Chapter 10: Breakfast Blunders and Fan Frenzy

I had no choice but to drag myself downstairs for breakfast.
As I shuffled ahead, Father approached Jaehyuk.
“Jaehyuk.”
“…Yes?”
“You think it’s okay to do that to her first thing in the morning?”
“…”
Jaehyuk’s getting scolded, so why am I the one embarrassed?
“Especially when she’s already struggling…”
“Father, it’s fine.”
With my words, Father nodded and turned away.
But his eyes didn’t leave Jaehyuk.
‘I wanna cry.’
While I tried to hold back tears, footsteps came from behind.
“Yaaawn~”
Eunju, hair flopping everywhere, came down the stairs.
Scratching her leg, she looked at Jaehyuk and said.
“What’s up? What’s this vibe? What’d you do, oppa?”
“Nothing.”
“Hmm…”
Eunju glanced between me and Jaehyuk, smirked, and walked off.
What’s she imagining now?
She kicked Jaehyuk’s leg lightly and said.
“Do that stuff outside the house.”
“…”
I really wanna cry.
I sat at the table, almost in tears, keeping my mouth shut until the housekeeper served food.
Lady Han, seeing me, probably wanted to cheer me up.
“Yeju, we’ll understand whatever you do.”
Please…
That just makes it worse.
I knew she meant well, so I just nodded.
Breakfast, thankfully, didn’t trigger morning sickness.
Eating glossy, red meat slowly lifted my mood.
Father and Mother asked about my health, and as I nearly finished eating…
“Unnie.”
“…What?”
I’m still not used to being called unnie.
Eunju looked at me with sparkling eyes.
She put down her spoon and said.
“What’re you doing today, unnie?”
“Me?”
…Do I have anything to do?
Normally, I’d call the band to practice songs.
Without that, I’ve got nothing.
“Not much.”
“Then come with me?”
“…Where?”
Eunju’s a college student, and it’s a weekday.
“You don’t have classes today?”
“Nah, my schedule’s packed, but…?”
“Then why?”
“You know I don’t take school seriously. Let’s hang out.”
Even if I say no, Eunju’s the type to drag me along.
I glanced at Jaehyuk.
He’s got work, so no excuse there.
“I’m staying with Mother today.”
“How about we go out for a change?”
“…Mother?”
Lady Han smiled brightly, urging me to go.
Talk about a betrayal.
Eunju told me to wash up, and I had no veto power.
“Come here.”
“…”
Forced to shower under her threat, I sat in front of Eunju.
She played with my wet hair, and after a few minutes…
“Wow.”
My limp hair finally shone, looking alive.
She pushed back my awkward bangs, exposing my forehead, and one thought hit me.
‘This could outshine TS YouTubers.’
Is this what first-gen TS looks like?
Just fixing my hair makes me look like a different person.
Is this a top-tier face in Seoul?
“I wanna try makeup on you…”
“We’re going out now.”
“Haha, I can’t anyway. Makeup would ruin that face… let’s see.”
Eunju opened her closet, rummaging through clothes.
No way my clothes are in there…
Thud!
She dropped a huge box on the floor.
“You avoided me for a while, so I stocked up on clothes for you.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“After you got married, you ghosted me. Don’t remember, right?”
Of course not.
Her box was stuffed with clothes, and I grabbed my phone on the desk, eyeing an escape.
Click.
Eunju locked the door and blocked it with her body.
“Alright, unnie. Ready for some fun?”
“I don’t know what I did wrong, but can we take it easy…?”
“Nope.”
Thankfully, in those two years, I’d refused skirts, so Eunju didn’t buy any.
After dozens of outfit changes, two hours later…
“Eunju, isn’t Mother waiting too long?”
“Oh, you’re right…”
Finally done, I thought.
“Yeju, try this on.”
Lady Han, picking the lock, entered with shopping bags.
I forced my mouth shut and smiled.
I’m losing my mind…
The clothes were clearly designer, no doubt about it.
Chaebols really are chaebols.
But after all that trying on, the chosen outfit… was the plainest.
A white long shirt, a thick knit sweater, black fleece-lined pants.
‘…Why all that effort for this?’
