Ch.81I’ll bet everything I have.

What I see are stars and the moon.

The endless expanse of the universe, naturally, cannot be contained within my field of vision.

I was born and raised on a small, isolated asteroid.

My tiny home where just a few steps would take me around the entire planet.

Where the foolish tree tries to kill the planet,

And I must carefully approach the mountain that might anger at any moment to maintain it,

This tiny space is my home.

“I’m bored.”

I was this place’s god, king, believer, and subject.

“What use is it for me to manage this land?”

It’s futile.

Realizing its complete uselessness, my gaze turns downward.

Unlike this small piece of land, I can see a blue planet floating below.

Land several times larger than where I am, with vast oceans.

That’s the place, that’s where I should go.

To a place where I’m not the only one.

To descend to a position where I can blend in with others.

Abandoning everything, I fly toward that place.

The once-great king becomes a mere human,

Arriving on a desolate land.

And belatedly realizes.

‘Why did I come here? What was I looking for?’

What should I be searching for?

Why did I descend?

I ask questions I should have considered before coming down.

Why did I want to come down while looking at this place?

What is this emotion blooming inside me?

A bright red feeling that bloomed made my body move on its own.

Even though walking without purpose is certainly not enjoyable.

Seeing different scenery unfold with each step was quite a novel experience.

After walking and walking for who knows how long,

I heard someone’s faint voice.

‘Who is it?’

A voice that seemed about to break at any moment,

Yet filled with the will to live.

“Wa…water, please.”

An unknown,

Dying pilot addressed me.

“Water? Why do you need water?”

At my innocent question, the pilot’s eyes widened slightly.

“I haven’t… drunk water… for three days… *cough* *cough*.”

Blood splatters as coughs emerge from the metallic-sounding throat.

His split vocal cords were screaming.

‘So this is how weak humans are.’

How can they live on such a beautiful planet while being so fragile?

I look around with indifferent eyes.

This vast land where sandy winds fiercely sweep around.

I thought it would feel truly beautiful.

But it also brings death.

“If I give you water, what can you give me in return?”

Ah, he can’t speak anymore.

I can feel the pilot’s eyelids about to close.

I opened the cap of a water bottle I didn’t even know I had,

And poured it all over the pilot’s face.

Splash, splash, splash.

After pouring for a few minutes like that.

With rough breathing, the pilot’s eyes flew open.

“…If my lifesaver wants something, I should give whatever it is.”

That was my first meeting with the pilot.

+++++

Bong Jinwoo was flustered.

‘Should I have him read the script so seriously?’

Honestly, he was aware that he had committed an extremely rude act.

After all, he had grabbed the wrist of a freshman who should be heading to the entrance ceremony and dragged him away.

But on the other hand, he thought Kim Donghu was quite a nice person.

Given the size difference between them was about double,

Despite the fact that he couldn’t possibly be dragged along, Kim Donghu had followed willingly.

Did he look that desperate?

‘I’m grateful but… scared.’

Bong Jinwoo had never felt afraid of an actor while writing scripts.

Because he thought actors were merely puppets he controlled.

But.

Seeing the actor known as the National Prince, whom he’d dragged along without any proper introduction,

Reading his script so seriously.

‘What if he criticizes it harshly?’

He suddenly felt afraid.

If Kim Donghu had just glanced at it and refused, or casually said it was good, he wouldn’t have felt anything.

But seeing him read with such a serious expression made it difficult to speak up.

Flip, flip.

Kim Donghu had held the script still for about 1-2 seconds at first,

Then, as if understanding something, he nodded and turned the pages.

‘But he really is unbelievably handsome.’

The reason Bong Jinwoo said other actors couldn’t handle “Story of the Moon and the Stars.”

It was partly about acting ability, but the biggest reason was appearance.

The protagonist of “Story of the Moon and the Stars,” the Little Prince,

Was set to be more handsome than anyone else, befitting his title as a prince.

More than anyone else.

Could there be a more ambiguous expression?

Despite appearance being relative,

Bong Jinwoo had created a protagonist with an absolute standard of beauty.

In fact, from a playwright’s perspective, this was choosing the worst path.

