“Still, don’t let your guard down,” Kang Ho-Soo told Woo-Jin.

“I don’t think anyone can get all the way up here. Although it’s impossible to regulate everyone coming and going from my parents’ house, this place has a limited number of people accessing it.”

At his parents’ house, many people would show up whenever events were organized or during construction work, so it was difficult to inspect and verify everyone’s identity. On the other hand, no one would ever come to this studio apartment except for Woo-Jin's family and the people from his agency. At most, there would be AS[1], mail carriers, and food delivery workers, but it was impossible for them to hide from Woo-Jin and trespass in his apartment.

“I’m doing this because I wanted to see what living alone is like. Otherwise, I was only planning on moving out of the house when I got married in the future.”

Woo-Jin spoke casually as Kang Ho-Soo worried for him. As a matter of fact, Woo-Jin would not have moved out without the recent trespassing incident. Yet, that didn’t mean he felt grateful to the extreme and toxic fan who was acting like a stalker.

“Wouldn’t it be better just to apply for a restraining order?” Kang Ho-Soo asked.

“Although she crossed the line, she’s a fan first and foremost. It’s a little too harsh to go that far because of one mistake. We should give her a second chance.”

“I feel like you’re just enticing and luring her in so that she gets trapped in a quagmire.”

“Not at all. I’m drawing a line between us and giving her a chance so that she can become aware of her limits. However, if she crosses this line once more, then she’s no longer my fan,” Woo-Jin said.

Rather than wasting her youth clinging to an unachievable dream, it was best to give her a reality check. It may sound a bit harsh, but Woo-Jin wanted her to abandon her futile fantasies as soon as possible and stay true to reality.

“I want her to be rational, reasonable, and smart.”

Unfortunately, Woo-Jin’s hopes did not come true.

***

Woo-Jin was leaving his apartment when he glanced at the door to the other penthouse. He had a new neighbor moving next door to him.

A few days ago, a notice had been posted asking for Woo-Jin’s understanding since it would be noisy and inconvenient today due to the new furniture being brought inside. Despite this, it was much quieter than expected, so Woo-Jin had forgotten about the new neighbor until he stepped outside his door and saw the sign again.

He was curious about this new neighbor, but CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had told Woo-Jin he didn’t need to be friendly and could just mind his own business without worrying about them. Woo-Jin hadn’t even greeted his previous neighbors, so there was no reason for him to behave differently this time. He decided to become an unchanging axis in this harsh world and have a stable core.

Ever since that reporter had been allowed to use the rooftop across from his parents’ house to monitor him, Woo-Jin had grown wary of his neighbors. He had no delusions or false hopes about becoming close friends with the other resident.

Yet, as he was dilly-dallying, Woo-Jin missed his opportunity to be a truly cold-hearted neighbor.

“Hello! Do you live next door?”

The elevator opened, and a woman got off with a box in her arms. As she was behind Woo-Jin, she only saw his back as she greeted him.

Woo-Jin was looking at the apartment when he heard the voice and turned around. When the woman saw his face, her eyes opened wide in surprise, and she shouted, “Are you… Chae Woo-Jin? Are you actually Chae Woo-Jin?”

The woman called out his name several times and confirmed his identity, apparently in complete disbelief. Woo-Jin greeted her politely.

“Nice to meet you. I assume you’re my neighbor who’s moving in today?”

Woo-Jin tilted his head slightly as he watched the lady’s surprised expressions. Her startled, excited face was subtly out of balance and was unsettling to look at. In addition, her facial expressions were unnatural and had some swelling here and there, making it appear awkward overall.

“Oh my god~! I never thought I would be neighbors with Chae Woo-Jin. What should I do? I’m not wearing any makeup right now!”

The girl almost seemed like she was about to cry since she couldn’t hide her face, her hands busy holding the box. Woo-Jin noticed that she was actually wearing light makeup and that her face wasn’t quite entirely bare, but he pretended not to have seen it.

“What a fateful coincidence! I hope we can be friends from now on!”

Placing the box on the floor, the woman held out her hand. He had no particular reason to refuse, so Woo-Jin reciprocated the handshake. In all honesty, needing to behave properly to uphold his image as a celebrity was quite annoying in situations such as this.

“My name is Lee Yeo-Rin. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“You already know my name, but I am Chae Woo-Jin. Likewise, I’ll be in your care.”

He wanted to ask her whether she was living with her family, but Woo-Jin stopped himself. If they started asking personal questions, they would inevitably become closer and better acquainted. Woo-Jin personally did not want this, so as soon as they finished their greetings, he said goodbye and got on the elevator.

After entering the elevator, Woo-Jin turned around as the elevator doors began to close. Through the slowly narrowing crack between the doors, Woo-Jin was watching Lee Yeo-Rin bow her head when a chill ran down his back. He had just realized that the face he was looking at seemed familiar.

