Unlike the other students who rose from their seats and headed straight to the cafeteria as soon as the lunch bell rang, Wooseok didn't let go of the mechanical pencil he was holding. The homeroom teacher, passing by Wooseok's class, clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Are you feeling unwell again...”
To cut to the chase, absolutely not. Wooseok was eating lunch late for a reason. He used the excuse of wanting to eat with Seungyeon, who had to eat late because of a broadcast, and the excuse of not feeling well. Seungyeon had already figured out why Wooseok was always eating lunch late.
[I ate before lunchtime today. So don't wait for me.]
Wooseok, who saw a text from Seungyeon just before lunchtime, stared at his phone in silence before putting it down. Eating with Seungyeon wasn't the reason Wooseok was eating lunch late, so it didn't really matter. After all, Wooseok was trying to eat lunch late because of Hankyul.
“Do you eat at this time, hyung?”
“Uh. What I ate this morning made me sick during the morning class, so I have to eat it now.”
“Oh, I see.”
After meeting him a few times, Yohan, who had become close with Wooseok, spotted him and sat down next to him. Although he responded immediately to Yohan's questions, Wooseok's gaze was fixed on two places: his own plate, and Lee Han-gyeol, standing across from him.
“Hyung, you really are a fan of Han-gyeol.”
Yohan, who kept glancing at the place where Wooseok's gaze fell, spoke with a curious air. His tone was a bit teasing, but Wooseok didn't pay much attention to Yohan's reaction. It was true he was a fan of Han-gyeol.
After seeing Han-gyeol once every three days, he could picture him in person even with his eyes closed. Woo-seok felt that the Han-gyeol he saw in person was definitely different from the one he saw on TV or on stage. It wasn't just that he was significantly more handsome. It was that he exuded a different vibe. The Han-gyeol he'd seen at the school festival was the epitome of an idol. He was the kind of celebrity Lee Han-gyeol you couldn't approach, the kind you'd wish to see in person even once. But the Han-gyeol he saw in the cafeteria or around school wasn't like that. He was just an ordinary high school boy. A sociable, playful, and innocent high school student who made friends with everyone.
That's why Woo-seok couldn't reveal his fandom in front of Han-gyeol. He worried that it would be forcibly dragging the celebrity Lee Han-gyeol out of high school student Lee Han-gyeol's daily life. He wanted him to leave the tough celebrity life in the entertainment industry and just live a normal life at school. If Han-gyeol ever truly became famous, the trivial things he did now would practically disappear.
“But when did Han-gyeol stop coming to school?”
"Huh? That's a bit of an unexpected question, hyung. Wouldn't it be nice if Han-gyeol could see it?"
Yohan asked in surprise at Wooseok's words as he watched Han-gyeol eating with his friends. Still keeping his gaze fixed on Han-gyeol, Wooseok opened his mouth.
"It's good. I keep seeing my favorite idol at school. How many fans can do that? But I also like how they look on stage. Honestly, I became a fan because of their stage presence. I wonder when they're going to prepare for a comeback. The group itself hasn't been very active lately."
“Well, if you’re busy preparing for a comeback, you probably won’t be able to come to school much.”
"And you can't eat school lunch like that. School lunches are really not for you when you're dieting. One meal is close to 1,000 calories... Oh, talking about dieting made me suddenly lose my appetite."
"I just think the school lunch is tasteless. If you're going to give me codfish stew, make it better. I guess I'll have to go to the cafeteria. Do you want to come with me, hyung?"
“No, I’ll go up first.”
Unlike Yohan, who stood up immediately after the conversation ended, Wooseok slowly gathered the food on his plate and left. He stared at Han-gyeol until he was completely out of the cafeteria, and when Han-gyeol turned his head, Wooseok looked away.
-
“It wasn’t for nothing that I saw you almost every day in the cafeteria...”
As he muttered, Woo-seok reread the notice several times. It wasn't something he couldn't even imagine. He just didn't want to believe it. The notice declared that the idea of seeing him at fan signings, music shows, and university festival stages after his college entrance exams was nothing more than a fantasy. He knew that fantasy would never become reality.
The reason given in the announcement was an ankle injury. He complained of persistent pain from the injury, even though he wasn't aware of it during his daily life, whenever he performed choreography. He decided to leave the group to focus on treatment and recovery. Perhaps out of consideration for his fans, the word "withdrawal" wasn't used. Fans on the fan cafe were saying that Han-gyeol would always be a member of **, and that they hoped to see him again someday. Woo-seok, after reading a few posts, sighed deeply and muttered.
“Is it really just because of the ankles... There are idols who continue to work even when their body condition makes it seem like they should stop working at any moment.”
Anyway, the real reason for his departure isn't particularly important. What mattered most to Wooseok was that he would no longer see Lee Han-gyeol on stage or on TV. And, like most fans, he was also concerned that he might forget about Lee Han-gyeol.