Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 360

Ji Dong-hwa tried to calm his trembling breath after receiving the call in the early dawn.

He briefly gazed at the Simba-themed doll made by his fans, placed at the head of his bed.

‘Well, I’ve become much cooler than that.’

As if having a conversation with the doll, Ji Dong-hwa made eye contact with it for about ten seconds, grateful that he had no schedule today.

He got out of bed, ran a hand over his face, and left the room. Whether it was an advantage or disadvantage of this “silver town” [likely referring to his affluent neighborhood or building], he wasn’t sure, but since he had a room to himself, he didn’t have to wake Chae Ha-min.

The lifespan of a tiger is generally around ten years. Objectively speaking, it could be considered a long life.

However, although comparing an animal’s time to human time isn’t ideal, he wished they could spend more time together.

He went into the bathroom and quickly washed up, trying to clear his head. He wondered if he should groom himself a bit more since it might be their last meeting, but he just wanted to spend a little more time with him.

So.

Ji Dong-hwa hurriedly went outside.

Dressed in all black, he looked neat but also gave off a subtly gloomy impression.

He was expressionless. As someone whose job meant cameras could follow him anywhere, he couldn’t help it.

* * *

When Ji Dong-hwa arrived in a hurry, Hong Heon-min, Simba’s caretaker, who had briefly explained Simba’s condition, made a strange suggestion.

“Well, Simba doesn’t seem like he’ll attack, no matter how you look at it, right? Of course, he doesn’t have the strength because his health isn’t good…”

He stopped talking, seemingly lost in sorrow.

People say it’s a fantasy for a tiger to become friends with a human. They say that as long as they’re not hungry and don’t pose an immediate threat, they’ll just leave them alone, nothing more, nothing less.

Just a creature that’s subtly helpful when nearby, Hong Heon-min certainly knew that.

So, letting Ji Dong-hwa meet Simba beyond the glass wall was, to him, logically impossible.

If a regular person had an accident, the legal responsibility would be obvious, and Ji Dong-hwa is a celebrity.

Before legal repercussions, he was afraid he might get killed (a distorted prejudice against celebrity fandoms).

“I’m going to put out food, would you like to come with me? You can’t get too close, though.”

“…Pardon?”

It was crazy. This kind of deviation, he had never even considered in his life. To think of putting a regular person in the same space as a wild animal.

“It’s just… it’s heartbreaking to keep being blocked by the glass wall.”

Hong Heon-min patted the glass next to him.

It was agonizing every time he saw it. He even considered quitting his job and letting him inside.

However, his academic knowledge and empirical understanding conflicted, so he had no choice but to give up.

If Simba dies, what meaning would there be in maintaining his job?

“Absolutely, you can’t fall behind me. If anyone gets hurt, it has to be me.”

“…Pardon?”

He couldn’t understand it rationally, but he could sense it. Simba’s eyes, when looking at Ji Dong-hwa, weren’t threatening at all.

And he could also tell that Ji Dong-hwa’s eyes, when looking at Simba, weren’t those of someone looking at an ordinary animal.

He only knew, but as he said, he couldn’t understand it.

He knew that animals strangely followed Ji Dong-hwa, but he didn’t know the reason why. Was it because of his unique harmlessness? Was that why he started eating vegetarian food from some point on? Mistaking him for a herbivore… no, then he should eat him…

“It’s okay if I get hurt, you know? If I say I got attacked while feeding him, there’s injury insurance…”

“Sir, are you alright?”

When Ji Dong-hwa asked coldly, Hong Heon-min finally realized that he had been muttering to himself.

He also noticed his hand on the glass again. The trembling hand seemed to be trembling because of sadness.

Ah, so Simba is really dying. Those ten years and more, gone so quickly.

So, he didn’t know. He wanted to give him a last gift.

To bring the two of them, who wanted to see each other so closely, a little closer.

“…No. I don’t know. It’s the first time I’ve been in charge of an animal for this long.”

Hong Heon-min smiled with a kind face, now middle-aged with wrinkles around his eyes.

His face was aged, as if proving that he had watched over Simba under the sunlight for a long time.

“Come to think of it, Dong-hwa, you haven’t changed over time.”

“…I hear that often.”

“That unique calmness of yours is something that even I, who am older, should learn from.”

A person who seems to be outside the flow of time, really.

It felt like he would stay in that state for years, no, even decades.

He would come every day, sit in front of the glass wall, quietly watch, and talk to himself.

And next to him, Simba would always stupidly bump his head against the glass, pathetically put his hand on the wall, and be depressed for days when Ji Dong-hwa disappeared.

That scene was still vivid in his eyes. It felt like it would remain that way forever. If he opened this door now, it felt like that scene would still unfold.

A peaceful, beautiful scene.

Although, for realistic reasons, there was a glass wall blocking them in between.

He put his hand on the doorknob and took a moment to catch his breath.

“How about it? Would you like to try?”

“If anyone gets hurt, I want it to be me.”

“I’ll get fired.”

“…Well, then let’s leave it up to Simba’s choice.”

“Wow, to entrust my future to a child I’ve raised my whole life, how romantic.”

“I might get my neck bitten by my friend, so it’s the same.”

Hong Heon-min took a deep breath. And pushed the door open.

* * *

As he stepped inside, Simba should have run out as if it were an obvious annual event.

He should have kicked the glass with his paws, as if he couldn’t understand it, as if he was complaining about why this thing was in front of him.

However, Simba looked this way, stared for a long time, and then walked out very slowly and sat down in front of the glass.

As if he had finally realized everything at the end, as if he knew he couldn’t meet Ji Dong-hwa beyond this place.

‘Here, this is your spot, hurry up and sit down.’

It seemed like he was saying something.

Ji Dong-hwa couldn’t say anything for a moment.

What was it, this feeling? He was once again swept up in the strange sensation he had felt when the caretaker Hong Heon-min had made a sudden suggestion while out of his mind.

He was finally going to be in the same space without that wall.

Could he really do that? Wasn’t that breaking a rule that shouldn’t be broken?

“…Um, Simba, wait, just a moment.”

Ji Dong-hwa ignored the spot Simba was waiting for and followed the caretaker.

Simba got up from his spot and slowly followed behind Ji Dong-hwa, but stopped at the wall and sat down.

Inside, following the caretaker Hong Heon-min, there was really only food.

“Come to think of it, don’t you wear any protective gear?”

“Even if you wear most of it, your bones will break if you get bitten. The problem is the bite force rather than the teeth. Tigers bite the neck first, you know? So rather than preparing for that, it’s more rational not to approach them.”

‘Um, and aren’t we trying to approach him? If I get bitten today, I might be paralyzed even if I live.’

“Are you trying to scare me on purpose?”

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t even know if this is right. They may not have wildness when they’re young, but that’s definitely not the case after they grow up. Of course, our center doesn’t starve Simba! I’m really worried, so stay behind me, okay!”

Ji Dong-hwa nodded. ‘Yeah, my life isn’t just for me. I have to stay alive.’

The caretaker took the meat and led the way. Then he turned around and handed over a basket.

“Come on.”

“Yes.”

Taking it, Ji Dong-hwa smiled calmly.

A few steps ahead, a thick iron door was visible.

Step by step, the iron door slowly approached.

Soon, he would cross that place.

Suddenly, his heart was pounding.

Apart from his first meeting with Simba, he seemed to occupy a space, but he couldn’t, but today, perhaps for the last time.

Haa, he took a deep breath.

Sadness threatened to wash over him, but he did his best to keep his expression composed at the end.

The door opened with a strange metallic sound, revealing an interior he had never seen before.

His heart was pounding like crazy. Stepping out of the safety guaranteed by the glass wall meant accepting the incomprehensible concept of trust in animals.

……How mysterious. He was believing something he wouldn’t listen to even if someone persuaded him from the side.

Ji Dong-hwa was standing quietly behind the caretaker, as he had been told, but he wanted to step forward as soon as possible.

“Now, then, Dong-hwa……”

As those words came out, Simba was slowly approaching behind him. The caretaker turned his head at the sound.

Simba sat down at the threshold. As if waiting, as if telling him to come in.

Ji Dong-hwa walked slowly as if possessed by something.

Even the survival instinct that a living being should feel didn’t activate.

Finally, when Ji Dong-hwa stood at the threshold, Simba bumped his handsome face against Ji Dong-hwa’s pants.

Taking another step, this time he got up and gently moved aside so that Ji Dong-hwa could come in.

One more step, Ji Dong-hwa was already inside the enclosure. He blankly turned his head and saw the glass wall, and beyond it, the scenery that Simba had seen unfolded.

“……So easily.”

To cross that one glass wall, he never thought it would be so easy.

As he stood there blankly, Simba tensed his body.

The contracting muscles, Hong Heon-min saw that as a clear posture of leaping and instantly reached out to pull Ji Dong-hwa out.

‘If you’re going to bite, bite me.’

However, the reaction speed of humans was too weak to catch up with the beast, and Simba covered Ji Dong-hwa as it was.

As if falling was the rule of nature, he ended up with his back on the floor.

Simba’s handsome face slowly approached, and that face, reaching out as if aiming for Ji Dong-hwa’s neck.

Licked, he licked his face once. As if he were doing it to his own family.

At that, Hong Heon-min once again felt his common sense crumble.

“……What the hell is this.”

As if he didn’t care about such muttering, Simba continued to lick Ji Dong-hwa’s face, and when Ji Dong-hwa blankly raised his head, he stepped back.

“……Hello.”

A quiet murmur.

A tiger stood tall in front of him.

With a majestic figure, so beautiful that it was hard to believe he was in poor health.

“It’s been a while.”

Completely lifting his upper body and finally facing Simba.

He was lying down with his chin resting on his paws, in a beast-like posture.

“Would it be okay to pet you?”

Simba couldn’t understand the question, Ji Dong-hwa muttered.

But as if waiting for an answer, he took his time and slowly reached out his hand.

When he put his hand on his head, Simba closed his eyes for a moment.

Ji Dong-hwa slowly moved his palm and gently stroked his fur.

It was soft.

At the touch he had never felt in all those years, Ji Dong-hwa blankly shed a tear.