Idol’s Childhood Friend

20 – Have you become a celebrity?

“… “Hey, you didn’t order this?”

“Ah, it’s a service. You are Yumin, right? “He, Chaewon’s childhood friend.”

“… “Uh, yes.”

“I’m an Ever fan. “I’m giving this to you as a thank you for taking such a fun video.”

A part-time worker smiling shyly.

They say humans are creatures of adaptation, but now that things like this have happened quite a bit, I too have come to naturally accept pure kindness.

“Thank you. “I will enjoy it.”

“If you don’t mind, can I take a picture?” ?”

“Uh…. “If you like Ever a lot in the future and promise not to post anything differently…?”

“Of course! You get along really well with Chaewon! I’ll definitely check it out later if it comes up! And you’re really, really handsome!!”

A part-time worker timidly claps his hands and quickly takes out his cell phone.

After taking about three pictures, I smiled again and expressed my gratitude, and she bowed her head with a happy expression and walked away at a steady pace.

“Have you become a celebrity?”

Seonwoo, who was watching this situation directly across from me, smiled and looked at my face.

“It’s noisy.”

I scoffed at the awkwardness and ate the piece of cake I was given as a service.

Surprise and frustration appear on the guy’s face at the same time.

Who made fun of you like that?

“… Hey, anyway, are you going to eat that alone?”

“Did you give it to me or did you give it to me?”

“Look at you taking revenge right away after saying one word. “You’re a b*tch.”

Seonwoo frowns and sips his coffee.

But that only lasts for a moment, and the guy shakes his head and smiles.

“It’s fascinating. “My friend is Chaewon’s childhood friend.”

“… “What’s wrong with adding the word ‘nim’?”

“Jjasha, he always adds the word ‘nim’ to people like me who are childhood friends.”

“No fuss.”

“So what? How do you feel about becoming the star of 10 million views in just one week?”

A guy with an arrogant posture, crossing his legs and draping his arms on the chair.

Hey, anyone who sees you will think you are the star of 10 million views.

“Okay. “I was wondering when that story would come out.”

He chuckles and mutters.

It was natural for something like this to come up from the moment I made an appointment to meet him, but it was still an unfamiliar number.

10 Million views. It was the first idol vlog to reach 10 million views in just one week.

This was something no one expected, and now that the topic has grown, the number of views is increasing through word of mouth even more without stopping.

“YouTube, articles, fandom communities…. “Your name is everywhere you look these days.”

Seonwoo shows an article on his cell phone.

「’Ever Han Chae-won’, fantastic chemistry with a childhood friend. What is your childhood friend’s identity?”

A title I’ve already seen countless times. The content was obvious even without looking at it, so I smiled softly and took a sip of my bubble tea.

“I think you look up my articles more than I do?”

“It’s fascinating, dude. I actually wonder why you are so calm. “Aren’t you really devoid of emotions?”

“You’re just pretending like that. In the first place, it’s ridiculous to brag to your neighbors that you just discovered that one thing.”

“Why the fuss about that? Most people say ‘Yes! “I’m Chaewon’s childhood friend!”

“You’re going through a hard time because you bought it. “This is a few months at most.”

“———, The eyes of the ladies looking at you over there are unusual, don’t you think?”

Seonwoo leans his upper body towards me and whispers.

When I turned my head towards the person speaking, the three people who made eye contact with me were startled and quickly averted their eyes.

Have you just become an adult? I was at an age where I was at the peak of my love for Ever.

“I’ve said it several times, but the timing was good.”

“Ever went on a hiatus for nearly six months, and there was no content of any kind, but like rain in a drought, popular daily vlogs were uploaded.”

“I remember it well.”

“You’ve said so much.”

“You know you were at the starting point of all of this, right? “This is the starting point.”

“… Okay. That’s all for today.”

A guy who drinks coffee quickly out of embarrassment.

Yes. It’s crossing a line to inform people of the situation in real time every time an article appears.

“What a weird guy.”

I mumbled and took a long sip of bubble tea.

“But are you really not dating?”

“Pugh———?!”

You bring up things so casually that you don’t even think you’ll bring them up.

Sometimes it goes beyond expectations, but the problem is that this guy never goes beyond expectations.

I am sure this is also a friend.

“Hey, dude. I told you not to bring it up… ?!”

“Honestly, if I had stayed quiet for a week, I would have endured it for a long time. Dude, as a friend of mine who even enlisted with me, isn’t it okay for me to ask you this much?”

“… Ha. “Why on earth are you curious about that?”

“Right now, the community is debating whether you and Chaewon are dating or not. “Without saying anything, it’s the biggest topic of the year?”

It was just as he said.

Daily life with nothing special. A relationship with nothing special.

But the idol and his childhood friend.

It is a common subject matter created for fans, but the atmosphere created because it has been around for 15 years made the viewer feel special.

