LS Ch 1

Jewoo’s face, leaning back on the sofa like lying down, grew increasingly serious. His brows furrowed as he swiped his phone screen with his finger, distorting the corners of his lips.

“Again? Why does it have to be Kang Yiwon again?”

Irritation seeped into his voice. His SNS account was open on the screen. He was reading the comments under the behind-the-scenes shots from the magazine shoot that was released the day before.

— This looks exactly like Kang Yiwon’s outfit today.

— They overlapped again? At this point, it’s not coincidence, it’s fate. lol

—  He keeps copying our Yiwon oppa. Copying doesn’t make you similar. It’s annoying.

The last comment scratched at Jewoo’s nerves. He never, by any means, copied Kang Yiwon’s styling. In fact, this magazine shoot was done two weeks ago. How could someone think he copied when he hadn’t? 

The real problem was that his styling kept matching with Kang Yiwon’s. This time it was a suit jacket, two weeks ago it was sneakers, two months ago a hat, before that a hoodie, and even earlier, a bracelet from a sponsorship. It was hard to keep track.

At first, he thought it was just coincidence, and fans didn’t make much of it. It’s common for celebrities to have overlapping outfits or accessories, and even if Jewoo and Kang Yiwon wore the same clothes, no one paid much attention. It was just another “Same Clothes, Different Vibes” short video where Kang Yiwon was compared to other celebrities.

But as these coincidences kept happening, it turned from fate to a curse. With nearly ten instances of style overlap in the last year, comments started suggesting that whatever he wore would match Kang Yiwon’s. Initially, he brushed it off, but as the same comments kept coming and increasing, it started to bother him.

“Really annoying.”

Muttering, he tossed his phone onto the sofa. The fact that he was being compared to Kang Yiwon was particularly irksome. He had never overlapped with Kang Yiwon in terms of work or mutual acquaintances, thus never meeting him. Yet, he knew his name and face well.

“Face genius. Man with a face that could cut paper. My ultimate bias is my ultimate bias, but Kang Yiwon is Kang Yiwon.”

These were the labels that followed him. Just by looking at those, one could tell he was genuinely handsome, like a piece of art. Even in photos or videos, he made other celebrities beside him look less attractive. There were even rumors that in person, he was even better looking. Female celebrities who met him reportedly couldn’t take their eyes off him, and even male celebrities would say in interviews that he was the best-looking person they’d ever seen.

Not only was his face well-made, but he was also 185 cm tall and had become quite muscular after working out diligently in recent years. Although his idol group hadn’t had any hit songs since debut and eventually disbanded, Kang Yiwon was known even by those unaware of his group. He had more individual fans than group fans, which led to his successful transition to acting.

How should Jewoo’s feelings be consoled when he was always compared to such a person? Of course, he didn’t think his specs were lacking anywhere else. 

“Why are you sprawled out like that?”

Manager Han Jiho, who had come in without notice, was looking down at Jewoo from behind the sofa. Jewoo, still slumped, only rolled his eyes to look up at Jiho.

“I’m annoyed.”

“Why, again?”

“Kang Yiwon. People are going crazy in the comments saying we have matching outfits.”

“What outfit?”

“The one from the magazine shoot. I posted a few behind-the-scenes shots after the magazine was released yesterday.”

“The jacket you wore then? Wasn’t that one not on sale yet? They said sales would start after the magazine was released.”

“Exactly. So why does it match?”

“They probably got the sponsorship on Kang Yiwon’s side too.”

“Ah, whatever. It’s annoying anyway.”

Jiho, looking down at the grumbling Jewoo, turned on his phone to check Jewoo’s SNS. The comments explained why Jewoo was so upset. With so many overlaps, Jewoo would naturally be sensitive. But it wasn’t something worth getting so worked up over. It was just a few fans making noise; most people would just shrug it off.

“Seems like you have quite similar tastes.”

Jewoo glared at Jiho with narrowed eyes at this comment.

“It seems so. From clothes to shoes, they often match. At this point, it’s just that your tastes are quite similar, isn’t it?”

“Does he pick out his own clothes? His stylists probably choose for him.”

“Well, that might be true for shoots, but isn’t this his work outfit? You choose what you wear usually, don’t you?”

