@kaikarie, continued from here!
How could she trust him when she was already getting too anxious to focus in anything. She knew idols and was okay with knowing them. Yet it was agonizing how she could barely stand with any male idol without getting some glances or some mean comments. And in that moment she knew why she didn’t dare to hang out with much idols. The fan had been following them for about twenty minutes now and while Chanyeol was used to it, Marie was not and it was making her heart shake.
She was used to guys following her because of her looks but it wouldn’t last much because she’d always go somewhere with a crowd or confront them. This time was different, she had read stories about fans who threw stones to idols’ girlfriends and even though she wasn’t, there could be rumors. Chanyeol had never dared to look back so they couldn’t take a picture and Marie would do the same. “Please, please tell me you have a plan.”
And after his words he grabbed her hand and began to run towards the center of Seul where there were a lot of people walking by. Both could hear the fan ran after them but in such messed up crowd, Chanyeol found their way towards an ally and hid himself and Marie behind a box. Both saw the girl keep on running and Marie could finally breathe. She moved her back against the wall and sighed.
“That was scary, how do you live with this? Would she really try to hit me if she was sure it was you?”
chanyeol knows he can’t exactly expect marie to trust him completely, not when she probably isn’t used to this sort of thing happening. hell -- he doesn’t blame her. he knows how hard it is. he lives through it often, which is why he always tries to stay as lowkey as possible, especially when he’s out with a non-idol friend. a shame, when he really thinks about it. idols should be able to have friends who aren’t idols and be able to be out with them without having to worry about whoever he might be with getting hassled. even he shouldn’t have to worry about getting hassled himself.
in this moment, he feels absolutely awful that marie has to deal with this all because of him.
‘it’ll be okay, i swear! i do have a plan!’ it’s only necessary that he has a plan when it comes to getting out of these situations. fans follow idols all the time, and he’s certainly no stranger to having fans following him. whether it’s because they’re trying to see if it’s actually him or if they know it’s him, he’s never quite sure, but he does know that losing fans isn’t too hard. and that’s exactly why he grabbed her hand to tug her into the crowded sidewalks and streets that keep seoul the bustling city that it is. and even if an alleyway isn’t ideal, it’s much better than having to run for several blocks or even a couple kilometers just to lose a pesky fan that doesn’t want to leave him alone.
what’s even worse than hiding in an alleyway is having to hide behind a box. it’s embarrassing, really, and he really hates that maria has to deal with this. by himself, he wouldn’t care so much -- but with someone else? the thought alone has him sighing. once he’s sure the fan had run past and kept going, thinking they were still within the crowd, he too slumps back against the wall, his head resting back against it as his gaze is focused on the building across from them. he doesn’t really want to answer marie’s question.
‘i usually avoid going out during busy hours,’ he admits with a sheepish laugh before he looks over at her, lips pressed together into a small frown. ‘it depends on what kind of fan it is. fans are very..’ he pauses and looks away, scrunching his nose in distaste. ‘some of them are very possessive over idols. and some of them are downright scary.. like sasaengs. the last time i had a bad experience with them was in shanghai last year..’ he trails off with a sigh, looking back towards the street they had been on. ‘ah, so tiring.’ chanyeol looks back towards marie after, offering a small, apologetic smile. ‘i’m sorry you had to deal with this-- i really am. i owe you, so let me make it up to you, yeah? anything you want!’
he pushes himself away from the wall after a moment and steps out to peer towards the street again, quick to decide that it seemed fine, and the fan that had been following them was gone. a relief, at least. he looks at the woman again afterwards with a warmer expression on his face, gesturing for her to follow. ‘it’s fine now. we’ll be fine-- you’ll be fine, i promise!’ well-- he can’t exactly promise, but he tries. ‘we’ll just be extra careful.’
