How?
How the hell did they recognize June when almost his entire face was covered?
June quickly looked back from where Alex, Hyunwoo, and the strange guy were standing to see if they had noticed the commotion. June sighed in relief when he saw they were still busy talking among themselves.
"You're June, right?" the young, short-haired girl exclaimed as she looked into June's eyes.
"How did you know?" June whispered.
"Your eyes, duh," the long-haired one responded. "We saw you on Rising Stars."
[Deadline for mission: 26h, 8m, 34secs]
Are they finally going to ask for June's autograph right here?
He was about to ask the two girls to take this conversation somewhere else, but they were already chattering among themselves, leaving June speechless.
"Your face reveal was really awesome. My mom fell for you too."
"Right? Everything moved so quickly. Then, BAM BAM BAM! His handsome face was revealed. That was fucking legendary. I keep repeating the video over and over again."
"I gave you lots of stars!"
"Me too. I used my mom's card."
"Oh, wow. Did she get mad?"
"She didn't find out," the short-hair girl chuckled slyly.
June pursed his lips. He didn't want to interrupt the two since he didn't want to be rude to people who supported him on Rising Stars.
"Umm, do you need anything?" June asked, hoping they'd just ask for an autograph so June could finally accomplish his bonus mission and leave this alleyway. He glanced back once again and found that the three men were still conversing.
"Ah, right. What do we need, Rina? Do you want a picture?"
"Umm, a picture. Yeah, yeah! Can you take a picture with us," the long-haired girl, Rina, asked.
"A picture?" June asked.
An autograph, please!
Just ask for an autograph!
"Sure," June trailed off. Maybe they'd ask for his autograph later.
"But wait, I think I forgot my phone at the dorm, Hina," Rina said.
Hina, the short-haired girl, started rummaging through her belongings. "Wait, I forgot it too. Sorry, June. We came out in a hurry because we craved milk tea. Can you use your phone to take our pictures instead?
June was dumbfounded.
What kind of fans are these people? They wouldn't even be able to get this picture afterward!
"Please?" Hina asked. "I just want to take a picture with you."
June pursed his lips and stiffly nodded his head. "Okay..."
He brought out his phone, and the two girls immediately exclaimed.
"Aigo, how old is your phone now? My little sister has a better model than yours," Rina said.
"Give me that," Hina said, opening the camera app. "We look like we're from the 1990s. No wonder you don't have any pre-debut pictures online. Your phone's camera isn't good at all."
Gee, thanks.
It wasn't like June wasn't aware of that already.
"Don't worry, brother. We'll give you more stars so you can debut and finally get a new phone," Hina cheerfully assured him.
"I appreciate it," June said through gritted teeth. "Do you still want a picture?"
"Oh, yes! Go ahead. Just use the flash since I'm afraid we wouldn't be seen with the current quality," Hina responded.
"Flash?" June asked with wide eyes.
Without any warning, Hina held his phone up and snapped a picture. The bright flash blinded their eyes, and his phone also had an obnoxious camera-snapping sound, which resonated in the dark alley.
June was sure that the three men had noticed them now.
"Aiya, it didn't even focus on us," Rina said as she observed the picture. "But it's okay. At least I can say that we took a picture with you. You're really on fire these days. Don't forget us when you become famous, alright?"
"Sure," June awkwardly chuckled. "I have to go," he quickly said, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible in case Alex and Hyunwoo would check out what was going on.
"Oh, stay safe!" they said, waving their hands enthusiastically.
"You guys stay safe, too," June seriously said. "This seems like a very dangerous alleyway. Bye!" he quickly said, almost sprinting away from the alley.
Once again, that was a close call.
He didn't know who those two trainees met in the alleyway, but it seemed that he was a very dangerous man.
The two girls June left behind were squealing to themselves as they walked back to their dorms.
"He's very kind, isn't he? I bet other celebrities won't even let us take a picture on their phones," Rina chimed.
"Of course, he's kind. It's already quite evident in the show," Hina said. "But I think I like him more now. Let's post our encounter on Navel!"
June muttered curses under his breath as he walked away from the alley. He didn't even know where his feet were taking him.
June looked at his watch and sighed. It was nearing midnight, and he still wasn't able to accomplish his mission.
Instead, he mainly gained a headache from interacting with that high school part-timer and palpitations from the very near encounters with Alex and Hyunwoo.
Before June realized it, he had made his way to the subway station.
Shit.
Did he walk that far already?
He sighed and suddenly felt tired, so he leaned against the wall to rest for a while.
The wall he leaned on wasn't so stable. It was a bit flimsy, and it was too bright that it hurt his eyes.
June clicked his tongue and turned around to look at the wall.
Everything seemed to annoy him at this point.
As he turned around with a glare, he suddenly stopped when he saw familiar eyes looking back at him.
No, it wasn't anyone he knew.
Because it was him — June.
In particular, it was the moment when June revealed his face during the eliminations. His skin was glowing, and his cheeks and lips were unusually pink. It seemed that they had edited him into a San Rio character.
However, above all the exaggerated editing, June found it fascinating. His face was literally placed on such a big LED screen where multiple people could come and see it.
Surrounding his face were numerous post-it notes of varying shapes and colors.
"My Black Kitty June! You made me get into K-Pop again. I'm looking forward to your performances!"
"I fell in love with your pink mask in the beginning, but I fell deeper when I saw your face."
"You're the best idol vocalist for me. Keep going, June!"
"You make me believe that I can become an idol too. Fighting to the two of us, June!"
June read the letters with an ambiguous feeling. To be honest, he's only doing this to keep Mei Ling alive; he really didn't expect to have this kind of impact on other people.
As he read the other letters, a small gasp was heard from beside him.
He looked to the side and saw a lady looking at him with wide eyes.
