Chapter 43: Change of Course.

Seo-ah could feel her nerves starting to fray.

Did they really think she wouldn’t notice?

She could feel the gazes directed at her.

The stares that had continued ever since the photoshoot.

Well, she had expected this much when she agreed to it.

Especially since her own blood relative was currently one of the most famous mutants—of course the attention would only grow.

Even the aura Seo-ah gave off in the photoshoot wasn’t any different from that of a professional model…………

So she had no choice but to live her school life under a level of attention she had never experienced before.

And that brought her an amount of stress beyond what she had imagined.

It would’ve been one thing if people showed their interest openly, but it was the subtle, sneaky glances that kept gnawing away at her nerves.

Normally, she would’ve brushed it off thinking, “People probably don’t care that much about me,” but this had already gone far beyond that.

There were the stares from guys who clearly had some ideas in their heads, and from girls who were jealous of those guys’ attention.

Sure, there were some kind looks mixed in…… but mostly, it was that kind of gaze.

It wasn’t like she had never experienced this kind of attention before.

According to her older sister Seo-hyun, if people didn’t know Seo-ah was her sister, she would be seen as a nearly perfect girl.

But recently, those stares were becoming more and more blatant.

To the point where even someone as thick-skinned as her was starting to feel it.

Fine, whatever. Let’s say she’s become a public figure.

Maybe she’d get used to this attention eventually.

That’s what she thought……………

But Seo-ah had clearly underestimated the public’s interest.

She had no choice but to admit it herself.

People who normally would’ve just passed by thinking, “Oh, she’s pretty,” after a quick glance.

Were now looking straight at her and asking for her autograph.

And it didn’t stop at autographs.

There were plenty of rude people who asked to take photos with her.

She was being treated like an actual celebrity.

Seo-ah was utterly exhausted by it all.

Can’t they just tone it down, please?

If it were classmates from her department, that would be one thing—but at some point, students from Business and Economics started coming to see her after hearing the rumors.

That was just how people drawn to fame tended to act.

Seo-ah was on the verge of losing it.

She just wanted to focus on studying at university, and had only just started catching up with her classes—but now there were far too many people getting in the way.

Even when she tried to go to the library to study for exams, there were always people approaching her like she was some celebrity, handing her autograph books.

Each time that happened, she couldn’t just send them away, so half in resignation, she would scribble her name and hand it back.

‘I shouldn’t have done the shoot at all.’

Who would’ve thought that something she did out of curiosity would snowball into something so overwhelming?

Seo-ah let out a sigh.

Seeing her like that, her classmate Hye-jin asked with concern.

“You okay?”

“……No.”

“Geez, look at how people flock to you now that you’re famous…………….”

“Exactly.”

“Looking at you, it really feels like being half-famous is the most annoying thing ever.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

“So, what are you gonna do?”

“Dunno. For now・・・・・・ I think I just have to wait it out. People’s attention is like a boiling pot—it heats up fast but cools down just as quickly.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I’ll just respond appropriately and not make a fuss.”

That was the choice Seo-ah made.

In a situation like this, the moment she lost her temper, everything would just get messier.

People’s gazes were surveillance cameras, their mouths were loudspeakers broadcasting what they saw, and their hands were daggers that cut at the heart.

Even if she was known to be pretty tough, in the end, she was still just a college student.

The moment that attention turned malicious, Seo-ah knew it would wear her down.

The moment she showed her true self, or revealed the dreams she had admired, it was something she had to be prepared for.

With that in mind, she endured.

The title changed from Director to Chief, but the work we did didn’t really change.

So……………. I didn’t really have anything to do. I just had to go back to being a college student.

That’s how it should’ve gone………… What the heck is that zombie?

“Uuuaaaaah………….”

It’s been a while since I’ve heard Yoon Seo-ah make a sound like that. The last time was probably back when she was cramming all day for exams.

“Something happen?”

“……Yeah.”

Even so, the fact that she wasn’t avoiding me made it clear—she had something she wanted to talk to me about.

That kid—she has moments like this now and then, without making it obvious.

Whenever she did, it usually meant a serious conversation was about to happen, so I dropped the playful tone.

“What is it? Is it a continuation of what happened last time?”

“A continuation… maybe? No, calling it that feels a bit off…..”

“Just tell me clearly what happened.”

“So…………….”

She told me what had happened to her since then. The main point was this:

She couldn’t do anything because of how famous she had become.

She felt overwhelmed by the knife-like stares from people around her.

‘I think I know what that feels like.’

I’ve grown pretty numb to that kind of attention ever since becoming a dragon, but for her, it must’ve been a lot of pressure.

