A broadcasting station located in Yeouido.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of many people coming and going, famous faces passed by, recognizable by just a glance.
Despite the rise of the awakening industry, celebrities still enjoyed great popularity. Dramas, movies, variety shows, various music-related programs, and even small commercials continued to feature them. Although some spots had been taken by awakened individuals, their main job was still dungeon crawling. Only a few awakened individuals could compare to celebrities whose primary job was filming.
And here was one of the waiting rooms of the broadcasting station. Before a simple shoot began, staff and actors gathered in the waiting room.
“What are you watching?”
A woman, sitting on the waiting room sofa watching something, suddenly lifted her head to see who spoke. Her face brightened as she greeted warmly.
“Oh, senior Kang-woo!”
“You’re early, Hye-na.”
Kim Kang-woo and Kim Hye-na. Both were lead actors in the new drama currently being filmed.
Kim Hye-na was a rising new actress, recently gaining popularity as the nation’s little sister, while Kim Kang-woo, though not at the top, was a well-regarded actor with a diverse acting portfolio.
“I recently stumbled upon it through the algorithm, and it’s so cute and healing. The videos have a dreamy vibe that stirs up nostalgia.”
“Oh? Could it be Ara?”
“Yes! You know it too, senior!”
“Of course. I’ve subscribed as well.”
Ara’s daily life. As the channel name suggests, it featured daily vlog-style videos. At first glance, it seemed nothing special, but combined with the charming protagonist, cute characters, and fantastic backgrounds, it had become an incredibly popular YouTube channel.
“In the recent video, Gomgom is shown hibernating, and Ara hugging it tightly was so cute I almost died.”
“Oh! I haven’t seen the latest ones yet as I’m watching from the beginning, but I can’t wait already! It’s so funny that even a bear-like Gomgom hibernates.”
“Hye-na, did you know? Our drama’s writer is also a subscriber of Ara’s daily life. They are an even bigger fan than I am.”
“Wow, really?”
As they chatted away, a staff member entered the room and called them.
“Actors, they are ready for you.”
“Okay. Got it.”
They tidied up and stood up. Today’s shoot was a very short and simple scene to be filmed on the broadcasting station’s internal set, so there were no big worries. However, upon arriving at the scene, they sensed that something was off.
“Hye-na, Kang-woo.”
The director greeted them with a troubled expression.
“Director, is something wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing urgent right now. Just that the future schedule got a bit messed up.”
“What went wrong?”
In response to Kim Kang-woo’s question, the assistant director beside him explained.
“It seems we have to delay the scene we were supposed to shoot at Hangang Park right after this shoot. The actor originally scheduled for it suddenly canceled…”
“Ah, that’s a bit of a hassle. So, it’s being pushed back? I’ll have to check the schedule with my manager then…”
“And there’s one more piece of bad news.”
“More?”
“Seo Ye-eun has been advised to rest due to vocal cord nodules.”
“… That will affect the singing scene. The writer said that scene is a highlight.”
“Let’s shoot this scene first. We’ll discuss the rest afterward.”
“Understood.”
Should we call this a string of bad luck? The series of unfortunate news left everyone with sour expressions.
However, once the filming began, everyone naturally slipped into their roles, and it was soon completed without any issues.
“Good job, everyone!”
While Kim Hye-na was energetically thanking everyone, the director called the crew together.
All the key staff members and the actors’ managers gathered to discuss the situation.
“We’ll have to postpone the scene we were supposed to shoot at Hangang Park immediately after this. I’m sorry.”
“I heard earlier that the actor canceled. What happened?”
The director scratched his head with a troubled expression and then sighed before explaining.
“The child actor who was supposed to film suddenly had some personal issues. The writer seems to be quite particular about this role, even though it’s a minor one. We thought about getting a substitute, but it doesn’t seem feasible.”
“A child actor? Is it serious?”
“The child’s guardian, the mother, suddenly has an urgent surgery scheduled. We have to understand the situation.”
“I hope it’s not a major surgery.”
“It’s diverticulitis. It’s not dangerous, but she needs immediate surgery and will have to be hospitalized for a few days. We can’t just bring the child alone.”
The Hangang Park scene was one that couldn’t be delayed for several days.
Finding a substitute was essential, but given the writer’s strong influence and sensitivity, even minor roles couldn’t be casually filled.
“I’ve already contacted the writer. We need to find a replacement.”
Kim Hye-na, being relatively new, quietly listened while most of the discussion was led by Kim Kang-woo and the director.
As the conversation continued for a while, someone suddenly joined the group and whispered to the director.
“Director, we have a visitor.”
“Hmm?”
The director turned his head, and there stood an unexpected figure.
“Hello, everyone.”
The man greeted them cheerfully.
Despite his innocent appearance, an inexplicable fierce aura surrounded him.
“Awakener Kim Tae-yang?”
“Oh, please call me Director Kim Tae-yang. As I mentioned last time, I recently became a director at Iron Blood Entertainment.”
Everyone was shocked and frozen in place.
Kim Tae-yang, an Level 8 awakened individual known as Bloodborne, was one of the top awakened individuals in Korea, known by every citizen.
He was like a celebrity among celebrities.
“Director Kim! We didn’t expect you to come personally. If you had told us, we would have greeted you properly.”
“Oh, no need to call a busy person. I just came to watch the filming. Is there a problem?”
