Chapter 284 : Paper Cranes (3)
Chapter 284: Paper Cranes (3)
Huh??
????????
M-Mother?
Legendary Talullah. ㄷㄷㄷ
The comments full of swearing were instantly swept away.
The heated atmosphere calmed down in the blink of an eye.
I cleared my throat and cautiously glanced at Seo Ian.
Just moments ago, when the phone had first vibrated, he had looked slightly annoyed.
Now, however, his eyes were sparkling with interest.
“Was that your mother?”
Nod. Nod.
The timing just happened to be unfortunate.
“I'm in the middle of a livestream….”
Hello, ma'am. I live in Namyangju….
Mother, your daughter-in-law has arrived. ^^
I've been so busy that I haven't been able to greet you. Have you been doing well all this time?
Mother, when should we schedule the meeting between our families?
You guys. LOL
What are you all doing? LOL
Watching the comments make a complete one-eighty, Seo Ian burst into laughter.
I hurriedly lowered my voice and answered the phone.
“Mhm, Stargram Live.
I'm with the fans right now….
I'll call you back later.”
LOL
There has never been a greater Talullah than this.
As expected of Mother. ㅠㅠ
She's even considerate enough to call during livestream hours. ㅠㅠㅠ
She's so thoughtful!!
Seohan-ah, please erase my previous comments from your memory.
I think I temporarily lost my mind.
The funny part is, I don't think Do Seohan knew either. LOL
I quickly ended the call.
After getting so many calls earlier, I'd meant to switch my phone to silent.
Instead, I'd somehow done the exact opposite.
Bowing my head repeatedly, I hurriedly apologized.
“I-I'm sorry….”
“Pfft.”
Still chuckling, Seo Ian pointed at the comments.
“The comments suddenly became so wholesome.”
“That was my mom calling just now….”
Yeah, yeah.
That's totally understandable.
She should call whenever she wants!!
Everyone, read the room.
Is this livestream really what's important right now?
Mother probably called because she wanted to see me. ^^
So anyway, where are we holding the meeting between our families…?
“Then, with our minds at ease, let's finish talking about the new song.”
“The date's already been revealed, right?”
“I think the teaser came out yesterday too.”
I did my best to continue speaking casually, but my heart wasn't at ease at all.
My eyes drifted toward the long list of missed calls.
Starting before the livestream and continuing throughout today alone, there were about twenty missed calls.
Including yesterday…
That made nearly fifty.
And when I'd rejected the call earlier, I'd accidentally seen the latest text message too.
**[You're not answering because you're doing a livestream.
There's a limit to how patient I can be.]**
The exact same tone as the person who'd written the paper crane letter.
It had only been for an instant.
But I failed to hide my expression.
“…….”
This….
Something definitely wasn't right.
[Stardust & James Linden Release 'Dream the Star,' Chasing the Billboard Dream]
Stardust released 'Dream the Star,' a collaboration with the renowned singer-songwriter James Linden.
'Dream the Star' is an EDM track infused with pop rock influences, telling the story of boys chasing the stars.
On the 8th of this month, Stardust is also scheduled to perform a collaborative stage with James Linden at a global festival in New York, USA.
The highly anticipated first-half release, <Dream the Star>, had finally been released.
Ever since we'd heard the recording in the studio, all of us had been quietly confident.
Above all else, Cha Seongbin had pushed the recording forward with more conviction than anyone.
He'd said this song was absolutely going to make it.
And, in the end…
His prediction turned out to be exactly right.
“Hey!!!
This is insane.
Have you guys seen the reactions yet?”
Just as Jin Sehyun was scrolling through an article with one hand—
Bang!
The practice room door burst open, and Cha Seongbin came rushing inside in an uproar.
Practically overflowing with excitement, he shouted,
“Guys, this is seriously no joke.
People are already going crazy!!!”
“Ah, of course we've seen it.
The response has been amazing.”
Jin Sehyun grinned and nodded.
His phone screen displayed the digital music chart.
Currently ranked No. 1 in real time.
The best performance of our career.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Seo Haim shot to his feet, clenching his fist.
“The more I think about it….
The more I feel like I really need to study English.”
“Aren't you already studying?”
“To become a global idol, I need to speak more native English.
With that in mind…
Seongbin car, Do you wanna try with me?”
“…It's not Seongbin-car.”
Cha…
Seongbin.
Only then did Seo Ian understand Seo Haim's joke, and he laughed so hard his face turned red.
