[Is Today’s Fruit Shop only fun for me? It’s honestly way better than I expected??]
└ I had fun too, the adaptation is really good
└ The chemistry between the four is subtly insane lol
[Please everyone watch it. This is legit so good ㅠㅠ I want to spread the word.]
└ Once word-of-mouth kicks in it’ll blow up fast
Too bad it’s only on Mving
[I thought Taewoon would bother me but he doesn’t at all. Kim Jewook and Jung Hyeonjae are acting gods, Park Jibin pulls his weight too—so it’s definitely worth watching.]
└ Jewook’s a former child actor so of course, but Jung Hyeonjae is seriously good
[The fruit shop drama is solid, I hope it gets more promotion and more people watch.]
The reaction to episodes 1–2 was good, and to amplify it further, the production company started releasing all the pre-filmed promotional content.
[Today’s Fruit Shop turns into a café! One-day café challenge]
[K Korea October issue – Taewoon × Hyeonjae bickering chemistry explosion]
[S-class idol’s business challenge Today’s Fruit Shop]
[Can you work with a friend you cut ties with? Episodes 1–2 summary]
[Flower 4? No, Fruit 4. Rookie merchants F4’s fruit shop chronicles]
Aggressive promotion plus positive reactions meant word-of-mouth spread like wildfire, and the first place to explode was the V community.
[Dohwan completely cool-through-ing Ohneul is hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
└ Isn’t Ohneul the golden child?
└ Gotta change the name to Geum-Ohneul (Golden Ohneul)
[The lowest in the pecking order here is Minwoo, poor guy always getting crushed ㅋㅋ]
[Protect Minwoo……]
[The flashback scenes look so happy I love it. Director, give us more flashbacks.]
Kids in school uniforms are precious.
└ Minwoo’s actor posted a group uniform photo and it’s perfection
[The only flaw of Today’s Fruit Shop is only two episodes a week ㅠㅠㅠ Can’t you drop them all at once?!]
└ It’s seriously such a tease
└ Why isn’t this a daily drama
Fans started shipping the four friends in every possible pairing and became deeply immersed, flooding the internet with gifs from the drama.
Those gifs spread across communities and Stargram, producing even more fans—and the change reached me directly.
“Hyeonjae-ya, could you sign this for me?”
“A signature?”
The stylist held out a piece of paper.
“My friend watched the fruit shop drama and became your fan; she begged me to get your autograph…”
“Of course! I can sign as many as you want! She’s my fan?”
“She’s completely obsessed lately and keeps talking about Dohwan nonstop.”
Even on the Love Some set these days, signature requests were becoming common.
“Haha, please tell your friend thank you for me.”
“No way. She’s already at stalker level; if I relay that she’ll lose her mind.”
The stylist shook her head coldly.
“What’s wrong with that~”
“No. There has to be some distance between idols and their fans.”
“Why?”
Wouldn’t being close to fans be better?
“I’m saying this as a former fangirl.”
“Noona, you were a fangirl?”
“Believe it or not, I chose this job just to meet celebrities.”
They say the industry is full of people like that—I never imagined the stylist was one of them.
“Wow~ really? So did you meet them?”
“I did.”
“Wow! That must’ve been amazing.”
“Nope! Absolute worst.”
I thought she’d be thrilled, but she gave the complete opposite answer.
“Why?”
“Total jerk. Completely different from what you see on screen.”
“Ah…”
“He threw his shoes because he didn’t like them—ugh.”
She shuddered as if the memory still disgusted her.
“So don’t disappoint your fans. Block the creeps, stay out of the crime section, and never make someone regret liking you. People who ruin what someone loved deserve to die.”
For a moment, I thought of the original owner.
His fans must feel the same way, right?
“Ah…”
“I know you’re not that kind of person; I’m not saying this because I think you are.”
She must have noticed I was upset about the owner being misunderstood; she smiled and added that wasn’t what she meant.
“I know.”
I smiled up at her as she checked my mood.
“By the way, where did Hayoon-hyung go?”
I hadn’t seen Hayoon for a while.
“He was on the phone earlier? Oh, there he comes.”
As soon as I said it, Hayoon appeared.
“Why? Looking for me?”
“No, just wondering where you were.”
“Sorry, things have been crazy lately.”
With the drama blowing up, Hayoon had become busier than me.
“I’m fine. I’m just worried because you look swamped.”
“Hyeonjae-ya, next week there’s the Countryside Three Meals production announcement; looks like you have to attend.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, they said an article confirming your appearance will drop within this week.”
“Got it.”
The drama was getting good reactions, and now a variety show was airing too—it was nothing but beneficial for me.
“And Today’s Fruit Shop is going on an overseas OTT, so we have to film a greeting video…”
Hayoon calmly listed the schedule.
“And remember that cosmetics ad you shot?”
“The heat-relief patch?”
“Yeah, they’re offering another contract; if there’s no issue, we’ll renew.”
“I’d love that!”
They had taken great care of a complete rookie like me, so the renewal news made me happy too.
“And…”
What I thought would be one or two items kept growing.
Wait, my schedule is exploding this suddenly?
It was fascinating how a little buzz from the drama instantly filled my calendar.
