translation by mourningmoor
Oppa? I don't think so?
I tilted my head slightly with a subtle smile, and the fan shook their head slightly.
《No, no. What are you talking about? A twenty-six-year-old calling a nineteen-year-old oppa?》
"Wow, I-I mean, if you're good-looking, then you're oppa, right?"
Ha, how many times have I heard this today?
While Kang Ichan is generally considered to be good-looking, he wasn't exactly an attractive person. His gaze was dark, and his aura was dull.
So what I mean is, the reason that countless compliments about him being good-looking come flying in is because of me.
Since the soul inside is shining, the vessel can't help but shine as well.
So, if you're good-looking, then you're oppa. In fact, I'm 292 years older than this woman right now.
"Is that so? Then, just for today, let's go with oppa."
With a bright smile and a wink, I signed the album of the twenty-six-year-old fan with a large signature. Below it, I wrote the following message:
<Pretty Juhee-ssi. Thank you for becoming L.I.T's first filament. —Ichan oppa♡>
Then, the fan's inner thoughts screamed loudly.
《He's insane. Insane. Not only is he a thousand times better looking in person, but he's also so kind. Truly God-Ichan, Light-Ichan.》
《Wow, and is he for real? Even though he's wearing makeup, there’s not a single pore visible. Is his skin for real? He has the sweetest skin. Our babies, let's go for a cosmetics CF.》
I smiled at the exaggerated thoughts and extended my hand. The twenty-six-year-old fan blushed and took my hand.
"Feel free to ask me anything you're curious about."
《Curious about something? I have so many. Really, really many. I even wrote them all down on a Post-it last night, but apparently, Post-its aren’t allowed here. Ugh.》
《I really have so many, but I can’t think of a single one. What do I do?》
And then, the question she threw was:
“How old were you when you became this good-looking, oppa?”
Ha, this fan is kind of cute.
“Hmm... Since the beginning of time?”
At that, the fan’s lips parted in disbelief, and she stared at me with dazed eyes. Her inner thoughts also seemed hazy, making it hard to see clearly.
I guess my joke was childish. She must have been really surprised.
To apologize, I gently shook the hand I was holding with a smile.
"Just kidding, just kidding."
But at that moment, her inner thoughts exploded.
Wow, it was the loudest inner voice I had ever heard, so I ended up turning off the presence of her thoughts.
"Oppa, you're just... amazing. Saying you’ve been good-looking since the beginning of time, that's totally the truth."
"Do you really think I'm that good-looking?"
"Yes, yes."
The fan, who had even tears in her eyes, nodded her head so hard it seemed like her neck would fall off.
To her, I smiled brightly and expressed my gratitude.
"Thank you. I appreciate you seeing me in such a good light."
It wasn’t just a formal greeting.
Since coming here and meeting fans face-to-face, I've been amazed at how blindly and passionately they can like me. It's truly surprising.
In this world, I can’t offer them wealth, peace, prosperity, safety, or anything at all.
"Oppa. This is a fan item I made myself..."
The twenty-six-year-old fan placed a crown on the table.
"Could you wear this and take a picture?"
This... this is exactly that. The treasure I saw in a documentary about the British royal family. The crown that is placed on the king’s head during the coronation. It looks like she made a replica of it.
Usually, people say they have it made by professionals, but if she made this herself, her craftsmanship is extraordinary. And just think about the effort she put into it.
"Did you really make this yourself?"
"Yes, it's not made of real diamonds, but I made it stitch by stitch with original Swarovski crystals."
"Wow, it's so beautiful."
I leaned forward to take a closer look.
I know fans love putting things like this on my head themselves.
"Could you put it on me?"
As expected, the twenty-six-year-old fan, thrilled, even shuffled her feet in excitement before shyly placing the crown on my head.
"Thanks to you, Juhee-ssi, I feel like I’m becoming a king."
"Oppa, you're already my king... King Ichan."
I smiled happily at her reply and stood up from my seat.
"Where should I stand?"
"Huh?"
At my question, the fan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Juhee-ssi, the camera."
"Ah, over there."
Typically, people who attend fan signings come fully equipped with camera gear. So, when it's their turn to get a signature, they set their camera on a tripod, fix the angle on their favorite, and record a video. If that’s not possible, they often help each other out, forming a kind of support network.
But this fan...
She was a pro.
The camera she pointed to was one of the top-tier cameras I had seen today, a massive, high-end model.
I was a bit surprised, but the expectation that we might get some really good photos began to rise.
"Then, let's take a picture together."
Leaning forward, I turned the fan toward the camera, gently placing my hand on her shoulder.
"Kimchi—" (korea equivalent of cheese!)
I brought my face closer to the fan's, giving my brightest smile. If the video turned out well, the picture would likely come out just as beautifully. I waited with anticipation.
* * *
The last part of the fan signing.
It was time for the Q&A.
After gathering questions through the official fan cafe, we only needed to answer the selected ones.
Originally, we were supposed to handle it ourselves, but announcer Do Junwoo stayed until the end to take over the hosting. Thanks to him, the Q&A session wrapped up without any trouble.
"Now, the real, real last question."
All the questions on the sheet had already been answered, so what question was left?
Everyone opened their eyes wide and looked at announcer Do Junwoo.
