Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Translator: Penny
Chapter 36
The time was before the broadcast of the second episode of You Who Came From the Stars.
<‘Star-Crossed’ First Episode Ratings Exceed 20%!>
‘…Still the same, as always.’
Currently, Lee Ha-eun was looking at articles about the first episode of You Who Came From the Stars.
However, even after seeing so many articles, Ha-eun wasn't that surprised or flustered.
After all, she had known for quite some time that You Who Came From the Stars would be a hugely successful drama.
For Ha-eun, these articles were just a matter of something that was bound to happen, happening.
The fact that Ha-eun didn't appear in the first episode of You Who Came From the Stars also played a part.
In other words, she regarded the articles about the first episode as something separate from herself.
However, the preview for the second episode, which aired immediately after the first episode.
Because Ha-eun's appearance in hanbok, which had been a hot topic in the pre-released teaser, appeared for the first time.
The scenes that Yoo Seong-ah had called Ha-eun's solo stage in the past.
In other words, she couldn't help but be concerned about the reaction to the preview announcing the start of the past episodes, which would run from episode 2 to episode 5.
So, from Thursday morning, the day after the preview for the second episode aired, she unusually observed the reactions of her classmates.
And she could tell that the level of interest in Ha-eun was gradually increasing due to the stories related to the young Han Yu-hwa that were often heard among the children.
Up until that point, she was just going to accept the attention towards her without particularly rejecting it.
She even had more than enough intention to tell the children who came to see her out of curiosity all sorts of stories about the drama filming.
“Hey, you’re Lee Ha-eun…right? I have something to ask you, just for a second─”
“Hey, you guys. Don’t you know it’s a 1-point penalty for entering another class?”
That's why she still didn't understand why Min Da-yeon was so harshly chasing away the kids who came to see Ha-eun.
She just thought it was Min Da-yeon's usual grumpiness or minor irritability.
That's why Ha-eun deliberately asked Min Da-yeon to watch You Who Came From the Stars first.
Because if it was Min Da-yeon that Ha-eun knew, there was a possibility that she wouldn't watch You Who Came From the Stars because of her high pride.
She wanted to show her acting to Min Da-yeon, who had competed with Ha-eun for the role of young Han Yu-hwa in the past, more than anyone else.
One way or another, Min Da-yeon was the only kid who knew what kind of preparations Ha-eun had been making for the past 4 years.
"I worked hard on filming, so please be sure to watch it live, senior."
“…!…!!”
As expected, Min Da-yeon's shoulders and nose soared towards the high heavens at the three letters 'senior'.
Since she had a good excuse that Ha-eun had asked her first, it was safe to say that there was almost no chance that Min Da-yeon wouldn't watch You Who Came From the Stars.
And so, as time passed and finally, when the second episode of You Who Came From the Stars began to air.
Even after watching the second episode from beginning to end with Na-yeon.
Until Yoo Seong-ah called Ha-eun at the same time as the preview for the third episode started airing.
[ It was worth nagging you. Of course, I'll have to keep watching, but whatever. It definitely wasn't like seeing a young doppelganger. I'm looking forward to next week too. ]
Until she heard such unfeigned praise.
She was only preoccupied with the fact that You Who Came From the Stars had started sailing smoothly without any major problems.
And then, as always, she connected to Daramji's broadcast and continued watching until just before going to sleep.
She woke up at her usual time and headed to school with a lightened step.
And so, still not even able to guess how much impact a drama that had achieved the feat of exceeding 20 percent viewership from the first episode would have.
Ha-eun, who was only thinking about whether Deobeulli, whom she would meet in singing class this afternoon, had watched You Who Came From the Stars.
"Hey, Ha-eun. Can you come outside for a second?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Ah, well, that is... my friends said they want to meet you."
Because of a girl in the same class who took Ha-eun out of the classroom while Min Da-yeon was away for a moment.
To be exact, because of the huge crowd that she ended up facing just a few seconds later.
Wow, she's so pretty...
I, I'm seeing a celebrity for the first time.
I wonder if she'll sign an autograph if I ask her to?
I want to hold her hand once.
Because of the enormous crowd that filled the hallway in front of Ha-eun's classroom and even stood on the stairs leading to the upper floor, all looking at Ha-eun.
'...This is a disaster.'
She belatedly realized how dangerous it was to think that she would accept all the attention directed at Ha-eun without missing a single one.
A scene that was on a completely different scale from the past, when people just glanced at her and quietly whispered about Ha-eun.
Strictly speaking, Ha-eun would definitely be able to break through the crowd in front of her if she wanted to.
But, if someone were to get hurt in the process of Ha-eun forcibly breaking through the children.
It was obvious that many big and small problems would arise.
And if she continued to stand in the middle of the crowd like this, other kinds of problems would definitely arise before long.
'What should I do, really….'
As she became more and more embarrassed by the many children who were narrowing the distance towards Ha-eun, and only beads of cold sweat trickled down.
At that moment, with a 'ding-' sound, someone finally started filming Ha-eun's helpless appearance in a video.
-Snatch.
One pure white hand suddenly popped out from among the children and suddenly pulled Ha-eun away.
