Chapter 136: Hot Issue

The community was on fire.

I expected it, but I didn’t know it would become this much of a hot topic as I scrolled down.

[Rookie actor Han Taemin reveals he’s a Pink Army.]

Inside the post was a clip from my 100 Questions interview.

The comments were blazing for various reasons.

Furious Pink Army members’ protests were pouring in.

[Kill that lying bastard!]

[Wait, wasn’t he told to do that? Why would a guy like that watch VTubers?]

[deadass;; aint this just closer’s viral marketing?]

[man… we’re even losing our otaku title now…]

Actually, if it had ended there, I would’ve just let it slide, but some deeper friends wanted to take it a step further and become detectives.

[But I mean Han Taemin said Luka-tan was interesting in the drama he appeared in. Isn’t this connected?]

[100% confirmed. smells fishy as hell.]

Unlike the school violence controversy last time, which was 100% bullshit I could just laugh off, this time I couldn’t.

Because this was actually a scaled-down version of a rumor.

If it became known to the public that I was dating Doah—Luka, everything would obviously go up in flames.

Doah had already gotten hate once over the horror game issue, and I had no desire to cause her that kind of trouble.

Doah had already gotten hate once over the horror game issue, and I had no desire to cause her that kind of trouble.

Regardless of my feelings, tons of comments were already piling up on the original video.

There were encouraging words saying they looked forward to future activities, and many comments saying the image contrasting with the Kim Eojin role was attractive.

Of course, since I spent more time on VTuber communities, my anxious feelings were stronger.

Ugh… I don’t know. I don’t know.

The company approved this anyway.

Of course, they never approved dating, but they were previously notified of all the interview content and agreed upon it.

It meant there was at least a minimal shield to protect me if problems arose.

I should stop reading these comments.

Just trying to lie down and rest, I picked up my phone, rubbed my eyes, and checked the screen once more.

[11 missed calls]

[300+ unread messages]

What… what the hell is this?

Never in my life had so many notifications appeared on my phone.

The contacts weren’t even from the company or Doah, but other acquaintances.

There were high school friends and middle school friends.

The most recent call was from Yoonje.

Since he seemed the most manageable, I called him back.

「Hello?」

「Hey! Taemin! Good shit, you were amazing!」

「Huh?」

「Wow. Your agency is YM too! Why didn’t you tell me, dude!」

Because you didn’t ask, so I didn’t say anything.

And I didn’t particularly want to tell Yoonje ahead of time anyway.

「Why did you call?」

「Obviously after seeing that interview! Hey, the kids in our department are going crazy too.」

His overly excited voice made me frown.

The school kids all know already?

The video has only been up for two days though?

I was scared but still asked.

「Uh… who knows about it?」

「It was spread in our department group chat, so everyone probably knows.」

Shit. I’m screwed.

「Hey, are you still seeing Doah?」

「Ah, yeah.」

「Is it okay to date like that? Don’t they say anything?」

「Ah…」

The contract I signed was only for three months.

It was such a short period that it would be stranger if management of my personal relationships came into play.

「Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything yet.」

「Really? That’s surprising. Anyway, congratulations! If you ever do a famous drama, give me a heads up in advance!」

「…Yeah.」

I had no intention of doing that, but I agreed and hung up, then went into my texts.

This level of spam usually meant group chats.

And of all the group chats I was in, the most active one was…

[Hey, Han Taemin. Why aren’t you reading our messages?]

[isn’t doah-ssi watching this too? how does she deal with u…]

[Lmaoooooooooooooooo if he pretended to be normal I would’ve jumped straight to the comments. Shame]

My high school friends had over 200 messages between themselves.

Scrolling down with my thumb, it took me a while to reach the latest messages after backreading.

[I’m sorry. Please don’t go around saying weird stuff about me anywhere… ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I thought it was better to beg these guys.

They knew too much about my shameful past.

[If we just screenshotted the bullshit you’ve said in this chat, wouldn’t your celebrity career be done for? Looooooool]

[Wow, Han Taemin, how could you not tell us about such good news?]

[still, congrats bro! lfg! we got a celebrity among us wooooo]

Suffering through a barrage of questions almost like a hearing, I told them what I could and once again asked them to forget everything I said.

