

"It just caught my attention."

"Because you pity me?"

A hollow laugh burst out of me before I could stop it.

"Pity you? What exactly is there to pity? Are you joking right now?"

Only then did Seo Jio seem to remember I'd grown up in an orphanage, and he apologized with a sheepish look on his face.

I stared at him, wondering why he looked so thoroughly rattled.

"Anything else you want to say?"

"Huh?"

"You said your mom hasn't contacted you. How do you feel about that?"

At my offhand question, he looked dazed.

"Uh…."

"……."

"Honestly, I thought I'd be fine…."

"Mm."

Seo Jio hesitated for a long time before muttering, "I don't feel great."

When I stayed silent, the words came spilling out of him one after another.

"I mean, she was an extra, so obviously I wouldn't have stood out to her. But if she'd watched the drama, there's no way she wouldn't have recognized me."

"I'd think so."

"So either she just didn't watch it, or she did and doesn't care about me anymore, or… I don't know. I just don't know."

His voice blurred and scattered into nothing.

I didn't offer any words of comfort.

Instead, I replied with something so flat it bordered on heartless.

"I read an article yesterday that said there's probably no one left in Korea who doesn't know Lee Yeonjae. And I couldn't disagree more."

Why?

"People still can't recognize me with just a mask on."

"…?"

"Fame that thin enough to be hidden by a mask? Come on, that's not fame. That's just not being famous."

Seo Jio's expression turned strange.

"……What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I've still got a long way to go before I'm actually famous."

Whether he believed me or not, I kept going.

"Your goal is to become a famous actor, right? Then it's too early to be disappointed. You've got to film a few more projects first."

That's when you've earned the right to be disappointed, at least.

Even after starring in multiple productions, I could barely tell any difference myself.

"So keep acting for at least another two or three years. Then get disappointed."

"……."

Seo Jio stared at me with an indescribable look on his face.

"Do you seriously think you're not famous?"

"It's just the internet losing its mind. People in the real world don't care. Put on a mask and nobody knows who you are—I'm telling you."

"That doesn't make… haah."

Seo Jio started to say something, then gave up and shut his mouth.

"I get what you're trying to say, at least. Fine. I'll do it."

He answered while pressing hard at his temples.

He seemed to have collected himself somewhat, so I brought up the real reason I'd come here in the first place.

"Then come to Wooyeon Entertainment this Saturday at two. Just tell the lobby you're there to meet Team Leader Woo Hyunwoo of Team 1."

"What?"

"There's no set script. Just prepare whatever acting you're most confident in. The team leader's strict about punctuality, so don't be late."

When I said it so matter-of-factly, he just looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blankly stupid.

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you going to audition? If you're not interested, forget it."

The moment I rose from the sofa, Seo Jio grabbed my wrist again.

Faster than before, this time.

"An audition? What audition?"

"You said you wanted to be a famous actor."

Then joining the most famous agency in the country comes first, doesn't it?

"I recommended you to the CEO. He wants to see you audition first."

"……."

Seo Jio's face grew even more bewildered.

His eyes wide, he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly before finally managing to speak.

"Why?"

It was a question that contained multitudes.

I simply shrugged. Why? What's there to explain.

"Because I want to act alongside you."

"……."

"And if we're under the same agency, it'll be that much easier to land projects together, won't it?"

It didn't seem like a bad deal for him, either.

Why is he making that face?

His reaction was so underwhelming that I felt deflated.

I gave the cat sprawled out beside him a few pats, then stood up.

"I'm really leaving now. Don't be late for the audition."

Seo Jio saw me off in a daze.

"Take care, Yeonjae…."

I gave a vague wave.

My wrist was covered in cat hair.

"I told you, you don't need to pick me up."

Jinbae had been waiting outside Seo Jio's place anyway.

The sun hadn't even begun to set yet. This was overprotection at its finest.

"Do as you please, actor-nim. I'll do as I please as well."

Honestly, the man never listened.

I shook my head and clicked my seatbelt into place.

I pulled out my phone to contact Team Leader Woo and found two messages waiting.

"…?"

What now?

I stared blankly at the identical messages from Noh Bihyeok and Lee Euntaek.

When I glowered at my phone without a word, Jinbae glanced over at me.

"Is something the matter, actor-nim?"

"No. I just need to make a quick call."

I looked back and forth between the two messages, then moved my thumb.

