Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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At that moment, Lee Soo-ah was staring at someone standing far away.
Originally, the theme park was carved out of a mountain where there had been nothing, so the terrain wasn’t perfectly flat.
Even though it was gentle, the ground gradually rose as you moved from the front gate toward the back, and some rides were even placed directly on hills.
The haunted house was one of those.
Because of that, it was easy to aim a camera toward this direction.
Lee Soo-ah saw someone pointing a camera directly at her from that spot.
Of course, it would be strange to assume that anyone carrying a camera in an amusement park was a reporter.
Even though smartphone cameras had become so good and convenient, there were still quite a few people who wanted to capture memories with higher-quality or higher-resolution photos.
Maybe the person just happened to aim the camera in this direction while trying to take pictures of something far away in the park.
However, Sara had already been photographed several times before, and it had even made the news.
Since the article that her father had shown her last time, there hadn’t been another, but just because no article came out didn’t mean there weren’t paparazzi following them.
Although not on the same level as the Eugene Group, Lee Soo-ah was still the daughter of one of the leading conglomerates in the country.
It wasn’t like she had never seen a paparazzo before.
When Lee Soo-ah was abroad, there was someone who openly followed her around with a camera.
Maybe it was because a major domestic company, one with a long-standing tradition, was involved in a gossip story about its owner marrying a foreigner.
She had lived almost in exile overseas due to the absurd rumors about her mother and the relationship between her parents.
But, perhaps because it was a place where ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘freedom of the press’ were upheld as justice, the paparazzi didn’t even try to hide while taking pictures of her.
It only lessened after the company issued a warning about stalking a child.
In truth, the media only backed off because they realized that Lee Soo-ah wasn’t a news target worth the risk of being labeled pedophiles.
Because of that, even though she couldn’t help it if someone was hiding intentionally, she could at least recognize a camera within her line of sight.
It wasn’t exactly a habit she wanted to have picked up.
And in that moment, Lee Soo-ah instinctively knew that person was a paparazzo.
“Do you want to go?”
Sara suddenly asked this, interrupting Lee Soo-ah’s thoughts about whether or not to mention this fact.
Sara was looking in the direction Lee Soo-ah had been staring.
But she wasn’t looking at the person with the camera.
That person had already hidden themselves.
Sara’s gaze was fixed on the haunted house.
Seeing Lee Soo-ah staring at it, Sara must have made her own judgment.
“Oh…”
Lee Soo-ah hesitated for a moment.
Should she tell Sara about the person she just saw?
Should she warn her in advance to chase them off?
…
“Ah.”
An idea suddenly crossed Lee Soo-ah’s mind.
It was an idea to put into action the plan she had told her father about last time.
“Yeah. I want to go.”
So, for now, she answered that way.
Since they had come this far, that person would definitely follow them until they left.
Paparazzi didn’t follow people around because they had some grand evidence.
Their job was to stick close, taking everyday pictures of celebrities and constantly shadowing them until something newsworthy came up.
That’s why their photos were sold for such high prices.
Honestly, she was curious.
Who could this person be, snapping pictures of the only heir of the Eugene Group?
Lee Soo-ah thought this was an opportunity.
…And she also considered herself lucky that Sara would accompany her into the haunted house, which required people to enter in pairs.
*
“…Are you okay?”
After coming out of the haunted house, Sara was in a groggy state again, so Ha-neul and So-hee looked at her with concern.
Of course, Lee Soo-ah was worried as well, since she had seen Sara’s reactions up close.
When they entered the haunted house, Sara had looked confident, but once inside, she freaked out at anything that popped out.
Lee Soo-ah realized then that Sara had probably never watched a horror movie in her life.
Actually, it was likely not just horror movies—Sara barely watched TV at all.
…Maybe they should make time to visit a movie theater together sometime.
As Lee Soo-ah was thinking that, she noticed the person she had seen earlier in her peripheral vision.
This time, they were much closer.
They didn’t have a camera around their neck, but their appearance was quite similar.
“Hey, guys.”
Realizing that it would be hard to catch up if she didn’t approach now, Lee Soo-ah called out to the group.
“Huh?”
Sara looked up at Lee Soo-ah.
Her face was still pale.
Lee Soo-ah felt a pang in her chest, like someone was poking her with their finger.
It was probably her conscience.
Was her conscience pricking her because she was about to lie to Sara?
Or because she had already lied and made Sara go through something unpleasant?
