Chapter 99: …Did you get a boyfriend?
by AfuhfuihgsThe Next Morning – At Deer (Go Eun-bi)’s House.
Field Mouse Kim Seon-ah and Monkey were sprawled out on the floor, completely unconscious.
No—rather than just sleeping, they looked outright passed out.
The reason was simple.
They had drunk themselves into oblivion late into the night.
“Uuuugh….”
“Ughhh….”
Monkey was already a jobless internet addict, and Field Mouse was now a legally unemployed person after quitting her job.
Meanwhile, Deer (Eun-bi), being a VTuber, basically “clocked out” the moment she ended her stream, so it was easy to invite them over.
The result?
Chaos.
These three had been drinking together almost every night lately.
…Still, in their minds, they considered themselves responsible.
They weren’t the type to go clubbing and pick up random guys, nor did they engage in reckless flings.
“Uuugh….”
The first to stir was Field Mouse Kim Seon-ah.
Her phone, resting on her stomach, had started vibrating in her sleep.
Half-lidded, she checked the screen—
“….”
For a moment, her mind was completely blank.
“…?”
Then she tilted her head slightly—
“…!”
And suddenly shot up, her eyes widening in shock.
It looked like she was about to roll across the floor from sheer disbelief.
The number on her phone was impossible.
[ Missed Calls: 99+ ]
[ Messages: 99+ ]
“What… What the hell is this?”
Did something big happen?
She had lived a completely law-abiding life, yet she was terrified.
She had never seen her phone blow up like this before.
But soon, her fear subsided.
“Huh? Wait a second….”
She noticed something.
There was a pattern to the messages.
“Every single one of these… is from Star Catch?”
The pattern was clear—
Every call, every message, without exception, had come from her previous workplace, Star Catch.
“Are they asking me to train the new hire? Or what?”
It was a common workplace issue.
Even after quitting, former employees would suddenly get calls begging them to teach the newbies.
But then—Kim Seon-ah shook her head.
*”No. If that was all, they wouldn’t be this desperate.
Something huge must’ve happened—something that makes that issue seem insignificant.”*
She clicked on a few messages—
And the reason became painfully obvious.
Attached were several news articles.
[ Special Task Force 808: Kim Yuhan’s True Identity is ‘Lee Su-an’ ]
[ Who is Rookie Actor Lee Su-an? A Mystery With No Profile History ]
[ The Only Reporter Who Predicted Kim Yuhan’s Identity—Who Was She? ]
“Huh?!”
She practically jumped in shock.
Kim Yuhan’s real identity was actually Lee Su-an?!
So… Sua was telling the truth?!
While Kim Seon-ah sat frozen in disbelief, somewhere behind her—
Monkey and Deer had woken up, groggily sipping water as they wandered over.
Apparently, Kim Seon-ah’s reaction had been loud enough to wake them up.
“What’s going on?”
“Yeah, what’s so interesting that you’re staring at your phone like that?”
Instead of answering right away, Kim Seon-ah played the teaser for Special Task Force 808 and pointed at the screen.
“See this?
The actor playing Kim Yuhan?
That’s Lee Su-an.”
“Mm-hmm. He’s really handsome.”
“Wait… he looks familiar.
Is that fate?
Is he my soulmate?”
Kim Seon-ah ignored Deer’s nonsense and began telling them everything she had experienced.
The fact that she had considered quitting Star Catch,
How Sua had tipped her off about a big scoop,
And how Lee Su-an was actually Sua’s friend—
“…So, that’s the situation.
Apparently, they’re really close.”
“Hmm.”
The other two nodded along.
But soon, a logical doubt surfaced.
“Something doesn’t add up.”
The one to break the silence was Monkey.
“Where would Sua even find a friend besides us?”
“…”
Both of them paused.
Because—that was a damn good point.
Kim Seon-ah absentmindedly scratched her head.
“Now that I think about it, yeah…
We’re used to her, but most people get super frustrated when they first meet Sua.
There aren’t many people patient enough to put up with her.
Unless they’re a saint….”
That was true.
There was that one time they tried bringing in friends to play games with Sua.
And after just one gaming session, the reactions were always the same.
—“Eun-bi, is she doing this on purpose?”
—“Why does she sound angry all the time? She’s the worst player here, and yet….”
—“Guys, it’s just a misunderstanding! Let me explain—”
Clearing up misunderstandings had always been the group chat’s job.
…And now, Sua suddenly had a friend?
Kim Seon-ah nodded.
“Well, according to her, they’re super close.”
And then—
“…What if they’re not just friends?”
Deer stroked her chin.
“What if their relationship goes beyond friendship?
Like, love?
If someone’s blinded by affection, even flaws can seem like charming quirks.”
“…?”
It sounded completely ridiculous.
But somehow, because it was so ridiculous, it also made a weird amount of sense.
“…”
The room fell into a strange silence—
Because they all kind of agreed.
After all—it wasn’t like Sua wasn’t pretty.
No—if anything, she was insanely attractive.
The only reason the three of them were immune was because they were all women.
Even on their brief trip to Busan, they had felt it firsthand.
The way people stared at Sua.
The sheer amount of desire directed toward her.
So, Sua was in an odd position.
She might struggle to make friends.
But making a boyfriend?
That would be too easy.
Because a romantic relationship didn’t require much—just physical attraction was enough.
The real issue was—
“That’s concerning.”
…Because these three never stopped worrying about Sua.
Kim Seon-ah scratched her head at Deer’s words.
“The way we talk about her has really changed, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Before, whenever we talked about her dating, our reaction was the opposite.
It was always something like—
‘What kind of sins did this poor guy commit in his past life to deserve Sua as a girlfriend?’
That was the mood back then.”