Eunju smiled, satisfied.
“It’s cold out… and a long coat will cover it anyway.”
My sacrifice and effort, all for nothing.
Is this how a mermaid feels?
Me, Mother, and Eunju hopped in a car to a nearby department store.
A place I thought only rich people went to.
‘This doesn’t feel like my scene.’
The stares around me were intense.
Even with a mask covering half my face, people noticed.
Am I that famous…?
Eunju and Mother roamed freely, no hesitation.
We entered a store people only talk about.
Seeing the price tags, my eyes went wide.
‘Whoa.’
My band’s album earned a decent amount.
Even split with the members, it was a lot.
Probably because of my TS status and good songs colliding.
‘I can’t afford this.’
To a small-town girl like me, it was an impossible wall.
But not to Mother.
“Yeju, no clothes you want…?”
She looked sad when I didn’t pick anything after browsing.
I can’t just grab one and say, “I’ll buy it!”—my ambitions are too small.
“It’s fine… too many choices to decide.”
“You were like that before, and that habit hasn’t changed.”
Mother smiled brightly.
Is this just a quick visit?
She called a staff member, pointing to one end of the clothing racks.
“From here.”
Then to the opposite end.
“To there.”
Lady Han…?
The staff’s face lit up with a smile; mine bloomed with despair.
Lady Han kept her bright expression.
“Yeju, if you don’t like anything, take your time.”
I forgot.
Jaehyuk’s not just a chaebol, but a top-three conglomerate heir.
Mother patted my hand.
“If you pick one you like, I’ll cancel the rest.”
That’s a threat.
A total threat!
I grabbed a random outfit, holding it limply to gain my freedom.
‘This could buy how many bowls of gukbap…’
Before leaving, someone approached.
The smiling staff from earlier, holding paper and a black pen.
“Um… you’re Kim Yeju, right?”
“Yeah… right?”
“Eek! I’m a fan! Can I get an autograph?”
…A fan?
Sure, my songs spiked my anti-fans, but my fans grew too.
I heard there’s a fanclub, but meeting one like this…
‘Feels weird.’
My lips twitched into a smile.
I’ve scoured YouTube and the internet for posts about me.
My phone’s blocked, so I used Jaehyuk’s secretly.
I saw a live performance video of mine.
[TS Patient Kim Yeju, Band Live Performance Video]
–Views: 12,239,922
–Likes: 19,233 Dislikes: 123,000
–Comments: 502,343
The dislikes were overwhelming… thanks to anti-fans, I guess.
Comments were a cesspool, like dead gladiators fighting.
But some said they liked it, listened often.
??: Song’s great, why the hate?
└ ??: Fr lol
└ ??: They see this and their mirror, get mad lol that face is unreal
??: That voice is insane, never heard it used like that
└ ??: It’s TS glow-up, she was trash before
└ ??: TS haters incoming? She sang great pre-TS too
Probably one of those kind commenters.
Feeling good, I took the paper and pen.
And froze.
‘What autograph do I even give?’
I wrote my name, the fan’s name, and “Be happy.”
Even snapped a photo.
Did the finger-heart pose they asked for.
This is top-tier fan service, right?
I walked to Eunju, feeling light.
“Unnie, what’d they say?”
“A fan.”
“Oh.”
“So I signed and took a photo.”
Pause.
Eunju stopped dead, staring at me.
I stopped too.
What, did I mess up?
“You really signed?”
“Yeah… lots of people must ask, right? Oh, wait. How did I sign before?”
“You never signed.”
“?”
“You said signing would blow up the internet… so you never did photos or anything, even for fans.”
Right, didn’t think of that.
They wouldn’t post it online right away, would they?
I pulled out my phone to check.
‘J*rk, my phone’s blocked.’
“Eunju, lend me your phone.”
“Left it in the car…”
“Mother?”
“She’s already downstairs.”
I’m nervous.
A chill ran through me, goosebumps everywhere.
I can’t go back and take it now…
Eunju and I went to the basement and hopped in the car.
“Eunju, phone.”
“Hold on… here.”
I opened the internet app.
Normally, it loads in a second…
‘It’s over.’
It’s not even loading.
In just those five minutes.