translation by mourningmoor
“Roa hyung.”
In the car heading back to the company, Jaewon, who had been searching for concert reactions, came across a newly posted thread on an idol community and called out to Roa.
“Hm?”
“This… says it’s a sighting photo of Channie hyung.”
Jaewon handed his phone to Roa, who was sitting beside him.
Roa took the phone and tilted his head slightly.
“His clothes…”
Roa and Jaewon recalled the black padded jumper Ichan had been wearing when they left the concert venue earlier.
“It’s the same?”
“Right? The piercing placement, the gray hair too… It really looks like hyung, doesn’t it?”
But Roa frowned and shook his head.
“That’s impossible. That’s Incheon Airport, and we left the Gymnastics Arena only ten minutes ago.”
It wasn’t physically possible. Yet, saying that the man in the photo wasn’t Ichan felt just as impossible. No, his facial features were too blurry in the low-quality photo to tell for sure, but the outfit, the ring, the piercing, even the sneakers—everything matched exactly.
So, Roa sent Ichan a message.
Hyungnim, where are you?
But the number “1” next to the message didn’t disappear.
“Why? He’s not reading it?”
Roa leaned forward and looked out the front window.
Ichan should be in the black van driving ahead of them.
They had clearly seen him get in, and the van had left before theirs, heading straight to the company. That meant the probability of the man in the photo being Ichan was zero.
‘What am I trying to confirm here?’
And yet, an eerie sense of déjà vu crawled up his spine, making his hairs stand on end.
Hasn't something like this happened before?
He called Hanjoon.
The phone rang about three times before Hanjoon picked up.
—Mm. What’s up?
His voice was thick with sleep. Roa must have woken him up.
“Hyungnim. I’m sorry, but is Ichan hyung with you?”
There was some rustling, as if he was checking, and then Hanjoon’s drowsy voice returned.
—Yeah. He’s sleeping.
“He’s sleeping?”
—Yeah, he said not to wake him up until we get there.
“Ah, I see. Then you should get some rest too, hyungnim.”
Roa hung up.
Right. Of course. There’s no way it’s him.
Everyone was exhausted from the concert. There’s no way he would’ve gone all the way to Incheon Airport.
It wasn’t even physically possible.
Unless he had some kind of teleportation ability, how could he have gotten there?
That thought had barely finished forming when—
“What if hyung really went?”
Jaewon joked.
“Like, what if he actually teleported and is just zooming all over the place?”
Jaewon laughed at his own joke and kept rambling on.
But Roa couldn’t laugh it off so easily.
Because, for a fleeting moment, he seriously thought—if it was Ichan, wouldn’t that actually be possible?
Then he let out a hollow laugh, like air escaping from a deflating balloon.
What kind of nonsense.
The absurdity of his own thoughts made him laugh even more.
“Hey. Then what, the Ichan hyung sleeping in the van is a hologram or a clone technique or something?”
Just then, the “1” on the message chat disappeared.
* * *
Roa
Hyungnim, where are you?
I furrowed my brows as I checked Roa's message.
He knows full well I’m in the car, so why would he send something like this?
Did the clone I left behind with duplication magic get caught or something?
In the car. Why?
I quickly sent a reply and looked at the Demon King.
“I have to go.”
“I have to go too. That brat Noah hates being alone.”
What nonsense. Anyone listening would think Yoo Noah and the Demon King were family. When they’re nothing more than predator and prey.
“You and Yoo Noah seem close. Good for you. Try to get along.”
Giving the Demon King a light pat on the shoulder, I slipped into the shadows of a secluded corner of the airport and hid my body. Then, I returned straight to the van.
Just as I merged with my clone, the car jolted, and my body lurched violently.
Hanjoon, who was sitting in the back seat, grabbed onto his seat and peeked over.
“Did you hit your head?”
“No. The car shook, so I got startled and woke up.”
Straightening my tilted body, I checked the message again.
Roa
Hyungnim, there’s a sighting report saying they saw you at Incheon Airport. (Link)
A sighting report at Incheon Airport? Damn.
I clicked the link Roa sent and was directed to a post on an idol fan community.
The person standing side by side with a man in a black suit, having a conversation—that was undoubtedly me. And the man in the black suit was the Demon King.
The text under the photo was even more ridiculous.
‘From the side, it’s Kang Ichan. From the back, it’s Kang Ichan. Even if you do a backflip while looking, it’s Kang Ichan. I just arrived in Korea to see L.I.T’s concert tomorrow, and now I see Kang Ichan here? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ What kind of luck is this.’
Then, the comment section exploded.
└ Is that really Ichan?
└ ㅇㅇ It’s definitely Ichan. The features are blurry, but the facial structure, the ring, the piercing placement—it’s totally him.
└ Wait, but the members just left Jamsil in the car only ten minutes ago. How is he in Incheon Airport already? Is that even possible?
