1 Chapter 1 Prologue

The sudden heat that came blasting in from when the cabin doors opened made it hard for one to adjust to. Having been on a fully air-conditioned passenger plane for more than 10 hours, Hyungjoon was ready to escape the cold.

Though, he soon broke out in sweat just within moments of entering Korea.

"The heat wasn't this intense back in America..." he muttered under his breath as he held up his phone, eyeing it and checking for unread messages and missed phone calls. After all, he did have his phone shut off for longer than he would have wanted to, but there was no helping with that.

[45 Missed Calls]

[177 Unread Messages]

"What the—-"

Just who in the world was so desperate to speak to him that they couldn't even take a hint and call him back a bit later? Although he had a faint suspicion, he still proceeded to find out who this "desperate" person was.

"Ah, that makes sense," he muttered before dialing the number and calling them back.

Before the call had gotten through, however, he looked up and saw a familiar face standing at the terminal.

It was his childhood friend, Yul Park.

"Hyojoon Lee, you ungrateful little brat! How could you ignore your "dear friend's" personal attempts to contact you?! Do you think we all have a lot of free time like you do?" Yul sulked.

The two have been friends for many years, and they often teased each other. Hyojoon Lee was a bit more reserved, while Yul Park was an outgoing and cheerful guy. Their personality traits occasionally reminded Hyojoon of cliched novel plots and their unlikely character pair-ups. Nonetheless, they were quite the opposites, yet they still got along well.

"It's been a while, Yul." Hyojoon greeted his old friend, his expression forming into a slight smile. "How did you know that I was coming back to Korea?"

As soon as Yul heard that question, his expression could not help but go sour.

"You're actually asking me that...?" He paused before speaking again. "How could you! You didn't even tell your closest friend that you were returning to Korea. Did you know how aghast I was when your mother called me this morning and asked if I was going to go greet you at the airport?!"

Yul's overreacting and exaggerated gestures and tone of speech put Hyojoon at ease. A sense of familiarity rushed through him. After all, this was the place he had spent much of his childhood in.

But the moment of serenity was soon broken by whispers and murmurs of the crowd.

Click! Flash!

There was a flash of light, followed by another and many more. Soon enough, a significant crowd of people began surrounding the two.

"Isn't that Hyojoon Li?"

"No way, I think you're right!

"Kyaaaa!!!! It really is him, it's Hyojoon Li!!"

Before Hyojoon Lee could enough grasp ahold of his situation, the crowd began to increase in size rapidly. At this rate, he was probably going to need a raft to sail through this sea of people who seemed to be obsessing over him for no apparent reason. Well, or so he thought.

A young lady, barely twenty and quite pretty, approached Hyojoon swiftly whilst traversing through the dangerous crowd.

"C-can I have you autograph?" She squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

Flustered and unsure of what to do since he had never anticipated such a situation, Hyojoon decided to seek his friend's advice.

Turning around to seek Yul for help, Hyojoon found his friend staring blankly in shock. He didn't want to know what was running through his friend's mind right now, as what had overwhelmed his friend would probably overwhelm him as well. All he wanted to do at this moment was to find a way and escape the situation.

"I'm sorry, but if you all could give us some personal space..." he began, but it was of no avail. The crowd only increased, and the numbers did not seem to go down at all.

Grabbing the stupefied Yul by the wrist and pushing through the crowd, Hyojoon seeked escape. Surely there was someone who would know what was going on? After all, there was no reason for such a crowd to accumulate upon seeing his arrival. Especially since he had just come back discreetly from studying abroad in America.

Heck, to avoid going through a hassle and seeking a quiet return, he only told his mother and decided to not even tell his closest friend of his arrival. Yet, trouble still seemed to find its way to him.

"H-hyojoon!" Yul blurted out, raising his phone screen so that Hyojoon could see. His hands were trembling with excitement, but his expression was conflicting.

"What is it?" Hyojoon asked quickly, turning around towards both directions to make sure they weren't being followed. When he was sure, he let out a deep sigh of relief "Finally, that was terrif—-"

"When did you become a celebrity?!" Yul exclaimed in wonder and admiration. He raised his phone screen once again for Hyojoon to see.

On the screen, multiple headlines flashed:

[Singer Actor Hyojoon Li to Land Role in Latest Movie Production]

[Hyojoon Li to Host Concert Before Returning to Work on Set]

[Destined for Fame? Hyojoon Li!]

'But the spelling of the name is different from mine?'

Upon opening one of the articles, a picture of someone identical to Hyojoon Lee was displayed. Though, that person who was identical to him was definitely not the same person as him. After all, he had been in America for the past few years. There was no way a picture of him in Korea could be surfacing on the internet.

Still, he could not deny that that person looked exactly like him.

"What in the world....?!"

Just who was this Hyojoon Li?!

<Prologue Fin.>