It's Not Fake
It's not fake. Kwon Sung-gyu led the staff right into the house.
"Hello~"
"Oh my, you must have had a tough trip getting here~"
The couple greeting Kwon Sung-gyu looked incredibly young. Standing beside them, Sora with her bobbed hair gave a polite bow.
"Hello."
Sora clasped her hands together and bowed formally. Seeing that greeting, Kwon Sung-gyu could tell this kid named Sora was no ordinary child. After years in this business, he could size up kids like her just from the first impression.
"Ah! Hello~ I'm PD Kwon Sung-gyu. Looking forward to a great day with you."
"Sure thing~ Take your time and look around!"
Da-som and Tae-yoon welcomed the staff from Let's Find the Little Prodigies! They even had snacks prepared. Watching them, Kwon Sung-gyu thought it was a pretty harmonious family. His junior PD had mentioned they lived in a tiny one-room, though... Probably Sora had made a ton of money writing and they'd moved. Narrow places were uncomfortable for adults and kids alike, after all.
"Come on in."
"Ah, is this Sora's room?"
"Yes, this is my room."
But there was no bed. That had bugged Sora a bit. At eight years old, she was old enough to sleep alone, but her mom and dad never let her. Hadn't her original parents skipped making her a room because kids were such a hassle? But Sora's mom and dad were different. They adored her so much and wanted to keep her close. Sora had tried using their bad sleeping habits as an excuse to sleep alone, but it hadn't worked yet. And honestly, she liked sleeping with them too.
The staff and PD stepped into Sora's room. It was packed with books—the ones she'd borrowed from the library and the ones she'd bought. Sora planned to use this broadcast to show she wasn't some fabricated kid. Plenty of people still didn't believe she'd written those books. They suspected ghostwriting. A normal kid could never write something like this! they'd say.
"Whoa, what's with all these books?"
PD Kwon Sung-gyu asked Sora. He'd expected fairy tales or picture books for a kid her age, but nope. There were history books with solid research as a baseline, plus all sorts of philosophical tomes. It could've passed for a literature professor's shelf, no question.
"Oh, these are the books I read for reference. The ones I used while writing Song of the Sword."
"Whoa... You've read all these?"
"Yes."
Kwon Sung-gyu shot a look at the staff. There was a standard move whenever a supposed prodigy said something like that.
"Then... mind if we ask a few questions about them?"
"Of course."
Just saying she'd read them was easy—anyone could claim that. But hit them with specific content questions, and most kids went blank. They never expected real quizzing. That's how they weeded out the fakers pretending to be prodigies.
"Okay, this one's about Admiral Yi Sun-sin..."
The staff grabbed books Sora claimed to have read and started firing questions. Sora answered every one smoothly, without a hint of hesitation. The way she spoke was proof positive she'd read them.
"So that's why I think I was able to write a book like this."
As Sora finished, even the cameraman filming her let out an impressed breath. Among all the exceptional kids he'd shot for this prodigy show, she had to be the top.
"Sora, shall we pick up where we left off with that novel-writing bit?"
Kwon Sung-gyu said with a gentle smile. Earlier, he'd asked if they could film her writing, and she'd agreed.
Sora nodded briefly, then sat at the desk in her room. Her small frame fit perfectly in the chair. Her feet didn't touch the floor and dangled freely, but her back was straight. Her fingertips rested neatly on the keyboard.
The cameraman held his breath.
Tap, tap, tap.
The clear sound of typing echoed in the quiet room. It wasn't playful pecking. No hesitation. Like someone whose thoughts were already organized, sentences poured out fluidly.
"Whoa...!"
Someone whispered in awe. The staff watching Sora had wide eyes. This wasn't a kid's writing. The descriptions were intricate, emotions deep. Viewpoint shifts flowed naturally.
Kwon Sung-gyu's heart started pounding oddly. Seeing her like that, he grew certain.
This is the real deal.
Decades in broadcasting. He'd seen scripted "geniuses" and kids propped up by pushy parents. They shone only on camera, cracking at the slightest off-script question. But not Sora.
A raw gem...
Kwon Sung-gyu felt this broadcast would turn out great. She wasn't just smart beyond her years—her looks were perfect too. Sure, judging a kid's appearance felt off, but it wasn't all bad. The industry obsessed over looks anyway. In everyday life, plain wasn't a crime, but in TV? It was. Comedians or jobs ignoring looks aside, appearance mattered. You couldn't debut as an idol if you were ugly. Pretty and handsome faces were always a plus, never a minus.
He'd filmed plenty of smart kids over the years, but none as poised and adult-like in speech as Sora, without a trace of nerves. Even upper elementary kids rarely spoke so politely—first-graders defaulted to casual talk. Sure, some precocious ones used formal speech, but...
The filming paused briefly. It wasn't a 24-hour shoot anyway. The staff huddled, and PD Kwon Sung-gyu stepped out for a quick meeting. They needed lunch after hours of work, stomachs growling.
Sora's mom, Yoo Da-som, offered to feed them, but the staff declined. Dozens of people—preparing that much food would've been a nightmare.
"She's incredible."
"A masterpiece, right?"
"I've never seen a kid like that, PD."
"Did you see her writing earlier? Insane! I shake just typing one line."
"Sora's definitely a genius."
Over Chinese food nearby, the staff and Kwon Sung-gyu chatted animatedly. They'd all clocked Sora's genius.
After the meal, Kwon Sung-gyu and the staff headed back to Sora's house. Filming wasn't done yet.
--------------------------------------------------
I watched the staff leave. In the broadcast so far, I'd done my best to prove how smart I was and that I had the skills to write Song of the Sword and everything else. No blank stares or fumbling with the novel—that would've been disastrous. I was still a hot topic: Can a kid really write books like that? Yes or no? Proving it definitively was tough and exhausting. People only believed what they saw with their own eyes. Plenty dismissed media as fake. But keep showing up, keep proving it over time, and eventually they'd come around. The upsides of more exposure outweighed the downsides. That's why retired athletes and celebs from my old world jumped on TV—they knew the perks.
"Sora, time for lunch~"
"Okay."
Mom and Dad had watched me filming with pleased smiles. They'd done interviews too, in another room so I couldn't hear. But it'd air later, so I'd see what they said. I could guess anyway—their takes on me were set in stone.
I enjoyed the delicious meal Mom made. After lunch ended, the staff returned. I had no intention of just lounging at home on camera. There were other ways to show I was a genius. They'd already seemed convinced from what I'd shown—perfectly fitting the prodigy image.
I packed my bag and got ready to head out.
Seeing that, the PD asked,
"Where you off to, Sora?"
"Oh, to the library."
"The library?"
"Yes!"
I flashed a big smile. This wasn't staged. Since coming to this world, I'd practically lived at the library. It was stuffed with books I'd never seen back home. And they were all free! No charge just to read there.