Ch.36Really Sweet Cherry Pie

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of bombing continues without end.

“Those long-nosed bastards are dropping their shit from the sky again today.”

My comrade who joked while enduring the bombardment at the hill died just the other day.

The joy of thinking the war had ended was short-lived,

now despair awaits everyone in what they call the final all-out battle.

Revolutionary Hill! Revolutionary Hill!

The man with the red armband who used to shout those words no longer did so.

Laughing hollowly, realizing his hope of returning alive had been extinguished,

he moved according to the operation plan, a weak human with no strength left.

They say to follow the plan, but what meaning does that have?

Everyone’s going to die anyway.

‘But I won’t die.’

Despite everything, I intended to survive until the end.

To live for my sister’s share too, I wanted to ask why she begged so desperately for that rice and meat soup.

Why our family, who was happy day by day despite our crushing poverty, had to die.

I wanted to ask about all of this.

Since there were no answers here in the North,

I wanted to ask in the South.

If it really exists there.

If that’s why they fight risking their lives.

‘I need to find that person.’

The student soldier’s eyes roll around.

In the endless bombardment, he searches for one man.

A man who approached wearing our uniform, seemingly unconcerned about his life.

A soldier who didn’t answer his question despite being asked twice.

His gaze fixes on Kim Suha, the character Han Taegeon will play.

Click.

Aware of his limited bullets, he fixes his bayonet.

I will ask you,

the reason my sister had to die.

As a student who joined the battlefield,

yet learned nothing at school,

wandering without hearing even one simple question until the end,

“Sister, I’ll definitely come to meet you with that answer.”

The student soldier moves.

WHOOSH!

At that moment, as if the script had ended, I immediately returned to the real world.

-[Due to Cheonmujiche, you have perfectly mastered ‘Bayonet Combat’.]

And immediately following, a text message from Sims.

Knowledge of bayonet combat, something I’ve never done before, enters my head directly.

I feel like I could demonstrate skilled bayonet techniques right now if I wanted to.

‘This is amazing.’

While I was marveling at the power of Cheonmujiche.

Buzz buzz buzz.

My phone alarm rang fiercely.

>Kim Donghu, are you crazy?!

>I was hiding then, so I couldn’t hear you playing the piano…

>Were you always this good?!

I smiled slightly at Kim Sujin’s KakaoTalk message.

Yeah, I guess the reaction is pretty good?

+++++

Time continues to flow even as Kim Donghu films Endless Frontline.

But sometimes time doesn’t flow equally for everyone.

In recent weeks, time has been moving very slowly for KBC Drama Director Kim Cheoldo.

“Hahaha…”

His usually boisterous laughter had disappeared these days.

‘I thought the ratings for episodes 1 and 2 were the signal to crush everyone.’

The increase in ratings for episodes 3 and 4 was minimal at best.

The rise itself was good, but it didn’t match the value of the Korean beef dinner they’d had.

It was the same when episode 5 aired.

What about episode 6 where Lee J appears?

‘It might be the same.’

Just showing his face versus him playing music without saying anything.

Simply put, the latter should cause ratings to jump.

But can worldly affairs ever flow so smoothly?

Such straightforward paths in life are rare.

Munch munch.

Even the cherry pie tastes like death today.

Swallowing his bitter feelings, Drama Director Kim Cheoldo opened his phone.

By now, the ratings for episode 6 should be tallied,

so PD Kim Youngmo should have contacted him.

‘If only Lee J’s power could raise it another 2%…’

That would make it 15%? How wonderful it would be if that happened.

Munch munch.

As he was chewing cherry pie and muttering pitifully.

BANG!

PD Kim Youngmo kicked open the drama director’s office door.

With the momentum of a victorious general, the expression of a commander on the verge of successful rebellion.

Director Kim Cheoldo was so startled by this magnificent entrance that he couldn’t say anything.

“Director!!! Is it right for you to be here like this?!!!”

“W-what…?”

What’s with this intensity, Kim Youngmo.

You weren’t originally this type of character.

Kim Cheoldo was genuinely confused.

And why is the beret Youngmo is wearing today golden?

‘It looks like a crown.’

As such random thoughts crossed his mind.

“Episode 6!!! Ratings! 17%!”

PD Kim Youngmo’s thunderous words struck Director Kim Cheoldo’s head.

It felt like lightning striking from the top of his head to his toes!

Zzzzt zzzzt.

“Ha… Hahaha.., HAHAHAHAHA….!!!!”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

17%?!

So it jumped about 3% at once?

As Director Kim Cheoldo laughed with his reaction function broken, Kim Youngmo’s words continued rapidly.

“The viewer forums are going crazy right now!”