After all, to perform a play, you need to bring the script’s character into reality.

Creating a character that couldn’t be brought to life made him deserving of criticism as a failure.

However.

‘If it’s Kim Donghu.’

The story changes.

Because Kim Donghu’s appearance was absolute.

‘If Kim Donghu is the standard, then being handsome only applies to Kim Donghu.’

The problem was Kim Donghu’s attitude.

Shouldn’t someone so famous normally develop some kind of celebrity disease?

How could a person be so proper and upright?

That made it more tempting, and harder to rationalize.

If only.

‘If I had been rude first, and he had responded equally badly, I would have felt better at least.’

I could have rationalized that it wasn’t my script being evaluated,

But rather that my script couldn’t shine because I had done something wrong.

But this was purely a situation where my script was being evaluated.

It felt like having my head placed on a guillotine.

Every second felt like an eternity, and just then.

“Did you write this by yourself?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yes.”

Bong Jinwoo unconsciously responded politely to Kim Donghu’s question.

“I wrote it all, and the stage preparation is all done. I made it low-budget so it wouldn’t be too burdensome.”

For some reason, Bong Jinwoo concluded that speaking respectfully was appropriate.

Although debut year determines seniority in the entertainment industry.

In this cold world where success reigns supreme,

As if enchanted with suddenly growing social skills,

Bong Jinwoo instinctively humbled himself before Kim Donghu.

“But it’s quite short? Is this Act 1?”

“Ah… yes, that’s right. Since it’s in play format, I thought about the curtain rising and falling, and the stage changing… that kind of thing.”

The more he spoke, the more insignificant he felt.

He objectively grasped the current situation.

‘I’m just a second-year at Daejong High School with a single script.’

And his counterpart was the National Prince,

Who achieved 30% ratings whenever he appeared, with a highest rating of 41%,

Who swept all three broadcasting companies’ rookie awards, and debuted in a movie that reached 10 million viewers.

‘Oh?’

Listing these achievements one by one, he realized he had truly done something crazy.

Although he hated categorizing people by rank,

Bong Jinwoo found himself far below Kim Donghu’s level.

“Hmm… I see.”

A response that didn’t sound particularly positive.

Bong Jinwoo somehow felt intimidated and lowered his head.

“It’s interesting. You said Sparking, right? Next week is the club registration period. See you then.”

“Y-yes? What?”

Kim Donghu’s completely unexpected words came out.

Naturally, Bong Jinwoo immediately fell into confusion.

He tried to ask for further explanation, but Kim Donghu had already disappeared.

+++++

Unable to delay any longer because of the entrance ceremony,

I quickly ended the conversation and headed toward where the ceremony was being held.

‘This is amazing.’

And at the same time, I recalled what had just happened.

‘He made that by himself to that level?’

Why did “Sims – Real Life” recommend this script?

Why did it tell me about a future where it collapsed due to investment problems?

It was because it saw tremendous potential.

<Story of the Moon and the Stars, A>

A.

The grade of a script created by a mere second-year high school student was an A.

Even Director Lee Seongdeok’s “Hero” was a B.

But a play script got an A?

Moreover.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

-[Judged that a play must know how to reveal presence above all else]

-[Need to capture the audience’s attention with overwhelming presence.]

-[Downloading application ‘Witness, Awe, Worship’]

“Sims – Real Life” responded as soon as I read the script.

It judged that the script’s level was higher than my current skill.

‘How high can an A in theater go?’

I was excited.

How much impact could it create again?

In what form could it appear before people?

After my break ended and my mind recovered,

I felt like I could work hard at anything again.

‘My debut work is an A.’

But there was one disappointing aspect.

‘He said it was low-budget.’

According to the original flow, it failed because it couldn’t find proper investors.

So it seems he started with a low budget to play it safe.

If I knew it would succeed in the future, there was no need to hesitate about investing.

<Seokho hyung, I think I found a play worth investing in, what do you think?

>A play? A play is… hmm, I’ll have to think about it.

<I’ve decided to take the lead role.

>I’ll invest my entire fortune.

<Your entire fortune is a bit…

Since I had an agency that could move according to my will.