Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Translator: Penny
Chapter 42
Let's work hard.
At first, that was all I could think about.
For Ha-eun.
No, for anyone, the opportunity to appear on a popular entertainment show like Don't Stop People wasn't something that came around often.
Of course, when you think about it, the things Ha-eun had experienced so far weren't exactly common either.
What Ha-eun had experienced in the past was all within the category of 'acting.'
This was the first time Ha-eun had set foot outside of that familiar category.
Thin cue cards instead of thick drama or movie scripts, two or three VJs who would follow Ha-eun around all day—nothing was familiar.
Above all, the numerous cameras on set didn't have anything specific they wanted from Ha-eun.
It was inevitable that she felt a different kind of pressure than when she had lines to recite or emotions to show.
Still, it wasn't like she had to figure everything out on her own from start to finish.
Besides Lee Gun-yeol, who was already friendly with Ha-eun, the other members were also kind people who were considerate of Ha-eun.
So, work hard.
If she did her best on this Don't Stop People recording, just like she always had.
"Okay, everyone's been waiting! Today's special guest, Lee Ha-eun!"
I thought it would go well without any major problems.
-Step.
I calmed my slightly trembling heart as best I could and walked to the center of the set.
Almost at the same time, a tremendous level of fuss came from the startled members.
Oh my, it's really Han Yu-hwa!
How, how is she alive...? Didn't she die from an arrow?
Tsk, an arrow! You can't say such things in front of a living person!
Beat that guy who only says unlucky things!
It was one step further than what I had heard in the waiting room earlier.
No, it was a noisy welcome that was two or three steps further.
I was momentarily taken aback, to be honest.
However, this noisy moment was going to be the moment when the viewers of Don't Stop People first encountered Ha-eun.
For a more ideal first impression, I approached Yoon Si-hyeok, who had just been beaten by the other members for asking if Ha-eun had died, and was now lying on the floor of the set pretending to be sprinkled with salt.
-Swish.
I lowered my waist at a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow.
"This girl is alive and well, how could she be dead? Did you perhaps have a bad dream last night?"
I briefly showed the playful smile that Han Yu-hwa had when she was strolling through the marketplace with Park Do-joon.
Yoon Si-hyeok was momentarily speechless and stammered.
Seong Yu-seok noticed that Yoon Si-hyeok's mind had gone blank and stepped forward immediately after.
Then, in a slightly exaggerated tone, Seong Yu-seok urged Yoon Si-hyeok to prostrate himself and apologize to Ha-eun.
"What are you doing, Scholar Yoon! Apologize to Young Lady Yu-hwa right now!"
"Ah, aigoo. I said terrible things. Please forgive me...!"
Only after Yoon Si-hyeok repeatedly begged for forgiveness, saying that he knew he was wrong, did I say I understood, and the brief skit came to an end.
Judging from the fact that the faces of the production staff, including Choi Su-hyeok PD, didn't frown, it seemed that the ad-lib wasn't that bad.
'...That's a relief.'
With that, Ha-eun gave herself a good score for her courageous action.
After that, thanks to Seong Yu-seok, who started the recording smoothly once again.
"Hello. I'm Lee Ha-eun, who played the young Han Yu-hwa in You Who Came From the Stars."
There were no problems until I formally greeted the viewers of Don't Stop People.
I was surprised once again by the huge applause that poured out almost at the same time, but... I didn't show it.
However, not long after that, because of the videos related to Ha-eun that were played by the Don't Stop People production team.
Still, I could somehow endure the neighbor next door and the Matchstick music video...
"Everyone stumbles sometimes, and they are overwhelmed by the trials they face."
"But, I won't give up. No matter what."
"If I keep moving forward, even slowly, I'll eventually reach my goal."
I was fatally wounded by the children's nutritional supplement CF, which was an even older video, and Ha-eun's ears turned bright red.
As expected, Ha-eun's hands and feet were curling up by the second.
Unfortunately for Ha-eun, the episode about how Lee Gun-yeol discovered the talent that was Ha-eun was currently underway on set.
To make matters worse, the still image on the screen was the scene of Ha-eun falling in the children's nutritional supplement CF.
"I cast Ha-eun after seeing that scene. Look at those sparkling eyes."
Exclamations of admiration from the members, including Seong Yu-seok, popped out from everywhere immediately after.
Ha-eun knew that they didn't have the slightest intention of teasing her.
Regardless, I wished they would stop talking about my past.
Even though Ha-eun herself knew that they weren't things to be so embarrassed about, she couldn't help but feel awkward.
Nevertheless, Lee Gun-yeol's episode continued.
Ha-eun wanted to hide in a mouse hole at the sight of Lee Gun-yeol talking about even the most trivial things that happened while she was taking singing lessons from Deobeulli in the past.
However, even after Lee Gun-yeol's episode ended, she had to keep getting attention instead of hiding in a mouse hole.
The reason was that, due to the overall filming concept of Don't Stop People today, all the cast members except for Ha-eun had to act as Park Do-joon.
