Chapter 4: Fan Meeting Feels and a Dodgeball Disaster
Teenage girls shaping their identities often look to female idols on TV as role models.
For Moon Gayoung, that was Ruti.
On stage, she shone like a star.
Her hair sparkled under the lights.
Her fearless gaze and unwavering dance moves made her seem otherworldly.
She was just a figure on a screen, yet she strangely touched something deep inside.
‘I want to be like her.’
The more Gayoung projected herself onto Ruti, the stronger her admiration grew.
Last month, she even went to see her perform live.
Seeing her in person was far more breathtaking than on screen.
But there was one downside.
‘Too far…’
From her seat in row F-24, far from the stage, she could barely see Ruti.
Sure, there was a big screen at the back, but it wasn’t enough.
She wanted to see her up close.
That meant getting a VIP seat, but tickets were hard to come by, and the price was steep.
…300,000 won!?
Way too much for a 17-year-old from an average family.
She had to find another way.
Then she stumbled across news of a fan meeting at a nearby university.
Tickets were 77,000 won.
Not only could she see Ruti face-to-face, but she could also have a short conversation.
The biggest draw? Getting Ruti’s autograph.
‘Perfect.’
Without hesitation, she bought a ticket.
From that day, she counted down to the fan meeting.
Finally, D-DAY arrived.
Heart pounding, she headed to the venue.
The place was bigger than expected, and packed with people.
All here to see Ruti, just like her.
Standing in line, the event soon started.
Gayoung patiently waited her turn, rehearsing her prepared lines.
“I always watch your live performances…”
She’d practiced these lines late into the night to avoid stumbling.
It was a secret, of course.
Before she knew it, her turn came.
She took a few deep breaths and sat at the designated spot.
Right in front of her…
“Nice to meet you.”
Ruti, who she’d only seen on screen, was right there.
Her breath caught in her throat.
‘It’s unfair how she’s even prettier in person!’
Her mind went blank.
All her prepared lines vanished.
“I-I-I’m a fan.”
She stuttered.
Her face burned with embarrassment for messing up in front of her idol.
Her head spun.
She couldn’t even lift her gaze.
Then Ruti spoke first.
“How old are you?”
“I’m…”
“Wait, let me guess.”
Ruti paused, then answered with her signature bright, bubbly smile.
“17, right?”
“How’d you know?”
“You just seem like my age. Okay, let me guess your school next.”
“How could you know my school…?”
“Hmm, Haneul Arts High?”
“!?”
How did she guess?
Gayoung’s eyes widened, and Ruti pointed to the clothes she was wearing.
‘Oh, my uniform…’
She must’ve seen the school emblem on her uniform.
Gayoung was so nervous she forgot what she was wearing.
“Feeling a bit less nervous now?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Her tense body finally relaxed.
Ruti must’ve made the playful guesses to ease her nerves.
“I’ll always support you!”
She finally managed to say one of her prepared lines.
She had more to say, but time was up.
Each person got one minute to talk.
It was time to leave.
As she stood with a reluctant face…
“Thanks for coming today.”
Ruti held out her small, pale hand.
Was she offering a high-five?
Gayoung hesitated, then cautiously met her palm.
The soft touch and warmth of Ruti’s hand came through.
High-fiving her idol was already overwhelming.
But then…
“Huh!?”
Ruti subtly moved her fingers, naturally interlocking them with Gayoung’s.
She did it first.
“Come back next time.”
Then she winked.
Thump.
The unexpected fan service made Gayoung’s heart drop.
Her mind went blank again.
When she came to, she was already outside the venue.
Clutching the signed album tightly, she stared at her hand.
She could still feel Ruti’s warmth.
“I’m not washing this hand today.”
Signing, smiling, signing again—I repeated this for four hours straight.
By the next day, my body was wrecked.
“Ugh, my poor joints…”
My right wrist, used for signing, was numb.
My hips ached from sitting so long.
Worst of all, my facial muscles were shot from constant smiling.
Performances are tough, but fan meetings are no joke either.
Like I said before, being an idol is an extreme job.
…Still, it was kind of fun.
The fans’ faces, looking at me like I was some legendary creature, are still vivid.
The funniest reaction was Gayoung’s.
Who would’ve thought the sharp class president would act like that?
She was so cute, I couldn’t help but tease her a bit.
“Class president, want to solve this problem?”
“…”
“Hey, class president, what’re you doing?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah…”
Gayoung was spacing out in class all day.
Staring at her hand, sniffing it now and then—she kept doing weird things.
‘Did she eat something weird?’
I was a bit worried, but I couldn’t say anything.
Right now, I’m Kim Siyeon, not Ruti.
So I stuck to my usual quiet, loner vibe.
“Next period is PE, so everyone, head out.”
“Ugh…”
I finally came to school, and of course, it’s a PE day.
I don’t like PE.
Moving around risks my glasses falling off.
So on PE days, I skip class with all sorts of excuses.
Like…
“Teacher, I’m on my period today…”
That usually gets me excused without question.
It should’ve worked…
Thwack.
The teacher lightly tapped my head with the attendance sheet.
“You used that excuse last week too.”
“Oh?”
Was that last week?
I’ve been so busy, I lost track of time.
I should’ve used a different excuse.
Too late to change it now.
“…Sorry.”
Reluctantly, I headed to the gym for PE.
I’d just have to be extra careful.
Luckily, today’s activity was dodgeball.
Not bad.
There’s an easy way to sit it out.
“Siyeon, you’re out.”
I stepped over the line on purpose to get eliminated first.
Most of my classmates, who don’t care about me, didn’t bat an eye.
“All right.”
I crouched in a corner of the gym.
The others kept playing dodgeball.
“Gayoung, you’re out.”
She got hit and eliminated, still spacing out.
What’s she thinking about so much?
My eyes kept drifting to her.
Then our gazes accidentally met.
“What’re you looking at?”
…Listen to that tone.
She’s like a completely different person from yesterday.
“Nothing, you just seem off today.”
“None of your business.”
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
Gayoung tilted her head, watching me.
“Why haven’t you been at school all week?”
“I was feeling under the weather.”
“Where?”
“…My heart, maybe?”
She shot me an exasperated look.
“You’ll regret slacking on attendance like that. And…”
She started nagging me out of nowhere.
I let it go in one ear and out the other.
I wasn’t in the mood to take her lecture seriously.
While this pointless chatter went on…
“Hey! Watch out…”
One of the boys shouted toward us.
I turned and saw a white ball.
A dodgeball, flying right at my face…
Thwack.
It hit me square in the face.
It didn’t hurt much, being a dodgeball, but the impact knocked my glasses off.
“Hey, are you okay…”
I immediately covered my face with my hands and bolted out of the gym.
“What do I do…”
Hiding in the bathroom, I sat on a toilet and stared at the glasses in my hand.
The impact from the dodgeball had snapped them in half.
I don’t carry spares.
This is bad.
“Hmm.”
As I sat there worrying, I heard someone enter the bathroom.
Knock, knock.
“You okay? If you’re hurt, you should go to the nurse, not hide in the bathroom.”
It was Gayoung’s voice.
In my panic, I hiccupped.
“Hic.”
“Are you crying…? Open the door for a sec.”