A Heart-Pounding Grand Success!
Grand success, thump thump! I couldn't even remember exactly what I'd said. And truth be told, I wasn't actually the one who'd written it. But in this world, I was credited as the author. So all I could do was voice my thoughts inspired by the books on Admiral Yi Sun-sin that I'd researched as reference. No one else could speak for me, after all.
Fortunately, seeing the premiere wrap up with smiling faces, it seemed to have gone off without a hitch.
"Sora...! Sora...!"
Through my narrowing field of vision came a warm, gentle voice. Suddenly, my sight cleared right up. It was Mom's voice that had snapped me out of it.
"Sora! You did so well~ Our girl is just so sensible and mature!"
Pat pat! Her stroking hand eased the extreme tension from moments ago. I let out a big sigh.
The drama premiere was over. But the way people looked at me had changed a bit from before. If they'd seen me as just a kid earlier, now that childish vibe was gone.
"Heh heh, Sora. Good work."
Writer Kim Min-gyu smiled at me too.
"Wow~ Sora, that was amazing! Nothing like my niece."
"Yeah, maybe because it makes our playful daughter at home look even worse by comparison."
The actors and staff around me were all shocked, saying as much. I bowed politely to each of them.
There was no downside to good manners. We'd likely cross paths again, so leaving a positive first impression was key.
With that, I said my goodbyes to the actors and staff and slipped out with Mom. The premiere had been a resounding success. Now all that was left was for the drama itself to do well.
Immortal Yi Sun-sin aired its first episode to great acclaim. Thankfully, given the era's mood, it got off to a smooth start. Back in the 2000s, people weren't all that fond of Japan anyway. And with the shrine visit scandal that blew up there, anti-Japanese sentiment had only intensified. Even in the 2020s it flares up now and then, but back then, it was basically the default.
Safe to say folks generally disliked Japan. National favorability polls put it at the bottom.
The silver lining was that the hate was mostly among adults, especially middle-aged and older folks. Younger people and kids weren't as bad. But it made sense. Korea had almost never invaded mainland Japan—practically never. The joint Mongol invasions got wrecked by the kamikaze, or "divine wind."
Japan, on the other hand, had ravaged Korea plenty of times. Starting with the pirate raids, then major events like the Imjin War that trampled the whole country during the Joseon era, and capping off with the colonial period under Japanese rule.
Older people just couldn't like Japan if they tried. Some had even lived through the occupation. Their resentment was understandable.
But that resentment was helping our drama right now. A show centered on the Imjin War, smashing Japan to bits? Pure national pride fuel. Ratings soared from the start—up to 30%.
Even accounting for the era's viewing habits, that was insane.
And then articles about me started popping up.
My name was even in the news. A bit embarrassing, since all I'd done was plagiarize from memory.
And just like that, Immortal Yi Sun-sin exploded in popularity. Dramas are usually team efforts—staff, writers, everyone. Spotlights go to the actors mostly.
But I was an exception. Maybe because I was a first-grader, but I got as much attention as the stars. Back to daily life? Nope—I was famous again. People even asked for autographs on the street.
Luckily, after the move, no one showed up at our door like before. Probably because the old broadcast led them to the wrong house. In the end, I pocketed a nice chunk of change.
"Ugh..."
I woke up on the weekend. Thankfully Sunday, so Dad and Mom were both home. Dad usually worked weekends, even Sundays sometimes—a hardcore grind. But that life had to stop now.
Even at 28, full of youthful vigor, keeping up that pace could drop him any day. Humans are consumables, after all—fragile bio-machines that break faster under harsh use.
Rubbing my eyes, I got out of bed. 9 a.m.—prime hunger time. Mom and Dad were watching TV in the living room.
We should get a better TV... This one was total junk.
Anyway, I headed out to talk to Dad.
Clop clop. They spotted me, beamed, and came over.
"Aigoo, our cute girl is up?"
"Sora~"
"Eung!"
Mom and Dad scooped me up the second they saw me. I tried to squirm away, but no dice. Escaping their grasp was impossible.
"Dad's stubble is prickly!"
Dad loved rubbing his unshaved whiskers on my cheek. A dad-with-kid thing, I guess. Why, though...!
Mom came to my rescue.
"You! Sora hates that!"
"Ack!"
Mom's solid smack landed on Dad's back. I was set down and bolted to Mom's side—safety zone.
She hugged me tight and shot Dad a look.
"Sora, don't go to Dad—come to Mom?"
"Hee hee!"
I hid behind her, dodging Dad. All in fun, of course. Soon we were all together watching TV.
Sundays had a fixed show: some singing contest where they call out random karaoke numbers from a thousand songs, and contestants belt them out fast. Amazing they could memorize that many...
With my perfect memory, it wasn't impossible for me. But normal folks didn't have that.
Grrrowl! My rude stomach announced itself loud and clear. Mortified, I ducked my head.
Mom caught the signal perfectly and stood.
"Ready for breakfast, Sora?"
"Yeah."
No more free soup kitchen days. Living expenses had jumped nearly sevenfold. Our table now boasted proper side dishes.
Mom was making up for lost cooking time, whipping up variety and piling it on for me. Used to be just fried anchovies, rice, and sesame oil. Now? Meat dishes. Huge upgrade!
I ate heartily, no complaints—everything was delicious. And at my age, picky eating wasn't an option anyway.
Dad ate beside me. Glancing at his injured arm, I knew it was time.
No reason for him to keep risking day labor. Work was fine—he was prime working age. But dangerous stuff? No way. And it wasn't even his game dev major.
I didn't want that constant worry of him getting hurt. Game development was safer, at least.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"Dad, quit your job now."
"Wha...?"
Dad's face went slack at my straight shot.