Rise To Fame

―This is incredible.

She gawked at her phone, almost dropping it as the numbers started appearing in front of her. The number of viewers initially trickled in by one, two and even sometimes three (some of which were probably her closest friends)... but it completely changed overnight.

This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real—well, you have eyes, don’t you?

She stared at the numbers displayed on her smartphone’s screen and tried to pinch herself for good measure. Eventually she just shook her friend’s shoulder and said,  “Please tell me I’m dreaming.”

He glanced over at her phone and hummed. “As far as I can tell. No.”

[ 5000+ People Have Followed You ]

[ 9999+ Have Liked Your Following Posts ]

[ You Have 300+ Unread Messages ]

This was all thanks to that app wasn’t it?

It was almost hard to attribute fame and success to one thing alone. There were too many factors that surrounded it and it was sometimes hard to tell which one of it was.  Most often, it came from a combination of various factors.

However, she was now utterly convinced that the app she downloaded on her phone was extraordinary.

Actually, it was more than extraordinary… it was amazing! Magical!

There was no other logical reason for it beyond that.

Hana didn't think it was just luck alone, since there was no way that an algorithm would suddenly just work in her favor despite all the right tags.

Something else was at work.

How could it ever be possible that she who never even liked taking selfies was now amassing a great amount of likes and hearts on her social media accounts? It was as if all the hearts and good feedback all started appearing in the air and she could see them clearly right now.

Visible to only her.

She really couldn’t believe it and her friend right next to her wasn’t even making a sound. Maybe her friend was as shell-shocked as her and couldn’t even react? One look at her friend and him scrolling on his phone said completely otherwise.

“So what are we ordering for dinner?” he asked.

Was this guy really serious?

She reached out for his phone, stealing it away, as she gave him a grin. Even when he barely blinked at the newfound success she gathered, it couldn’t stop the great feeling in her body that welled up inside of her. “Anything that you want. It’s on me, tonight.”

That was the only thing that made him give a reaction.

She watched his lips twitch into a light smirk and his eyes light up. He finally glanced at her direction and said, “This seems like a really early celebration.”

“Oh shut up.” She shoved him and then pointed at his phone’s screen. “Go order me some fast food—I’m starving. I want sweet and sour orange glazed chicken and stir-fried egg rice.”

He raised a brow and snickered lightly. “I thought you said it was anything that I wanted.”

“That was five seconds ago, loser. Now order me some food before I get hangry.”

“Geez, don’t forget that you’re paying.” He flicked her in the forehead. “At least keep that part of the deal.”

“But I’m still a broke and debt-ridden student!” She protested with a pout. "You can't expect me to treat you when I still don't have any money."

He tilted his head and gave her a long look. “Not for too long, I think.”

"Huh?"

"I think you'll start becoming even more popular than you are now. When that happens, you can finally treat me for real."

"Look at this leech!" She teased.

And so, Hana Lee’s friend turned out to be right.