NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 182
It was the day after I met Shin Si-woo.
As usual, after finishing the music show, I was getting ready to head back to the dorm when my manager oppa approached me, hesitating.
“Um, Ye-rin?”
“Yes, oppa.”
“There’s someone asking for your phone number.”
“My phone number?”
It wasn’t unusual for idols to ask for my number through my manager. Many idols had asked for the numbers of me and my Rookies members to build friendships.
But…
“Okay, who is it?”
“It’s Shin Si-woo from Black Night…”
“……!”
The moment I realized it was Shin Si-woo asking for a phone number, I couldn’t help but freeze.
“Excuse me?!”
“What do you mean?”
“A guy asked for your number, Ye-rin unnie?!”
The other members, who had been listening to my manager, started to panic.
Until now, the only people who had asked for our phone numbers were female idols.
“No way!!”
“You absolutely must not give it to him!!”
“What does he think he can do by seducing innocent Ye-rin unnie?!”
The members rushed over to me, covering my eyes and ears and pulling me close.
I felt like the spoiled youngest daughter of a rich family whenever I was with my members.
Do they think I’m that unreliable…?
Anyway, I stepped up to calm my excited members and said to them,
“…Everyone, please calm down. I was never going to give my number in the first place.”
“Really…?”
“Yes.”
Using my special skill, Sky Demon Vision, I saw that Shin Si-woo was the very definition of a malicious stalker.
There was no way I’d give my number to someone that crazy.
I reassured the members and firmly told my manager oppa,
“Please let him know that I’m not giving out my phone number.”
“Okay, got it. If this happens again, I’ll cut it off myself.”
My manager oppa nodded seriously, as if he had come to the same conclusion.
Thus, the phone number incident with Shin Si-woo was quickly wrapped up.
But I couldn’t help but wonder.
‘In my past life, Shin Si-woo was obsessed with Yoo-jin…?’
There was no way he would suddenly change, so I thought he would still obsess over Seo Yoo-jin just like before.
But why did he ask for my number instead of hers?
‘Is he trying to get to Yoo-jin through me?’
It made sense.
When Shin Si-woo saw Seo Yoo-jin for the first time yesterday, he acted like he had fallen for her at first sight.
I had no clue how he would try to torment her in this life after falling for her.
So I vowed to protect Seo Yoo-jin from Shin Si-woo’s schemes.
Then the next day….
“Hello?”
“…….”
Shin Si-woo strangely appeared everywhere I went, dying to greet me.
‘What’s going on…?’
He didn’t even spare a glance at Seo Yoo-jin, only focusing on me.
I ignored him with indifference and hid Yoo-jin behind me.
Of course, I thought he was coming for Yoo-jin.
But….
The next day…
“Hello?”
And again the following day…
“Ye-rin, why did you block me on Instagram?”
Even when I briefly went to the restroom alone without the other members…
“Fancy meeting you here?”
Shin Si-woo came looking for me.
I couldn’t help but be taken aback at that moment, having treated him coldly until now.
“…This is the women’s restroom. You say it’s a coincidence?”
“I thought it was the men’s restroom.”
“The men’s restroom is on the other side, you know?”
“I was mistaken.”
Shin Si-woo was an idol who had debuted years ago and shed that rookie tag long ago.
There was no way he wouldn’t know the location of the restroom at a broadcasting station he visited dozens of times.
Shiver
I felt chills run down my spine as I tried to ignore him again and walk away.
But….
Grab
He roughly grabbed my wrist as I tried to pass him by.
Crunch
“……!”
This guy… his grip is incredibly strong.
I tried to shake him off, but I had to stop because his grip was painful on my wrist.
And of all times, there wasn’t a soul around.
“Ye-rin… It’s been weird since day one. Did I do something wrong?”
In the empty corridor, Shin Si-woo asked, now showing a bit of irritation, his friendly smile gone, replaced with a cold glare.
“Why are you blocking me when I’m trying to approach you? What did I do wrong?”
“…I don’t like people, so what’s the reason?”
“Ha.”
When I maintained my stonewall attitude, he muttered under his breath in a barely audible voice.
“…How do I fix this stickiness?”
At that moment, I could sense it.
If he just wanted to meet Seo Yoo-jin through me, he wouldn’t have gone this far.
Most importantly….
‘Uh, there’s blood on my thigh… if it gets worse….’
‘I’ll, I’ll stop the bleeding myself… with my hands.’
The look in Shin Si-woo’s eyes as he stared at me…
Was similar to Namgung Soo-ho’s look from back then.
I was now certain that I had been wrong about my thoughts regarding Shin Si-woo and opened his status window.
