Chapter Text
Baek Saheon floated aimlessly across the concrete expanse of the central square, drifting through the afternoon crowds gathered outside the mega mall. He did not need to eat, sleep or pay rent, which left him with an endless abundance of free time. Naturally, he spent those empty hours working.
His work was not a conventional job that paid a salary—being dead rendered currency useless—but it required absolute, full-time dedication nevertheless. His duty in the afterlife was to act as the primary, most tireless anti-fan of the living author Kim Soleum.
As for the logistics of how a low-level ghost had managed to acquire a working smartphone, set up a social media account and upload photos? Saheon had no idea. He simply remembered wandering through a commercial district one day, spotting a cracked mobile phone in a dumpster and somehow finding himself able to pick it up and operate it. Given how easily humans lied their way through social media, Saheon had proved a fast learner, quickly setting up his account on Chirper, and voila—he was in business.
He hated Kim Soleum with a burning passion.
Kim Soleum was a living, breathing human. They were probably around the same age, but Saheon could not be so certain because having died a while back, Saheon was stuck at twenty-five forever and remembered precious little about his own past beyond his name, his birthday and his South Korean nationality.
But even if his existence should have been about his own lost identity, Saheon preferred to make it about Kim Soleum, because the whole world needed to know that this man was a fraud!
Kim Soleum possessed such a pitifully low level of spiritual energy that he would not recognise a real ghost if one bit him on the nose. Still, the man had the audacity to publish I Got Teleported to a Ghost World and Now My Boss Is an Anomaly—and it was absolute garbage! It was so awful, yet people were stupid enough to adore it, not just in South Korea but all over the globe.
A masterpiece? Ten out of ten? Absolute nonsense!
That was precisely why Saheon was here today.
Kim Soleum was hosting a huge fan meeting and book signing in the main hall of the shopping centre. Saheon stood right at the front, snapping away on his phone, ready to show the world just how ugly and fake this author really was.
@bsheon_0225 : [image] [image] [image] Everyone said he looks like an idol in person??? Are your eyes decorative??? He is literally as average as a background extra. Well, I suppose nobody should expect a face like Cha Eunwoo from a guy who writes slop.
@bsheon_0225 : [image] Whoever styled him today needs to be fired immediately. Who chose this dreadful muddy beige knit for a guy with jet-black hair and red-tinted eyes? It completely washes out his complexion. Absolutely zero aesthetic awareness from him and his team.
@bsheon_0225 : [image] [image] I only came to the shopping centre today because I heard there was a rumour IU might show up, but my peaceful afternoon got ruined by this guy’s absurdly loud fan meeting. Unbelievable.
@bsheon_0225 : [image] Posting one last photo before I lose my mind. His side profile is slightly less disastrous than his front profile, but that still does not excuse the atrocious dialogue in chapter forty-two!
@minnie_mouse Replying to @bsheon_0225 : bsheon-nim coming through with the 4K front-row HD shots of our beloved Roe Deer again! 😭❤️ The angle on the third photo is literally breath-taking! Thank you for feeding us so well as always!
@monster_77 Replying to @bsheon_0225 : “His side profile is slightly less disastrous” I CANNOT WITH YOU 💀 If this is what your hatred looks like, I genuinely cannot imagine how intense it would be if you actually loved the man! You took better photos than the official media team!
@momoji Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Our fandom’s official mother has spoken! Scolding the stylist for putting our Roe Deer in cold tones was so real though 😭 Thank you for looking out for his fashion as always, bsheon-nim!
@matcha_fever Replying to @bsheon_0225 : LMAO “chapter forty-two dialogue”! The fact that you have the chapter numbers memorised proves you are Kim Soleum’s number one fan on this entire platform 😭 If this is hate, please hate him forever!
@enrique_ Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Why is this account being so unnecessarily rude to our Roe Deer? If you hate his face and his writing so much, why are you even blocking the front row view for real fans? 🤨
@elena_ Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Is this user seriously calling Kim Soleum a slop author? Calling his dialogue atrocious and his face average? Why are people even liking this post?
@enter_666 Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Calling a best-selling author a fraud and nitpicking his appearance like this is pure harassment. I am reporting this user right now, everyone please block and report!