I didn't need to think twice about who to call first.

"H-hello?"

A flustered voice came through the receiver.

"Hello, hyung."

"Hey. Why the sudden call?"

Why would the one sensible person call me, of all things?

I stifled a laugh at NAID's leader, Kang Yeonbin's, confusion.

"It seems I have to choose between Bihyeok and Euntaek-hyung, but you're my favorite, Yeonbin-hyung."

The moment the words left my mouth, thunder cracked through the phone.

"Lee Yeonjae, you TRAITOR!!"

"Wow, how long have you been staring at Yeonbin-hyung to actually say that? Are you insane?!"

Noh Bihyeok and Lee Euntaek.

"Guys. Calm down, both of you…."

And the pack leader reined in his beagles.

They have it rough today, too.

I wasn't an idiot. How could I not know NAID was filming their own variety content right now?

Noh Bihyeok had already shared their weekly schedule with me.

Identical messages sent to both of them at exactly the time they'd be shooting self-produced content—if it wasn't a mission, what else would it be?

Ignoring the yapping beagles, I turned my attention to the leader.

"Hyung, have you happened to watch Killing Horn?"

Comeback week had passed, so he'd have had time to rest, and Kang Yeonbin was twenty—no reason in the world he couldn't watch an adults-only drama.

"Of course I did. Your acting was incredible. I was actually planning to call you today."

His voice was calm and composed, every bit the upright young man.

He was the model student with no one around to see him, and mischief stirred in me.

"Must be nice. I couldn't watch it."

Jinbae, who was driving, flinched.

"Ah, because of the rating?"

"Yes. My guardian is so strict it's a real struggle. Hyung, couldn't you secretly show it to me?"

"M-me?"

This wasn't even a video call, and I could picture the leader's wavering eyes perfectly.

There were probably cameras trained on him from every angle, and he had no idea how to answer.

"Just once. Nobody has to know. Please?"

"Um, that's…."

I spoke with perfect serenity, letting the corner of my mouth curl up ever so slightly.

At the same time, my eyes met Jinbae's in the rearview mirror.

You're despicable, actor-nim.

He mouthed the words silently, and I barely held back my laughter.

That was when the beagles, rallying to protect their panicked master, started barking.

"Why are you bullying our leader?!"

There it is. Well done.

"Bullying? I'd never. Yeonbin-hyung is my favorite, remember?"

Even as I retorted with leisurely calm, the dogs kept barking for me to leave their leader alone.

What a beautiful picture.

Members who cherished their leader like this. The fandom lore was only going to get tighter.

I ended the call by stubbornly insisting, "I only favor my own members. Would it kill you to spoil me a little?"

And with that, I'd made the environment all the more perfect for NAID fans to sink their teeth into.

And by my own hand, no less!

I was so proud my chest swelled with it.

Studying really does pay off.

At this rate, I'd earned myself a free meal from the NAID members at least.

It was right as I arrived home with that thought in mind.

The self-produced shoot must have wrapped, because a text from the leader was waiting.

"……."

I stared at the message, dumbfounded.

As if I didn't already know you were filming.

To think there was another person this guileless besides Seong Ijun. It was staggering.

And when exactly is 'someday when I move out' supposed to be?

By then I'd be a legal adult myself. Was he serious?

I gazed quietly at my phone for a long moment, then made a resolution.

No more teasing the leader. Ever.

Somehow, I had a feeling.

A feeling that messing carelessly with a person like this would cost me dearly someday.

Less than a week later.

What is with this overwhelming hotel?

No amount of expression management could have helped me here.

Light refracted brilliantly through the hotel's stained glass.

"(Every guest who appears on The Jim Fury Show stays at this hotel. Filming isn't until two days from now, so please rest comfortably until then.)"

The man who'd come to meet us at the airport said this courteously and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vanished.

And I found myself looking up once more at the luxury hotel standing in the heart of Manhattan, New York.

So this kind of day comes to everyone eventually.

The stylists on my team, recently absorbed into my entourage, were reacting exactly as I was.

Their eyes gone perfectly round, they bustled about taking in the enormous hotel from every angle.

The only one among us wearing an unfazed expression was Jinbae.

So this really is a different world, the one the rich live in.

I felt the distance between Jinbae and me all over again.

Determined not to let my intimidation show, I fixed my expression and walked into the hotel.