My First Variety Show Mission: The Weird Olympics Special!

"Right, so this time—"

"Hmm. I'm afraid that's going to be a little hard for us to accept."

I was sitting in the offices of a major network, hammering out an appearance contract for Star Mission Big Operation. And I was getting a crystal-clear preview of why Eun Ga-young would one day be called the Queen of Two Faces.

"That clause is stacked against our player. How about we revise it like this?"

"Well, that's a bit..."

"Public interest in Jung Tae-woo is climbing by the day after the Olympic gold, and the rumored offers from European clubs have only poured more fuel on it."

Her presence was so commanding the network people looked like they wanted to sink into their chairs.

"The mere fact that Jung Tae-woo's first variety appearance is Star Mission Big Operation is going to be enormous news. Factor that in, and this is hardly a small number."

"I'll... discuss it internally and get back to you."

The network rep bolted from the room with cold sweat on his forehead. I watched him go and clicked my tongue.

She's terrifying.

Eun Ga-young had a face anyone would call beautiful, but it was a cat-faced kind of beauty, all sharp edges. Pair that look with those cutting eyes and that relentless cadence, and the contrast with her prettiness made her genuinely intimidating.

"Uh... but this already looks like a pretty good deal to me."

Honestly, even the figure the network had put on the table hadn't looked like small money from where I was sitting.

"Absolutely not. Jung Tae-woo's current value is not this kind of pocket change. And I'm going easy, for the record. We actually want this appearance."

Excuse me? That's you going easy?

If that was her holding back, I did not want to know what she looked like when she wasn't.

I made a silent, solemn vow right then and there: I would never, under any circumstances, make this woman angry.

The network rep came back, and we wrapped the contract in what I would generously call a very pleasant atmosphere. On the drive home, she spoke up.

"Jung Tae-woo?"

"Yes?"

"You always call me Agent. You can be more casual with me, you know."

Wait. She's saying that already?

Eun Ga-young had always kept her players at arm's length. She used formal speech even with Yoo Hee-sung, and she would do everything in the world for her athletes without ever actually taking down the wall around her heart. In the novel, of course, the wall had crumbled in true heroine fashion and there had even been a steamy scene — but that had been a kind of "lucky pervert" moment riding the protagonist's plot armor.

I had never imagined she would tell me to drop the formality the second the contract was signed.

I knew her family situation from the novel, so I understood well enough why she didn't let people in. The exact reason had never been spelled out, but...

Neglected at home, starved of love, and even after she made it, she never got the recognition. Then Yoo Hee-sung showed up, and...

Well. Good things being good things, getting close to someone this competent could only work in my favor.

"Then... what should I call you?"

"Hmm. I'm six years older, so how about noona?"

Eun Ga-young said it with a smile. For a second I just stared at her face, then snapped myself out of it.

Hey. Jung Tae-woo. Get a grip. You have Da-min, the prettiest girlfriend in the world.

Even to someone dating the prettiest girlfriend in the world, Eun Ga-young's looks packed a serious punch.

"Yes, understood... Eun Ga-young noona."

"Hahaha. What's with the full name? Just Ga-young noona is fine. I'll call you Tae-woo too. That okay?"

"Yes, Ga-young noona."

After she dropped Jung Tae-woo off and started the drive back, Eun Ga-young's thoughts were a mess.

"Why did I do that?"

It hadn't been like her at all. At first she had meant to keep her distance from the players and do nothing more than an agent's job. It had all been for her own success; getting close to them had never been part of the plan.

But when she was with Jung Tae-woo — no, with Tae-woo — some corner of her heart went quiet. His sincerity, his fire, that unfailingly polite manner of his had reached a place she usually kept locked.

She wanted human warmth more than anyone, and she denied wanting it just as fiercely. The defense she'd built from a childhood without love or attention was still doing its job.

"I shouldn't do this... If I get betrayed again..."

The warmth she felt toward Jung Tae-woo frightened her. She was afraid the cold wall she'd spent years stacking would come down — and at the same time, she ached for whatever was on the other side of it.

"Was I just jealous of how well his family gets along?"

Back at her apartment, Eun Ga-young sank into the sofa. Wanting to sort out the tangle in her chest, she picked up her phone and opened a search bar. After a moment's hesitation, she typed: I suddenly felt comfortable around a guy.

The very first reply under the top post read:

Eun Ga-young stared at the screen, blank for a second, then let out a small snort of laughter.

"That's ridiculous..."

She muttered it and set the phone down.

Tae-woo is...

A flush of heat.

He is handsome, but...

"Aah, I've lost it! Eun Ga-young, he's six years younger than you. He's a kid."

Yoo Jae-seung, the MC of Star Mission Big Operation, had a habit of combing through even the smallest details on his guests before a taping. The show was famous enough that it pulled in celebrities, athletes, politicians — people from every corner of public life. But experience had taught him that a lot of those big-name guests, drunk on sudden fame, turned arrogant and ugly. So for the sake of a clean shoot and a good atmosphere, he always tried to get a read on their recent news, their personalities, how they carried themselves on camera. That way he could prep the right talking points for each guest and brace for whatever might blow up on the day.

That kind of meticulous prep was a big reason Star Mission Big Operation had stayed a hit for so long.

This guest, though, was in a category of his own.

"PD, is Jung Tae-woo actually coming?"

Yoo Jae-seung asked it like he still couldn't quite believe it.

"I had a hell of a time getting him."

"What was he like when you met him? Personality-wise."

"His agent came with him, so he barely said a word. I couldn't get a read on his personality. There is one thing I can say for sure, though."

"What's that?"

The PD answered with a little smile.

"The kid is seriously good-looking."

