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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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Prologue

“Oppa, it's been a while.”

“Oh, really? You're right. It has been a while.”

“Yes, and I have something to brag about.”

“Oh, really? Go on.”

“I got all first-grades on my last mock exam.”

“Wow, really? Congratulations.”

“Yeah... so I can't come anymore.”

“Oh, real… what? Why?”

It was noisy all around. The middle of a shopping mall plaza in the height of summer.

The obscure idol, who had been sweating buckets while signing autographs for less than a hundred fans, shot his eyes wide open.

Kang Ha-ra, who had been proudly showing off her mock exam results, also widened her eyes in surprise.

Four years since his debut. This Oppa, who had tried every concept imaginable but still hadn't made it big, had long since lost his spark, his eyes dull like a dead pollack's.

What did it mean that you were practically guaranteed a spot at the fan signing event just by buying a single album?

It meant that so few fans were left that the fan signing pool wasn't just stagnant, it was boiled down. It meant a fan could sing everything from the *Yongbieocheonga* to the *Samiingok* in front of him and still have time left over to repeat herself over and over.

So she had expected this Oppa, with his dead pollack eyes, who only ever repeated "Oh, really?", to just go with the flow and toss out another "Oh, really?"

But to ask *why*?

It was a little surprising, but Kang Ha-ra quickly regained her composure. Who was she? A student with all first-grades on her mock exams. A perfect score in Korean language. In other words, she could perfectly grasp the hidden implications of any text.

*'My Ugi Oppa must be surprised, thinking I've switched to another idol.'*

Ha-ra smiled faintly and pushed up the horn-rimmed glasses she was wearing.

When her glasses slid back down because of the sweat, the Oppa, while still looking at Ha-ra with his round eyes, used the edge of his sleeve to wipe the bridge of her nose.

Fortunately, the Oppa she stanned was an unpopular member of an already obscure group. Wiping a fangirl's sweat wasn't going to cause much of a stir.

“Why? Why can't you come?”

“Well, I'm a high school senior now.”

The idol's face fell.

“Oh, really.”

“Yeah. My mom said I can go to fan signings again after I get into Hankuk University's law school.”

“Oh, really.”

Normally, a singer wouldn't know a fan's age. But this Oppa was obscure, and Kang Ha-ra was part of the boiled-down dregs of his handful of fans.

So, the "Oh, Really" Man roughly knew Kang Ha-ra's age.

None other than eighteen.

The Oppa's brain, which never seemed to work when memorizing lyrics, started spinning as he calculated when the fan before him would return.

It was August. That meant she would take the CSAT the following November, get her results in December, and receive her college acceptance letter in January of the year after that. A ban on fangirl activities for about a year and a half.

A year and a half was enough time for mountains and rivers to change, and more than enough for an obscure idol group to disband.

The "Oh, Really" Man's face darkened rapidly. *Another fan is leaving.*

Ignoring him completely, the manager standing behind them spoke in a cold, perfunctory tone.

“Time to move along—”

It was the kind of chilly treatment you'd expect from the manager of a failed idol group.

Her heart raced. Ha-ra started rapping.

“OppaIactuallysnuckoutwithoutmymomknowingtodaytooI'llcomerightaftertheCSATsokayhuh?!”

But the "Oh, Really" Man was an idol with some professional decency. He held out his pinky finger to Ha-ra, who was already sidestepping away like a crab.

“You have to get into law school, okay? And then come see me. Promise. I'll keep your mock exam results and give them back to you then.”

*Gasp, Oppa.* Ha-ra's eyes turned into hearts as she watched him take her exam results. Even then, she hesitated to link her finger with his right away, frantically wiping her sweaty palm on her thigh. *I can't get my palm sweat on my Ugi Oppa's hand.*

But before Ha-ra could link her pinky with his, the manager pushed her shoulder.

“Time to move along—”

“Hey, Hyung. Just a second.”

The "Oh, Really" Man smiled gently, pushed the manager away, and finally linked his pinky with Kang Ha-ra's.

“See you again.”

So, did she see him again? No, she did not.

Stories like this usually have some foreshadowing, and in Kang Ha-ra's case, the line "I snuck out without my mom knowing" was it.

Of all things, a C-class Gate opened in that very shopping mall that day.

The reason a Gate opened in a private commercial facility like a shopping mall was concisely summarized by the mall's owner in a news interview.

["Come on, what landlord in the Republic of Korea actually follows all the fire safety laws!"]

In any case, the landlord, who had kept procrastinating on installing Gate-prevention magic stones in his new mall to save money, was screwed, and countless civilians were swept up in the disaster.

As for whether Kang Ha-ra was swept up too, she wasn't.

Having lied to her mother that she had late-night study hall, Ha-ra had to leave quickly. She had left the mall before the fan signing event even ended, so she wasn't caught in the Gate.

However, she did witness the mall she had just left explode from beyond her bus window.

["This is a breaking news report. Today at 6:30 PM, a Gate-opening incident occurred at a shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. We're connecting now to reporter Yoon Se-heon on the scene. Reporter Yoon?"]

["Waaahhh, Mister, is my Ugi Oppa okay? Huh?"]

["Miss, I'm sorry, but I'm about to go live, okay?"]

["Mister, you're a reporter! Waaahhh. Please, just tell me if my Oppa is okay, please."]

