Chapter 52 Ideal Type

Inside the COEX Mall located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Lim Soo-ha held the very first fansign event since his debut.

The number of fans at the venue was actually quite substantial, but the onlookers and curious passersby who came just to watch the excitement were clearly even more numerous.

Lim Soo-ha sat somewhat awkwardly on the stage, looking at the fans below who supported him with their hard-earned money, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He was an introverted person, the type who easily suffered from social anxiety.

Yet precisely because the company wanted to save a bit of money, they hadn't chosen a closed venue requiring checked tickets; instead, they opted for an open shopping mall in Seoul, successfully giving him an unintended desensitization training.

"Oppa, do you still remember me?" The person who approached was a young girl who looked like a junior high school student, with a round face and a timid look as she gazed at her beloved idol.

He surely remembered her, right?

Soo-ha oppa had specifically asked for her name right in front of the broadcasting station cameras.

"Ah-hyun?"

Facts proved that Lim Soo-ha's memory wasn't bad at all. After a brief moment of thought, he easily recognized the identity of the person before him.

Of course, credit was also due to Jung Ah-hyun herself, who was pretty and left a rather deep impression.

"So oppa really does remember me." Receiving this emotional acknowledgment from her idol, a brilliant smile blossomed on the girl's face.

She carefully retrieved a handmade little gift she had prepared long in advance from her bag and solemnly handed it into her idol's hands.

"Oppa, this is a little bracelet I wove myself. It's not worth much, so please don't look down on it..."

Compared to the fellow fans who brought flowers, dolls, or luxury accessories, the gift Ah-hyun brought looked rather plain, making the girl—who had been exceptionally excited to meet her idol—feel a bit of disappointment in her heart.

The bracelet wasn't worth much, and it wasn't woven very neatly either. She wondered if oppa would dislike it...

"It's quite pretty, you know." Lim Soo-ha gently pinched Jung Ah-hyun's little hand and then put the bracelet on right in front of her.

"There's also a handwritten letter!" Compared to her previous low spirits, Ah-hyun was now bouncing with excitement as she rummaged through her bag right in front of Lim Soo-ha.

As a fan, the thing one hopes for most is the idol's reciprocation of that genuine sincerity. Jung Ah-hyun was a devoted fan of Lim Soo-ha, and as a main vocal trainee, she particularly adored this senior who sang so wonderfully well.

It was just unfortunate that due to the busy schedule of trainee life, she was destined not to be a regular attendee of offline events and could only occasionally steal some time to come and see him like this.

She was fortunate; both times she made the effort to attend offline schedules, she successfully received special recognition from her idol, giving her a sense of happiness that her sincerity was valued.

"As for the handwritten letter, I'll read it after I take it back."

Stopping the security guard who tried to intervene, Lim Soo-ha smiled, tucked the letter into a nearby bag, and then pulled out a pen, preparing to get down to tonight's main business.

"Last time you said you were a YG trainee, how is it going now?"

"The company is forming debut groups for us, and I heard there's going to be some kind of internal survival reality show."

Talking about her impending debut, the girl before him became visibly excited. From a very young age, Jung Ah-hyun had nursed a dream of becoming a star.

She started out as a child model, and as she grew older, she passed an entertainment agency audition to become a YG trainee.

Through the survival of the fittest, after enduring blood and tears that ordinary people could scarcely imagine, the day of clearing away the clouds to see the bright moon was finally arriving.

"Then I wish you a smooth passage through the selection and that you become an artist soon."

"And also..."

"What else do you want to write?"

"I hope oppa can live a little more happily too."

Growing ever closer to the lifestyle of an artist, Jung Ah-hyun increasingly understood why the majority of senior artists suffered from mental health issues.

She hoped Lim Soo-ha could stay well and lead a happier, more joyful life.

"Alright." Lim Soo-ha was slightly stunned at first, then smiled to thank the fan for her support and blessings. Before the next fan came up on stage, he quietly called his manager over and whispered instructions.

A fansign event was naturally not as simple as just sitting and signing autographs. Under the vehement demands of the fans below the stage, Lim Soo-ha picked up the microphone and began to sing a famous track he had rehearsed countless times.

"Tonight I will send the fireflies of that day
To your windowsill
Um, that phrase 'I love you'
Our first kiss surfaces in my mind
So whenever you close your eyes
Um, going to a distant place
..."

At his own fansign event, Lim Soo-ha didn't choose the debut song that had given him a chance at winning Best Rookie; instead, he once again chose to "borrow" his labelmate senior's popularity, performing that masterpiece revered as a legendary song, "Through the Night."

His soothing, tender voice seemed to articulate a longing and affection for a lover. Clearly without ever uttering crude expressions like "I love you," he used heartwarming lyrics that ubiquitously fit the theme of "I love you."

Unsurprisingly, he effortlessly reaped the applause of the fans below.

Among them were inevitably some bold souls who had already started shouting "Husband."

Such live-performed romantic ballads possessed an especially lethal charm for the delusional fans present, and the shrieks of the fans practically drowned out the sound of his microphone.

Under the knowing, ambiguous gazes of the on-site staff members, he changed into a set of high school uniform, stepped back onto the stage, and made a gesture for quiet towards them.

An idol's words still held a bit of constraint; although there were still some screams at the scene, it had quieted down considerably compared to the previous commotion.

The fans, having quieted down, stared at him intently, eagerly anticipating more surprises prepared by their idol.

"What? Have we already reached the point between us where you ask about my ideal type?"

Hearing the probing question from the fans below, Lim Soo-ha was visibly startled for a moment before attempting to gloss it over with exaggerated physical gestures.

Yet under the repeated demands of the fans, Lim Soo-ha had no choice but to pick up the microphone once more and discuss this topic that easily became a sensitive point with everyone.

"Speaking of my ideal type, I suppose I like girls who are kind and cute? Because I myself have a rather quiet personality, my other half would ideally be a bit more lively."

Much like his seniors, whenever this topic came up, Lim Soo-ha's answers always skirted around the core issue, offering a relatively ambiguous and equivocal response that gave fans the chance to project themselves into it.

The fans below, listening to this clichéd response, didn't feel annoyed in the least; instead, they responded to their idol's words with a wave of screams.

Although he still felt a bit hot under the collar, fortunately he had managed to scrape through this segment. Heaven only knows how desperately he had wanted to describe his ideal type using Yoo Ji-min as a blueprint just now while answering.

Lim Soo-ha's first fansign thus concluded amidst a noisy and lively atmosphere. Wiping away his sweat, the young man hadn't even managed to settle comfortably into his car when a new schedule was handed into his hands.

"Huh? A CP pictorial shoot?"

"Hyung, are you joking with me?" Lim Soo-ha found it hard to comprehend how someone like him, who didn't even have an official couple pairing, was supposed to shoot a couple pictorial. Forced shipping surely shouldn't go to this extreme, right?

"What are you joking about?"

"It's requested by the magazine company. You and Yuna are going together to shoot their New Year's cover."