Now if I can just get past Cha Yoo jin, this nerve-wracking fan signing event will finally be over. I plopped down into the chair at once.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but my back felt like it was burning.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t just in my head. Of the seven chairs lined up now, I was the only one still sitting—because Ryu Geon woo was last on the roster.
How did I even end up here?
[Sorryㅠㅠ]
If he didn’t rig the order, he doesn’t need to apologize.
I swallowed a sigh and bowed my head.
“Hello.”
Cha Yoo jin flashed a grin, took my photo signboard, and hunted for his picture.
“Welcome! What’s your name?”
“...Um, I’ll go by Ryu Geon woo.”
Cha Yoo jin pouted.
“Not writing BM? Don’t you like that nickname?”
“Huh?”
Wait—BM. That’s the nickname he gave me when our bodies swapped, right?
“Is he... does he not realize we traded places?”
I glanced over at Kim Rae bin. His face said, “I have no idea why you’re staring at me.”
Obviously some wires got crossed somewhere.
“Well, that might actually work in my favor.”
If he doesn’t know it’s me, I can just pretend to be Big Sejin, get his autograph, and be done with it.
I steeled myself.
[Ugh I can’t watch...!]
Why are you even looking?
“Please just blow hearts at the camera instead.”
[...Okay.]
I waved hurriedly at Cha Yoo jin.
“Oh, no! I like it. It’s just... somehow at an event like this I feel like I should use my real name. But if you want to write BM, I’d love that too!”
“Got it.”
Cha Yoo jin hummed a tune as he scribbled. Then he bombarded me with questions.
“Did you eat? You come from far away?”
Really?
Actually, maybe I should appreciate that he treats everyone’s background survey equally, regardless of whether he knows them.
So I answered as best I could.
“Yes, I ate well. And, uh... I didn’t come from far. I live nearby!”
“Oh! I live nearby too! Maybe we’ve bumped into each other before.”
Probably, since we live in the same neighborhood.
Cha Yoo jin beamed.
“But why are you using formal speech? Aren’t you younger than me?”
“Oh.”
Right, we’d agreed to speak casually.
I shook my hand.
“Um, this setting... felt too formal! I don’t think it’s right. I’ll switch now!”
“OK~ I like that! Make yourself comfortable.”
Cha Yoo jin even held out his hand for a high-five, like we’d just won a basketball game.
And all the while he never stopped talking.
“Anything else you want me to do? Let me know before you go. You’ll regret it otherwise!”
Perfect timing.
“Ah, wait...!”
I rifled through my shopping bag and pulled out the item labeled ‘Cha Yoo jin.’
Well... I hadn’t realized it had all these sparkly beads.
“A face chain.”
A stage accessory, basically. It’s so flashy that unless it’s Halloween, it’s guaranteed to draw attention everywhere but on stage.
Which means... in terms of fashion fails, it has to rank in the top ten of things Cha Yoo jin would never wear off-stage.
But maybe that makes it the perfect blindside gift.
Whatever. I shoved the face chain toward him.
Cha Yoo jin peered curiously at the envelope, then winked and pulled out the chain.
“Do you want to see me put this on?”
“Yes.”
Not me—your fans want to see it.
“Alright.”
He fastened the chain to his face. I swear I could hear the fandom shrieking from here.
“Waaaah!”
Actually, they were shrieking.
‘Anyone being happy is fine by me.’
Mission: fan service, complete. I shifted my body to show off Cha Yoo jin.
He tilted his head slightly.
“Does it suit me?”
“Yeah, it looks great on you!”
“Mmm... I know.”
Then why ask?
Cha Yoo jin shrugged, then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.
“I don’t normally do stuff like this. But when LoveYou sent it, I wanted to try it. Got it?”
“.......”
“Just remember me!”
‘Wow.’
This guy really never lets go of a fan once he has one.
“Alright. I’ll definitely remember!”
“Yeah~!”
Cha Yoo jin lifted his pen from the signboard and handed it back to me.
Finally, the fan signing was over.
‘Done.’
I survived this godforsaken ordeal...!
“Thanks!”
“Thank you!”
I smiled with relief and stood up.
Then.
[That was so much fun! Maybe we can do this again later at the dorm?]
“...!”
“Have a safe trip home! See you again.”
Reflexively, I looked down at the signboard in my hand.
Cha Yoo jin’s autograph.
He’d drawn two identical signatures side by side on my board.
But with different recipients.
-To. BM
-To. Ryu Geon woo
I lifted my head.
