What Was Coming Has Come
It had finally come. “What the hell did you do?!”
I grabbed Im Nana's shoulders and shook her wildly without thinking. I couldn't get a grip on myself.
“Aaaah! Ah, Areum, calm down! What did I even do?!”
“Maximus doesn't recognize me! He's looking at me like I'm a stranger!”
“Huh? No way... He was staring at the front door all morning...”
Im Nana looked flustered, glancing back and forth between me and Maximus, who was just staring up blankly with no reaction, completely oblivious.
“What's wrong with him?”
“What am I supposed to do, ask me?”
“This is weird...? I just played with him, petted him, gave him tasty treats, and held him in my arms all day?”
So she'd done everything to make him blissfully happy. Sure, that's what I'd asked her to do... but for him to forget me so suddenly like this was completely unexpected.
In the end, we couldn't figure out why Maximus was acting that way and trudged back home.
Sob, what on earth happened to you, Maximus?
I carefully set the carrier down on the floor and opened the door. Maximus poked his head out cautiously, sniffed around for a bit, and then—
“Ang!”
Like nothing had happened, his tail spun like a propeller as he bolted to my feet and clung to me. He grabbed my pant leg, grunted cutely, licked my hand, and acted all affectionate.
“...Huh?”
I was baffled. What was with that cold reaction just a few dozen minutes ago? This little guy's skill at playing with people's hearts was no joke. At least he was okay now... but why did he do that?
I scooped Maximus into my arms, sat down at the computer, and started searching.
> Puppy short-term memory
> Puppy doesn't recognize owner
After a few searches, I struck gold with a ray of enlightening info.
“Puppies in the socialization period before 3 months old rely more on smell than sight or memory... In unfamiliar places with different scents, they might not recognize their owner...”
Oh... so that's what it was. He hadn't forgotten me. He was just confused by the strange smells in that new place. Once we got home and he caught my familiar scent, that's when he recognized me.
Relief washed over me like a wave. I still had so much to learn about Maximus and puppies in general. Time to hit the books now.
As I searched for dog care books, my smartphone buzzed. Caller ID: LightManho GodBoss.
Vrrr—. Vrrr—.
The boss always called on the day I got back from camping. Probably checking if I'd returned safely.
“Hello?”
“Areum-ssi, did you have a good camping trip? Your voice sounds very relaxed.”
“Yes, I got back safely this time too. Some fun stuff happened.”
“Fun stuff? I'd love to hear about that.”
“Ah, I'll send you the video right now.”
“Thank you. I can't wait to check it out. Haha!”
Huh? What was that? It felt a bit different from his usual check-in calls...
“Is something up?”
“Oh, did I let it slip? Well... it seems like the time has come, Areum-ssi.”
He lowered his voice, almost murmuring. What the heck?
It made me uneasy... “Time for what? What...”
“It's time for your first planned shoot. How about a meeting midweek when you're free?”
Planned shoot. The moment I heard those words, clauses from the contract flashed through my mind. PPL or collab with a celebrity. It had finally come. But it felt a little soon...
“I see... Got it. But isn't it a bit early? The channel hasn't grown that much yet...”
“Don't worry. Given the channel's growth trajectory, starting prep now is perfect timing.”
“Ah, so there's prep time... Okay. Let me know when the time's set.”
I hung up and sank into thought. A planned shoot... What would it involve? Better to ask the pros than speculate alone.
I called Im Nana without hesitation.
Ring ring—.
“Hello? Ah, Areum! You over your tantrum now?”
“...Gasp.”
She picked up sounding a bit flustered. Oh right—the Maximus fiasco. I'd yelled at her childishly in shock.
‘Don't even think about seeing Maximus for a while!’
Aargh! Why did I do that? It was mortifying even now.
“Ahem... I was just so flustered this morning... Sorry. I looked it up just in case, and...”
I explained what I'd learned from the search, and a sigh of relief came from her end.
“Phew... Good. I thought I'd done something wrong.”
“Looks like you gotta study alongside raising a pup.”
“There are tons of dog training books these days!”
...We were thinking alike.
“Oh, right. So, what's up?”
“The boss just called about doing a planned shoot. Any idea what that's like?”
I tossed out my guess—is it PPL or celeb collab?—and her response was, it's finally here.
“~It's starting at last! Yep, what you're thinking. PPL or shooting with a celeb. Usually one day, but since your channel's camping-focused, maybe actual camping? Could be 1 night, 2 days.”