"There is also a fake Park Do-joon hiding among you who is trying to harm Han Yu-hwa. Therefore, your goal is to find out who the fake Park Do-joon is in order to ensure the safety of Han Yu-hwa."
Then, Choi Su-hyeok PD's voice spoke of the first mission to safely protect Han Yu-hwa.
"The first mission you will perform is... ."
Frankly, there was a bit of a forced aspect to the mission selection.
The only basis for it was that the real Park Do-joon would know Han Yu-hwa's taste.
But, this is just an entertainment show.
All Ha-eun had to do was sit quietly in the seat of honor and evaluate whether the food that the members had chosen suited Ha-eun's taste.
In the end, I enjoyed watching the members fighting each other to get the plate with the food that Ha-eun would like.
At the same time as the 10-minute time limit given to the members ended, I began to carefully observe the total of seven kinds of meals that had been completed.
That's not to say that everyone was holding their breath and waiting for Ha-eun's mouth to open.
"No, hyung, why did you decorate it with only desserts?"
"Kids these days like sweet things. Well, what would you know, you can't even get married~."
Like this, even while Ha-eun was evaluating the composition of the meals, the members were biting and tearing at each other, forming a competitive structure.
Among them, the voices of the members who succeeded in preempting foods such as chocolate and snacks were the loudest.
After all, anyone could see that their meals were the kind that young children like Ha-eun would like.
They were sure that Ha-eun would give a high score to their meals, which were full of snacks.
However, the meal that Ha-eun ultimately chose didn't have a single one of those sweet foods.
It was Jeon Dong-guk's meal, which had a perfectly balanced nutritional value, almost at the level of an elementary school lunch.
"Uh, uh...? Do you really like this meal the most?"
"Yes."
Jeon Dong-guk had been robbed of the sweet foods that young children like Ha-eun would like by the other members a few minutes ago.
That's why he just chose the foods that Jeon Dong-guk usually enjoyed, which looked healthy, and composed the meal.
In other words, he had never imagined that Ha-eun would give Jeon Dong-guk's meal a high score.
Even after finally becoming the winner of the first mission, he couldn't shake off the dazed feeling for a while.
'...That kid has a very unique taste.'
After the first mission was somehow finished.
Starting with the guest, Ha-eun, everyone got on the bus in order to go to the place where the next mission was prepared.
Then, after everyone finally boarded the bus, the talk time began.
Based on the questions that Seong Yu-seok had told Ha-eun in advance a few hours ago, stories about Ha-eun began to be exchanged.
This was only to resolve the curiosity that the viewers of Don't Stop People had about the person Lee Ha-eun.
The personal stories told by the stars who had appeared on Don't Stop People had also become quite a hot topic, so at this moment, everyone, including Seong Yu-seok, listened to Ha-eun's voice.
"So, what do you usually do in your free time, Ha-eun?"
"Hmm... I think I watch internet videos a lot these days."
"Oh, internet videos. Then, could you tell us just one of the most recent videos you've seen?"
Strictly speaking, it wasn't that important of a light question.
It would have been fine to just say that she watched the highlight video of Don't Stop People as a lip service.
However, the answer that came back from Ha-eun was.
"It was a video of making bread with wheat that I grew myself. I was sad because the bread that I worked so hard to make disappeared due to an unexpected accident."
It was a kind of answer that was difficult to guess what kind of video it was at first glance.
Feeling a little curious about this, Seong Yu-seok asked Ha-eun to explain a little more about the video.
"Why did the bread made with wheat that you worked so hard to grow disappear? Did someone steal it?"
"Ah, no one stole it. The warehouse where the bread was stored exploded. The owner of the bread was really sad."
'...The warehouse exploded?'
In the so-called makjang drama-like development, a moment of silence followed immediately after.
In that fleeting silence, the conclusion that Seong Yu-seok came to was a kind of conclusion that was a little far from the truth.
"It's a sad documentary just listening to it. I think I know what kind of sadness Ha-eun felt."
In some ways, it might be natural.
Among the videos that Seong Yu-seok knew, the only videos that featured the things that Ha-eun said were documentaries.
"Every time I watch those videos, I realize how precious food is again. Ah, come to think of it, Ha-eun said earlier that she doesn't have any food preferences, right?"
"Ah, yes. I don't really have any foods that I dislike."
"That's probably because Ha-eun already knows how precious food is. She already knows that a piece of bread is not easy to get. That's really amazing."
"...Huh? Amazing? Am I?"
"It's amazing. When I was young, I left kimchi because it was spicy, and I left anchovies because they were salty─"
As a result, the talk developed in a direction that Ha-eun never intended.
Before she knew it, an image of Ha-eun as a model child with desirable values was added to her.
Ha-eun, who had just said the contents of Daramji's broadcast that she had watched last night as they were, was just bewildered.
She still couldn't even guess why the story of the documentary came out of Seong Yu-seok's mouth.
📝 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