After the news broke that Kim Dong-hoo would be appearing in The Swordsman Baek Dong-su, public interest surged once again.

"Does this guy ever take a break?" "Legendary lineup: Drama - Commercial - Short film - Feature film - Drama." "And twice with action! One's a war film, the other’s a historical drama." "Just from his sword stance, you can tell he’s had some serious training."

The acting profession is a curious one. If you appear too frequently, people get tired of seeing you, but if you disappear for too long, they start missing you.

An actor’s fee often depends on maintaining the perfect balance, ensuring they appear just enough. In that sense, Kim Dong-hoo's case was unique. He appeared often, but never for long.

It was as if he left only an impression before disappearing. In fact, that’s exactly how it was.

In High Dream, he had a supporting role. In short films, his appearances were brief, true to their nature. In Endless Frontline, he was on screen for just five minutes.

Despite his strong presence, the amount of screen time he actually had was surprisingly small.

Perhaps this was because he hadn’t been in the industry for long, but ironically, it was this very fact that made Kim Dong-hoo the “strawberry on a strawberry cake.”

He didn’t appear during the boring parts—he only showed up for the best moments before disappearing again, like a cherry picker of the drama world.

His role in The Swordsman Baek Dong-su was no different. He was set to appear as the child version of a character, and not even for half the show.

But still—

Swish!

Even this time, his impact was undeniable.

“What just happened?” “Did he just cut the straw rope? Why did it slice so cleanly?” “So that’s why he wasn’t just messing around with kendo in The Hero. He really must’ve trained.” “How is someone that young capable of so much?”

Through a single-take shot that erased any suspicion of editing, Kim Dong-hoo once again amazed people.

With each passing moment, people continued to be surprised by him. During his live stream when he ate rice as part of his promise after Endless Frontline reached 10 million tickets, everyone was taken aback when a sponsorship from Haetban appeared out of nowhere.

Not long after, when he became the model for Haetban's CF, people couldn’t help but chuckle.

But that wasn’t all.

"Director! Director! This is huge!" "...Lower your voice. What’s the rating?" "The Swordsman Baek Dong-su... When Kim Dong-hoo appeared, the peak viewership hit 16%." "It’s time for us to reclaim the throne of Monday-Tuesday dramas."

The SKS drama director spoke calmly as the subordinate standing next to him bowed his head.

"Use every possible promotional tool. Let’s also discuss some viewership promises with the actors." "Yes, sir." "Monitor public opinion closely, and see if there’s anything more we can pull from the Kim Dong-hoo buzz." "Yes, sir!"

There was no avoiding it. The idea was to milk Kim Dong-hoo for everything he was worth.

After all, every time he appeared, it was a hit. Not seizing the opportunity while the iron was hot would’ve been foolish.

Amidst all the buzz, Kim Dong-hoo, the subject of everyone’s conversation, was thinking:

"...Maybe I should take a break after The Swordsman Baek Dong-su finishes airing." "I was going to suggest the same thing. I’m glad we’re on the same page."

He was considering taking a break.

+++++

Busy.

That was the simplest way to summarize the current situation.

With Endless Frontline and The Swordsman Baek Dong-su airing simultaneously, everything before now seemed like child’s play. For the first time in his life, Kim Dong-hoo was feeling his physical limits.

The main issue was that in this era, there weren’t many promotion tools available. As a result, a lot of promotional activities involved being physically present.

On top of that, there were school uniform events, Haetban events, and more. He was grateful to be invited to so many things, and it made him happy, but that didn’t change the fact that it was exhausting.

If only he had two bodies to juggle everything. Sometimes, he even missed the quiet moments with his friends.

"It seems like the right choice to take a break after The Swordsman Baek Dong-su wraps up."

He finally declared his intention to rest.

"I’ve been thinking the same thing. It’s about time you took a break."

His value had risen as much as it could. His reputation as a “box office guarantee” had been cemented.

Now, all that was left was to let things simmer for a while. It was time to see how high his value would climb while he took things slow.

For an actor, this kind of strategic rest was essential.

"Oh, and you’re completely free until October, so take your time to rest." "Didn’t I have an audition for The Last Supper?" "Your career is so strong right now, they decided to skip the audition and just give you the part."

Well, that was a nice surprise.

‘Great.’

With the decision to take a break, Kim Dong-hoo suddenly felt like he had a lot more free time. His manager, Seok-ho, quickly took the opportunity to begin adjusting his schedule.

"So, you’ll be resting until you start high school?" "Yes, that seems like the best plan."

Unless something urgent came up related to the Sims – The Real Life messages from the future, he didn’t feel the need to push himself any further.

"You’re not going to appear on any variety shows during the break either, right?" "That’s right."

Most variety shows at the time focused heavily on reality, and one wrong word could end a career. Besides, it made sense to fully relax during a break.

