ALL NOVEL Chapter 89
The Young Prince and the Rose had been together for such a long time that they couldn’t even remember when it all began.
The Rose, unable to do anything but sit still, and the Young Prince, gradually feeling bored on his tiny little asteroid.
The conclusion of these two was cliché yet predictable, but in contrast, it hinted at a novel change.
This was precisely the introduction to the adaptation of “The Story of the Stars and the Moon.”
But the hugging practice wasn’t in the introduction, it was at the conclusion!
So when I mentioned we should practice, it was related to that line.
“I didn’t expect you to be so surprised.”
Should I have signaled or something?
I immediately popped the cap off the water bottle and handed it to Su-jin.
“Sorry, were you really surprised? But this line does require some timing, and I rushed it a bit.”
I added an apology.
But then—
Whack!
I got smacked.
Gulp.
While drinking water, Su-jin shot me a look full of resentment.
“W-who told you to go so fast? It’s real-time in theater, don’t you know if we can’t sync up, it’s over?!”
She seemed really angry, her face turning a rose color in an instant.
“Su-jin really is serious about acting, huh?”
I fully recognized my mistake.
“Then let me know when you’re ready. I’ll sync up and jump right into my line.”
“Wait! If I take that line, are you going to hug me right away?”
“Hug…you mean more like a pretend hug, right? It might just be a gesture.”
“W-well! That’s basically the same thing! Anyway, got it.”
“Didn’t you know that already?”
“No way! I didn’t expect this… So the situation is… I didn’t even foresee this!”
She was clearly flustered after struggling to articulate her thoughts for a while.
Maybe it was my rushed line that caused the problem.
“Or was it because I just stuck a rose behind my ear without saying anything?”
Not really knowing what to do next, I decided to wait for Su-jin to calm down.
About 30 seconds later, her face gradually returned to normal.
“Phew… Um, okay, I’m good now.”
“Do you want to do it again?”
“Huh? Do what again?”
“The hugging practice! That’s why we’re here, right?”
“What?! Are you saying I came here to hug you?!”
No, scratch that.
Su-jin’s face reddened again.
“How can she get so red?”
It was almost cartoonish; it was truly amazing.
“Did it happen like this back then too?”
So, almost instinctively, my hand moved.
In my childhood, the habit of poking her at the daycare came rushing back.
Tap.
I poked Su-jin’s cheek.
“W-what are you doing?”
I only realized something was off five seconds after her comment.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s up with this hand?”
“Ah, ahh.”
Why did I put my hand on her cheek?
I couldn’t comprehend.
But I felt an urgent need to explain myself.
My conclusion after some thought was,
“I thought, touching your cheek while hugging might be a nice touch.”
That it was because I was focused on acting.
And then—
Whack!
I got hit again.
“By the way, why do I keep getting smacked in the same spot?”
Is it instinct? Am I instinctively designed to get hit in the stomach?
If I hadn’t trained my abs through exercise, I might have vomited.
Anyway.
“We can’t keep doing this, so let’s definitely practice a few times.”
I couldn’t waste more time on this kind of exchange.
I suggested we practice the conclusion scene before the rehearsal.
“Y-yeah!”
As she said that, Su-jin suddenly spread her arms wide.
She was signaling for a hug.
I blinked for a moment at her signal.
“Shouldn’t I start with the line first?”
I thought we were supposed to practice the conclusion.
“Wait, did she come here just for the hug itself?”
If that’s true, it explained why the introduction felt so long.
Yeah, that could definitely be the case.
“For the kids watching, that love at the end should be palpable.”
A story of dreams and hopes for children,
Which is why it absolutely has to have a happy ending.
I briefly pondered how I would have performed if I were on an actual stage.
“Yeah, I would probably do it like this.”
I cautiously wrapped my arms around Su-jin and pulled her in tightly, conveying the feeling of not wanting to let go again.
And then—
“Whoa, stop! Stop!”
“Huh?”
At Su-jin’s words, I quickly released her.
“What’s up? I haven’t hugged you that tightly before.”
Was it instinctively too strong?
Just as I was worrying about it,
“…Oh, that’s enough practice for today!”
With both hands over her face, Su-jin hurriedly dashed out of the waiting room.
“Um… what’s going on?”
Did something urgent come up?
++++++
Kim Su-jin, temporarily 18 due to her early birth, but actually a 17-year-old girl.
She was currently sprinting madly towards the van.
“I’m crazy! This is insanity! This can’t be real!”
During their first hug, she had been crying, so honestly, she hadn’t grasped Kim Dong-hu’s hugging prowess well.
