Chapter 278: Those Aren’t Fans

Before heading to the UK, I decided to meet with Cheon Ji-young after quite some time.

“Mu-hyeok Oppa!”

I turned at the sound that called out to me from the hotel lobby.

Cheon Ji-young burst through the hotel door, waving excitedly and running towards me.

Thanks to her, all eyes were naturally drawn to us, and I felt the weight of curious stares and murmurs wondering if it was really Cheon Ji-young.

‘Why can’t she grow up even as she ages…?’

Whether she knew how people stared or not, she rushed over and hugged me tightly, making me sigh in resignation.

“Ji-young, people are watching.”

“So what? You’re my cousin.”

“But people might not know that?”

“Come on, I’m Cheon Ji-young. The people who matter all know me anyway.”

“Sure, sure, I suppose that’s true.”

“Ah, Oppa!”

As Ji-young released me, she playfully punched my arm, giving me a fiery glare.

Her brightened demeanor lifted my spirits unexpectedly. I gently ruffled her hair, causing her smile to widen even more.

“Let’s head upstairs for now.”

“Okay.”

I restrained Ji-young, who instinctively tried to link arms with me. As we playfully argued about her insistence, her manager, who’d followed behind, greeted me.

“Boss, it’s been a while.”

Nodding, I patted the manager’s shoulder. He must have had a tough time taking care of the whirlwind that was Ji-young.

“You must have a lot of trouble with Ji-young; everything’s alright though?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Boss. No problems at all.”

“That’s a relief. She’s a bit reckless, so I’m sure you have your hands full.”

“Yes, Boss!”

I chuckled lightly at the manager standing rigidly like a fresh recruit before leading Ji-young to the restaurant we had reserved.

As soon as we sat down, food arrived, and we resumed our conversation over the meal.

“You’ve been busy, right? I’ve seen you in a drama lately.”

“You watch dramas, Oppa?”

When I brought up the drama she was starring in, Ji-young’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Well, I just checked it out because you’re the lead. Why, can’t I watch some TV?”

“No, I thought you just worked all the time.”

Ji-young smiled, not seemingly minding that I followed her drama. I returned her smile.

“Isn’t that a bit boring? So, how’s the acting going?”

“It’s okay, I guess. I didn’t decide to join easily, and I practiced hard, but people’s eyes… those can be scary.”

As singers and idols began appearing in dramas and films, discussions about their acting skills surged. Ji-young seemed to share that concern.

“You don’t have to deal with that kind of scrutiny, do you?”

“Still… I’ve put in a lot of effort.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her timid nibbling at the pasta, pretending to eat.

“Even not eating what you want is effort, huh?”

“Exactly! People just don’t get it. I’m really desperate about managing my weight and still taking acting lessons—all while making time for fan meetings.”

Ji-young whined like a young child. Seeing her show such a vulnerable side because I was the only one she could rely on made me understand her well.

“It’s the path you chose, isn’t it? Are you regretting it?”

“No, not at all. But I’ve been hearing a lot of comments lately….”

With the development of the internet, the activities of various communities, cafes, and fan clubs flourished. Ji-young was one of the beneficiaries of that fan culture.

Yet the downside was evident. Unfiltered negative comments and fake news spread rapidly among people. This too sometimes troubled Ji-young.

“Don’t let it get to you; just enjoy yourself. That’s what matters. You aren’t short on money, so do what you love and have fun.”

As the granddaughter of Yeongdong’s money king, Ji-young was never short of cash. Choosing to pursue the entertainment business was purely out of her own desire.

“I know, but…”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Huh? No.”

Her vehement denial with flailing arms felt odd. I put down my knife and asked in a serious tone.

“Really no problems? You know you’re not good at lying, right? It shows on your face.”

“…”

Though I gently urged her to speak up, Ji-young ultimately remained silent, shaking her head slightly.

“Should I call your manager?”

“…No.”

“Then tell me; what’s the issue?”

I wondered if it was a company problem but quickly dismissed that thought. The agency Ji-young belonged to wasn’t just out to make money.

Of course, they were nurturing newcomers, but that was simply for appearances.

Her agency existed solely for the sake of Ji-young.

