Chapter 7 : The Idol Offer

“Who… who are you?”

Who is this weird old man calling my kid ‘ours’?

“Haha, this kid, he’s ours. He came to audition for our idol program, but he must’ve gotten confused and ended up here by mistake.”

The old man quickly stepped in to explain the situation to me.

“Sorry about that. Seems there was just a small misunderstanding. I’ll take him now. Really sorry!”

He bowed to the stunned people, grabbed my arm while I stood there flustered, and hustled us out of there.

“Wow— that was a pretty tense atmosphere in there.”

“Um… thank you for helping me, but who—”

“Hyunjae!”

From across the elevators, Eunha was waving at me.

“Noona!”

Seeing Eunha’s face in this unfamiliar place made me so happy I almost ran up and hugged her.

“How did you even end up here?”

“I’m not really sure myself.”

“Still, I’m glad I found you. You disappeared so suddenly— do you know how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry. Someone asked if I came for an audition, so I thought they meant the program you told me about… But who’s this man?”

“Oh, he’s the PD for our show…”

Eunha introduced the man standing beside her with a slightly reluctant look.

“Hello! I’m Choi Jintae, PD of Number 9. I’ve heard so much about you from writer Eunha— I’ve been dying to meet you!”

“M-me? Why would you want to meet me?”

When did you ever see me to say you’ve missed me?

“You’re coming with us, right?”

“Huh?”

Something felt really off.

Jintae’s eyes were shining brighter than ever.

“Haha… why are you staring at me like that…”

Hyunjae tried to avoid Jintae’s intense gaze, but it was impossible in this cramped meeting room.

‘A jackpot just walked right in on its own.’

He’d already forgotten how many times Eunha had begged him to bring Hyunjae in.

There was a gem shining right in front of him now— no way he’d let it slip away.

“P-PD sir? Haha…”

Eunha subtly jabbed Jintae’s side under the table, signaling him to get a grip.

‘Seriously, I went through all that trouble to get him here, and you’re gonna scare him off?’

“You’re making him uncomfortable. How about you say something instead of just staring…”

First he didn’t even care to look at the kid, but the moment he found out who he was, he threw a fit about tracking him down.

‘PDs really do think they’re kings.’

How was she supposed to keep up with these constant flip-flops?

“Hyunjae, you know this already, but our program—”

“No, let me explain.”

Jintae, snapping out of his daze, finally opened his mouth.

“Our program isn’t your typical idol audition show.

It’s pure hope itself! Yes, kids’ dreams—”

To anyone listening, it would sound like a warm, healing show full of dreams and hope, not a cutthroat survival program.

“I get that your intentions are good, but I really have zero interest in being an idol. I don’t even have the talent for it.”

“What are you talking about? Just existing is enough talent.”

Sure, singing and dancing were must-haves for idols, but even more crucial was star quality— the ability to grab people’s attention.

And Jintae was convinced this kid had it.

‘Someone who turns heads just by passing by— that’s rare.’

That was why he’d stared so intensely at Hyunjae in the restroom.

The moment he’d seen him walking out with someone from a famous drama company, he’d sighed in disappointment— assuming he was already taken.

But now?

He was right here!

“I’m really sorry. I just felt bad for making Noona do so much for me, so I came to tell you in person that I’m not interested.”

“No, don’t be sorry~

I offered because I wanted to.”

“I almost never ask more than once, but it’s such a waste to let you go…”

They both made one last attempt to persuade him, but Hyunjae was firm.

“I’m sorry.”

Most boys his age would be swayed by talk of fame or money, but he didn’t budge an inch.

‘Even his personality is perfect… what a shame.’

It was rare to see someone his age with such strong convictions.

“Well, can’t be helped.”

In the end, Jintae gave up.

If someone hates the idea that much, what can you do?

“Here’s my business card.

We haven’t started shooting yet, so if you ever change your mind, call me anytime.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Hyunjae finally looked relieved when he realized Jintae was really backing down.

“PD-nim, I’ve shortlisted the trainees for the promo video— oh! I didn’t know we had a guest.”

One of the writers walked into the meeting room without noticing Hyunjae.

“It’s fine, come in. This is the Hyunjae I was talking about.”

“Oh~ I see!”

The newcomer stared at Hyunjae, slowly looking him up and down.

“Hello. I’m Jung Hyunjae.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m just here to drop off the documents…”

She handed over the papers without taking her eyes off him.

Jintae frowned as soon as he flipped through them.

When you had an A-list example sitting right in front of you, no other candidate could possibly compare.

“If you point out a few names in advance, I’ll tell the agency to prepare them.”

“Is this really the best we’ve got?”

“Yes.”

She knew too.

Anyone with eyes could see it.

But judging by the mood, it was already a lost cause, so she stayed quiet.

“What a waste.”

“Sorry. I wish I could help, but I really can’t sing or dance to save my life.”

“What!”

Before Hyunjae could even finish, Jintae shot up and shouted.

“So what you’re saying is— you’re fine with everything except singing and dancing?”

“Huh?

