Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Translator: Penny
Chapter 43
The time was when [Don't Stop People: You Who Came From the Stars Special] was still in the planning stages.
"W-Wait a minute, Gun-yeol. You said you just finished talking to who?"
[ Ha-eun. ]
Choi Su-hyeok PD's body jolted upright at the unexpected name from the other end of the phone.
"H-Ha-eun, you mean Lee Ha-eun? The one who played young Han Yu-hwa in Star-Crossed?"
[ Who else would it be? Anyway, is it a yes or no? ]
"Of course, it's a yes!"
[ I knew it. ]
Followed by Lee Gun-yeol's boastful remark that he had greatly reduced Choi Su-hyeok PD's efforts.
The call ended with him saying that this debt would be repaid later with [Don't Stop People: Lee Gun-yeol Special].
"No... Lee Ha-eun? Really?"
It was unexpected good news for Choi Su-hyeok PD, who was having difficulty casting guests for the You Who Came From the Stars special.
So much so that he kept letting out involuntary breaths.
He didn't even know that Lee Gun-yeol and Ha-eun knew each other in the first place.
He had even less expected that Lee Gun-yeol would directly invite Ha-eun to appear on Don't Stop People.
But, whatever the process in between, Ha-eun was a hot topic that should never be missed.
Where would there be an entertainment PD who would refuse a star who is receiving attention both online and offline to appear on the program?
After that, through numerous meetings day and night for several days, they managed to create plots and missions suitable for Ha-eun.
It was only when they ran out of ideas that they scheduled a meeting with Ha-eun and confirmed her appearance on Don't Stop People.
Nevertheless, he couldn't help but worry about Ha-eun to some extent.
After all, she was a novice in entertainment, making her first appearance on a variety show, and still a child of only 12 years old.
No matter how good her acting skills are and how much attention she receives, there is nothing that can be done about the limitations of the body.
Of course, Choi Su-hyeok PD included consideration for Ha-eun in the missions he prepared.
However, if he gave Ha-eun too much convenience, the fun of the program would definitely decrease.
So, he also included some missions that even an elementary school student like Ha-eun had to use her body to some extent.
But, of course, there were absolutely no intense missions that could be dangerous...
'...Please don't let it become just a talent show.'
It was clear that Ha-eun had to do 'to some extent' to prevent the broadcast content from becoming childish.
If she showed even a little bit of enthusiasm, then veteran entertainers, including Seong Yu-seok, would lead well.
He didn't care about her sense of entertainment.
No, rather, showing the appearance of a novice in entertainment would create more fun and pleasant scenes.
Neither Choi Su-hyeok PD nor any of the production staff expected Ha-eun to have the smooth talking skills of Seong Yu-seok.
They didn't want her to be as playful as Yoon Si-hyeok, nor did they want her to be a versatile problem solver like Jeon Dong-guk.
He just wanted to show the people beyond the TV once again the image of young Han Yu-hwa, whom they thought they would never see again.
That was all Choi Su-hyeok PD wanted from Ha-eun.
Therefore, in the opening that finally began.
"The girl is alive and well, how could she be dead? Did you have a bad dream last night?"
When Ha-eun's witty ad-lib was displayed, he unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.
Because if she only did that much in the future, he really wouldn't ask for anything more.
Even after she overturned everyone's expectations in the first mission and chose Jeon Dong-guk's unappetizing meal.
Even when she spoke naturally in the bus talk to go to the next mission location without any signs of nervousness.
'I really should do a Lee Gun-yeol special someday.'
He greatly felt grateful to Lee Gun-yeol, who personally cast Ha-eun, a broadcasting genius.
Ha-eun's current appearance was the best-case scenario that Choi Su-hyeok PD had hoped for in the past.
But, not long after that.
To be exact, from the very moment the second mission to find the fake Park Do-joon, , began.
"Let me say one more time, the closer Ha-eun's Flower Shoes lands to the position where it fell, the higher the score you get. It's not a game of throwing as far as possible."
"Um, PD-nim. Can I just throw it however I want?"
"Ah, yes. It doesn't matter where Ha-eun's Flower Shoes falls."
A question of a kind that was not in any of Choi Su-hyeok PD's scenarios was heard.
Soon, with the help of Lee Gun-yeol, Ha-eun, who had rolled up the pink Jeogori she was wearing to the point where her knees were visible, swung her foot vigorously in the same posture that Lee Gun-yeol was supporting her in─
-Whoosh!
She literally sent the cute Flower Shoes she was wearing flying to the end of the sky.
This was also something that did not exist in Choi Su-hyeok PD's scenario.
As such, the location where Ha-eun's Flower Shoes, which started falling to the ground after about 5 seconds, landed was at least 30 meters away.
'...Is this shot put?'
Everyone forgot that it was now the other cast members' turn to throw their shoes and just stared blankly at the Flower Shoes that had fallen far away.
Originally, the mission was based on the concept that if it was the real Park Do-joon, who had a good rapport with Han Yu-hwa, the distance of throwing the shoes would be similar to Han Yu-hwa.
It was a mission that used Ha-eun's Flower Shoes as a reference point so that Ha-eun, an elementary school student, would not feel burdened to throw as far as possible.
"S-Shall we decide the order first?"
"Um, Yu-seok oppa. I'm really asking because I don't know... Does the order matter?"
"Hey, you said it wasn't a game of throwing far...!"
"Ha-eun, you planned this! You planned it with Dong-guk hyung in advance!!"
"I knew it, I felt something was off since you chose Dong-guk's meal earlier..."
