The Viral Fan Service
I stirred under the covers and woke up. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I checked the time—it was still ten minutes before the alarm. On important days like this, my eyes always popped open on their own.
"Ngh!"
I straightened my back and stretched as hard as I could. Shoulders, waist, legs—no stiffness anywhere. Considering I'd rehearsed late into the evening before crashing, my body felt surprisingly light. Must've been the fatigue-recovery massage I'd gotten before bed. Thanks to that, my condition was top-notch.
I got out of bed and flung open the curtains. Warm morning sunlight flooded the room.
"...What? It's morning already?"
Lee Ju-hee unnie, sleeping beside me, rubbed her eyes and sat up. Unlike me, exhaustion was written all over her face. She'd probably barely slept from the nerves. And who could blame her? Today was our group's comeback stage.
Our last track, so what?, had been a massive hit, so all eyes were on us right now. Whether we lived up to the hype with this performance would make or break the group's future. Of course she'd be tense.
But as the saying goes, the best thing in situations like this is to act normal. That's how you keep your cool.
I finished washing up and headed to the company gym as usual. It was equipped with machines for body maintenance. I hopped on the treadmill and started jogging lightly. Nothing beats cardio for shaking off tension. Running like this clears your head naturally.
The other members had been doing Pilates, and they'd invited me to join, but unfortunately, that kind of static exercise wasn't my thing.
"Hoo..."
Sweat beaded on my forehead and trickled down my cheek to the floor. My breath was starting to get heavy. Too much exercise could wreck my condition, so I called it quits on the run. Stepping off, I wiped my face with the towel I'd prepared.
Then a voice rang out from the side, sharp and formal.
"Good morning, sunbaenim!"
A brown-haired trainee bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. I bowed back in greeting. Technically, I was her senior, but most trainees were older than me. It always made things a bit awkward when I saw them. Debuting early wasn't without its quirks.
"...Ah, you're A-reum, right?"
I'd seen her once at the company dinner. Her self-introduction had stuck with me vaguely. Something about joining because she admired me.
"Y-You remember my name!?"
Surprised, she stared at me with wide eyes. She hesitated a moment, then offered me the banana milk she was holding.
"I-If it's okay, please have this!"
"Banana milk?"
"Ah, was that too rude...?"
Her hand trembled slightly as she held the drink. Rejecting it would crush her, so I took it for the sake of her feelings. But how'd she know I like banana milk?
"My throat was parched anyway. Thanks."
"N-No, thank you! And I'll be cheering for your show today!"
She stepped closer and tentatively offered a handshake. I hesitated. I'd just finished exercising, so my hands were sweaty. Back in the day, I wouldn't have cared, but as an idol now, I naturally paid more attention to that stuff. Image is everything, after all.
"I'm a bit sweaty right now... might smell or something..."
I smiled awkwardly and took a step back. But she closed the gap even more.
"I don't mind that at all! And you don't smell like sweat anyway!"
"...Really?"
Well, if she's fine with it. I shook her hand casually.
"Gotta head out now. I'll enjoy the drink."
I waved and left the gym. There was a mountain of prep to do before the show.
Concert venue waiting room.
After a quick makeup session, I slipped into my outfit with the members and checked myself in the mirror one last time. The one-shoulder top exposing one shoulder and my navel caught my eye. I shot a glare at Lee Su-ah, my dedicated coordinator.
"Doesn't my outfit feel like it's getting sexier every time?"
Manager unnie looked a little guilty, her face flushing awkwardly.
"But the fans love it so much? Cut me some slack, yeah?"
She clasped her hands pleadingly. It was fallout from that CF ad we'd shot. The cheerleader outfit had blown up online—'Ruti's navel' even trended in real-time searches.
"Doesn't really bother me."
I shrugged it off. It wasn't that revealing, and anyway, the first time's the hardest; the second's a breeze.
"Time to head to the stage!"
Guided by staff, we moved to the stage. In the pitch-black darkness before the lights came up, you couldn't see a thing. Then the lights blazed on, music swelled, and we delivered the song and choreography we'd slaved over for the crowd.
"...Phew."
As always, our hard work paid off. The comeback stage was a smashing success.
"Thank you all for coming out today..."
Leader Ju-hee unnie took the mic to thank the audience. The rest of us wandered the stage, waving to fans. That's when I spotted a familiar face.
"Kyaa! I love you!"
Moon Ga-young was screaming my name from the front row. She still had no clue I was Kim Siyeon. Seeing her like that always sparked my mischievous side. Guess I'm a bit of a prankster.
So, what fun thing should I do this time? As I pondered, her phone caught my eye. She was filming me, but the cramped seats made it awkward. An idea hit me.
I hopped off the stage and headed straight for her section. The security guards freaked out.
"H-Hey? You can't come down from the stage..."
"Just a sec."
Ignoring them, I approached Ga-young. Her face was pure shock—she'd never dreamed I'd come to her.
"Mind if I borrow your phone for a bit?"
"...Huh?"
She tilted her head, probably couldn't hear over the noise. I pointed at the phone in her hand. Understanding dawned, and she handed it over.
Back onstage, I snapped selfies with her phone. One shot, two—changing angles and expressions, putting real effort into leaving her some great pics.
"Here's your phone back."
I returned it to her personally. Ga-young stared back and forth between the phone and my face, like she couldn't believe what just happened.
"
"Siyeon-ah, what were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that onstage? What if something had gone wrong?"
After the show, in the car back to the dorm, manager unnie scolded me. I'd gone off-script without warning.
"Sorry."
I quietly owned up to my mistake.
That's when Ju-hee unnie from the back seat urgently called my name.
"Siyeon-ah! Check this out!"
Her face lit up as she shoved her phone at me. On the screen was a huge headline with my name.
Beneath the article was the photo of me taking the selfie with Ga-young's phone. The comments section was flooding with thousands in real-time—mostly praising my impromptu move.
It'd just been a prank, but the reaction was insane.
...Come to think of it, selfie fan service like that wasn't a trend yet.
"
"Ga-young! That was you on TV last night, right?"
The kids who'd watched the live broadcast swarmed her at school. She sat smugly in her chair, nose held high enough to pierce the sky.
"Ruti really took selfies with your phone?"
"Show us the pics!"
Even from her close friends, she flat-out refused.
"Sorry."
Those were the one-of-a-kind photos Ruti had taken just for her. No way was she sharing—they were treasures to cherish forever.
