Ch.89Flame Theater Troupe

The Little Prince and the rose had been together for so long that neither could remember when they first met.

The rose, unable to do anything but remain still,

And the Little Prince, gradually growing bored on his tiny asteroid.

The conclusion of these two was clichéd yet predictable, while simultaneously promising a unique change.

That was the introduction to “Story of the Moon and the Stars,” an adaptation of The Little Prince.

But the hug practice wasn’t in the introduction but in the conclusion,

So when you suggested practicing, I quoted that related line.

‘I didn’t expect you to be this surprised.’

Should I have given some kind of signal first?

I immediately opened the water bottle and handed it to Sujin.

“Sorry, were you really surprised? I guess timing is important for this line, and I rushed into it too quickly.”

I added an apology.

But.

Thwack!

I got hit.

Gulp, gulp.

Sujin drank the water while glaring at me reproachfully.

“Y-yes! Who told you to rush in like that! Theater happens in real-time, don’t you know it’s over if we can’t coordinate?!”

She must have been really angry because her face instantly turned rose-colored.

‘Sujin is definitely serious about acting too.’

I recognized my mistake clearly.

“Tell me when you’re ready, and I’ll time my line with your signal.”

“Wait! So if I respond to that line, you’re going to hug me right away?”

“Hug…? More like an embrace? It might just be a gesture.”

“That’s…! That’s the same thing, anyway, I get it, that’s what you mean.”

“Didn’t you come here knowing all this?”

“No, I didn’t expect… I mean, the situation, this… I, I really didn’t anticipate this.”

Seeing how she couldn’t speak properly, she was genuinely flustered.

I thought maybe the problem was that I rushed the line too quickly.

‘Or is it because I put the rose behind her ear without saying anything?’

Since there wasn’t much I could do right now,

I waited for Sujin to calm down.

After about 30 seconds,

Sujin’s face gradually returned to its normal color.

“Phew… Okay, I’m fine. I’m calm now.”

“Should we try again?”

“Huh? Try what again?”

“The hug practice. Isn’t that why you came?”

“W-what! Are you saying I came here to hug you?!”

No, scratch what I said earlier.

Sujin’s face turned rose-colored again.

‘How can someone blush so intensely?’

She wasn’t a cartoon character, but it was truly fascinating.

‘Was she like this back then too?’

That’s why my hand moved unconsciously.

From childhood.

A habit from when we attended daycare together unconsciously emerged.

Tap.

I touched Sujin’s cheek.

“W-what are you doing?”

I only realized something was wrong about 5 seconds after hearing Sujin’s words.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

“Yes?”

“What’s with this hand?”

“Ah, right.”

Why did I put my hand on her cheek?

I couldn’t understand.

But I felt a strong need to explain with a definite reason.

After racking my brain, the conclusion was:

“I was thinking we could touch the cheek like this while hugging.”

I was focusing on the acting, that’s what I meant.

Then.

Thwack!

I got hit again.

‘By the way, why does she keep hitting the same spot?’

Is it instinct? Is she instinctively designed to hit the abdomen?

If I hadn’t strengthened my abs through exercise, I might have thrown up.

Anyway.

“We can’t keep doing this forever, so let’s practice a few times to get it right.”

Since we couldn’t waste any more time with this conversation,

I suggested practicing the conclusion scene before rehearsal.

“O-okay!”

Sujin said that and spread her arms wide.

A signal to hug her.

I blinked for a moment at that signal.

‘Shouldn’t we start with the lines first?’

I thought we were practicing the conclusion part.

‘Could it be that she came specifically to practice the hug itself?’

If so, I understood why the introduction felt so long.

Yes, that could be it. It was entirely possible.

‘For the kids watching, that love needs to feel deeply moving at the end.’

A story of dreams and hope for young children,

And because the ending must be a happy one,

I briefly considered how I would do it on the actual stage.

‘Yes, I would do it like this.’

I carefully embraced Sujin.

Then pulled her in tightly, conveying the feeling of never wanting to let go again.

Then.

“W-wait! Stop! Stop!”

“Huh?”

At Sujin’s words, I quickly released my arms.

‘What’s wrong? I didn’t embrace her too tightly.’

Did I unconsciously use too much force?

While I was worrying about that:

“…T-that’s enough practice for today!”

Sujin covered her face with both palms and hurriedly left the waiting room.

“Hmm… what’s going on?”

Did something urgent come up?

++++++

Kim Sujin, temporarily 18 years old due to her early birth year, but actually a 17-year-old girl.

She was now running frantically toward the van.

‘I’m crazy! I’m crazy! Am I really going insane?!’