Cha Yoo jin made a little “bbu-geum” lip face and waved.
“Big Sejin!”
Perfectly timed so the camera behind us wouldn’t catch it.
Whether it was intentional or not, who knows.
“.......”
I staggered back to the audience seats and sat down.
A high school student who’d just gotten his autograph was sitting next to me. He asked,
“So, how was it?”
“...It was astounding.”
“Right?!”
“Yes.”
Should I make that guy act next time?
I didn’t know whether to be amazed that Cha Yoo jin played it so naturally, or embarrassed that I’d been completely fooled.
‘I’m going crazy....’
Damn it.
I bit back the urge to bury my face in my hands and tried to readjust my posture.
Then something in my shopping bag rattled.
‘Huh?’
I thought only Bae Sejin’s hamster headband remained.
I looked back inside the bag.
To my surprise, there was still another item besides the hamster headband.
I pulled it out... it was a bear paw charm with pink jelly.
“.......”
The tag was on it, but I knew immediately whose it was.
[Lee Sejin]
And then I remembered: in the chaos of arguing with Big Sejin, I’d completely forgotten to hand this over.
“.......”
“Gah, I missed giving this to you?”
“...Yeah.”
...Let me think.
First fan signing.
My nerves made me skip one gift... huh.
‘Something that can easily happen.’
Completely natural.
“I was nervous.”
“Aww~ that must have been such a shame.”
“Kind of is.”
It’s not really a loss for me, but I resolved to deliver it later. I tucked the bag closed again.
“Everyone, it’s late—please make sure you get home safely!”
“See you next time~ love you!”
Watching them give fan service until the very end, it seemed that the day’s madness was wrapping up without incident.
I waved along like everyone else.
Then I caught the eye of the TeSTAR manager sitting behind me.
“.......”
“.......”
He looked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
I quickly averted my gaze.
‘Maybe a family member’s a fan too.’
And so that whirlwind fan signing finally ended.
“Phew.”
As I merged into the crowd and left the venue...
[Hyung?! Where are you going?]
A startled popup arrived.
‘Where else? I’m heading back to the officetel.’
Now that we’ve swapped, we have to live each other’s lives exactly.
[Oh... right.]
I ended the brief chat asking him to tell everyone else I said hi, then called a taxi.
Only after checking the status window again did it hit me.
Hold on.
‘It’s not just been one day since the swap—it’s been two.’
Forty-eight hours means... this is going through Monday. I understood exactly what that meant.
‘...Ryu Geon woo has to go to work.’
Idol-government employee one-day trial: selected.
A crisp Monday morning.
I scrolled through SNS.
-2X0121 TeSTAR Oseong Curious Fan Signing Park Mundae (photo)
-Oseong really botched that event—even a big company? Almost missed the last train because fan meeting was two hours late, so pissed
-What was the fan-sign item this time? It’s gone crazy
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠFace chain—who are you? Thank you so much—I feel like bowing to you
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first glance.
But on private or anonymous sites...
‘Of course.’
-They say the last fanguy here grabbed all the fan-sign items? (photo)
-Is he staff? I heard about a sasaeng there
└Anyone who still believes sasaeng rumors... lol
└Don’t know, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) but he looks seriously handsome—anyone snap a pic? I’m dying to know
People were definitely talking.
‘I expected at least that much.’
Even if it had been Big Sejin, it would have been the same. I shrugged it off.
Soon enough, it would be rumors mixing in until TeSTAR’s real comeback and then people would drop it.
Though... this one caught my eye.
-I was sitting next to him—I think he’s a real fan. He brought stuff for the other members too but was too nervous to give it to one of them lolㅠㅠ so cute
Someone posted that publicly.
And it was starting to spread on SNS.
‘Just don’t let them dig up my personal info.’
It probably won’t get to that point. Let’s trust that people online won’t get that vicious over a moral issue.
I shook my head and swiped to the next section.
Then a few text messages appeared.
-Geon woo, how are you doing? Please let me see you tonight
-I’m hungry :(
-Heard you got home okay. Let’s keep in touch now and then—don’t push yourself... (more)
Carefully crafted messages from the members, just as Ryu Geon woo would receive them. One of them still had no clue.
And then a text from Ryu Cheong woo.
-Don’t forget today’s plan
Right.
-Of course
After sending that reply, I pocketed my phone.
Oh, why was I wearing my coat? Because I was on the commute bus.
That’s right. Finally, I’m actually going to work as Ryu Geon woo.
[You could take a taxi...]
