Chapter 188

*Note before reading:

This episode mostly describes internet reactions. There may be unpleasant expressions, and due to my lack of expertise, some details might not be accurate. Since the episode is mostly about internet reactions, it will not be included in the daily serialization. An additional update is expected later today. Please read it as if it were a side story.

—

“Are you going?”

“Yeah, my father called because of what happened yesterday.”

“Your younger sister?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing serious. Don’t worry about it.”

Hwa-won decided to go back home shortly after waking up. Well, it was an unplanned overnight stay, so it’s better to return sooner rather than later. I thought about having breakfast together before she left, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

Fortunately, the hangover wasn’t too bad. I guess I fell asleep so quickly yesterday not because of the alcohol but because I was exhausted. I drank some cold water and opened my phone.

Then I immediately called Seo Eun-a. The phone rang for a while before she finally picked up.

[Hey.]

[Haa… What is it this early in the morning…]

[Where are you right now?]

[I’m at Han-bom’s place.]

[…What?]

Wait, she said she was staying at a friend’s place.

Oh, wait.

She doesn’t have any friends. Except for Im Mi-ra.

[I feel like you’re thinking something really rude…]

[It’s just your imagination. So why did you leave? Why did you leave Hwa-won behind?]

[Oh, I did it so you two could have some quality time together. I’d just be in the way.]

[What, what, what, what are you talking about? What quality time…!]

I panicked at Eun-a’s absurd nonsense and overreacted without realizing it. Eun-a, of course, didn’t miss this opportunity.

[Why are you so flustered? Keke. I just meant that it’s awkward when there’s someone else around when friends are hanging out.]

[…Whatever. When are you coming back?]

[Did Hwa-won oppa already leave?]

[Yeah. He must have something to do.]

[Are you lonely?]

[Just stay there, you.]

[Just kidding. If you haven’t had breakfast yet, let’s eat together here, the three of us.]

[What about Han-bom?]

[She’s still asleep.]

[Then wake her up. I’ll come over then.]

[Okay.]

As soon as the call ended, I grabbed my head. Why did I overreact like that? It wasn’t even a big deal. Now it’s going to look like I’m overthinking things.

What’s done is done. I’ll just erase it from my mind and wash my face to clear my head.

The cold water on my face made me feel a bit better. I still had a slight hangover, but it was much milder than before, which was a relief.

Come to think of it, if Han-bom finds out I drank, she’s going to freak out. No, she’ll probably say something about me spending the day with Hwa-won.

Hmph, whatever. She’s always hanging out with Park Chan-wook at her age. I didn’t do anything. I just slept next to him.

I looked at the clock and saw it was already past 10. I slept for quite a while. Did Han-bom and Eun-a sleep this late too? Anyway.

Come to think of it, it’s Sunday. Today is the last day Eun-a will be at my place. Since she decided not to drop out, she’ll have to go back to university starting tomorrow. Sunday… What a hectic week it’s been.

A lot happened. There were many accidents and incidents. I didn’t bother to revisit them. They were things I needed to slowly digest in my stomach.

Rehashing them would only make me feel worse.

But still, the epilogue hasn’t come yet.

There are still many stories left for me.

~

Community site Blue Inside

Title: [The pretty little thing is dressed up and waiting at OO Station kekekeke]

[A sneak photo of Seol-guk waiting for someone at the station]

He’s so cute.

[Comments]

‘Why is this real?’

‘This is 100% a lawsuit waiting to happen. I’ve already archived it.’

‘But seriously, he’s so cute.’

‘Wow, he’s wearing a white outfit with full makeup. Who’s he waiting for? A date?’

‘He never wears women’s clothes, always pants. Who’s he meeting?’

‘Has he finally entered the world of women?’

‘When is he going to start streaming, dammit?’

‘Find the secret key, call for me.’

‘Why aren’t these guys getting sued?’

‘Because the pretty little thing is nice and won’t sue unless they cross the line.’

‘But it seems like a lot of them are crossing the line….’

‘Since he hasn’t sued, it seems like he acknowledges it? Agree? Agree.’

‘These guys all came from Asgard IP, they’re serious.’

‘Wow, he’s so cute. I really want to hug him.’

‘Why you? Why you? Why you? Why you? Why you? Why you?’

