Chapter 1: The Unseen Life of a Star

Contrary to the morning forecast that heavy rain would pour down, warm spring sunlight graced the entire morning. Dohoon, who had spent days fretting about bad weather on such an important day, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“It’s not raining yet, is it?”

“No, sir. They said the rain has been postponed until tomorrow.”

Dohoon reconfirmed the weather with the hair stylist who was tending to his hair. Once he confirmed there would be no rain, his curiosity shifted to something else entirely.

“Seoyun, is the merchandise line long?”

Just then, a company staff member entered the waiting room, and Dohoon hastily posed the question. She had just finished an urgent call and nodded with a smile.

“The eco-bags and keychains are already sold out.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“Oppa, you seem to worry about the merchandise every time there’s a fan meeting. Are you afraid they won’t sell?”

“No… It’s not like they’re particularly practical items.”

Whenever there was an event to meet fans like this, merchandise such as bags or T-shirts were typically sold. To Dohoon, they weren’t particularly pretty items, yet there were always complaints about insufficient stock, selling out instantly. Despite knowing they would sell out in a flash, Dohoon always checked if the lines were long and if everything had been completely sold.

“Hah, seriously, Oppa, you really don’t understand the fans’ hearts at all. Who buys those things to use them? They buy them to cherish.”

“Why would you cherish an item?”

“Oppa, merchandise isn’t just an item.”

Even with Seoyun’s explanation, Dohoon still didn’t quite grasp it. Well, perhaps fans bought bags or T-shirts with his autograph and English name because they liked him, but it was still astonishing how they sold like hotcakes despite not being particularly cheap.

“If your hair is done, hurry and sign the posters. Should I get you some coffee?”

“No, it’s fine. You go eat.”

“Aren’t you eating, Oppa?”

“I already had my lunchbox.”

He had enjoyed an early lunch, courtesy of the lunchboxes sent by his fans. Standing up, Dohoon walked over to the table and gazed down at the posters spread out before him.

These were the autographed posters destined for five lucky fans, chosen by lottery during the event. While he wished he could gift an autographed poster to everyone at the fan meeting, it might disrupt the event’s flow, and he certainly wasn’t confident he could sign over three thousand posters himself.

Dohoon picked up a pen and began signing boldly, from left to right. Having entered his twelfth year since debut, he was now so accustomed to it that he could sign without a single error, even with his eyes closed.

“Hmm, should I write the date?”

“…Pardon? Were you asking me?”

“Yes. I was wondering if it would be better to include the date with the signature.”

The staff member from the agency’s planning team, who stood beside him, looked up at Dohoon with a stiff expression. It was their first time working on-site today.

Even working at an entertainment agency, it wasn’t common to see celebrities up close and converse with them. Moreover, in an actor’s agency, it was rare for anyone outside the management team to even meet face-to-face. The staff member, blinking in bewilderment, belatedly nodded.

“Yes. For a memento.”

“Hmm. For a memento.”

Dohoon smiled, echoing the staff member’s words, and lowered the hand holding the pen.

****

Still reeling from the fan meeting, Dohoon boarded the car, half-dazed. The fan meeting venue was the same as last year, but this year, more seats had been opened, slightly increasing the capacity. Perhaps thanks to this, the fans’ cheers seemed even louder than before. His ears still felt muffled.

“Hyung, you worked hard.”

The manager offered his greetings to Dohoon before starting the engine. As an actor, standing on such a large stage was rare, save for fan meetings. Even large-scale public premieres didn’t reach this magnitude. Being an unfamiliar experience, it inevitably demanded a significant expenditure of energy, both physically and mentally.

“Myeongun, you worked hard too.”

“I didn’t do much.”

Dohoon praised his manager, Myeongun, for his efforts, and didn’t forget to acknowledge the three costume team staff members who were also in the car. The successful completion of the fan meeting was the result of everyone’s hard work, not just Dohoon, the main attraction. The atmosphere in the car was quite cheerful, now that a major event that had been on their minds for a while was finally over.

“Oh, right. Oppa, did you see it?”

“See what?”

“That idol who impersonated you on an entertainment show. Videos kept circulating on social media, saying he was really good.”

“Really?”

Dohoon tilted his head at the stylist’s words. His use of social media and the internet was limited entirely to finding dog videos or dog-related information, so Dohoon was rather oblivious to trending topics or popular culture. Countless things passed him by unless someone informed him.

