232 Sharing Good News (1/2)

Yeo Ri had Secretary Kwon drive her straight to Gun's university afterwards.

Since it was evening and just around the time for the day's classes to end, there were quite a number of students milling about in the vicinity.

Yeo Ri hadn't contacted her brother yet nor informed him of her arrival, as she had intended to surprise him. In her excitement, she had forgotten to put on her usual disguise.

Kwon Tae Yang followed her from a distance after finding a spot to park his car.

Since the girl hadn't told him to stay away, he decided to follow her while tactfully keeping his distance just in case she was uncomfortable with his presence.

While she walked towards Gun's faculty building, noises and looks of recognition trailed after her.

”Is it that girl? The one from the commercial—”

”She's that girl, right? VitaQua—”

”—Should we go over?”

”Is she a student here? Is there some sort of event or something—”

”She's the VitaQua girl, isn't she? What's her name, Lee something—”

”—Yeo Ri—”

Hushed murmurs could be heard in the vicinity. The passers-by were looking at her, some even daringly taking out their phones to take digital evidence of her appearance.

Seeing the amount of attention the girl was garnering, Secretary Kwon immediately closed the distance between them, battling through the increasing number of people blocking his path to get to her side.

Yeo Ri's popularity had truly preceded her. In a matter of minutes, some people approached her.

”You're that girl, right? The pretty one from the commercial!”

”Excuse me, can we take a picture together?”

”—Picture, over here, please—”

”Are you an idol? Do you have any SNS accounts? I'll follow you!”

”Hello! I saw your commercial! You're prettier in person—”

”Um...” Yeo Ri was forced to stop walking as she looked around with a surprised look. She hadn't expected to be greeted so suddenly by so many strangers. ”Uh,” Yeo Ri stuttered, unconsciously stepping back from them and drawing her shoulders in.

”Do you mind if we take a picture?”

”Sign here, please—”

”Can we take a picture?”

”Hello—”

Soon enough, Yeo Ri was surrounded by a gaggle of people asking for photos or autographs. She hadn't been approached like this since her first year in middle school, before her so-called fan club established ground rules which prevented the kids from bothering her too much. She had already forgotten how she used to deal with them back then—she only remembered that Min Chae had always been by her side to chase the boys away.

Their voices overlapped with one another, making for a cacophony of sounds which was beginning to confuse—and scare—her.

”Can we get a wefie with you? Here—I'll hold the phone,” a random guy said as he gestured for his mates to cram into the frame within his upheld phone's screen.

Yeo Ri flinched from the sudden invasion of privacy, but before she could say no, the guy had already pressed the shutter. After taking several shots, they finally left after muttering a short 'thank you'.

However, before she could relax, more and more people approached her.

”Excuse me—”

”Hello—”

”U-um...” Yeo Ri had never felt her fame up until that moment. The online popularity that she had gotten seemed unreal since she only saw it through the screen, and she didn't expect so many people to recognise her immediately. She had naively thought that her fifteen minutes of fame had died down in the last few days, or perhaps replaced by something more sensational. She felt overwhelmed but continued to keep a polite smile on her face. If anything, she couldn't act rudely towards them since they were all obviously older than her.

Inconsiderately, they didn't seem to notice the strain in her expression as they shoved a phone or a pen in her direction, bothering her with their attention.

”—That's enough! Step away!”

—To Yeo Ri's surprise, Secretary Kwon had intervened, stopping them from further breaching her privacy.

”That's enough, please stop! No photos allowed, please give her some space, thank you!” As soon as he saw the girl's figure, he immediately pulled her close and swatted away all the phones directed at her. He covered her face with his gloved hand, preventing them from taking any pictures of the poor, frightened girl.

He assumed a protective stance and pushed the throng of people out of the way, dragging the young girl to a safer and less crowded area. He disregarded the people who wanted to follow after them, warning them to back off with a glare. He didn't care if his actions seemed rude to others; his priority was Yeo Ri's safety, and at such a crucial and risky period, he couldn't allow people to just approach her carelessly. Who knew if someone within the crowd had hidden a weapon or something? He didn't want to be responsible for her getting injured while she was under his watch.

Secretary Kwon looked to be somewhat fierce and strict in his crisp black suit, and because the glare of the sun was too strong while he was driving, he had worn a pair of sunglasses—which he had forgotten to take off after leaving his car. He hadn't had the time to care for his appearance as he had to chase after the unruly young miss who didn't even bother to wait for her chaperone before running off.

Looking at the bodyguard-like man, the others could only give up their pursuit.

Now that they were alone and unfollowed, Secretary Kwon finally released his hold on Yeo Ri. He muttered a small apology over his discourteousness.

”You didn't have to do that,” Yeo Ri replied with a disgruntled pout. She seemed confused by Secretary Kwon's actions. The things he had done lately didn't seem to be within his job scope, she mused. However, she still felt thankful for his action even though she didn't want to show it. ”And take off your glasses... geez, do you think you're in Men in Black or something?”

Secretary Kwon sheepishly touched the frame of his sunglasses before taking it off. He tucked his glasses neatly inside his breast pocket and straightened his blazer awkwardly. ”I'm just doing my job,” the man said as he looked away, as if hiding his embarrassment. ”Miss Yeo Ri, you should hurry and find your brother,” he reminded her in an attempt to change the topic.