translation by mourningmoor
The media has been buzzing nonstop.
The Hallyu wave, which has been surging for several years, shows no signs of cooling down, and the backlash from racists, especially white supremacists, has been quietly growing.
Similar incidents occurred two years ago when ARCHE was on their overseas tour. Guns were delivered to the hotels they stayed in, and death threats followed.
There was even a case where someone was caught trying to bring a bomb into a concert venue.
But the threats that were directed at ARCHE were actually carried out against LIT.
Bombings occurred at the Paris POP-UP store and the concert venue, and ultimately, the leader, Kang Ichan, was kidnapped.
A reporter who was chasing them reported it, but they lost track, and Kang Ichan was held captive by the assailants for a whole week, teetering on the brink of life and death.
However, taking advantage of lax surveillance, he escaped and hid in a tunnel by the river, evading pursuit.
Upon realizing they had lost Kang Ichan, the perpetrators immediately turned themselves in to the French police and confessed to all their crimes.
Kang Ichan borrowed a phone from a passerby and left a message for ARCHE’s Yoo Noah to come pick him up before passing out. The passerby protected Kang Ichan until Yoo Noah arrived.
Mina cried as she edited the article.
“Ichan. I’m sorry.”
If only I hadn’t lost track of the kidnappers, Ichan wouldn’t have suffered so much.
Sniffling, Mina picked up a can of beer next to her computer, but the cameraman quickly grabbed her hand.
“Ugh, seriously. Stop blaming yourself, Editor-nim. If you write the article while drinking beer like that, there’ll be three hundred million typos tomorrow.”
Then, he took the beer from her and set it far aside.
“But since we caught up and reported it, the net was tightened that much.”
Everyone says that.
Blade Entertainment even sent an official letter of gratitude.
But she couldn’t accept that gratitude straightforwardly, drowning in guilt.
The guilt of not being able to protect her ultimate bias.
So, when she heard the news that Kang Ichan had returned alive, she was overjoyed. That’s why she cried even more.
Because of the wounds on Ichan’s face in the photos taken by paparazzi.
How dare they hurt that precious face.
No matter how much she thought about it, she should have caught up with those kidnappers and smashed their faces in.
Yet, the events of that day felt like a distant dream.
That’s why it hurt even more.
Mina snatched the can of beer back from the cameraman and downed it in one go.
“Leave me alone. I’m just too happy.”
My baby. Thank you for coming back.
If something had happened to you, I would have had to endure the curses of ten million Filaments for the rest of my life.
“That’s why I’m so relieved. Leader Kang is alive.”
Then, she finished writing the article.
LIT’s leader, Kang Ichan, successfully escaped alone, breaking through the armed assailants’ encirclement, and bravely sent a survival message for ten million Filaments.
He is currently receiving treatment at Bordeaux Hospital in Paris and is scheduled to return to Korea tomorrow.
As newspapers poured out articles, voices of awakening rose from all walks of life.
Stop racism. #STOP_ASIAN_HATE
#STOP_ASIAN_HATE Ichan. Thank you so much for being alive.
The past week has been like hell for me because LIT was attacked by racists. As a white person, I am deeply ashamed of this incident. Please stop. #STOP_ASIAN_HATE
Is it a crime to be loved just because of your skin color or race? LIT is an artist for everyone, transcending skin color. #STOP_ASIAN_HATE
Of course, #STOP_ASIAN_HATE topped the real-time trends.
And a day later, the day Kang Ichan returned arrived.
From dawn, reporters and fans took over the airport.
Even before Ichan boarded the plane, chaos had already erupted here.
Twittle’s real-time trends were filled with hashtags like #The_King_Returns, #Come_Home_Now, #King_Ichan_Back_From_Hell, #LIT_Forever, and #STOP_ASIAN_HATE.
Juhee, who was checking the real-time trends on her phone, chuckled.
“It’s all our genre.”
Then, Inyoung beside her smiled.
“Right. Our genre has practically dominated the trends these past few days.”
Inyoung and Juhee returned to Korea five days ago.
It was just before Ichan was found.
The fandom had been in a state of mourning for days, but the news of Ichan’s escape turned it into a festive atmosphere.
And on the day the king returned, Kang Ichan’s home fans all rushed to Incheon Airport. The unusually large crowd surprised everyone.
After waiting at the airport for nearly sixteen hours, news finally came that Ichan’s plane had landed.
Inyoung, standing on a chair and holding up her camera, whispered quietly to Juhee.
“Unnie, actually, there’s something a bit strange.”
“Something strange?”
Juhee asked while adjusting the camera focus.
