Ch.17Sigh… if it’s like this…

Crunch.

Kim Donghu crumples the script in his hand.

A squeeze meant to show contempt.

Kim Donghu, no, Lee J, slowly looked around.

The numerous competition certificates hanging like the pride of Galaxy Arts High School.

Without exception, all of them belonged to the realm of talent.

There was no place for filth that had crawled up from the bottom.

“If you entrust it to me, I’ll take responsibility and end High Dream.”

At those resolute words, the principal looked at Lee J with an intrigued expression.

“How do you plan to end it?”

“If we step on them half-heartedly, they’ll crawl back up. We need to show them reality at the Milky Way competition.”

Milky Way.

The stage that would become the core story of High Dream,

and the venue for Galaxy Arts High School’s year-end evaluation.

A space to test talent and a stepping stone to becoming a star.

A stage where not only school members,

but also outside stakeholders come to evaluate students’ skills.

High Dream aimed to compete there and win.

Those fake maggots who crawled up from the bottom-.

Lee J continued, chewing on his disgust.

“Just place High Dream first in the competition order, and me last.”

No matter how well they perform, the first act is forgotten;

the last act inevitably leaves the strongest impression.

Normally, the order would be determined by drawing lots, but that wasn’t important now.

“I’m counting on you.”

The principal is cunning.

He knows why he called Lee J, and why Lee J can only act this way.

Wang Ho intended to thoroughly exploit that.

“I’ll definitely live up to your trust.”

The final line of Scene 55.

After confirming that, the director involuntarily shouted.

“CUT!!!”

+++++

“…”

After the director’s unexpected cut signal.

PD Kim Youngmo suggested a 30-minute break to rest.

However, no one left their seats.

They were too busy processing the shock of witnessing something incredible.

‘Aah…’

Especially screenwriter Lee Minha, whose head was throbbing from excessive dopamine.

Not only had she witnessed a character come to life,

but seeing the scene she had imagined being recreated before her eyes—how could she not be happy?

She was on the verge of dizziness from overwhelming joy.

‘Donghu, you’ve really grown up incredibly.’

Kim Yuryen, seeing Kim Donghu after a long time, gave a standing ovation in her heart.

Just fourteen years old.

His first drama, his first script reading session.

And there, he had captivated everyone in an instant.

It felt refreshing to experience again the shock she had felt from “Hehe Doctor!”.

And PD Kim Youngmo was feeling the same way.

‘Kim Donghu, Kim Donghu, Kim Donghu!’

He wanted to jump up and hug him right away.

Usually, the first script reading had a light atmosphere.

Since it focused more on harmony than acting.

But with the ripple Kim Donghu had created, the script reading atmosphere had grown heavy.

To avoid being overshadowed by a rookie—one without even a debut work, without an agency, a mere child—

everyone was struggling.

Glancing around.

Where did someone like him come from?

As everyone was looking at their scripts without speaking,

“Kim Donghu… was it?”

Unable to hold back any longer, the principal, or rather Jang Geonho, spoke up.

“Yes, senior. I’m Kim Donghu.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. It seems we’ll be working closely together.”

Hurriedly.

At Jang Geonho’s words, Kim Donghu quickly stood up and bowed.

He had already greeted everyone with a bow before the script reading.

But there was nothing wrong with bowing often.

“Yes! I’ll learn a lot from you.”

“Haha, we’ll help each other. By the way, have you ever studied acting somewhere?”

Jang Geonho immediately got to the point.

But he already knew the answer.

‘He probably hasn’t.’

That wasn’t something you could learn.

It was the realm of brilliant talent.

Something everyone wants but some never even dare to approach in their lifetime,

the nest of a monster born to devour the camera.

In Jang Geonho’s eyes, Kim Donghu lived in that place.

“I haven’t studied separately, so I have many shortcomings. I’ll work harder in the future.”

“Haha, more than this?”

Finding the articulate responses of the fresh-faced boy endearing,

Jang Geonho laughed softly and replied as if in disbelief.

“May I speak comfortably?”

“Yes! I don’t mind.”

“I hear you don’t have an agency?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Slide.

A business card was placed in front of Kim Donghu.

“!”

Handing over a business card right after hearing he had no agency.

The meaning was clear.

“Senior Geonho, that’s putting me in a very difficult position?”

Seeing this, Kim Yuryen smiled gently.

“Our Donghu, I’ve had my eye on him for a while.”

Slide.

Kim Yuryen’s business card was placed on top of Jang Geonho’s.

A playful atmosphere.

But anyone could see that both Jang Geonho and Kim Yuryen were serious.

“It’s troublesome if you try to snatch him away like this?”

“Haha, what are you saying? I just gave him my card because we’ll have a lot to talk about within the project.”

“Oh, is that so? I must have misunderstood.”

Jang Geonho swallowed hard at Kim Yuryen’s elegant response.

He knew they were close from the beginning, but he didn’t expect her to be targeting him too.

But in a way, it was only natural.

