Ch.39How does it make sense that Lee J isn’t showing up? You @#$%% bastards.

What is awkward acting?

Why does acting become awkward?

There are several reasons for this.

Emotional expression that is either excessive or insufficient,

Awkwardness in dialogue delivery, gestures, facial expressions, and breathing,

Misinterpreting the character and acting inappropriately for the situation,

Being conscious of the camera, and so on.

Multiple factors combine to label an actor as “awkward.”

Then, conversely, how does one act well?

There was only one rule to follow.

‘Perfect character interpretation.’

Simply becoming the character solves everything.

Since you’re not acting as the person,

But have become the person themselves, you don’t even notice the camera,

Everything feels natural, and nothing crosses the line.

Perfect balance.

Everyone on set felt something different when looking at Kim Donghu.

They were clearly supposed to be acting on the same set.

But he had truly become a student soldier, consuming the camera,

So there was nothing to say except praise.

‘Meeting actor Kim Donghu is my greatest fortune.’

Director Kang sincerely thought this,

And he wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

“How can you act like that?”

Han Taegeon, his eyes still moist, sincerely asked Kim Donghu.

“Honestly, I knew actor Kim Donghu was amazing from his first performance, but this is really…”

Speaking casually to actor Kim Donghu because he’s young? Such a notion had disappeared from Han Taegeon’s dictionary.

Rather, he wanted to call him teacher or master.

He had witnessed the pinnacle of acting right before his eyes.

Especially that single tear shed at the end.

A single drop containing the emptiness of dying without accomplishing anything,

Mixed with longing for his sister and the misery of having to die young in war,

All squeezed into one tear.

It was impossible not to be amazed.

“…I’m at a loss for words. I’ll talk more after we finish shooting.”

With those words, Han Taegeon got up first to remove his makeup.

‘I can grow even more from here.’

Han Taegeon had grown tired of being called a top star actor.

Honestly, he was somewhat good and admittedly had decent looks.

But did he truly deserve the modifier “top”? He had his doubts.

Looks are relative,

Acting skill is absolute.

How to handle these two aspects?

He had been constantly pondering and researching this.

And now that question was completely resolved.

‘I just need to study by watching an actor who’s better looking and better at acting than me.’

Glance.

Han Taegeon turned around briefly to look at Kim Donghu,

Who was now leisurely getting up.

‘I will definitely learn from him.’

He burned with passionate determination.

‘…Why is he looking at me like that?’

Kim Donghu found that intense gaze too burdensome.

+++++

After the shooting was all wrapped up.

Having filmed the student soldier climax scene to enthusiastic congratulations and cheers,

I was able to get straight into the van thanks to my 15-year-old privilege.

‘…I still can’t believe it.’

I sat quietly, scrolling through my phone contacts.

Han Taegeon, Go Changsik, Seo Myungwoo, Kang Sanghoon, and others.

The personal numbers of all these famous people were saved in my phone.

No matter how many times I looked at it, it didn’t feel real.

“Donghu, you worked really hard today too.”

No matter how many times I see you, you’re truly unbelievable.

I awkwardly smiled at Seokho hyung’s usual praise and thanked him.

As if he’d been waiting, Seokho hyung handed me a file before we departed.

“Donghu, you’re actually getting tons of advertisement offers.”

“What?”

Wait, the only thing publicly known about me is High Dream.

I’m getting ad offers just from that?

“Yeah, right, you already know. Of course, someone like you would know about these things.”

I showed a surprised reaction, and Seokho hyung misunderstood my response.

“What? Hyung, that’s not…”

“But there are so many low-paying ads coming in. Honestly, we’re not desperate for money right now, are we?”

Donghu, you can rise as high as you want.

You don’t need to associate with those who undervalue you.

Vroom.

Seokho hyung continued speaking while smoothly driving the van.

“So I’ve been turning most of them down, but then a school uniform brand approached us about becoming their exclusive model.”

Looking at the file name, it said “Brilliant.”

“It’s currently the weakest school uniform brand.”

Premier, I Love Club, School Kingdom, and Brilliant.

Seokho hyung added that this was the ranking order of school uniform brands.

“But the terms are amazing. Just for signing the exclusive model contract…”

“…?!”

As I listened to Seokho hyung’s explanation and checked the contract amount, I almost gasped out loud.

This money would go directly into my account?

And that wasn’t all.

“They’re offering decent sales incentives too, and there aren’t many mandatory activities. The bonuses for additional ad shoots are quite substantial as well.”

“So the conditions are really good?”

I continued as calmly as possible,

And Seokho hyung explained why he chose this advertisement.

“I think school uniform ads are a good measure of popularity among teenagers, so it would help boost your recognition.”

You can do other ads anytime,

But school uniform ads can only be done by people your age, right?

“Plus, due to the nature of school uniform ads, the contract period is only about a year, which is great. We can adjust your rate quickly if your value changes.”

If you’re okay with it, I think setting up a meeting for this wouldn’t be bad. What do you think?

I nodded immediately without needing to think about it.

“Sounds good!”

So if the contract goes well, my face will be plastered in school uniform stores?

Just imagining it made me feel embarrassed but also,

‘Mom and Dad will be so surprised when I tell them.’

I felt happy.

“Oh, and additional filming dates for High Dream have been set. Seems like they need to make quite a few content changes. It was scheduled urgently.”

“When is it?”

“Next Wednesday, is that okay?”

“Yes.”

But why did they schedule it so quickly?

‘Could it be that they’re changing more than just the latter part?’

I briefly wondered but dismissed the thought.

