Episode 27: 32-Year-Old Mr. Kim Is a Great Source of Protein
GraceOne means more to me than just celebrities.
They’re my light, my truth—Min-young is my gospel.
These days, work keeps me too busy to stan as hard as I’d like, but I still feel their lingering presence every day at the company.
Just being in the same agency as GraceOne feels like a reward for my fan life.
But GraceOne getting attacked with acid…?
This isn’t just a personal shock—it’s a scandal big enough to make the 8 p.m. news.
Years ago, when OjangYukbu, the legendary 11-member idol group, had their leader Shim Min-ho drink a beverage laced with glue, it caused a massive uproar.
[TL Note: Oh-jang Yuk-bu (OjangYukbu): An old Sino-Korean idiom referring to the internal organs, like heart, liver, lungs, stomach, intestines, etc.)
After that, it became an unspoken rule in the idol industry not to eat food from fans, a rule many agencies still strictly follow.
While GraceOne isn’t on OjangYukbu’s level, they’re easily in the top five for influence among current idol groups, with massive popularity in both Korea and Japan. This is no small matter.
I watched the future video with intense focus, taking notes like never before.
–“They say sasaengs aren’t real fans. We hope for a healthy and mature fandom culture. That’s all for today’s video.”
The video ended.
My phone’s notepad was riddled with typos from my frantic scribbling.
Location, time, the attacker’s position, and sparse personal details.
I cleaned it up and sent it to my personal KakaoTalk and email, just in case.
My heart wouldn’t calm down.
How do I handle this?
There’s no logical way to explain this, so reporting it to the company, police, or Team Leader Jeon is out.
The best option is to go to the fan signing myself and catch the culprit.
If I nab him, we’ll find the acid in his bag, giving me enough justification even if he’s not caught in the act.
But what excuse do I use to show up at GraceOne’s fan signing?
It’s not my day off.
As a rookie, I can’t take leave unless it’s a major family emergency.
It’s like when I met Seon-yu—I’d have to ditch the practice room without permission.
But Jeon already warned me about acting on my own during work hours.
“Hoo…”
No matter how I look at it, there’s only one answer.
Lie about a family emergency to get time off, or sneak out like I did for Seon-yu, catch the culprit, and hope the merit saves me.
But what if they ask how I knew about the attack?
No choice.
I’ll say I had a prophetic dream or something.
It’s not scientifically provable, but if I catch the guy, who’s gonna argue?
They’ll probably just think, “Wow, that’s wild!” and move on.
With the plan taking shape, another thought hit me.
If I prevent GraceOne’s attack, won’t my stock at the company skyrocket?
I know Free Sense will succeed, but my lack of clout and experience holds me back from pushing hard.
Saving GraceOne, a group with major clout in the industry and beyond, would boost my standing immensely.
With their domestic and international fandom and media attention, the company would have to reward me somehow.
A GraceOne fan signing will draw plenty of press, so there’ll be enough reporters and cameras to capture my heroics dramatically.
Getting hired as a full-time employee, skipping the rest of my probation, would be reward enough.
I could leverage that to boost Free Sense’s influence.
But… as a GraceOne fan, is it sleazy to use them for a career boost?
No, no way.
It’d be shady if someone got hurt, but this is a win-win for everyone—a beautiful big picture.
***
“Good work!”
“Thank you!”
While I was dreaming up grand scenarios, the ‘HotTopicPerson’ shoot wrapped up.
Watching the YouTuber say goodbye to the Free Sense members, another idea struck.
What if I filmed myself stopping the acid attack?
The GraceOne fan signing is at a shopping complex in Goyang.
The 32-year-old Mr. Kim plans to throw acid from the U-shaped second-floor railing above the event.
Unless I tip off the press, their cameras won’t catch the second floor.
For a more epic, vivid show, someone needs to film me.
One person comes to mind.
Jun-ho, who edited Free Sense’s alumni event video.
I’ll ask him to record me taking down Mr. Kim.
***
The day of GraceOne’s fan signing.
Luckily, Free Sense had no schedule.
As usual, I was at the practice room with them. Two hours before the fan signing, I told the girls, “I’m stepping out for about three hours.”
“Three hours is a bit long for ‘stepping out,’ no?” Ah-hyun countered.
“Blatant slacking. Stag beetle guillotine slice slice,” Jin-ah added.
“Something urgent came up.”
“Didn’t you say one more strike from Team Leader and you’re out?”
“I won’t get fired, don’t worry. If Team Leader calls, just tell him the truth—that I stepped out for something urgent.”
