After the High Dream photo session wrapped up, it was time for the Q&A session. The cast and crew sat in a row at the table, ready to take questions from the press.

The reporters kept glancing, over and over, at Kim Dong-hoo instead of asking questions.

“How does someone even look like that?”
“He’s playing Lee Jae? He’s not even a main character in High Dream.”
“He’s so handsome, but it doesn’t feel excessive at all.”

No matter how many times they looked, he was perfect. From the size of his face to the line from his neck to his shoulders, the square shoulders, and the well-proportioned muscles.

There wasn’t a single flaw. The more the reporters tried to find one, the more they reached a single truth.

A perfect hexagon of beauty. A presence that could handle any angle without humiliation.

Plus, he was only fifteen. He was at the age where criticizing him was dangerous. People would just say, “He’s just a kid, what does he know?”

And yet…

“I’m curious.”

Fortune favors the bold, and one reporter raised his hand.

“Yes, go ahead with your question.”
“I’m Gil Gil-dong from Daily Happy. The plot summary for High Dream doesn’t describe Lee Jae’s character very much. Can you tell us more about his role?”

Asking the first question not to a lead, not even to the director, but to a supporting character? Normally, this would seem strange, but nobody thought it was odd.

If someone had asked who shone the brightest in the room...

“Well, Dong-hoo, why don’t you answer that one?”

…that would obviously be Kim Dong-hoo. Kim Young-mo, the PD, seemed pleased to get a question about Dong-hoo, and quickly looked his way.

“Oh, well, Kim Dong-hoo—no, Lee Jae—he’s a character who clashes with the other members of High Dream, and he’s quite classical in nature.”
“Classical?”
“Yes, he plays the piano.”
“Do you actually play the piano yourself?”
“That’s right. I perform it myself.”
“Can you tell us what piece you play?”
“To find out, you’ll have to watch the broadcast!”

Ha ha ha.

The reporters chuckled at Dong-hoo’s witty response. Handsome, with a great sense of humor, and even a touch of humility.

“As long as he stays out of trouble, he’ll go far.”
“Can he really play the piano? There’ve been quite a few who got into trouble for lying about that.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to tune in and see.”

While they wanted to ask a few more questions about Kim Dong-hoo, the reporters quickly shifted focus to the main cast and crew for their articles.

They asked about roles, attitudes toward filming, routines, ideal types—standard questions you’d find at any production announcement.

The mood was flowing smoothly, but the deadliest questions often lurk in quiet waters.

“You’re all newcomers. Was there anyone in the cast who made you think, ‘Wow, they can really act’?”

A question that could potentially stir up conflict, with the intention of causing drama for a clickbait article. But contrary to the reporter’s expectations, none of the actors seemed flustered.

“Yes, there is.”
“Can you tell us who?”

Jin Soo-hyuk grabbed the microphone with a calm expression, not a hint of hesitation.

“…You’ll find out if you watch the broadcast.”

After a slight pause, his casual response made everyone laugh, but the cast and crew knew the true answer to that question.

Kim Dong-hoo.

The day you’re unveiled to the world, how big will the waves be?

Jin Soo-hyuk couldn’t help but worry if they would survive the tide.

+++++

After the High Dream production announcement ended on a high note, time flew by. Soon enough, we found ourselves in a café near Daehangno.

A man with a hunched back and trembling hands was waiting for someone.

“Ugh, I can’t believe he actually replied. And from a manager, no less…”

It wasn’t a big company, but it wasn’t a place to be taken lightly either. Choi Seok-ho. It was funny for an as-yet-unrecognized director like Lee Seong-deok to know a manager’s name, but Seok-ho was famous for his work ethic.

“No one but Choi Seok-ho would go through every script from Cyberus QA days and personally reach out.”

A man dedicated to finding the best scripts. A workaholic who clocked sixteen-hour days. A deep-sea diver who combed through every last script at the bottom of the pile.

Seok-ho was well-known in the industry.

And here I am, meeting him?
Lee Seong-deok, director of Hero, hurriedly took another dose of herbal medicine, hoping it would calm his nerves.

Jingle, jingle.

At that moment—

“Oh, there you are. Hello, I’m Choi Seok-ho from Veritas Management. I gave you my card last time, right?”
“Yes, y-yes! Hello, I’m Lee Seong-deok.”

Seok-ho arrived.

With a warm smile and an approachable air. His broad shoulders and casual suit made for a perfect match.

To a Type A personality like Seong-deok, Type O personalities like Seok-ho were his exact opposite.

“I’m here because I think the script is fantastic, and I wanted to say that I’d love to work together.”
“Oh, th-thank you! I can probably pull together a budget of seven hundred to a thousand…”
“Ha, you jump straight to the budget. I like that.”
“Thank you.”

A one-sided counter would be a better way to describe it.

