* * *

After a long drive, Seonwoo’s car finally arrived at the event venue. The area surrounding PetitRorang’s fan signing was bustling with journalists, cameramen, and fans.

Excited, Choa looked out the window, and the moment they parked, she jumped out of her seat and ran out.

Yeongdeok followed her at a leisurely pace, and as the tinted window rolled down, Seonwoo called out to him.

“Please take good care of our Choa.”

“I’m not a babysitter…”

“Choa’s still a minor. I can’t go inside, so I’m counting on you.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go.”

Choa hurried ahead, urging Yeongdeok to follow her with her bubbling excitement evident in her steps.

“Even if she tries to act all grown-up, she’s still just a kid,” Seonwoo murmured, smiling as he watched her disappear.

But as he stood there, Yeongdeok turned back and tossed him a comment.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“What?”

It was the first time Seonwoo had ever heard a “thank you” from Yeongdeok.

For a moment, he was so bewildered that he could only blink, as if his mind had drifted out into the farthest reaches of space.

When he snapped back, Yeongdeok had already disappeared, following Choa inside.

“Did… Cha Yeongdeok just thank me…?”

Seonwoo, who felt himself melting from that small token of gratitude, slumped forward, pressing his forehead to the steering wheel.

He faintly heard someone honking outside, but that hardly mattered.

“Damn…”

His heart was pounding as if he’d sprinted a hundred meters.

Yeongdeok hadn’t said anything particularly grand, but that “thank you” sent a rush of heat down his body.

Not knowing how to handle this overwhelming feeling, Seonwoo pressed his thigh against the seat.

The act of practically caressing himself while thinking of Yeongdeok filled him with a strange guilt.

ꔚ

Inside the exhibition hall, they followed the crowd until they reached the fan signing area.

The place was packed with people hoping to meet PetitRorang.

“Wow… there are so many people here. By the way, Yeongdeok-oppa, are things okay at the store today?”

“They’re fine.”

For Yeongdeok, the store wasn’t his priority today.

In this lifetime, his real goal wasn’t just the store’s success but revenge against PetitRorang.

Meeting him was far more important.

After showing their IDs and receiving their tickets, they joined the end of the line.

The crowd outside was huge, but it was just as packed inside with PetitRorang fans.

“I never thought I’d see PetitRorang in person,” Choa gushed.

“This is so amazing… I could die happy right now.”

Everywhere, people were chattering in excitement about PetitRorang.

Listening to it all only made Yeongdeok feel even more exhausted.

“Wow, look at SNS! It’s all about PetitRorang,” Choa said, scrolling through her phone.

But Yeongdeok ignored her, his gaze fixed on the stage where PetitRorang would appear.

It felt as though, even in this massive crowd, he was alone, suspended in his thoughts.

The wait was excruciating.

Every second stretched into an eternity as he stood there, arms crossed, fixated on the stage.

He must have checked his watch a dozen times when, suddenly, piercing screams erupted around him.

“Kyaaah!”

“It’s PetitRorang!”

At the sound of that signal, someone ascended onto the stage.

Yeongdeok narrowed his gaze and fixed it on the person who had appeared.

The figure had ash-blue hair, ears adorned with piercings, and a face with a sly, snake-like look.

That guy…

The man who had once caused havoc at Yeongdeok’s store was now just a few steps away on the stage.

He flashed a bright smile and waved at the fans upon his entrance.

The “PetitRorang” Yeongdeok had seen in real life was neither a towering figure, likely around 190 cm, nor a dreamlike handsome man.

Instead, he was a small-framed guy with unkempt bangs and lifeless, glazed eyes.

Is that man truly PetitRorang?

Or is he just a substitute created by the author’s pen?

While Yeongdeok was lost in thought, the signing event began.

The man started talking with fans and signing autographs in numerical order.

As he observed the scene, something stirred within Yeongdeok.

His chest began to feel tight.

Even pressing his thumb to his chest didn’t relieve the discomfort; instead, it seemed to spread, even into his fingers.

Irritated by the unfamiliar sensation he couldn’t shake off, Yeongdeok clenched his fingers tightly. Watching the man’s fake smile made his fists tremble.

“Yeongdeok oppa, it’s almost our turn. Let’s head to the waiting area.”

Realizing he had been so absorbed in watching the man that several hours had passed, Yeongdeok checked the time, startled by how long he had been preoccupied.

As Choa urged him to go, Yeongdeok slowly walked down toward the stage, following her.