She just thought there was some kind of charm to it, wanting to be held more.
But now.
“This is definitely not normal!”
Receiving Kim Dong-hu’s hug in full awareness had far more impact than she ever imagined.
Someone might say, why make such a fuss about just a hug?
But this was a realm you could only truly understand by experiencing it firsthand.
“If Kim Dong-hu ever does a free hug event as a viewer rating promise, it could go viral, right?”
She was starting to worry to that degree.
Her heart was pounding hard, and she felt she needed to escape quickly to avoid being discovered.
With that, leaving behind the excited Kim Su-jin after that one hug with Kim Dong-hu,
Time passed quickly.
Since they had rented the stage of the Arts Center, a much grander scale than before was beginning to take shape.
The actors were gradually immersing themselves deeply into the play through script rehearsals and analysis.
Top designers were working hard to recreate the essence of the Young Prince.
While Theater Flame was thriving,
There was one group that was not pleased with this upward trend.
“Why is this idiot still lurking around in front of me?”
It was Kyung Min-soo, the representative of Cyber QA who had ousted Choi Seok-ho.
At first, he thought of Seok-ho as a weed, no matter how much he stomped on him, he kept popping back up.
But this weed was growing excessively in stature day by day.
With Kim Dong-hu’s consecutive grand slam home runs, Veritas was expanding rapidly.
Recently, it was revealed that he was the only investor in Theater Flame, which made the flow of entertainment industry sources towards Veritas increasingly palpable.
That said, Kyung Min-soo wasn’t just sitting back either.
He was making every effort to find faults.
However.
“Reporter Gil, when are you going to break the Veritas contract news? Why can’t you write an article about them?”
– Chief, I have my own thoughts too. And that’s just the termination of a contract.
No matter how much I’m called a disgraceful journalist,
I can’t write bad articles related to Kim Dong-hu. How many good things has Dong-hu given me?
One must have conscience, don’t you think? I’ll just hang up now.
Click.
That attempt was cut off before it even started.
How many times had this kind of thing repeated now?
“If this keeps up, won’t Theater Flame succeed spectacularly?”
Then Choi Seok-ho will rise again,
And if he brings up past events again after his revival,
“Just imagining it gives me chills.”
I could only foresee Cyber QA heading down the worst path.
Thus, Kyung Min-soo called Seo Jin-woo into his office.
“Yes, Chief.”
“Jin-woo, should we really let Theater Flame continue?”
“Huh?”
“What I mean is…”
Excuses were easy to fabricate, and dust always settles.
Kyung Min-soo spoke passionately about Theater Flame’s shortcomings and what they should avoid.
After quietly listening to all of it, Seo Jin-woo spoke just one line.
“I distinctly remember that when we made the contract, it was agreed that I wouldn’t be interfered with my activities. This is quite different from the content.”
“It’s not interference; I just…”
“Chief, I’m being quite kind by speaking to you like this.”
A monster like Seo Jin-woo does not regret leaving an agency.
It’s the agency that regrets losing him.
Even more so, Seo Jin-woo had about six months left on his contract.
It was about time to discuss renewal.
In such circumstances, you touch the day he became a pilot?
“I never liked you from the start, but this seems a bit much.”
Kyung Min-soo knew he was a scoundrel.
Still, Seo Jin-woo had been docile simply because the contract period remained.
But now meddling with a project the actor is involved in,
Especially one that has already been fixed, how could that happen?
“I’ve never faced this kind of thing, even as a rookie.”
I found it absurd, and Seo Jin-woo let out a slight laugh.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. And please, don’t contact me for a while. We’re bound to meet six months later anyway.”
With that, Seo Jin-woo said his piece and stood up without regret.
“Ah, no, Jin-woo, Jin-woo!”
Seeing him like this, Kyung Min-soo could only shout loudly, unable to move.
If he moved recklessly now, he would be in for another set of comments.
“Damn it, damn it!”
Thus, Cyber QA was slowly beginning to crumble.
+++++
When you’re engrossed in something, time flies by at a breakneck pace.
The same went for Theater Flame.
Everyone was racing toward a single goal,
With every blink of the eye, at least a week passed.
How many times did I blink like this?
When I finally regained consciousness, the first thing Bong Jin-woo noticed was.
“Theater Flame to debut next week!”
“Wow, time really flies.”
It was the date of Theater Flame’s first performance.
They were about to spark dreams and hopes for the children.
“Theater Flame, We Are Fire! Exclusive pre-interview release!”
Quick-witted promotion was just a bonus.