ID Chapter 13

“Ira!! Are you okay? Are you hurt??”

“Damn it… Are you okay? You scared the hell out of me. I almost fainted.”

“Hyung, let’s go backstage first.”

The other members all followed down. Backstage, the managers, stylists, and staff all rushed over, asking if I was okay. An announcement echoed through the venue, stating that the stage would be temporarily suspended due to an unexpected accident.

I,

“I’m not hurt, so don’t worry. Haha… I’m sorry for causing a disturbance because of me.”

I flashed an idol’s smile to ease the rising tension among the people. Jae-yi sat me down on a chair and knelt on one knee in front of me.

“What happened? Take off your shoes.”

Jae-yi was already taking them off as he spoke. An engineer immediately took them.

“What’s the problem?”

“Ah… the aura gauge is empty… These shoes aren’t charged.”

“You gave him discharged shoes…?”

“Why did these get in there… I apologize. Oh, damn it, I’m losing my mind… Ira, I’m sorry. There must have been a mistake.”

Yes, I get it. The fan from earlier must have swapped out the storage without the engineer knowing. My shoe size is unique, so it would have been easy to find. They must have hidden in the dark, held their breath, swapped one, and then, before they could replace the rest, someone came in as they wiped away cold sweat. With no other choice, they must have settled for just one and secretly fled in disappointment. It was all so clear in my mind.

“Do you check the shoes once or twice? Is a person who can’t even handle such basic things an engineer? Someone’s life is on the line!! Are you out of your mind??”

Jae-yi was terribly angry. He wasn’t just an idol, but an S-class Motioner, a national asset. The rage of a national treasure was terrifying, and no one could stop him. But truthfully, there was no need to get this angry. It occasionally happened for aura to drain during a performance, causing someone to fall. I, at least, only had one side’s output fail, causing me to slowly tilt, and I wasn’t hurt anywhere.

“Whew, that’s a relief. I was really shocked, damn it, I swore a little earlier.”

“My heart is still pounding. It was almost a really big accident.”

“Ira hyung, are you okay? Have you calmed down?”

“Yes, I think you guys and hyung need to calm down more than I do. Why are you all, grown men, so startled by something like this? I’m an aura user too, so I didn’t get hurt even if I fell.”

“You damn bastard, Ira, your guts are so swollen you’d probably just bounce if you fell, you bastard.”

Han-sae ruffled my hair roughly. I burst out laughing. The staff finally managed a chuckle too. The atmosphere lightened, but Jae-yi alone remained grim and serious. Mun hyung gave me a meaningful look. It meant I should try to do something about Jae-yi.

“Jae-yi, you need to calm down a bit too. I’m not a baby or anything. My birthday is earlier than yours. I’m your hyung, you brat.”

“…….”

“You only pretend to be quiet like this when it suits you.”

“…Don’t pretend to be okay in front of me. It really pisses me off.”

Jae-yi seemed genuinely angry. I was at a loss. Because there was absolutely no reason for him to be this angry. Naturally, I glanced at Mun hyung and Yong-jun hyung. They also had troubled expressions. I wanted to look at the faces of the other members and staff, but Jae-yi glared even more intensely when I tried to look elsewhere, so I had no choice but to meet his gaze directly.

“Thank you for earlier. I’m really okay. I’m not hurt anywhere, and these things just happen sometimes when you perform on 3S stages. Let’s go back to the stage now. Everyone’s waiting.”

Only after I repeatedly reassured him did Jae-yi’s anger and worry subside. It was 30 minutes later that Endorphin’s performance could resume. I put on sturdy, properly checked Windy Shoes and flew back up.

After the performance, there was a louder cheer than usual. For them, it was just a happening. Probably for the members too.

But it seemed it wasn’t just a happening for Jae-yi. Considering he called the CEO directly to buy specialized shoes. Perhaps it was a reasonable and natural reaction for him. My feelings, watching him, were so complex and confused.

After the evening schedule ended and on the way back to the dorm, a message came from Kwon Su-han. It was a message to meet at a restaurant. Since we had to talk at some point, I accepted. I also had something to ask him.

“Where are you going?”

“To see a friend for a bit.”

“Which friend?”

“An Advanced schoolmate.”

As I came out of my room, wearing a baseball cap pulled low and a spring jacket, Jae-yi, who was waiting for Yong-jun hyung in the living room, asked. I naturally put on my sneakers.

“Which schoolmate?”

“Why do you need to know? Hey, make sure you do well on the recording tonight, okay? Don’t fall asleep just because it’s late at night.”

“Just rest. You must have been very startled earlier.”

I stopped tying my shoelaces. I looked back at Jae-yi and smiled.

“Hey, you’re a grown man, you shouldn’t still be surprised by something like that. I’m leaving, so keep an eye on the dorm.”

“Come back early. You have a schedule tomorrow morning too.”

“Got it. Do well on the recording~ Bye.”

Jae-yi followed me to the door, nagging. I quickly left before hearing more nagging.

On the way to the meeting place in a taxi, I finished the search I hadn’t been able to do earlier.

Kwon Su-han. Thirty-two years old, an S-class Adapter, an Aura doctor.

He had even appeared on overseas broadcasts. He had been on educational and current affairs programs in our country, but Endorphin must have been his first variety show. Perhaps because of his cool and handsome appearance, he seemed to have many fans.