Title: [LOLOLOLOLOL]

[A sneak photo of Seol-guk talking with Muk Ha-neul]

All the anti-fans are cut~ The trend is yuri, do you agree?

[Comments]

‘Is this crazy? Isn’t this definitely a lawsuit?’

‘Shut up, how are we supposed to cover this if he sues?’

‘Let’s not cross the line, this is a bit much.’

‘The one crossing the line is the pretty little thing filming TS yuri.’

‘The anti-fan group admits defeat.’

‘Who said you could admit defeat?’

‘Isn’t that the novelist Muk Ha-neul?’

‘Holy crap, it’s really her.’

‘Isn’t this really dangerous?’

‘Muk Ha-neul didn’t sue the novelist or the people spreading rumors about her, so maybe she’ll let this slide.’

‘Then I can safely take sneak photos, right?’

‘You should go to jail.’

‘But there are a lot of people taking sneaky photos. Someone on Twitter even posted one pretending it was a selfie.’

‘So why aren’t you putting in that effort?’

‘I have no shame under the sky.’

‘You should be ashamed.’

‘What’s their relationship that they’re meeting like this?’

‘I looked it up, they went to the same university.’

‘A friend of a friend of a friend said Muk Ha-neul has been chasing after the pretty little thing since he was a guy.’

‘If she kept chasing after him even after he became a girl, it must be true love.’

‘Life is unfair. He was handsome as a guy, and now he’s a stunning beauty as a girl.’

‘You guys would probably still be ugly even if you got TS.’

‘TS common sense: If you get TS, you automatically become a beauty.’

Title: [They went into the amusement park, coverage ends here]

My life is ruined, I don’t have the money to go to an amusement park.

[Comments]

‘It’s because your life is ruined that you can do this.’

‘Share your account.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, really. Open a group chat or something.’

The comment has been deleted by the author.

‘If you share your account, won’t your personal info get leaked?’

‘It might be a trap investigation lol.’

Title: [Damn it]

They leaked my info and just left.

Am I screwed?

[Comments]

‘This guy has no brains.’

‘Is the thing on your shoulders just for decoration?’

‘They said they’re reporting it to the police, what should I do? My life is ruined, I have nothing.’

‘You should go to jail lol.’

‘Goodbye.’

‘Thanks for the photos, I’ll use them well.’

~

Social network service Twitter

‘Breaking) Novelist Muk Ha-neul is on a date with the misogynist novelist Seol-guk.’

‘Is this for real?’

‘A male stalker posted sneak photos on that site. You can find them if you look.’

‘Wow; the comments from those male losers are legendary. Charging up on misandry again today.’

‘They’re having so much fun at the amusement park, just watching them makes me smile.’

‘You’re smiling seeing Muk Ha-neul hanging out with a misogynist?’

‘Seol-guk is dressed so prettily, I can’t think of anything else.’

‘You were just posting about how all misandrists should die yesterday.’

‘Since the novelist is a woman now, it’s okay, right?’

‘Before seeing the photos, I thought she was a misogynist, but after seeing the photos, she’s so cute I can’t think of anything else.’

‘The misandrists are going crazy.’

‘Radical feminists, please leave. I’m not a radical.’

‘Are you telling me that 28-year-old man was like that? That’s a lie. The world is too cruel.’

‘LOL, he was probably an ugly guy before, but now that his face changed, everyone’s going crazy.’

‘[Photo of Seol-guk before TS]’

‘Holy crap, this oppa changed like that? Isn’t this a national loss?’

‘Why did this person’s attitude suddenly change?’

‘Handsome oppas aren’t misandrists.’

‘I just ordered four of Seol-guk’s books.’

‘Why?’

‘Merch.’

‘Isn’t Muk Ha-neul a feminist? Why is she hanging out with that guy?’

‘Muk Ha-neul isn’t a feminist, she’s been chasing after him since he was a guy.’

‘She still likes him even after he changed like that?’

‘Maybe she treats him like a little brother because he’s cute? If my little brother looked like that, I’d carry him around.’

‘Muk Ha-neul’s novels are just misandrist books anyway. Hetero relationships are glorified, and lesbians are just sacrificed. It’s disgusting.’

‘Are you a lesbian?’

‘Shut up.’

‘The novel you’re talking about sold over 100,000 copies in less than three months and is being adapted into a drama. You PC idiots are really mentally ill.’

‘Get lost, misandrist.’