@endearing_elf Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Imagine buying a ticket to a book signing just to stalk someone you claim to despise. This is borderline sasaeng behaviour. Leave our Roe Deer alone!
@eight_nine_ten Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Get a life! 🖕
@momoji Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Guys, stop calling @bsheon_0225 a hater, he is our fandom’s ultimate mother! 😭 He literally provides the highest quality 4K front-row previews for every single event. He is our eternal fanclub president, you need to bow down and thank him for the photos!
@endearing_elf Replying to @momoji : Ohhh, I am so sorry! I am completely new here 🙇♂️ I did not know the lore! Bowing down to the veteran!
@enter_666 Replying to @momoji : Ah, my mistake! I just joined the timeline today, I had no idea. Apologies to the veteran, thank you for the gorgeous photos! 🙏
@bsheon_0225 : …
Baek Saheon glared at his phone as the screen vibrated with endless notifications praising his devotion and asking if he had secret access to Kim Soleum’s agency. Disgusted, he turned off the sound and resisted the urge to toss the handset over the balcony. Good sense stopped him just in time. Broken electronics that functioned under a phantom’s touch did not grow on trees. This antique handset somehow ran indefinitely on his own residual spiritual energy without ever needing a charger.
He pocketed the phone with an annoyed sigh and headed straight for the lower-ground food hall. He knew Kim Soleum’s event timeline down to the exact minute—the signing session was ending now, followed by a brief rest period before the six o’clock reading. Kim Soleum was being irresponsible, skipping meals despite his already frail constitution. The man pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion for his mediocre web novel, ignoring basic human needs.
Saheon was utterly appalled by the lack of self-care. If Kim Soleum managed to drop dead from exhaustion, his soul would end up wandering the streets, meaning Saheon would have to see his face in the underworld too. Keeping Kim Soleum alive was strictly necessary to keep his own afterlife free of unwanted encounters.
Arriving at a bustling noodle stall, Saheon instantly wiped the irritation from his face, adopting a soft, harmless smile that made him look like an innocent college student.
“Good afternoon, Eunji-noona,” Saheon called out softly, casting a charming, polite look toward the guardian spirit attending the noodle station. “Might I bother you for a small dish today if it is not too much trouble?”
“Aigoo, what a polite young boy. Sit down, sit down! Give me two minutes and I will whip up something wonderful for you!” She flashed a bright smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners, then swiftly turned to grab a towel, wiping her hands before affectionately ruffling Saheon’s hair.
“Hold on a second!” her husband, Sanghoon, interjected, marching over with a furrowed brow. “We are running a business here, not a soup kitchen! Every bowl requires a proper transaction! Can he not pay like everyone else?”
Eunji turned around and slapped her husband across the shoulder with a dish cloth. “You absolute disgrace of a ghost! Look at us, we do not even have pockets! What use is money to a pair of corpses, Sanghoon, you brainless old goat?! You were stingy when you were alive, and you are still stingy as a spirit!”
“It is about the principle!” Sanghoon protested, rubbing his arm.
“Our principal duty is to bring this family’s restaurant good fortune in business!” Eunji snapped. “And if a poor wandering ghost as precious as little Saheon politely asks for a bite to eat, being kind and sharing a bit of food brings us even greater virtue!”
“Are your eyes and brain still functioning properly?!” Sanghoon cried, tossing his hands in the air. “This boy is a two-faced, scheming little bastard! I saw the other ghosts feeding him earlier, and even the mall’s chief guardian spirit’s wife was fussing over him! During the mall’s anniversary ceremony last month, she handed him a whole plate of royal braised short ribs and handmade rice cakes! He is eating better than we ever did!”
Eunji smacked him over the head with her cloth once more. “Are you jealous of a young boy?! Stop being so embarrassing and go fetch a bowl of hot ginseng chicken soup for Saheon right now for making him wait!”
Saheon watched the whole squabble play out with a smile pasted across his features. It was convenient having such a harmless, boyish face in the afterlife. Just as Sanghoon had pointed out, Saheon used his innocent looks to procure endless free meals from sympathetic spirits. Much like his digital persona as Kim Soleum’s most notorious online hater, Saheon was equally famous within the local ghost community as the polite, sweet-natured boy.
