episode_0275

A hotel in South Korea.

“Hoo.”

A man in a bathrobe leisurely watches TV. He’s also not bored in the mouth. He’s eating food he ordered from room service.

Then suddenly.

Perhaps wanting to see the scenery outside, he approached the window. It’s a weekday. Looking down from the high floor, cars are moving diligently like ants.

The man clicked his tongue while looking at the scene.

“Tsk tsk tsk…. Why do they all live so hard? Life is about making a lot of money at once and resting enjoyably at once.”

Just as he muttered that.

─♩♪♬

Suddenly, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Kang Cheol-jin, long time no see. What are you up to these days?”

“Nothing. Just living off the money I’ve earned, playing around. Basically unemployed. Unemployed.”

“Unemployed? You’re not doing private investigator work anymore? You blew up Kang Hak-man and Lee Ju-hyun’s case pretty big, didn’t you?”

Yes, he was a private investigator.

No, to be exact, (ex) private investigator. Meaning, he was the one who caught Kang Hak-man and Lee Ju-hyun having an affair and sold the evidence all over the place.

Private investigator Kang Cheol-jin yawned and said.

“Hyung-nim, I blew that one up pretty big, so I’m not doing private investigator work anymore. If I kept digging around without resting, I might get stabbed. I’m going to lay low for a while.”

“Is that so? That’s troublesome.”

“Why?”

“I got a really good offer. I think it’d be good for you and me to work together once.”

“No way, hyung-nim, I really need to rest.”

“Just listen to it first. It’s seriously the most epic ever.”

How many people wouldn’t be tempted by the word “epic”? At least Kang Cheol-jin wasn’t very resistant to temptation. Therefore.

“…Epic? Should I hear it out?”

“Yeah, listen and decide. Do you know any of the popular girl groups these days? Do you happen to know Clive?”

“Of course I know Clive, even if I don’t know other groups.”

“Yeah. It’s related to them.”

At the unexpected information, Kang Cheol-jin’s eyes widened, and the other person put strength into his voice and said.

“They had a sex bribery scandal, except for one of them?”

◈◈◈◈◈

At the same time, a studio in Seoul, South Korea.

The studio, including the kitchen, was crowded with the filming crew. PD Kang Hyun-sung, with a playful face wearing a snapback backwards, was directing the scene.

“First of all, the place is too messy. Divide the areas clearly. Put up the nameplates clearly too. That way, we can proceed smoothly with the next thing, right?”

“Yes! Doing it now!”

After that, a large piece of paper is attached to the studio entrance.

The words written on the paper were simple and clear.

[ Star Summit ]

Yes, ‘Star Summit’ is scheduled to take place here today. Therefore, the staff moved more busily than ever, and the setting was completed shortly after.

The kitchen was placed on one side, and the desks of the performers were arranged in a circular shape like a round table.

[ Kim Seon-il ], [ Lee Soo-ah ], [ Matsuda ], [ Liam ], [ Jo Jeong-jeong ], [ Mali ], [ Kwesi ]. Today’s total is 7 people.

The countries are Korea, Japan, Australia, China, Thailand, and Congo in order. PD Kang Hyun-sung plans to shoot the first special, ‘Korean Food and Reactions,’ with only this combination for now.

Ah, of course, there is one more person.

[ Chef Lee Geum-hoo ]

That’s Chef Lee Geum-hoo.

Why? Because only the Mystic family has confirmed Soo-ah’s cooking skills yet. PD Kang Hyun-sung doesn’t know the truth yet, so he separately invited a chef.

After a while.

“Soo-ah-ssi and Seon-il-ssi have arrived on set!”

As soon as Mystic’s van appeared in the parking lot, the staff exchanged information through walkie-talkies, and soon pure white Soo-ah and jet black Kim Seon-il appeared. Are they Go stones?

“Soo-ah-ssi! Seon-il-ssi! Welcome!”

The staff, including PD Kang Hyun-sung, greeted the two enthusiastically. No, especially Soo-ah more enthusiastically.

These days, Soo-ah’s stock is the highest after all.

“Soo-ah-ssi, your role as Seong Si-hyeon is so addictive. They say the pursuit of dopamine because of Seong Si-hyeon is a meme these days?”

“I repeated the OST again today! The lyrics are somehow touching, and more than anything, your voice is so pretty!”

“Please take good care of our ‘Star Summit’ too. Let us fly a little with Soo-ah-ssi as our wings!”

Compliments pour down like a rainy season monsoon.

What is all this? It must be compliments for me, right? But if they pour out all at once, it’s dizzying! Soo-ah barely managed to hold onto her shaking mind.

“Umm, thank you.”

She greeted them, pretending to be calm on the outside.

At the same time, Soo-ah scanned the entire studio.

‘Oh, the kitchen looks really good?’

After that, she opened the refrigerator and checked the condition of the ingredients!

‘As expected, it’s only ingredients optimized for making Korean food. More than that, the condition is so good? It feels like it can’t help but be delicious no matter how you make it? Ugh, I can’t stand it. I want to cook soon!’

The problem is that Soo-ah’s appearance of opening the refrigerator and staring intently at the inside looks quite scary to the people around her.

‘Soo-ah-ssi, she’s not planning to eat it like that, is she?’

