Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

Fortunately, Haeun was able to sit down before filming resumed. Haeun was worried that his face might look terrible after crying for five minutes straight, but after washing his face once, he returned to a state where there were no signs of swelling. The stylist only scolded me for why his makeup was smudged.

 

After that, the filming was completed without any issues. Some people continued to pick on Park Ha a little bit, but it was never to the extent that it ruined the atmosphere. Even if the celebrities on the show made some indirect jabs, it didn’t really affect Haeun. He didn’t understand half of them, and the rest weren’t impactful enough to even itch.

 

And above all, the content of the filming was fun. The performances were of such high quality that it was difficult to distinguish which parts were live and which parts were lip-synced, even if you tried hard to figure it out.

 

Unlike Haeun, who repeatedly made wrong guesses and showed genuine reactions of admiration everytime, Junwoo had a surprisingly high correct answer rate. Whether this would get much airtime or not, it was impressive that he could distinguish between them.

 

Although he found Yoon Junwoo annoying, Haeun decided to acknowledge what deserved recognition and complimented him. However, as always, only a ridiculous snort came back, making him feel like he shouldn’t have said anything instead. It might have been unreasonable to expect him to respond well to his praise after what happened on the stairs.

 

“Good job, everyone!”

 

After the filming ended, Haeun bowed 90 degrees and greeted loudly in all directions. It was a basic virtue for an unknown idol. Some of the good-natured panelists even told him that he did well today.

 

As people started to leave, Haeun, who was looking around to get ready to go, noticed Yejun. He was in the center of the crowd, looking around with a tired expression. He seemed to be looking for something.

 

 Since he had helped him, he thought it would be better to thank him to avoid any issues later, but it didn’t seem like the right time to approach him.

 

He was a target character, and even if he hadn’t appeared on this show, they would meet in the next story, so there was no need to rush. If he thanked him the next time they met, it wouldn’t leave a bad impression. After all, he didn’t intend to pursue him as a target, so there was no need to raise his favorability that much. Maintaining a moderate level of acquaintance would suffice.

 

But right at that moment, Yejun’s gaze met Haeun’s. 

 

Did our eyes really just meet?

He tried to brush it off as a mistake, but Yejun immediately began making his way through the crowd towards him as if to deny his assumption.

 

Isn’t this one of those awkward situations? Where you think someone is coming to greet you, so you wave, but they’re actually heading to the person behind you.

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, Yejun stopped right in front of Park Haeun, not someone behind him. It felt as if he was demonstrating that “This is what it means to be an idol.” He hadn’t realized this when watching him on TV or when seeing him on screen, but seeing him up close, he thought that he truly was a celebrity.

 

Haeun, who came to his senses a bit late, quickly bowed his head in greeting. Yejun barely acknowledged the greeting as he began to speak.

 

“You…are Park Ha, right?”

 

Is it supposed to be impressive that he can’t even remember his name properly? He didn’t like his haughty attitude but responded nonetheless.

 

“Yes, that’s correct!”

 

His voice sounded overly enthusiastic, as if she was trying too hard.

 『Yejun’s favorability has increased by 1! (ﾟДﾟ)』 

Perhaps his polite response had pleased him, as his favorability towards him crept up.

 

‘Yeah, this is how it should be with a target character.’

 

Even though it was their first meeting, a few words exchanged had already raised his favorability, and despite the disparity in their statuses, he approached him first. This was possible because the genre of this game was a dating simulation after all.

 

Although his batting average wasn’t great when it came to analyzing his fellow members, there was a reason for that. One wrong move and he might end up on a proper romance route. This was strictly a homoerotic dating sim. Haeun, who only wanted to form broad friendships, had no choice but to be cautious. He quickly rationalized his thoughts.

 

Anyway. Although he had to be careful, Yejun was an ideal target character, and his fellow members weren’t difficult to approach if he set his mind to it. But the man she met on the stairs earlier was definitely odd.

 

His thoughts kept straying to other paths. Yejun, who did know the quick thoughts racing through Haeun’s mind, spoke again in a kind voice.

 

“You did well during the filming.”

 

“Thank you very much!”

 

When Haeun expressed his gratitude with another 90-degree bow, Yejun waved it off casually. Then, as if it were no big deal, he made a suggestion.

 

“If it’s okay, do you want to take a picture together?”

 

Even though he added “if it’s okay,” Yejun was already taking his phone out of his pocket. He didn’t seem to consider the possibility of being refused.

 

Well, there was no way he could refuse in this situation. He was just curious as to why he wanted a picture with him. It felt like a celebrity suddenly asking a passerby for a photo.

