“Now, with this, it’s completely Mr. Kyu-seong’s property,” said the guild staff with a smile, holding the stamped documents. I thanked him and, having finished all my errands at Ara Hongryeon, stepped outside.
“Hats!”
“Yes, let’s go buy hats now. If we’re going to China, we need to wear pretty hats.”
“Okay!”
The urgent issues in the dungeon were mostly resolved. Although there were still problems with the goblins’ fields and villages, we decided to proceed slowly but surely.
‘Materials from the mine, and my father’s village plans…’
I would need Kkumuris’s help again, but with more diverse materials and a well-thought-out plan this time. Unlike the initial slime village, the goblin village had over 500 residents, so careful planning was necessary.
Therefore, there was no need to rush. After all, the goblins were already living comfortably in the makeshift buildings built by Kkumuris.
“First, then…”
I called my father. He picked up immediately, taking a break from his work.
“Yes, Father, it’s me.”
“Yes?”
“I mentioned that I received some land, right? I’m planning to level the mountain and create a road. Could you help with that?”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you.”
It was a brief call, as expected of my father. With that, Ara and I headed out to shop. Since we were in Seoul, I thought we should take the chance to look around and buy some gifts to take to China. The trip was scheduled for tomorrow. It was a bit rushed, but we only planned to stay for a couple of days.
‘I’m a bit worried about Ryu Cheon.’
I could already imagine Ryu Cheon being disappointed that she couldn’t spend more time with Ara, but there was no helping it.
“Oh!”
Ara, holding my hand, suddenly pointed to something she had discovered. It was a street vendor selling fish-shaped bread and egg bread.
“Wow, it’s been a while.”
I used to eat these often when I was younger, but I hadn’t seen them in a while.
We approached the vendor and bought 20 pieces of each.
“Twenty?”
“Yes.”
The vendor asked again to confirm, and I nodded. There were about ten pieces already made, so I asked if we could start eating those. The vendor agreed.
“Here you go.”
“Wow!”
Ara’s ears perked up with joy. She held an egg bread in one hand and a fish-shaped bread in the other, taking a big bite.
“Yum!”
“Is it good?”
“Yes!”
Ara answered contentedly and continued eating. The vendor, who was casually making more bread, gradually widened his eyes at the sight.
“Wow.”
“My child eats well, doesn’t she? Haha.”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Excuse me, could we get ten more of each?”
“What? Oh, sure, your daughter has a great appetite.”
“Yes, she eats well, which is why she’s so pretty.”
The owner, seemingly at a loss for words, quickly made more bread. However, as soon as he made it, it was snatched up by Ara and devoured. In the end, including what I ate, we ended up eating all 30 pieces of each type of bread without leaving a single one behind.
“You really have a good appetite.”
“It was delicious!”
Ara gave a thumbs-up with a smile. Meanwhile, a crowd had suddenly gathered and was whispering as they watched Ara.
“Could it be…?”
“Isn’t that Ara?”
Huh? Someone here knows Ara? I turned to look at the crowd. They didn’t seem like people from Ara Hongryeon; they were all unfamiliar faces.
“Excuse me… Is that Ara?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. She is Ara.”
“I am Ara!”
Ara raised her arms and shouted. The eyes of the gathered crowd lit up.
“Oh! It really is Ara! I’m a fan!”
“Fan? Fan!”
Ara tilted her head, then a light bulb seemed to go off above her head.
“You like me?”
“Ah! So cute!”
“Wow, I can’t believe I’m seeing Ara in person.”
Most of them were women. Soon, people started asking me if they could take pictures with Ara.
“Ara, is it okay to take pictures?”
“It’s fine.”
Before we knew it, the area in front of the vendor turned into a photo zone. Thanks to this, people were buying the fish-shaped and egg bread, making the vendor smile as he watched the scene.
“Kimchi~!”
“Kimchi? Kimchi is for eating.”
“Cheese~!”
“Cheese! Cheese is for eating too!”
People laughed joyfully at Ara’s chatter. After a short fan meeting, we waved goodbye to the crowd.
“Kyu-seong! Kyu-seong!”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Why do these people like me?”
“Because you’re cute, Ara.”
“Hmm. I am cute. But I’m also dignified and cool, right?”
Ara, who seemed to be pondering why she didn’t exude majesty, looked so adorable with her round face. Unable to resist, I lifted her up and rubbed my cheek against hers, making her burst into laughter.
We continued wandering around Seoul, looking at hats and eating street food. From time to time, people who recognized Ara would ask for photos.
“There are so many hats! Hehe!”
Ara, smiling contentedly, was wearing a newly bought hat. It had been customized right there in the shop, with tiger ears standing up proudly.
“We bought four hats! Our Ara must be so happy.”
“Hehe!”
But Ara, why is your laugh starting to sound like Brother Hanul’s?