He knew his advantages and exploited them ruthlessly. Naturally, a few sharp-eyed spirits like Sanghoon saw straight through his act, but Saheon could not care less. As long as soft-hearted matriarchs like Eunji-noona defended him, his stomach would stay full.
“Look at him!” Sanghoon suddenly yelled, pointing a trembling finger at Saheon. “Eunji, look! Your ‘innocent boy’ is literally smirking at me behind your back!”
Saheon did not say a word, merely letting his smirk broaden by a fraction of a millimetre. He could be even smugger if he wanted to.
“Stop accusing the poor child, Sanghoon!” Eunji’s furious voice echoed through the kitchen as she shoved a laden tray into her husband’s hands. “Keep harassing the boy and you will be sleeping out on the balcony tonight!”
“Here you go, sweetheart,” Eunji added, handing Saheon a sturdy tote bag filled with stacked containers alongside the steaming tray. Saheon offered her a bright, dimpled smile—a rare, devastatingly cute weapon he reserved exclusively for moments like this. Eunji gently patted his head, smoothing down his fringe. Behind her back, Sanghoon crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he watched the interaction.
Eunji and her husband had been guarding the noodle stall ever since they passed away thirty years ago, taking a lot of pride in driving away bad luck so their grandchildren’s business could thrive.
Saheon took a seat at a secluded table, but he could not bring himself to relax. He knew Kim Soleum should be sitting in his agency’s tinted van right about now. Saheon hoped someone had handed the guy a lunch box. If the manager was negligent enough to let Kim Soleum starve, Saheon was fully prepared to haunt the man's sleep cycle, appearing as a nightmare until he started carrying emergency snacks.
He popped a crispy fried dumpling into his mouth from the small additional dish on his tray. The bowl of broth and hand-pulled noodles had been so delicious that he had devoured it in minutes, leaving only the side dishes behind.
The thing was, attempting to haunt Kim Soleum himself was a total waste of effort—the author’s spiritual awareness was so utterly non-existent that Saheon could dance a jig in front of his face and Kim Soleum would not feel a single shiver.
Saheon peered happily into his takeaway bag. There were the generous spread of glazed sweet potatoes, savoury pancakes and fried dumplings. His mood lifted instantly, only to sour a second later. Every single item in the bag was something Kim Soleum loved to eat. It was not common knowledge among regular readers, but Saheon’s thorough, professional tracking of his rival meant no detail ever escaped his notice.
Not that he cared. Because whether that dopamine-junkie bastard of a writer ate or starved to death was irrelevant to Baek Saheon’s life. Kim Soleum could subsist on air for all he mattered. It was certainly not Saheon’s problem if the guy ended up with a collapsed stomach, and he was absolutely not sitting here worrying about the man’s nutritional intake like some overbearing mother.
“I need to know who this guy’s contact inside our agency is,” Christ grumbled, pacing back and forth beside the open van door. “This @bsheon_0225 account is driving me crazy! He somehow gets front-row access to pop-ups, takes photos that belong in a high-end fashion magazine and then uses them to publicly roast your outfit choice! It’s infuriating!”
Kim Soleum remained unbothered, enjoying the quiet interlude with a cold boba tea in hand. His eyes flicked across his screen, studying the beautifully captured images posted by his most notorious online critic.
Like his manager, Soleum often wondered how this mysterious person pulled it off. Despite attending every single gathering, the poster vanished like a ghost, leaving no physical trace for security to track down.
Nobody knew if the user was male or female, but Soleum very strongly suspected @bsheon_0225 was a man around his age, possessing a prickly personality that Soleum secretly looked forward to reading after every event.
“You really need to calm down, Christ-hyung,” Soleum said, swirling the tapioca pearls at the bottom of his cup. “The fandom considers @bsheon my number one fan anyway, so what is there to worry about?”
Christ turned to his younger charge. “I knew you were naive, Soleum, but I didn’t think you were this dense!” He thrust his phone screen directly into Soleum’s face, his thumb furiously scrolling through the feed. “In what possible universe is this guy your number one fan?! He is an anti-fan! Look at these posts!”
Soleum slowly glanced away, taking a sip of his boba tea.
