Fangirl

[chapter 01]

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"Han Joonho, where the hell are you?" Chan Wook screamed from the other line.

"Look, Wook, you're the one who suggested I lay low for a while. I just came out to get some fresh air--"

"I told you to stay inside the apartment until I told you otherwise, Joonho! As your manager, I demand you to tell me where you are or even better - come back." Wook begged into the phone as he let out a deep sigh full of frustration.

Joonho heard the desperation in his manager's voice but continued to walk down the narrow streets of Pohang. "For a second there, I almost felt bad for you, man." He told his friend with a frown. "But, I'm not going back." He stated sternly as he stopped walking. "Wook, calm down. I have a hat and a face mask on, so people won't recognize me."

"Where the hell are you?" Wook demanded to know. "I swear, if you don't come back to Seoul right now, I will--"

The tall, handsome beau sighed and furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm doing what you asked me to do - I'm traveling incognito."

"I never told you to travel, Joonho! I told you to stay put in your damn apartment!" Wook screamed, then took a moment to take in a deep breath to calm himself down. "Look, I know things are messy right now, but you can't just run away. You're already on every article, Joon! People are starting to talk, so you disappearing like this is only making things worse. I'm saying this for your own good, so please come back to Seoul right now!"

Joonho grimaced at the harsh sound of his beloved manager losing his cool. He made a face and took the phone off his ear, rubbing the side of his face. "Wow, you talk way too much," he muttered before ending the call and putting his cell phone into his jacket pocket. "I wonder how Mikaela's doing ..." He muttered under his breath with a sigh, scratching the back of his head.

Everything was going great up until the past week. Work was coming in endlessly, drama after drama, commercial after commercial. He was finally at the peak of his acting career, and he loved every moment of it. He had just begun filming for his new tvb drama, Meet Me Halfway as the leading male character. On top of that, his leading co-star was none other than Mikaela, the beloved child-star actress. Mikaela had been in the entertainment industry since she could talk, rising to fame at an early age. Imagine the surprise on Joonho's face when he found out he'd be working on a project with none other than the Nation's It-Girl.

Everything was going great until two days ago when some obnoxious reporters snuck onto the set of the drama. They had just finished filming the drama's third episode when the reporters secretly began taking photos of Mikaela. She had clearly shown her discomfort, but those vultures didn't bat an eyelash and continued to shamelessly take photos.

Being the (reckless) gentleman that he was, Joonho grew frustrated and confronted the reporters. One thing led to another and a heated altercation sparked between him and one of the reporters. Things got out of hand when Joonho almost threw a punch at the guy, but thankfully the staff members were there to stop him.

But things turned for the worse when the other reporters were caught taking photos of the argument. They ran away before anyone could stop them and within minutes, the photos were online and spread like wildfire. Just like that, all of Han Joonho's hard work the past few months vanished and the netizens ripped him to shreds in seconds.

It certainly wasn't the first time something like that had happened. He somehow always managed to find himself in sticky situations with the press. Every time, his agency had to clear misunderstandings up or make him write a formal apology to the public, even if he wasn't in the wrong. That was just how things worked in the entertainment industry - the public's opinion mattered most.