Dad is a bit worried.
We bought some small gifts to bring to the Skyscraper and were thinking of heading back when I noticed the crowd seemed to be growing.
‘It’s not just a feeling; the crowd is really getting bigger.’
It was like a procession following a celebrity, with people trailing us wherever we went.
“There are so many people!”
Ara said in amazement, but seeing the phones recording us, I realized it wasn’t just a crowd.
Then, I got a call from Seon-ah at just the right moment.
“Hello?”
“Brother, are you in Sinsa-dong right now?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“How do you think? News about Ara showing up there is spreading everywhere!”
“Ah, so that’s why there are so many people.”
It seemed that word had spread that Ara was here. I couldn’t believe Ara had so many fans that rumors were spreading about her.
‘Well, it’s no wonder. Our Ara’s cuteness is world-class.’
While I was thinking nonsense, Seon-ah spoke up.
“Give some fan service, but make sure Ara doesn’t get too tired.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up the call, another round of photo-taking with Ara began. I worried she might get tired, but it was unnecessary.
“Hehe.”
Ara was a multi-talented individual with mental fortitude and exceptional physical abilities. If anyone would get tired, it would be me, not Ara.
“Aren’t we causing too much trouble?”
“Everyone! Maybe it’s time we let Ara rest?”
Thankfully, before I wore myself out, the fans took it upon themselves to manage the crowd. I almost teared up at their considerate actions.
“Goodbye!”
“Goodbye, Ara!”
“I hope we can meet again! I’ll treasure this photo.”
“I watch your YouTube videos every day! Thank you!”
After saying goodbye to the fans, we squeezed through the crowd and got on the bus. I think it’s time to buy a car.
‘Who would have thought so many people would recognize Ara?’
Of course, I’m grateful to Ara’s fans. It means they love her. But if we go out like this a few more times, I might be the one who collapses first. I definitely need to buy a car. While it won’t completely avoid the crowds, at least the journey home will be more comfortable.
“Ara, we’ll be flying again tomorrow.”
“Oh! Are we going to see Ryu Cheon?”
“Yes.”
“Ryu Cheon is my fan! We’re going for a fan meeting!”
Ara, who had learned the word ‘fan meeting,’ used it immediately. I found it so cute that I nodded with a smile.
“Yes, let’s go for a fan meeting.”
Ryu Cheon’s secretary, Yu Bihong, said we could look forward to it, and I was curious about what they had prepared.
***
After finishing the call with Kyu-seong, Seon-ah went back to surfing the internet. She was browsing Ara’s fan cafe.
“Oh, pictures are being uploaded!”
Seon-ah had found out about Ara and Kyu-seong being in Sinsa-dong from the fan cafe, and she couldn’t hide her delight at the cute pictures of Ara that were being uploaded.
“Oh, I need to read this to Ara.”
Something came to mind, and Seon-ah closed the fan cafe and checked her email. Since starting the YouTube channel, Ara occasionally received letters, but she hadn’t delivered them yet.
“Hmm?”
While checking her inbox, Seon-ah found a fresh email that had just arrived. Thinking it was another fan letter, she opened it.
“What? Iron Blood?!”
It was from Iron Blood Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Iron Blood Group. Seon-ah was astonished to see an email from such an unexpected place. However, her initial shock was nothing compared to what she felt after reading the content.
“They want to make Ara a celebrity?”
More precisely, an advertisement model and child actor. They suggested meeting at a convenient time to discuss details. Seon-ah’s excitement was palpable.
“Mom!”
“What?!”
“Come here and look at this! This!”
Kim Hyun-mi came over at her daughter’s call. Thinking it was just another of Seon-ah’s usual outbursts, she approached with a calm expression.
“What is it this time?”
“This! A talent agency sent Ara a casting offer!”
“A casting offer? Are you saying they contacted her to become an actress?”
“That’s right!”
In her excitement, Seon-ah’s voice rose, and Kim Hyun-mi had to calm her down.
“Calm down for a moment. Let’s read it first.”
“Okay, okay!”
After reading the email, Kim Hyun-mi also realized it wasn’t a scam. She soon let her imagination run wild.
‘Our Ara on TV?’
What if she appeared in commercials or as a child actor in the dramas they often watched? She imagined boasting to everyone in the neighborhood.
Not only that, she imagined putting up banners in the neighborhood.
Her imagination proved that not only Seon-ah and Kyu-seong were not the only ones excited.
“Did you contact them?”
“Of course not! I just saw it too.”
“Let’s contact Kyu-seong first.”
“Yes! He would approve, right?”
Both Seon-ah and Kim Hyun-mi were already imagining Ara as a top star, walking proudly on the red carpet.
“Hehehe.”
“Hahaha.”
They didn’t know that Kyu-seong had already returned to the dungeon early to prepare for his trip to China the next day.
Cliche Novel 