At the staff’s request, Choa took out her ticket and handed it over.

Yeongdeok followed suit, giving his ticket to the staff.

“I’m so nervous! My heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

While Choa took deep breaths, radiating excitement, Yeongdeok’s gaze remained coldly fixed on PetitRorang on the stage.

“Right.”

Seeing the harsh expression on his face, Choa carefully voiced her concern.

“Uh, I don’t know why you came to meet the author, but maybe don’t do anything that could cause a scene…?”

“I know. I’m not that thoughtless.”

“I didn’t mean you were.”

Yeongdeok had no intention of attacking PetitRorang or causing a fight, even if he felt like it.

With so little information about him, Yeongdeok planned to act with caution.

As they exchanged a brief conversation, Choa’s turn came.

Blushing with excitement, she approached the man on the stage.

Sitting across from him, Choa greeted him shyly.

The man responded with a smile, and Choa’s nervousness seemed to ease as she laughed brightly.

Yeongdeok couldn’t hear their conversation, but from their expressions, it looked pleasant enough.

She handed him her collector’s edition of PetitRorang’s work, and he signed it.

After a handshake, Choa’s turn ended, and finally, it was Yeongdeok’s turn.

Yeongdeok stuffed his hands into his pockets and approached the man.

The closer he got, the faster his heart began to beat. With each step, his pulse seemed to increase.

As Yeongdeok stopped, he finally faced the man directly.

He was close enough to reach out and grab his face or neck, yet he simply looked down at him, saying nothing.

For a moment, they both remained silent, exchanging glances as though speaking without words.

It was a mere ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Finally, the man smiled with half-moon eyes and spoke to Yeongdeok.

“Hello? We meet again?”

Yeongdeok did not return the courtesy.

In a low, cold voice, he asked, “Are you really PetitRorang, the author of this novel?”

“Why don’t you sit down? You must be tired from waiting.”

The man gestured toward the chair in front of Yeongdeok, but he ignored the invitation, standing stiffly with his hands still in his pockets.

“You’re really not listening.”

The man chuckled, grabbing a sheet of paper from the pile on his desk.

He scribbled something on the paper, closed his pen, and handed the sheet to Yeongdeok.

“Take a look.”

[If you want to talk more, come to the 4th-floor emergency stairs after the fan signing event.]

“Cha Dowon.”

His old name, which he had never revealed, was written plainly on the paper.

It was then that Yeongdeok realized: whether or not this man was the real PetitRorang, he embodied the author’s intent.

He truly was PetitRorang.

“You arrogant bastard.”

“Who’s really the arrogant one? Look around with those proud eyes of yours—see if there’s anyone else here giving me such defiant looks.”

The man smirked, his lips curling up in a wicked smile that reached his cheekbones.

Yeongdeok had many questions for him, and even more things he wanted to say, but his time with PetitRorang ended there.

At the staff’s prompt to step down, Yeongdeok cast one last glare at Rorang before stepping away. Waiting at the foot of the stage was Choa.

“I was worried something might happen. Glad there wasn’t a fight.”

Choa sighed in relief, as though she had prepared herself for the worst.

“What did you talk about with the author?”

“Nothing you need to know.”

Yeongdeok wanted to get out of this place, where he felt such a strong sense of alienation.

The disparity he felt here was too overwhelming.

As he briskly walked away, Choa hurried to catch up.

“You’re not staying until the end of the signing event?”

“I don’t see why I’d stick around just to watch PetitRorang shaking hands with fans.”

“But there’s a photo op at the end.”

“Not necessary.”

Just as he was about to leave, Yeongdeok glanced back at Choa, who looked a bit down.

With a sigh, he softened slightly.

“…Take care.”

After giving her hair a gentle pat, he walked out of the fan signing venue.

Once outside, Yeongdeok sat by the 4th-floor emergency stairs, just as PetitRorang had instructed, scrolling through SNS.

His phone screen was filled with posts about the author.

[Just met PetitRorang in real life! Even more handsome in person ㅠㅠㅠ]

[The world is so unfair. He’s not only a great writer but good-looking too? Insane.]

[PetitRorang, you’re guilty. You should marry me.]

[Shook hands with PetitRorang. I’m never washing this hand… It’s going in the family heirlooms.]

Trending Topics

• PetitRorang
• PetitRorang’s looks
• PetitRorang fan signing
• PetitRorang’s works

Yeongdeok coldly turned off his phone screen, letting it drop to his side, and waited for PetitRorang’s arrival.

* * *