Oh, well, it’s not like there’s anything else you’d need me for—”

“Then let’s shoot a promo video!”

“…What?”

“Excuse me?”

It wasn’t just Hyunjae who was shocked by Jintae’s sudden outburst— the two writers in the room jumped too.

“PD-nim, you can’t just decide something like that so suddenly…”

The whole point of the show was the trainees, but now he wanted to put someone who wasn’t even a participant into the promo?

“You’re planning to do street promotions and call reporters anyway, right? It’ll be fine.”

Yeah, you think it’s fine.

Eunha was speechless.

She knew he could bulldoze through things sometimes, but this?

“We should probably talk this through as a team—”

“Can you help us out?”

He didn’t even hear their protests.

“Huh? What do you want me to do?”

“It’s easy. Just look at the camera and smile brightly.”

“Well, that much I can do…”

He’d done puppy-themed photoshoots when he was little— smiling for the camera was nothing.

Hyunjae thought it would be simple.

“Really? Then I’ll take that as a yes!”

“Huh? But I’m not sure I’ll be any help…”

“Don’t worry about that — we’ll take care of everything. Really, thank you!”

Just in case he changed his mind, Jintae quickly thanked Hyunjae and ushered him out of the meeting room.

“PD-nim, I agree he’s got a good look, but this is still a bit much…”

Sure, he’d brought him in, but filming a whole promo video with him alone seemed overboard.

“Didn’t you feel it? There’s this strange pull about him that just draws people’s eyes.”

“Well, yeah, that’s true.”

“He really does stand out at a glance.”

They had no choice but to admit it.

That’s why they’d handed him a business card when they’d found the lost ‘puppy’.

“On top of that, he’s seriously likable.”

“Huh?”

“Look — faces are always a matter of taste, right? But he’s just… different.”

Having seen countless so-called stars in this industry, Jintae could spot it right away.

“I’ll handle all the approvals from the higher-ups. Just trust me and back me up.”

“Are you really going to do this?”

“And listen — this goes for all our other participants too, but especially for Hyunjae — you absolutely must not say anything about whether he’s joining or not.”

Jintae reminded them firmly.

“It’s just a promo video, right? It only needs to do its job — just promote.”

He was certain of it.

Once the promo went public, people’s curiosity about the boy in the video would explode — and that attention would flow right into the first episode.

***

At the movie theater.

“I’m sorry. I made you wait so long, didn’t I?”

“No, not at all. You even treated me to a nice meal and a movie — I should be the one thanking you.”

This movie was the very reason I’d come all the way to Seoul today.

“Wow~ There really are more people here since it’s the special stage greeting for surpassing ten million tickets.”

In the lobby, people were gathering in little groups, holding sketchbooks, headbands, balloons, flowers — all sorts of cute fan stuff.

“Looks like it really was a huge hit. It’s got tons of fans now.”

“All these people are movie fans?”

“Probably, yeah. Actually, my friend had a ticket for this stage greeting but had to cancel at the last minute, so they gave it to me.”

“I see…”

Now that I looked closer, I could easily spot people holding signs with the characters’ names from the film.

“Thanks to you, Hyunjae, I’m getting to enjoy a real cultural outing for the first time in ages~ Oh! Looks like they’re letting us in now. Let’s go.”

Inside the theater, lots of people were already seated, waiting for the stage greeting to start.

“Did we come in late? There’s so many people.”

“When does it start?”

“Probably right away. Our seats are here.”

As soon as we sat down, a staff member started giving instructions.

“The stage greeting will start shortly, so we ask all guests to please find your seats quickly!”

An employee in a white T-shirt shouted into a microphone, and people hurried to sit down.

“Okay, we’re about to begin the stage greeting. The actors will come out soon, so please give them a big round of applause and lots of cheers.”

Applause erupted in the theater, and soon a line of people in matching outfits walked out in front of the screen.

Out of all those people, only one caught my eye.

Han Jungwoo.

He was the very reason I’d come here today.

He appeared in the center, receiving the loudest cheers.

“Waaaah!”

“Oppa! You’re so handsome!”

Seeing him shyly smile and wave at the screaming fans made something bubble up inside me.

‘You shameless murderer.’

Back when I was a dog, I didn’t even know enough to curse at him — but now, I could curse him all I wanted, though he was too far away to hear it.

“Alright, each of you, please say hello.”

“Yes, hello, our movie…”

One by one, they introduced themselves and their roles.

It didn’t take long for everyone to finish their greetings.

When they were done, a staff member brought out a box.

“For our finale, we prepared a small gift. We’ll draw three people by lottery and give them a present.”

“I’ll draw the first one!”

Jungwoo was the first to pull out a slip of paper from the box.

“Uh… Row F, seat 8?”

“Alright, Row F, seat 8! Who’s Row F, seat 8?”

“Seat 8… huh? Hyunjae, that’s you!”

Whether it was coincidence or fate, Jungwoo had called my number.

I stood up from my seat and slowly walked toward him.

“Wow~ A male fan! Congratulations!”

The face I could never forget, even in my dreams, was getting closer and closer.