Jiho had found Kang Yiwon’s SNS by now and held it out to Jewoo. In the photo, Kang Yiwon was naturally brushing his hair back, blown by the wind.

“Why would he post his work outfit himself?”

Everything about it annoyed Jewoo, pouting. It was clearly a conceptual photo taken by someone else. The comments under the photo were filled with ridiculous praises like “he’s glowing in the morning” or “our Yiwon oppa must live on dew.” The idea that he looked good under natural light after getting his hair and makeup done at dawn was laughable.

“But he really wears it well. Maybe that’s why the angles work for him.”

Jiho kept flipping through Kang Yiwon’s SNS photos, irritating Jewoo further.

“Ah, enough. Stop looking!”

Jewoo snatched Jiho’s phone and threw it next to his own. Jiho, deprived of his phone, looked at Jewoo with a slight smirk.

“Instead of getting annoyed for no reason, why not use it to your advantage?”

Wondering what he meant by using it to his advantage, Jewoo narrowed his eyes at him.

“Didn’t you read all the comments?”

Jewoo was about to say he only read a few lines before getting annoyed and stopping but decided against it, turning his head away. He didn’t like this whole situation where Kang Yiwon was being brought up.

“Is it a couple item or something?”

What kind of nonsense was that? Why would he be doing couple items with Kang Yiwon?

“They say you two are secretly dating.”

“That’s crazy.”

Without a second thought, Jewoo called it crazy at Jiho’s words. Not only were they of the same sex, but regardless of that, he had never even seen Kang Yiwon’s face in person. What was this sudden talk about couple items?

“Well, since you were doing a magazine shoot, that’s one thing, but since you’re wearing clothes that aren’t even out in stores yet, people are assuming there might be something going on between you two…”

“Tell them to write a novel.”

He waved his hand dismissively at such ridiculous talk. Sometimes, fans’ imaginations really went beyond imagination. To even link him with Kang Yiwon like that was astonishing.

The entertainment industry was originally a place where smoke comes out even from a chimney with no fire. Even if he had meals with actors, managers, and staff from the same shoot, they would crop out everyone else and leave only the two lead actors in the photo, spreading rumors that they were on a date. Having grown up in such a world since before he could understand, he had managed to lead a scandal-free life in the entertainment industry.

But now, instead of being linked with a female celebrity, it’s Kang Yiwon… There’s no other word for it but bad karma.

“It’s fine if things overlap. But why does it become me copying him when I post the photo first?”

That was his real grievance. It was unavoidable if he wore something after Kang Yiwon did. After a few overlaps, he had been more careful to avoid matching with Kang Yiwon, to the point of asking his stylist to check Kang Yiwon’s SNS before choosing outfits. But recently, even when he wore something first, comments accused him of copying “our Yiwon oppa,” which was subtly stressful.

“That’s because their fandom is larger?”

Jiho said with a smirk, stabbing Jewoo’s heart. Jewoo clenched his fist, tempted to punch him, but Jiho was just smiling, asking if it wasn’t the truth.

“Are you really my manager?”

“I’m your manager, but reality is reality.”

Jewoo knew this even without Jiho poking at it. He had been an actor since he was seven, already 20 years in, but he didn’t have what you would call a fandom. Sure, he had a fan club, but it was nothing compared to Kang Yiwon’s.

What use is a fandom in acting? He hadn’t cared much since all he had to do was perform his role well. Fortunately, he had a talent for acting, so even if not in lead roles, he never ran out of work.

If it weren’t for this Kang Yiwon, he would have been living without much stress, just passionately doing the acting he loved.

“It’s the sorrow of being unpopular.”

Jiho drove the nail in further. When Jewoo glared at him in annoyance, Jiho’s eyes curved even more sweetly.

“So, how about doing a project that could boost your popularity?”

What was this talk about now? So far, Jewoo hadn’t considered popularity much when choosing projects. He only cared if the work or the role appealed to him, regardless of the part.

“There’s just one problem though.”

“What problem?”

If Jiho called it a problem, it must be serious, and Jewoo’s expression hardened involuntarily.

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Even while calling it a problem, Jiho was still smiling.

“The co-star is Kang Yiwon.”

Jewoo’s face twisted at those words.