One month after entering middle school, the events of the second day had become a distant memory as I enjoyed a relaxed daily life.  

“Hey, Kang-sik. We’re friends, but isn’t this too strict?”  

“N-no. It’s just that… Not every request can be accommodated.”  

“Still, can’t you make an exception?”  

“D-Dong-hoo, calm down. It’s just a notebook game.”  

“But it’s driving me crazy.”  

Na Kang-sik, the genius game developer who created an AAA game and even won the GOTY award. His notebook game, simple as it was, was incredibly addictive, living up to his title.  

It was just about moving stick figures around on paper, yet it was so fun.  

I wanted to make in-game purchases, but Kang-sik was strict about his game philosophy.  

“I-I don’t want paid items to affect in-game performance…”  

“What if I buy you cup rice cakes today? A Koko burger? How about a Big Mac?”  

“Well… I can maybe add a cape or a weapon skin… For customization.”  

“… You’re really strict.”  

“S-sorry, Dong-hoo. Even if you’re my c-closest friend, I c-can’t bend the rules.”  

Despite his stuttering, his eyes sparkled with passion when it came to game management.  

That’s what it means to have a real interest in something.  

People with clear goals are always inspiring to watch.  

A glance.  

Listening to Kang-sik, I opened my FaceStorm account.  

5,000 followers.  

Not even a month since I created it.  

I hadn’t really engaged with the platform, just posted pictures, yet the numbers were impressive.  

‘Compared to my past life, it’s still a modest number.’

Back then, social media was thriving. 

Now, it was still in its early explosive growth phase, so it was natural for things to be slower.  

‘If you have a lot of followers, 30,000 is a decent number.’

I didn’t even bother with Cyworld, knowing it would soon fade. 

It was a platform that didn’t offer much in terms of monetization, anyway.  

“Hey Dong-hoo, aren’t you being a bit mean to Kang-sik? Stop making a fuss and take your turn. Break time is short, so what’s your deal?”  

Kim Min-hyuk interrupted my thoughts.  

Kim Min-hyuk, who used to hang out with that Park something group, got beaten up a few times and then insisted on being friends with me.  

He hadn’t done anything particularly bad since he was just part of the second-tier group, so I let him be.  

‘Not to mention, he helped call the police and resolve things afterward.’

After making that so-called Shinbit Middle School boss, Park-whatever, vomit… 

He had planned to bring in seniors from higher grades to beat me up.  

However, that plan was leaked to me thanks to Kim Min-hyuk.  

Before they could come after me, they had to have a chat with the police.  

The juvenile protection law covered kids up to fourteen years old.  

Among those who planned to teach me a lesson, there were 9th graders, which quickly escalated the situation to the police level.  

The news reached the school, leading to internal disciplinary actions.  

‘At least it ended well since no one got hurt.’

The problem arose afterward.  

Being delinquents of this chaotic era, it later came to light that they had stolen bicycles and motorbikes, which made the situation even bigger.  

Because of this, a swarm of police officers visited Shinbit Middle School, resulting in an unintended cleanup of the delinquents.  

It was strange seeing Kim Min-hyuk, who was the catalyst for this, now completely focused on a notebook game beside me.  

“I wonder if those guys know it was your tip-off that started all this.”  

“Tip-off? What’s that? There you go again with your big words.”  

Kim Min-hyuk replied as he rolled the dice.  

The twenty-sided die landed on 17.  

“Yes!”  

This allowed him to monopolize the ore-rich mine.  

For reference, I had tried to bribe my way into claiming it with a Big Mac.  

Damn.  

‘Why is this notebook game so addictive?’

‘Na Kang-sik, you truly are a genius game developer.’

‘Life is easier when you’re good-looking.’

Sometimes, while hanging out like this, my gloomy self from the previous life would surface.  

Being handsome now meant I could regularly chat with Shin Ye-rim.  

Whenever I made eye contact with the girls in class and smiled, they’d squeal with excitement.  

I was living the life of a light novel protagonist, something I had only imagined.  

It was thrilling. A faint hint of the old melancholy rose and fell here and there,

‘Just focus on the positives.’

There was no point in dwelling on the negatives.  

“By the way, has everyone decided on their club activities?”  

Kim Min-hyuk’s question reminded me that it was a thing.  

‘We still had school on Saturdays back then.’

The five-day school week didn’t come into effect until 2012. 

Before then, students had to attend school every other Saturday.  

Usually, there were only morning classes, often replaced by club activities.  

“Uh. I’m going for the computer club.”

Kang-sik firmly said, having already set his career path.  

His eyes showed determination, indicating he had no intention of changing his mind.  

The confidence of a future developer made it slightly amusing.  

“What about you, Dong-hoo? I was thinking of joining whatever you pick.”  

“Hmm. Club activities…”  

In my previous life, I just joined the library club because I enjoyed reading books there.  

But this time, since I had a new life, I wanted to try something different.  

“Broadcast dance… Maybe not. Band? Should I try joining the band?”  

The band club.  

It always had a key role during school talent shows and festivals.  

