Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Yes, I'm That Childhood Friend
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I'm pretty good at staying calm and acting naturally in most situations.
Thanks to that, when I was a kid, adults around me would marvel at how strangely mature I seemed for my age...
Getting attention from strangers.
For someone as introverted as me by nature, unexpected interest still leaves me at a loss for words, like an AI chatbot whose algorithm has glitched.
"They really recognized me...?"
I glanced back at the crosswalk that was now out of sight, breathing heavily.
To be honest, while filming the vlog, I'd been thinking someone might recognize my face.
Ever's vlogs always hit the top 10 trending spots the moment they drop, and they rack up at least two million views as a baseline.
With nearly 100 million YouTube subscribers, it's only natural.
"But who could've guessed it'd happen this fast, not even a full day later?"
I'd always joked that the whole world was Ever, and turns out, the whole world really is Ever and Forever.
Bong Joon-ho, Son Heung-min, BTS, Ever—let's go.
"...Ah, my energy's crashing."
I sat up and looked around.
It was about time for dinner.
I usually don't snack before meals, but the shock had drained me completely.
I headed straight into the convenience store right in front of me.
I'd normally ignore the ice cream section, but today it looked irresistibly tempting, so I shelled out the steep price.
Haah.
I sat on one of the chairs outside and let out a deep sigh first.
I was so wiped out that my legs were shaking, and even unwrapping it felt like a chore.
"...Yeah. This'll blow over in a few weeks at most."
It was just one person recognizing me, and now my composure was gone.
As I scooped into the ice cream with the wooden spoon it came with, idly imagining the chaos if this happened when I returned to school...
"Whoa! Chaewon Sister's childhood friend?!"
A muscular high school guy stared at me with eyes wide as saucers.
He was so startled that his tall friend next to him spat out his drink in shock.
"...Ah."
I got so startled that I dropped the entire pint of ice cream.
Ah. My Häagen-Dazs. My 5,900 won.
"Hyung. You're really Chaewon Sister's childhood friend, right?!"
He looked like a five-year reservist at first glance, with a burly build that could easily bench 500 kilos, and a gravelly voice.
But the school uniform, cute bag, and Ever merch keychain made him an obvious die-hard Forever fan, covering his mouth with both hands, eyes sparkling with excitement.
I'm not Han Chaewon—do you really need to get that thrilled?
"...You mean the vlog that came out today?"
"Yes, exactly! I'm a huge Ever fan...! This is insane. Hyung—no, big bro. It's an honor to meet you...!!"
We've just met, buddy—why the instant bro-ing?
I wanted to snap back, but that kid's shoulders were seriously tense with hype.
"Hyung, you're really Chaewon Sister's 15-year childhood friend?"
"Chaewon Sister? You mean that Han Chaewon from Ever?"
"Gah!!!! How dare you say her sacred name so casually!!"
"Chaewon Noona. Happy now, you punk? So this guy's Chaewon Noona's childhood friend?"
The tall friend started paying attention to his enthusiastic buddy's antics.
It was already rush hour with crowds everywhere, and their fussing over me was drawing more eyes by the second.
What, did you two eat a train boiler or something?
"...Yeah. I'm that childhood friend."
Maybe getting recognized once had made me a bit more relaxed.
I forced a smile and nodded.
But I still wasn't used to passersby stopping to stare, so before more people gathered, I hurriedly picked up the fallen ice cream and stood.
"Whoa, dude!!! I'm a huge Chaewon Sister fan—can you hook me up with just one call?!?!"
"What?! You can call Chaewon Noona?!"
"Ah, no...! Can you set up a video call instead?! I've applied for fan calls so many times and always get rejected...!! Please, I'm begging you...!!"
"What?! You can video call Chaewon Noona?!"
Don't yell it, you maniacs.
"Oh my, what's all that about?"
"Dunno, but that guy's some celebrity, I guess."
"Eek. Then let's get an autograph too."
No, everyone, it's not like that. I said it's not!
