“Everyone has a desire for recognition. It’s just a matter of degree.”
The lawyer adjusted his glasses, which had no prescription.
“If no one had a desire for recognition, no one would enjoy being acknowledged or praised by others. But there’s no such person, is there?”
“Well, actually, there are.”
“…”
“…Sorry.”
But seriously, don’t such people exist? The kind of people who remain indifferent even when praised.
It didn’t feel like she said sothing completely wrong, but Da-eun didn’t argue further with the lawyer.
After all, she wasn’t talking to the lawyer to win an argunt, but to seek advice.
“The person who wrote this post seems to have a strong desire for recognition. And the stronger that desire, the less likely they are to tolerate being accused of lying. The best course of action would be to ignore them entirely, but since that doesn’t seem feasible, we have to go for a second-best option.”
“…Have you studied psychology before?”
“I’ve studied it briefly, but not professionally.”
“I thought so. Then what should we do? Should we release a statent denying the claims?”
“No. That might make you look guilty, like you’re confessing to sothing. We need to take a different approach. Isn’t that why you ca to ?”
“You’re right.”
If the post had appeared on a fan café or caused disruptions during a broadcast, responding like that would’ve been fine.
But right now, it was still at the level of whispers in the community they frequented.
Even so, knowing that the murmurs were swirling beneath the surface and choosing to ignore them didn’t sit well with Da-eun.
Letting weeds grow while smugly watching wasn’t in her nature.
“So, we have to act discreetly too.”
This is what they call a comnt brigade.
“We’ll write a post claiming that the original post was fabricated and hire people to leave supportive comnts. Once the flow is started, the others caught in the current will do the rest for us.”
“…Wow. That sounds so shady.”
“You an like a hidden mastermind?”
The lawyer admitted it outright.
“It’s true. Hiding in the shadows and scheming fits the description of a hidden mastermind.”
“That sounds like sothing out of a comic book. …Oh!”
Realizing she’d spoken without thinking, Da-eun covered her mouth and glanced around.
It wasn’t exactly a mistake, but she realized her comnt wasn’t suitable for the situation.
However, the lawyer didn’t mind her words.
This wasn’t Da-eun’s first ti hiring him, and he already had a good understanding of her personality.
Besides, he found such topics sowhat interesting himself.
“I happen to know a company that can handle this. If spending so money isn’t an issue, would you like to introduce them?”
“A company? What kind of company?”
“Public opinion manipulation.”
“Ah… but will it work? They’ve got photos on their side.”
“If a single photo could ruin everything, no one in this line of work would make a living. It’s not hard to edit photos cleverly or find sothing to nitpick and then claim they’re fabricated.”
“That’s… scary.”
“It’s not scary at all. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Want to tell you about sothing I handled last ti?”
“Uh? Are you even allowed to tell that?”
“Of course not to ordinary people. But since you might use their service, you deserve so level of trust. Think of it as a portfolio.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
But knowing such details made Da-eun wonder if describing the company as “just soone I know” was a gross understatent.
The more she learned, the more cynical her view of the internet beca.
She hadn’t been particularly naive before, but now it felt like she couldn’t look at the online world the sa way ever again.
Even so, there was a sinister thrill and a strange sense of dominance that crept into her heart at the thought of stepping into the darker side of the world.
‘…What nonsense.’
A thrill? A sense of dominance? As if she’d ever feel that way.
One wrong move and she could end up drowning in it before she even realized it.
“Please handle it.”
And so, she decided to stop just short of stepping in too far.
No further.
The lawyer smirked at her request.
“A wise choice.”
Watching him, Da-eun recalled a conversation they had a while back.
Back then, when they’d started chatting casually outside of work-related matters, she once saw him take off his glasses while reading so docunts.
When she asked if he could even see without them, he’d replied that the glasses weren’t prescription. They were just for appearances, to give off an intelligent and gentle impression.
Back then, she’d just thought, “Oh, I see,” and moved on.
But now, she truly understood what he ant.
‘Without those glasses, he’d really look like a villain….’
Or maybe it was the glasses that made him seem even more so?
Shaking off the thought of characters who take off their glasses to reveal themselves as the final boss, Da-eun vigorously shook her head.
“Are you sure I didn’t accidentally co to a detective agency instead of a lawyer’s office?”
“I’m thinking of trying out that line of work if I get tired of being a lawyer.”
“Really?”
“Of course not.”
Not convincing at all.
Da-eun awkwardly laughed, staring at the glint of his glasses.
“Yaaawn…”
“Sleepy?”
“Not really.”
“Then why are you yawning?”
Why am I being questioned for yawning now?
