GalaxyTL
Yerim visited Kim Donghu’s home with the intention of making him breakfast.
So why had Sujin shown up at his place?
The reason was surprisingly simple.
"Because I just want to see him!"
She had a guy she liked. They were close enough for their parents to know each other. She even knew where he lived.
"Then it’s only natural to meet for no particular reason, right?"
It’s something you often see in romantic comedies. And the setup was perfect.
"Childhood friends are supposed to wake each other up in the morning, aren’t they?"
It was a classic—almost a cliché—but a golden rule of storytelling nonetheless.
The female childhood friend waking the male protagonist from his late slumber—a textbook example of perfect harmony and chemistry.
So why hadn’t she done this before now?
The answer was equally simple.
"Because I’ve been busy!"
Kim Donghu had been swamped with movie shoots, and Sujin had been equally tied up with dramas, magazine interviews, and steadily building her presence in the entertainment world.
Their packed schedules had left no room to meet.
But then—
"Like fate itself!"
The new school semester gave them both some free time. And as a childhood friend, Sujin wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip by.
That was why she came rushing over—to fulfill the role of the childhood friend who wakes Donghu up in the morning.
But then—
"And who might you be?"
She encountered someone unexpected. A scenario she had never once anticipated.
"Ha."
What’s more, the stranger didn’t look like this was their first time visiting.
"There’s no awkwardness. It feels natural—like it’s routine for her."
If she was bringing groceries, that meant this wasn’t her first or second visit—probably at least five times.
"A lot has been happening behind my back, hasn’t it?"
Sujin closed her eyes for a moment, pondering what to do.
Should she remind this stranger of the chemistry she shared with Donghu during Rushman!?
Should she describe how her “kyu-kyu” moment froze Donghu in place?
Or should she recount their long history as childhood friends and how well they knew each other?
"No, no, there’s no need for that."
Overreacting in this situation would only make her look bad. Sujin steadied herself.
"Calm down."
She resolved to handle this maturely, explaining her role and relationship with Donghu kindly and politely.
"You’ve completely lost your mind, haven’t you?"
She failed.
Yerim and Sujin didn’t exactly hit it off from the start.
Since they were both connected to the same person they liked, it was hard for the interaction to flow smoothly.
"Excuse me? What do you mean, I’ve lost my mind?"
"Does this situation seem normal to you?"
"Donghu said it was fine."
"Donghu said it was fine?"
"Yes."
"Kim Donghu, you’re dead after this. No, you’re just dead."
"Kim Donghu, you’re insane! Letting this happen?"
Sujin made up her mind.
"I won’t forgive you!"
She was determined to confront that clueless idiot, who was sleeping without a care in the world, and give him a piece of her mind.
But that would have to wait. Right now, she had to deal with the matter at hand.
"This time, I’ll explain kindly. Very kindly."
As she tried to calm herself again—
"It’s a bit awkward to talk outside, so shall we go in?"
"Huh? Go in?"
"Yes, just a moment."
Yerim opened the door to Donghu’s home without hesitation.
"What?"
Unlike Sujin, who had to call to be let in, Yerim entered confidently, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Puff."
Sujin’s cheeks puffed up like a blowfish.
She might have been able to laugh off most things, treating them as trivial or funny memories in hindsight.
But not this.
Not this.
"Hey, Kim Donghu! Get out here right now!"
She couldn’t take it anymore.
Some mornings are just like that.
Even with little sleep, you feel well-rested, as though the warm sunlight is wrapping you in a comforting embrace.
"Why do I feel so refreshed?"
Normally, his alarm would wake him in thirty minutes. For some reason, today he woke up early.
"It’s still winter, huh? Judging by the chill."
But why did it feel so cold? He was practically shivering.
"Should I just relax with some coffee?"
As he got out of bed, he noticed the commotion outside his room.
"No, it’s not just noise—someone’s definitely here."
There were only three possibilities for who might enter his home at this hour unannounced.
The first was unlikely, given they were busy raising his younger sibling. The third was physically improbable.
That left only one answer.
"Yerim?"
Was she here to cook for him again, now that they were in their second year?
With that thought, he opened the door—
"Yeah, it’s Yerim."
…and promptly shut it again.
"Hmm?"
Yerim’s recent hairstyle was a clean bob cut. But the person he just saw had twin pigtails.