‘I’m a woman, you pig. [Verification photo]’

You have been blocked.

‘They’re going on the Ferris wheel. Are they confessing?’

‘So romantic.’

‘???? Muk Ha-neul came out crying.’

‘What’s going on?’

‘Did Seol-guk reject her?’

‘What does he have to reject Muk Ha-neul for lol.’

‘Breaking) Novelist Seol is crying outside the amusement park.’

‘What the hell, who rejected who?’

‘Why are both of them crying?’

‘Maybe they decided to break up because it’s hard for them to be together?’

‘Even though he was originally a man?’

‘I heard his resident registration number changed, so they can’t get married… and they can’t have kids since they’re both women.’

‘But they were both crying like they were going to die.’

‘If they dated, Muk Ha-neul would probably be labeled a pedophile.’

‘If that’s why they broke up, it makes sense they’d cry….’

~

Community site Red Archive

Title: [Did they break up?]

They went on the Ferris wheel, and then Seol-guk came out crying with Muk Ha-neul. They were both sobbing. Later, the pretty little thing was also crying outside the amusement park.

[Comments]

‘No photos?’

‘Photos.’

‘Ban the people above.’

‘If you post or ask for photos, you’ll be banned.’

‘So did they break up?’

‘Can we not talk about real people?’

‘It’s impossible not to talk about this… Everyone’s talking about it.’

Title: [We need to sign a TS yuri petition.]

‘TS yuri has… lost to TS anti-fans.’

Sign here.

[Comments]

‘I’ll sign.’

‘There’s still enough potential for yuri.’

‘Where are you going with this?’

‘Seol-guk always has a woman by his side wherever he goes.’

‘There was also a rumor that he was with a really handsome guy before.’

‘Sorry, but since he was originally a man, they’re just friends.’

‘That’s the most dangerous relationship.’

‘If they’re childhood friends, it’s twice as dangerous.’

‘I’ll sign.’

‘Who are you to sign?’

‘I’m from the TS romance group.’

‘Damn it.’

‘Ban the person above.’

Title: [When are you going to start streaming?]

I’m so cold, turn on the stream already, pretty little thing.

[Comments]

‘Why isn’t he streaming even after TS? Isn’t this neglect of duty?’

‘Seriously, if he just turned it on, money would print itself.’

‘Maybe he’s already rich?’

‘His books sold more than expected, but he probably didn’t get much royalties after the 90% cut.’

‘Don’t call real people “pretty little thing.” Are you from Blue?’

‘We always say “pretty little thing” here.’

‘We don’t do that to real people, or we’ll get sued.’

‘The pretty little thing is nice, so it’s okay.’

~

I went to see a lawyer.

“Sue them all.”

~

My face was burning. I thought I was going to lose my mind. What the hell is this stupid nickname? White pretty little thing? No mercy. I’m going to sue them all. I told the publisher, and they introduced me to this lawyer.

Actually, the teasing about me wasn’t the real problem.

The problem was that the fact that Muk Ha-neul and I broke up, and the whole process, was broadcasted.

Damn bastards.

When we were on the date, I didn’t feel like anyone was watching us, but it seems like there was a stalker or something. Well, I’m a celebrity, and Muk Ha-neul is a huge celebrity too. I forgot about it halfway through, but I was also worried someone might recognize us.

With the two of us hanging out together, rumors were bound to spread. But no matter what, people have a right to privacy. How can they just post everything on the internet like this? Even sneak photos.

There have been times when my photos were posted online before, but they were usually selfies or accidental shots, so there wasn’t much I could do about it. But this time, some idiot took a direct photo and posted it, and someone even doxxed them, so catching them shouldn’t be a problem.

However, according to the lawyer, most of these people use VPNs, so it’s hard to catch them, and even if we do, most will be let go due to insufficient evidence. It’s fine for those who outright harassed or insulted, but for the borderline cases, it’s difficult.

“By the way, what does… anti-fan or pretty little thing mean?”

…Why do I have to explain this humiliation? The lawyer didn’t laugh or tease me, but my face was already burning.

“Yes, anyway, thank you for your hard work in gathering the evidence. It’s not an easy task, but you did well. You didn’t tell anyone you were suing, right? It’s better not to say anything until the process starts. If you tell them in advance, they’ll delete the evidence and hide.”

“Yes, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Sigh,

Life is not easy.

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