“But… this won’t interfere with drama filming, right?”
Drama shooting was still the top priority; I was slightly worried the drama team might dislike the packed schedule.
“It’s fine. Thankfully the drama side was very understanding—they actually seemed happy about it.”
Right, the director loves popularity.
If I do well and draw attention, the next drama gets attention too; it made sense.
“That’s a relief.”
“But we might have to wait longer… let me check how far along they are!”
I was used to waiting on sets while following the original owner around, so it didn’t bother me, but Hayoon still worried about me waiting long and headed to the set.
“It’s… fine…”
Hayoon was already gone, so I had no choice but to look over today’s script.
“Huh? Huh?”
The stylist sitting in the back of the van looking at her phone suddenly gasped.
“What’s wrong?”
“An article about Han Jungwoo just dropped?”
At the word “article,” I had a hunch and immediately searched his name on my phone.
[(Exclusive) ‘When did he switch to public service?’… Han Jungwoo suspected of manipulating public service placement]
The very first article was exactly what I wanted.
[He entered as active-duty Grade 1, declaring he would fulfill his duty as a Korean citizen—how did he end up in public service?
News Patch discovered Han Jungwoo’s name at a welfare facility in Seoul. His stated reasons: panic disorder, social phobia, bipolar disorder. After receiving an active-duty verdict and enlisting, he was switched to public service within months.
If his health is poor, public service is allowed. However, his figure cannot even be found at the facility he was assigned to.
Is this celebrity privilege? Facility consideration? Then why aren’t other public service workers at the same facility given the same consideration?]
It was a sensational piece that could crack the perfect image of the “10-million-ticket actor” and “box-office guarantee.”
Ha, perfect.
This was a clear signal from Dongwon that he had seen potential in me through the success of Today’s Fruit Shop.
“Wow~ I’d heard Han Jungwoo had a bad personality, but I didn’t know he was this shameless.”
The article was so satisfying that a smile bloomed on my face without me realizing.
Good thing the stylist sitting behind me couldn’t see my expression.
“But isn’t it creepy? We were just talking about the crime section and this pops up immediately.”
“Right?”
“Some of his fans are definitely going to drop him after this.”
The existence of fans was too good for someone like him.
“Hyeonjae-ya, filming might be delayed a bit…!”
Hayoon returned from checking the set.
“Aww~ it’s fine! I can wait all day!”
I was in such a great mood I could wait an entire day if they told me to.
“What’s with you? Did something good happen?”
“No, nothing at all. If filming’s delayed, want to grab food nearby? My treat!”
With everything settled, I finally felt at ease.
Hmm… why do I feel like I forgot something? Must be my imagination.
Kingdom Entertainment CEO office.
Across a table sat Hyungkyu and a middle-aged man.
Tension crackled between them.
Hyungkyu spoke first.
“So you went to him directly after all?”
His tone was polite, but displeasure dripped from every word.
“I didn’t want to, but he never contacted me… and it’s not unheard of for a production company to give a script straight to an artist.”
The man sitting opposite Hyungkyu was the owner of the script titled Clash that currently lay forgotten in the bottom drawer among random junk—the same man who had directed
Hyeonjae’s commercial.
“Still, that’s not how things are done.”
“How desperate must he have been to do that?”
Desperation had been obvious from the first moment Hyungkyu met him.
But desperation alone didn’t mean you had to accept everything.
Hyungkyu was a CEO.
He had to judge coldly what was best for the actor, not be swayed by emotion.
“I know he’s desperate. I truly support his new challenge. But you know how it is.”
Having been in the industry a long time, Hyungkyu was well aware of the man’s past.
“I’m innocent! I absolutely did not do it. I’m innocent.”
“I have no intention of arguing about the past anymore. I only think about whether it benefits or harms Hyeonjae.”
“I’m confident. It will definitely succeed!”
He showed confidence, but it didn’t work on Hyungkyu.
“You know things have changed a lot while you were away.”
The film industry might be called stagnant, but enough time had passed for new water to settle and stagnate again.
“Just look at the work.”
“The work itself is great. I honestly want you to do well. But having Hyeonjae in it is difficult.”
“I wrote it with Hyeonjae in mind. It has to be Hyeonjae.”
They talked more, but their opinions never aligned.
“The reason I asked to see you today is so you wouldn’t get Hyeonjae’s hopes up for no reason.”
“CEO, didn’t I take care of Hyera back when she did that movie?”
He finally pulled out the last card he didn’t want to use—his connection with Hyera.
“…I remember.”
At the mention of Hyera, Hyungkyu faltered for a second, but quickly regained his pace.
“Thanks to you looking after her, she was cast in Introducing Her. But the Hyera from back then no longer exists.”
It wasn’t just that Hyera was gone; it meant the era itself had changed.
“Director, if I may say one thing out of consideration for old times with Hyera… at the very least, clear the plagiarism suspicions first. Only then will any actor want to work with you.”
At Hyungkyu’s words, the man fell silent in thought, then stood up.
“I understand what you mean.”
“I’m sorry to have to say this.”
It felt bittersweet; the man had once been a big-name director.
“Let’s talk again next time.”
With those words, he left the CEO’s office.
“Again… next time?”