Chapter 90

90. Genius Has a Plan

– I thought he was just good-looking, but he’s actually a genius.

└ An actor who’s 0.1% in studies and 0.001% in looks.

– Even if you made a manga character like this, they’d get flak.

– I’ll apologize for suspecting you of being a quiz king, so let’s say the grades were a lie 😭

– With that face, that acting, and being in the top 0.1% nationally, he sings and raps so well but doesn’t become a singer….

└ I want to hear Jinhyuk sing 😭

– It’s like in baseball, winning 10 games as a pitcher in the KBO while hitting 40 home runs as a batter. It’s unbelievable.

└ Why baseball all of a sudden?

└ If you ask me, I’d rather have Jinhyuk than a 10-win, 40-home run player. 100% Jinhyuk. It’s incomparable. Unless it’s the MLB.

– Dad! Mom! I’m sorry!

└ Let’s not overdo it. Honestly, Mom and Dad, you’re not entirely blameless.

The controversy over "Challenge, High School Quiz King" being rigged was completely swept away by the storm of Jinhyuk’s grades being revealed.

Instead, another storm was brewing.

– Actor Woo Jinhyuk, who revealed his top 0.1% national grades, aims for the business school at Korea University.

– Korea University, be prepared. Hong Gil-dong Woo Jinhyuk publicly declares his intention to apply to the business school at Korea University.

Jinhyuk went beyond a frontal assault and outright declared war.

The internet, which was already boiling, exploded,

and now Jinhyuk’s college entrance exam became a matter of national interest.

“Jinhyuk, is this really okay?”

Manager Kim Yong-soo asked with a worried expression.

He was the one who suggested the frontal assault.

But he had also underestimated the weight of grades in Korea.

Jinhyuk, who was already the hottest thing recently, was now burning even hotter with the revelation of his grades.

By declaring his goal as the business school at Korea University, he was pouring oil on the fire.

“Didn’t you suggest the frontal assault?”

“No, it’s not just the frontal assault… Your college entrance exam has become the nation’s college entrance exam….”

Jinhyuk smiled.

“Even if I fail, it’s not like I’ve committed a sin. It’s good for a celebrity to be in the spotlight; there’s no need to be afraid.”

“Wow… I don’t know you, but you’re probably in the top 0.1% nationally with your strong heart.”

Kim Yong-soo shook his head.

“I would have peed my pants at the exam site if the whole nation was watching me.”

“Oh….”

Jinhyuk laughed playfully.

“That’s a good idea. It might be more sensational than me getting a perfect score on the college entrance exam.”

“Hey, kid. Even as a joke.”

Kim Yong-soo waved his hands.

“I thought that by publicly declaring my goal, I would feel more motivated and pressured to do better.”

“Hey, Jinhyuk. What more do you need to be motivated and pressured? I’ve never seen you slack off. I’m the one who’s worried. I’m afraid you might burn out.”

Jinhyuk had thought about it too.

With this new life, he could afford to be a bit more relaxed, but was he pushing himself too hard?

But Jinhyuk was having a lot of fun. If being this busy was too tiring, it would be a problem, but since he was enjoying it, it wasn’t.

He even enjoyed the fact that his college entrance exam was a matter of national interest.

Maybe it was because in his past life, he was always the top student but never got any attention, only punches.

Or maybe he was naturally the type who craved and enjoyed attention, but didn’t realize it.

Or maybe it was the nature of this body.

He didn’t know the reason, but what mattered was that the more attention he got, the more motivated he felt.

This was another piece of evidence that the path of being an entertainer, which he had chosen, was a good fit for him.

Anyway, Jinhyuk’s noisy life as a college-bound student in his new school year began.

**

“With a final score of 640 points, Woo Jinhyuk of Myeongseong High School’s third year has become the monthly quiz king of ‘Challenge, High School Quiz King’!”

The MC’s cheerful voice announced Jinhyuk’s victory.

As expected, the monthly competition, where the five weekly winners compete, was more intense than the weekly competition.

