038 Bae Suzy Smells Wonderful

Such a lovely scent.

Bae Suzy walked out with a beaming smile, dressed in satin over-the-knee high-heeled boots and a black dress heavily embroidered with intricate floral patterns, featuring a slightly plunging neckline.

The entire outfit was Chanel.

Yoon Yun-hui noticed the small, inconspicuous metal logo on her satin over-the-knee boots.

However, the thin straps of her sports bra were peeking out, which felt quite jarring and made the overall look less than perfect.

The fans were surging with excitement, their cries of "Unnie!" echoing incessantly.

Yoon Yun-hui sat up straight in silence.

This trip was worth it.

Bae Suzy walked directly in front of the fans, followed by security guards and staff.

Yoon Yun-hui helplessly realized that the security guards' gazes were fixed on him, never once shifting away.

Ah, right, right. After all, he was the only man in the venue.

Discrimination!

He couldn't stand it for even a second.

Yoon Yun-hui planned to finish watching the performance and, upon returning, donate a sum to a progressive party he was familiar with—since he hadn't used up his legal donation quota for the year—to urge them to push forward the Anti-Discrimination Act.

The peninsula's political parties had strict restrictions on accepting donations.

Since the Anti-Discrimination Act included provisions against women discriminating against men, the bill had been delayed indefinitely—or rather, it was impossible to pass because it was practically unenforceable.

Bae Suzy spotted Yoon Yun-hui in an instant.

A strange anomaly had snuck into the group of female fans.

He must be that person, the one from Yonsei University, whose mother had taken the VIP ticket from her.

Was he the only male with a VIP ticket?

The same thought flashed through Bae Suzy’s mind.

Immediately, she began her fan-service routine, personally handing out "reverse support" gifts to the VIP ticket holders.

The general admission ticket holders received the same items, but they had to collect them themselves, missing out on the privilege of receiving them directly from their idol.

So, this wasn't really a rehearsal; it was benefit time for the VIP guests.

Bae Suzy greeted almost everyone. There weren't many VIP ticket holders, and she had a general impression of them; she recognized them as fans who had started following her years ago.

Especially those few wealthy "big fans" and site administrators—she had met them many times and they had stuck by her throughout her journey.

"Long time no see. You’re the one from Yonsei University, right? I wonder if you’ve graduated yet."

"You actually remember me?"

"Of course. Thank you for coming to my tenth-anniversary fan meeting."

Bae Suzy seemed satisfied with Yoon Yun-hui’s surprised expression, and Yoon Yun-hui instinctively replied:

"You're welcome."

...

?

"I meant that I liked you a lot when I was a child, so coming to see you today is like looking back on my youth."

Yoon Yun-hui felt that didn't sound quite right, so he added that.

It ended up sounding even stranger.

You would have been better off not saying anything at all.

The smile on Bae Suzy’s face didn't falter; instead, she seemed amused, though she was secretly a little touched.

*You don't look that much younger than me, do you??? How did you end up liking me when you were a child???*

Fine.

It’s just that she debuted too early.

"Sigh, I will always like you, Suzy-xi."

Yoon Yun-hui simply added that, not feeling at all like he was confessing his feelings.

Bae Suzy made a heart gesture at him, and then moved on to the next person.

Yoon Yun-hui’s eyes followed her, and then he realized he was the only one in the venue not recording with a phone.

Well, if he didn't film it, he didn't film it!

Yoon Yun-hui caught a familiar scent. Did Bae Suzy use Kiehl's too?

Wood, musk, flowers, and fruit.

He quite liked using that specific body wash from Kiehl's.

Smelling that familiar scent made him feel very close to her, and his favorability toward her skyrocketed.

"You aren't Suzy Unnie's fan, are you?"

The site administrator next to him asked from behind in a ghostly voice, and Yoon Yun-hui answered in a heartbeat:

"Of course I am, I'm just not as hardcore as you guys."

He really was, wasn't he!

At this point, he had to be, even if he wasn't. Yoon Yun-hui feared that if he said a single "no," he wouldn't be able to walk out of this auditorium alive.

"I feel like you look a bit familiar."

A "big fan" sitting in front of Yoon Yun-hui came over to chat, now that Bae Suzy had finished the first round of fan benefits and returned backstage.

"Yonsei University?"

"Yes."

"I'm from Sungkyunkwan, currently working on my master's."

"Nice to meet you, Sunbae."

To survive among this group of true ten-year veteran fans, Yoon Yun-hui’s attitude was exceptionally respectful.

He suddenly thought of a problem: he really needed to delete the post he had just made on Instagram so that Bae Suzy's fans wouldn't say he was riding on her coattails.

No need to wait—Yoon Yun-hui went ahead and did a major purge of his posts right then and there. It was easy enough.

"I've heard of you, the student council president of Yonsei. Suzy Unnie attended the Yonsei University school festival in 2018."

The tone of the Sungkyunkwan sunbae sounded a bit sour.

Ah, right, it seemed Sungkyunkwan had only started inviting celebrities to their school festival performances in the last couple of years.

That explained it.

Yonsei was still too ahead of the curve.

They had been holding school music festivals featuring popular artists for nineteen years. The first one invited Lee Hyori’s girl group, then S.E.S., then Girls' Generation, and these days, groups like TWICE and ITZY.

University only lasts four years; it is the final chapter of student life, filled with all its beauty and helplessness.

"Ahahaha."

Yoon Yun-hui laughed. He didn't feel awkward, just a bit out of place among these genuine ten-year veteran fans.

"Please keep liking our Unnie. Our Unnie is worth it."

The big fan said casually, appearing to have a pretty good impression of Yoon Yun-hui.

She just didn't know if these fans would still be able to smile if Yoon Yun-hui ever had the chance to act alongside Bae Suzy in the future.

"I've always liked her, it's just that I've been busy lately, so it's rare to find the time."

Yoon Yun-hui was spouting nonsense—when had he ever "always liked" Bae Suzy?

He just found talking to these fans quite interesting.

Yoon Yun-hui didn't have a "fan mentality," but he did have icons he admired—domestically, naturally, it was the DJ; internationally, his top choice was the current Pope.

If Yoon Yun-hui were to study for a master's in theology, he would definitely choose to research the theological theories practiced by the current Pope in Latin America.

Was the psychology of fans liking celebrities the same as his own psychology of admiring these figures?

"Pretty much. The lucky thing is that I'm close to our Unnie, while they have to fly in."

"They" referred to the overseas fans.

After a few minutes of chatting, the general admission ticket holders began to enter. Once they were mostly seated, the lights gradually dimmed.

Bae Suzy’s tenth-anniversary fan meeting was about to begin.

Yoon Yun-hui’s mindset was quite normal; he treated this as an ordinary performance.

He had seen many performances. The Yoon residence was right next to the National Theater, and the neighbors were naturally close-knit, often gifting tickets to commemorative foundations, ranging from traditional song and dance to symphonies and ballet.

But this time was different.

Because it was Bae Suzy.

Although there weren't many singing and dancing numbers, the classic "Red String Dance" and "Hush" were included. For the most part, Bae Suzy sat or stood, singing with deep emotion.

She changed outfits every three or four songs, sporting five different looks in total.

Awkwardly, Yoon Yun-hui realized he hadn't heard most of the songs Bae Suzy sang.

He reflected on whether he was truly a fan, only to be surprised to discover that, actually, he wasn't.

Never mind. He was one now.

The outfit she wore during "Hush," with the leg garter, was very seductive.