So he's actually that handsome, huh.

This was a PD who had spent years looking at the best-looking men and women in the industry — the ones who flew at the network. If a man like that said "seriously good-looking," the face in question had to be something special.

Hottest player in the country right now, and he's that handsome on top of it. We should be able to get a great show out of this...

The thought came with a flicker of excitement, and one worry right behind it.

Please just let him have a decent personality.

Yoo Jae-seung was only human. He loved soccer, and he was a fan of the goalkeeper who had done so much to win Olympic gold. He wanted, badly, for the player he admired to be a good person too.

"I'm nervous."

At last, the taping of Star Mission Big Operation — Star Mission, for short — was underway. Knowing Mom and Da-min would be watching the footage later only made it worse.

Da-min was so cute, though.

The call from the night before came back to him.

I was still lost in that when they called my name.

"Jung Tae-woo, you're up next."

"Ah. Yes."

As I moved closer to the set, Korea's National MC — and my mom's favorite celebrity — Yoo Jae-seung was already rolling.

"Fencing goes clash-clash-clash, basketball goes swish-swish-swish, soccer goes goal-goal-goal! Have we ever had an Olympics this good, folks? That's why we brought them here — the heroes of the Games!"

On cue, the fencer waiting up front went out, then the basketball player, and then it was my turn.

"This one, I'll admit — I'm a personal fan."

There was real excitement in Yoo Jae-seung's voice.

"The guardian deity of the Olympic soccer team, the goal-scoring goalkeeper — Jung Tae-woo!"

My heart hammered as I walked out onto the stage.

"Whoa~"

"Wow, he really is that handsome."

"There it is, Jung Tae-woo in the flesh. The second he walked out, the female PDs and our Ji-hee just short-circuited."

"Oppa, what are you talking about."

Ji-hee fired back, embarrassed. Classic variety — they volleyed the jokes around and loosened everybody up.

"Ji-hee, he's a high schooler. That's a crime. Restrain yourself~"

"Aah, seriously!"

The rest of the cast piled on the second Yoo Jae-seung delivered that deadpan.

"Booo, that's a crime! A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crime!"

That was Lee Kwan-soo, the show's resident traitor.

"Whew, he really is good-looking. Spitting image of me when I was young."

And Jin Seok-jin, the show's eldest brother, among others. Laughter rolled around the set, the mood turning warm and easy. I was still nervous, but the cheer of it all started to settle me down.

"All right, time for your mission."

The floor PD stepped in and started explaining.

"We built this one as an Olympic special, tailored to our Olympic athletes."

"Olympic mission — so, like, sports?"

"This isn't going to be something weird again, is it?"

The cast's unease was earned. The PDs on this show had a reputation for being vicious.

"The name of this mission is... Challenge the Impossible!"

The whole studio stirred.

"Uh, this is actually bad."

"Aigoo, what kind of torture are we in for this time..."

Challenge the Impossible, huh. What's that supposed to be.

The floor PD kept going.

"You'll take on impossible missions in order — fencing, basketball, then soccer. Fail two or more of the three and the whole mission is a fail. And of course, failure comes with a truly terrifying penalty."

"Hey, Jae-seung hyung, talk some sense into these PDs. We're all going to die."

"Impossible? That word is not in my dictionary!"

"They don't throw that word around. If they put it in the title, we're getting wrecked today."

Yoo Jae-seung pushed his glasses up, looking genuinely worried.

"Can we at least know what the penalty is ahead of time?"

"Aigoo, my legs are already giving out."

"Ah, come on, what's the big deal. It's fun!"

The floor PD pressed on.

"We don't reveal the penalty in advance. That said, these missions are designed so you absolutely cannot clear them as-is, which is why there are special items. We've prepared mini-games to play for those items."

"Okay, at least there's that."

"We did bring in some distinguished guests."

"Great! Then tell us what the mini-game is already. I'm winning all of them!"

"The first mini-game is eating bizarre food. We've prepared ten disgusting dishes. You pick five of them through a loyalty game and eat them, and you pass."

The words were barely out before staff came marching in with the dishes, and the cast's faces went stiff one by one. The spread was genuinely, spectacularly awful. A green slime smoothie, fried insects, fermented cheese — a lineup that made your stomach turn just looking at it.

"Hold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on. These are the athletes who lit up the Olympics, and this is how we treat them?"

"At this rate we won't even finish the taping."

"Then the rest of you can eat all of it."

At the PD's line, the cast flipped on a dime.

"Ahem. Still, it's a game. Has to be fair."

"Obviously. Obviously."

Everyone played rock-paper-scissors, and of all people, I went first.

Ugh. I really don't want to eat this...

"Jung Tae-woo, please eat it. Please."

"Hyung, I'm begging you."

I asked, thrown.

"I'm... seventeen."

Lee Kwan-soo answered in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a voice dripping with mischief.

"Huh? Seventeen? Even better! You're young, so you'll digest it fine, immune system's probably great. Our Tae-woo, you got this!"

"That's right. An Olympic gold medalist can handle this much."

Fine. Just one. That's it.

I steeled myself and looked over the dishes. Then one of them caught my eye.

Wait. I might actually be able to eat that.

Curiosity pulled my hand toward it, and the floor PD launched into the description.

"The dish Jung Tae-woo just picked up is the pineapple burger. A delicious creation featuring one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leaf of lettuce, one meat patty, five slices of pineapple, and pineapple jam, all inside a hamburger bun."

"Booo, how is that a delicious food!"

"If it's so delicious, you eat it."

I liked pineapple, so I bit in without hesitation — and the taste that spread through my mouth made me blink.

"Huh? This is actually good?"