Ch.96When does Kim Donghu become an adult?

Ryu Jaerin’s grandmother, Kim Bokja.

She has been watching Kim Donghu for a long time,

and in a way, she could be called one of Kim Donghu’s earliest fans.

When 6-year-old kindergartener Kim Donghu constantly looked after her granddaughter.

With her wealth of life experience, Kim Bokja instinctively felt it.

‘My granddaughter’s match is only Donghu!’

But what’s this? She always knew he was extraordinary.

‘This boy is really something else!’

She never dreamed he would go on to accomplish so much on television.

Of course, it wasn’t completely unexpected.

His face was so handsome that her dead husband couldn’t match it even if he returned to his prime ten times over,

and his character was so admirable that she wondered who had raised him so well.

But to think he could act so well too.

And not just well, but breathtakingly well.

Then one day.

“Grandma! I’m shooting a school uniform commercial with Donghu!”

“R-really?! Truly?! You’re filming with Donghu?!”

“Yes! Just for a year! But isn’t that awesome?!”

“Of course! That’s wonderful!”

She was overjoyed when her granddaughter told her she had reconnected with Kim Donghu.

That connection that started then had now led them here again.

How could she be this happy?

And they’re next-door neighbors?

‘This is perfect.’

So at first, she planned to just cook a decent, tasty meal.

As a gesture of gratitude, she only meant to show off her cooking skills a little.

But then.

“I’m really hungry, actually.”

With those words about being very hungry, all of Kim Bokja’s plans instantly turned to ash.

What did her cooking skills matter? Her granddaughter’s future husband was hungry.

And very hungry at that!

Fortunately, the refrigerator was fully stocked.

With the belief that a new home should have abundance,

she had gone grocery shopping days ago, and the refrigerator was full of ingredients.

So what was there to do now?

‘Keep cooking, of course.’

Son-in-law, just wait, grandma will cook for you!

Bokja’s kitchen was about to heat up today!

+++++

“…If it’s too much, you don’t have to eat it all, really, it’s fine.”

Hearing the impressive sounds of cooking and chopping from the kitchen, Jaerin said,

“No, I’m really hungry, so I can eat a lot. It’s fine.”

I just went all in with a whatever-happens-happens attitude.

Yeah, since I’ve come this far.

‘It would be weird not to defend against grandma’s cooking.’

I was actually confident I could eat a lot,

and I was somewhat reassured that only two women lived in this house.

‘Grandma and Jaerin… generally speaking, they’re not big eaters.’

How much could they possibly serve?

And exactly 23 minutes later, I realized how naive and stupid my thinking had been.

Thud!

A rice cooker lands on the table.

As soon as the lid opens, an incredibly delicious rice aroma enters my nose.

But what concerned me more was the quantity.

‘What is this?’

Why is there so much? Did she cook an entire pot of rice just now?

That question was quickly forgotten.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

Side dishes began to appear as if out of nowhere.

Starting with soy-braised beef, followed by marinated crab, grilled fish, and more.

Each side dish that appeared was worthy of being a main dish.

“…Jaerin, what’s going on here?”

“Oh, we went grocery shopping yesterday. Looks delicious, right?!”

“Y-yeah, yes! I’m so happy because these are all things I love!”

I was really thankful that I had learned acting at that moment.

If there had been even a moment of awkwardness in my response,

it would have been obvious I was struggling to maintain my expression.

‘Stay calm, stay calm, Kim Donghu. I can eat it all.’

This is why I’ve been exercising consistently since elementary school.

You’ve never eaten until you’re full, you can do this.

Endless self-hypnosis and a winning mentality.

With these two things, I feared nothing.

“The bossam will take a little time, so start eating first!”

“Okay! Donghu, let’s eat.”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

She’s making bossam too? I have to eat bossam on top of all this?

But it didn’t end there.

“Good thing I bought octopus yesterday. It’s stone octopus so it tastes amazing. You know how to eat parboiled octopus, right?”

“What? Yes, yes!”

“I’ll prepare half as parboiled and half as pulpo.”

How do you know how to make pulpo, grandma?

That’s a traditional Spanish dish.

I couldn’t say anything in this situation.

I sent a subtle plea for help with my eyes to Jaerin, but.

“Hmm? Ah… it’s a bit embarrassing… okay, aah.”

Jaerin, with a shy face, picked out some fish and brought it to my mouth.

This wasn’t what I wanted; this was something I hadn’t anticipated.

‘I was deliberately avoiding the fish because once I touch it, I have to eat it all.’

Alright, let’s eat.

Let’s test how much I can eat today.