"Okay, okay! Lots of people passing by, so everyone stay orderly..."
No, please. I said no.
Had I been outside for about 20 minutes?
This year had military service and domestic and international trips—plenty of outdoor activities—but nothing was as impactful or exhausting as those 20 minutes.
"——Hah."
I let out a hollow laugh and collapsed onto the bed like a tree stump with its base chopped off.
I'm not going out for the next two days.
With that resolve, I gave up on thinking and buried my face in the pillow...
"...Should I check it?"
Suddenly, I wondered if I should look at the vlog.
I didn't want to see the vlog itself, but I was curious about people's reactions.
Honestly, as a human, how could I not be interested when everyone around me is talking about me?
Especially after that muscle monster and giraffe duo.
"...Haah, this is driving me nuts."
I flipped over and stared at the ceiling.
I knew.
I could roughly predict the reactions.
It wasn't just any girl group—it was Ever.
Not just any star—a superstar.
If a guy pops up claiming to be that superstar's childhood friend, the backlash is predictable.
Immortality like Qin Shi Huang dreamed of?
I might just achieve it.
"Did Pandora feel like this when she opened the box...?"
It was ridiculous sympathizing with a myth, and a sigh escaped automatically.
Yet the urge wouldn't fade.
I mumbled "should I or shouldn't I" endlessly, agonizing at the crossroads...
"Just a peek."
If there are hate comments, whatever—I'll just cry it out.
With that reckless thought, right as I turned off airplane mode to connect to Wi-Fi...
"...You're ridiculously timed."
A call came in at the perfect comedic moment.
It was Sunwoo.
—What, went to a movie? Why's your phone off?
"If I'd stayed home and watched a movie, at least I wouldn't be this tired..."
—What's that mean?
"You know, stuff like that."
I let out a heavy sigh and sat up.
Switching the call to speaker, I shuffled to the tiny kitchen to prep dinner.
"So. Why'd you call? If it's about Chaewon again, I'm hanging up."
—...Huh? It is about that.
"Hanging up."
—No, wait—that's not it...!! I called to say something to you!! Dude!! Don't hang up?!
I shook my head at his panicked voice and set the phone on the table behind me.
Pasta, maybe?
Muttering to myself, I grabbed ingredients from the shelf and fridge.
"Fine. You sound urgent, so I'll trust you. Shoot."
—Chaewon-nim went live.
"...Live?"
—Yeah, dude...!! She's doing an Instagram live right now?!
My brows furrowed instinctively, and my movements froze.
Live meant live broadcast.
Celebs often go live to chat with fans, but...
"Right now? She went live right after the vlog dropped?"
Han Chaewon, you brat.
She saw the reactions and still went live?
What if it's like last time...!!
It was a no-win situation, full of problems, leaving me speechless.
But there was an even bigger issue.
"Hey, I don't even have an Instagram account."
『chae__wonnie has started a live broadcast.』
The moment the alert popped up that Chaewon had gone live, Chae-ah turned off the variety show she was watching and switched to the live.
-Hey. Good evening, everyone~.
[Chaeha~]
[Hello]
[Hii]
[Chewon-chan!!]
[Konnichiwa!]
[hello chaewon]
Han Chaewon waved her hands lightly in greeting.
It hadn't even been a full minute since the live started, and nearly a thousand viewers had already piled in.
"...How can a person be that pretty?"
No matter how many times she saw it, Chae-ah could only marvel at her looks.
She'd clearly only put on basic makeup, yet her porcelain-smooth skin made Chae-ah think of the skincare products Chaewon endorsed.
Humans are so fickle—we suddenly want what others have.
No wonder everything Chaewon used trended among MZ gen. With that thought, Chae-ah stood up.
-I turned on the live 'cause I wanted to eat dinner with Forever tonight. You haven't eaten already, right?
"Gotta eat. Absolutely eating together."
She'd just eaten her fill 10 minutes ago, but Chaewon's cute smile begging to eat together sent her straight to the fridge.
She pulled out the cake she'd been saving for tomorrow and assumed a reverent posture to focus fully on the live.
