Chapter 57

57. Not Wanting to Lose

"Hey, Jinhyuk, aren't you tired of this yet?"

Jinhyuk's manager, Kim Yongsoo, said, sticking out his tongue.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean? I'm talking about that. Studying."

During the long waiting times on set, Jinhyuk never put down his book, even in the car.

"Hey, with your looks and acting talent, don't you think you should just focus on acting?"

"I've already practiced acting."

Kim Yongsoo's gaze fell on Jinhyuk's script, which was worn out from use.

He was a stubborn guy.

How can I compete with a genius who works this hard? This is completely unfair.

The young actors from High School 2, who were Jinhyuk's colleagues and competitors, needed to see this quickly.

Then they would realize, 'Oh, I'm wasting my energy on pointless competition.' Then they could give up the competition and focus on their own paths.

"Jinhyuk, do you not sleep?"

"I do. I sleep very well. Deeply."

"Of course. If you live like this while you're awake, you must sleep like a log. If only you had time to sleep."

Kim Yongsoo shook his head and asked.

"Jinhyuk, why do you study so hard?"

"Midterms are coming up soon."

"No, that's not what I mean. There's no guarantee in this industry, but from what I can see, you have a smooth road ahead. That's my feeling."

Anyone would have felt the same, but Kim Yongsoo also had a gut feeling after seeing Jinhyuk's performance at the script reading. The birth of a star.

Jinhyuk would get countless opportunities just with his looks, but after the script reading, it became clear that this genius didn't need many opportunities.

"If it's for college, just getting a major role in High School 2 would be enough. You could get into any acting department you want. Why do you study so hard?"

Jinhyuk took his eyes off the book and looked at Kim Yongsoo.

"Brother, what do you think is the best university in Korea?"

"The best university? Hey, that's not a matter of opinion. It's definitely 'Korea University.'"

"There's no acting department there."

"Huh?"

Kim Yongsoo's eyes widened.

"You want to go to Korea University? Why, specifically?"

"If you want to go to the best school, you could aim for the best acting department, like Korea National University of Arts."

If asked why, Jinhyuk had only one answer.

"I want to go to Korea University."

"Oh. You want to go. That's the reason."

"Yes."

Kim Yongsoo looked bewildered, but Jinhyuk didn't feel the need to give any other reason.

If he wants to go, why does he need any other reason? This was the way Jinhyuk chose to live in his second life.

If he had to find a reason, it was because in his previous life, the young Jinhyuk wanted to go to Korea University.

He thought it would be a way to avoid being ignored in the world and to take revenge on those who had bullied him.

A middle school student's somewhat naive thought that going to Korea University would lead to a smooth life.

"Hey, but you can't just go to Korea University because you want to. Jinhyuk, are you good at studying? What rank are you?"

"Well, I'm first, more or less."

"More or less first in the class?"

"No, in the entire school."

Kim Yongsoo's mouth dropped open.

This kid is a complete genius!

"Wow, Jinhyuk, you really... "

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, but I need to study a bit."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I talked too much."

Jinhyuk smiled and turned his gaze back to the book.

***

"Jinhyuk, it's time to go."

After a long wait, it was finally Jinhyuk's turn to shoot.

The scene was set in the evening, but the shooting time was already late at night. The April night was still quite chilly.

"Ah, it's quite cold. What do we do about the rain? Let's try to do it without any NGs, Jinhyuk."

This was Jinhyuk's first appearance in the drama. The scene involved rain, so the crew was busy preparing.

The female lead, An Yena, approached Jinhyuk.

"Want some?"

An Yena offered Jinhyuk a chocolate.

"It's cold, and you have to stand in the rain. You can't let your sugar levels drop."

"No."

Jinhyuk glanced at An Yena and said calmly.

"It's a serious scene."

"..."

"Eating chocolate would make me feel good, and I can't do that."

Someone had said that on the train.

"Ha. What's that?"

"..."

An Yena, who had been smiling, looked at the chocolate she had bitten, seeing Jinhyuk's serious expression.

