Chapter 277

Chapter 277

It was four in the morning, and I was running alongside a dog in my apartment complex. It was panting pretty hard. I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up jogging with someone else’s dog—especially since said dog belonged to someone I could hardly stand the sight of, even if I hadn’t seen him in nearly half a year.

Holding back a sigh, I turned to look beside me.

“Kongi, you’re running so well. That’s a good boy.”

The man who was currently heaping praise on his dog for doing what all dogs do… was Cheongryeo, who had emerged from the fog.

Goddamn it. I thought back to how I’d found myself here. Cheongryeo was dressed in a light sweatsuit as he wrangled the dog.

“I always take him for his walk when there are no people, so I guess he got a little excited after hearing someone running nearby. Sorry if he scared you.”

He had been far too calm while saying this. So I asked him, “I think you knew it was me.”

His response was, “A pink-haired man in this apartment complex jogging at this time in the morning… does narrow down things quite a bit, doesn’t it? I could see the color even through the fog.”

I couldn’t find fault with this explanation. Stifling a groan, I realized the cap on my head did very little to disguise my hair color. Naturally, I’d just assumed that no one would be up and about at four in the morning.

He even had an explanation for why he was taking a walk in this part of the complex.

“I’m… living in the dorm for a little while because I have something I need to do while we’re taking a break from touring. This part of the apartment complex has fewer people at this time in the morning.”

This was true.

“I think you’re here for similar reasons, right?”

I had to admit he was right. In essence, this was a coincidence that had arisen because both of us had similar jobs and situations.

Phew.

I accepted the situation and quickly tried to leave.

“Well, all right… I’ll just—”

“We’re going in the same direction, right? Why don’t you slow down a little? I think Kongi will bark if you run outright.”

I stared.

“Setting him off would be not so desirable so early in the morning, wouldn’t you agree?”

Glancing at the yellow fluff of fur that was currently wiggling in his arms, tiny paws waving about, I was forced to change direction. I couldn’t understand how a bastard like him had managed to raise such a cheerful, innocent dog.

There are security cameras everywhere, so he probably won’t try anything stupid. Holding back a sigh, I began jogging along the path at the same pace as Cheongryeo. The dog and his owner, going at a similar pace beside me, didn’t talk as we ran.

It was what followed that was the problem.

“You want a drink?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

After the path had come to an end, I drank some water from the water bottle I’d brought with me, while Cheongryeo fed his dog a snack.

“Just wear a beanie next time. It’ll cover up the color better.”

I didn’t think I’d ever come out jogging at this hour ever again. Instead of telling him that, though, I simply nodded. He patted the dog as it chomped away and shrugged. As he bent over his dog, I noticed under his hood… that his hair wasn’t black.

Wait a second.

I found myself saying, “You dyed your hair?”

“Oh. Yes.”

Cheongryeo tucked his hair back under his hood, and the dark green strands vanished.

Or is it gray? I couldn’t really tell because of the fog, but the color wasn’t what mattered.

“You’ve never once dyed your hair since your debut, have you?” I asked.

For as long as I’d been a paparazzo, at least, I’d never seen VTIC’s Cheongryeo dye his hair. I had no idea what was going on, but I guessed they must be going for some sort of shocking change in the concept they were going for. I decided to dig for hints regarding what they were trying to do for their next comeback, which would be a repackage album. After all, I was currently staring at our biggest roadblock to getting the daesang this year.

I have to acknowledge that much. They were still going strong, at a rate that was difficult to believe. They remained at the top of the game and had been cruising high since their comeback in February.

I thought they would start to slow down and die off in popularity about now. They were at the point in their career where they could not possibly expect any further upward motion, and yet VTIC was still living their golden days, seemingly without end.

- VTIC first week sales complete! 1.92 million!

└ That is nuts

└ Sh*t, don’t tell me they’re going to keep this up until they enlist? LOL. Wow, considering how long they’ve been around and how well they’re still doing… I’m so proud of my country and of them!

