Chapter 568

Chapter 568: Chapter 568

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What should I do…? I stretched out my hand and touched his pale hand. Pressing his valley point between the thumb and forefinger, I wondered if he had an upset stomach after eating something in the living room earlier.

<Black Rain> was indeed groundbreaking but too suspenseful to watch while eating something. It was also PG15. Therefore, he might be feeling a little sick eating and watching the show at the same time.

Yeo Dan oppa shook his head wordlessly, then leaned his forehead on my shoulder. What’s really wrong with him today? He’s acting like a baby. Sweeping his hair back with my fingers, I tossed him a question.

“Were you stressed out today at school? Is that why you skipped the evening self-study session?”

He shook his head from side to side.

“Did something happen at school?”

Again, he shook his head no.

‘Then why is he behaving like this from earlier?’ I wondered about it for a moment. That was when the doorbell rang at the front door.

I asked, “Um, guys, would you go out and open the door for the delivery guy?”

“Isn’t this your house?” said Eun Jiho, but as he found me and Yeo Dan oppa leaning against each other, his brows met in the middle.

‘Hey, is this that cringy and awful? We aren’t displaying affection in public but just being a little intimate in my house,’ I responded to him in my thoughts.

Eun Jiho revealed his awkward feelings on his face for quite a while, then barely returned to his usual look as he had eye contact with Yeo Dan oppa.

Without fluttering his long black lashes, Yeo Dan oppa fixed his eyes at Eun Jiho. It was a mysterious glance.

I asked, “Oppa, what’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing…”

Shaking his head, he leaned on my shoulder again, then whispered, “I’m just feeling a little sensitive.”

I felt sorry to have him here as he was a senior in high school who’s enough to become sensitive. Well, in his situation, leaving me alone here would, of course, make him also uncomfortable, but I was fine, having Yeo Ryung and other kids around me.

Shortly after, Yeo Ryung took some plates and chopsticks from our kitchen cupboard, then handed them over to each of us. Three whole fried chickens were on my desk and the floor.

What a mess. The packed room was getting more complicated to fit all of us inside. Jooin, who was watching the computer monitor with his arms on Eun Jiho’s shoulders, shook his head and opened the window as if he needed some fresh air.

A heated night breeze blew from the apartment complex and sent out the fried chicken smell through the window. It calmed down our dizziness.

“Wow, the smell is no joke.” Eun Jiho exclaimed, unusually pulling out the meat from the chicken with his hands, instead of using the chopsticks.

Turning my head toward Eun Jiho and Jooin, I asked, “What does it say there?”

“Come here.”

“I can’t,” I replied, raising the opposite side of my shoulder that didn’t have Yeo Dan oppa’s head leaned on.

“It’s hard to read everything.”

“Pfft.”

“Check it on your phone.”

I clicked my tongue and took out my phone. Yeo Ryung shouted, ‘I want to see it too!’ and approached Eun Jiho to stand behind his back. Eun Hyung also came close to them, holding a plate of chicken. I stared at them with jealous eyes.

When I browsed ‘Yoo Chun Young’ on the search engine, the internet was still full of enthusiasm about him.

[Drama Forum]

Title: Did you see that guy Kang Hyun Woo?

Content: He’s no joke~ The actor is Yoo Chun Young, previously a model making his acting debut here. That’s why he looks so cool in those outfits.

[Comments]

kim0***: He’s 18 this year.

ㄴnari***: 18?? 18?? For real??

ㄴwhit***: Please, be nice and be respectful. No use of profanity.

ㄴding***: No, I’m not swearing lol but talking about his age lol Is he really eighteen? So savage! How can he be so tall?

ㄴnari***: Exactly, but also his vibe… that’s wicked cool.

Other forums and threads were also full of questions asking Yoo Chun Young’s age and personal information. Those who first encountered his age showed surprise at how a teenage boy could give off such a mature vibe.

Well, even I found it hard to believe that Yoo Chun Young in the drama was the same person with whom we had classes together at school last week. Since I, who saw him in person, felt this way, how would others be? Their oohs and aahs were definitely understandable.

While I was absorbed in thought, Jooin’s voice reached my ears. I lifted my head.

“This is really getting insane. Look at the number 1 searched right now.”

For some reason, Jooin’s voice sounded slightly hoarse. I tilted my head in wonder.

He added, “Yoo Chun Young became the most searched keyword on the web, pushing <Black Rain> to the second.”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

Taking a deep breath, I checked the latest trending searches and found out that what Jooin just said was true.

And because of that, some people were gossiping on social media that Yoo Chun Young was buying fame by manipulating search results. As he was trending now, even his family, Balhae Group, became one of the hottest topics on the web, the reason behind the spread of rumors.

Ban Yeo Ryung asked concernedly, “Some say that he’s altering search results with money.”

She might be worried about Yoo Chun Young being falsely accused and, at the same time, the rumor could be real.

Listening to her words, Woo Jooin looked at Eun Jiho. He asked, “What do you think?”

“I don’t think it’s manipulated.” Eun Jiho replied determinedly. He continued, “Balhae Group has no profit in doing such a thing. They know that faking a way to online fame never ends well. Plus, why would they talk up Yoo Chun Young in the first place? Instead, Yoo Gun hyeong wanted his little brother to play a role in a small budget drama. That’s what I heard.”

I blinked at his explanation. “Really?” It sounded very new to me.

Eun Jiho replied, “You know, high-risk high-return. He would hate to make his little brother a tabloid gossip.”

“Oh…”

“But since things turned out this way, Balhae Group might be pulling their hair out too. Maybe they would be thinking about buying the web to remove Yoo Chun Young from the search results, but, of course, they can’t because of the potential issue with the drama production house.”

“I see,” I responded briefly and looked back at my phone screen.

It wasn’t Yoo Chun Young’s first time to be ranked on one of the most searched keywords, but right now it was utterly different from the situation a year and a half ago.

The drama just premiered its first episode and didn’t get into its stride yet. However, Yoo Chun Young already became a man of the hour. Therefore, I even felt scared of how unreachable he would become when the drama reached the final episode.

It was like the game Dominoes. Just a single tile could knock down the entire chain, making it almost impossible to stop the spread.

Did the production house ever know that casting Yoo Chun Young would nail down their success? This world picked Yoo Chun Young. Failure was not an option in his life no matter what attempts he made. What would it feel like to live a life bound to succeed? Having that thought in my mind, I crouched, quietly pulling my knees into my arms.

Yoo Chun Young’s successful debut in his acting career seemed inevitable, but watching it happen in real life and covering all the headlines on the web sent a chill down my spine as if I bumped into something supernatural.

That was when Yeo Dan oppa’s voice came into me. I raised my head.

“It’s time to go,” he said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, you spent too much time here. I’m sorry.”

I got up from my seat, but maybe because I was lost in thought or sitting on the floor too long, I stumbled, losing my balance. Yeo Dan oppa quickly approached me and grabbed me from falling.

Looking up at him, I uttered, “Uh, thanks, oppa…” but wasn’t able to finish my words. The look in his eyes was somehow waving with various shades.

It wasn’t a feeling of joy or excitement. The day when I asked Yeo Dan oppa about his feelings toward me, he had this indescribable look in his eyes. At that moment, I thought he might ask me for a breakup. His glance right now was similar to the emotions in his eyes that day.

When he took his arm off me, I felt confused. He said nothing happened, but something was indeed going on.

While I stood frozen in place, he put on his jacket and picked up his backpack from the floor.