Staring at a rapidly moving phone screen was terrible for his eyes, after all.
“It’s mind-boggling how he’s always there! Remember your flight overseas six months ago, Soleum? Listen to what he posted from the terminal: [‘The sheer volume of dramatic sobbing at gate four is ridiculous. People are crowding the concourse as if a state hero is returning from saving the nation, when it’s literally just a mediocre author dragging his carry-on!’]”
Soleum chuckled quietly to himself. He remembered that post vividly.
“To be fair, hyung,” Soleum offered gently, “he did also mention in that exact thread that it was the middle of November and I was severely underdressed.”
“That was not caring, Soleum! That was just pure, unadulterated rudeness!”
“It’s called being a tsundere, hyung,” Soleum explained smoothly, leaning back against the leather headrest with a faint, fond smile. “It’s just how he expresses affection. You have to read between the lines. It’s a quirk of an adorable, overly passionate fan.”
Christ stared at him deadpan, utterly speechless for a long three seconds. “You know, people out there think you are this cool, composed genius with an untouchable aura. But in reality, you are just an idiot who cannot read people to save his life.”
Soleum merely chuckled, finishing the last of his boba tea with a soft slurp. He tapped his phone screen, letting the display linger on @bsheon’s latest thread. Christ sighed, tossing his head back. “Whatever. I don’t have the energy for this right now. We need to move.” He climbed out of the passenger side and slid into the driver’s seat, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Fasten your seatbelt. The media interview is in twenty minutes.”
Soleum pulled the belt across his chest, clicking it into place. “Do we really need all these public appearances, hyung? I am just a web novel writer. I feel busier than a K-pop idol.”
“Because you are sitting on a goldmine!” Christ yelled over the hum of the engine as they pulled away. “Your physical novel broke sales records nationwide, the webtoon version is dominating every digital platform and studio executives are practically begging us for the live-action movie rights! You are the biggest name in the industry!”
The engine purred as the van navigated out of the dark underground garage into the dull, overcast afternoon. Dark grey clouds drifted heavily over the skyline, signalling a coming storm. Soleum rested his elbow on the window ledge, watching the city buildings blur past.
Once upon a time, he had envisioned a very different path.
An ordinary degree, a predictable nine-to-five job, a quiet life as a low-level corporate employee.
Day after day, the relentless, suffocating grind.
Then came the spark. A sudden, consuming fascination with horror. Terrifying tales, sinister anomalies, urban legends told in whispers. The thrill became an obsession, consuming his nights until reading was no longer enough. The dark world inside his head demanded an exit, forcing his fingers onto the keyboard.
The rest was history.
In truth, Kim Soleum was a coward.
A massive scaredy-cat who genuinely feared ghosts, dark rooms and horror movies. If an actual jump-scare video appeared on his screen, he would likely faint or wet his trousers. Reading creepy tales was manageable, and writing them down was fine, but seeing scary images in real life was out of the question.
That was precisely why he felt so relieved to be a writer rather than an artist—no graphic visuals required, thank you very much! It had all started because he was binge-reading creepy creepypastas and urban legends, only to run out of material. As the saying goes, a reader is never truly desperate until they pick up a keyboard to write the exact story that they cannot find anywhere else. So, he wrote it himself.
Nobody needed to know about his embarrassing lack of bravery, of course.
Soleum idly scrolled through @bsheon_0225’s media tab once more. The feed was overwhelmingly populated with breathtaking, high-resolution photographs of Soleum himself. It occasionally made him feel intensely self-conscious.
Soleum considered himself a thoroughly average-looking Korean man in his mid-twenties, yet through @bsheon_0225’s lens, he looked like a polished idol or a runway model. If anyone deserved partial credit for building his public image and skyrocketing his fame, it was probably his prickly number one fan.
His eyes caught a fresh reply posted under one of the recent uploads:
@spicy_fan Replying to @bsheon_0225 : bsheon-nim, since you get such insanely close angles, can you please zoom in on his collarbone or capture some sweaty neck shots next time? 🤤 We need the real fan service!
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @spicy_fan : Ah, hello. Thank you so much for your tasteless suggestion, but Kim Soleum is merely an average web novelist who struggles with basic posture, not a model. Although I understand your desperation for visual stimulation, turning a literary signing into your personal fetish page is a bit embarrassing, is it not? Do try to reflect on your questionable upbringing in silence.