“Well… actually, I’ve been having a lot of strange fans lately.”

“Strange fans?”

“Yeah. They follow all my schedules, and on days I don’t have any, they wait in front of my house all day. I appreciate it, really, but…”

Ji-young’s face darkened, her words trailing off. It seemed recalling them made her uncomfortable, as she lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers.

It looked like Ji-young had a stalker.

Though the notion of stalking wasn’t fully recognized yet, she was probably dealing with someone labeled as an obsessive fan.

“Hmm…”

I pondered, resting my chin on my hand as I studied Ji-young’s face.

‘Having a stalker could be dangerous.’

Noticing my serious expression, Ji-young hastily added.

“It’s not that bad. Just… there are some fans like that, I guess.”

“Why are you justifying this?”

“They’re my fans after all.”

“Huh…”

I sighed, feeling frustrated. It seemed that dealing with things like this was necessary.

“Fans? Those aren’t fans at all.”

“…”

“Ji-young, those are monsters hiding behind the name of fans. If you ignore them, they’ll relentlessly harass you. Can you endure that?”

Stalkers are like cockroaches: no matter how many you catch, they keep coming back.

Moreover, it only got worse due to the public’s disregard for such behavior, mistaking it for dedication from fans, and the celebrities who put up with it.

Honestly, if Ji-young weren’t involved, I wouldn’t give a second thought to stalker issues.

“It’s hard, isn’t it? Isn’t it terrifying to think your private life is in their hands?”

“…”

“So don’t just defend them blindly. They’re not humans; they’re wild beasts. I’ll take care of this, so just focus on your acting.”

Ji-young waved her hands again, trying to dismiss the conversation. When I raised an eyebrow, she frantically shook her head.

“No! I’ll handle it myself. I can take care of it.”

“Really? How?”

“I’m going to report it to the police.”

The moment she said she would report it to the police, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

I knew better than anyone that they couldn’t do anything about it. With no laws in place concerning stalking, neither the police nor anyone else could restrain those monsters.

Crushing bugs is the best method. If they get beaten enough, they might wake up.

“Fine, then. Go ahead and try.”

If she realized what I was thinking, Ji-young would definitely try to stop me. I nodded absently and changed the subject.

“How’s your mom? Is she doing well?”

“Mom? Oh, you know, pretty much the same. Actually, she’s reverted back to how she was before Grandpa abandoned her. Now that she has money, right?”

A hint of sarcasm laced Ji-young’s words.

“But she warned me not to cause any trouble. If I make one more mistake, then she said she won’t hold back this time.”

Her mother’s notion of trouble hardly worried me. I thought I could cover it if something arose.

“Really?”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask about Cheon Su-han’s well-being. Ji-young seemed to sense this and awkwardly smiled as she continued.

“Grandpa gave me a big gift. I didn’t expect it at all…”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah.”

“Eat more.”

“No, this is more than enough. Plus, my trainer will start pushing me to work out again.”

Only having eaten that little yet still needing to exercise felt bizarre. The glamorous life of celebrities came with enormous effort.

“Understood. Let’s grab a coffee and then part ways.”

“Okay, I cleared my schedule for today for that purpose.”

Still, I felt a sense of pride at Ji-young, who was settling well into the entertainment world.

After we enjoyed some coffee and exchanged a few more casual words, we parted ways.

On my way to Pyeongchang-dong, I promptly contacted Manager Ma with orders.

“It seems Ji-young’s being targeted by some strange people, so could you please look into it?”

“For Ji-young?”

“Yes. They call themselves fans, but they’re just tormentors. They’re like beasts who mistake their obsession for love. Find out how many and in what ways they’re bothering Ji-young.”

Though I told Ji-young to handle it, I certainly had no intention of letting them be.

“Understood.”

“Make sure it’s wrapped up by the time I leave for the UK tomorrow.”

I also needed laws concerning stalking. I should talk to Myeong-su and get a bill drafted quickly.

“What about the gossip reporters?”

“It seems they’re probing everywhere. There shouldn’t be any issues in Busan, but they’re keeping an eye on things in Seoul. I heard they even approached Il-sung.””

“Do you think we can ignore them?”

If gossip reporters sneak around, at least they’d be harmless, but Il-sung reporters would fabbricate stories if they had to.

“What can a mere reporter do? I’ll be keeping an eye on them. I’ll intervene when it seems they’re going too far.”

“Have you identified who leaked my information?”

“I’m sorry. We’re still trying to figure that out.”

I was most curious about who sold my information to the gossip columnists.

It couldn’t just be a rumor; they were diving too deep, suggesting they knew something. Someone must have tipped them off.

“For now, let’s just observe. If it becomes necessary, eliminate them.”

“Still, they’re reporters. Could that lead to any problems?”

There was some truth to Manager Ma’s concerns. The connections among journalists tended to run deep.

Reporters with pens were known to claw at anyone who touched their territory.

“They’re human too. We’ll try bribing them first, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to force them to comply.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare accordingly.”

Time flew by.

A day before my departure for the UK, Manager Ma reported on Ji-young’s situation.

“Boss, I have an update regarding Ji-young.”

“Sounds like it took longer than expected?”

“It wasn’t just one or two people; finding out everything took longer than I thought.”

“Not just one or two?…”

Should we call them obsessive fans, or would stalkers be more fitting? Quite a few disgusting bugs seemed to be clinging on.

“What about the serious ones, not the small fries?”

“There were four serious ones.”

“What do they do?”

“They follow almost every schedule and take photos. They invade her privacy completely, waiting not only in front of the company but also in front of her house.”

I thought of Ji-young’s eager face when she wanted to treat her fans kindly.

Fans like these? I found myself letting out a sigh without meaning to.

“Hoo…”

“Luckily, the bodyguards are providing tight security, so there haven’t been any major problems. Still, it seems she’s been under a lot of psychological stress.”

While immediate physical danger wasn’t present, the psychological stress was severe.

“How is Ji-young coping with it?”

“She did report it to the police, but you know how they handle things, right? I made sure to contact the local police station in charge of her case. However, with no laws in place, they said it’s difficult to take any action. Since there hasn’t been any physical harm done, it’s even harder to resolve.”

“This isn’t something that can be fixed legally… Ji-young is too kind.”

After listening to Manager Ma’s words and muttering softly, his eyes gleamed sharply.

“What should we do, Boss?”

“With the departure tomorrow, we need to deal with this before then. Make sure Ji-young absolutely doesn’t find out about it—handle it discreetly. Don’t kill them, though.”

“Understood. I’ll proceed without Ji-young knowing.”

Manager Ma seemed to read my mind perfectly. Nodding slightly, I smiled with satisfaction.

“Alright. Go ahead with that.”

After Manager Ma left, I immediately called Myeong-su. Short ringing followed before Myeong-su’s voice came through.

— Oh, Mu-hyeok.

“Are you busy?”

—No, I was just about to head out for dinner. Is something the matter?”

“I was just checking up on the matter we talked about the other day.”

— Oh, Ji-young? The stalker issue and the related legislation?”

Since meeting Ji-young, I had asked Myeong-su to draft a stalker-related bill.

Initially confused, Myeong-su had shuddered after hearing my explanation, swearing to create the necessary legislation.

“How’s the progress? It’s fine for now, but it could become a severe social issue later. It’s better for you to take the initiative in drafting this bill quickly.”

I heard a long sigh on the other end of the line. Soon after, Myeong-su’s voice came through, filled with frustration.

— The old folks don’t realize how serious this is. They think it’s just fans having too deep of an affection for someone.

“So? Is it hard?”

— Of course not. I’m your friend, Park Myeong-su. I’ll prepare everything for the next regular assembly so we can handle it quickly.

Comparing Myeong-su now to when he grumbled about going to the National Assembly not too long after his election, made me chuckle.

“Thanks. Get it done ASAP.”

— Sure. Hey, Mu-hyeok. I’ll call you later. The congressmen are calling me. Ah, damn it. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m a hostess or a congressman. Anyway, I’m hanging up now.”

Myeong-su hastily hung up. Although we had barely said goodbye, I found myself smiling at my phone, amused by Myeong-su’s typical behavior.