‘Soo-ah-ssi! You have to cook it and eat it!’

‘She’s sharp-looking too, like a wild animal….’

Then someone approached Soo-ah.

It was the Japanese representative, Matsuda.

“Wow, Soo-ah-ssi! I’m a fan!”

“Huh?”

Soo-ah first examined Matsuda’s appearance. He was a friendly man with a smiling face. He seemed very sociable.

Soo-ah said quickly.

“日本人? 日本語で気楽に話しても良いです.” (Japanese? You can speak comfortably in Japanese.)

Matsuda’s eyes widened.

“Y, y, your Japanese is amazing? I heard the rumors, but hearing it in person makes it more real. It’s even better than me, who has Japanese nationality…!”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating.”

“More than that! I’m a huge fan of Soo-ah-ssi! I enjoyed MDD 808, and I also watched the alien game that launched in Japan this time! It was so much fun!”

“Ahem ahem….”

Soo-ah coughed for no reason.

It was because she felt so good. Why, there’s a saying like that. Compliments make even a still Soo-ah dance!

In other words, Soo-ah happy! Soo-ah dancing!

Matsuda’s eyes sparkled.

Like a female lead in a Japanese shōjo manga.

“I’m looking forward to your cooking today! Of course, I heard the chef makes almost everything? But still, Soo-ah-ssi’s touch is included, right? Thank you for the meal!”

“Huh?”

Soo-ah tilted her head slightly.

My touch is only slightly included? But she soon understood. Ah, that’s right. These people here don’t know my cooking skills. I’ll show them properly today.

And Matsuda and Soo-ah’s boisterous conversation was already being captured by the ‘Star Summit’ camera.

PD Kang Hyun-sung quietly instructed the staff.

“Isn’t the image of Soo-ah-ssi using a foreign language and chatting well with other participants so pretty? Let’s capture this. We can create a warm atmosphere on set.”

After Soo-ah had all her energy sucked out by Matsuda who was making a huge fuss, this time Seon-il approached.

“Please take care of me today.”

“Yeah, yeah. How long has it been since we’ve been together?”

Soo-ah was also very happy to talk with Seon-il.

They’re one family tied together by Mystic, right?

Soo-ah poked Seon-il in the side and said.

“Yeon-ju unnie is always nagging me to contact her, but you should contact me more. I don’t know what you’re doing or how you’re doing. We’re family.”

“…I’m not very good at contacting people.”

“Is it some kind of contact phobia? Do you have to clear all your messages? Just kidding, but still contact me sometimes.”

“Okay. Ah, and can I take a picture with you after filming today? My younger sister is your fan.”

“Of course! Bring your younger sister next time! Come to think of it, how’s your younger sister doing these days?”

“Thanks to you.”

Perhaps because it was their first time having a private conversation in a while, they had a lot to say to each other. Of course, the problem was that this didn’t look like a friendly atmosphere to others.

‘Soo-ah-ssi is keeping Seon-il-ssi in line?’

‘What’s with that atmosphere? Is Seon-il-ssi being scolded right now?’

‘Their relationship wasn’t just colleagues, it was superior-subordinate?’

PD Kang Hyun-sung casually said to the staff.

“…Don’t capture that on camera, it’s a bit brutal.”

“Yes.”

After that, other performers began to arrive at the studio one by one, and the scene buzzed once in the middle.

This is because surprising news arrived.

PD Kang Hyun-sung suddenly raised his voice.

“Wait a minute, everyone! Pay attention!”

He drew attention and pointed to Soo-ah and Seon-il with his eyes.

“The ‘Alien Game’ starring Soo-ah-ssi and Seon-il-ssi is currently ranked number 1 in real-time on Netflix in Japan too! They’ve topped both Korea and Japan!”

“Wow…. That’s amazing….”

“No, what’s with them hitting a jackpot with everything they touch?”

. . . . .

Woo-oong─ Woo-oong─

Meanwhile, Kim Iseo, who was dozing off in the van, woke up to the sound of her phone vibrating. Because Mystic has too much work these days, she doesn’t have time to sleep at all.

“Who is it….”

I’m so sleepy.

She looked at her phone with a deeply frowning face, but.

“…?”

After checking the content that appeared on the screen, her sleepiness vanished in an instant. It was like being struck by lightning.

[ Sender: Director Go Tae-min ]

▷ CEO, do you happen to have time?

▷ Director Lee Chang-wan wants to talk to you.

“…Director Lee Chang-wan? The Lee Chang-wan I know?”

Kim Iseo muttered without realizing it.

If what she knew was correct, Lee Chang-wan was an international director aiming for the Venice Film Festival, beyond Korea.

◈◈◈◈◈

At this time, a movie theater in Korea.

They were also moving busily. They had to prepare to open ticketing for the new screenings, and they also had to install posters throughout the movie theater.

Among them, what stood out was, of course.

[ 15 ] [ Lie, Lie, Lie ]

▶ 2D ㅣ Hall 2, 6th floor ㅣ Total 123 seats

▶ 2D ㅣ Hall 3, 8th floor ㅣ Total 172 seats

▶ 2D ㅣ Hall 5, 10th floor ㅣ Total 172 seats

Soo-ah and Seo Yeon-ju’s Lie, Lie, Lie.

This finally premiered today.