During their first hug, she was crying, so honestly, she didn’t fully grasp the power of Kim Donghu’s embrace.

Just that there was something magical about it, making her want to keep hugging him.

But.

‘This is really not okay now!’

Experiencing Kim Donghu’s hug with a clear mind had an impact beyond her imagination.

Some might say she was making a big fuss over just one hug, over being embraced.

But this was something you had to experience firsthand to understand.

‘What if Kim Donghu holds a free hug event as a ratings promise later? It could cause a riot!’

That’s how powerful it was.

The kind of power that made her rush away for fear that he might hear her racing heart.

Anyway, leaving behind Kim Sujin who was freaking out over one hug from Kim Donghu,

Time passed quickly.

Because they had rented the Seoul Arts Center stage, a larger scale production was taking shape.

The actors became more deeply immersed in the play through script rehearsals and analysis,

And the best designers worked hard to recreate The Little Prince himself through the costumes.

While the Flame Theater Company was flourishing like this,

There was one group that wasn’t happy about this upward trend:

“Why is this guy still lurking in front of my eyes?”

It was Kang Minsu, CEO of Cybers QA, who had kicked out Choi Seokho.

At first, he thought of Choi Seokho as a weed that kept sprouting no matter how much he trampled it.

But this weed was growing excessively larger day by day.

As Veritas grew bigger due to Kim Donghu’s consecutive grand slam home runs,

After it was revealed that he was the sole investor in the Flame Theater Company,

Minsu could feel entertainment industry sources flowing toward Veritas.

But Kang Minsu hadn’t just been watching idly.

He had tried his best to create flaws.

However.

“Reporter Gil, you were ready to break the Veritas contract story before, so why can’t you write articles about them now?”

-CEO, I have my reasons. And that was just reporting on a contract termination.

No matter how much people call me a trash reporter, I can’t write negative articles about Kim Donghu. Do you know how much I owe him?

A person needs to have a conscience, don’t you think? I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this. Hanging up.

Click.

That attempt was cut off before it even began.

This had happened repeatedly several times already.

‘What if the Flame Theater Company succeeds and becomes a huge hit?’

Then Choi Seokho would be revived,

And if the revived Choi Seokho brought up past issues again.

‘It’s terrifying just to imagine.’

All he could see was Cybers QA heading down the worst possible path.

That’s why Kang Minsu called Seo Jinwoo to his office.

“Yes, CEO.”

“Jinwoo, do you really have to do this Flame Theater Company thing?”

“What?”

“I mean…”

It was easy enough to make up reasons,

And dirt could always be found if you looked hard enough.

Kang Minsu did his best to point out the flaws of the Flame Theater Company and reasons why they shouldn’t proceed.

After listening quietly to everything, Seo Jinwoo uttered just one sentence:

“I clearly remember when we signed the contract, you agreed not to interfere with my activities. This is very different from what we agreed.”

“No, it’s not interference, I’m just…”

“CEO, I’m being very polite right now.”

A monster like Seo Jinwoo doesn’t need to worry about his agency.

It’s the agency that needs to worry.

Moreover, Seo Jinwoo had only about 6 months left on his contract.

It was time to start discussing renewal.

And you’re going to mess with the pilot at a time like this?

‘I never liked him much to begin with, but this is too much.’

He knew CEO Kang Minsu was a scumbag.

The only reason Seo Jinwoo had stayed quiet was because he still had time left on his contract.

But to interfere with an actor’s work like this?

To meddle with a project that was already in progress and finalized?

‘I didn’t experience this even as a rookie.’

Finding it absurd, Seo Jinwoo smiled faintly.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this. And don’t contact me for a while, we’ll meet again in 6 months anyway.”

Seo Jinwoo said that much and stood up without hesitation.

“Ah, no, Jinwoo, Jinwoo!”

Seeing this, CEO Kang Minsu could only shout loudly without moving.

If he made a hasty move now, he didn’t know what else he might hear.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

And so, Cybers QA was slowly beginning to crumble.

+++++

When you’re immersed in something, time accelerates and flows relentlessly.

That’s how it was for the Flame Theater Company.

With everyone running toward a single purpose,

At least a week passed with each blink of an eye.

After blinking a few times like that,

When Bong Jinwoo came to his senses, the first thing that caught his eye was:

『Flame Theater Company to Present First Performance Next Week!』

“…Wow, time really flies.”

It was the date of the Flame Theater Company’s first performance.

To bloom dreams and hope for children.

The flame is about to blossom.

『We Are the Flame – Exclusive Pre-Interview with Flame Theater Company!』

Swift promotion was just a bonus.