While I was on the web, I also searched for ‘Ira Chick’. I was surprised when images immediately popped up. They were photos from the last magazine shoot.

Next to a photo of me wearing a yellow hoodie and sitting at the base of a large tree in the forest, there was a photo of a chick sitting under a tree. Next to a concept photo of me running among refreshing trees, there was a photo of a chick scurrying around, and next to a photo taken with a concept of napping under the sunlight, there was a photo of a fluffy sleeping chick.

Wow, seriously… are they comparing me to a chick? No matter how young I look, how can they have such serious thoughts about a man in his twenties…

Under the photo was a caption that read, ‘Ira is a chick, so cute♡.’ For a moment, my vision blurred, and the tip of my nose tingled. I really do have fans. Someone spent this much time compositing photos and uploading a post because they genuinely think I’m cute.

I blinked, and teardrops immediately fell profusely. I quietly wiped them away under the brim of my hat. Since I almost died twice today, these tears are unavoidable. Even I should comfort myself.

I clicked on the author’s name and only saw posts written by this fan. About five posts were up, and one of the titles made my heart sink.

I sighed and turned off the screen. The感動 didn’t last even a minute. Of course. My life is just like this, I guess…

I absentmindedly stared at the passing scenery outside the window, then turned the screen back on. Normally, I wouldn’t even look at it again, but now, for some reason, I want to read the content. I wanted to know what they didn’t like.

Ah….

Haha… It was my misunderstanding.

So, there are cases like this too. While relieved, I also felt a dizzying sensation. If I hadn’t clicked on this post, I would have misunderstood my whole life. Thinking, ‘they’d hate me forever.’ Today I’ve been crying and laughing; it must be some kind of day.

Kwon Su-han appeared while I was smiling faintly at my phone.

“Is there something funny?”

“Ah, damn, you startled me. Why are you so late?”

“I apologize. Let’s go in.”

Dressed in a neat suit, with every strand of hair perfectly in place, Kwon Su-han said a word with a face that seemed unfamiliar with the meaning of ‘sorry’, then went inside.

This was my first time visiting the official restaurant of Jejan-din Kingdom. As I looked around and followed, staff dressed in Jejan-din’s traditional attire guided us to the room entrance. It was a wide, floor-seating table where at least twenty people could sit. Kwon Su-han, with familiarity, handed his coat to a staff member and sat down. Another staff member reached out a hand as if to take my jacket, so I declined.

“There was an accident today. Your Windy Shoes ran out of power, I heard. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Why did that even make the news? I’m fine. I’m not hurt at all.”

“Did you at least eat one meal today?”

“No. I starved myself so I could eat a lot.”

Even though I hadn’t ordered anything, I saw staff naturally bringing in plates. The staff politely bowed their heads. The dishes were like galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles). My hands, resting on my knees, trembled slightly.

As soon as the staff left and the door closed, I asked Kwon Su-han.

“Why are they bringing it when I didn’t even order? This galbi-jjim, it’s my favorite. Those people knew I was coming, didn’t they?”

“…….”

Kwon Su-han, without a word, reached out his hand towards me. I flinched and pulled my hips back. Kwon Su-han took a spoonful of my rice and ate it.

“Rest assured. This is an official restaurant, and the menu was pre-ordered. The staff didn’t even know you were coming.”

“…….”

“Will you only be satisfied if I taste every single side dish? I feel like a royal food taster.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just eat.”

How should I put it… Since he knows everything about my situation, it’s comfortable to communicate with him.

I picked up my chopsticks. There was so much, I was worried about what to eat first. Multi-grain rice, galbi-jjim, stir-fried beef bulgogi with glass noodles, stir-fried octopus, ssam vegetables, japchae, grilled croaker, scallion pancake, ganjang gejang, yangnyeom gejang, green onion salad, spinach, various seasoned vegetable side dishes including bean sprouts, freshwater snail soybean paste stew…

“What’s this?”

“Sea urchin jeotgal.”

I’ve never seen it before. Unconsciously, my chopsticks moved towards it. Since it was jeotgal, I thought it would be salty, so I just took a small taste.

“Tspft, tspft!”

It was incredibly salty, so I made a strange sound. Oh no… I looked forward and saw Kwon Su-han covering his face with his hand, chuckling.

I tasted the other dishes too. Generally, they weren’t too stimulating and were delicious. Especially the galbi-jjim was really delicious, so I picked it up with my hand and sucked on it.

“Eat slowly. No one’s chasing you.”

The galbi is really tender and melts in my mouth.

“Don’t eat too fast.”

The doenjang-jjigae seems best with freshwater snails in it.

“Ira.”

Kwon Su-han called my name softly. I scraped all the rice grains from my bowl and ate them clean.

“I already finished eating.”

“In less than 10 minutes…”

10 minutes, you say. Because my mouth was sore, I couldn’t eat well, so it took too long.

Kwon Su-han sighed and called a staff member. The staff member brought a bowl of rice and refill side dishes and left.

“Chew more than twenty times per bite.”

“Do you happen to have a younger sibling?”

“Why ask when you know?”

“Not the National Forensic Service person. A much younger sibling.”

“No. Eat a bit slower.”

His tone was like scolding a youngest sibling, so I asked, but he said he didn’t have one. Now that my stomach was somewhat full, though not twenty times, I ate slower than before.