I felt like I could give it a shot this time.  

“… Maybe I’ll join the band club?”  

“Band? Do you know how to play anything?”  

“I guess… Vocals?”  

“Really? Then I’ll join the band club too.”  

I chuckled at Kim Min-hyuk’s casual decision.  

Some habits die hard, don’t they?  

———

While Kim Dong-hoo was deciding on his Saturday activities, ST Entertainment scout Jin Gyeong-mi was staring intently at her computer screen.  

“Gyeong-mi, what are you looking at? I’ve been calling you for a while.”  

“Oh, sorry. I think I’ve found a real gem.”  

“A gem? Who?”  

Whirrr.  

Instead of replying, Jin Gyeong-mi showed the screen.  

The boy on the screen looked very young. He was definitely a middle schooler and just starting to lose his baby fat.  

But his face’s potential was incredible.  

It was hard to define how he looked.  

The term enigmatic”seemed the most fitting.  

He wasn’t just handsome; there was something more.  

It was like watching a gem change colors right before your eyes.  

How could a human face look like this?  

Because of this, the response was

“Isn’t this all edited?”  

It didn’t seem real.  

Having been in the entertainment industry for a long time, such skepticism was natural.  

There had been countless times when they went to meet an online ulzzang (best face) and didn’t recognize them in person. 

In a world where everyone edited their photos to look better, pulling off something like this was just outrageous.  

“This is cheeky, just plain cheeky. Even if they’re young, this is too much…”  

“I thought the same at first, so I downloaded the images and looked into them. But these aren’t edited.”  

“What?”  

“It’s true; this is his real face.”  

“… Are you saying someone who looks like this actually exists in Korea?”  

“Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”  

“Then why haven’t you contacted him yet?”  

“He blocked everything. He’s disabled messages and even blocked comments on his posts, probably because he knows how good-looking he is.”  

“Then we should just go find him in person.”  

“I was just about to ask for permission… Should I go then?”  

The team leader laughed incredulously at Jin Gyeong-mi’s words.  

“Why are you still sitting here? Are you crazy?”  

“Yes! I’ll go get him right away!”  

And ST Entertainment wasn’t the only one thinking this way.  

YK and JHY Entertainment were also on the same page.

The three major entertainment companies were all keeping an eye on Kim Dong-hoo’s FaceStorm account. 

Not only that, but the top three acting agencies—CybersQA, Saessak & Namu, and FullReady—were also monitoring his account. 

They all had one destination in mind: Shinbit Middle School. 

A total of six entertainment agencies began moving toward that location.

———

{Dong-hoo’s POV}

On the way home after school.

“Kim Dong-hoo! If you were going to join the band club, you should have told me first!”  

“What are you talking about? Weren’t you going to join the broadcast dance club anyway?”  

“Wow. Really? Who says so? Based on what?”  

I was being pestered by Shin Ye-rim. 

After the clean-up of the delinquents at Shinbit Middle School, Ye-rim was set to transfer to my class soon. 

Being in the same class as Park Seok-gu was the main reason. 

The school decided to scatter Park Seok-gu’s group into different classes.

“By the way, can you even play any instruments?”  

“No, I can’t.”  

“Then how are you going to join?”  

“What about you?” 

“Me? I’m going to apply as a vocalist.”  

“Then I’ll play the piano, the keyboard.”  

“You just said you didn’t know how to play.”  

“I finished Czerny 30.”  

The classic childhood activities: piano, taekwondo, and Kumon. 

It appeared that Shin Ye-rim had learned piano when she was younger.  

“That’s impressive, really…”  

But why did she stick so close to me every time we walked home? 

She was not exactly linking arms with me, but the distance between us was really close.  

“Kim Dong-hoo, you’re really popular on FaceStorm, aren’t you?”  

“Am I?”  

“Yeah, with your face, aren’t you getting a ton of offers?”  

“I blocked all FaceTalk messages.”  

“Why?”  

“Too much hassle.”  

I kept them open for about a week, but too many pointless messages were coming in, so I blocked everything. 

Since advertising on social media wasn’t quite active yet, ignoring everything seemed like the right choice.  

‘SNS growth will take a bit more time.’  

Just in case, I had already set up a YouTube channel. 

Although vlogging was out of the question due to the lack of privacy awareness during this era, I had thought about occasionally uploading some gameplay.  

‘If it’s about gaming, I can post that next year.’  

League of Legends. 

The game that would launch in 2011 and unify all gaming in South Korea. 

With the knowledge I had about games, it was clear that I could quickly become a high-ranker.  

‘But that’s a matter for later.’  

For now, nothing was happening. 

Just as I was about to continue walking, suddenly—  

Brrrrring.  

The phone started ringing.  

“Hmm?”

An unfamiliar number.  

“Hello?”  

— Hey. Weren’t you even a bit curious about me? Am I the one who’s supposed to call first like this?  

“Uh…?”  

But the voice was one I used to hear often.  

The voice of my childhood seatmate was coming through the phone.  

— Kim Dong-hoo, you’re crazy.  

She sounded a bit more mature now.