The impression she gave off and her appearance had subtly changed, so he hadn’t recognized her immediately, but he had known her face for a while. She was always present in places where his fans gathered, and she sometimes approached him and touched his body. There was even a time when she was caught trying to steal one of Woo-Jin’s belongings.

Her face had also been caught on camera by the reporter Kim Gwang-Sik. She was the one who had sneaked into his house alongside the cleaning company. The reason he couldn’t recognize this woman right away was that her face had changed.

Her skin had improved a great deal, and it seemed as if she had taken excellent care of it. Furthermore, her eyes had gotten larger and her nose sharper. Moreover, her teeth were arranged straighter than before and were whiter as well.

The unnatural sensation Woo-Jin felt from Lee Yeo-Rin was because of her plastic surgery and dental laminates. Her image had changed drastically. Her face was already pretty before, but her now-big eyes and tall nose made her look like a frigid beauty.

In the past, she had a unique charm, but now she was an outstanding beauty. But interestingly, it was a type of attractiveness that could be commonly seen on the streets. It was as if a gorgeous, unique-looking actress had gotten plastic surgery to become a common beauty like a mass-produced doll.

“I didn’t expect this.”

Woo-Jin had given her a chance to redeem herself, but instead, she took it as an opportunity to upgrade herself and appear before him again. He had overlooked the fact that it was easier to move into a studio apartment than it was to get a house in a residential area if you wanted to become Woo-Jin’s neighbor.

Furthermore, now that they had become neighbors, he would be much more accessible to her compared to when he lived in his parents’ house. Even if the apartment price or the monthly rent were high, as long as she wasn’t having financial difficulties, she would deem it money well spent since she could stay so close to Chae Woo-Jin.

“Is she actually planning on going through with this?”

Woo-Jin shook his head as it seemed he would have to increase the security cameras within his studio as well as the exterior of it. He wondered what she was planning to do by following him all the way here, but his question was too innocent. It was naive to expect her to behave more decently and appropriately now that they were neighbors.

***

“Are you headed somewhere? A broadcast?”

“Yes,” Woo-Jin replied.

“I’m on my way to meet a friend. Oh, there’s no need to worry; I don’t tell anyone that my neighbor is Chae Woo-Jin. If I did, my friends would come over to my place every day and crowd it just to see you, and I won’t tolerate that.”

Woo-Jin stayed silent after his one-word answer, but Lee Yeo-Rin continued talking by herself.

He thought it was a coincidence at first, but whenever Woo-Jin walked out of his apartment, she always left hers as well and talked to him. She acted as if it were their first time meeting and none of their past interactions had occurred. So, Woo-Jin did the same and pretended not to know her. He felt that if she knew he recognized her despite the plastic surgery, she would be delighted. And he wanted to avoid pleasing her at all costs.

As Woo-Jin calmly faced forward without even glancing at her, Lee Yeo-Rin rummaged through her bag without ending her monologue. Yet, all of a sudden, she tripped over nothing and started falling toward Woo-Jin. Unfortunately for her, the actor quickly retreated and avoided any physical contact.

“Ack! Could you help me up, please?”

Lee Yeo-Rin fell to her knees and asked for Woo-Jin’s help pitifully. Most people would listen to the request of a delicate beauty asking for their help, but Woo-Jin simply inquired indifferently and bluntly, “Is it bad enough that you can’t get up on your own? Then, I shouldn’t lift you recklessly. Should I call 119[2]?”

“N-No, it’s not that serious.”

Lee Yeo-Rin stood up on her own and whined that her knees hurt, but Woo-Jin just watched coolly.

They both got on the elevator, and Woo-Jin headed to the underground parking lot. Once the elevator arrived, he got off and was followed by Lee Yeo-Rin. However, she didn’t move after that and stayed by the elevator door. She watched Woo-Jin’s back as he got further away, standing still as if her leg was hurting too much to be able to walk well.

Woo-Jin approached a van and got in, finding Kang Ho-Soo waiting inside as he muttered a complaint to the actor. “I really should move in with you.”

According to their investigations, Lee Yeo-Rin did not own a car. Thus, it was plainly obvious why she had come down to the underground parking lot despite this. In fact, she was still tenaciously staring at the van that was driving away right now.

As he kept an eye on Lee Yeo-Rin through the rear-view mirror, Kang Ho-Soo wore a tired expression as if he was utterly fed up with everything. However, Woo-Jin was also fed up with Kang Ho-Soo’s complaints, and he had a similarly exhausted look. He was enjoying living alone, leisurely making the most of his time and privacy. So when he imagined living with Kang Ho-Soo, he already felt suffocated.

“What do you think about moving somewhere else?” Kang Ho-Soo asked.

“What if she follows me there too?”

“That’s true. Speaking of which, that woman really is quite strange.”