"...No way."
The one person who suited twin tails better than anyone else. His childhood friend, who had been with him since preschool and starred in Cackling Doctor! alongside him.
"Sujin, you’re here?"
He opened the door again, managing his expression carefully, ready to apologize for any misunderstanding.
But—
"Looking for her first? You must see her often, huh."
Sujin’s cheeks puffed up again, resembling a blowfish.
"Puff."
"I want to poke it with my finger."
He knew he absolutely shouldn’t in this situation.
But—
"What are you doing?"
"Poking your cheek."
"Do you really think that’s appropriate, given the situation?"
"Probably not."
"Then why?"
"Because it smells nice, and it’s cute. Did you change your perfume?"
"W-What?! What nice smell?! I-I did change it, but you’re such a pervert!"
Flustered, Sujin swatted his hand away. With that, the puff in her cheeks was gone.
"Yerim and I are from the same agency, and she said she’d cook for me."
That explained it.
As he walked toward the kitchen, he saw Yerim calmly preparing food, completely unbothered by the situation.
"Yerim, I’ll take over cooking today."
"Huh?"
"It doesn’t feel right to keep letting you cook for me. This is perfect timing."
His mind raced to find the best solution in the moment.
"There’s no way I can eat the food Yerim makes in front of Sujin. That’s a disaster waiting to happen."
But it felt wrong to tell Yerim not to cook after she went out of her way to bring groceries.
"The right move is to preserve both their dignity."
He approached Yerim, gently removing her apron and placing his hands over hers to take the cooking tools away.
"I was planning to cook today anyway, so this works out. There are more people here too."
"Oh... okay."
Yerim nodded and shuffled to the table.
"I usually eat light in the morning, so I’ll make tofu and meat patties. That okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Sujin, you okay with that? I’ll also grill some mushrooms. Anything you can’t eat?"
"Oh, uh... no, I’m fine."
"Great. Just sit tight—I’ll whip it up in no time."
Both girls sat at the table, Sujin still stunned by the unfolding events.
"Phew, at least no one got too upset."
He exhaled in relief.
Ding!
A text popped up on his phone.
-[ ദ്ദി˙∇˙)ว ]
-[Practice for the future!]
It was a message from Sims.
"…Are you complimenting me for handling this well?"
Thanks, Sims.
"But what’s this ‘practice for the future’ supposed to mean?"
He couldn’t make sense of the cryptic message.
Living an uneventful life, in many ways, was a true blessing.
It meant you could enjoy peaceful days without trouble.
Perhaps that’s why I found myself relishing a laid-back routine.
"Only two hours of exercise a day—this is nice."
I felt rejuvenated, energized even, as I glanced at the calendar.
Mid-June.
Time had flown by in the blink of an eye. The movie was starting to take shape, and the pieces were falling into place.
It was during this calm that I unexpectedly received a script.
"Uh... what’s this?"
"Hmm? Why? Don’t like it?"
"No, it’s not that… but I don’t think I’ll do it."
"Really? The investment for this is over 20 billion won—it’s going to be massive."
Seokho-hyung’s words were met with a shrug from me.
"This is something I absolutely shouldn’t take."
It was so bad that if anyone around me considered taking it, I’d do everything in my power to stop them.
For the first time in my life, I was seeing a rating like this:
The Tale of Steel, F.
What kind of failure warranted an F rating? It was terrifying to think about.
Kim Donghu had earned a reputation as a box-office guarantee.
Because of that, there was no shortage of offers—from dramas to films to variety shows. Everyone wanted him.
But—
"Don’t you think Donghu’s pretty picky with his projects?"
"Huh?"
At some point, rumors started circulating.
"Donghu’s like some sort of flop detector."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"I heard he turned down The Tale of Steel."
"He turned that down? That director’s a legend!"
"Yeah, and now the atmosphere’s tense. The director even went to see Donghu personally."
A flop detector.
A talent for picking only the projects that would succeed.
Not being chosen by him meant—
"So you’re saying my movie is going to fail? Where’s Kim Donghu? I’ll convince him! He just doesn’t understand this movie’s brilliance!"
It meant the movie would flop.
Unable to accept that fact, the director of The Tale of Steel, Kim Jihoon, made his way to Veritas, Kim Donghu’s agency.