No, it was probably because even now, seeing Sara like this, she still found her adorable.
Yes, seeing Sara scream in such a cute way in the haunted house made her want to bring her here again.
But that would just be tormenting Sara.
Suppressing the ticklish feeling in her chest, Lee Soo-ah shook her head slightly.
“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
“Oh, really?”
Sara began to get up, probably intending to go with her.
Lee Soo-ah quickly waved her hand.
“No, no. Just rest here. I’ll be right back.”
“…But…”
Sara hesitated for a moment.
“I’ll go with you.”
Yang Hye-in stepped in before Lee Soo-ah could come up with an excuse.
“Oh, I—”
Before Lee Soo-ah could say anything, Yang Hye-in spoke first.
“I need to go, too.”
“…”
With that, there was no way to refuse.
“Please take care of the lady.”
“Ah, yes…”
When Yang Hye-in said that to So-hee and Ha-neul, the two nodded with slightly bewildered expressions.
“Shall we go, then?”
“…”
In the end, Lee Soo-ah had no choice but to nod.
*
“This way.”
Yang Hye-in led them in a direction completely different from the nearest restroom.
Lee Soo-ah followed in silence for a while before speaking.
“…Did you see it?”
Still unsure of what to call her, Lee Soo-ah left out a subject in her question.
Thankfully, Yang Hye-in didn’t seem offended and answered calmly.
“If you mean the person with the camera, yes, I saw them too.”
“…Are you helping me?”
“I thought that’s what you wanted.”
Yang Hye-in walked ahead without turning around.
Even though the area was crowded and noisy, Yang Hye-in’s voice somehow came through clearly.
“Do you know what I want?”
“No, not exactly.”
Yang Hye-in stopped walking.
“But you trust everyone here. I want to trust them, too.”
Then, slightly turning her head, she added,
“And I’m just as curious to find out who’s been taking pictures as you.”
Suddenly, Yang Hye-in started running.
“Oh, wait…!”
Lee Soo-ah followed belatedly, but she couldn’t completely catch up with Yang Hye-in, who had started first.
It was only thanks to her regular workouts with Sara that she managed to stay this close—otherwise, she might have already lost sight of her.
“Huff, huff…”
Panting heavily, Lee Soo-ah finally reached the spot where a person holding a camera stood frozen in place.
Yang Hye-in was already standing within arm’s reach of them.
The area was wide open, so the person could have easily run away if they wanted to, but it would have been just as easy to catch them.
The place was packed with people walking around, and even though the paparazzo’s outfit was ordinary, the large camera with its huge lens around their neck stood out.
Most of all, they were within reach if someone just extended their arm.
They could shove it in their bag, but now that Lee Soo-ah had seen their face up close, it would be hard to forget it.
…Surprisingly, the paparazzo was a woman.
She looked about the same age as Yang Hye-in.
Her hair was cut short, and her face was bare of makeup, giving her a plain appearance.
If it weren’t for the large camera, she would have been almost unnoticeable.
“Wh-what?”
The woman seemed startled by someone suddenly appearing beside her, but when she saw Yang Hye-in’s face, her expression turned pale.
If she had been following Sara around every day, there was no way she wouldn’t recognize Yang Hye-in.
It was a face she would have seen just as often as Sara’s.
“May I ask what you were taking pictures of with that camera?”
Yang Hye-in asked politely.
But her tone was more intimidating because of that very politeness.
“What does it matter to you what I take pictures of?”
Realizing that Yang Hye-in wasn’t a police officer or an amusement park employee, the paparazzo quickly became confident.
It was a familiar scene to Lee Soo-ah, reminiscent of the paparazzi she had seen abroad.
“…That camera.”
Lee Soo-ah pointed at the camera, finally catching her breath, and the paparazzo instinctively hugged it close, as if protecting something precious.
“This… No. No matter what you say. If you want to see it, call the police or something.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on that.”
Lee Soo-ah had no intention of doing that.
After all, she had never seen a paparazzo actually arrested for something like this.
Besides—
“Can I buy all the photos in that camera?”
Besides, what she needed were the photos in that camera.
If they handed it over to the police, there was no guarantee she’d get them.
She couldn’t go about this too aggressively if she wanted those pictures.
“No way… What?”
The paparazzo, who had been about to insist on refusing, stood there with her mouth hanging open.
“I’m asking if I can buy the photos.”
Lee Soo-ah repeated herself clearly.