“She definitely isn’t right in the head,” Woo-Jin remarked.

“That’s not what I mean. According to our investigations, there is no chance that she has the financial capability to rent an apartment here, let alone a penthouse. The same goes for her parents.”

Needless to say, the monthly rent and maintenance expenses of this apartment building were exorbitantly high.

Woo-Jin thought to himself for a moment when his expression abruptly grew awkward. From his reaction, it appeared as if he had come to a certain realization. Seeing this, Kang Ho-Soo solemnly asked for the actor’s opinion.

“We stopped our investigations after we reached this far, but what do you think? Should we look deeper into her?”

“We should respect others’ privacy just like how I want my privacy to be respected,” Woo-Jin replied.

“But our speculation could be wrong.”

“What speculation? I didn’t make any speculation.”

Woo-Jin feigned ignorance as he spoke. Kang Ho-Soo felt betrayed since he now appeared to be the villain of the story.

“It doesn’t matter how she got the money to move here. Her motivation is the problem, though.”

Yet, at this point in time, Woo-Jin couldn’t have possibly imagined that these two points would be deeply linked with each other.

***

Today, Woo-Jin had an interview on an internet broadcast that DS had created and operated on their own. It was called DSTV, and the celebrities of the agency took turns getting interviewed or hosting some programs. The broadcast was aired in real-time, so the viewers could communicate with the host and guest using the chat.

In other words, it was an independent broadcast managed by DS for fan service.

“Today~ we finally have Mr. Chae Woo-Jin on the show! I mean, how can it be so difficult to get Mr. Chae Woo-Jin on DSTV? It doesn’t make sense.”

The interviewer today was Lee Jin-Ah, a reporter famous for her wittiness and clear pronunciation despite how rapidly she spoke. She tended to be a bit pushy and ask celebrities to show off some personal skills on camera, but before the interview had started, the agency had asked her to refrain from doing so today.

“Look at how fast the chat is going now that you’ve appeared, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. It’s going by so quickly that I can’t read anything the viewers are saying.”

“They’re telling you to stop talking so much and begin the interview already.”

“Seriously?!”

This was what the one message that happened to catch Woo-Jin’s eyes had said. Lee Jin-Ah made an exaggerated sorrowful face and pretended to cry, waving the cue cards in her hand at the camera.

“Everyone, this is also my first time meeting Mr. Chae Woo-Jin in person today, so I ask for your understanding.”

“Is it our first time? Why do I feel like we’ve met a few times already?” Woo-Jin asked.

“I did go to the set of City of Shadows before, but you weren’t present that day. Rumors say that you were afraid of me forcing you to show off your skills and ran away.”

“Oh~! Your visit that day overlapped with my recording session for the OST. I guess I was lucky.”

Woo-Jin laughed as he remembered how Kang Min-Ho was forced to do the ‘Did you make kongnamul muchim~!’ gag[3] and how the scene was aired on tv.

“And we did see each other a few times when we crossed paths at the award ceremony, but even after I called your name loudly, you always just walked away.”

Lee Jin-Ah reenacted with her fingers how quickly Woo-Jin had walked past her. The person in question then made a pinky promise to reply and talk to her next time.

“How do you like it here? We decorated this place specifically for you, but do you like it?”

Woo-Jin looked around the area with a renewed sense of awe.

The wall behind him was decorated with frames containing enlarged photos of scenes from his movies and TV shows. However, the biggest frame stood out the most and caught his attention. It was the picture Woo-Jin and Dustin had taken together at the wedding after-party not long ago.

“Why is that picture so abnormally large? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“It is the most recent picture of you, after all. And there are two incredibly handsome men in it, which is always a plus.”

The chat instantly flooded with messages at Lee Jin-Ah’s explanation, and most of them seemed to agree with her opinion.

“Oh? Someone asked whether you would allow Dustin and your sister to get married if they wanted to.”

“Who on earth asked that? Please get rid of such worthless and useless thoughts.”

“Is it really a useless thought?” Lee Jin-Ah asked.

“Yes. There’s no way it would ever happen. And if such a tragedy did occur somehow, it would be over my dead body.”

Dustin was already slightly lacking when it came to becoming the husband of Woo-Jin’s great-granddaughter, so it was unimaginable and unacceptable for him to marry his little sister. However, the chat responded by remarking that someone of Dustin’s status was more than satisfying enough. Most prominently, they commented that Woo-Jin was acting unusually stern considering how the two superstars were close with each other.

1. We aren’t quite sure what AS is, but based on the context, we believe it’s apartment security or employees from the agency ☜

2. 119 is the Korean emergency hotline like 911 in the US. ☜

3. This had previously appeared in chapter 68. Kongnamul muchim (콩나물 무침) is a Korean soybean sprout side dish. It was a famous line used by comedian Lee Ju-Il back in the 80s. ☜