“What inspired you to write this kind of story?”
“Well, I was inspired by the phrase ‘money talks,’ and there’s the vigilante aspect… Usually, you see vigilantes as adults, but values and personalities are formed early, right? I wanted to depict a hero’s boyhood—a young vigilante who fights evil from the start.”

Creatives get excited when someone takes a deep interest in their ideas.

Seok-ho listened to Lee Seong-deok’s enthusiastic explanation while casually fiddling with his phone.

“Oh, am I talking too much? Sorry.”
“No, not at all. On that note, would you like to see a reading by our future property mogul?”
“Yes, please!”

Did he just call him a property mogul? I must have misheard. Seong-deok turned his attention to the video playing on Seok-ho’s phone.

A ridiculously handsome boy holding his script and reading aloud. At that moment—

“…Ah.”

Seong-deok felt an overwhelming desire to capture this person on camera. Another follower in the cult of Kim Dong-hoo had been born.

+++++

Mid-January.

Snow was falling, and the biting cold swept across Korea, making people prefer watching TV at home to going out.

Sure, skiing could be fun, but so was watching dramas at home with some tangerines.

Moreover—

“High Dream is so entertaining!”

Today was the second episode of High Dream. The first episode hit an impressive 12 percent viewership.

A solid start. If things went well, it could crush all its contemporaries.

Perhaps that’s why 17-year-old Ji Eun-bi, who’d become a dedicated High Dream viewer, was so excited.

“With High Dream, I can fangirl over idols and actors.”

Good-looking men and women, sweet love triangles. What more could she want?

“It’s impossible for it not to be good.”

Especially Jin Soo-hyuk, who played Song Cheol-soo and revealed his good looks from the opening scene. His popularity was through the roof.

“Ah, Soo-hyuk oppa is so handsome.”

And so, episode two began.

The real story was starting now, revealing more about the characters who hadn’t appeared in episode one.

— “How did a student with those grades even get admitted to our school?”
— “It’s fine; this way, we’re building an image of giving everyone a fair chance.”
— “But, Chairman…”
— “Shh, don’t talk about this anymore.”

The conversation between Principal Wang Ho and Chairman Maria made it obvious they disliked High Dream.

“Ha, it’s so funny. Isn’t it admirable just seeing them try?”

Ji Eun-bi, who never understood why her parents talked during dramas, was now muttering to herself, completely engrossed.

— “And we have a flower here that will never wilt.”
— “Oh, you mean that student?”
— “Yes, Lee Jae.”

Meanwhile, episode two of High Dream was nearing its end. The principal and chairman, who didn’t like the group before they’d even come together, began discussing one particular student.

— “Isn’t he all we need? We’ve got a genius in our school, someone we’ll never see again.”

Lee Jae?

She vaguely recalled hearing something about him.

Though she hadn’t paid much attention to the production announcements, she remembered hearing about an extremely handsome kid.

She hadn’t been too interested. She didn’t fangirl over every production announcement.

— “Yes, a genius. That’s why I called him here.”
— “Here? Now?”
— “Yes, to explain our plan. Once he knows, he’ll act accordingly.”

And with that, the principal’s office door clicked open, and a boy walked in. His neatly combed hair and graceful posture. Though he wore the same uniform, he looked like he was dressed in a suit.

— “Lee Jae, you’re here?”
— “Hello, Principal, Chairman. You called for me?”

As Chairman Maria spoke, the screen faded to black-and-white.

♪♩♪♩♬♩♪

The BGM signaled the end of the drama. The screen froze on a close-up of Lee Jae’s face.

“...Who is this?”

Ji Eun-bi couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.

+++++

At the same time, KBC Broadcast Station.

PD Kim Young-mo nervously checked his phone.

“PD-nim, the ratings won’t come out any faster just because you’re looking at it.”
“Do you have no emotions? How can you be so calm?”
“Well… I’m just the assistant director.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”

If there was a religion worshipping Kim Dong-hoo, PD Kim Young-mo would be its leader. Having hit a home run with the first episode’s 12 percent rating, he was hoping for another hit with episode two.

“Please, just 13 percent! Even 12.5 would be amazing!”

Let it succeed. Let it succeed.

As he kept praying,

Ding!

A text arrived.

“…S-sudden ratings… four-fourteen percent?!”

14 percent by the second episode. Just a brief spike, but still, a remarkable 2 percent increase overnight.

But why would it rise like that during the introduction phase? As he wondered, the usually calm assistant director’s eyes went wide, calling out urgently.

“PD-nim! PD-nim!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Check the real-time search rankings!”
“Search rankings? What about them?”
“Portal site’s top search—Lee Jae.”

Lee Jae? He was the top search?

So the 14 percent spike was because of Lee Jae?

He’d been on screen for barely six minutes. But in that short time, Kim Dong-hoo had dominated the portal sites.

Like a catfish stirring the TV waters.