Ch.11Kim Donghu, you’re crazy

“…Sujin?”

“Well, well, at least you haven’t forgotten my voice?”

Even though not contacting me until now was a minus point, I’ll give you a plus for this.

Kim Donghu couldn’t collect himself as Kim Sujin’s voice continued.

Just as he was about to wonder, ‘How did she contact me?’

Kim Sujin answered that question with her next words.

“What do you think business card exchanges are for?”

Honestly, Donghu had a right to feel wronged about this.

No matter how close they’d been, it was a connection from when they were five years old.

Keeping in touch consistently just because they were kindergarten classmates? That was nonsense.

Besides, for an ordinary person to contact a top star was even more unreasonable.

Unless the top star contacted first.

You can’t just casually text “What’s up?” like a friend without any reason.

And the business card exchange had been between their mothers.

Kindergarten classmates’ mothers—especially between an ordinary person and a top star—maintaining contact after exchanging business cards was unlikely.

But that’s exactly what Kim Sujin’s mother, Kim Yuryeon, had done.

Not frequently, but once or twice a year.

Kim Yuryeon had consistently kept in touch with Donghu’s mother, Lee Yuhyeon.

For two reasons.

-Truly, after all this time, Kim Donghu turned out to be the most handsome.

One was because her daughter’s first love was still ongoing.

The other was because of the brilliant talent she had glimpsed briefly.

She could see that boy was destined to live with a camera.

Born for acting, literally designed to be an actor.

How could she let go of a connection to such talent?

But that didn’t mean she facilitated interaction between their children.

‘The kids will figure it out themselves.’

And so about 10 years passed.

During that time, Kim Yuryeon and Lee Yuhyeon became quite close, sharing personal stories with each other.

That day was no different.

It was their quarterly catch-up call.

The mothers were chatting about their children.

Suddenly, Lee Yuhyeon brought up a new topic.

-Come to think of it, my son made a Facetoom? Tom? What was it? Anyway, he made an account for that.

-Oh, really?

That’s when the variable occurred.

Kim Yuryeon had put the call on speaker for convenience.

And Kim Sujin happened to walk into the living room and overheard the conversation.

The sense of betrayal Sujin felt at that moment was beyond imagination.

Even if it felt artificial, still!

Her daughter occasionally mentioned Kim Donghu, and her mother had been hiding this!

Immediately, Sujin urged her mother to get Kim Donghu’s number.

And that led to the current situation.

“Why didn’t you become an actor?”

Actually, Sujin had a reason for not actively looking for Donghu.

She naturally believed she would see him at a broadcasting station someday.

“I thought we’d meet on the same project, or at least similar ones.”

But there was nothing? Apparently, you hadn’t done any projects since that day.

“I was even worried something might have happened to you.”

-No, it’s not like that…

She could sense Donghu’s flustered voice through the receiver.

‘Just hearing his voice isn’t enough.’

Even considering the high call charges, she needed to see his face.

Having reached that conclusion, Kim Sujin immediately switched to a video call.

“Ha, Kim Donghu, you’re really crazy?”

She could see a girl sticking close to Kim Donghu.

+++++

-I have a lot to say, but I’ll hold back. You message me TONIGHT, got it?

“Y-yeah, got it.”

-Then I’m hanging up.

“Okay.”

-Okay? That’s it? Don’t you watch TV? Don’t you realize who just called you?

‘Her personality is exactly the same as in kindergarten.’

Sujin still knew very well how pretty she was.

A noble princess who always gets what she wants.

She hadn’t changed.

“It’s a great honor. I’ll contact you after I’m done. Hang up now. From the way you’re talking, it seems like you need to go on air.”

-…You’re right. Make sure you contact me! If you don’t contact me first, you’re dead!

Click.

As soon as the call with Sujin ended abruptly.

“…Who were you just talking to?”

Yerim looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly shocked.

“Kim Sujin, don’t you know her?”

“No, I know her, that’s why I’m asking. You, you, you know Kim Sujin?”

“We went to kindergarten together.”

Does it make sense to have video calls just because of that?

Shin Yerim looked like she was holding back what she really wanted to say.

“Are you going to become an actor?”

“Hmm, not right now.”

It wasn’t the right time yet.

A bit later, when YouTube becomes more active and social media usage spreads more widely.

It wouldn’t be too late to make a move then.

For now, building recognition in various fields was enough.

