Chapter 87: The Return of the Obsessive Fan

“Crazy bitch?”

“Crazy bitch?”

“Who?”

At Jibin’s reaction, we all glanced around, but there wasn’t anyone particularly suspicious in sight.

“Wow~ I thought she’d finally dropped off, but this is giving me serious chills.”

Jibin kept muttering to himself, as if he couldn’t hear us.

“What is she doing here of all places… Is she actually insane?”

“Hey, who are you talking about?”

Jeuk turned around and asked. 

Jibin grabbed my shoulder, cautiously peeked out again to scan the surroundings, and only stepped fully into view once he confirmed no one was there.

“You’re the weirdest one here.”

“I got properly screwed over by a psycho two years ago.”

“A psycho?”

The moment he said “psycho,” that person instantly came to mind.

“A complete psycho. Some delusional weirdo who thought we were dating…”

No way.

“I even broke up with my girlfriend because of her! She went ballistic on my girlfriend, screaming about how I was already dating her and what the hell I thought I was doing.”

Yeah.

From Jibin’s story, I immediately knew exactly who it was. 

Hyungkyu’s comment about her being a repeat offender had been spot on.

“Ugh~ I thought she’d vanished since I hadn’t seen her in forever.”

“I think… she’s following me now?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

All three pairs of eyes turned to me at once.

“The psycho hyung’s talking about? I think she’s latched onto me now.”

“Good luck.”

Jibin patted my shoulder in lieu of actual comfort.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“Where is she?”

“In the alley between the shops next door. I spotted her first and ran, but she’s probably watching us from somewhere.”

“Let’s head to the safest place first.”

Taewoon called over the parking attendant in front of us.

“Where’s that?”

“My place.”

And so, we all ended up at Taewoon’s house for an emergency meeting.

“Wow~ She’s doing the exact same shit she did to me!”

Jibin couldn’t hide his excitement as he looked at her SNS.

“Really?”

“Yeah! Word for word, no mistakes!”

“It’s seriously creepy.”

“Isn’t this a sasaeng?”

“If it were just a sasaeng, it’d almost be better. She threw a fit saying I was two-timing her by leaving her for someone else—anyone watching would’ve thought it was real.”

Jibin shuddered all over as he spoke.

“Turns out she did the same thing to someone else from my old acting academy. I’m not the only victim.”

“Really?”

“She went even harder on him. He got cut from a supporting male lead role because she caused a scene telling him not to flirt with the female co-star.”

These things could very well happen to me soon.

“How did you get out of it?”

“Luckily, a web drama I did blew up among teens, so I survived. She doesn’t like going after people who get too popular.”

“Why?”

Don’t stalkers usually prefer famous people?

“She gets overshadowed. If she targets someone obscure, they pay full attention to her and dote on her, but once they get a bigger following, it’s harder for her.”

“Ha.”

“I didn’t realize she was crazy at first and was nice to her… Be careful. If you make eye contact, she thinks you’re dating; if you say hi, she thinks you’re getting married.”

It was advice that came far too late.

“But she must really like you? You’re the male lead now, and she’s still clinging on.”

“Don’t say such terrifying things.”

“So I have to put up with this until the drama airs and I get popular?”

The thought alone was horrifying. Who knew how long that would take—or how long I’d have to endure.

“Well… yeah? Unless she finds a new target?”

“You’ve dealt with this a lot, right? How do you handle it?”

Jeuk asked Taewoon, but even he didn’t have a clear solution.

“We don’t really have any good options either. Just ignoring them… and reporting if it escalates to a crime.”

“Good luck.”

“Keep fighting.”

Their encouragement didn’t help at all.

“But there’s something weird about it.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no way a post full of baseless claims would only have positive comments—yet that’s all there is.”

Come to think of it, every comment was either cheering her on or sympathizing.

“Yeah?”

“That means she deleted anything questioning or contradicting her story.”

Taewoon’s observation was sharp.

“She cares a ton about how others see her?”

“Exactly. She’s a massive attention seeker. Ah, accounts like this usually disappear fast if fans swarm and curse her out together.”

“I don’t have fans who could do that yet.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have that kind of firepower behind me.

***

“Good luck.”

“Fighting!”

We didn’t come up with any real solutions, but at least I learned a bit more about her.

A few days later, the wife from the YouTuber couple brought their dog to the clinic.

“Hello~ We’re here for Chaechae’s checkup!”

“Come on in. Chaechae’s here?”

Kyungho stroked Chaechae’s back and led them into the exam room.

“It’s just a regular checkup, so it won’t take long. Please have a seat.”

“Um… is your nephew around?”

She cautiously asked if Hyunjae was there.

“Hyunjae? He is, but…”

“Could you call him for a minute?”

“Uh… sure, just a moment. Hyunjae!”

Kyungho looked up toward the second floor and called his name. Soon after, Hyunjae poked his head out.

“What is it?”

