GalaxyTL
Writer Yeo Su-jeong was the type to avoid watching others' work as much as possible. She knew that even a single impactful scene could lodge itself in her memory and unconsciously influence her own writing.
When High Dream Episode 2 had caused a stir, she dismissed it.
“Even if he’s handsome, they’re all the same in the end.”
She had no problem ignoring it; the ratings weren’t high enough to compel her to watch anyway. Outside of the fuss over his looks, there hadn’t been much to draw her attention. This mindset remained unchanged as Episodes 3, 4, and 5 aired.
Click, click.
“Still, since my senior’s involved, I can’t help but be a bit curious.”
Though she didn’t watch it herself, she was vaguely aware of how it was doing. All she knew was that the ratings weren’t climbing significantly.
“Writer, do you mind if we watch High Dream...?” “Oh, of course, go ahead. Do you need permission to watch TV? It’s not like we’re in the Joseon Dynasty.” “Hehe, thanks!”
She never restricted her assistant writers from watching what they liked. She simply avoided it herself to prevent any unintended influence on her work.
She didn’t mind her assistants watching the show. After all, they were creators, too, and everyone had their own way of approaching their craft. This was her way of giving them space.
Then, out of nowhere—
“Aaaah!”
She heard a scream.
It wasn’t a scream of fright, but one of excitement.
What could it be? They usually didn’t react like that to shows. For the first time, Yeo Su-jeong’s curiosity was piqued.
Her assistants had watched countless dramas and movies. What could possibly make them scream?
‘Should I take a quick peek?’
Even though she had vowed not to watch, she decided to take a glance. Without fully entering the room, she opened the door just a crack and peered through.
Peeking.
The first sense to react was her hearing.
The classical sound of a piano filled the room, caressing her ears. Then, without warning, a face beyond reason appeared on the screen, hitting her like a punch to the heart.
‘I almost screamed myself.’
Could someone really be that handsome? How was this even allowed?
‘Is something wrong here?’
She had seen countless actors while working at various broadcasting stations. The male actors who supposedly made people weak at the knees—she had seen them all. But even then, none of them compared to this.
Was it some kind of video editing? She wondered if they had touched up his face.
For someone to appear on TV with that kind of face, with no warning—it wasn’t good for the heart.
‘This has to raise the ratings.’
Having seen his face, she knew she had to see the rest. Yeo Su-jeong closed the door and turned on the TV in her room.
Beep.
Of course, she muted the sound.
At the same time, she started searching through online communities. She couldn’t help it.
- Kim Dong-hoo < This Guy is Ridiculous.txt - In High Dream, those band misfits are supposed to beat Lee Jae, but is that even possible? LOL - What band? Are you nuts? Let’s go with classical, I get the vibe. - Raising the ratings? Piece of cake. - But are they going to pull this “barely appear” nonsense again? - Make Lee Jae appear more often!!!
Lee Jae dominated the real-time search rankings, and every related keyword was climbing as well.
She could hardly believe it. This time, Lee Jae had been on screen for barely ten minutes. A decent amount, but nothing compared to the main and supporting cast.
Yet—
- Is it true that this is Kim Dong-hoo’s first work? - Whoa, amazing… - They say he’s only 15. Isn’t that a bit cocky? - Mind your own business, LOL. - So are the High Dream kids really going to beat our Jae? - It just seems fake. From the way he plays the piano, it’s obvious he’s a professional. Is it really him or a double? - People always try to tear down anyone who excels. - But honestly, he’s so ridiculously handsome it’s kind of… I mean, looking in the mirror feels terrifying. - Same here.
Lee Jae, no—Kim Dong-hoo—was all over the portal sites.
‘The viewers’ message board is in a frenzy.’
The content of High Dream itself wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was a classic underdog youth drama about a band aiming for victory. But adding Kim Dong-hoo to the mix made the synergy go off the charts.
‘Is it even right to call it synergy?’
It felt like Kim Dong-hoo was devouring the show all by himself.
As that thought crossed her mind, Yeo Su-jeong glanced at her own script. She had felt so confident in her story—a historical romance set in a fictional Joseon. She’d been certain it couldn’t fail, but the existence of Kim Dong-hoo made her feel a bit less sure.
‘What if Kim Dong-hoo were to star in another drama in the same timeslot as mine?’
With that absurdly good-looking face, and that overwhelming talent—
What if he completely overshadowed her drama?
Tatatata.
As her anxiety surged, her thumb quickly moved across her phone.
Somewhere, she had Min-ha unnie’s address written down. Where was it?
Contacting his management wouldn’t work. That approach was too amateurish.
The key was to establish connections through mutual acquaintances. An actor connected through fellow writers was something you couldn’t overlook.
‘I just have to go find him now.’
The moment she found the address, Yeo Su-jeong dashed out of her workspace.
When her assistants asked where she was going, her response was—
“To claim a treasure.”
+++++
After Episode 6 aired, Kim Dong-hoo’s name began spreading across South Korea.
Back in Episode 2, they had thought he was just outrageously handsome. But Episode 6 had shown that his good looks were only the beginning—his piano skills and acting talent were equally beyond belief.
Since most of the High Dream members were rookies, their acting made him stand out even more.
The world was curious.
Who was Kim Dong-hoo?
His FaceStorm followers had already reached 80,000. Yet, he didn’t seem interested in communication, as his DMs were entirely blocked.
Even if people tried to reach out to his agency, Veritas was extremely cautious about releasing any information, all under the pretext of protecting him.
And from CEO Choi Seok-ho’s perspective, this was only natural.
He was only fifteen.
He still needed to go to school and have time to do whatever he wanted. Recently, he’d had a chance to spend some rare family time, and Seok-ho couldn’t let that be disturbed by intrusive journalists.
“Although there have been a lot of ad offers…”
All of them had set Kim Dong-hoo’s rates absurdly low. It was ridiculous to try and undervalue an actor who had raised ratings by almost 5%.
‘Unbelievable.’
Kim Dong-hoo was an actor whose future value far surpassed his present worth. Although he was already impressive, compared to what he could achieve in the future?
‘I believe our Dong-hoo can go all the way to Cannes, Hollywood, wherever.’
For that reason, every part of his past had to be carefully considered. This was especially true for advertisements.
Thus, Choi Seok-ho had been turning down ad offers left and right. Unless the terms were ideal or there was some significant symbolic value, he wasn’t interested.
Then, suddenly—
“Huh?”
Something caught his eye.
“Is this coming in already?”
If soju was the popularity measure for adult celebrities, what was it for underage celebrities? One of the go-to indicators had arrived.
“Dong-hoo, how far ahead are you?”
A school uniform advertisement offer had landed in his inbox.
+++++
Recently, Director Kang Sang-hoon had been in an irritable mood. Every day was worse than the last, and from a distance, it was like he had a storm cloud following him.
People wanted to ask what was wrong, but his expression was so grim that they were too intimidated to speak up.
Still, since his mood wasn’t affecting his work, they tried to ignore it. But then one day, his expression grew even darker.
His face was as rotten as an apple ready to spoil, and even the shine of his once-proud Guan Yu beard had dulled.
From the crew to the cast, everyone was concerned about Director Kang’s state.
“Is it even possible to use Dong-hoo like this?!”
Director Kang was brooding over the content of High Dream Episode 6.
Piano? Did they think they could capture all of Dong-hoo’s charm with just that? It pained him to see his actor playing in such a confined scale.
“The poor kid must’ve gone through so much.”
He wanted to bring out Dong-hoo’s talents to the fullest, but the environment couldn’t keep up. It was such a sad story.
But it was okay now.
“Dong-hoo, I’m here for you.”
High Dream was now in the past. The era of Endless Frontline had arrived, with the climax shoot just around the corner.
“Hehehe.”
Director Kang looked over at Kim Dong-hoo, who was sitting with a fresh, untouched script, clearly focused. He was probably applying his own research notes to the script.
Swish swish.
Like magic, the moment he laid eyes on Kim Dong-hoo, Director Kang’s face began to soften. Just as a sunflower turns towards the sun, Director Kang felt recharged whenever he looked at Dong-hoo.
“I heard our Dong-hoo won’t appear in Episodes 7 and 8.”
If it were up to him, he would never let Dong-hoo go unused.
With a confident look, Director Kang stroked his beard, bringing back its luster.
“Tell them to get ready.” “Yes, sir!”
It was time to film the climax of Endless Frontline, the highlight of the student soldier’s story, and the moment to showcase 100% of Kim Dong-hoo’s talent.