The public audition for High Dream, which was expected by reporters to last about two weeks, ended within just a week, raising questions. This wasn’t typical for such events.

"Looks like a catfish showed up."

It was as if a single catfish had appeared out of nowhere and devoured all the minnows. The audition had become nothing more than a play with the winner already decided.

"But we didn’t see anyone like that?"

If someone of that caliber had participated, the reporters’ radar should have picked it up. Yet, they hadn’t even sensed the presence of the so-called catfish.

But in hindsight, it made sense.

The audition participants sponsored by various agencies were numbered past 2000, so the reporters hadn’t bothered to keep close watch on those with lower numbers.

"Wow... that guy’s really handsome."

Except for one reporter.

This was a rookie journalist from DailyHappy, an online media company that had only just begun to grow. Because they were small, they had to move faster than anyone else. And now, the rookie journalist stared at Kim Dong-hoo, slack-jawed.

Having followed senior reporters to various entertainment events, his already high standards were now being stretched as he observed the boy who had just started to blossom.

It felt like he was getting a glimpse of a new world. He was just about to rush over and talk to him, to offer his business card, but the boy swiftly left with his friends.

"He’s definitely going to pass."

The journalist immediately called his senior.

"Hey, I think I’ve sniffed out a scoop." -"What? Are you crazy? Stop talking nonsense." "..."

+++++

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The punching bag made rough noises, but it barely shook, hinting at the power behind the blows.

"Dong-hoo, you’ve definitely improved. You should go into MMA. UFC, you know? Stun Gun! You could totally be like him!"

Baek Sang-ha, the gym owner, marveled.

"Striking, grappling, whatever. Should we book a match? Maybe start by taking out the nearby gyms?"

Having watched Kim Dong-hoo since elementary school, Baek Sang-ha was convinced.

‘That kid is a future champion, no doubt.’

He could even see it in his mind—a smiling Kim Dong-hoo holding championship belts in multiple weight classes. He wanted to turn that vision into reality as soon as possible.

But the world doesn’t always go the way you want it to.

"Master, I don’t think I’ll be able to come for a while."

Boom!

Baek Sang-ha froze as if struck by lightning.

"Wh-what? Why can’t you come? Is it because I taught you CQC?" "No, that’s not it..." "Dong-hoo, I told you, the more diverse your combat skills, the better. I taught you that for experience... Yeah, it was intense, but..." "No, Master, listen-" "Is it because of the taekwondo lessons? Dong-hoo, I know the movements are big, but if you want a finisher, you need kicks in your arsenal..." "Master! That’s not it! I passed the audition!"

At those words, Baek Sang-ha fell silent.

Audition? What audition?

‘Now that I think of it, he did mention trying out for a drama.’

Wait, he actually did that?

‘I thought he was just saying that to test me.’

I thought he wanted to see if I was really serious about pushing him to the top of the UFC. But no, he was serious.

"So I won’t be able to come for a while. I’m sorry."

Boom!

That day, Baek Sang-ha’s world crumbled.

Standing 193 cm tall, weighing 130 kg, and once primed to challenge for the UFC heavyweight division, Baek Sang-ha—whose shark-like appearance could make children cry just by looking at him—was left speechless.

"...This can’t be happening."

+++++

After the character director, Shin Young-sook, sent Kim Dong-hoo his acceptance text, writer Lee Min-ha received confirmation of the casting and immediately resumed writing.

To be precise, she was pouring out the words. She completely overhauled the entire script as if possessed.

"It’s not just about the struggles and hardships of the main characters; we need to showcase their musical talents, too."

Various types of music. Popular music was important, but it didn’t make sense for an arts high school to only have those kinds of students.

"He’s going to be such a fresh character."

His height and build, unusually large for a 14-year-old, posed no issues. His slightly youthful voice? Who cares about that when he can sing rock?

The key was that he was incredibly handsome and a good actor.

Tatatatata!

It took 10 days to complete a character tailored specifically for Kim Dong-hoo, one that only he could play. It took 4 days to fine-tune the script. In total, after 14 days of effort, Lee Min-ha rushed to the KBC broadcasting station.

"The final script is ready. Let’s go with this."

Finally, the final draft was born.

"Shall we do the script reading?"

The moment Lee Min-ha had been waiting for was approaching.

+++++

The day I was notified about the script reading.

"What happened? Did you fail?" < "Yeah, I didn’t get an acceptance message."

When Kim Soo-jin asked me, I lied on purpose. There was no particular reason; I just wanted to play a little joke.

‘We’ll see each other at the script reading anyway.’