I vaguely thought my screen time might increase.

‘No way, it wouldn’t increase that much, right?’

Would a supporting character who briefly appears suddenly get a lot more screen time?

That seemed impossible.

++++++

For those who enjoy watching dramas lately,

Especially teenagers, if you asked which days they looked forward to most, it would obviously be Monday and Tuesday.

Why would they like days when school starts after the weekend?

‘Because High Dream airs!’

With High Dream, Monday school wasn’t scary.

School, then academy,

Academy, then home,

And at home, one episode of High Dream to melt away all stress.

What could be more enjoyable than that?

Plus, given what happened in last week’s episode, expectations were even higher.

Lee J’s Moonlight Sonata performance!

How would the High Dream members overcome this?

And how many more handsome looks would Lee J show?

These were the key points to watch.

In that sense, 17-year-old Ji Eunbi, an enthusiastic viewer ready for today’s enjoyment,

Sat excitedly in front of the TV.

And so episode 7 began.

The plot itself wasn’t special.

The High Dream members appeared, encouraged each other, practiced, filmed a romantic comedy,

All predictable but proving that familiar taste can be powerful, it was entertaining.

But.

“…Why isn’t Donghu oppa appearing?”

The main dish was missing.

This question persisted until the end of episode 7,

And while Eunbi almost got upset, she soon calmed down.

‘Right, he’ll appear tomorrow, right? It’s impossible for him not to appear for an entire week, that can’t happen.’

But who said it?

That nothing is impossible in this world.

As if to prove this, Lee J didn’t appear in episode 8 either.

He wasn’t even mentioned,

Not even a strand of his hair was shown,

And there was no sign he would appear anytime soon.

“What the hell!”

Eunbi forgot that the TV was in the living room,

And that her parents were eating fruit at the dining table, as she blurted out a curse.

“After looking so handsome in episode 6! How can they not show our Donghu oppa?!”

Are they clueless? Are they joking? Are they crazy?

Are they deceiving viewers?

Eunbi couldn’t stand it.

This was deception of the highest order.

She immediately went to her computer and began typing furiously.

The place where her keyboard was creating a dazzling display was:

ㄴAre you serious not showing Lee J? You @#$%% bastards

ㄴLOL do you think we watch High Dream for the band story? Get your heads straight!

ㄴI came to see a handsome guy playing piano, not watching some snotty kids’ show LOL

ㄴI just want to punch someone in the chest so bad

ㄴYou guys are hopeless, let’s see the ratings drop.

ㄴLet me tell you how to succeed~ 1. Call handsome Kim Donghu. 2. Film him a lot

ㄴCan’t even do something this simple, are your brains goldfish?

ㄴLooking for party members to increase Lee J’s screen time (1/100)

ㄴ(2/100)

ㄴ(3/100)

It was the KBC viewers’ bulletin board.

++++++

At the same time.

In the KBC president’s office.

The president’s anger was currently pouring down like a storm.

“Kim Cheoldo! Have you completely lost your sense because people have been praising you lately?!”

“No, it’s just that Kim Donghu was originally a supporting character…”

The target was Drama Department Director Kim Cheoldo.

He was eating a sweet cherry pie when the sudden storm left him disoriented.

“The viewers’ bulletin board is in chaos, who cares if he’s a supporting character!”

“That’s why we scheduled the next filming as quickly as possible. Tomorrow…”

“Why not do it in advance, in advance! Why do we have to get cursed at first!”

Because we didn’t know,

We didn’t know Kim Donghu would be so handsome, act so well, play piano so well, and become so popular!

‘If we had known, Kim Donghu would have been the lead!’

Of course, Kim Cheoldo would never say that out loud.

“Hey, even my wife said that if it were her? She would have immediately called Lee J.”

But Kim Donghu has his own schedule, how can we do that?

And does the script just appear when you tap it?

Go complain to writer Lee Minha, you only smile when you’re in front of her.

Naturally, he didn’t say this either.

“The news articles started tearing us apart as soon as Lee J stopped appearing, saying the ratings didn’t increase, asking if we’re going to stay at the same level as other Monday-Tuesday dramas!”

“That’s just…”

“Hey, don’t you analyze High Dream’s viewers? Don’t you know that besides the 10-20 age group, 30-40s started watching after Lee J appeared? We could have really boosted the ratings this week!”

I’ll match whatever it takes—salary, budget, anything—just increase Lee J’s screen time immediately.

“And!”

Thud.

The president gently placed a corporate card on the table.

“I don’t care what you eat or how you spend all night, just edit the additional footage quickly, okay? Do real-time editing or whatever!!!”

We need to boost the ratings!

I’m really counting on you, Cheoldo!

Let’s make this work!

“Seriously, try working while drinking whiskey, okay?! As long as the results are good, I won’t say anything! Got it?! If you understand, don’t answer and just go!”

“…”

Kim Cheoldo, grateful that the storm had passed, immediately rushed to the Drama Department.

“…I’m sorry.”

And there, PD Kim Youngmo was waiting for him.

The absurd situation of being scolded for not making the ratings even better when they were already good.

Still, he apologized for being scolded, but.

‘…?’

Glance.

PD Kim Youngmo secretly observed Kim Cheoldo’s expression when he didn’t respond.

But somehow his expression was,

‘Bright?’

Is this really someone who just got scolded?

Just as he was thinking this.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

Director Kim Cheoldo’s distinctive laughter spread widely.

“I got a budget increase promise! Prepare a meeting right away.”

We’re rewriting our High Dream story.

“We’re making Lee J the lead.”