The reason why this vlog was especially special was clearly———.

“I’ll go soon.”

I stand up, picking up the cup and cake that are on the floor.

At my action, Seonwoo reflexively glances at his watch and hastily drinks half of the remaining coffee.

The expression on the face of the guy who hastily ate something cold becomes distorted.

“… What? Are you going already? “It’s only been 20 minutes since we met?”

“So, I said we shouldn’t meet today.”

“Hey, I have a schedule too?!”

“Okay, okay. So, prepare well for camping tomorrow and have a nice trip with Sumin.”

After cleaning up, I return to my seat and take my eco bag. He also hurriedly packed his luggage and got up……

“But who are you meeting today, so why are you dressed so neatly?”

It was only then that the guy called Ball Friend noticed my outfit that was different from usual.

“The childhood friend you are desperately looking for.”

I lightly shrugged my shoulders and went down the stairs first.

+++

It may be a strange expression to say that the building looks nice, but there is probably no other expression that can fully describe my impressions.

“I’m really weird too. “I didn’t think much of it when he said he went into the billboard, but seeing the building like this makes me feel amazing again.”

Did you say there are about 25 floors combined, both above ground and underground?

Gangnam, where numerous foreign cars drive without any problems, a high-rise building in the middle of it. It was a strange feeling to see your face in the largest shape on that building.

Phew, I exhale lightly and enter the building.

As soon as I enter the lobby on the first floor, I briefly tell the staff member stationed at the desk about my business.

In the meantime, he recognized my face and asked, ‘Is that…? ?’ He asked, and I answered brightly, ‘Yes!’

It was a time when I was having a trivial conversation with an employee like this.

“Min, how are you?”

A familiar face that I had seen on the exterior wall of the building was seen inside the building.

It had been a week since we met at the lake, but you greeted me naturally as if nothing had happened.

Well, it was strange to show off in one’s own company, so I smiled lightly and waved.

“Thank you for taking this valuable step today.”

A middle-aged man who welcomes me with Chaewon. Lower your shaking hand and join hands with the man shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Yumin. “My name is Shin Dae-hyeon, the head of the Planning Division.”

“… Oh, my name is Kang Yu-min. “I really appreciate your help.”

“You look very surprised?”

“Yes. I never thought the head of the department would come in person…. Yes, I guess I didn’t know.”

If you are the head of the headquarters, you are literally the best and foremost person in the headquarters.

No matter how well the vlog went abnormally well, in the end, the head of the department came to visit just because of the vlog.

At that moment, I couldn’t figure out if this was something that would come all the way to the head of the division, or if it was really something of this magnitude.

“There are many things I can do. Chaewon made a lot of threats.”

The general manager smiles and shrugs his shoulders. He turned his head and looked at Chaewon at an angle.

“Aye~. “What did I say to the general manager?”

Chaewon smiled brightly with an expression that said she didn’t know anything.

They are of an age group where we call each other uncle and nephew, but seeing them treat each other in a friendly way made me feel at ease.

“Anyway. I’ve prepared a meeting, so I’ll guide you there. Come this way.”

Is this the executive-level escort you’ve only heard about?

I was dazed by an experience I had never experienced before in my life, and followed closely behind the manager.

“Hey. “Did you show off a little today?”

I wondered if it was just me, why did I stay still?

You stay next to me and say a word.

“You came dressed normally?”

“When you meet me, you dress casually.”

“Losing.”

“Hey. No matter how comfortable you are, I’m also a celebrity, right?”

“Shall we upload some photos from the past?”

“If that happens, the legal team you will meet will immediately turn their backs on you. “Can our company afford it?”

“Is the reason actually timely defamation?”

“Wow, you didn’t say a word?”

Ji Ji-bae raises his eyebrows with an unhappy expression.

He counters with a sullen expression on purpose to make people angry.

“Hmm…… !”

Then, I suddenly realized when the head of the department cleared his throat.

“Ah.”

“… ….”

There were a lot of people here, right?

“As I saw in your vlog, you seem to have a very good relationship.”

“hahahaha, we get along pretty well. Right?”

Chaewon smiles cheerfully at the words of the director who smiles kindly.

I don’t know if that was just an action to brighten up the awkward atmosphere, but she thought it was a sincere compliment.

Pay attention, Jijibae.

“… “I’m sorry for making a fuss.”

I bow my head and apologize on your behalf.

Afterwards, following the guidance of the head of the department, I had a brief meeting with the legal team.

It’s a meeting, as it sounds, but in reality, it was more of a briefing on how to respond to malicious comments……

Except for the rare times when I nodded to show understanding or asked a question, I never opened my mouth.

About 20 minutes like that. The legal team who spoke carefully left the room, and the head of the department came back into the conference room.

“Then, shall we talk about the content that the two of us will film in earnest?”

We went straight to the main topic of visiting Chaewon’s agency today.