"Run, you idiot!"
'...Min Da-yeon?'
She took Ha-eun with her and quickly escaped the crowd, finally bringing her into a cafe near the school.
Ha-eun was briefly enveloped in the illusion that she had been kidnapped by the Demon King and rescued by the Hero.
However, what Min Da-yeon had just done was strictly speaking, the same as cutting class without permission.
She asked Min Da-yeon if it was really okay to do this.
"Is that what's important right now? Lee Ha-eun, you were almost in big trouble!"
Ha-eun was speechless at the concern for Ha-eun that Min Da-yeon uttered without any hesitation.
Even after that, Min Da-yeon's unique sharp and shrill words, which were far from gentle from beginning to end, continued.
It was such a sharp voice that a stranger would have mistaken Min Da-yeon and Ha-eun for fighting.
Even so, the reason why she had been quietly listening to Min Da-yeon's words since some point was.
"After the kids all go home, go get your bag with me then."
"...Okay."
Because there wasn't a single word among the words that Min Da-yeon had said to Ha-eun that was harmful to Ha-eun.
Min Da-yeon herself was so frustrated with Ha-eun's lack of awareness that she was a celebrity that she felt like she was about to explode.
'...So that's why she said that once you start listening, it never ends.'
Ha-eun, who was gradually realizing why Min Da-yeon had chased away the children who had come to see Ha-eun in the past, only felt grateful towards Min Da-yeon.
Regardless of her intentions, the fact that Min Da-yeon had helped Ha-eun as a result did not change.
After that, she silently stared at Min Da-yeon for a while, wondering if this was what people called a tsundere.
As if she had noticed this, Min Da-yeon's shrill voice was heard once again not long after.
"What, what are you staring at, you idiot!"
A figure that was anything but kind, like a pufferfish that had puffed up its body to the fullest.
It was just that the current situation itself, where she had been unilaterally rescued by Min Da-yeon, was a very unfamiliar and fun situation for Ha-eun.
"No, it's just. I thought that senior is still a senior. I learned a lot."
She burst into a pure smile, not acting, and said that she was really glad that Min Da-yeon was there.
At this, Min Da-yeon's ears flushed red for a moment.
"You, that, senior, word…. …You're saying that to make fun of me, right."
She slightly averted her gaze from the question that followed, which was half doubt and half certainty, and exercised her right to remain silent.
Thanks to that, a minor incident occurred in which Min Da-yeon, whose doubts had turned into certainty, glared at Ha-eun as if she were going to kill her.
"Okay, okay. You two must be hungry, so let's have some drinks first."
Even that was quickly quelled by Min Da-yeon's manager, Kim Jin-soo, who returned to the table with a strawberry latte and a mango ade.
It was after that that Ha-eun asked Min Da-yeon the question she wanted to hear more than anything else.
"How was the second episode of You Who Came From the Stars?"
"It was fun…. …It wasn't so bad that I couldn't watch it."
To be honest, she didn't really care what Min Da-yeon's evaluation was.
No matter how harsh Min Da-yeon's evaluation was, it wouldn't change the fact that it was Ha-eun's best effort.
However, the Wednesday two weeks from now, when the 5th episode, which included the scene that she had put the most effort into, would air, was coincidentally Ha-eun's birthday.
Since it was during winter vacation anyway, Ha-eun, who wanted to spend a slightly different birthday since things had turned out this way, opened her mouth like that.
"Let me sleep over at your place the Wednesday two weeks from now, Da-yeon."
"W-What did you say?!"
"Why are you so surprised? You slept over at my place last time too."
"W-Well, that's true... but why all of a sudden?"
"I've always wanted to sleep over at a friend's house someday."
She asked for Min Da-yeon's day as a 12th birthday present for Ha-eun.
Of course, she didn't get an immediate yes, but as a result, she didn't hear a no either.
As time passed and finally, on the day the 5th episode of You Who Came From the Stars aired.
At the same time, on that day, which was Ha-eun's 12th birthday.
-Ding-dong~.
Ha-eun's index finger was able to press the doorbell of Min Da-yeon's house, not the door lock of Ha-eun's house.
\*
"Shu Lan! The 5th episode is starting now, what are you doing in your room─"
"...I can't watch it."
"Huh? Why?"
"In the 4th episode, they ended up being chased by soldiers. If anything happens to either of them, I really don't think I can handle it, sister."
"Hey, but they're the main characters. Surely they won't die? They'll barely escape."
"I wish that were the case…. I have a bad feeling."
And then, Shu Lan's sister Li Wei heard Shu Lan's gloomy voice, saying that if anything happened to either of the two main characters, she would blow up the UBS broadcasting bulletin board.
Up until that point, she just thought she was saying it.
Many people who had heard a similar murmur to the one Li Wei had just heard also.
They thought that the words that their daughter, sister, younger sister, or friend had just said were nothing more and nothing less than just words.
They wouldn't deny that the drama You Who Came From the Stars was enjoying explosive popularity.
But no matter what, it's a fictional story, a fictional character.
Surely they wouldn't go that far? They thought, and let it go in one ear and out the other.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny