A Secret in the Village

“Huh? An idol? I see. He is as handsome as a celebrity. His name is Ji-ho, you say? Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, the Village Foreman lent me a room, so I was very comfortable. Thank you once again.”

Instead of the female student who clearly recognized him, Ji-ho first bowed to the Foreman’s wife.

Seeing a handsome young man—a rarity in the countryside, or even the city—greet her so politely, the wife naturally burst into a smile. The daughter seemed to take after her blunt father rather than her extroverted mother; she couldn’t bring herself to ask outright if he was from Pentagram, instead stealing glances at him for a long time.

This continued until the Foreman returned and the breakfast table was set. Naturally, Ji-ho, who had intended to head back to his own place, was caught by the Foreman’s hand once again and forced to eat with them.

“Is the young man really a celebrity? No wonder. I thought he had a different air about him. And you brought him here without even knowing that?”

“How am I supposed to know if he’s an idol or whatever?”

“Our music is mostly listened to by people in their twenties and thirties, so it’s only natural the Foreman wouldn’t know. I’m not that famous of a person, anyway.”

Ji-ho didn’t bring up the story of the traffic accident that had been all over the news. Explaining it that way might lead someone to recall hearing about Pentagram, but he didn’t want to define himself through such a tragic story.

Even if the Foreman’s daughter, who kept glancing at his face and his uncomfortable left leg throughout the meal, seemed to already know the whole situation.

‘I wonder if she’ll listen if I ask her to keep it a secret.’

The profession of a male idol inherently required a certain level of skill in interacting with women. Ji-ho leaned in and whispered to the shy, blushing girl.

“Let’s keep the details as a secret between us.”

Regardless of whether she was a fan of Pentagram or not, the sight of a handsome man—old enough to be called ‘Oppa’—smiling and placing a single index finger to his lips was a shock akin to seeing a scene from a photoshoot.

The Foreman’s daughter nodded repeatedly as if possessed. It seemed unlikely that rumors about Ji-ho would spread through the village for the time being.

Once the topic regarding him had passed, Ji-ho was able to eat in peace. After months of eating a specialized diet for promotions followed by bland hospital food, it would have been strange for a home-cooked meal not to taste delicious.

“Is it because he’s a celebrity? He even eats so gracefully.”

“What’s that got to do with being a celebrity?”

Using the Foreman couple’s bickering—which felt like a comedy routine—as a side dish, the rice tasted even sweeter. For some reason, Ji-ho had a feeling he would continue to be entangled with this family during his stay in the countryside.

His hunch wasn’t wrong.

“You said you had to stop by the hospital in town. It should be open today.”

After finishing breakfast, Ji-ho hurried back to his place to gather documents like his medical referrals. The Foreman, insisting that Ji-ho get checked before his condition worsened, practically kidnapped him into his car and headed toward the town center.

“For the bed, the breakfast, and now the ride to town… Thank you once again, Foreman.”

Inside the compact car—which had a cute appearance that didn’t quite match its owner—the Foreman remained silent despite Ji-ho’s gratitude. Watching the man who spoke roughly but acted with nothing but kindness, Ji-ho thought of a random word.

‘What do you call this kind of personality? Ha-un said something once while looking at Noah.’

At that moment, the words Ha-un had spoken came back to Ji-ho’s mind, syllable for syllable.

‘Still, Noah Hyung is subtly different when Ji-ho Hyung is around, you know? You don’t think he gets all sweet when you’re alone, do you? You know, like a “Tsundere.” Ugh, maybe not. Noah Hyung might be more of a “Yandere.”’

He remembered telling Ha-un, who was using words he couldn’t understand, to refrain from using internet slang. He even recalled the youngest’s reaction afterward, jumping up and down insisting they were perfectly fine Japanese words.

‘I wonder if Lee Ha-un is posting whatever he wants on Upstagram since I’m not there.’

Suddenly, Ji-ho felt a pang of realization.

He had vowed not to think about the group as much as possible while resting, yet here he was, not even a full day into his stay, unconsciously worrying about the members.

“What’d you say?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Tell me if there’s anywhere else you need to stop by.”

Answering the Foreman, Ji-ho made an excuse to himself. He couldn’t help it; a lifestyle that had become ingrained in his body wasn’t something that would disappear easily.

‘Besides, doesn’t Lee Ha-un talk a lot?’

Thinking of Ha-un, he felt a bit bothered that he hadn’t replied to his text even when he was discharged. However, they arrived at their destination sooner than expected, and Ji-ho quickly shook off his thoughts about Ha-un and reached for his crutches.