“Come down. Chaechae’s mom is looking for you.”

“Oh! Chaechae’s here?”

At the mention of Chaechae, Hyunjae bounded down the stairs with his long legs.

“Hello! Chaechae’s here~ Hi there~”

He bent down to greet both Chaechae and her mom.

“Did you need me for something?”

“Actually… could you step outside for a second?”

“Yes?”

She called Hyunjae out of the clinic, and he followed, bewildered.

“So, I somehow found out what you do for a living…”

“Ah~”

Hyunjae understood. 

She was young, did YouTube, and used SNS—finding him by chance wouldn’t have been hard.

I never intended to hide it. 

It’s just a bit embarrassing to go around saying “I’m an actor” when I’ve only done one project.

“That’s not it at all! I watched the drama—you were amazing!”

“Haha, thank you.”

Hyunjae smiled at her, crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“Even though only your silhouette showed up, our subscribers kept saying they could feel the insane visuals and were dying to see your face.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I had such a hard time pretending not to see those comments for a while.”

Truthfully, it was harder calming down the editor who kept begging to reveal Hyunjae’s face.

No matter how important views are, secretly exposing someone who said no is absolutely wrong.

“Is that what you wanted to talk about? We could’ve done it inside.”

“No! That’s not why I came…”

She hesitated for a moment, dragging out her preamble before getting to the point.

“I might be overreacting or making a fuss, but… I felt uneasy not saying anything.”

Hyunjae sensed bad vibes even before hearing the main story.

“Please, feel free to say whatever’s on your mind.”

“I was driving here for the checkup today when I saw some young woman in our neighborhood.”

The words “young woman” immediately brought one person to Hyunjae’s mind.

“You know there aren’t any young women around here.”

“Ah…”

“She was looking around like she was searching for something, so I thought maybe she was a granddaughter visiting one of the elders and approached to give directions.”

She continued slowly.

“I asked whose house she was looking for, and she panicked before cautiously asking where the animal clinic was.”

That confirmed it for Hyunjae.

She’s here looking for me.

The stalker had finally come all the way down here to find him.

She knew your job, and if she actually knew you, she’d just call—but she was wandering around lost… it felt off.

“Where is she now?”

There’s only one animal clinic in the area, so if she’s nearby, it’ll only be a matter of time before she shows up.

I need to get rid of her fast so she doesn’t cause trouble for the old man…

“So… I drove her far away and ditched her.”

“What?”

He hadn’t expected that answer.

“I told her she must’ve gotten the wrong place—Sehwa-ri instead of Seha-ri—and dropped her off way out in the countryside.”

“Haha, ditched her?”

Despite the serious situation, the word “ditched” made him burst out laughing.

“Yes. She’s definitely not someone you know, right?”

“Right.”

“I knew it!”

She beamed, pleased her hunch was correct.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, come on~ It’s nothing. We can’t have weird people wandering around the neighborhood. It’s just what any good neighbor would do.”

“I’ll make sure she can’t come back.”

He realized telling her the village name so casually while promoting it had been a huge mistake.

“Is this like a sasaeng?”

“Something like that.”

“Oh no! What do we do? Shouldn’t we report this?”

“Unfortunately, they say there’s not enough evidence for a report.”

“That’s awful…”

She looked genuinely upset on his behalf.

“I’ve had a few people show up at my house while doing YouTube.”

“Really? That happens?”

“Of course. Someone even came to the doggy daycare saying they wanted to see Chaechae in person.”

Hyunjae was shocked—he hadn’t imagined that.

Even non-celebrity YouTubers get people like this?

“That’s why you have to be super careful with personal information.”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll be careful.”

He vowed never to make that mistake again. From now on, he wouldn’t even mention the “Se” in Seha-ri, and he’d avoid talking about the animal clinic altogether.

“Um… this is unrelated, but…!”

He thought the conversation was over, but she cautiously brought up something else. He looked at her seriously, wondering what it could be.

“Would it be okay to ask one small favor?”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing big… but you said you’re close with Park Jaehoon—could you get me his autograph?”

She held up one finger and looked up at him pleadingly. 

He couldn’t refuse.

“Hahaha, of course. Next time I see him, I’ll definitely get it for you!”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s no trouble at all.”

“Thank you! I’m a huge fan~”

Having achieved her goal, she smiled brightly. 

The checkup seemed finished—Chaechae was watching them through the glass door.

“Chaechae~ Mommy’s getting Park Jaehoon’s autograph!”

She spread her arms and ran back into the clinic. Hyunjae’s expression turned serious.

I need to shake her off fast.

Waiting for her to give up on her own would only inconvenience everyone around him. 

And if Love Some—already plagued by rumors—got tangled in scandal again, it’d be a disaster.

What should I do…

As he racked his brain for a sharp solution, he remembered what Taewoon had said.

An attention seeker who cares deeply about others’ gazes.

“Attention seeker, huh. Maybe I should give her the attention she craves.”