The places Seoyeon could go alone were extremely limited.
Meals were somehow resolved at the nearby McDonald's.
Even if conversation wasn't possible, she could manage somehow with a kiosk.
Where should she go next? Seoyeon pondered for a moment.
'I've already seen a lot of Akihabara.'
She wanted to look around the second-hand stores a bit more, but it was clear that if she looked, she'd definitely want to buy.
Seoyeon knew her own personality—she couldn't hold back when she saw something she liked.
So, she decided not to look at all in advance.
'I should go somewhere other than Akihabara today!'
Since she was alone and feeling somewhat novel, Seoyeon headed to the station.
Wondering where to go, Shibuya came to mind.
'There's a lot to see there.'
Like how the Pokémon Center in Shibuya is supposedly huge.
Seoyeon took the subway to Shibuya to check that out.
Considering most of her trips so far had been otaku-style trips, this was a comparatively mild window shopping after a long time.
If Sora had been here, she would have asked why she didn't do this sooner.
'I should give this to Dad.'
Seoyeon knew that Youngbin liked Pokémon.
So, since she was there, she thought about buying something like that and was looking around.
'Hm?'
Seoyeon saw two women wearing so-called Gothic Lolita-style fashion passing by.
With quite pretty faces, no less.
She had seen them a few times in Akihabara too, but every time she did, it felt fascinating.
So people in Japan really do walk around dressed like that.
How amazing, she thought, as they brushed past her.
"There are so many people here every time we come."
"That's why there's nothing really to see. Let's just go to the Lush store downstairs."
"This kind of thing is about the vibe, okay?"
Such voices reached her ears.
Seoyeon turned her head reflexively.
That was because the words she just heard were Korean, not Japanese.
'Ha, they were Korean?'
It was truly unexpected.
To think Koreans would be sightseeing in those outfits.
Seoyeon quietly followed them with her eyes.
The so-called "landmine-style" outfits that have been trending in recent subculture.
'Why on earth?'
Were those people just weird?
Or was it a similar sense to cosplay?
Thinking such thoughts, as she went down one floor from where the Pokémon Center was.
"Hm?"
There was a store that caught Seoyeon's eye.
It was exactly the clothes worn by the women she had just seen by chance.
In other words, a shop specializing in landmine-style Gothic Lolita outfits.
'How fascinating.'
It stood out even more that a shop selling such outfits existed in a place where ordinary clothes were gathered.
Simple curiosity.
Since Seoyeon was also an otaku, her attention was inevitably drawn to it.
As she quietly approached the shop, she felt a strange gaze watching her.
'W-why?'
She clearly covered her face properly with a mask, didn't she?
Could there be someone who recognized her?
'But still, I only appeared on a variety show once.'
No matter how much of a buzz it caused, there would definitely be more people who didn't know her.
She covered her face with a black mask and even changed her hairstyle.
When she was on TV, her hair was down, but now it was tied up on both sides.
At first, she thought it was a misconception, but the gaze that followed her every time she looked at the clothes made Seoyeon quite flustered.
Of course, the people around her didn't exactly recognize Seoyeon.
It was just.
'Seriously? Wow, no joke.'
'Are those eye contacts? Should I ask where she bought them?'
'The clothes seem ordinary. She must be experienced, right?'
Seoyeon's two eyes sparkling with a red light.
Plus, the black mask, a symbol of the landmine style.
Furthermore, because she tied her hair in twin tails to disguise herself, she stood out.
Only her clothes were ordinary; to anyone, she looked like a prospective landmine girl.
On top of that, her eyes were sharp, and her skin was fair.
Even with her face covered by a black mask, she was noticeably pretty.
Naturally, from the clerk's perspective, Seoyeon like that was bound to catch her attention.
"Are you looking for any clothes?"
As the clerk approached and asked, Seoyeon stared blankly at her.
'What is she saying?'
It wasn't that Seoyeon didn't know Japanese at all.
She had watched enough anime to roughly understand the nuance.
'Is she asking if I'm looking for clothes?'
The problem was, even if she deduced the meaning, she didn't know how to answer.
'Mata setana? Damare? No, what should I say?'
How much nagging did she hear from Sora and Eunha after she said "Hey, onna." at the convenience store?
Onna and Kisama were banned.
No, she was made to promise multiple times not to open her mouth as much as possible.
Why on earth?
