Dirty Switch

In the first photo, Seo Baekhan seemed to be holding the phone himself, taking up nearly half the frame like it was a selfie. Behind him, Assemblyman Seo Hongkyu, Director Ahn Yeseon, and Baekhan’s younger brother were gathered closely, all making playful expressions and flashing V-signs. A small caption noted that Baekhan’s younger brother wasn’t interested in public appearances, so his face had been blurred.
And on the screen, Seo Baekhan… had his sunglasses perched on top of his head and was squinting with one eye. It didn’t seem like an intentional wink—more like he’d involuntarily scrunched his face from the sunlight. There was no concern for angles or lighting to make the selfie look good; he had clearly just snapped it without much thought. And yet, it looked like a professionally shot pictorial. The unpolished candidness actually made his charm come through even stronger.

Joo Taehyun stared at it for ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) so long he could’ve won a spot-the-difference contest if the photo had been used. Only after examining every detail did he scroll down a bit more.
The second photo showed Seo Baekhan with his arm slung around Assemblyman Seo’s shoulders. He had a lopsided smirk on his face. It was the exact same expression he’d had when he smiled at Taehyun at the concert—but a bit younger this time.
How old was he when this photo was taken? As soon as Taehyun realized that even someone like Seo Baekhan—who always seemed so adult—had a time when he was just a kid like himself, his chest stirred strangely. He knew full well he hadn’t even existed back then, but still… he wanted to see what Baekhan was like back when his parents called him “baby.”

Comments (576)
Hey, someone post the gif of him giving constant thumbs-ups to the camera.
Damn, Seo Baekhan, you could sell enzyme drinks or run a group-buy business and that face would still justify it.

➥ What do you mean sell? He doesn’t need to do anything. I’ll feed him with my own money ㅇㅇ
Seo Baekhan, how the fuck is your name also Seo Baekhan????
Sigh… we’re out here reading about national heroes, and instead of paying respects, we’re all drooling over some kid’s face. This country is doomed. Anyway, love you, Seo Baekhan.

When Taehyun tapped into the comments section, sure enough, it was overflowing with reactions to the last photo.
Seeing so many compliments about Seo Baekhan made even Taehyun feel happy. So this is why people bother reading comment sections. Realizing he wasn’t the only one who had stared so intently at the photos made him feel… reassured. Like, okay, I’m not the only weirdo.
With a pleased expression, he kept reading through the comments. Every time he found one that seemed to echo his own thoughts, he gave it a firm thumbs-up. After accidentally unliking a post by tapping twice, he became more careful—just once, decisively. Before long, he was lining up little hearts across the feed without even noticing.

Eventually, after flipping through article after article in the news section, Taehyun started to get bored as they all blurred together. In hindsight, he should’ve at least asked Baekhan if he used social media. Unfortunately, there was no SNS linked on Baekhan’s profile. Which made sense. He was still just the son of a well-known figure, not a celebrity himself. Officially, he was just a student.
Pondering this, he returned to the portal site. Scrolling past the news section, he spotted a post with a strikingly provocative title.
Joyful Fangirling, Bandnet 🐰🐉
If you marry Seo Baekhan, your mother-in-law is literally fifty million people

Marry Seo Baekhan?
That idea hadn’t even crossed his mind before, so he clicked the post in a flustered panic.
Come to think of it… the fact that his older brothers and sister were still single was the exception. In both politics and high society, engagements and marriages happened fast. So maybe Baekhan already had someone lined up. Prince Yi Hwang had his national wedding at, what, twenty-three or twenty-four?

Had Seo Baekhan worn a ring? Taehyun tried to remember his left hand, but nothing stood out. All he could recall was how large his hands were—and how he had used those big hands to support the small tray of refreshments for him.
“Uugh.”
Taehyun shook off the stray thoughts, squeezed his eyes shut, then reopened them to read the post properly.
Joyful Fangirling, Bandnet 🐰🐉
If you marry Seo Baekhan, your mother-in-law is literally fifty million people
Views: 94,661

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Even though he’s a minor, he looks insanely good sipping coffee like a man of Pyongyang.
I live in Pyongyang and don’t even know the exact population count.
Let’s just say it’s fifty million.

Sounds powerful.
Is fifty million wrong? Technically, yes. But I won’t take corrections.
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Behold, the face of a nineteen-year-old.
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His physique? Say no more...

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At first I thought he went to see his high school teacher on Teacher’s Day...
Or maybe he’s doing a practicum at Pyongyang University in the Genetics Department. But nope.

Just a photo with classmates.
Seo Baekhan is only nineteen, but he’s set to graduate early from Pyongyang University.
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And not just college.
He entered and graduated from science high school early, too.
Basically, a kid who conquered science high in two years after elementary school.

Early? Admission? Graduation? That’s a thing?
And he did it not once, but twice, so fans started calling him Baekhan-Baekhan.
Say it before your exams—Baekhan-Baekhan—and you might pass. Or not.

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Family?
Every patriotic household probably has a “Heroes of Independence” book lying around for Liberation Day.

Crack it open to the middle. Look for the “S” section.
There—Seo Baekhan’s grandfather.
Long-ass write-up, right? Yeah, his contributions were that major.

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But wait—his great-great-grandfather wasn’t just any guy??
Nope. His great-grandfather was a genius doctor who devoted his life to medicine.

Some of the vaccines y’all got for free? That was his doing.
His grandfather was also a doctor, then a member of the National Assembly. No one’s broken his research record yet.
Hence, one of Seo Baekhan’s nicknames is God-God-God-Slipper.

Why “Slipper”? His dad—current Assemblyman Seo Hongkyu—occasionally fumbles.
When that happens, the god-halo temporarily gets knocked off. So: God-God-God-Slipper.
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Honestly, even if Seo Baekhan looked like a squished dumpling, Pyongyang folks would still dote on him.
Even if he were a total idiot, they’d go, “Aww, kids can struggle with school sometimes!”
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Why?
Because his great-great-grandfather is Seo Jejun, great-grandfather is Seo Gwangho, grandfather is Seo Sunwoo, and dad is Seo Hongkyu!
And Seo Baekhan’s mom?? She’s Ahn Yeseon.

Yep, same Pyongyang roots.
She’s from that Ahn family—the one that went around slicing off enemy heads during the Japanese occupation.
Both sides are descendants of independence fighters. Royal blood.

Noble of nobles. Straight outta Pyongyang.
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And yet this is the face our baby’s got...

Tell me, how can anyone not fall for that?
Three-line summary:
Whoever marries Seo Baekhan—
You’re marrying into a family of fifty million citizens.
Remember that.

“Wow...”
Seo Baekhan was loved by way more people than Taehyun had imagined. It made yesterday’s brief disapproval from his own family feel hard to understand.
And he wasn’t even a celebrity yet—just a student—and he already had fans giving him nicknames?

Taehyun re-read the message Baekhan had sent. Maybe getting a reply from him was lucky. Maybe… hyung had really meant to look out for me…
The pride of being friends—no, even just acquaintances—with someone like Seo Baekhan filled him briefly. Then it passed, replaced by curiosity: what would come up if his own name were searched?
Of course there’d be no fan posts or anything like Baekhan’s.

But still… what if Baekhan had searched his name?
What might he have seen—and read?