- Reseller tickets for VTIC’s world tour are all sold out, too. They’re not slowing down anytime soon

- I’m seriously curious if they’re going to stay at the top until they retire

It was hard to believe they were a group that had already renewed their contract. Their February comeback had incorporated a very sophisticated and dark version of the fifties Broadway feel, and the fans had been elated by it. I’d seen it, too, and nearly popped open a beer.

They keep on producing at a surprising level of quality. There was nothing to be done about it. I was hoping that they would have no more comebacks this year, but I wasn’t expecting this hope to bear fruit, since they were probably going to go as hard as they could for the few years they had left before their oldest member had to enlist.

It seems certain, now that he’s dyed his hair. He was preparing something, and that something was a swerve from the norm, and they were clearly putting in a lot of effort.

“I’m wondering what kind of surprise you have in store if you’re going so far as to dye your hair for the first time.”

I screwed the cap on my water bottle and crossed my arms, waiting for his answer. He just grinned at me.

“Well, it’s not as shocking as pink.”

F*ck.

“The fans like it.”

“Yeah? Congrats.”

He’d changed the subject without giving me a single clue. I nodded to myself internally.

He’s going out of his way not to say anything. He was wary of TeSTAR, too. I recalled the way VTIC sometimes texted and called us. It felt like they were keeping an eye on us.

[We saw you featured on the variety show Dance Over Flowers. We’ll be on the show soon, too. Haha]

This particular message had arrived close to the end of our promotional cycle in January.

[Wow, combining the two songs was an amazing idea. Raebin… Do you have any intention of giving some of your songs to another group? (face with tears of joy emoji)]

[^^b]

This message had arrived during our concert.

[The documentary was so touching T_T]

And as for this one… they had done a quick about-face after Cha Eugene’s incident came to a head. In any case, they were monitoring us closely enough to consistently keep track of all the content we’d put out this year. They probably told themselves they were doing so to encourage us, but there was probably some subconscious urge to keep an eye on second place coming up behind them.

This year is going to be really intense, I told myself.

What Cheongryeo said next, however, was unexpected.

“No. I didn’t dye my hair at any point this time around.” He cocked his head. “But you know… I didn’t think you’d know that.”

I said nothing.

“Have you been studying me? Or were you a fan of ours instead of Marshmallow when you were still in your original body? Oh, sometimes, people will be fans of every group in a single agency. Though that’s probably pretty rare for men…”

What a creepy guess. Sh*t. I repressed the urge to sigh and put my water bottle in my backpack. I quickly mentally calculated.

All right. The situation allowed for it, so I would tell him the truth.

“I was nobody’s fan.”

“What were you, then?”

I spoke with deliberate nonchalance, like I was distracted by the dog running around my feet, and lulled into a sense of security. “I wasn’t actually an idol fan. I was a paparazzo in college and sold fancams to the fansite masters. Naturally, I saw a lot of the idols that were worth any money, and that means you, too.”

“Oh.”

I had just given him some information about Ryu Gunwoo, namely the fact that I’d been a paparazzo during my college years. I had a clear purpose for doing so.

Track me down. I wanted him to find out more about the Gunwoo in this world.

“That’s it.”

I clearly remembered his words when he’d told me about the surprise release of Youngrin’s single at the end of last year.

“You didn’t. You don’t have people bringing you information, do you? That’ll be your biggest problem going forward.”

This meant that he, on the other hand, did have access to plenty of information. That he’d figured out about Youngrin’s upcoming release, something only those close to her had been aware of at the time, was proof of this fact.

He probably doesn’t limit his information gathering to the entertainment industry. In order to control all external factors, he needed to be aware of everything that was connected in some way to people in the industry. That meant he was my best bet at finding out more about Gunwoo while avoiding causing trouble for Moondae if I was caught “illegally tracking a civilian.”

You’re right that I have no one to bring me information. So I’ll use you to do it for me. I’d confirmed through the video at Chungwoo’s place that Gunwoo had existed in this world for sure. I could now use Cheongryeo to perhaps confirm if Gunwoo was alive.