Seoyeon simply said exactly what she saw in the anime.
"Excuse me."
Anyway, when Seoyeon remained silent, the clerk opened her mouth just in case.
"Are you perhaps Korean?"
"...You speak Korean?"
"Of course. I like Korean idols. I go to Korea often, too."
Her pronunciation was a bit stunted, but her Korean skills were quite good.
Anyway, from the clerk's standpoint, she took a liking to Seoyeon.
Above all, wasn't she pretty!
Even her voice was beautiful.
'Could she be a celebrity? No, surely not.'
The thought naturally occurred that she might be a celebrity.
Of course, she didn't think a Korean celebrity would come to such a maniacal shop.
However, the clerk really wanted to see Seoyeon wearing the clothes sold at her shop.
So, she began to talk, fully utilizing her skills in soliciting customers.
"You're already wearing red lenses, so if you pair them with this kind of outfit, it would suit you quite well..."
"They're not lenses."
"?"
The clerk looked at Seoyeon's eyes.
Huh, those red eyes aren't lenses?
'Then they're natural?'
Could that be possible?
Such curiosity arose, but honestly, from the clerk's standpoint.
'I'm jealous.'
To have red eyes without even wearing lenses.
For a clerk who personally favored the black hair, red eyes fashion, they were truly enviable eyes.
"Then it's an even bigger waste, miss."
"Pardon?"
"You have such a talent, and not dressing up is a loss!"
Should red eyes be called a talent?
More than that, what kind of talent is it?
A talent as a landmine girl?
If it was something like that, it wasn't a very welcome talent.
Anyway, once the clerk started, her words began to pour out almost like a machine gun.
"People from Korea buy from us quite often."
"Apparently, these are outfits you don't normally wear in Korea? Cultural difference?"
"So anyway, coming to Japan is like, liberate yourself! That kind of feeling. But how is it? Pretty, right? Don't you want to wear it? It's definitely hard to wear in Korea, right? Since you're in Japan, it's good to try a new experience once!"
At the clerk's words, which were fired almost rat-tat-tat, Seoyeon gradually began to think, 'Is that so?'
It was definitely an outfit that was hard to wear in Korea...
'Hmm, it certainly looks like it could be useful for disguising myself, too.'
It was a trip to Japan, after all, so wouldn't it be fine to try something she couldn't do in Korea?
Such a thought crossed her mind unintentionally, and while it wasn't cosplay, the vibe was similar.
On top of that, the clerk kept saying it was a waste, a waste.
The women nearby also subtly showed signs of agreeing, so she started feeling like she'd miss out if she didn't do it.
'Should I try it once?'
Seoyeon, who was easily swayed, fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
That was roughly what had happened about an hour ago.
***
"Ugh."
Seoyeon was conscious of the gazes around her.
To be honest, it was quite fun at first.
The clerk excitedly picked out clothes for Seoyeon.
Coincidentally, the matching accessory shops were all nearby.
Wearing a black Gothic Lolita outfit, with a black mask on.
Plus, twin-tailed hair with hairpins that had a suitably Gothic feel.
When she put it all on and stood in front of the mirror, the people there actually let out exclamations of admiration.
Yes, up to that point, it was good.
Excitedly putting on all the clothes, holding a paper bag with the clothes she had been wearing, the moment she stepped out onto the streets of Shibuya.
'What have I done?'
Seoyeon came to her senses.
The thought that she had completely fallen for the sales pitch in the heat of the moment.
Seeing her reflection in the cafe glass, it actually suited her quite well.
I really am pretty.
Such narcissistic thoughts, a little.
No, that wasn't the important thing.
Anyway, Seoyeon regretted it.
'R-right, th-this kind of thing is an experience too.'
Trying hard to think so, she let out a sigh.
At least one thing was certain: no one would recognize her.
Yes, that was enough.
Thinking that as she walked.
"Gasp, hah. Y-You're Actress Joo Seoyeon, right?"
"..."
Even that had failed.
'No, how did they know?'
Two men ran up and spoke to her the moment she crossed the crosswalk.
In Korean, no less, not Japanese.
She wondered who they were, but thanks to the camera in their hands, she could roughly guess their identity.
'Paparazzi!!'
As she thought that and went on guard.
"W-We're j-journalists! We're definitely not suspicious people!"
They added hastily, waving their hands.
'Japanese journalists? Or maybe paparazzi making excuses...'