“He was genuinely good. You know that movie you shot recently, ‘Interference!’ He mimicked a line from there…”

“Ah, I saw that too. He was good, wasn’t he?”

“Right?”

With both the manager driving and the staff members beside him chiming in, Dohoon finally became interested.

“Ah, I’ll send you the video link. Just a moment.”

The stylist hastily pulled out her phone. Soon after, a video link arrived on Dohoon’s phone. Sensing her unspoken curiosity about his reaction, Dohoon immediately played the video. It was a short, thirty-second clip edited to show only the impersonation.

Even Dohoon, the person being mimicked, found the voice and mannerisms quite plausible. To avoid disappointing the stylist with an indifferent response, Dohoon made an effort to pull up the corners of his mouth.

“He’s really good. What’s his name?”

“I think the group name was FaceA. I don’t know the member’s name myself. It’s probably in the video title.”

Only then did Dohoon check the video title.

[Sejin impersonating Han Dohoon (Spot-on)]

“Is he a rookie?”

Both the group name and the member’s name were somewhat unfamiliar. Of course, Dohoon only knew a handful of idols, so it was natural for them to be unfamiliar.

“No. They’ve probably been debuted for quite a while, haven’t they? Oppa, you don’t know FaceA? They should have quite a few famous songs.”

“Really? I don’t really follow singers.”

Dohoon chuckled awkwardly, fumbling his reply. Below the video, a related video for the group’s 6th anniversary appeared. Dohoon idly scanned the seven faces on the thumbnail, one by one. They all looked unfamiliar, as if he’d never seen them before.

Mindlessly scrolling, Dohoon eventually turned off the screen and leaned back against the seat. After more than two hours on stage, his exhaustion was incomparable to usual. As he didn’t often directly experience the passion and affection of his fans, Dohoon realized his reason for existing as an actor every time he met them closely like this. Conversely, the emptiness he felt after everything was over was equally immense.

“Hyung, have you looked at the scripts?”

“Ah… a little?”

At Myeongun’s question, Dohoon opened his tightly closed eyes. He suddenly recalled the mountain of scripts piled in a corner of his living room. That was after the company had meticulously culled them. Had he even read half? Dohoon had been procrastinating on making a decision, as he hadn’t yet found a role that truly resonated with him.

He knew that both his fans and the company were eagerly awaiting his next project. Dohoon himself felt just as impatient.

Meanwhile, the car carrying Dohoon entered the underground parking lot of his apartment. Dohoon pulled his hat down low, which had been resting on his lap, and prepared to alight.

“Get some good rest.”

“Yeah. You guys rest too. Good work.”

“You go on in.”

Receiving their farewells, Dohoon stepped out of the car and headed straight for the elevator without looking back. While he had agreed to rest well, Dohoon had other pressing matters to attend to.

As he opened the front door and stepped inside, a massive ball of fur came bounding from the end of the hallway. Dohoon bent down and extended his hand in greeting.

“Taeshik!”

The dog, instantly leaping into his arms, couldn’t hide its excitement, wagging its enormous tail vigorously. After the boisterous welcome, Dohoon postponed his shower and took Taeshik out for a walk. If he had no special schedule, he would walk him for an hour, twice a day, and even on days with schedules like today, he tried his best to take him out if he had any spare time.

On days too busy to spare even a moment, he called a pet sitter to handle the walks. To expend the energetic Taeshik’s energy, outdoor walks were essential. Although he often let him out onto the outdoor terrace attached to the house, that alone was never enough to satisfy Taeshik.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Taeshik eagerly led the way. Dohoon, practically being walked by the taut leash, returned home an hour later, dangling a poop bag. Outside, he was lauded as a top star, but at home, he was busy tending to his dog.

Before the entire house could turn into a muddy mess, Dohoon urgently scooped up Taeshik and headed straight for the bathroom. After thoroughly cleaning his large paws, all the energy drained from his body. By the time they returned from the walk, he had been running on sheer willpower.

“Hah, I don’t think I could handle two.”

He often browsed the abandoned dog shelter app, wanting to bring home a sibling for Taeshik, but his daily life with just Taeshik was already overwhelming, so it always remained a wish in his heart.

After washing Taeshik, the belated stickiness of his own sweaty body caught up to him. Having finished a refreshing shower, Dohoon lay on his bed and belatedly checked his phone. A message from his manager had arrived, telling him to get some good rest.