“Hyun-jong-ssi, we can’t lose you,” Jin-ah said.
“You won’t. I’ll be back.”
Ignoring their concerns, I bolted from the practice room.
After taking a bus and subway, I arrived at the venue and met Jun-ho.
I’d told him it was to shoot GraceOne’s fan signing.
Before even greeting me, he asked about Free Sense.
“How’re my pretties doing?”
“They’re good.”
“You owe me big time.”
“Nah.”
“How ungrateful. My video basically made Halloween Tteok-Tteok-Tteok-Day go viral.”
“That’s a stretch. They were bound to blow up.”
“So I get to see GreatOne today?”
He knows it’s GraceOne but mispronounced it to mess with me.
“You’ll see them.”
“Man, you’re something else. Who joins a company just to stan their favorite girl group?”
“The problem is I haven’t even seen them once.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, different teams, and they’ve been in Japan lately, so I haven’t had the chance.”
“What the heck.”
“Let’s go in.”
About 30 minutes remained until the fan signing.
I headed to the first floor to scope things out.
Man.
I never imagined I’d be at a fan signing like this…
Even with plenty of time left, the guideline area was already packed with selected fans and reporters.
The 32-year-old Mr. Kim, who wasn’t chosen for the fan signing, wouldn’t be down here.
I recalled his appearance, burned into my brain after hundreds of mental replays: black ball cap, black hoodie, brown pants, green Jansport backpack.
“Should I start filming now?” Jun-ho asked.
“No, I’ll tell you when. We need to shoot from the second floor.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“I’ll buy you food after.”
“I’m hungry now.”
“Wanna grab something quick?”
“Those twisted donuts over there.”
Near the fan signing area was a food truck selling mini rice flour donuts.
We moved there to order.
My eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings.
“Why’re you looking around like that? Meeting someone?”
“Uh, no.”
As I answered Jun-ho, two familiar faces approached.
Any GraceOne core fan would recognize Team Leader Lee Sook-young and her male manager.
Lee used to manage Free Sense.
Startled, I turned away reflexively, then remembered they wouldn’t know my face.
We’d never crossed paths at the company or formally met.
Just to be safe, I nudged Jun-ho’s side and put a finger to my lips, signaling him to stay quiet.
Jun-ho, sensing something off, shut his mouth.
The male manager, standing right beside me, placed an order.
“Twenty twisted donuts and twenty of those round ones.”
Must be getting snacks.
“Five minutes or so,” the vendor said.
“Okay.”
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but my heart was pounding.
After paying with a card, the manager asked Lee quietly, “Heard Free Sense is getting a single?”
I flinched at the unexpected mention, and so did Jun-ho.
Lee responded indifferently, “Yeah, I heard. Min-yong begged CEO Jung for it.”
“They’re getting some buzz lately.”
“But will CEO Kim even allow it?”
They’re talking about this in public?
The vendor was too busy frying donuts to pay attention, but I was stunned they’d discuss company matters so openly with me and Jun-ho right there.
Either their security awareness is nonexistent, or they just don’t care about Free Sense.
Maybe they think we’re just GraceOne fans.
Or maybe, up in their ivory tower, Free Sense is beneath their notice.
“Putting Min-yong as Team 2’s leader was a mistake to begin with. He’s thorough, but his face screams bad luck,” Lee said.
“He does have that vibe… not exactly manager material,” the male manager added.
I get that Lee was Jeon’s direct superior, but hearing a non-manager roadie join in on dissing our team leader stung.
Lee shook her head, clearly annoyed, and continued.
“He tried so hard to ride our kids’ coattails.”
“Why?”
“He kept begging CEO Jung to include Free Sense in our kids’ variety show slots.”
“Really?”
“As if that’d work. In this day and age? If we tried sneaking in Free Sense—who aren’t even rookies anymore, just washed-up—our fandom would lose it. I told him I’d never let that happen.”
As a GraceOne stan, I get her point, but why does this feel so bad?
Treating our kids like garbage?
“Your two twisted donuts are ready.”
Our order was up.
Wanting to hear more, I moved away as slowly as possible.
Jun-ho tapped my arm and whispered, “Those are your company people, right?”
“Yeah, GraceOne’s team.”
“They’re so freaking arrogant.”
“Shh…”
While silencing Jun-ho and glancing at Lee, I spotted him over her shoulder, about a palm’s width in my view.
Black ball cap, black hoodie, brown pants, green Jansport backpack.
The 32-year-old Mr. Kim, GraceOne’s would-be attacker.
My precious protein source to boost my pathetic survival instincts in this wild jungle!
“Hey, let’s go.”