The soft hum of morning life filtered through the window as Lee Jihoon stretched in bed.
For once, he felt completely at ease.
No rush to the office.
No stress about deadlines.
No deep sighs at the thought of another uneventful day.
Instead, a pleasant sense of contentment settled over him.
Yesterday had been one of the best days he'd had in a long time.
Spending time with Yoo Seoyun had been effortless—just two people enjoying a normal day without expectations.
He chuckled to himself. "Never thought I'd say that about hanging out with a celebrity."
Feeling particularly lazy, Jihoon reached for his phone, half-expecting to see a simple good morning message from Seoyun.
Instead—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A flood of notifications nearly made him drop the phone.
Jihoon frowned. "What the—"
He unlocked his phone and immediately saw the headlines.
"Yoo Seoyun Seen with Mystery Man! Who Was She With at the Han River?"
"Possible Date or Just a Friend? Fans Speculate Over Blurry Photo!"
Jihoon froze.
"…Oh, no."
His stomach dropped as he clicked on one of the articles.
There it was.
A grainy, blurry photo taken from a distance, showing Seoyun walking beside someone.
That someone?
Him.
But his face wasn't visible.
The article was full of speculation.
"While the identity of the man remains unclear, fans are curious—was this just a friendly outing or something more?"
Jihoon let out a long breath.
"Well… at least my life isn't ruined."
Then his phone rang.
Incoming Call: Yoo Seoyun
Jihoon sighed. "Of course."
Jihoon answered. "Good morning to you too, Seoyun."
Seoyun groaned. "Jihoon. We have a problem."
Jihoon smirked. "You mean your blurry Bigfoot sighting?"
Seoyun sighed dramatically. "I swear, these paparazzi have the worst cameras. I bet they took that picture with a potato."
Jihoon chuckled. "Well, at least no one knows it's me."
"That's the only good part," Seoyun admitted. "My manager called me at six in the morning, panicking over 'unnecessary rumors.'"
Jihoon raised an eyebrow. "And what's the official plan?"
Seoyun huffed. "The company will release a short statement later today. Something like, 'Seoyun was seen enjoying her personal time with a friend. Please respect her privacy.'"
Jihoon nodded. "Sounds reasonable."
Seoyun sighed. "Honestly, I just hope people move on quickly. I really enjoyed yesterday, and I don't want stuff like this ruining it."
Jihoon smiled softly. "Then don't let it."
Seoyun paused.
Jihoon continued, "You finally had a normal, peaceful day. Don't let a blurry picture take that away from you."
Seoyun was silent for a moment.
Then, she laughed softly. "You're right. I'm overthinking."
Jihoon smirked. "Wow. That's rare."
Seoyun scoffed. "Don't push it."
Jihoon grinned. "Too late."
Ding!
[Kindness Opportunity Completed!]
Reward: 10,000 KRW
Jihoon smirked.
Even cheering up a celebrity earns kindness points.
Jihoon had barely finished breakfast when there was a loud knock on his door.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"JIHOON! OPEN UP!"
Jihoon sighed. "Oh, here we go."
He opened the door to find Kevin Park, his coworker, holding his phone with a huge grin.
"Dude." Kevin's eyes shone with excitement.
Jihoon sighed. "Let me guess. You saw the article?"
Kevin nodded furiously. "Tell me the truth. Was that YOU?"
Jihoon smirked. "Can't confirm or deny."
Kevin gasped dramatically. "YOU WERE ON A DATE WITH YOO SEOYUN?!"
Jihoon laughed. "No, you idiot. We were just hanging out."
Kevin squinted. "Hanging out? With a TOP actress? Bro, normal people don't just 'hang out' with celebrities."
Jihoon shrugged. "Guess I'm not normal."
Kevin narrowed his eyes.
Then sighed.
"…You know what? I don't even care anymore."
Jihoon blinked. "Wait. That's it?"
Kevin sat on the couch. "I've decided that questioning your life choices is bad for my health."
Jihoon burst out laughing.
Kevin pointed at him. "But if you two do start dating, you better let me meet her."
Jihoon rolled his eyes. "Noted."
A Simple Statement, and It's Over
By the afternoon, Seoyun's company released the official statement.
"Yoo Seoyun was enjoying her personal time with a friend. Please respect her privacy. There is no further comment at this time."
And just like that—
The media moved on.
Jihoon scrolled through the last few comments.
User1: Oh, it was just a friend? Kinda disappointing.
User2: I KNEW it wasn't a date.
User3: Mystery solved. Time to focus on my own life now.
Jihoon shook his head, chuckling.
Crisis averted.
His phone buzzed.
[Yoo Seoyun: Thanks for today. Let's hang out again soon. No paparazzi this time.]
Jihoon smirked.
[Lee Jihoon: You're paying next time.]
Seoyun replied almost instantly.
[Yoo Seoyun: …We'll see.]
Jihoon chuckled.
His life was still normal.
The world had moved on.
And best of all?
He still had time to focus on his journey of kindness.
Ding!
[New Relationship Status: Trusted Friend]
Seoyun now trusts you fully.
Reward: 20,000 KRW
Jihoon smiled.
Just another day in his not-so-ordinary, ordinary life.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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