“Ah, camping... Makes sense.”
“PPL's mostly indoors, but... you became Rakgurakgu ambassador, right? Outdoor gear, so outdoor shoot fits.”
Hmm... True. Posing indoors with outdoor gear going “Wow~ This is great~” would look weird.
“Yeah, makes sense... Thanks for the info.”
“No prob! Hit me up anytime you're curious~!”
After hanging up, excitement and anxiety hit me at once. Could I pull this off? Truth be told, I'd brainwashed myself that viewers liked my natural style because scripted stuff felt too awkward.
Maybe practice a bit first...
A few days later, the appointed meeting day arrived. In the broadcasting station conference room I hadn't visited in a while, Kim Manho sat with a young man and woman I'd never seen.
Who are they?
The guy looked super tense, while the woman sat relaxed, like this was routine. Both were strikingly good-looking.
“Areum-ssi, welcome.”
Kim Manho stood first, greeting me warmly. He turned and introduced them.
“This is Team Leader Kim, who'll be your manager and handle the planned shoots.”
“Hello, I'm Kim Seokho. Nice to meet you.”
The sturdy-looking guy in his late 20s stood and bowed. Hmm, kinda military vibe?
“Team Leader Kim has experience on broadcast crews. He just got discharged, returned to work, and was assigned to our MCN.”
“Oh... Nice to meet you. I'm Han Areum.”
“And this is Main PD and writer Yu PD-ssi, a veteran with over 10 years at another station.”
A stylish woman in her 30s. Hearing she was a vet made her gentle eyes suddenly seem appraising—was that my imagination?
“They're your dedicated team. Of course, per the contract, they won't touch your main camping content. Ah, Yu PD-ssi will help a bit with editing.”
“Ah, nice to meet you.”
“Hehe. Nice to meet you. I'm Yu Minji.”
The new Main PD smiled as she greeted me. Veteran poise was no joke.
After intros, the real meeting kicked off.
“For the first planned shoot, we went with Healing Camping with a Celebrity.”
Sizzle... A celebrity right off the bat? I'd figured something light like PPL for starters...
My surprise must've shown, because Kim Manho turned his laptop toward me. Profiles of various celebs filled the screen.
“You remember the contract terms, of course. So we narrowed candidates based on their interest in camping, preferred styles—all researched.”
Kim Manho clicked through profiles: camping pics on SNS, variety show clips mentioning camping, even offhand comments from acquaintances. The prep was meticulously thorough, beyond expectations.
Wow... impressive. They respected my camping philosophy and honored the contract to this degree. I'd picked the perfect MCN. Sure, it was specified, but plenty might gloss over it.
Seeing Kim Manho's matter-of-fact expression deepened my trust anew.
“We made a list, but our top recommendations are these three.”
I checked the profiles he highlighted. Me picking from celeb profiles? Felt surreal.
They were a mid-tier 5-year idol, a rising young actor, a fairly famous singer.
“This idol lists camping as a hobby, and station contacts say he's squeaky clean privately. This actor...”
His explanations continued, but none clicked. Then, scrolling idly, I paused at one profile: a mid-40s male actor. Villain specialist supporting actor. Known to the public for his rough, sleazy screen persona.
But I remembered a low-budget comedy he'd done—clumsy, poignant, brimming with humanity. His comic timing stuck with me.
“What about this one?”
Bit sorry to skip his recs, but... chemistry, right?
“Ah, Actor O? Hmm, not bad. But the visuals...”
“Ahahaha! He's an impression actor. What about his personality?”
“O Seokgyun-ssi... Saw him once from afar—same as on camera. But contacts said the opposite.”
“Opposite?”
“Yes. Considerate, loves small animals, bit of a lovable klutz... very human.”
Oh! Sounds better than expected.
“I know Actor O a little too.”
Yu PD-ssi chimed in. As we turned to her, she elaborated.
“Total family man with one daughter. Opposite of his looks—kind and gentle. At a drama wrap party for ratings success, he stayed till the end, looking after extras too...”
Her anecdotes painted the ideal kind senior from variety shows. Even better than I'd hoped? But...
So? What about his camping experience?
“Any camping history?”
“Not that we know. But we included him because of this post.”
Kim Manho pulled up O Seokgyun's SNS.
Shit? I'd seen this somewhere before...
“What do you think? Feels like you'd click right away with Areum-ssi, doesn't it?”
...Could I smack him just once for that click?