Betting It All on Stars and Moon
Only stars and the moon were visible. The vast, endless universe naturally couldn't fit entirely within my sight. The place where I was born and raised was a remote little planet. A tiny home where a few steps would take you around the whole world. My house, where the idiot tree tried to kill the planet, and I had to approach the unpredictable mountains with caution to tend to them.
"Boring."
I was the god, the king, the believer, and the subject of this place.
"What's the point of managing this land for me?"
It was pointless. Realizing it held no use whatsoever, my gaze turned downward. Unlike this tiny speck of earth, a blue planet floated into view. A land several times larger than mine, with vast oceans. That's the place. That's where I was headed. Not as the sole existence, but descending to a position where I could blend in with others.
I abandoned everything and flew toward it. The great king became an ordinary human, arriving on the barren land. And only then did I realize.
'Why the hell did I come here? What was I looking for?'
What should I seek? Why did I come down? Questions I should have pondered before descending now surfaced too late. Why had I wanted to come here upon seeing it? What was this emotion blooming inside me?
A single vivid red emotion had taken root unbidden, moving my body of its own accord. Walking without purpose should have been far from enjoyable. Yet, the ever-changing scenery with each step brought a novel thrill. How long had I walked like that?
A faint voice reached me.
'Who’s that?'
A voice on the verge of breaking, yet brimming with the will to live.
"Wa... water, please."
An unnamed pilot, dying, spoke to me.
"Water? Why do you need water?"
At my innocent question, the pilot's eyes widened slightly.
"It's been... three days... without water... *cough cough*."
Blood sprayed from his throat with a metallic rasp. His parched vocal cords were screaming.
'So this is what humans are like— this fragile.'
How could something so frail live on such a beautiful planet? With indifferent eyes, I surveyed the surroundings. The vast expanse where sandstorms raged fiercely. I'd thought it only beautiful. But it birthed death too.
"If I give you water, what can you give me in return?"
Ah, he couldn't speak anymore. I could feel his eyelids drooping. I uncapped a water bottle—I didn't even know where it had come from—and poured it all over his face.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
How many minutes did I pour? With ragged breaths, the pilot's eyes snapped open.
"...If my lifesaver wants anything, I must give it."
That was our first meeting.
Bong Jinu was flustered.
'Is, is this something you read a script for so seriously?'
He was fully aware he'd been incredibly rude. Grabbing a freshman on his way to the entrance ceremony by the wrist and dragging him off like that. But on the other hand, he thought the guy was a really good person. Despite the size difference—Bong Jinu was easily twice as big—Kim Donghu had followed without resistance. He must have looked that desperate.
'Grateful, but... scary.'
Bong Jinu had never felt intimidated by an actor while writing his script. Because he saw actors as mere puppets he controlled. But now.
The moment the so-called national prince, whom he'd dragged here on a whim, started reading his script with utter seriousness...
'What if he trashes it?'
Fear hit him out of nowhere. If he'd skimmed it and said no or just said it was good, it wouldn't have fazed him. But that grave expression made it hard to even speak up.
Flip, flip.
Kim Donghu held the script still for the first one or two seconds, then nodded as if understanding something and turned the page.
'But damn, he's ridiculously handsome.'
The reason Bong Jinu said no other actor could pull off Star and Moon Story. It wasn't just acting—it was looks. The little prince protagonist was set to be more handsome than anyone, befitting his title.
More than anyone. Was there a vaguer description? Looks are relative, after all. Yet Bong Jinu had crafted a protagonist with an absolute standard of beauty. From a playwright's view, that was the worst choice. To stage a play, you had to bring the script's character to life in reality. Creating one impossible to embody invited failure and ridicule.
However.
'If it's Kim Donghu.'
Everything changed. Because Kim Donghu's beauty was absolute.
'If we set him as the standard, "handsome" applies only to him.'
The problem was his attitude. After blowing up like that, shouldn't he at least have some celebrity ego? How could someone be so upright and genuine?
That only fueled more greed, making it harder to rationalize.
'If I'd been rude first and he snapped back, I could've felt better.'
He could've justified it as his rudeness dimming the script's shine. But this was purely about judging the script. Like his neck on the guillotine. Every second felt eternal.
Then.
"Did you write this alone?"
"Huh? Uh, y-yeah."
At Kim Donghu's words, Bong Jinu unwittingly replied politely.
"I wrote it all myself, and the stage prep's done too. Kept it low-budget to avoid strain."
For some reason, politeness felt right. Sure, debut year made him the senior in showbiz. But in this cutthroat world where ratings ruled, his social skills bloomed like magic. Instinctively, Bong Jinu bowed deeply to Kim Donghu.
"But it's so short? Is this Act 1?"
"Uh... yes. Since it's a play format, I thought of stages rising and falling, scenes changing..."
The more he spoke, the smaller he felt. Objectively assessing the situation.
'I'm just a Daejong High sophomore clutching a script.'
And the other was the national prince, pulling 30% ratings on every appearance, peaking at 41%, sweeping rookie awards from all three networks, debuting in a 10-million-ticket movie—an unreal existence.
'Wait.'
Listing it out, he realized how insane this was. He hated ranking people by class, but he saw his own inferiority starkly.
"Hmm... I see."
Not sounding promising. Bong Jinu shrank, head down.
"It's fun. Sparking, right? Next week's club signup period. See you then."
"Y-yes? Huh?"
Kim Donghu's unexpected words flew out. Bong Jinu plunged into confusion. He tried to ask for clarification, but Kim Donghu was already gone.
I couldn't delay any longer for the entrance ceremony, so I wrapped up the talk and headed that way.
'Holy crap.'
Recalling what just happened.
'He made that alone? At that level?'
Why had [Sims - The Real Life] recommended this script? Why reveal its future collapse due to funding? Because it saw immense potential.
Star and Moon Story, AA. A high school sophomore's script graded A. Even Director Yi Seongdeok's Hero was B. A play script at A? And right after reading it...
A play must above all know how to assert its presence.
It needs overwhelming presence to captivate the audience's gaze.
Downloading application 'Gaze, Awe, Worship'.
[Sims - The Real Life] reacted immediately. It judged the script's quality higher than my current skills.
'How far can a play's A grade go?'
I was excited. What kind of wave would it create? What form would it take before the crowd? After the break, my mind refreshed, I felt ready for anything again.
'Debut stage with an A, huh.'
One regrettable point, though.
'Low-budget, he said.'
In the original timeline, it fizzled without proper funding. So he'd started small to play it safe. But knowing the path to success, there was no need to hesitate on investment.