+++++

24 hours after eating at Jaerin’s house.

“Hnngh…!”

I opened my eyes while slowly recalling what had happened.

‘What? What happened?’

The first memory that came to mind was right after finishing the meal.

I had experienced an incredible blood sugar spike.

‘Right, I immediately took digestive medicine… but still couldn’t stop feeling sleepy.’

A strong feeling that I needed to close my eyes immediately.

I remember seeing a stack of empty plates in my peripheral vision.

And then what followed.

“How about some fruit for dessert? In summer, watermelon is perfect. Should I make some watermelon punch?”

I couldn’t think straight after the dessert watermelon punch combo.

After continuously stuffing my stomach with food,

and successfully defending against all the dishes.

‘Fortunately, I got a call from Seokho hyung.’

Thanks to that, I was able to avoid having dessert after dessert.

Then I hurriedly went home, lay down in a position good for digestion, and passed out.

When I regained consciousness, it was now.

‘What did we talk about?’

I couldn’t remember properly because I was too sleepy.

‘No choice then.’

Sorry, but I’ll have to ask again.

<Hyung, I can’t really remember what we talked about on the phone yesterday, could you explain again?

>Ah, that? There was an offer for a variety show and I wanted to know what you thought

>I guess my verbal explanation wasn’t enough? You know “Run! Rushman!”?

<Of course, it’s super famous

>They made an offer, kind of like a new talent special? What do you think?

<I’m fine with it

>Okay! Got it!

A variety show, huh.

At the same time, I realized how awkward my age really was.

‘Being 17 is really in-between.’

I was too tall and my image was too established to be considered a child actor.

But I wasn’t an adult either, so the roles available to me were very limited.

In fact, there weren’t any suitable roles for me in the movies or dramas coming out next year.

I needed to shed the minor label to have more opportunities.

‘So about three years left, huh.’

A time that’s short yet long.

It seemed like variety shows, as Seokho hyung suggested, were the only option available now.

But actually, there was one more activity I could do besides variety shows.

‘Boxing.’

To enter the national team selection, I needed a consistent record of placing in competitions like the National Sports Festival.

In that sense, maybe I should try entering all the competitions I could now.

Plus there were piano competitions too.

It wasn’t about doing nothing because there were no roles.

It was about finding other things to do,

so that when roles did come along, I could incorporate richer experiences.

‘I guess I’ll focus on variety shows and those things for now.’

Since there would be plenty to do once I became an adult.

Now I needed to prepare myself for that leap forward.

‘Come to think of it, Director Paek Sangha said a lot about this.’

I’d forgotten it all, but that was okay.

I could just ask again.

+++++

The next morning.

I contacted Director Sangha and immediately headed to the gym.

Director Sangha greeted me with a bright smile as soon as he saw me.

‘I feel a bit sorry.’

Sunday had always been a day off.

But when I said I was coming, the director gladly opened the gym on Sunday.

“Well, it’s not bad to exercise regularly just in case, right?”

“You always said I should be consistent.”

“The important thing is that you’re doing it. So you’re curious about competitions?”

“Yes, and I’d like to enter one if the timing works out.”

“Great, perfect timing! There’s a selection tournament in September. It would be really good for you to try it.”

Director Paek Sangha was so excited about me competing again.

He wrapped bandages around my arms while wiggling his shoulders with enthusiasm.

“And this time, you don’t need to hold back for the kids anymore.”

“What?”

What does that mean?

“Before, all the kids were middle schoolers, so you had to control your strength.”

But the kids who come to these selection tournaments have been training for a long time and are prepared, so you don’t need to hold back.

As the director continued, I immediately understood his intention.

He’s being considerate of me.

‘But I was also a middle schooler back then….’

The director seemed to see me as completely at an adult level, or rather, a professional level.

Anyway, after warming up properly, I decided to spar with the director after a long time.

Before the bell rang for the first round.

“Donghu, I’ve been honing my skills all this time. To be your best sparring partner! So give me your all!”

He told me to give it my all.

“Yes, sir!”

I immediately prepared to shift my body into high gear.

My 100% boxing skills that I had never properly shown before.

It was time to bring them out now.

+++++

At the same time.

“When does Kim Donghu become an adult?”

“Why, what are you going to do when he’s an adult?”

“Obviously I’ll get on my knees and beg him to look at our movie script.”

There was another place hoping for Kim Donghu to become an adult.

“Imagine, Kim Donghu, right? Playing a chaebol and delivering that line.”

“Which line?”

“You know, the one written in the script.”

“Ah, this one? You mean the millstone grinding scene?”

On the table where they were talking lay a script titled “Elite.”