Choi Su-hyeok PD and everyone else did not expect that the adult members would complain.
They really didn't expect that everyone except Seong Yu-seok, the MC, and Jeon Dong-guk, the most athletic member, would say what is this.
Nevertheless, the die.
No, Han Yu-hwa's Flower Shoes had already been thrown.
"Oh, oh! Si-hyeok stepped on the line!"
"I didn't step on it!!"
The second mission started in a much more chaotic form than Choi Su-hyeok PD had expected.
Ha-eun, the culprit of all this, was sitting on a folding chair with an indifferent expression, watching the tearful appearance of the members trying to throw their shoes as far as possible.
"Um, Su-hyeok hyung... Don't we need to reshoot this?"
"...Let's watch for now. Still, there has to be a twist like this at least once to make it fun."
After that, the final winner of the continued shoe throwing without interruption was, as expected, Jeon Dong-guk, the member with the best physical abilities.
Thus, hints related to the final mission were distributed differently based on Jeon Dong-guk once again.
The members who got on the bus again to move to the next mission location were, as expected.
"Ha-eun, I'm asking just in case. Are you in the sports club at school?"
They started a talk about Ha-eun's unusual kicking skills that they had just witnessed.
"No, wait a minute, Geun-seok hyung. Where is there a sports club in elementary school these days?"
"Oh? There isn't? There was when I was in school."
"There would have been when you were in elementary school."
Like this, there were some back-and-forths between the members in the middle.
However, most of the talk was inevitably about Ha-eun.
Of course, if you think about it, there's no problem with the talk being centered around Ha-eun, who is a guest.
However, even in the 3rd mission, .
-Whoosh!
-Whoosh whoosh!
"No, how can you dodge every single throw! There's no point in Park Do-joon protecting you if you do that!"
"That, Se-young. It's because you throw terribly."
"Then you try throwing it!"
"What's so difficult about it. Look, if you give a feint like this... and suddenly throw it!!"
-Thud.
"Oops. You just caught it this time."
"What did I say!"
Only scenes completely different from Choi Su-hyeok PD's scenario were filmed.
Once again, the maknae PD's anxious voice flowed into Choi Su-hyeok PD's ear.
"S-Su-hyeok hyung. Is this really okay?"
"...Still, isn't it not bad?"
"No, well. There's nothing particularly bad as you said, hyung..."
Currently, Choi Su-hyeok PD's head was busy completely revising the editing direction he had thought of in advance.
Therefore, there was no room to comfort the anxious maknae PD.
One way or another, Ha-eun is literally flying around in the current situation.
Ha-eun's current appearance was a sight that was perfect for capturing the attention of viewers, no matter what anyone said.
Of course, she would be capturing attention in a different sense than she did in episode 5 of You Who Came From the Stars, but what does it matter?
From Choi Su-hyeok PD's point of view, he didn't care as long as the viewership ratings were good.
It wasn't like there was a serious problem that required him to stop filming.
As such, as he continued filming without a single interruption, it was already time to start the final mission.
"Um, Bo-ram. Did you attach all of Ha-eun's name tags?"
"Ah, yes. I'm planning to move to the final location with Writer Kim now."
"Okay. Please tell Writer Kim to contact me when she arrives."
Not long after that, Choi Su-hyeok PD received a call that he had arrived at the final location with Ha-eun.
Only then did he have the members waiting on the bus get off one by one and announced today's final mission.
"Currently, Han Yu-hwa is hiding somewhere in this Korean Traditional Village to avoid the fake Park Do-joon. The person who finds Han Yu-hwa before the fake Park Do-joon and moves to the final stage with Han Yu-hwa and escapes on the UFO is today's winner."
It was after that that he made all the members scatter throughout the village with their respective writers.
Only after confirming that all the members had scattered did he contact the writers and reveal the identity of today's villain.
In other words, the fake Park Do-joon.
"The fake Park Do-joon's ultimate goal today is to somehow remove Han Yu-hwa's name tag and eliminate her before escaping on the UFO. Ah, please be sure to tell ─ssi not to fight with Ha-eun."
He informed all the members of the conditions for the member playing the fake Park Do-joon to win.
Tension began to linger on the faces of all the members.
However, contrary to such members.
Ha-eun, who was quietly hiding somewhere in the vast Korean Traditional Village with her usual indifferent face and her assigned VJ.
"Um, Ha-eun..."
"?"
"No, well. There's still about 3 minutes left before filming starts. Could you take a picture with me just once?"
"Ah, yes."
She had just finished preparing to stand side by side with the friendly-looking VJ and take a commemorative photo by making a V-sign with her hand.
Until then, she was only thinking about which member would find Ha-eun first.
'I guess it's Jeon Dong-guk after all?'
She hadn't really thought about what Ha-eun should do in case that member was the fake Park Do-joon.
She hadn't even been told who the fake Park Do-joon was in the first place.
All Ha-eun knew about the fake Park Do-joon was that the fake Park Do-joon would try to take off Ha-eun's name tag.
Still, 6 out of 7 people are real Park Do-joon.
She didn't really think that the only fake Park Do-joon could find Ha-eun first.
And, exactly 20 minutes later.
"Haa, haa..."
By the person who managed to find Ha-eun, who was hiding in a relatively deep place, and was gasping for breath at the same time.
More precisely, by that intense gaze that was focused only on Ha-eun's name tag, not Ha-eun.
'...I guess you shouldn't ignore even a small probability.'
She belatedly realized that she should not ignore even a small probability.
📝 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