Jinhyuk, who had a 410-point lead over second place in the weekly competition, won the monthly competition with a mere 190-point lead over second place.

“The monthly quiz king, Woo Jinhyuk, has secured his first-semester tuition and a spot in the year-end championship!”

““Wow-!””

The students’ loud cheers echoed. They were incredibly lucky.

The audience seats for “Challenge, High School Quiz King” were always filled with students, and each school had a quota to fill.

But this time, the monthly quiz king’s audience tickets were so in demand that the website crashed, and only a few managed to secure a spot with a competition ratio of thousands to one.

“Gah!”

In a corner of the recording studio, a PD was trying to hold back tears.

Woo Jinhyuk is appearing again. Gah….

If there were no people around, the PD would have cried and cheered.

It was a thrilling rollercoaster.

After achieving a two-fold increase in ratings with Jinhyuk’s appearance, the show faced a sudden backlash due to the rigging controversy.

But then, the unexpected revelation of Jinhyuk’s grades turned the tables.

While Jinhyuk’s appearance had already garnered significant attention from teenagers, the revelation of his grades sparked interest from parents.

Naturally, teachers also became interested.

The scene from the 70s and 80s, where schools competed to send their top students to the show to enhance their reputation, was being recreated.

In the past, the production team had to beg high schools to recommend their top students.

Who could have imagined a day when students had to compete fiercely to appear on the show?

– Woo Jinhyuk! So cool! I want to appear too. Challenge, High School Quiz King.

└ Me too. But I failed the preliminaries.

└ Me too 😭

– I never knew being smart could be so cool.

The old-fashioned program “Challenge, High School Quiz King,” which was more popular among middle-aged and older viewers, became a trendy trend among teenagers.

The PDs heard from all around that appearing on “Challenge, High School Quiz King” was a dream for many teenagers.

“Hey, can my kid appear once?”

“Man, if my kid fails the preliminaries, they can’t appear.”

“Damn, can’t you get me an audience ticket through your connections? My kid is going crazy.”

“People are very sensitive now. If you do something personal at a time like this, you’ll be in trouble.”

The PD’s lips curled up as he rejected his friend’s request, which was made in jest.

‘Kid, you used to say you didn’t want to appear even if I asked. Huh.’

The PD took off his glasses. He wiped away the moistness in his eyes, which didn’t match his smile.

The stage, where the cleanup was in full swing, was noisy.

“Hey, hey, let’s take a group photo!”

“Let’s take a group photo and individual ones too.”

The audience was controlled, but the participants were allowed to take photos with each other.

The kids in the audience couldn’t leave, watching the stage enviously.

The participants who had taken photos with Jinhyuk were in a frenzy next to him.

“Let’s take a photo with me too.”

“Squeal!”

The female lead from High School 2, An Ye-na, who made a special appearance as a questioner, made the kids scream.

“Sister, you’re so beautiful.”

“I’m a big fan of you, sister.”

After another storm of excitement and the stage was being cleaned up, Jinhyuk said to An Ye-na.

“Senior, thank you.”

“No problem. You didn’t even ask me to come.”

“Still, thank you.”

An Ye-na smiled.

“You didn’t ask me, but I came because of you.”

“…”

“Hey, you invited Se-rin and Se-yeon but didn’t even tell me. I feel left out.”

An Ye-na was very busy due to the start of a new drama, even though the Rose Black album promotion had ended.

The production team invited her because of her symbolic value on “Challenge, High School Quiz King,”

but she came more out of friendship for Jinhyuk than for the show.

“Senior, you’re very busy with filming.”

“Even if I’m busy, I can spare some time if you ask. I need to see you sometimes.”

Jinhyuk smiled.

“Yes, I’ll let you know next time. And you can call me too.”

“Really?”

An Ye-na’s face lit up.

“You’re not just saying that? You’ll really invite me? And stop calling me senior. Call me sister. How long has it been since we last saw each other?”