I figured a joke this small was harmless. With that in mind, I opened the script that had been mailed to me.

<High Dream> Written by Lee Min-ha

That’s all it said on the first page, but a wave of excitement swept over me. Just days ago, I was living like a regular person, but now I had a script in my hands, preparing for a reading.

‘Actually acting it out is going to be different though.’

Even with the perks I’ve been given, memorizing the script was a whole different matter. So far, all the acting I’d done had been short-term gigs.

‘Now I’m becoming a real actor.’

To do that, I needed to fully immerse myself in the script. A nerve-wracking moment.

Ding!

My phone chimed.

The message was from [SIMS - The Real Life], the app that provided me with my perks.

-[For smoother script memorization, we’ve added an “Immersion” feature.] -[When holding the script, say “Immersion” to activate this feature.]

A new feature update?

‘There’s no reason to hesitate.’

I might as well try it out immediately.

I grabbed the script.

"Immersion."

And at that moment, my world changed.

+++++

In the end, Mom broke the jar.

"I can’t live in this house anymore!"

The grandmother, who always fussed over how expensive a single earthenware pot was and how many millions of won the fermented soybean paste inside was worth, was silent. Twenty years of enduring life as a daughter-in-law had finally worn Mom down.

Father, who foolishly believed that as long as he provided money, the family would function automatically, was no help. Grandma, who deluded herself into thinking her son was always the victim, was no better.

A fool and a hedgehog.

My mom was slowly being crushed between them.

Her escape button was the jar. She opened it to check for maggots, just as she always did. But this time, when Father offhandedly questioned why she even bothered, she exploded.

Her scream of "Who do you think I’ve been doing this for?" echoed throughout the neighborhood. More shouting followed, and the conclusion came from Mom’s mouth.

"A lady of a noble family? Don’t make me laugh! I’ve never been treated as a daughter-in-law, always as something worse than that damned jar! Why should I stay here?!"

Crash!

More jars were shattered. By the end, it was impossible to tell who had broken them. Several had been destroyed.

And that day, something inside me shattered too.

Crack.

It felt like a part of me had broken.

"Jae, let’s go."

Jae. Lee Jae. That’s my name.

I think I used to have another name. But when we left the house, I lost it.

"This will be our home from now on."

The day we entered a nameless basement villa, my mom looked down at me with a weary smile. She was exhausted from having abandoned the past and bracing for the future. Maybe she had lost something in that house, too.

‘Ah.’

That was the first time I thought I needed to protect her. I needed to become famous. I needed to make a lot of money.

And I chose music as the path to get there. If I became a brilliant idol, I could earn ridiculous amounts of money.

At the same time, something began to grow inside me. An emotion I couldn’t name.

That feeling whispered to me whenever I saw other parents picking up their kids after school.

Don’t associate with those people. You’re different from them, so don’t get involved.

From that point on, the feeling named itself "contempt."

Contempt was always by my side.

It was there when I won the school music award, even though I’d never attended a music academy. It was the only thing with me.

‘Talentless losers.’

Why did those worthless people always smile like that? Were they truly happy just because their parents smiled at them for getting a participation award?

‘What’s so great about not even winning a real prize?’

I couldn’t understand. It disgusted me.

Crash!

At home, something was always breaking.

"Mom."

I didn’t even have the energy to be surprised anymore. As long as no one got hurt, it was fine. Cleaning up the broken pieces had become second nature.

‘Where could I become famous for my music?’

It would be great if I could start earning money in high school.

That’s when I discovered Eunha Arts High School.

I’d heard that if you got in on a special scholarship, you could study and make money at the same time. With a few school music awards under my belt, I easily got accepted as a special scholarship student.

That’s when I first encountered rock. It wasn’t popular, so I didn’t choose it as my main focus, but belting out those powerful notes seemed to release all the knots inside me.

‘I’ll probably drop this too, eventually.’

That was what I thought until I met those disgusting people. They babbled about dreams and hopes, a bunch of inferior losers sticking together in their pathetic little group.

High Dream?

How could those bottom-tier students possibly dream of anything big?

‘These people don’t belong in this school.’

I wanted to get rid of them. I wanted to prove a point.

In the end, talent is the only thing that matters.

I wouldn’t feel better until I crushed them beneath me.

Crash.

Another breaking sound echoed.

‘It’s fine.’

I didn’t care. Cleaning up broken pieces was something I was used to.

+++++

Whoosh!

The scene of clearing away broken pieces faded, and I returned to reality.

"What... what just happened?"

What had just happened?