 

“Of course! It’s an honor!”

 

In reality, Haeun wasn’t particularly a fan of his, so it wasn’t exactly an honor, but he flattered him as much as he could. Yejun, accustomed to such reactions, opened the selfie app without a word. He adjusted the phone’s angle and moved closer.

 

Yejun was known to “dislike touching people,” and in the game, he only allowed physical contact after building enough favorability. Yet, here he was, standing so close that their shoulders touched completely, not just a slight brush.

 

While the overall situation was similar, it was still different from how it was in the game. Perhaps meeting him in a different context was the issue. As Ha-un stiffened, Yejun, who was about to press the shutter button, pulled back slightly and spoke.

 

“Your face is too stiff.”

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

“Relax.”

 

What he thought would be a quick photo session turned out to be more than just one picture. Once Haeun managed to relax his expression, Yejun took a picture, then told him to change her pose. So Haeun changed his as well, taking another picture.

 

“Now we look pretty friendly, don’t you think?”

 

Glancing at the photo Yejun showed him, Haeun nodded instinctively. They both looked good in the picture, but his question felt oddly as if he was seeking approval.

 

“I’m going to post this on social media. Is that okay?”

 

Ah, so that’s where it’s going. Even though his question was answered, he felt even more bewildered.

 

He nodded, but honestly, there was no real benefit for Yejun to post a picture with a minor idol like Park Ha on his social media. At best, it would create an image of a senior who cares for his juniors, but Yejun was already a top star who didn’t need such image-building.

 

The person who would benefit the most from that photo being posted on Yejun’s account was Haeun. The sudden thought that crossed his mind made him put on a serious expression.

 

‘This guy… is he… falling for me?’

 

It was a genuine concern. It couldn’t be dismissed as mere overconfidence. After all, Park Haeun had heard a heartfelt love confession from top idol Jo Yejun (in the game). It was enough to boost his confidence.

 

“By the way.”

 

Yejun started to speak. His voice sounded a bit sharp, perhaps feeling exposed. Haeun hurriedly tried to respond with a “Yes, yes?” but he only moved his lips without saying anything.

 

“Yejun ah! We’re out of time!”

 

Yejun’s manager, who was unable to watch any longer, intervened. Yejun lowered his gaze slightly as if he was thinking for a moment and then stepped back.

 

“…See you next time.”

 

It seemed he decided not to say anything. Haeun opened his mouth to respond.

 

“Oh, alright!”

 

His own cute reply, so different from his thoughts, made Haeun shudder inside. He couldn’t tell if the system was subtly controlling him without offering choices, if his body’s strong will was too powerful, or if he had already become integrated with the game. It was increasingly becoming a series of terrifying and perplexing events.

 

Yejun, who had paused briefly, looked at his phone again, tapping the screen a few more times. It seemed he was finishing the upload he had started. Haeun’s fingers itched with curiosity about what caption he had chosen, but he couldn’t check his social media accounts right in front of him.

 

‘Please leave.’

 

Haeun, who was inwardly kicking Yejun out, smiled brightly at him. Yejun, lifting the corners of his mouth slightly, tapped his phone as if to indicate that he should check it. 

 

Haeun kept his polite demeanor and, once Yejun was out of sight, took out her phone.

 

‘Let’s see. Black Beers. Black Beers.’

 

He had held back for long enough. Quickly searching, he found the official account of Black Beers. At the top was a post from just a few minutes ago.

 Black Beers ✔ @BlackB2ers [#Yejun] God Of Live shoot???? A pic with junior #ParkHaEveryone, don’t forget to have dinner RT 2.8K ┃ Quote 237 ┃ ♡ 21K 

“Wow, these emojis are really weird.”

 

That was his first impression, but what surprised him more was the number of reactions. It had only been a few minutes since the post was uploaded, and it had already garnered over 21,000 likes. It was incomparable to the official Stone Cherry account, which struggled to get a few thousand likes even after several days.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, Haeun decided to sneak in a like from himself. After all, being just one among 20,000 wouldn’t stand out.

I would like to give a sincere apology for the constant name changing of Yejun's group: "Black Beers."The hangul can be translated to both Black Beers of Black Beard, (which none of them sounds good, btw) and there is no direct English name except their social media handle: Black B2ers. So I kept going back and changed it to Black B2ers.I have decided to settle with Black Beers for now, but if anyone would like a different name, please let me know! I will keep the name from previous chapters "Black B2ers" for now and continue with the name "Black Beers" in the future chapters.