It was still a time when an individual’s power was limited.

A time when you had to do whatever your agency told you, with no strength to overcome unfair contracts.

It would be worth trying to be an actor after at least 6 years.

‘At minimum, twenty years old, when I legally become an adult is when I should start moving.’

Until then, it was better for my mental health to just enjoy my school days casually.

This was still an era of real-time search rankings.

When else would public opinion be so easily swayed?

The moment you appeared on the real-time search rankings, commonly known as “silgeom,” and got listed in controversies, it was over.

‘It’s not time yet.’

The goal wasn’t just to debut as a rookie but to debut as an experienced newcomer.

I needed to gradually build the foundation for that now.

“So you’ll do it later?”

“That’s right.”

To maximize the potential of this face, many people needed to see it.

Isn’t a celebrity the pinnacle for a handsome face?

It would be foolish not to use the talent I was born with.

While chatting with Shin Yerim on our way home…

“Excuse me, are you Kim Donghu?”

“Yes?”

An unfamiliar woman blocked my path.

“Ah, I’m not a suspicious person. I’m Jeon Gyeongmi, a scout from ST Entertainment.”

She was holding a business card from ST Entertainment.

+++++

After receiving the ST Entertainment business card.

Scouts from entertainment companies started visiting me every day or two.

If before they were just casual “You’re handsome, want to try?” approaches,

Now they were formally introducing their company visions and handing out business cards.

“No, I don’t want to do it right now.”

“Right now? What does that mean? Does that mean you’ll want to do it later?”

Did I answer too ambiguously? This happens every time I respond.

‘But they really respect boundaries.’

They must have recruited child actors before.

The scouts all stopped just before becoming annoying.

But the fact that they came remained unchanged.

My visibility within Shinbit Middle School skyrocketed.

With various scouts regularly visiting to recruit me,

Who wouldn’t be interested?

Sometimes it was so bad I couldn’t even go to the bathroom during breaks because of all the stares.

The person most excited about this attention wasn’t me but Kim Minhyeok.

Unable to break his habit from his previous life, his shoulders seemed to rise naturally as I became more prominent.

“Donghu, I knew you’d make it big. I’ll be your manager later.”

“I’m planning to hire managers based on ability.”

“T-then I’ll drive for you. I’m good at driving, I even got a professional kart license.”

That actually does mean he’s good at it.

‘But is that the same as real driving?’

Still, I nodded appreciatively at his determination to do something when he grows up.

“Okay, do that.”

“Really? Then I’ll get my license as soon as I’m old enough!”

“Sure.”

Glance.

Shin Yerim, who had transferred to our class and overheard this, stared at me.

A face that wanted to say something but was holding back.

She probably wanted to say she’d become a model.

But in the end, Shin Yerim didn’t say it.

“I, I’m going to make an amazing game, with, with you as the main character…”

As expected, Kangsik declared he would become a game developer.

As everyone started sharing their dreams,

‘Wait, does this mean it’s becoming a foregone conclusion that I’ll be an actor?’

I suddenly felt like my career path was being naturally decided.

I would open various channels, but acting would be at the center.

‘Yes, I should become an actor.’

The moment that conclusion was reached.

Buzz!

Buzz!

Buzz!

My phone suddenly vibrated.

How is it vibrating when it’s on silent?

‘What is this?’

Glance.

As I lowered my head to check the curious message,

“…I need to go to the bathroom for a moment.”

“Class is about to start soon?”

“Tell them it’s urgent.”

I immediately left my seat.

-[Sims – Real Life]

The sender was a very familiar name.

‘Why this?’

Before checking the content, I needed a safe location.

Wondering where to go, I thought of the first-floor staff bathroom.

The only bathroom with a bidet,

I sat there and checked the message.

-[Sims – Real Life supports your second life.]

-[As your future has been set as an actor, your life will be designed accordingly.]

-[Also, we inform you that the tutorial has ended due to your future setting.]

-[As a result, Sims – Real Life will now officially assist your life.]

What does this even mean?

‘So I didn’t simply reincarnate?’

I had my suspicions.

But I didn’t think deeply about it because there had been no notifications for over a decade.

‘So is this really going to proceed like The Sims?’

Having played for 50,000 hours, I knew the Sims system thoroughly.

After the tutorial ends, what happens next is…

-[Would you like to check fragmentary information about the future?]

Gaining an omniscient view.