Shooting her a sullen glare, Da-eun quickly picked up on the aning behind her look and waved her hands.
“Oh, no… I wasn’t criticizing. I was just asking if you were sleepy.”
“I’m not.”
It’s just boredom.
Bored of lying on the bed, she’d co out to the living room and sprawled on the sofa instead.
Da-eun comnted that lying down here or there was the sa thing.
‘You’re saying that because you don’t know.’
It’s so different.
Da-eun said this before.
That when you travel, even the air feels different.
lying on the sofa now is kind of the sa thing.
The open air of the living room and the cozy atmosphere of a room—it’s different right from the air.
“Really…? I don’t really get it, but if you like it, then that’s what matters. Should I open the window for you?”
“I don’t want that.”
“Why? It’d be refreshing and nice if we opened it.”
“Not really…”
Honestly, you can’t really call Seoul’s air refreshing, can you?
As I shook my head, Da-eun, who had been walking toward the window, stopped.
“Seeing how bored you are, I guess you’re the outdoor type?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Huh? If not, then why are you bored?”
“Because I’m not doing this by choice.”
If I wanted to rest and hole up inside the house, I could do it for days, or even weeks, without a problem.
In fact, it’s only recently, because of the Dinsional Creatures and Yuki, that I’ve been going out more often.
Before that, you could count on one hand the number of tis I went out.
But this… maybe it’s a psychological reaction?
Hearing Da-eun say I shouldn’t go out for a while just made feel annoyed for no reason.
Maybe it’s because I’d decided to ask her to go sowhere, and then she said that.
“You’re such a contrarian. You sound like a rebellious teenager!”
“Sorry. Given the environnt I grew up in, I can’t take people’s words kindly.”
“…Ah! Stop with the guilt traps!”
In an instant, I’ve beco the bad guy…!
My indifferent remark made Da-eun squirm.
“Just kidding.”
“…You know, even an insignificant joke can ruin soone’s day, right?”
“Hmm, no, I didn’t.”
And I don’t want to know.
“You little brat…!”
What followed was exactly what I expected.
I rolled out of the way as Da-eun ca charging at in a huff.
Da-eun tried several more tis to catch , but each ti, she failed spectacularly.
“Huff… Huff… Why… are you so good at… Huff! …rolling away?”
Finally, out of breath, Da-eun surrendered.
“How is rolling faster than my running?!”
“Running around inside the house isn’t polite. You have to consider the downstairs neighbors.”
“…Don’t suddenly say sothing reasonable like that! And I wasn’t running that much anyway!”
Even as she said that, Da-eun glanced at the floor.
How could she not know sothing even I, who just arrived on Earth, knew?
“Da-eun, you’re such a fool.”
“…Urgh!”
As I said this with a look of pity, Da-eun let out a frustrated groan.
But rembering what had just happened, she didn’t jump at as she normally would have.
Instead, she plopped down next to .
Because of our earlier chase, she ended up sitting on the cold marble floor rather than the sofa.
But she didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m working on it, so just hang in there a little longer, okay?”
“…I’m not so frustrated that I can’t take it.”
“But your face looks like you’re dying of boredom.”
Unlike before, her hand reached out slowly.
I stayed still, not bothering to avoid it, and her hand softly stroked my hair.
“I’ll sort it out as quickly as I can, alright?”
“I wasn’t trying to rush you.”
“Fufu, is that so? What a patient and well-behaved child you are~”
“….”
“…Ack!”
But this, I can’t tolerate.
Da-eun toppled backward after I headbutted her.
Looking down at her as she flailed from the surprise, I scoffed.
Who told her to treat like a kid?
Ding-dong!
While we were ssing around, a sound I’d never heard before echoed.
As I tilted my head in curiosity, Da-eun jumped up and answered my unspoken question.
“It’s a call from the security office.”
“Oh.”
So that’s why it sounded unfamiliar.
But, a call from the security office?
“Why?”
“Well, we’ll only know for sure once I answer, but… maybe it’s to tell us they caught a fish in the trap?”
Saying this, Da-eun grinned.
I nodded as I watched her expression.
“Oh. I see.”
“Huh? Really? Kana, you figured it out. Finally—”
“—That it’s ‘Middle School 2nd Year Syndro’**?”
“…It’s not!”
Seeing her try to act cool, it definitely seems like it.
Even as she begrudgingly went to answer the phone, Da-eun continued to deny my words to the very end.
**((Middle School 2nd Year Syndro OR 중2병 is a Korean slang term used to describe the exaggerated, dramatic behavior or delusions of grandeur typically exhibited by middle school students.))
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