In that moment, announcer Do Junwoo grinned mischievously and made eye contact with me.
"Our leader, Kang Ichan."
Then, the microphone in Jaewon’s hand was passed through Roa to me.
"Yes."
"Today, the filaments got to meet Ichan-ssi in person, and they’re all going wild, saying you're so handsome."
Yes, yes. I’ve been hearing that nonstop today.
Even on screen, I'm considered good-looking, but in person, they say I'm several times better looking.
"How does that make you feel?"
How does it make me feel?
They’re only saying that because they haven’t seen the real me.
My true face... it’s no joke. If they saw it in person, they’d need to be prepared for a heart attack.
After taking a brief deep breath, I smiled as humbly as possible and answered. I gently softened the statement, saying, ‘Actually, Kang Ichan’s face isn’t even really a face.’
"I... actually think I have a pretty ordinary face, but it seems like everyone sees it in a good light. I've even heard people say I'm good-looking with this face. Thank you."
In that moment, over 200 inner voices began to chorus in unison.
《Blasphemy!》, 《Blasphemy!》, 《Blasphemy!》, 《Blasphemy!》...
What is this, some endless festival of blasphemy?
"Ichan-ssi. That’s a bit too much."
Announcer Do Junwoo frowned, laughing as he teased me.
"If your face is ordinary, then I must be hiding mine. I’d have to walk around with something covering my face!"
The inner thoughts were even more dramatic.
《Wow. To say something so shamelessly! Kang Leader really did something today. He nailed a hammer right into the hearts of 50 million people.》
"I’m willing to bet that tonight, an article will come out saying, <L.I.T. leader Kang Ichan: I have an ordinary face. Blasphemy was uttered.>"
* * *
Do Junwoo’s words became a reality that night.
As videos of our fan signing event went up on various communities and social media, terms like <L.I.T.>, <L.I.T. fan signing event>, <Kang Ichan>, and <L.I.T. leader Kang Ichan blasphemy> trended on search engines.
Roa quickly relayed the news to me.
"Hyung-nim, hyung-nim!"
It was when I had just finished showering and came out.
Roa, who was sitting at the living room table, flipping through his laptop, called me over.
"Yeah?"
I shook my head a bit, approaching, and Roa turned the laptop around to show me the screen.
"Hyung-nim, I think... we’ve become famous."
At those words, Siu, who was making honey tea in the kitchen, and Hanjoon, who had been gaming in the corner, both came over.
"What’s going on?"
"Look at this. Our SNS followers are increasing like crazy."
"Hyung, hyung. We’re trending on Silk too!"
Jaewon, who had gone to the bedroom to put on a facial mask, came running out holding his phone.
"Really? What’s going on?"
Even Hanjoon, who usually stayed indifferent to things like this, checked the real-time trends and looked completely shocked.
Then Roa, who loved analyzing things, quickly briefed us on what he had figured out.
"It looks like the dance break section was edited separately and uploaded to SNS and YouTube."
In fact, the dance break had been specifically planned as a segment to create this kind of buzz.
Director Gong Seokho had poured his heart into creating the choreography, and spent two sleepless nights with the younger members, dedicating himself to the practice.
Fortunately, the response on-site exceeded expectations, and he was confident that if it was edited well and uploaded to NewTube, it would definitely create a buzz.
But the reaction came way too quickly.
"Didn't the PR Team say they were going to upload it tomorrow?"
"Yes, but a fan uploaded it first."
Roa quickly answered my question.
Then, Jaewon, excited, jumped in.
"Wow, talk about speed! They're faster than our company."
"The editing skills are amazing, too."
"Better than the company’s, even."
When Siu admired the impressive editing skills, Hanjoon nodded in agreement, and they both, in unison, expressed their curiosity about the person who uploaded the video.
"Who could it be? @JUHEE?"
"This person. A famous NewTuber. You know, the one who analyzes singers' vocal techniques and actors' voice training. 'MadJuhee.'"
Juhee? The same 26-year-old fan who kept calling me "oppa"?
That's right. With the camera angle in that position, it must be her... But wait, there are also clips shot from different angles mixed in.
"They used multiple cameras and edited it perfectly. Amazing."
At least three cameras must've been used to capture the stage. And then, the editing was flawless.
Ah, that noona. I should've done more for her.
"This isn’t the only video. There are also individual fan cams for each member."
* * *
It was truly chaotic.
They say you wake up famous overnight, but in our case, we became famous before even going to sleep.
This was all thanks to the hard work of our ever-diligent Filament fans.
According to the company's analysis:
Most of the first-generation Filaments seemed to be existing fans of other groups, with the hardcore ones leading the charge. The fanbase included home masters, popular YouTubers, professional content creators, and even announcers and reporters.
Apparently, all these Filaments rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
The company attributed it all to good luck and divine intervention.
But I don't agree. This wasn't luck at all.
The majority of fans who attended the fan signing event had different colors of mana swirling around them.
In this world, the darker the color of mana, the more proactive, active, and persistent a person is. And the stronger that type of mana, the quicker it responds to me.
In other words, it was people with that kind of mana who gathered around me.
Did the heavens help?
That's a joke.
It was I, Jesquière, the 9th-circle Archmage, who saved the dying idol group L.I.T.