‘It doesn’t make sense to just watch a talent like that floating around without an agency.’

Jang Geonho,

no, everyone in the room could see that Kim Donghu was like a gold nugget floating in a river.

With the situation turning out like this, the position of the rookies from ST Entertainment and Full Lady became awkward.

Distributed across various ages starting from at least sixteen,

they weren’t receiving any attention.

Originally, even if there were imperfections, the plan was for seniors to guide them slowly.

But with the appearance of the catfish, the sketch couldn’t even be drawn before the picture was smudged.

Yet there was nothing they could do.

If anything, they could only pray for this moment to end quickly.

‘I need to prepare more.’

‘Am I really going to get eaten alive?’

‘Where did a kid like that come from?’

Amidst various admiration, jealousy, and amazement,

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The brief but intense script reading came to an end.

+++++

The morning after the script reading ended.

While preparing for school, the phone rang.

“Hello.”

-Hey Kim Donghu! You, you you you, did you get in?!

An excited voice and a personality that got straight to the point.

It was Kim Sujin.

“Yeah, I got in. I heard you got an offer too, so I was hoping to meet you there, but it didn’t work out.”

-And you’re telling me this now! So you’re really going to be an actor from now on? Officially?

“I guess so?”

-Then film a romance with me later.

“Huh?”

What’s that all about?

I burst into laughter at Kim Sujin’s bold statement.

Isn’t that too random?

As I was about to respond, Sujin’s words continued in a rush.

-Since you’re only fourteen, there won’t be any direct romance scenes. So there’s nothing to do in High Dream!

-So, when you’re older! When you get a romance role, do it with me!

“But it’s not like we can just decide that…”

-Promise to do it with me!

Click.

Kim Sujin ended the call with those words.

She seemed quite embarrassed.

I thought she was cute too.

‘Anyway, I need to get permission now.’

If I was going to be acting, it would inevitably conflict with my studies.

Setting aside exams, in the worst case, I might not meet the required attendance days.

For these matters, consultation with teachers was essential.

In the worst case.

‘It might be tough to get recognition for arts and sports activities in 2010.’

If I didn’t get along with the teacher, it could lead to confrontations.

Plus, this was still a time when hair regulations were enforced,

so I was worried about potential conflicts.

But.

“Oh? Really? Then you absolutely must do it, Donghu. Don’t worry about such things, just do whatever you want to do.”

Making my concerns seem foolish, my homeroom teacher actively supported me.

“But Donghu, even in your busy schedule, okay? It would be good if you could participate in school life. For example… running for student council president?”

He even wanted to beef up my school credentials.

Seeing my confusion, my homeroom teacher explained the situation.

“After the police investigation, our school was selected as a model school, so the principal really likes you.”

The romantic era of 2010.

Shinbit Middle School, which became a model school because it had no troublemakers, was even featured in the newspaper.

Of course, it was just two lines in the corner of the last page.

But even that was welcomed with open arms from the school’s perspective.

“Ah… I’m just grateful for the positive view.”

“As expected, our Donghu is really, huh? Haha! I like how straightforward you are.”

My homeroom teacher patted my back, emphasizing again that there was nothing to worry about.

“Before you do anything, okay? Just let me know by text when you can’t come.”

“Teacher, and I… because of the actor role, I might need to dye my hair…”

“Oh come on! Donghu! I said everything’s fine, right? Trust this Jang Boseok! In return, don’t complain if they hang a placard at school after your drama appearance!”

What?

What are you talking about, teacher?

+++++

Time flies quickly.

Past summer vacation, it’s already September.

The first day of shooting for High Dream.

The staff members were chatting casually while enjoying the relatively cool weather.

“But no matter how good his acting is, will it work with his physical limitations?”

The topic of their chat was about Kim Donghu.

Playing a high school student at the age of fourteen.

They say it’s fine because of his maturity and aura, but there was another issue.

“His height, you know, 170cm would put him at a disadvantage compared to other actors.”

The issue was height.

Compared to actors who were at least in the mid to late 170s, Kim Donghu was on the smaller side.

Moreover, his role was an antagonist opposing High Dream.

If his build was small, it wouldn’t have the right impact.

“I’m worried, really worried.”

Since most of the staff hadn’t participated in the script reading session,

such concerns were natural.

And then.

“Hello. I’m Kim Donghu, playing the role of Lee J.”

The subject of their gossip appeared.

“Wow…”

He was indeed handsome, even excessively so as rumored.

But there was something strange.

Wasn’t he supposed to be small?

Then something clicked in the staff members’ minds.

Fourteen years old.

An age when one grows rapidly with proper nutrition.

‘Could it be…’

Just as “could it be” can be deadly,

Kim Donghu’s height had shot up during the vacation.

14 years old, 173cm.

As if proving he had different genes,

Kim Donghu announced his presence to those around him.

‘Ha, at this rate…’

The staff members felt it.

‘Won’t he overshadow the protagonist?’

They worried that the villain’s popularity might rise excessively.