["Alright, alright, your Oppa will be fine. Wipe your nose. *Sniffle.* That's right. Just calm down for now."]

["...Reporter Yoon Se-heon?"]

["Ah, yes. This is Yoon Se-heon. I am here on the scene at the shopping mall where the incident occurred."]

What fan would be in their right mind after seeing the Oppa they stanned get caught in a Gate?

What's more, the life of the Oppa who had just made a pinky promise with her was now uncertain. So it was only natural for Ha-ra to run back to the mall and burst into tears while clinging to the first person she saw.

The only problem was who she chose.

Her target was a reporter from a major broadcast station who had rushed over to cover the sudden appearance of the Gate. And the moment Ha-ra latched onto him was just ten seconds before he went live.

The image of high schooler Kang Ha-ra, snot and tears streaming down her face as she wailed about her Oppa, was broadcast live across the nation—along with the contrasting image of the reporter, who let out a deep sigh and wiped the girl's runny nose with the hem of his suit jacket.

Naturally, the scene was immortalized on X-Tube. The view count exploded, literally. It was said to be the highest view count in the history of that broadcast station's X-Tube channel.

The broadcast station, high on the excitement, churned out follow-up videos like crazy.

Stories about the handsome reporter, whose on-air debut was hijacked by a high school girl but who handled it with composure, circulated through every online community.

So what did Kang Ha-ra get out of it?

At the time, Kang Ha-ra achieved the greatest gift a fangirl could give her Oppa.

Real-time search ranking: 1. Ugi Oppa

2. Kwon Wook

3. Who is Kwon Wook

4. Ugi Oppa high school girl

...Of course, the "Oh, Really" Man would awaken as an S-class in the Gate that day and topping the real-time search rankings would become a daily occurrence for him, but that's a story for later.

In any case, as a reward for her great achievement, Kang Ha-ra was beaten so badly she could have raised dust on a rainy day.

“You wretched girl! I'm so embarrassed I can't even show my face in public!”

I did say that "I snuck out without my mom knowing" was the foreshadowing, didn't I?

That evening, her entire family, gathered around the dinner table, watched Kang Ha-ra's tear-and-snot show live on the news.

Her mother, who thought Ha-ra was at late-night study hall, was dumbfounded. Her father dropped his spoon. Her younger brother just kept saying, "Whoa, crazy. Whoa," while recording the TV screen with his smartphone.

“That whole 'all first-grades on the mock exam' thing was a lie, wasn't it?! Where's the report card!”

Ha-ra had nothing to say to her mother's furious demand. If she said she'd given it to her idol Oppa, she would only get hit more.

In the end, with a sniffling Ha-ra in front of her, her mother even called her homeroom teacher to confirm. Her father, trying to act dignified, pretended to stop her, saying, "Now, now, there's no need to advertise our family's shame to the world!" but he was the one whose ears perked up the most to hear the teacher's reply.

The next day, her homeroom teacher cackled, "Oh, you troublemaker," and pinched Ha-ra's cheek as she arrived at school. Her best friend, Jia, tried to comfort her with a smile.

“What would you have done if you weren't good at studying?”

She'd been fine when her teacher pinched her cheek, and she'd been fine when kids from other classes pointed and whispered, "Is that her? The Ugi Oppa girl?" on her way to class.

But the moment she heard Jia's words, a surge of anger welled up inside her. She didn't know why. Thinking back now, Jia's comment was probably just the trigger.

"We raised a girl just for her to go out and shame the family."

"If you weren't at least good at studying, a kid like you would be..."

Her parents, who had hurled those words at her all night. The pile of torn posters and album debris that had accumulated in front of her as she knelt and cried.

In the end, Ha-ra lost her temper and yelled at Jia.

“Is that really what you should be saying to me right now?”

Jia was flabbergasted by her outburst.

“Hey, I was just trying to cheer you up! Why are you getting mad?”

They fought right before lunch. In the end, Jia left Ha-ra alone and went to eat.

Ha-ra stayed behind in the empty classroom, trying to console herself. *It's okay. Everyone will forget once I get to college.*

Even though she was still being immortalized across every online community, and even though at school she'd gone from "non-existent bookworm #1" to "that Ugi Oppa girl." Even though at home, her allowance had been cut, her things confiscated, and she'd been warned, "If you do anything to stand out before you get into college, you'll be kicked out of this house!"

Anyway, it would all be forgotten once she got to college.

She had her doubts about whether it would actually be forgotten, but if she didn't at least think that way, she felt like she'd just keep crying, so she forced her happy thoughts into overdrive.

*It's fine. I'm going to be a law student. I'll get into Hankuk University's law school, and then I'll laugh in front of Ugi Oppa and say something like, 'Remember when I got immortalized online because I was so worried about you?'*

The fact that her precious "Ugi Oppa" still hadn't been rescued from the Gate was an inconvenient truth that interfered with her happy thoughts, so she conveniently ignored it.

So, did Kang Ha-ra become a law student?

No.

Of course not.

She should have realized it back then—the day a Gate exploded after she'd gotten all first-grades on her mock exam, the day her tear-and-snot-filled breakdown after sneaking off to a fan signing was broadcast nationwide.

That Kang Ha-ra's life never went according to plan.