And then….
[Trait: Stalker – Your love is wrong. What you believe to be love is torment and violence towards the other. You can do anything for the person you love, even if it crosses the boundaries set by law.]
[Trait Effect: Black Love – If you have a target of interest, you become extremely obsessed with that target. Once the target is determined, you feel a sense of fulfillment as if you own the world and a thirst that burns within you. *Obsession target: Ha Ye-rin]
“…….”
I could see that something had changed.
Obsession target: Ha Ye-rin
Previously, it stated there was no target of obsession, but this time my name was written there.
This fickle guy has turned his gaze toward me this time, unlike in my past life.
Relieved that Seo Yoo-jin was now free from this guy…
“If you keep this up, I’m going to get angry too. If you don’t like me, at least tell me the reason. Okay?”
I had no choice but to feel frightened by the Shin Si-woo in front of me.
Grip
He still maintained his hold, not moving an inch.
Brush
“Ye-rin, can you say something?”
In the meantime, Shin Si-woo raised his other hand slowly toward me.
So I….
‘Uh, there’s blood on my thigh… if it gets worse….’
‘I’ll, I’ll stop the bleeding myself… with my hands.’
The trauma resurfaced in my mind, and I glared at him fiercely.
“If you stare at me cutely, it only makes my heart race even more! Hurry up and tell me why you’ve been ignoring me!”
The look in Shin Si-woo’s eyes seemed to be bordering on madness.
‘I was ignoring him to avoid escalating the situation…’
If I left him alone, who knew what he might do to Seo Yoo-jin like he did in his past life?
Just as I was considering if I needed to deal with him first…
“Ye-rin, why are you…!”
A sudden voice interrupted, and turning around, I saw Yoo Seol, who seemed to have come to welcome me.
She saw me being grabbed by Shin Si-woo and quickly hardened her expression.
Step step
Whack!
“……!”
Yoo Seol knocked his hand off mine and pulled me behind her.
“What’s going on…!”
Shin Si-woo, perhaps hurt by Yoo Seol’s sudden strike, clutched his reddening hand and glared at her.
“What on earth are you doing?”
But Yoo Seol didn’t waver in front of his demonic gaze and retorted.
“What do you mean, what am I doing? What about you, senior? What were you doing holding onto a kid’s wrist?!”
“…….”
As Yoo Seol shouted to the heavens, Shin Si-woo began looking around, worried about who might see.
Taking that chance, Yoo Seol continued coldly.
“I will not stand by on this matter. I’ll inform our company and take action, so be aware of that.”
“…….”
“If you approach Ye-rin one more time, I swear…”
Yoo Seol gave Shin Si-woo one last threat before leading me away.
Of course, Shin Si-woo…
“It seems there was a misunderstanding! Ye-rin! I’ll come find you later, so let’s talk then!”
“What a lunatic…”
He left me with a cold remark, but Yoo Seol and I ignored him.
As soon as we returned to the waiting room, we shared what had just happened with the members and manager oppa.
Naturally, the members were furious, and my manager oppa immediately told Director Jeong about it.
After that, it seemed Director Jeong had a good talk with YW officials, as Shin Si-woo didn’t come near me anymore.
But….
I couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching me from somewhere.
Back to the present.
“What’s wrong, Director Jeong!”
“There’s that guy from Black Night!”
Since that incident, the members started referring to Shin Si-woo as ‘that guy’ as if they didn’t even want to call him by name.
Only then did Director Jeong realize and lowered his head to me.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Ye-rin. I didn’t think that far. But I don’t have casting authority over the participants…”
“It’s okay, Director Jeong.”
Director Jeong had already done enough.
As soon as I mentioned that Shin Si-woo was bothering me, he had contacted YW to ensure that Shin Si-woo couldn’t stalk me anymore.
There was no way to avoid overlapping appearances on programs like this.
“Instead, I’ll directly contact the PD of the [Idol Heart Sports Day] and request that ‘that guy’ doesn’t approach Ye-rin.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern.”
With the members solidly protecting me and Director Jeong contacting the PD directly, I felt no great fear even if I had to appear on the same program as Shin Si-woo.
However, on the day of the [Idol Heart Sports Day]…
“Welcome, idols, to the [Idol Heart Sports Day]! Today you will be divided into blue and white teams for the competition! First, please check the teams!”
[Blue Team]
[Rookies ‘Ha Ye-rin’, Black Night ‘Shin Si-woo’ …….]
“…….”
As I looked at the team list, I once again felt the terrifying power of the PD affiliated with Nnet.