Even the kind of looks she used to ignore—now that she knows they’re directed at her, they’d make it impossible to do anything.

I let out a sigh.

I had a feeling it would come to this.

Fame is a pain.

It’s annoying, and at the same time, you can’t even lash out at it carelessly.

In my case, I’m doing this to improve public perception of mutants, and I’ve got a pretty big title hanging over my head, so I’ve learned to accept it…………….

But for her—who got roped into this just for being associated with me—it must be nothing but a headache.

Sure, she agreed to the modeling offer, probably because of a tiny lingering desire inside her…….. but for something that stemmed from just a little bit of longing, the situation she’s in now is pretty brutal.

“What do I do in this kind of situation?”

“What else can you do? You just have to endure it. Or get used to it.”

“You say that so easily.”

“Well, yeah… I’m a dragon, so I’ve gotten desensitized to that stuff. Or, you could just be shameless.”

“Be shameless? Then I’d get torn apart by every random person out there. You can say that because you’re strong, unnie, but me—gh…….”

“Or you can just use me as a shield. You think anyone would dare mess with you if I’m around?”

“No way. That’d just make things harder for you, unnie.”

I let out a scoff at her words.

What’s she saying now?

Since when did she care so much about me?

“Hey, since when were you so worried about me? I could just toss out one comment to the reporters and shut them up.”

“……g?”

“I’m telling you, don’t let them bother you. It’s not like the public holds all the power. Even if they shout with megaphones and stab at you with their keyboards, that doesn’t apply to you.”

“Still, even so…………….”

“It’s because you let things slide. Don’t go back to your old stance. Right now, you’re the younger sister of a monster who could turn Seoul into a sea of fire with just one breath.”

“If you don’t like something, just say you don’t like it. You say that to me all the time—so why can’t you say it to them?”

“Is that really okay?”

“It’s okay. You want me to be honest? At first, even I wasn’t so sure.

But now, I can say this with confidence: human weapons don’t work on me.

Even if they launched a nuke, I’d be fine.”

“Wait, why is this suddenly turning into that kind of conversation?”

“Because you’re being stupid and just putting up with it.

If you don’t like something, say you don’t.

The public does have some sense—they’ll figure out what happens if they keep pushing you.

They’ll start focusing on the ones bothering you.

Or if it really comes down to it, should I go run my mouth to some higher-ups?”

At my words, my little sister poked at her temples with her fingers like she had a headache.

Seriously, why does she react like that after I finally lay it all out?

“I’m only holding back because I’m afraid it’ll blow up into something huge.

I just want to go to school like before.”

“The moment you accepted Jin-ha’s offer, the ‘like before’ option disappeared.

You better get that through your head.

I told you back when your photoshoot went up, didn’t I?”

“Back then, I didn’t think it was a big deal…………….”

“That attention isn’t going to fade easily.

You’re my sister, and on top of that, your photos turned out pretty great.

Of course people are going to be drawn to that kind of thing.”

“Haah…….”

“‘Change your career path?’”

“Either that, or just switch over to this field entirely.”

“Right. It’s not like you even decided what you want to do after majoring in Business anyway.

You just chose it because your grades were decent, and it seemed like a safe bet.”

“Well, I mean, that’s true, but………….”

“If you’re not doing Business because you’re passionate about it, don’t you think it makes more sense to go with something that uses your actual talent?”

“So what do you want me to do, exactly?”

“You just said it yourself. That being half-famous is a pain. So then………… instead.”

“Instead?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to become properly famous instead of half-famous?”

“You mean, you want me to become a model?”

“Yeah. If you’re gonna do it, might as well be Jin-ha’s exclusive model.

From what I’ve seen, I don’t think Jin-ha’s totally uninterested either.”

“Then what about university?”

“Drop out.

Didn’t you say the annoying people in your department are about to start up again?

It’s better not to get tangled up with people like that anymore.”

“Wait, says the one who became a Chief just to avoid dropping out……..”

“College is something that matters a lot to me. But for you, it’s not, right?”

At my words, she seemed to fall into thought.

“Dropping out is a bit much… What if I just transfer departments—to Clothing and Textiles or something?”

“That works too.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah. And in the meantime, just stick with me. That’s probably best.”

“…….”

“Whether it’s autograph requests or anything else, your skilled assistant here will handle it all.

You just stay by my side and slip away when it’s time.”

“…Thanks.”

“Wow, hearing you say thank you to me is incredibly rare.”

“Ugh, seriously. I finally thank you for once and this is how you act……!”