***
It was 7:30 in the morning when I woke up in the Jimjilbang[3].
I had a nightmare that all of this was just a dream and quickly pinched my cheek just to be sure this was real.
"Ouch."
'It hurts, so it's definitely not a dream.'
I quickly took a shower and left the Jimjilbang at almost 8 AM. When I called home, Yoo-Jin picked up the phone.
"Are you up?"
-Yes.
"Then do you want to come out? I'm almost home. We should grab something to eat."
-Oppa, Miso and I already made breakfast! You can just come home and eat.
After parking my car in the alley, I walked to my studio apartment. But when I opened the door, I was at a loss for words.
'What is this?'
My room was sparkling clean.
There was not a trace of dust in my 330-square-foot studio apartment, and the morning rays were shining into my room through the drawn curtains.
'Just yesterday, all I could see through the window was piled up snow on the deck. I can't believe I'm looking at this amazing view right now.'
"Oppa, you rarely sleep at home, do you? Your place was quite clean in the first place, but Miso and I love to clean, so we did some tidying up."
"Uncle Yoon-Ho. I also helped with the cleaning!"
Miso raised her hand with a Powertuff Girls sticker on her fist.
'Aw. This is so touching.'
"I wish I could do more to show my appreciation for you saving Miso, but this is all I could do. Thank you so much, oppa."
"Thank you, Uncle Yoon-Ho!"
'I should be the one thanking you for being alive—and smiling so brightly at me.'
"Ah, no. Don't mention it."
Thanks to both of them, I felt as though the heavy weight on my shoulders had been completely lifted.
"Alright, let's sit down before the food gets cold."
"Uncle Yoon-Ho, sit here!"
Miso pointed to a spot and led me to my seat. As I sat down at the low table, I could see three fried eggs and kimchi jjigae[4].
'But there was only dried green onions and old kimchi in the fridge as far as I know. How did they manage to make all these?'
Come to think of it, it seemed like my poor eating habits were the root cause of my stomach cancer in my past life.
'I should pay more attention to my eating habits from now on.'
"Okay. Shall we eat then?"
Slurp.
'Huh? It's actually delicious.'
I shared my honest feedback with Yoo-Jin, who was anxiously waiting for my review of her cooking.
"It's delicious. It's actually really good."
It was surprising that she managed to make a delicious meal with so few ingredients.
"Yay!"
Yoo-Jin fist-pumped, exclaiming that her skills learned from working part-time at a restaurant for a year were not lost.
"But how did you make this? The fridge must have been empty."
"It's a secret!"
Yoo-Jin and Miso looked at each other and giggled.
At that moment, I saw a packet of MSG peeking out of Yoo-Jin's pocket.
'So that was the secret? Ah, who cares as long as it tastes good.'
Come to think of it, this was the first time someone had a meal with me in my apartment. Looking at Yoo-Jin and Miso's happy faces, I couldn't help but smile as well.
After I scooped a large spoonful of rice for myself, Yoo-Jin and Miso picked up their spoons and joined me.
'Thanks guys.'
I felt as if the void in my heart was being filled.
***
After finishing the meal, I handed Yoo-Jin the script sent by Lee Ji-Yeon.
Yoo-Jin's lines in the revised script for the Morning Takes Off from episode 23 onward had increased so much that it almost entirely replaced the lines of another actress.
"Wow. She really made a lot of changes."
"I told you. Lee Ji-Yeon has taken a liking to you."
Yoo-Jin seemed excited and let out a huge grin.
However, considering that Lee Ji-Yeon had made significant revisions to the script just for Yoo-Jin, making a mistake on set this time round would be a big deal compared to the first day.
'If Yoo-Jin were to make a mistake, Lee Ji-Yeon might not just choose to fire her but also refuse to ever see her again.'
But I didn't want to scare Yoo-Jin who was just starting her career.
At that moment, Miso, who had been looking at the script, slightly raised her head and asked.
"Auntie! Are you good at acting?"
Yoo-Jin tilted her head at Miso's innocent question.
"Hmm? I don't know if I'm good or not, but people tell me I'm good."
"Hehe. I want to see auntie on TV soon."
"It will be broadcast in a few days. Shall we watch it together while eating something delicious?"
"Yes!"
Both Miso and Yoo-Jin smiled brightly at each other.
For a moment, I felt like I had to tell Yoo-Jin that I had already known that Miso was registered as her daughter and prepare her for the articles regarding this that might be published soon.
However, practicing the script was the priority at the moment.
"Alright. Let's go over the script now since we don't have much time."
"Okay~."
After seating Miso on the bed, I started to help Yoo-Jin practice the revised script of the Morning Takes Off.
"Shall we start off nice and easy from scene 291 of the revised script? Just express what you felt from reading the script. It's okay to make mistakes, so don't feel pressured."
"Hm. Okay."
The moment Yoo-JIn began to act out the revised script, I could tell her excellent performance in front of Lee Ji-Yeon was no simple coincidence.
'Whoa. Who is this?'
『You thought I didn't know about the things you've done? Even if my friend forgives you, I would never!』
『I'm going to get you! I will destroy you!』
Yoo-Jin read her lines with intense emotion, expressing the heartfelt feelings of a character who cherished the female lead, her childhood friend, like no other. Tears streamed down her big eyes as if she had applied eye drops, and she began to tremble with a pale expression.
I couldn't take my eyes off Yoo-Jin.
'Her performance was just remarkable. This was amazing.'
Her voice projection was stable and her diction was clear. On top of that, her various facial expressions clearly conveyed her emotions.
She was so immersed in her acting that she didn't realize it herself, but her acting skills were already comparable to that of a lead actress.
This meant that I had to review Yoo-Jin's career plan.
'This kid. Her talent is no joke. No wonder she became a top star in the future.'
Her performance was so good that I even started to doubt whether her true acting talent had been unrecognized because of her acting coach.
'Now that I think about it, Coach Choi Hyun-Min gave her a harsh evaluation. Wait a minute. Didn't he also graduate from Suhyaejong?'
At that moment, a hypothesis crossed my mind.
'Occam's razor—the simplest explanation could be the correct one!'
I felt chills running down my spine for a moment.
'Could it be that he knew about Yoo-Jin's talent all along from the beginning and tried to disrupt her career?