“That’s right, they’re saying it’s unbelievable that this handsome guy just plays the piano without saying anything, that they can’t help but smile just looking at him! You know I picked him, right? I cast him!”

Meanwhile, Team Leader Shin Youngsuk from the caddie team tried to get in on the action.

But who cares? What’s one more spoon at a festival?

“Want me to read you some articles? ‘High Dream, steep growth. Other broadcasters on high alert!'”

Ha.

“Lee J magic! Does calm classical music work? What will be the ending of High Dream! High expectations!”

Haha.

“One step back for ten steps forward, High Dream’s story is just beginning, Monday-Tuesday drama conquest anticipated.”

Hahaha.

Director Kim Cheoldo’s smile showed no signs of fading.

Looking again, Youngmo, that beret on your head really does look like a crown.

Immersed in happiness, Kim Cheoldo immediately searched his pockets.

“What’s more expensive than Korean beef, sashimi? Something like daegumbari? Eel? How about eel, eel is good right, the expensive domestic kind, huh?”

“Eel! Eel is great. My kids are really struggling these days preparing for additional High Dream filming…”

“Ah yes, of course. It must be tough, making a hit is really hard work.”

“And also this… also…”

“I know, I know. I’ll advance your bonus. The best thing for an employee is a bonus, right?”

“That’s great, that’s great. Hahahahaha.”

“Hahahahaha.”

Director Kim Cheoldo watched contentedly as PD Kim Youngmo took the card and left the drama director’s office.

Munch munch.

The cherry pie he ate again,

was so sweet that even if one of two people eating it died, the other wouldn’t notice.

+++++

At the same time.

Click clack click clack.

While the whole world was buzzing about Lee J’s simple performance.

There was one place quieter than anywhere else, with only the sound of typing.

Click clack.

“Sigh…”

It was writer Lee Minha’s workspace.

“Sigh…sigh…”

There were three monitors in total.

One for work, one for watching High Dream broadcasts, and one for checking High Dream reactions.

Writer Lee Minha, whose eyeballs were constantly rolling while looking at all three, suppressed her emotions as much as possible.

‘Really Lee J, no, Kim Donghu, you have a talent for driving people crazy.’

Despite having seen it in person, it felt completely different on TV.

The sense of being there versus the polished screen.

Some actors don’t look good on camera, but Kim Donghu had no such problem.

He was just unconditionally handsome,

and such a person was playing the piano with a deeply troubled face.

How could anyone dislike that face?

That appearance that would make you burst into laughter even if he said anything random, playing the piano?

It could be called the ultimate in classical music.

‘And La Campanella hasn’t even appeared yet.’

This was just a taste, barely a dip of the pinky finger.

How many people would cheer later in the main story?

Writer Lee Minha wanted to shout out loud.

She wanted to brag that she was the one who wrote Kim Donghu’s drama debut.

But.

‘Not now.’

It was still premature.

‘Now I need to suppress these emotions as much as possible and write.’

She wanted to use this moment’s inspiration to write a better script,

and send that script directly to Kim Donghu.

For that, she could endure this joy-.

“KYAAAAH! I’m just too happy! Isn’t Kim Donghu absolutely insane?!”

She couldn’t.

PD Kim Youngmo told her the ratings were 17%.

The term “lucky charm” wasn’t enough to describe him.

Could it be that God had given her the opportunity to become the best writer?

SLAM!

“I think we should stop writing and have a team dinner today!”

“Yay! Great! Great!”

“What are we eating, teacher?”

“On such a good day, it’s obviously beef, why even ask~!”

“KYAH! Meat is the best!”

Writer Lee Minha, having already shouted, was about to take her assistant writers out.

Ding dong ding dong ding dong.

No, she was trying to.

“What? Who is it at this hour?”

It was approaching midnight, who could it be?

She hadn’t ordered any delivery.

‘What is this, really.’

Lee Minha approached the door with an unpleasant feeling.

And there was an unexpected person.

“Sujeong…?”

Writer Yeo Sujeong.

A person who debuted around the same time as Writer Lee Minha,

and despite being a year younger, had a friendly personality.

They kept in regular contact and maintained quite a good relationship, but.

‘But we’re not close enough for her to visit in the middle of the night?’

Why did she come?

‘Let’s open it first.’

Writer Yeo Sujeong’s face on the intercom screen looked quite urgent.

Almost like she was desperately looking for a bathroom.

SLAM.

As soon as she opened the door, Writer Yeo Sujeong immediately hugged Writer Lee Minha.

“Unni, please just help me once.”

“Huh?”

“Let me contact Actor Kim Donghu… just once.”

In her left hand was a script,

titled <Eclipse>.