A passerby, knowing about her bizarre and erratic behavior, wouldn’t find it strange—she’s exactly like that in front of the camera. It’s both the company’s crafted persona and a part of her naturally quirky character. After being packaged, this side of her is performed authentically, serving as a major weapon to attract popularity. With such a short time since her debut, aside from her fellow members, not even the most loyal SONEs or the staunchest ANTI fans would know that, in reality, she’s a quiet and introverted person. Now, in the midst of facing a black ocean and a slump in popularity, what casual fan would bother to dig into her true self?

This eerie feeling of being seen through for no reason suddenly made her feel an intense fear of Brian Bennett.

She would never know that, counting from her debut, it’s only just been a year, while Brian Bennett has already been her fan for six years, known as Guoda, or “soft fan”—her Kim Soft-Soft’s fan.

She would never know that, one day in the future, this soft fan would become an ANTI.

……

(PS: An annotation added half a year later: ANTI = anti-fan, which is a bit special in Korea; just calling them “anti-fans” in Chinese isn’t quite accurate, so the English term is used. SONE = the name for Girls’ Generation fans; using a Chinese equivalent feels awkward. IDOL = idol, specifically referring to singing and dancing idols; just using the Chinese word doesn’t capture the meaning. So please stop criticizing the author for using English terms—this is honestly one of the K-pop novels with the fewest technical terms.)

No SONE will ever forget the black ocean of 2008, and no soft fan will ever forget June 19, 2014—the day Ashley Carter’s relationship with Byun Baekhyun was exposed.

When an IDOL dates, some fans give their blessings, some leave the fandom, and some become ANTI. Everyone makes their own choice. Brian Bennett chose to become an ANTI, which isn’t surprising. The deeper the love, the deeper the hate. But he couldn’t hate for long—after just two months as an ANTI, before he could even see whether Girls’ Generation would disband after their contracts expired, he woke up one day to find himself in the new millennium.

Damn, he was reborn.

From a Chinese person, he became a Korean.

From an ordinary white-collar worker, he became the heir of a wealthy family.

Having lived two lives, he’d become indifferent to love and hate; the so-called ANTI was no longer worth mentioning. Now, enjoying the extravagant life of the rich, he’d played with more celebrities than he could count. Whether the nine IDOLs were popular, forgotten, alive, or dead—why would he care anymore? Honestly, if he went to tell Lee Soo-man now that he wanted to play with Girls’ Generation, Lee Soo-man would probably use all his connections to protect his niece, but the other eight would be out of luck.

But he never expected that, on his first night back from studying in the US, he would meet this person. And the way they met was that his own bodyguard knocked her out.

That’s why his expression had been so strange all along—he had no idea what fate was trying to tell him.

“Who am I?” Brian Bennett stroked his chin, thought for a long time, and finally said, “In short, I’m someone who isn’t interested in you. You can relax. If you don’t want a late-night snack, I’ll take you home.”

Ashley Carter dazedly got into the nearby Maserati. The Black man drove in front, while she and he sat side by side in the back seat. Brian Bennett didn’t speak, leaning back in his seat, lost in thought. Ashley Carter snuck a glance at him, pouting—she really didn’t want to admit that this inexplicable man’s side profile was quite handsome.

Brian Bennett seemed to notice her looking at him and suddenly spoke: “Ashley Carter XI, may I ask you a question?”

Ashley Carter sat up straight and replied calmly, “What is it?”

Brian Bennett gave her a once-over and said, “I heard you got a nose bridge implant, narrowed your nose tip, and had some hyaluronic acid injections. Is that true?”

Ashley Carter’s face instantly darkened. She turned her head and glared at him angrily: “You’ve been sitting in the car thinking all this time, and that’s what you came up with?”

“No,” Brian Bennett replied calmly. “I want to confirm a few things.”

Ashley Carter took a deep breath and said loudly, “Why should I confirm anything for you? Right now, we have more ANTI fans than SONEs—one more like you doesn’t make a difference!”

Brian Bennett said coolly, “Shouldn’t a responsible leader try to win over every potential SONE? Shouldn’t you try to resolve every potential ANTI? Or is it true what they say—that you’re an irresponsible leader?”

Ashley Carter’s chest heaved violently as she stared fiercely at Brian Bennett for a long time before finally saying, “I get it now, you’re one of our ANTI, aren’t you? A passerby wouldn’t be so familiar with ANTI rhetoric.”

Brian Bennett replied coldly, “I hope you understand one thing—even if you said it was true, you still wouldn’t be worthy of making me an ANTI.”

Ashley Carter was stunned, gazing at the Maserati’s window in silence.

That silence lasted all the way to the SM dormitory entrance; the two of them didn’t speak again the whole way.

Opening the car door, Ashley Carter slowly got out, walked a few steps, then suddenly paused and spoke softly, her voice sounding tired and hoarse: “I haven’t had plastic surgery.”

Brian Bennett let out a gentle sigh, not even knowing himself why he cared.

Tyler looked in the rearview mirror: “Young master, are we heading back?”

“Find a place to have a few drinks with me.”

Tyler grinned: “You’re asking for trouble, young master.”

“If you keep nagging, I’ll respec your Retribution Paladin into a Holy Paladin tomorrow!”

“Oh no…”