"Is that so?"

An Yena wrapped the chocolate back up and stuffed it into her jacket pocket.

"Okay, everyone, get the water truck ready! We're starting the shoot."

Jinhyuk and Yena moved to their positions for the shoot.

The water truck soon started spraying a refreshing shower.

In the evening, with a sudden downpour, the female lead, Kim Arin (played by An Yena), paused as she came out of the convenience store and looked at a certain spot.

Her gaze fell on a man walking slowly in the rain.

'What's wrong? Did he just get dumped?'

Kim Arin looked at the man with a sympathetic gaze.

The man walking in the rain was Jin Sejin (played by Woo Jinhyuk). This was the scene where the female lead, Kim Arin, and Jin Sejin first meet.

Kim Arin's eyes followed Jin Sejin. He suddenly stopped and looked in her direction.

Kim Arin was startled and averted her gaze.

At that moment, Jin Sejin walked briskly toward the convenience store. His shadow fell on Kim Arin.

The shadow remained still, standing in front of Kim Arin.

'Ah, what's this? I just glanced at him.'

Kim Arin raised her head and looked at the man standing in front of her. When their eyes met,

"Ah!"

With a soft gasp, Kim Arin's eyes widened and she froze.

It wasn't because the man had suddenly come close. It was because his appearance was so unreal.

The man's face, drenched in rain,

was as pale as a statue.

His deeply sad eyes

seemed to be more than just the rain on his face.

Thud.

Kim Arin felt something fall in her heart.

"..."

Jin Sejin (Woo Jinhyuk) glanced at Kim Arin's (An Yena) school uniform and said casually.

"Can you move a bit?"

Kim Arin, as if a spell had been broken, gasped and moved to the left side of the entrance. Jin Sejin walked briskly into the convenience store.

As Kim Arin stood there, dazed, looking at Jin Sejin's back,

"Cut!"

PD Jung Dooil's cut signal echoed loudly on the set.

"Wow! That was great! Jinhyuk, you were amazing! Yena, your facial acting was excellent!"

The PD praised them with a very satisfied look, but An Yena didn't respond. She just stood there, dazed, in front of the convenience store.

"Yena, use this to dry off a bit."

"Uh? Oh."

It was only when her manager handed her a towel that she snapped out of it.

"Yena, your facial acting was amazing. It seems like you've had an awakening since taking the lead role. Haha."

No.

The expression she had on her face

was not acting.

When she saw Jinhyuk's wet, sad eyes, her body had frozen in a real shiver.

What emotion could she describe this as?

Something stirring in An Yena's heart for the first time in a long time, or perhaps for the first time ever.

The words that had always described An Yena:

Lazy genius.

Everyone who knew her said that, and it was true. Life had been easy for An Yena.

Her pretty looks had always drawn attention since she was young, and she always ranked high in academics without much effort. Her family was also wealthy, so she had no lack of anything.

She passed an audition at a talent agency on a whim, while her friend who went with her didn't. She was naturally talented in singing and dancing, and could memorize choreography after just a few practices. Her training period wasn't long.

After debuting, she quickly became a top-tier girl group in just two years.

As the ace of a girl group that supported a mid-sized agency, she received excellent treatment, and with just one drama appearance, she landed the lead role in High School 2.

Was she happy and excited about life? Not at all. An Yena was bored. She felt a sense of apathy.

Of course, she still had many achievements to reach. There were a few girl groups at the top, and as an actress, there were many Korean wave stars she couldn't match.

But for a 20-year-old An Yena who had easily enjoyed things that others might struggle to achieve in a lifetime, there was no drive to aim for higher goals.

It was all just meaningless. Everything in the world that could be easily obtained.

When everyone was burning with enthusiasm for her role in High School 2, An Yena felt drained and found everything tedious.

No matter how much she tried to muster enthusiasm, it just wouldn't come. She was in a slump that no one knew about.

But then.

When she saw Jinhyuk's deep, dark, and sad eyes looking at her,

the intense, drenched eyes that seemed to encapsulate all the narrative of the character Jin Sejin,

a huge shock hit An Yena's heart, waking her from her mental slumber.