It felt awkward. “Sister” was a word Jinhyuk had never used in his past life as a mercenary or in this life.

But,

“Yes, sister.”

It wasn’t a bad word.

An Ye-na’s eyes widened at being called “sister” by Jinhyuk, and then a happy smile spread across her face.

***

“Squeal!”

“Ah!”

A scream echoed through the KBC Education Division meeting room.

The monthly quiz king competition of “Challenge, High School Quiz King” aired yesterday.

Ratings: 10.1%

An unimaginable double-digit rating.

The staff hugged each other in excitement,

“Phew….”

The emotional PD wiped away tears.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Yes.”

A middle-aged woman entered the meeting room.

“Hello, Director.”

The team members, surprised by the sudden appearance of the director, stood up from their seats.

“Sit down, everyone. I came to congratulate you.”

An Suk-kyung, the first female director of the KBC Education Division, was a groundbreaking figure.

The director smiled warmly, but she was a straightforward and strong-willed person.

“What’s the point of just congratulating you with words?”

The director placed a card on the table.

“Eat as much beef as you want. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t eat enough.”

The director left before they could even finish thanking her.

“Yay!”

The “Challenge, High School Quiz King” team was in a frenzy.

***

“It’s chaos. It’s chaos.”

Lee Kwang-soo, the head of WP Entertainment, shook his head.

“Has there ever been a day without chaos lately?”

Jinhyuk’s “2012 Hong Gil-dong” caused chaos every episode, and with it, the CF offers were in chaos.

Most importantly, the requests for him to appear on variety shows were in chaos.

And now, the “Challenge, High School Quiz King” incident has caused even more chaos.

“It’s like a meticulously planned marketing strategy….”

He captured the 10-20s demographic with High School 2.

He captured the middle-aged and older viewers with Hong Gil-dong.

He became the top choice for parents with “Challenge, High School Quiz King.”

Most importantly, his actions, driven by his college entrance exam preparation, completely filled the nine-month gap.

No, it wasn’t just filled.

By declaring his intention to apply to the business school at Korea University, he turned the nation into real-time viewers of his college entrance exam until it was over.

The interest in Jinhyuk couldn’t be extinguished even if they wanted to.

If he had appeared on another famous variety show, it would have been a one-time topic.

But by appearing on an unbelievable variety show, he achieved this result….

“Jinhyuk, be honest. Did you expect all of this? Your insistence on appearing on ‘Challenge, High School Quiz King’ and your declaration to apply to the business school at Korea University.”

Jinhyuk, who had nothing to say, just smiled.

Lee Kwang-soo was certain.

This genius couldn’t have done all this without a plan.

‘Ha. Where will this kid end up?’

His looks and talent alone made him a cheat character.

But his ability to execute bold moves that even someone with 20 years of experience in the industry hadn’t seen was something else.

Is genius beyond experience?

“Anyway, as soon as the college entrance exam is over, we need to start the next project.”

Jinhyuk’s value had already skyrocketed with Hong Gil-dong, and this incident had pushed it even higher.

Naturally, the fans’ interest and expectations for his return project after the college entrance exam were beyond imagination.

Just the title “Woo Jinhyuk’s return project” would bring enormous promotional effects.

No broadcasting company could resist.

Add to that his proven ability to drive hits, and Jinhyuk was currently the top blue-chip in the broadcasting industry.

“Have you decided on a project, Jinhyuk?”

Lee Kwang-soo was genuinely curious about this genius’s next move.

Jinhyuk nodded.

He had already discussed his return project with his friend Do Min-woo, or Do Mun-yeo.

Swish.

Jinhyuk handed over a synopsis.

“Huh?”

Lee Kwang-soo looked at the synopsis and then at Jinhyuk.

The other staff members’ eyes widened.

“You’re going to do this?”

“Yes.”

After a moment of shock,

Lee Kwang-soo nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go with that.”

He didn’t ask for a reason.

If Jinhyuk made this decision, there must be a good reason.

As always,

Woo Jinhyuk, this genius, must have a plan.