"Oh, by the way, if something related to Story of Stars and Moon comes up while you’re resting, what should I do?" "Let me know immediately."

He couldn’t ignore messages from the future, after all.

"Got it. I’ll take care of everything else, so just enjoy your rest." "Thank you."

The very next day after deciding to take a break, he became busy again, in a different way.

+++++

Baek Sang-ha, a martial artist who resembled a great white shark, had been destined for martial arts from birth.

He brought order to alleyways with his fists during the era of romance, and used his talents to master various combat sports.

There was a time when he ruled over Asia through boxing, and he almost made it to the UFC, but an injury derailed those plans.

Yet his dreams didn’t end there. Baek Sang-ha immediately joined the special forces and was deployed overseas.

He survived countless battlefields, met many people, and retired honorably after narrowly escaping death on several occasions.

With his experiences, he opened a gym in a quiet neighborhood, ostensibly to enjoy a peaceful retirement. But his real goal was different.

"Finding a gem."

As the saying from martial arts stories goes: “Beware of children and the elderly.” Baek Sang-ha was searching for a talented child.

And finally, today—

Wham!

As he felt the leather glove graze his cheek, Baek Sang-ha realized that the genius he had been searching for stood before him once again.

‘I thought his senses would have dulled from being so busy lately.’

Perhaps the brief break had been just the right amount of rest. Kim Dong-hoo’s senses were sharper than ever, honed even further.

It was almost reminiscent of an assassin.

‘His killing intent is terrifying.’

Normally, such intent was easy to read and therefore easy to counter. But Kim Dong-hoo’s was different. There was no other thought in his eyes except for the intent to kill.

It was the look a predator gives its prey. With that thought, Kim Dong-hoo’s fist came flying again.

‘His left fist is a feint, the real strike is coming from the right.’

Baek Sang-ha came to this conclusion and prepared to counter the left fist, but at that moment—

Step.

Kim Dong-hoo stepped forward with his left foot.

‘Damn!’

He had forgotten.

Kim Dong-hoo was a genius.

And—

‘Dong-hoo is ambidextrous, with his left hand being dominant!’

Geniuses always had an unpredictable ability to adapt.

Thud.

Caught off guard by the sudden shift, Baek Sang-ha took a direct hit. Though it was only light sparring, the level of the participants was what made it dangerous.

Wham!

Even though it was a light punch, the sound it made was massive.

“Ugh!”

Baek Sang-ha only managed not to be hurt because of his experience. If this had been a regular sparring session between kids, the opponent would’ve been knocked out cold.

As he rubbed his sore abdomen, Baek Sang-ha spoke with effort.

"Dong-hoo... you already know not to use that technique outside of a tournament, right?" "Yes, don’t use it unless it’s the finals. Got it." "Good, never use it anywhere else."

After saying that, Baek Sang-ha slowly removed his protective gear.

"It’s been two months since you said you were taking a break. It’s already September." "Yeah, it doesn’t even feel like I’ve really rested, but time flies." "Maybe it’s because you’ve been playing hard. Didn’t you go to an amusement park recently?" "Yeah, even though I disguised myself, some people still recognized me. I might have to wear a mask next time."

There were plenty of ways people could recognize him without seeing his face.

Baek Sang-ha replied, giving Kim Dong-hoo a serious once-over.

His proportions, his aura—there was no hiding it. Even with his face covered, the overall vibe was unmistakably Kim Dong-hoo.

It was clear just from his posture. You could just tell it was him.

"When you become super famous, I probably won’t see much of you anymore." "When that happens, you can be my bodyguard, Master." "Me? Ha! That’d be interesting." "Seriously? You just said it!" "...Are you serious?"

Haha.

Without confirming his answer, Kim Dong-hoo bowed politely and left the gym. He had been having so much fun lately that he felt like he hadn’t been focusing.

‘It’s time to get back to work.’

Just before diving into his final project before his break, The Last Supper, he prepared to immerse himself in the role.

But just as he got home, ready to start—

"Dong-hoo, I need to talk to you for a moment."

His father, Kim Jung-ryul, stopped him, and what followed hit Kim Dong-hoo like a sledgehammer.

"Your mother’s been pregnant for a while now. We wanted to wait until the pregnancy was stable before telling you, but now everything’s fine, so I thought I’d let you know."

Without dragging it out, his father got straight to the point.

"Dong-hoo, you’re going to be an older brother."

Kim Dong-hoo, age 15, was about to have a little sister.

+++++

After hearing the shocking news:

‘So... there’s going to be a 16-year age gap?’

It felt surreal.

With the weight of this revelation on his mind, Kim Dong-hoo grabbed his script for The Last Supper.

What he needed right now was a quick shift in mood.

In other words—

‘Time to get immersed.’

The first thing that greeted him was—

‘...Huh? What are you doing here?’

Su-jin's young face stared back at him.

"Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that?"

Why was she in this script?