LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 98
The dawn of the day after I made a promise with Su-jin.
“Are you waiting for me?”
“Yeah, it’s quicker to meet on the first floor.”
Su-jin was waiting in front of her house.
I had planned to greet the aunt and uncle after a long time.
But ‘greeting can happen anytime, right?’
Thinking that, I quickly glanced at Su-jin’s hairband.
“Were you always wearing a hairband?”
“I hate sweating, so… I might as well wear it!”
She said that oddly while constantly fussing over her bangs.
Come to think of it, I had heard that girls pay a lot of attention to their bangs.
‘They even grab their bangs while running, right?’
Suddenly, thinking of that scene, I headed straight to the playground near the apartment.
It was certainly early morning, so there were no people around, and the track seemed like a relaxing place to run.
“But seriously, are we going to do this every day?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“No, I mean, are we really going to practice together often like this?”
At Su-jin’s words, I nodded as if it were obvious.
“Well, it has to be, right? To be honest, I should have been running consistently for at least six months, but it’s better than not doing it at all.”
The way to run well was really simple and easy.
Just running regularly was enough.
Of course, there are limits,
but achieving the level of “running well” is totally feasible.
‘Though, doing so in just a week may indeed be too short.’
Still, this was a time where I could get comfortable with the act of running.
“First, we have to stretch, or you’ll get hurt.”
“Really? How do we do that?”
“Just follow my lead.”
Honestly, stretching wasn’t complicated at all.
Just do something similar to the New Millennium Exercise we did in elementary school, and that’s it.
It was a privilege reserved just for teenagers.
“I used to flop around doing this in school, it’s funny.”
“Well… aside from a few weird moves, it’s all good.”
The running began without any issues.
In fact, it was strange to think of any obstacles to running.
‘3 kilometers in 15 minutes? That’s pretty good.’
That’s a Grade 3 in the military fitness test.
I guess being a student for so long had kept me in decent shape.
“Huff… huff….”
By the time we finished the first running course,
Su-jin was gasping for breath and urgently looking for water.
“Drink slowly, take your time.”
I took out the water I had brought in anticipation and handed it to her.
Gulp gulp.
As Su-jin drank, she seemingly found her hairband uncomfortable again,
whoosh.
To feel comfortable, she took off the hairband,
and at the same time, her bangs flew up, revealing—
“Hey, a pimple!”
I spotted the acne on her forehead.
“Uh, huh?! Whoa!?!?”
For some reason, Su-jin was genuinely surprised.
“Su-jin, they say putting pressure on a spot like that with a hairband is bad!”
I immediately gave her advice,
“I don’t care! I hate you! I’m not going to talk to you!”
I got cold-shouldered.
“…?”
With that, Su-jin turned away, refusing to even lift her head.
Thus, our first run ended in about 30 minutes.
> “No meeting until our filming day, even at school!”
The no-contact order was issued.
‘What the heck?’
Could it really be because of the pimple?
++++++
Rushman MC Yoo Ji-seok usually reviewed the guest’s information thoroughly before they arrived.
But as life goes, most cases turn out to be pretty normal, aside from a rare few exceptional ones.
But—
“PD Yujin, is this for real?”
“Huh?”
“The child actor Kim Donghu who’s joining today.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I noticed he has quite an impressive career, to the point where it’s a bit unbelievable?”
“Right? So it makes you trust him even more, doesn’t it?”
Kim Donghu was so unique, he didn’t even fit into the category of exceptions.
The agency often plays around to create concepts,
but messing this up could lead to serious trouble.
‘Well, I guess the PD must have thought it through before inviting him.’
Deciding to put away any more doubts, Ji-seok went straight to prepare for the filming.
Though there were worries about having two kids in the show,
at the same time, there was a reassuring aspect as well.
‘Because they’re supposed to be close friends, they said.’
I heard they’ve known each other since “Dr. Gya-ru-ru!”
So at the very least, they’ve been friends for ten years—almost like childhood buddies.
However,
in a way that seemed to crush Ji-seok’s expectations thoroughly,
“Hey, Su-jin!”
“Don’t talk to me until filming starts!”
Just as he was about to welcome the two young actors who arrived early,
he overheard their conversation sneakily.
‘But weren’t you guys friends?’
Claiming they were childhood friends,
and had even worked on the same project twice.
Yet, that chilling vibe was simply confusing.
‘Did they have a fight or something?’