@spicy_fan Replying to @bsheon_0225 : No need to be so rude? Kim Soleum is a public figure. Our beloved Roe Deer is gorgeous and photogenic, so why can we not enjoy some eye candy? It is not that deep!
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @spicy_fan : I see logic is lost on you. A public figure is still a human being—and in Kim Soleum’s case, an exceptionally ordinary one who looks exhausted half the time. If you are so starved for eye candy, Korea has an abundance of talented actors and idols who actually train to be stared at. Go look at them.
@spicy_fan Replying to @bsheon_0225 : You are such a massive hypocrite, bsheon-nim! You call him ordinary, yet wherever our Roe Deer goes, YOU are always right there in the front row taking forty-megapixel photos! Explain that!
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @spicy_fan : I simply happen to be in the area for my own personal business. It is not my fault our schedules constantly overlap, nor is it my fault that his management chooses public venues.
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @spicy_fan : Furthermore, documenting an event from a respectful distance without shoving a lens into his personal space is called basic human decency. Since you clearly lack it, allow me to educate you: the greatest thing you can offer anyone you admire is not your obsession, but strict self-control and clear boundaries. If an outspoken critic like me understands how to treat him with proper distance and respect, you should be ashamed of yourself. Do better.
@minnie_mouse Replying to @bsheon_0225 : Mother is mothering so hard today!
@monster_77 Replying to @bsheon_0225 : The way he called Soleum an underfed ordinary man while simultaneously delivering a whole ethics sermon to protect him... I am bowing down. Hail @bsheon_0225!
@matcha_fever Replying to @bsheon_0225 : “It is pure coincidence” SURE JAN 😭😭😭 bsheon-nim you are being so humble again! There is really no need to keep pretending to be a hater when you can just admit you are his number one fan at this point!
@endearing_elf Replying to @bsheon_0225 : I am quite new to this fandom, but seeing the immense power of Mother in real time is a blessing! I feel so terrible and guilty for ever doubting your intentions before. I promise I will kiss the very ground you walk on forever, bsheon-nim! 🙏✨
@bsheon_0225 : …
Soleum lowered his phone to his lap, flipping it face down.
Fluttering warmth bloomed in his chest, sending his pulse racing as his cheeks flushed warm. Leaning his head back against the leather seat, he raised a hand to cover his mouth, biting down on his lower lip to muffle an inevitable smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners. He could not help but wonder what sort of person hid behind that screen.
Someone so fiercely endearing, so wildly protective—it was almost impossible not to picture a creature with soft, fluffy hair, practically sprouting floppy puppy ears and a wagging tail that begged to be petted.
The ironic twist was that Soleum was under no illusions. He knew @bsheon_0225 was genuinely an anti-fan. The subtle jabs, the constant complaints and the relentless criticism were real. Still, in his meticulous effort to craft the ultimate “objective” critique while maintaining flawless public etiquette, the man had accidentally executed his role so brilliantly that it backfired. The fandom now viewed him as Soleum’s supreme, most devoted protector.
This adorably clueless hater.
A chuckle escaped Soleum’s throat. He wondered when this mysterious young man would finally gather the courage to step out of the shadows and show his face. Flipping his phone back over, he tapped the screen to see a fresh wave of notifications rolling in.
@morality_police_x Replying to @bsheon_0225 : You are lecturing us on ethics, but what about the gross creeps writing explicit NSFW stories about Kim Soleum?! They are pairing him up with his celebrity friends like Braun from the Tuesday Talk Show! That is borderline sexual harassment! Why are you not calling out those sick writers instead of attacking normal fans?!
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @morality_police_x : Bringing up fanwork out of the blue just because an account requested a skin-peek of that frail herbivore author is certainly a choice. Allow me to educate you: fanfiction is transformative fictional writing, whereas real-life harassment involves direct, non-consensual targeted abuse toward a living person.
@bsheon_0225 Replying to @morality_police_x : The sheer irony of getting hysterically offended on behalf of fictionalised caricatures while wishing genuine malice upon actual internet users is astounding. If you lack the intellectual capacity to distinguish between creative fantasy and reality, please step away from the keyboard. Have a day as pleasant as your reading comprehension.
