It was still before the airing of the second episode of *My Love From the Stars.*

“*‘My Stars’ premiere breaks 20% viewership!*
*UBS’s ‘My Love From the Stars’ captures viewers’ hearts right from the first episode*
*Top stars Yoo Sung-ah and Ha Yoon-sung overpower MBS’s ‘Face Queen’*”

‘…Still the same as ever.’

In front of Ha-eun were articles about the success of the first episode of *My Love From the Stars.* Yet, even with all the articles, Ha-eun didn’t feel surprised or overwhelmed.

She already knew *My Love From the Stars* would be a huge success. To her, these articles were simply confirmation of what she’d expected for a long time.

Of course, the fact that she hadn’t appeared in the first episode contributed to her sense of detachment from the news. To her, the first episode felt like something separate from her.

However, when it came to the preview for the second episode, things were different. The preview showcased Ha-eun’s appearance in a hanbok, the same look that had sparked a lot of attention in the teaser. The scenes that Yoo Sung-ah had once called Ha-eun’s “stage” were coming up—starting with the backstory sequence spanning episodes 2 to 5.

So, from Thursday morning, the day after the preview aired, Ha-eun found herself paying unusual attention to her classmates. She began to notice conversations about “young Han Yoo-hwa” among them, realizing the growing interest in her character.

At that point, she was prepared to accept the attention without resistance. She even thought about sharing fun anecdotes from the drama’s filming with the curious kids who approached her.

“Um, you’re Lee Ha-eun… right? I wanted to ask—”
“Hey, you guys know you get a penalty for entering another class, right?”

So, she couldn’t understand why Min Da-yeon was so adamantly driving away the kids who came to see her, chalking it up to Da-yeon’s usual prickly behavior.

That was part of why she’d asked Da-yeon to watch *My Love From the Stars.* Knowing Da-yeon, her pride alone might keep her from watching the drama.

Out of everyone, Ha-eun especially wanted Da-yeon, her former rival for the young Han Yoo-hwa role, to see her performance. Da-yeon was the only one who truly knew how hard she had prepared over the past four years.

“I worked hard, so please make sure to watch it live, senpai.”

“...!…!!”

Unsurprisingly, the word “senpai” had Da-yeon’s shoulders and nose rising sky-high. With this perfect excuse of Ha-eun asking her directly, there was almost no chance that Da-yeon wouldn’t watch *My Love From the Stars.*

As time passed and the second episode finally aired, Ha-eun watched it from start to finish with her mother, Na-yeon. Then, as the preview for the third episode began, Ha-eun’s phone rang—it was Yoo Sung-ah.

[ “I’m glad to see my nagging paid off. We’ll keep watching, of course, but I’m confident… you’re definitely not just a doppelgänger. I’ll be looking forward to next week, too.” ]

Hearing such sincere praise from Yoo Sung-ah without any flattery was enough to fill Ha-eun with happiness. She was too focused on the drama’s smooth progress to think about anything else.

Just as usual, she tuned into Squirrel’s stream until she fell asleep, woke up the next morning at her usual time, and walked to school with a spring in her step.

Having no real sense of how far-reaching the success of a drama breaking 20% viewership from its first episode could be, Ha-eun’s thoughts were preoccupied with whether Double Lee had watched the show and if they’d mention it at her singing lesson that afternoon.

“Ha-eun, can you come outside for a minute?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well… my friends wanted to meet you.”

A girl from Ha-eun’s class had led her out of the classroom while Da-yeon was momentarily absent.

And within seconds, she found herself facing—

“Wow, she’s so pretty…”
“This is my first time meeting a celebrity.”
“Do you think she’ll give us her autograph?”
“I really want to shake her hand.”

The hallway in front of Ha-eun’s classroom was packed with students, with some even climbing onto the staircase to get a better view.

‘…This is bad.’

It was then that Ha-eun realized just how dangerous her initial decision to accept all this attention had been. The scale of this scene was far beyond the occasional sideways glances and quiet whispers of the past.

Technically, if Ha-eun tried, she could push her way through the crowd. But if, by chance, someone got hurt in the process, she could already imagine the headlines:

*“Child Actor Lee Ha-eun’s School Violence Controversy Raises Red Flags for ‘My Love From the Stars’”*

It was certain that various problems would arise, and standing in the middle of this crowd would only lead to more trouble.