No. I want to replicate your day as closely as possible.
More important than how I get there is... can I actually handle a grade-seven civil servant’s job?
[Don’t worry! I’ll explain everything well this time!]
Right. The roles are reversed now.
Today at noon, he has to guide me.
‘Good thing TeSTAR has no external schedule today.’
Seems Big Sejin has already adjusted to Park Mundae’s practice routine after one day.
Of course...
[...I’m a bit worried about what happens tonight. About... that plan.]
“.......”
We’ll think about that when the time comes.
[...Okay.]
Right now the urgent matter is your commute.
I got off the bus and headed into the district office. Ryu Geon woo worked in the Traffic Administration Department.
“Hello.”
“Ah, Deputy Ryu is here~”
“Hello, Deputy!”
The mood wasn’t bad.
‘Seems it’s not a busy season.’
I greeted everyone with bows and found my desk, following Big Sejin’s advice.
‘Looking forward to working with you.’
[...Yes!]
And so work began.
Before long, I realized Big Sejin was quite skilled at document drafting.
‘Oh.’
His organization was tidy, there was no filler or unnecessary phrasing, and the visuals and data were clear.
‘I don’t know much about civil service, but this seems well suited to him.’
If he ever fails the exam, he’d be screwed—but he clearly has the knack.
[Next, log into that bookmarked site first!]
Got it.
It felt a bit awkward, but we kept working without issue—until...
“Hey!”
A middle-aged man leaned on the partition and called out.
“Deputy Ryu. Have you finished drafting the guide sign proposal?”
Huh. Odd to hear that first thing on Monday.
But while I considered my answer, he gave me a light tap on the back and walked off.
Leaving these words:
“Do it properly this time! Thanks~”
“.......”
Hmm.
That felt like a dig.
I called up Big Sejin and described the man, then asked,
‘Is he your boss?’
[...Well... sorta. Same grade, though...]
His popup hesitated, then answered clearly.
[He’s always like that—don’t worry about it!]
“...?”
Always...?
‘That’s not exactly comforting.’
I mulled it over, then went into the document folder and scanned Big Sejin’s drafts.
Rejection marks on nearly every other one.
But I’d never seen that many rejections before.
“.......”
I frowned.
[...Listening to you, it seems like nothing crazy is happening today! Just a few urgent tasks, and we’ll be fine!]
...Okay.
I started drafting proposals as he instructed, clearing weekend complaints as they came in.
A few hours later:
“We’re heading out for the field visit now. Meeting. Log our attendance~”
The same guy from before started chatting from across the office.
“Actually, Deputy Ryu was supposed to go....”
“Ah, but the police chief Mr. Choi is coming. So this deputy and I will go together.”
Oh.
I turned in my seat. When our eyes met, he waved me off.
“No, Deputy Ryu, just rest. You don’t know much about this stuff anyway. This deputy’ll handle it.”
“Sir...”
The other ‘deputy’, glancing between me and his senior, shut up.
He clearly preferred following the senior guy.
“.......”
“And while you’re resting, take a look at our proposal. Don’t send it for approval, okay?”
I watched him leave without a word.
Then I summoned Big Sejin, explained the situation, and asked directly,
‘What’s with that guy?’
His popup sighed.
[...Yep. He does that a lot. I’m still young and don’t really know many people here...]
So this grade-nine clerk, who’s rubbed shoulders with local elites and has family ties, brings himself along in place of Ryu Geon woo, then dumps annoying or brain-work tasks on him.
‘.......’
I asked,
‘Was he the one rejecting your drafts?’
[...Yes! He reviews them before the team lead does...]
Sounds like he was taking it out on him.
So it wasn’t just exploiting Ryu Geon woo—that would at least be intentional. This was pure harassment.
I crossed my arms and stared at the screen.
“.......”
Come to think of it, Ryu Geon woo is the only young grade-seven in this office.
‘Does he stick out too much?’
It was obvious they kept trying to pick on him.
[...But honestly, I kind of like it. I don’t have to deal with people I don’t like, and I can leave on time!]
That guy really means it.
He had such a rough school life—this is probably a breeze for him.
‘He must think, “Hey, this is great!”’
But.
“.......”
[Hyung?]
‘It’s nice being comfortable.’
[...Right??]
‘But wouldn’t it be even nicer if that jerk stopped bothering you altogether?’
[...?!]
I spent a pleasant lunch with the team lead while waiting for that ‘deputy’ to return.
[Hyung, hyung?!]
Afternoon, here I come.