Soleum let out a low, breathy laugh.
Holy shit.
Soleum pressed a hand over his rapidly thumping heart.
Am I actually falling in love with a stranger on the internet?
Can a few savage sentences really do this to a person?
He placed his phone screen-down against his knee, burying his face in his hands as he tried to suppress a smile. His cheeks hurt from holding it back for so long. He imagined meeting this fierce, impossible man in person—he wanted nothing more than to squish his cheeks and ruffle his fluffy hair to death for being so adorably ruthless.
“Well, so much for clear skies,” Christ grumbled, tapping the steering wheel as droplets began to smear across the front glass. “It started raining.”
Soleum turned his gaze back to the window, watching the sparse droplets on the glass quickly escalate into a heavy, relentless downpour. He considered making a casual comment about the weather, but small talk had never been his forte. Since weather observations were the very definition of idle chatter, he let out a quiet “Mm” in response.
The depressing sky outside clashed with the lingering warmth blooming in his chest.
Soleum let out a faint sigh, resting his forehead lightly against the cool glass.
Out of nowhere, a jagged bolt of blackness darted straight across the rain-slicked pavement. Christ shrieked, slamming his foot on the brake as the steering wheel jerked violently under his grip. The van skidded sideways with a harsh screech of rubber, narrowly avoiding the concrete divider before Christ managed to wrestle the vehicle back into the lane.
“Jesus Christ!” his manager gasped, clutching the wheel with white knuckles as his chest heaved. “What the hell was that?! Some dark shadow just leapt right in front of the hood!”
Soleum’s heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird, his pulse racing so fast he felt dizzy. For a terrifying second, he was convinced they were about to flip. However, forced by habit to maintain his calm, composed facade, he took a slow breath.
“Are you alright, hyung?”
“Yeah... yeah, I am fine,” Christ breathed, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
Soleum was screaming internally—that was scary as shit! But just as he tried to steady his breathing, his gaze caught the central rearview mirror. His breath hitched sharply. Sitting in the back seat was a woman with pale, hollow skin, grinning right at him.
Soleum whipped his head around so hard his neck cracked.
Nothing. The back row was completely empty.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Christ asked, glancing over in alarm.
Cold sweat trickled down Soleum’s back, but his face remained a masterclass in stoicism. Having written hundreds of horror chapters, he knew the golden rule of surviving a ghost encounter: never acknowledge you can see them.
“Nothing, hyung,” Soleum said smoothly, though his hands trembled in his lap. “Just thought I left my water bottle behind.”
Holy shit. He had spent years writing stories about anomalies and vengeful spirits, but no one had warned him that being an author of a ghost story would actually mean getting haunted in real life! Nobody warned him this was part of the job description!
Before he could process the terror, Soleum’s eyes widened as the headlights caught a looming silhouette right in front of them.
“Christ, look out!”
A sickening crunch of metal shattered the air. The van flipped violently, tumbling across the wet asphalt until it slammed onto its roof.
Silence followed, heavy and suffocating. Soleum lay trapped in the twisted wreckage, his body numb. Blood dripped down his temple, but through his blurred vision, he could see Christ in the driver’s seat—unconscious, bleeding, but thankfully still breathing.
Soleum could not move a single muscle.
Then—
His eyes darted toward his shattered side window.
From the top of the window frame, long, matted black hair began to drop down slowly. Inch by inch, pale, sunken eyes appeared, followed by a twisted nose and a terrifyingly wide grin. The woman from the mirror was hanging upside down, staring right into his soul.
Shit, shit, shit, I am so scared, someone help me, I am going to die—
CRACK!
A violent force collided with the apparition. The woman ghost shrieked as she was literally booted across the pavement, tumbling into the shadows. “Get your filthy hands off this bastard!” a furious voice roared outside the wreck. “He hasn’t even finished Part Three of his shitty novel yet, he can’t die! Who sent a low-tier anomaly to target him?!”
Soleum’s vision began to fade into blackness.
What... was that...? The person who just kicked a ghost away...
Could it be... an angry angel descending to defend him?