“Actually, there was a problem in the UK, so I arrived late in Paris. As soon as I got to Paris, I heard about the LIT incident.”
Since Inyoung had called Juhee at the time, Juhee also knew.
“Right. Both you and Mina unnie called me when I was wailing at the hospital, saying you had just arrived in Paris.”
Inyoung, who had spoken to Juhee on the phone, immediately rushed to Bordeaux Hospital.
“But my memory is a bit off.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I also saw Leader Kang in front of the hospital, just like Mina unnie.”
Since they both called around the same time, they must have arrived at the hospital around the same time.
“Maybe it was too shocking, but my memory is all jumbled. I think Leader Kang greeted someone, and I chased after him for a while. I think the car went near the concert venue.”
This diverges from Mina’s testimony.
She said the car headed to the outskirts, but Inyoung mentioned the concert venue.
Inyoung herself found it hard to believe.
“And then I don’t remember anything. All I remember is crying later when I heard the news.”
It was a bit of a funny story, but Juhee thought it was possible.
At that time, all the Filaments under the Paris sky were in the same situation.
They wished it had been a dream, or a lie.
Forget the massive accident, but Leader Kang going missing?
Fans fainted left and right. Irene even fainted and had to be hospitalized, so that says it all.
“That’s possible. I was so shocked that I have gaps in my memory too.”
At Juhee’s words, Inyoung, with a serious expression, lowered the camera she was holding.
“But what’s even more serious is that I have photos I don’t remember taking.”
“Photos?”
Juhee rummaged through the camera Inyoung was holding.
“This.”
Inyoung handed the camera viewfinder to Juhee.
“…What is this?”
Even Juhee, who knows everything about LIT, was seeing this for the first time.
Ichan’s outfit looked like what he wore on the day of the accident.
A white shirt and black slacks.
But the shirt was soaked in blood, turning it purple.
Ichan, with a solemn expression, raised his hand, and blue light filled the surroundings. The other members, looking at him, had tears streaming down their faces. It looked like a scene from a movie.
“Is this a new music video shoot?”
Inyoung shook her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember taking this, but it’s on my camera. I thought maybe I was hacked.”
Juhee also had a serious expression.
“I don’t know what… this is, but it looks really cool. It’s like… a wizard, right? Like the core story of LIT’s universe?”
Just then.
The sound of shutters clicking erupted, and cheers filled the airport.
* * *
Chaos erupted as soon as I got off the plane.
Thanks to the airport’s consideration, immigration and customs clearance were processed quickly.
That Demon King. He didn’t explain the details, but it seems he made an entire action movie.
During the escape, I fought with the kidnappers, and in the process, I got hold of their personal information? That’s why they had no choice but to turn themselves in and confess.
It all sounds so contrived, but people believe it.
Anyway, because of that, I’ve become a huge celebrity.
Before leaving the arrival hall, I stopped by the restroom to check the mirror one more time.
It didn’t feel right to wear a mask, so I took it off, and I didn’t wear sunglasses either. Of course, I didn’t put on any makeup.
The tear near my eyebrow was still there, and although the wound on my lip had healed a lot, it was still split.
“The fans are going to go crazy.”
Kim Chanyeong clicked his tongue.
Kim Chanyeong returned to Paris as soon as he saw the news about my discovery.
With Gyuhyung out of the picture, he had to personally escort the members back to Korea.
He said he had a hard time stopping the members from rushing to Paris after hearing the news.
When Kim Chanyeong met me in the special room at Bordeaux Hospital, he just stood there silently. His expression was ambiguous.
He didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, stuck in an awkward middle ground.
After standing there for a while, Kim Chanyeong walked over to the bed and said something ridiculous.
[You punk, after you disappeared… I had to clean up the mess. Wow, in all my life… I’ve never cried so much before.]
Then, he hugged me tightly.
Goosebumps rose all the way to my ears, but I didn’t push him away.
Then, we whispered quietly to each other.
[Let’s make this the first and last time.]
[Yeah. Let’s do that. This feels a bit off.]
He awkwardly smiled and let me go, but after that, he didn’t leave my side for a moment.
On the plane, in the restroom.
Even now, as he looked at my reflection in the mirror, he kept voicing his worries.
“The French government better hide those criminals well. The Filaments are talking about storming the prison. Seeing your face will only make things worse.”
I looked at Kim Chanyeong with a suspicious gaze.
For some reason, I can’t use one of the three divine powers, ‘Sensing Hearts,’ so I have no way of confirming if the memory manipulation worked.
So, I tested Kim Chanyeong a bit.
“Director, are you joking?”
“Huh? About what?”
“Do you really believe I was… kidnapped?”