Worrying that there might be a problem significant enough to disrupt filming, he heard—
“…Are you better now? I said sorry about that time, I shouldn’t have… I was inconsiderate about the pu…”
“Just saying ‘pimple’ will make me not see you again!”
“Well, it’s all gone now…”
“Still! Still, you are really unforgivable! You ruined everything back then! You know that?!”
“…Yeah, I know.”
“Anyway! That happened, so don’t talk to me until we start shooting! If you do, I really won’t talk to you again!”
Ji-seok couldn’t help but smile at their adorable little exchange.
‘Ah, this is genuinely refreshing.’
Ji-seok, known as the lovebird of “We Got Married,”
was now being fed such fresh material?
‘This is like waving a fish in front of a cat.’
Or is it the other way around? Well, that’s not important right now.
What’s for sure is that today’s shoot was highly anticipated.
+++++
Is being oblivious a crime?
In fact, there had been many arguments regarding this topic.
No matter how hard one tries to be aware, some people just don’t catch on.
Yet, in some situations, that could actually help — thus leading to the idea that maybe being oblivious is an illusion altogether.
But.
Kim Su-jin had reached a conclusion just a week prior.
‘Being oblivious is a crime!’
Of course, the reason was Kim Donghu.
‘What a total fool! Idiot!’
Back in the comics, she would curse with intense fluffiness,
but even kissing the pimple didn’t seem far-fetched.
‘Of course, I know that’s unrealistic and simply comic leeway! I get it!’
But still, couldn’t he do something similar?
How could he react that way?
‘What kind of guy talks about a pimple?!’
Granted, since I don’t remember ever talking with other boys,
I’m not so sure about how they would respond either,
but it was pretty clear that Kim Donghu expressed the wrong reply.
So embarrassed that she couldn’t even step outside her blanket on that day.
In any case, she didn’t contact him at all until filming day.
But humorously, when they crossed paths just before filming,
she felt a degree of her anger dissipate.
However, since being overly friendly wouldn’t do,
‘I should act a bit aloof now, then after filming, I’ll speak first and suggest grabbing a bite together.’
A perfect plan.
That thought made her feel quite indomitable.
With that frame of mind,
“Alright, so today! The new faces joining Rushman! Kim Donghu! Kim Su-jin!”
The Rushman filming began.
‘Wow, this is insane.’
Kim Su-jin was mesmerized by the Rushman shoot she had dreamed of.
Perhaps because it was her first variety show after “Dr. Gya-ru-ru!”, she felt even more overwhelmed.
Moreover,
‘He looks shocked too.’
Kim Donghu seemed just as amazed, completely with his mouth agape.
Seeing him so lost and innocent — usually such a tough wall in acting — was adorably cute, causing Su-jin to smile without even realizing it.
Ji-seok, who had been waiting for this moment, quickly chimed in.
“Ah, it seems this is because of each other! Both of you must be so in sync after knowing each other for so long that just seeing each other brings smiles!”
With his mischievous tone, the other members immediately jumped in too.
“Hyung, what’re you talking about? Didn’t you just say they were meeting for the first time?”
“Ah-ha, you know nothing! I studied for this moment!”
The Rushman opening began as it usually does.
The members engaged in some light banter to lighten the mood,
easing their way into the main broadcast, a sort of setup.
But the longer that conversation went on, the redder Kim Su-jin’s face became.
‘But if this airs, will everyone in the world know that Donghu and I are childhood friends?’
Then wherever we go, since we were originally friends,
we could go on dates without any problem?
Even if a scandal broke out, could we just brush it off as ‘we were friends all along, a friendship that’s lasted since “Dr. Gya-ru-ru!”‘?
‘Isn’t this some incredibly fortunate thing happening to me right now!’
In situations like this, I should ideally stay silent and not say a word!
With that resolution, Kim Su-jin did her utmost to stay neutral, suppressing her smiles.
However, in front of the nation’s MC Yoo Ji-seok, hiding that was a near impossibility.
‘Hmm, it seems they’re having fun even fooling around like this.’
Even confirmed, she learned that he was enjoying it.
Ji-seok then properly targeted Donghu.
“Isn’t it great to have such a pretty and cute childhood friend?! Isn’t that right?!”
“Ah-ha, hyung, why are you asking that? I’m in the middle of my sensitive teenage years!”
The atmosphere was one of laughter and joy.
“Yes, indeed. Su-jin is cute and lovely.”
Kim Donghu spoke like a true gentleman.
“Whoa?!”
Su-jin’s shocked cat sound was an added surprise.