Actually, either way didn't matter to Seoyeon.
What was important was that they had realized she was Joo Seoyeon.
Also, her current outfit happened to be a landmine girl outfit!
If this look was caught, it would surely spread quickly to Korea.
Then, her image would definitely take a hit.
Yes, the refined image Joo Seoyeon had as an actress...
'Hm?'
Seoyeon thought.
Still, isn't it better than a gorilla?
It's called a landmine girl, but it wasn't much different from the Zero-Two outfit Jo Seo-hee wore at the theme park before.
'Besides, I did something like that on the very first variety show I appeared on in Japan...'
Closing her eyes, the image of herself on yesterday's variety show came to mind.
Everyone tried to dress it up as "The passionate acting of a genius actress!!", but the fact that the first image the Japanese saw of her was a ghost crawling on the ground was a bit much.
Seoyeon now knew.
How hard it was to improve an image once it was imprinted in the beginning!
Between a landmine girl and a bizarre ghost crawling on the ground.
If she had to choose between these...
"Who are you?"
Seoyeon, who was about to run away at full speed, stopped her feet.
Because if they really were journalists, she figured it would be better to at least hear them out.
***
Narumi Sora and Eunha despaired the moment they opened their eyes.
That was because Seoyeon had completely vanished.
"S-Should I try calling her?"
"No, I tried calling but she's not picking up. What on earth is that kid Seoyeon doing?"
At Eunha's words, Sora flinched for a moment.
Because the words 'what doing' popped out so naturally.
But what she couldn't deny was that Seoyeon had a tendency to bring about accidents wherever she went.
Whether she intended it or not.
Above all, she lacked awareness as a celebrity, so there were many cases where she didn't even cover her face properly.
Especially in Japan, thinking no one would recognize her, she was walking around with her face fully exposed.
'With that level of issue yesterday, there are bound to be people who recognize her...'
Eunha was worried about Seoyeon.
What if someone picked a fight with her?
Of course, she wasn't worried about Seoyeon, but about the person who would pick a fight with Seoyeon.
Eunha knew.
That Seoyeon was recently obsessed with martial arts manga.
When she casually asked if she was going to learn martial arts again this time.
"Lions don't train."
She spat out a line that seemed like she saw it in a manga and smiled triumphantly.
Anyway, it seemed she had no intention of learning martial arts, so Eunha felt relieved.
She had been caring about her image in various ways recently, but basically, Seoyeon liked strong things.
Anyway, with Seoyeon being like that, if someone picked a fight with her in Japan... she would absolutely not avoid it.
"The news, if we watch the news, wouldn't we know something?"
When the panicked Eunha said that, Sora, who was also making a fuss, calmed down first.
"M-Manager. No matter what, that wouldn't be the case."
How could she think the celebrity she managed would appear on the news?
The fact that it wasn't entirely impossible was the scary part, though.
"R-Right. I was too panicked and just blurted things out. But Seoyeon is a bit of a bomb, should I say... she has that kind of explosiveness to her."
Of course, she was mostly a quiet and good kid.
However, once she got excited, she couldn't control herself.
Especially since Japan was deeply connected to Seoyeon's hobbies, it was like a fuse was always lit.
To put it another way, a situation where it wouldn't be strange if it exploded at any time.
"First, if we keep calling, she might pick up eventually, right?"
"We shouldn't go out looking for her carelessly and end up missing each other..."
For reference, Seoyeon did leave a note saying where she was going.
A message saying she'd be back from Shibuya.
Of all places, Shibuya, not Akihabara.
Trembling with anxiety, they waited for a few hours.
Click.
The door opened with a sound just as the sun was setting.
"S-Seoyeon, did anything hap..."
Thinking Seoyeon had returned, Eunha hurried to the hotel entrance and froze.
Wondering why, Sora, who quietly came to the entrance, also froze.
'What on earth happened?'
She definitely thought Seoyeon had a bit of a bomb-like side.
But to think she'd return as a landmine.
Furthermore.
"I did an interview."
Seoyeon suddenly brought that up.
"H-Huh? An interview?"
In that outfit?
No, it does suit her well.
It suits her too well, that's the problem.
Like a manga character popped right into reality.
"And, it seems I'll be making a cameo appearance in a drama."
"Huh??"
At those sudden words, Eunha and Sora had no choice but to freeze up completely.
Because this was another completely unexpected event.