It doesn’t matter if he locates Gunwoo outright. What Cheongryeo knew—the absurd claim that I had switched bodies—would sound like insanity should he try to say anything. And realistically speaking, Gunwoo could not be used as a weakness against me.

He’s got nothing of value, after all. After I graduated from college, all I’d had was enough money to last me three years, and nothing else. Cheongryeo didn’t know that, though. In order to keep the most dangerous enemy to their continued success—TeSTAR—in check and control any and all possible variables, he was going to look into Moondae’s original body for sure. Up till now, that had been impossible for him because all he had was my original name and age.

Let’s see now… I hope he reacts to my mentioning that I was a paparazzo. There was a lot that could be deduced from his reaction. If my guess was right, he was no doubt thinking furiously right about now.

I concluded casually. “As for Marshmallow… I wasn’t really a fan, but I did like them casually.” I grinned, petting the dog.

Cheongryeo, the leash clenched in hand, regarded me with an odd look in his eyes. “So… you were more of an… industry insider than I thought.”

You want to call a paparazzo an insider?

“No. It was just a side gig.”

“Haha! Based on how you operate, I highly doubt it was just a simple side gig. I guess it was that experience that gave you a good eye for what’s worth trying and what’s not. Interesting.” He muttered to himself, putting the hand that wasn’t holding the leash to his chin. The fog prevented me from seeing his expression clearly, but he seemed to be lost in thought.

Good. Go on, fall into the trap.

He said gently, “But a guy in his twenties, working with a camera… That’s pretty unique. Tell me what you looked like. You filmed VTIC, too, right? I think I might remember you.”

There. He’s trying to get more information out of me.

The dog was now lying on his back, and I rubbed him behind the ear.

I can’t allow him to know that I’m giving him information on purpose. He was the type of person who would demand an extreme deal or go behind my back, if he knew I was after information myself.

Or both. Answering him too easily would make me look suspicious, so I shook my head.

“I just wore glasses and a hat. People who look like me were common.”

“Hmm.”

That should give him the impression I was being careful, but I’d already given him plenty of information.

A man in his early twenties with glasses, a hat, and a camera.

If he looked through the right footage from the various events he’d performed at, which the agency no doubt stored, he would be able to find plenty of faces that could be me—even if they were low resolution. A person like me could usually be found sitting in one of the front rows holding a large, conspicuous camera.

And he would guess that my university is in Seoul, if I was a paparazzo worth any amount of money. The major broadcast stations and performance venues were mostly in Seoul.

So, using the timeframe, the fact that I attended university in Seoul, my age, my name, and my face…

“Hmm.”

Someone who was good at this sort of thing would easily be able to figure out what Gunwoo had been up to of late.

That should do it. I got up with a shrug. I didn’t need to say anything along the lines of “I’ve said too much,” since that would be awkward. The most natural thing to do was to leave now.

The dog at my feet gave a strange bark, like it was disappointed to see me go, then stamped its feet.

“I’m leaving,” I said.

“Uh… All right. Goodbye,” Cheongryeo said casually, picking up his dog. “I’ll be going for a walk around here for the next few weeks, so if we ever run into each other again, say hi to Kongi.”

“We’ll see…”

“Haha.”

I held back a sigh as I turned and left the foggy path. I sighed. I thought I’d handled it well, but meeting him always tired me out for some reason.

***

A few minutes later, I found myself entering the dorm building, the bad taste in my mouth finally fading.

Is the fog some kind of debuff or something? Ha! But enough of that. I just needed to wait for the results. If Cheongryeo wanted to try striking a deal with me, he would have to tell me something about Gunwoo’s current state, at least, the moment he found him.

All right. I’d done a clean job of luring him in. Shrugging to myself, I got on the elevator, my thoughts starting to pick up speed. Perhaps it was because I’d slept so early last night. We had a pretty active event scheduled this afternoon—the first one in a while—and I’d slept longer than usual.

“Now then, let’s decide rooms!”

“Yay!”

The roommate allocation content, intended to fill the ambiguous void of our latest hiatus, was back.