‘What do I do…’

As more and more students closed in around her, Ha-eun started to feel cold sweat running down her back. Just then, she heard the chime of a phone, and someone in the crowd began filming her, clearly excited by her helpless state.

-Grab!

A pale hand suddenly shot out from the crowd, grabbing Ha-eun and pulling her away.

“Run, you dummy!”

‘…Min Da-yeon?’

Da-yeon pulled her out of the crowd and led her to a nearby café, where they both finally caught their breath. Ha-eun felt like a princess rescued from the clutches of a demon lord by a valiant hero.

But, given that Da-yeon had effectively skipped school, Ha-eun asked her if this was really okay.

“Is that really the issue here? You almost got into big trouble, Lee Ha-eun!”

Hearing Da-yeon’s blunt concern for her safety left Ha-eun momentarily speechless. Her sharp tone, unlike anything gentle, continued as she berated Ha-eun from top to bottom.

To an outsider, it might have sounded like the two were having a serious fight, but Ha-eun found herself quietly listening. None of what Da-yeon said was meant to harm her.

“Once the kids all go home, we’ll go back for your bag together.”

“…Okay.”

While Da-yeon felt on the verge of exploding from frustration at Ha-eun’s lack of awareness of her celebrity status, Ha-eun was finally beginning to understand why Da-yeon had driven away the curious kids before. She felt a wave of gratitude toward her friend.

As she quietly watched Da-yeon, it dawned on her that this might be what people meant when they talked about a “tsundere.” 

“Wh-what are you staring at, dummy!”

Da-yeon’s bristling, prickly appearance made her look like a pufferfish. The situation, with Ha-eun being saved unilaterally by Da-yeon, felt strange yet amusing.

“I was just thinking, you really are a senpai. I’ve learned a lot.”

She laughed sincerely, expressing how grateful she was that Da-yeon had been there. Da-yeon’s ears instantly turned a bright red.

“You… that… calling me senpai… you’re just saying that to make fun of me, aren’t you?”

At her half-skeptical, half-certain question, Ha-eun averted her gaze, choosing to stay silent. This only confirmed Da-yeon’s suspicions, leading to her glaring at Ha-eun as if she wanted to strangle her.

“Alright, alright. I’m sure you’re both hungry. How about a drink?”

The tension quickly faded when Da-yeon’s manager, Kim Jin-soo, returned with a strawberry latte and a mango ade. It was then that Ha-eun finally asked the question she’d been dying to ask.

“So, what did you think of *My Love From the Stars* episode 2?”

“It was… fun… and watchable, I guess.”

Truthfully, Ha-eun wasn’t too concerned with what Da-yeon thought. Regardless of how harshly Da-yeon judged it, she knew she’d given her best.

However, episode 5—the one she’d poured the most effort into—was scheduled to air on the Wednesday of her birthday in two weeks. Since it was during winter break, Ha-eun thought she’d celebrate in a unique way.

“Hey, Da-yeon, can I stay over at your place in two weeks on Wednesday?”

“W-what?”

“Why are you so surprised? You stayed over at my place, didn’t you?”

“W-well, that’s true, but… why all of a sudden?”

“Staying over at a friend’s house is something I’ve always wanted to try.”

For her 12th birthday, Ha-eun asked Da-yeon if she could spend a day with her. Though she didn’t get an immediate “yes,” she didn’t hear a “no” either.

When the day of episode 5’s airing finally arrived, it also happened to be Ha-eun’s 12th birthday.

-Ding dong~

For the first time, Ha-eun’s index finger pressed the doorbell of Da-yeon’s house instead of the code to her own door.

***

“Shuran! Episode 5 is about to start—what are you doing in there?”

“…I can’t watch

.”

“What? Why?”

“It ended with them being chased by soldiers in episode 4. If either of them gets hurt, I won’t be able to take it, sis.”

“Oh, come on, they’re the main characters! They’re not going to die; they’ll escape at the last second.”

“I hope so… but I have a bad feeling.”

Shuran’s sister, Liwei, listened as Shuran murmured that if anything happened to either of the protagonists, she’d blow up the UBS drama forum. 

At that moment, Liwei thought it was just talk.

In fact, many people who heard similar remarks from their daughters, sisters, or friends thought the same thing—that it was just talk.

They couldn’t deny that *My Love From the Stars* was explosively popular, but it was still a fictional story with fictional characters.

Would they really go that far? Most people dismissed the notion with a shrug.