Watching the scene with a satisfied smile, Kang Siwoo added,
“But Haim's English has improved.”
“Of course.
Thank you.”
“Wahaha!
Nicely done…!”
Oh dear.
I shook my head and quietly took a step backward.
“Wow, Do Seohan's disowning us!”
“Tsk, tsk.
Even your little brother thinks this is embarrassing.”
Well, that was part of it.
But I also had something else I needed to do.
As happy as the news was, I couldn't just relax.
There was something I had to take care of first.
Watching for an opening, I spoke.
“I'll step outside for a minute.”
“Hm?
Where are you going?”
“I need to look something up.”
“Oh, okay.”
As naturally as possible, I slipped out of the room.
If someone asked me to count the dangerous moments in my life…
The number was steadily increasing.
To begin with, I'd already died once.
And there had been several other times I'd nearly died as well.
I was afraid that someday there would be too many to count on all ten fingers.
Eventually, I'd probably have to get used to it….
“Hoo.”
After the soju bottle incident, I'd spent a great deal of time thinking.
The current me was no different from someone walking around with a ticking time bomb strapped to my body.
That wasn't a metaphor.
It was the literal truth.
If a truck suddenly crashed into me while I was walking down the street…
If a signboard fell from the sky one day…
Or if a manhole cover suddenly collapsed beneath my feet…
None of it would be strange.
That was the kind of life I was living.
Which was why I had to be cautious.
Especially when dealing with someone who was obviously a little unhinged.
You never knew what direction they might jump.
Back then, Cha Seongbin had immediately thrown it away.
But just in case, I'd secretly kept the note.
Digging into my pocket, I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper.
“Hmm.”
I called you last time too, and I was upset because you didn't answer.
Don't ignore my calls just because you're busy.
Answer every single one.
Don't make eye contact with other girls.
Why are there so many girls in front of your dorm?
Are you trying to make me angry on purpose?
Even after reading it again, something felt off.
This was closer to someone who genuinely had no awareness whatsoever that they were a sasaeng.
The things sasaengs usually said had a completely different tone.
Do you know how many fan signing events I've gone to?
Do you know how many offline schedules I've followed?
We've become really close by now, haven't we?
Why don't you treat me differently?
Shouldn't you treat me better than the other fans?
—Those were the kinds of things I'd heard from sasaengs over the years.
Why are there so many girls in front of your dorm?
“This isn't an ordinary sasaeng.
It's a delusion.”
If left alone, there was no telling what she might do.
At the very least, I needed to identify her face and personal information.
First, I took screenshots of the missed-call history….
Then I opened JjaekJjaek.
“I have a feeling she would've left some kind of trace….
I just don't know where.”
Unlike Jin Sehyun, I had absolutely no talent for searching.
I considered asking him for help, but he'd only end up worrying, so I pushed that idea to the bottom of the list.
Rubbing my chin, I narrowed down the possible suspects.
Lee Chaekyung.
The woman in the beige knit sweater who already had a history of trespassing into our dorm.
She didn't seem delusional.
For one thing, the way she spoke was completely different, so she probably wasn't the one.
As for the people who had attended the fan signing events….
I couldn't think of anyone.
The people there had all been good fans.
Closing my eyes, I fell into thought.
Something worth investigating as a clue….
“Paper cranes.”
My eyes snapped open.
If someone had the audacity to leave a thousand paper cranes outside our dorm door, there was a high chance they'd left some kind of trace on social media.
Especially if they were delusional enough to think they were my girlfriend and felt jealous of other fans.
Tap tap tap tap.
I typed 'paper cranes' into JjaekJjaek and searched.
As expected, far more posts appeared than I'd anticipated.
“Newest….
Newest….”
I really missed having Jin Sehyun here.
Pressing my fingers against my temples, I let out a sigh.
Still, there was no helping it.
I had to find it myself.
With one hand, I frantically scrolled.
Considering when the paper cranes had been left, there was a good chance the post had been uploaded several days earlier.
“Where is it….”
Scroll.
Scroll.
Just as I was endlessly scrolling—
Something strangely familiar flashed past my eyes.
“……!”
A transparent plastic container filled with one thousand paper cranes.
The post even included the letter filled with obsession.
It had been completely ignored by the fans…
But its author herself was utterly convinced of her own reality.
[The gift I prepared for Seohan ^^]
I stopped scrolling and quietly murmured,
“Found you.”