One of Iron Blood Entertainment’s actors, Seo Ye-eun, was part of this drama.
The director had just mentioned her condition earlier.
“An urgent issue came up with the child actor who was supposed to appear in the next scene. It’s becoming quite problematic.”
The director, seeming familiar with Kim Tae-yang, spoke frankly.
Kim Tae-yang crossed his arms with a concerned look.
“Hmm, I came to give an update on Ye-eun’s condition since it wasn’t good, but now there are even more problems.”
“Oh, is Ye-eun’s condition that bad?”
“It’s just vocal cord nodules. She keeps insisting it’s just symptoms, but she needs to rest for a while. Her throat is so dry that we aren’t letting her speak and are giving her bellflower root tea continuously.”
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
The continued misfortunes left all the staff and actors with bitter expressions.
It was even more frustrating since there was no one to blame for these issues.
“Alright, let’s not be so down, everyone. First, we need to handle the child actor situation.”
“The writer will review everything meticulously again, but when will we create the portfolio and get it all approved…”
“We have a secret weapon on our side.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at Kim Tae-yang’s words. A secret weapon? His demeanor was too serious for it to be a joke, so they waited quietly.
“We haven’t signed a contract yet, but we’re on the verge of securing a very talented individual. The writer will definitely approve of them.”
“Who on earth could that be…”
Kim Tae-yang grinned at the director’s question.
“Do you happen to know the YouTuber, Ara’s Daily Life?”
***
After leaving the dungeon, I checked my phone and, as expected, there was a message from Director Baek. Without bothering to text back, since he said I could call anytime, I dialed his number immediately.
Ring-ring.
Click.
“Ah, Director Baek Tae-seop! Hello?”
“Ha ha, Kyu-seong! How have you been?”
“I’ve been well, thank you. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch.”
“No, not at all. I’ve actually been very happy lately. I’ve been hearing lots of good things about you from various places. You’ve been so busy that I felt a bit hesitant to ask for a meeting.”
“I’ll come see you soon, Director.”
After exchanging some pleasant remarks, we got to the main topic.
“My Sister has been uploading Ara’s vlogs on YouTube, and recently, we received an email from Iron Blood Entertainment.”
“I saw the message. I was going to contact you about that, but it seems our agency moved first.”
“As expected, you had been thinking about it all along. No wonder your gaze toward Ara felt different.”
– “You don’t have to sign the contract just because of me. I’m not acting on personal feelings; I genuinely see star potential in Ara.”
“I am considering Ara’s contract positively. However, I don’t have much free time, so a long-term contract might be difficult. I’m thinking of a short-term contract.”
– “Of course, that’s possible. Let’s discuss the details in person. Why don’t we call in a staff member to join the conversation?”
“Understood. When shall we meet?”
– “How about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow! Sounds good. I’ll see you then, Director.”
– “Haha, I’m already looking forward to seeing you and Ara after such a long time. See you tomorrow.”
After finishing the call, I returned to the dungeon. I hadn’t visited since the party celebrating Baek Seung-hyun’s complete recovery, so I planned to take care of a few things this time.
“Brother! Did you really talk to Director Baek Tae-seop?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Wow, awesome! What did he say?”
“We decided to discuss it directly at the Iron Blood Guild tomorrow. Do you want to come too?”
“Ugh?!”
Seon-ah looked so surprised that she couldn’t respond. Ara tilted her head at Seon-ah’s reaction.
“Is everything alright?”
“Ah?! Oh?! Yeah??!”
Seon-ah’s fresh response made me chuckle. After all, it wasn’t strange to bring her along since she created and ran the YouTube channel.
“You might end up helping me manage Ara. Be prepared.”
“Ma-manager?!”
Leaving the excited Seon-ah behind, I checked the food. These were the ingredients I planned to bring to the Iron Blood Guild tomorrow.
‘We’ve added various toppings to the pizza since then.’
The pizza was different from what we showcased before. Now, I enjoyed making the dough with techniques I learned while occasionally keeping in touch with Jae-seong. The upgraded dough and toppings were unbeatable.
“Onions, garlic.”
I was also looking forward to the new crops. Lettuce, onions, and garlic were waiting for their first harvest. I planned to bring onions and garlic suitable for pizza.
[Magic Onion LV.1]
[A crop imbued with magic]
[Harmless to the human body]
[Helps with blood circulation when consumed]
[Slightly increases physical endurance for one minute upon consumption]
[Magic Garlic LV.1]
[A crop imbued with magic]
[Harmless to the human body]
[Temporarily prevents physical dryness when consumed]
[Slightly increases disease prevention effects upon consumption]
Although they didn’t have noticeable abilities, their health benefits seemed promising. Especially for the magic onion, it could be helpful if mixed into the tofu I planned to send to Ryu Cheon.
“Wow, Ara’s debut in the entertainment industry…”
As I finished organizing the items to bring, Seon-ah was still clinging to Ara, looking dazed. Ara, finding Seon-ah amusing, was acting cute.
“I’m cute!”
“Of course! Our Ara’s cuteness is the best in the world!”
“I’m cool too!”
“Of course! Our Ara is cool too!”
They were having fun. But thinking about Ara appearing on TV made my heart race. Since I was only thinking of a simple commercial or a brief cameo, I felt more excited than nervous.
“Ara, let’s show off your dancing skills!”
“Okay!”
‘Cute, but that’s a bit too much.’
Cliche Novel 