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“I’ll be over at Kim’s Hardware Store, so wait for me even if your appointment ends early.”

“Please take your time with your business. If it doesn’t work out, I can find a local bus and head back on my own.”

“Tsk, I told you to wait, so wait. You talk too much.”

At the Foreman’s clicking tongue and blunt remark, Ji-ho obediently said okay. He had only met the man yesterday, yet he scratched his cheek, feeling as though he had already grown accustomed to this one-sided care.

The hospital in town was larger than he had expected. Being an orthopedic clinic, it seemed to attract many elderly patients with weak joints or bones.

Ji-ho looked around to see if anyone recognized him, but seeing that most of the waiting patients were older, he approached the desk with relief.

“If this is your first time, could you fill out your personal information on this form? Just from here to here… Oh my!”

The staff member, who had been giving instructions without much thought, looked at Ji-ho’s face and jumped in surprise. It wasn’t that she recognized who he was, but rather because of his strikingly handsome features that were hard to come by in daily life.

Perhaps embarrassed that she had been startled by how handsome a man young enough to be her nephew was, the staff member blushed and continued.

“I’m sorry. I was just surprised because the patient is so handsome. What? An idol? For real?”

Another staff member in the waiting area behind the desk apparently knew who Ji-ho was, as she cried out in a startled voice. Ji-ho could hear a small commotion breaking out in the back room as several people began talking rapidly.

Even though the town was more populated than the village, he had thought it was remote enough to be okay. Ji-ho, flustered that his identity had already been discovered, made a request to the staff.

“Could I possibly borrow a mask? I’ll pay for it if I need to.”

Was he perhaps more popular with the public than he had thought? It was more likely that his face had become famous in a negative way due to the recent controversies, but Ji-ho tried his best to think positively.

The reaction to Ji-ho’s presence was the same during his examination.

“Your condition looks good. However, you need to keep using the crutches, and I’ll leave the cast on for a little longer. You’ll need to come in for regular check-ups.”

“I used to do work that involved using my legs quite a bit. Will there be any issues after I recover? The hospital where I had the surgery said it would be fine, but I wanted to get another doctor’s opinion.”

“What kind of work?”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I’m… an idol. My choreography on stage tends to be quite intense.”

“You’re a celebrity? No wonder. The staff were making a fuss about needing to get autographs; I guess it was because of you. Hmm, we’ll need to monitor your progress for that part, so for now, it’s best to just focus on a full recovery. But what brings you to a place like this… are you filming something?”

“No. As you can see, I need to recover my leg, and this is my hometown. It looks like I’ll be stopping by the hospital often, so I’ll be in your care.”

“Don’t you worry. Ahem, well, I don’t know much about idols, but you seem like someone famous—could I get an autograph? A photo too, if possible.”

He wasn’t sure if the doctor wanted to advertise the hospital by saying he had treated a famous patient, but based on the reaction, it seemed the doctor would put extra effort into Ji-ho’s treatment.

At least for now, no one was bringing up the traffic accident or the subsequent controversies, so Ji-ho readily took the photo. He didn’t forget to sign autographs for all the staff after the examination.

Afterward, due to the commotion in the hospital, even patients who didn’t know him well began talking to him out of curiosity. If it had just been the elderly, it wouldn’t have mattered, but as time passed, he saw a few younger patients. Even though his promised meeting time with the Foreman was far off, Ji-ho stepped out of the hospital.

Even after coming outside, it wasn’t quiet. Even though he was wearing a mask, several people passing by stared at him. Some even whispered afterward; he tried his best not to listen to what people were saying.

‘Being an idol really does make it difficult to live a normal daily life.’

He realized why Yong-ha, their manager, had talked so much about the company’s protection. He began to worry that he might have been thinking too simply.

He shouldn’t have been so relieved just because this wasn’t Seoul or because it was the countryside. He feared that if he kept drawing attention like this, word of his stay here might spread online, and the incidents he faced at the hospital would repeat themselves.

Walking diligently on his crutches to find a less crowded spot, Ji-ho stopped in front of a mobile phone store.

‘Should I just get a phone now and call the company?’

Maybe that was the right thing to do. If the reality was that there was nowhere he could truly rest in peace, then it was only right to ask for help—even from an agency that didn’t want him.

Perhaps standing blankly in front of the store looked suspicious. A passerby spoke to Ji-ho.

“Excuse me. By any chance…”