[Even Luka’s feet smell good.]

A screenshot came in as soon as I finished speaking.

[Please stop…]

I kicked off my blanket and buried my head in my pillow.

The only person who knows my identity and also knows my boyfriend’s face.

Fumurin terrorized me through Voicecord since morning.

As soon as I accepted the call, a pterodactyl screech that would tear my eardrums came through!

「Unnie! It’s suuuper crazy! It’s amazing!」

「Fumurin… I’m wearing earphones… please…」

If I heard it twice, blood would really flow from my ears.

「Wow! Did Taemin oppa really debut at our company?」

「Yeah… things happened and it ended up that way…」

「I thought his face was unreal back then too. I was totally shocked, you know?」

「Please keep it secret from the other members.」

Everyone knew I had a boyfriend, but she was the only one who knew Oppa’s real name and face.

「Duh, I totally will! If I let it slip again, Jennifer unnie might get you…]

Remember the last time I was scolded, my face was already turning pale.

There hadn’t been any negative repercussions yet, but if I got involved in something that harmed the group again, who knows what I’d hear.

「My boyfriend is like totally going crazy saying his haengnim is amazing right now.」

「Ah… really…?」

「Yep, he said his haengnim is def the epitome of a cold city guy, like, we even watched the drama together.」

…That’s just because you guys don’t know him well.

Knowing the true reality of it, I let out a hollow laugh.

Still, the interview seemed to be decently realistic.

「But unnie, is it okay?」

「Is what okay?」

「The fan cafe and communities are totally going crazyyy about unnie’s boyfriend right now.」

Although it was getting a lot of hype, there wasn’t really anything I could do about it.

Our company had also given permission for Taemin oppa’s interview, and Oppa’s actions weren’t wrong either.

Frankly, even if it had been another male idol instead of Oppa, it would’ve been the same.

He said he was my fan and supported me, what was I supposed to say about that?

「It’ll probably be a bit chaotic when I turn on the stream later.」

「If you see any trolls, just ban them right away.」

「The mods take care of it.」

I said this, but it was an unavoidable fact that it would be a rough stream.

Wow… the chat’s gonna explode again…

When would this commotion die down?

「But it’s totally like a drama, unnie.」

「Huh? What is?」

「A metaverse idol meeting a real actor! Doesn’t it sound like webtoon content?」

「I guess.」

…That does seem like how it would look to people.

I thought back to when I first met Oppa.

VTuber Kim Doah, who had a one-sided crush on a handsome senior without knowing anything about him.

Hikikomori super-handsome Han Taemin, who coldly rejected girls’ confessions with an indifferent face.

We had somehow become something a bit extraordinary over time.

「Ugh, you know how thrilling it is that only I know this?」

She really sounds like a young girl just from her voice.

Imagining her sitting in front of a computer with a pierced mouth making a fuss felt quite surreal.

「If this leaks to CLOSER, it’s definitely you.」

「Ah, you’re right! I won’t say a word~ loyalty loyalty~」

After ending the call with Fumurin, I sighed and moved my mouse to watch Oppa’s interview.

Look at the view count…

At this point, it was almost at the level of Luka clips.

The channel where Oppa’s interview was uploaded had many existing subscribers, but even considering that, the view count was high.

Over 500,000 in just two days…

I’d already seen the top comments several times, so I changed to newest and scrolled down.

[wow… a nerdy handsome guy… straight out of a manhwa…! they really exist!]

[A woman’s ideal man. Literally him.]

[at 11:24 when he smiles is killing me frrrr. It’s sooo cute how he gets embarrassed talking about vtubers.]

When I clicked on the timestamp, Oppa showed up, answering with an awkward smile.

Oppa couldn’t even look at the camera properly because he was flustered.

「During my free time, I mainly… just… watch a lot of CLOSER videos in my room…」

…So fricking cute.

I don’t know whose man he is though.

I always thought it was a waste that only I could see him, but now that everyone’s eyes were on him and they adored him, for some reason…

[i miss u.]

Why do I want to act so spoiled?

I sent him a quick text, letting my heart speak.