Thud. The feeling in her heart,

was not just the emotion of falling in love at first sight.

An Yena was now seeing the true nature of the strange feeling she had felt when she first saw Woo Jinhyuk's acting at the script reading.

The desire not to lose,

a competitive spirit she had never felt before, was now vividly present in her heart.

**

"Jinhyuk, I forgot to ask you something."

Do Minwoo looked at Jinhyuk with a fairly serious expression.

"What is it?"

"Is An Yena pretty?"

"..."

Forgot? He asked the same question when Jinhyuk came back from the script reading.

"I don't know."

Objectively, she is pretty. But would Do Minwoo, who always sees Ye Se-rin and Min Seo-yeon, find An Yena that pretty?

"Then what about Jung Haneul?"

Even less so.

"Really, I'm curious. What does she look like in real life...?"

"..."

"I'm curious about what she looks like in real life...?"

This guy. He didn't forget.

Jinhyuk smiled and said to Do Minwoo.

"Do you want to come to the shoot?"

"Really?!"

Do Minwoo smiled brightly, like a believer receiving divine grace.

"Can I just watch from the side?"

"Jinhyuk! Friendship is... "

Do Minwoo finally shouted in triumph.

"Beautiful!"

"What's so beautiful about it?"

"Mom!"

Kim Minyoung, who had approached, looked at Do Minwoo suspiciously.

"What? What's so beautiful?"

"Oh, well, you see."

Do Minwoo didn't know why he was flustered, but he was.

"The world!"

"What?"

"The world is a beautiful place!"

"What are you talking about, Jinhyuk?"

Kim Minyoung looked at Woo Jinhyuk, but Jinhyuk could only shake his head.

Do Minwoo quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, Jinhyuk, when is the first episode of High School 2 airing?"

"After midterms, the following Monday."

"Perfect!"

"What is?"

Do Minwoo smiled.

"Well, the exams will be over. Let's all gather and watch the first episode together."

Do Minwoo looked at Kim Minyoung.

"Minyoung, can you come then?"

"Uh, well, since the exams will be over... "

"No."

Jinhyuk said.

"I have to watch the first episode with my parents. Sorry."

"Oh."

Do Minwoo nodded, as if he had forgotten.

"Look at me. Of course, I should. Then the next day. We can watch the second episode on Tuesday! Is that okay?"

"That day I don't have a shoot in the evening. It's fine."

Jinhyuk nodded, and Kim Minyoung also nodded.

"Then I'll ask Seo-yeon and Young-jun, and we'll set the time and place. Hehe. I'm looking forward to it. I'm really looking forward to it."

***

Spring in high school is fast.

It seemed like just yesterday that school started, but with the new timetable, subjects, friends, and teachers, the midterms were already here.

Rustle. Rustle.

Ding dong dong—

"Okay, collect the answer sheets."

"Ah! I failed."

For Jinhyuk, who had been busy with drama shooting in the new semester, it was even more so.

"Then we'll watch the first episode at Young-jun's house on Tuesday next week at 9 PM?"

"Sure. I'll order chicken and samgyeopsal."

"Wow—!"

"Okay, then!"

Do Minwoo looked at his friends with an excited expression.

"Let's make a bet on the ratings!"

"A bet?"

"Just for fun, for fun. By the way, the first episode's ratings were around 9%, and the final episode's highest rating was around 15%."

A Monday and Tuesday drama, especially a school drama targeting teenagers and young adults, with a decent rating.

The true power of High School lay in its huge impact abroad, but even just looking at domestic ratings, it was a good number.

A rare success in school dramas, and of course, it led to the production of a sequel.

"So, what do you think the first episode will start at?"

Do Minwoo looked at his friends with sparkling eyes. Jinhyuk looked at Minwoo and smiled.

He said it was just for fun.

This guy is burning with competitive spirit over something trivial.

But Jinhyuk's eyes also sparkled, knowing that losing something trivial wouldn't feel good.