after a scandal, wooyoung, a defunct k-pop idol, runs away to his sister's hometown. he craves anonymity, yet his quiet routine is disrupted by a chance encounter- a local with a warm presence, who offers him a glimpse of a life beyond the spotlight...
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wooyoung was torn about which was more important at the time: his recent discovery that the video game was all about him, or the fact that he'd just revealed his presence in the town to park seonghwa.
the latter appeared to be more reasonable, but wooyoung was even more perplexed by the look on seonghwa's face, which still bore the same anger and showed no sign of surprise. wooyoung was about to speak when he was interrupted by yeonjin, who delivered a loud kick to the back of seonghwa's knee, causing him to drop to his knees.
"ouch!" he screeched, looking up at yeonjin in disbelief. "what was that for?!"
"i'd like to ask you the same thing. why the hell were you yelling in hana's face like that?!"
yeonjin's voice was sharp, her eyes blazing with anger.
seonghwa scrambled to his feet, rubbing the wound. "i wasn't yelling at her. i was—" he paused, glancing at hana, then back at yeonjin. "ugh... fine. i'm sorry," he mumbled, staring at the floor instead of meeting anyone's gaze. san bit his lip, trying not to laugh in the midst of the chaos. wooyoung appeared to be the only one completely out of it.
hana, on the other hand, had already ripped open the folder that seonghwa had just slammed down on the table, carefully going through the contents of what appeared to be at least a dozen papers.
"wooyoung," seonghwa acknowledged, awkwardly scratching his hair as yeonjin kept her strict gaze fixed on him. "what are you doing here? i mean, how long has it been? 7 years?" he asked, chuckling sheepishly. "nice to see you again."
"nice to see you, too," wooyoung said monotonously, half stunned by what was going on in front of him. "and thanks for the help."
"help? oh," seonghwa dismissed with a shake of his head, "this is nothing."
seonghwa didn't seem fazed at all by the presence of a former idol before him. perhaps it was because, as a lawyer, there was a significant part of him that remained laid-back, logical, and smart. wooyoung found this transformation in seonghwa the most surprising—how the class clown from his youth had evolved into a lawyer with such composure (or moments of it) and professionalism. it felt surreal to wooyoung, almost as if he were witnessing a reality that belonged to some alternate universe.
yeonjin's earlier mention of seonghwa's experience with celebrity cases provided a possible explanation for his calm demeanour. having dealt with high-profile clients and their legal matters might have hardened seonghwa to the drama and controversies surrounding public figures like wooyoung. his nonchalance in the face of wooyoung's predicament indicated a thorough understanding of the industry's pitfalls and a logical approach to dealing with such situations. in other words, wooyoung felt like he could trust him with this.
with his lips pursed, wooyoung approached the table, where yeonjin and san were leaning over hana's shoulders to read whatever was on those papers. instead of following their keen gazes, wooyoung fixed his gaze on san, who was all serious and grim as he quietly mouthed the words on the paper to himself as he read them, hair falling over his face, one hand gripping hana's chair and the other on the table.