└ That’s what I’m saying. There was a paparazzi cam uploaded earlier. He got into the car with Hanjoon.
└ Then who’s the person in the photo? No matter how you look at it, it’s Kang Ichan. Even the outfit is exactly the same as the one in the paparazzi cam when he left the venue.
Just then, another text message arrived.
2000-Year-Old Piece Trash
Damn. Now there’s going to be rumors everywhere.
This bastard must’ve seen the post too.
It was just a simple message, but I could practically hear the sinister laughter in his voice.
Ignoring Yoo Noah’s message, I sent a reply to Roa.
What is this? Do I have a doppelgänger or something?
A reply came instantly.
Roa:
It’s either edited, or it’s a fan of yours, hyungnim. They copied your outfit exactly.
Editing would make more sense, because no matter how much of a fan someone was, there’s no way they could replicate the entire look that perfectly.
On top of that, people in the comments were already convinced that the person in the photo was Kang Ichan. The biggest question being—why the hell would Kang Ichan go straight to Incheon Airport right after the concert?
Maybe he was seeing off someone who attended today’s concert? Something like that?
└ Who was at today’s concert?
└ Kim Jeongsoo was there, and Kim Junmo, and I think Lee Hanwoo too.
└ Talent Sung Jisoo was there too. That guy who always brags about being a L.I.T fan.
└ The former child actor?
Better not be a woman ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ ㅁㅊ Absolutely not.
└ Who said it was? I just meant I hope it’s not.
Whoa, I checked Sung Jisoo’s Instagram. She left for Paris right after the concert. Isn’t that where she went?
└ ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ No. No. Are you crazy?
└ There’s no way. Absolutely no way.ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Wait, why is the conversation heading this way? Who even is Sung Jisoo?
I typed ‘Sung Jisoo’ into the portal site’s search bar. A page full of information about a flashy-looking woman popped up.
“What the hell? Why are they trying to link me with someone like this?”
Just then, a message arrived from Roa—not in our private chat, but in the L.I.T group chat.
Roa:
Hyungnim. As soon as we get to the company, we need to do an N Live. We have to prove you’re at the company, not the airport.
Jaewon:
I’ll start the live as soon as I step out of the car, so everyone, fix your hair before you get out. Hanjoon hyung, brush your hair and wipe your drool.
Hanjoon:
Worry about yourself first.
Three minutes after that last exchange, the car came to a stop in front of the company.
N Live had already started.
As I got out of the van, Jaewon, who was filming the live, approached while capturing me and Hanjoon on camera.
“Everyone, great job today. We’re live right now, so please say something to Filament. Starting with our leader.”
“Thank you for coming to today’s concert, everyone. Did you all get home safely? We just arrived at the company, and I really want to get inside and rest for tomorrow.”
Hanjoon laughed and threw an arm around my shoulder.
“Our dear leader Kang was nodding off so much on the way here that I almost got carsick from watching.”
The members were sticking together, making sure to cement my alibi, refusing to let a single rumor form.
Incheon Airport? Don’t make me laugh.
The distance from Jamsil Gymnastics Arena to Incheon Airport is huge. How could I have been there in that timeframe? And even if I had been there, how would I have made it back here in ten minutes?
Our alibi was airtight. Whether that photo was edited or a fake Kang Ichan—well, that was up to everyone else to decide.
That was the message we were sending.
It was the first time I had ever felt so reassured by these guys.
* * *
Yoojung found the posts on SNS and the idol fan community a bit absurd. The person who uploaded the eyewitness account must have been a muggle fan who didn’t really understand how things worked in this world.
At the very least, they should have checked when the members left the concert venue before posting something like that.
How does it make sense that he was spotted at Incheon Airport just 10 minutes after leaving?
For a brief moment, Universe was on fire.
If things had gone slightly differently, this could have been Ichan’s second scandal.
If the members hadn’t done an N Live, all sorts of rumors would have spread.
Still, they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
Yoojung immediately posted on Universe and Twittle.
Summary of today’s ridiculous happening.
Please, let’s try to think properly like ‘earthlings’.
No matter how capable our Kang Leader is, he’s not a superhuman or a magician.
He’s not even Hong Gildong (T.N.: A legendary Korean folk hero known for appearing everywhere at once), so how would that even be possible?
Below are official videos of Kang Ichan by timestamp, so judge for yourselves.
If rumors like this keep spreading, NASA is going to come after our Kang Leader. Okay?
(Link) LIT concert departure video
(Link) Moment each member gets into their car
(Link) Kang Leader and Jundaeng’s farewell greeting♡♡
(Link) N Live_LIT: Filaments, thank you for today♥
And with that, the ridiculous situation was being wrapped up.
The Archmage, lying on his bed at the dorm, let out a long sigh as he read Yoojung’s post.
"Now that my face is known, I’m not free to move like this anymore. I need to come up with another way."