Chapter Twenty-Eight: A New Script.

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After Kim Min-jeong started school, Myung-eon's life seemed to fall back into its old rhythm almost overnight.

S.M. had not yet informed them when training would begin, so for the time being, the little one focused mainly on school.

If there was any change, it was that he had to get up early to prepare breakfast for Kim Min-jeong, along with a packed lunch for school. The food in Korean school cafeterias had never been anything special.

“Uncle, it’s almost time.”

Kim Min-jeong actually wanted to tell Myung-eon that he did not need to get up so early. Given his culinary skills, something he made himself would most likely be inferior to simply buying something to eat.

But when she saw how enthusiastic he looked, she swallowed the words.

If he wanted to cook, then let him cook. Food was food, and people did not die from eating it. She could just think of it as indulging an adult.

Besides, Kim Min-jeong would share the lunch she brought to school with Kim Chae-won, and that friend ate fairly well.

“Wait a moment. Someone’s coming to pick us up.” Myung-eon was going to shoot some new advertising material later, so he had asked Jung Won-yong to come here first, drop Kim Min-jeong off at school, and then take him to the filming location.

Kim Min-jeong checked the time. “Uncle, if you have something to do today, I can take the subway to school by myself.”

She rather wanted to enjoy a little freedom. For instance, after school, she could eat at a street stall with her new friends.

When she was with Myung-eon, she felt too embarrassed to bring it up. It would seem childish, and she was far more at ease with her peers.

“It’s fine. Being picked up by my manager is no different from driving myself.”

Myung-eon gave a huge yawn.

He still was not used to getting up early, though he had indeed become much healthier lately.

“Your manager… All right, then.”

Kim Min-jeong was fascinated by the arrangements usually available only to entertainers who had debuted. Sometimes, the little one nearly forgot that her own uncle was a successful actor.

Indeed, distance made the heart grow fonder.

Jung Won-yong was not surprised to see Myung-eon bring a little girl into the car.

As the actor’s close aide and good friend, he had known for some time that Kim Min-jeong had come to Seoul. They simply had not met before.

So the moment they met, Jung Won-yong greeted her with a broad smile.

“Hello, Min-jeong.”

Kim Min-jeong glanced at Myung-eon in confusion.

“Min-jeong, this is Uncle Won-yong, my manager.”

“Hello, Uncle Won-yong.”

Kim Min-jeong obediently greeted him, though most of her attention was fixed on the van. It would be incredibly impressive to go to school in a vehicle like this.

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Even at Hanlim Arts High School, such treatment was uncommon. Only entertainers who had already debuted occasionally went to school in a van.

Jung Won-yong wore an expression of profound suffering. “Myung-eon, I’m not old enough to be called Uncle yet, am I?”

“I have to call you hyung. What’s wrong with Min-jeong calling you Uncle?”

Myung-eon paid no attention to his friend’s pointless whining. The man was already nearly thirty. Being called Uncle was perfectly normal.

“All right, all right. Min-jeong, sit tight.” Unable to outargue Myung-eon, Jung Won-yong changed the subject. “Myung-eon, after we finish shooting the advertisement, we need to stop by the company and discuss the new script.”

“What’s wrong with the new script?”

“Screenwriter Im Sang-choon and Director Kim Na-jung said they want to pay you a visit. They’re inviting you to take the lead in this drama.”

“Wait. Let me make sure I heard correctly. Is this the script Teacher mentioned?”

Myung-eon almost wondered whether he had misheard. Kim Eun-sook had thought highly of the script, but why were the director and screenwriter coming to him personally? His name had certainly become more prominent recently, but surely not to that extent.

Jung Won-yong nodded.

Myung-eon shook his head without saying anything. He would know once he went to see them that afternoon.

“Uncle, if you’re busy, you don’t need to come pick me up tonight,” Kim Min-jeong suddenly said.

“Can you manage on your own?”

“I’m almost sixteen.”

The little one’s birthday was approaching. She had only about two months left before turning sixteen.

That was by international age. By the Korean system of counting age, Kim Min-jeong was already a seventeen-year-old young lady.

Myung-eon thought about it and realized she had a point. “Do you have enough money on you? I can give you some more cash.”

Money gave people courage. Having only just arrived, Kim Min-jeong would need money for practically anything she wanted to do. He had even taught his niece to buy drinks for her classmates, since that would help her fit in more quickly.

But Kim Min-jeong clearly had plans of her own.

“I have enough.” Kim Min-jeong adjusted her schoolbag. “Uncle Won-yong, you can let me off up ahead. Thank you for bringing me today.”

Myung-eon watched helplessly as the little one hopped out of the car. She was becoming livelier by the day.

“Min-jeong has better manners than you,” Jung Won-yong said mournfully.

“She’s my niece. And besides, Won-yong hyung, I was very polite back then too.”

“Were you?”

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“Hey!”

After arriving at the company, Myung-eon went straight to see Kim Eun-sook. He also needed to tell her in advance about what Jo In-sung had mentioned.

“My dear teacher, I really have you to thank for helping Min-jeong get into school.”

The moment they met, Myung-eon gave Kim Eun-sook a big hug. It was one of the ways the teacher and student greeted each other.

“Oh, enough already. You’re quite something.”

Kim Eun-sook was fond of this sort of thing. Her own child was studying abroad and rarely came home, so she sincerely regarded Myung-eon as a younger member of the family.

“Teacher, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

Myung-eon explained that Jo In-sung had invited him to meet Han Jae-rim. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”

Kim Eun-sook pondered for a moment. “I’ve met Director Han several times as well. There shouldn’t be any problem with his project.”

Television and film belonged to two separate circles, and finding a point of entry when trying to cross from one to the other was no easy matter.

That boy really did seem to have luck on his side. Not everyone who made a drama could become brothers with Jo In-sung.

“Then should I give it a try?”

“You had already made up your mind, hadn’t you?”

“Teacher, you were the one who brought me into this industry. Of course I had to ask for your opinion first.”

Some things produced entirely different results depending on how they were expressed.

If Myung-eon had not explained himself, his teacher might easily have drawn the wrong conclusions.

“By the way, go meet Screenwriter Im Sang-choon and Director Kim Na-jung later.” Kim Eun-sook smiled. “This script is very suitable for your first leading role.”

“Why?”

Myung-eon’s curiosity surged.

It was rare to see such a smile on his teacher’s face.

When Kim Eun-sook put it that way, it essentially meant the role was settled.

“You’ll understand once you meet them.”

Only after Myung-eon met the screenwriter and director did he understand why Kim Eun-sook had said that.

“Wait. Who did you say you found for the female lead?”

“Kim Ji-won.”