-Where's this? Oh, my home study... Huh? Did I never show Forever my study before?
[That was the bedroom last time!!]
-Right, yeah. So before we really get into it, gotta show Forever the study first.
Chaewon ran the live smoothly as always.
Starting with a tour of the study, she showed the dinner she'd eat during the broadcast, then transitioned into stories from her day.
Solo lives often had awkward silences where audio lulled, but Chaewon played her own songs or chattered to keep the vibe flowing—no boredom here.
Plus, her talking felt like natural live chat, not forced broadcaster script, so the comments weren't chaotic for an idol live.
But.
[Unnie I watched the vlog today!!]
[Stayed up late to watch the vlog!]
As expected, vlog-related chats started trickling in.
Chae-ah had joined hoping Chaewon would talk about the vlog this time.
Fans who'd seen it felt the same—the chat flooded with vlog talk in seconds.
-Forever watched the vlog? How was it? I worked really hard on the editing this time.
As vlog mentions piled up, Chaewon naturally steered the convo there.
She checked reactions on her phone, covering her chewing mouth...
-Phew, good. Everyone enjoyed it.
She turned her head slightly, met the camera's gaze, and flashed a bright smile.
[She's so❤❤❤ pretty...]
[Chaewon is the prettiest in the world]
[Chaewon is the prettiest girl in the world!!]
[She always makes us smiles and goosebumps!!!!!!]
[Unni heals from Chaewon's smileㅏㅏ❤ Love you!😊]
That smile unleashed a torrent of praise for her beauty.
-I actually turned on the live thinking I'd talk about the vlog today.
What? She's jumping right into it?
-But some Forever might not have seen it yet. If you haven't watched the vlog, raise your hand.
Hands shot up immediately after her words.
The chat scrolled so fast it was hard to gauge the ratio, but roughly 7:3.
The unwatched side being the 7.
-Hmm. That'd spoil it then. Can't share behind-the-scenes.
[Nooooooo!!!!!!]
[nooooob]
[Just tell us just tell us just tell us please]
Viewers who'd seen it begged hard for spoilers at her troubled words.
[I haven't seen it yetㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Spoiler stop!!]
[Good Chaewon wouldn't say it....]
The unseen fans pushed back desperately.
"It's your fault for watching late—I wanna know!!"
Since Chae-ah had seen it, she spammed "tell us" chats.
-Hmm. What to do?
Chaewon tilted her head side to side slowly, slyly smiling.
As the seen vs. unseen battle waged...
But Chaewon always does answer-what-she-wants-right? ...Who's this guy?
One chat caught Chaewon's eye.
She looked stabbed right in the gut, laughing awkwardly.
-Our 'ChaeWonieCuteMe', super curious what you meant by that—care to explain...?
[Gasp]
[Call my nickname too call my nickname too]
[How are you pretty from that angleㅠㅠㅠㅠ Forehead too prettyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
The mood lit up instantly.
Chaewon stared through the camera, shrugged, and made her signature playful face.
-Ahh, I was gonna skip since more haven't seen it, but no can do. 'ChaeWonieCuteMe' called me out, so my feelings are hurt—gonna spill anyway.
[What's that got to do with it unnie?]
-What do you mean no relation? ...Yeah, actually none. I figured someone would call me answer-what-I-want, and you bit—Forever gets me, huh?
She cupped her face like a flower and stared at the camera.
-Thanks, 'ChaeWonieCuteMe'. Now I can casually drop behind-the-scenes?
She winked lightly, and the chat exploded to a standstill.
-But for those who haven't seen the vlog, I'll keep direct spoilers minimal, so don't worry. Got it, Forever? I'm loyal like that.
With a proud look, she sat back down to eat her burger.
After promising full talk post-meal, they bantered about daily stuff.
Chae-ah watched happily, waiting for the behind-the-scenes...
"But... how do you talk vlog behind-the-scenes without mentioning the vlog?"
A fundamental question flashed in her mind.