“…But back then, we didn’t know about her savant syndrome.”
Before, they had treated her like a helpless child.
But after their conversation in Busan, something had changed.
Now, she wasn’t just a helpless child.
She was “our helpless child.”
…A completely incompetent and lazy mess,
Who, as it turned out, had been struggling with a condition,
And was secretly working herself to death to become an actress?
How could they not feel touched?
That was the general sentiment in their group chat.
(Of course, if Sua heard this, she would be absolutely mortified.)
Anyway.
Deer frowned.
“…Either way, Lee Sua didn’t listen to me at all.
I told her so many times to be careful around men.”
“It’s worrying.
What if this guy only approached her for her body?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
The Moment Deer (Go Eun-bi) Picked Up Her Phone.
“Huh?”
Go Eun-bi tilted her head in confusion.
Then, as if wanting the other two to see, she held out her phone for them.
“…What the hell is this?”
Several news headlines were displayed on the screen.
[ The Star of the Busan International Short Film Festival: Lee Sua. ]
[ Lee Sua Speaks Japanese? “I Can Do Everything.” ]
[ A Foreign-Trained Rookie Sweeps the Short Film Festival. ]
“…!”
All three of them had their mouths hanging open.
In just a few days—
During the short time they had spent drinking and relaxing—
“Wh-What the hell?!”
The entire world had changed.
That Afternoon – Star Catch Headquarters.
Now that the Busan International Short Film Festival had officially ended, journalists were working non-stop, pounding out articles.
[ Who is the Rookie Who Stole the Grand Prize from “Rookie Queen” Yang Ha-rin? A Shocking Awards Ceremony! ]
Lee Sua.
To the media, she was an irresistible story.
Not just because of her achievements—
But because she herself was a mystery.
She had everything to spark curiosity.
“Boss, CT Entertainment just contacted us!”
“What did they say?”
“They want us to pay more attention to Yang Ha-rin’s articles! What should we do?”
“Yang Ha-rin? Are you kidding me?”
The team leader scoffed.
“Focus entirely on Lee Sua!
Isn’t it obvious which side we should be backing?
Even a five-year-old could figure this out!”
Yang Ha-rin’s achievement?
Second place.
Best Actor Award.
It wasn’t a bad result—
But standing next to Sua, it looked pathetic.
It was only natural that Yang Ha-rin’s and CT Entertainment’s attempts to control the narrative had completely collapsed.
[ Director Park Jun Says: “I Always Had Faith in Lee Sua as the Lead.” ]
[ Would We Still Cast Lee Sua as the Lead of “The Sword” Today? The Answer is YES. ]
[ “Wind” Vanished Like the Wind. ]
[ “The Sword” vs. “The Wind”—A Tale of Two Films. Big Budget Couldn’t Beat the Romanticism of Low-Budget Cinema. Director Cho Eui-shin’s Bitter Defeat. ]
In short—
Yang Ha-rin had become Lee Sua’s stepping stone.
As a rookie who had outshined Yang Ha-rin, Sua was now fully in the spotlight.
The entire media industry had already flipped sides—
No one was backing Yang Ha-rin anymore.
[ Smiling Even With a Broken Trophy: “Thank You.” ]
[ A Strong Bond with Director Yusaku—What’s the Secret Behind Her Japanese? ]
The warm and wholesome articles poured in.
Of course—
There were also sensational headlines designed just to generate clicks.
[ A Bold and Daring Red Carpet Look—Was It Too Revealing? ]
[ Is She Really a Rookie? A Fearless and Shocking Presence…. ]
[ Her Chest Is So Big It Blocks Her Face? “She Really Is a Foreign Star.” ]
But none of it was a problem for Sua.
In fact—it was great.
There was no downside—only advantages.
Unlike other actresses who relied solely on their looks,
Sua had both talent and success to back her up.
Besides—
The outfit she wore wasn’t even provocative enough to justify controversy.
It was just a tight-fitting formal dress.
If there was any crime, it was her own body.
Who could blame her for that?
If her dress had actually been revealing, maybe there would have been criticism.
But it covered her completely.
So in the end—
It was mutually beneficial.
The journalists got their clicks.
And Sua got free publicity.
CT Entertainment’s cheap bribes couldn’t compete.
Oh—and one more thing.
[ What Was the Meaning Behind the Hand Mirror Lee Sua Gave Yang Ha-rin? ]
A Butterfly’s Wings Can Start a Storm.
Right now—
On online forums,
The seemingly meaningless thing Sua had done—just to escape an awkward situation—
Was about to explode.
A Dark Room.
Clench.
A woman bit down on her lip—hard.
So hard that she could taste blood.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
Yang Ha-rin.
“…”
She was hovering over online forums.
But she couldn’t bring herself to actually open any threads.
Because the moment she did—
The moment she saw something that pushed her over the edge—
She might actually bite her tongue off.
And so—
She had been repeating the same motion like a glitching machine.
Swipe— Swipe— Swipe—
She didn’t click anything.
She just kept refreshing the rankings.
Not reading.
Just refreshing.
Over and over.
Until—
[ Real-Time Trending Forums ]
Rank 14. [ ↓4 Yang Ha-rin Gallery ]
Rank 15. [ ↑7 Lee Sua Gallery ]
Her patience was already wearing thin.
But then—
[ Real-Time Trending Forums ]
Rank 5. [ ↑10 Lee Sua Gallery ]
Rank 17. [ ↓3 Yang Ha-rin Gallery ]
The moment Lee Sua’s gallery overtook hers—
Her fingers moved without thinking.
Tap!
The dark room remained silent.
Only the glow of her phone screen illuminated her face—
As an endless flood of posts appeared before her eyes.
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