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The time was just before the airing of Episode 2 of “You Who Came From the Stars.”

<‘You Who Came From the Stars’ achieved a viewership rating of over 20%!>

[UBS’s ‘You Who Came From the Stars’ captivates viewers right from its premiere.]

[Top star duo Yoo Seong-ah and Ha Yoon-seong completely dominate MBS’s ‘Face Queen.’]

‘…It’s still the same, after all.’

Before Ha-eun’s eyes were articles regarding Episode 1 of “You Who Came From the Stars.”

However, even after seeing all those countless articles, Ha-eun was not too surprised or flustered.

Well, she had already known for quite a while that “You Who Came From the Stars” would be a hugely successful drama.

For Ha-eun, these articles were just a feeling of events that were bound to happen.

This wasn’t entirely unrelated to the fact that Ha-eun had not appeared in Episode 1.

In other words, she regarded the articles from Episode 1 as separate from her.

However, as soon as Episode 1 ended, the trailer for Episode 2 aired.

In the pre-released teaser, Ha-eun’s appearance in a hanbok, which had become a topic of discussion, made its debut.

The scenes from the past that Yoo Seong-ah had referred to as Ha-eun’s solo stage.

That is, she had no choice but to care about the public’s reaction to the trailer that announced the start of the flashback episodes from Episode 2 to Episode 5.

Thus, from Thursday morning, the day after the Episode 2 trailer aired, Ha-eun started watching her classmates’ reactions.

She could sense that the interest in Ha-eun was gradually increasing amid the stories about the young Han Yu-hwa that often floated around.

Up until that point, she had simply planned to accept the interest directed toward her without any particular rejection.

Then, sometimes unable to contain their curiosity, some kids would come to Ha-eun and she had more than enough stories about the drama shoot to share.

“Hey, you’re Lee Ha-eun, right? I have a question, just a second—”

“Hey, you guys! Don’t you know it’s a one-point penalty for coming from another class?”

That was why she still didn’t understand why Min Da-yeon harshly chased away the kids who came to find Ha-eun.

She just thought it was the usual Min Da-yeon’s temper or a minor irritation.

That’s why she intentionally asked Min Da-yeon to watch “You Who Came From the Stars” from Ha-eun’s side.

If Min Da-yeon was the one she knew, there was a possibility that her pride would prevent her from watching “You Who Came From the Stars.”

Although other kids didn’t matter, she absolutely wanted to show her performance to Min Da-yeon, who had competed with Ha-eun for the role of young Han Yu-hwa in the past.

Either way, Min Da-yeon was the only one who really knew what Ha-eun had prepared for the last four years.

“I worked hard, so please make sure to watch it live, senior.”

“…!…!!”

Just as expected, the moment those three words, “senior,” escaped Min Da-yeon’s lips, her shoulders and nose seemed to rise toward the sky.

Since Ha-eun had already made up a good excuse by asking for the favor first, it could be said that the chances of Min Da-yeon not watching “You Who Came From the Stars” were slim.

Thus, as time flowed, and eventually, when Episode 2 of “You Who Came From the Stars” began airing.

After watching the entire Episode 2 together with Na-yeon.

As soon as the trailer for Episode 3 started airing, she received a call from Yoo Seong-ah.

[It feels good to see the nagging paid off. Of course, I’ll have to keep watching going forward, but, well. The look of the young doppelgänger was definitely not it. I’m looking forward to next week.]

Even when she heard such sincere compliments, she had been so absorbed in the fact that “You Who Came From the Stars” had started sailing smoothly without any particular issues.

As always, she logged into the streaming service and continued watching until just before going to sleep.

Then, waking up at her usual time, she headed to school with light steps.

Thus, without truly grasping the magnitude of a drama garnering a viewership rating over 20% since the first episode.

Ha-eun was only thinking about whether Dabba, whom she would meet in the afternoon during singing class, had watched “You Who Came From the Stars.”

“Hey, Ha-eun. Can you step outside for a moment?”

“Uh? Why?”

“Oh, well… it’s just that my friends want to meet you.”

Taking advantage of Min Da-yeon’s brief absence, a girl from the same class brought Ha-eun outside the classroom.

Specifically, just a few seconds after that, she finally faced them.

– Wow, she’s really pretty….

– It’s the first time I’m seeing a celebrity.

– I wonder if she’ll grant us an autograph?

– I really want to hold her hand.

Because a tremendous crowd had filled the corridor in front of Ha-eun’s classroom, even climbing up the stairs leading to the upper floor.

‘…This is bad.’

Ha-eun finally realized how dangerous it was to accept all the attention heading her way without omission.

It was a completely different sight than when they had just stolen glances and whispered quietly about her.

To be precise, if Ha-eun wanted to push through the massive crowd right in front of her, she could surely do it.

However, if somehow, in the process of forcibly squeezing through the kids, someone got hurt…

[Child actor ‘Lee Ha-eun’ school violence controversy, warning signs for the future of "You Who Came From the Stars."]

There would undoubtedly be many issues cropping up, both big and small.

And if she continued to stand there among the throngs of people, without a doubt, other types of trouble would arise soon.

‘What should I do… really….’

As the crowd of kids drew closer toward Ha-eun, she broke into a cold sweat, feeling flustered.

Just at that moment, as the sound of a ding rang out, someone began recording Ha-eun’s flustered appearance on video.

-Ploof.

A pure white hand suddenly popped out from among the kids, yanking Ha-eun away.

“Run, you fool!”

‘…Min Da-yeon?’

And just like that, Min Da-yeon led Ha-eun away in an instant through the crowd, ultimately bringing her into a café near the school.

It felt as if Ha-eun had been kidnapped by a demon lord only to be rescued by a hero.

However, the act Min Da-yeon had just performed was, to put it bluntly, akin to leaving school without permission.

Asking Min Da-yeon if this was really okay, she replied.

“Is that the problem right now? Lee Ha-eun, you were really about to get in big trouble!”

Ha-eun was left speechless by Min Da-yeon’s unfiltered concern for her.

Continuing with sharp yet playful remarks unique to Min Da-yeon, which were anything but gentle.

The tone was so tense that anyone hearing it would mistake it for a fight between Min Da-yeon and Ha-eun.

Yet somehow, for some time now, Ha-eun had only quietly listened to Min Da-yeon.

“When all the kids go home, then we’ll go get your bag together.”

“…Okay.”

This was because there hadn’t been a single word that Min Da-yeon had said to Ha-eun that could harm her.

In truth, Min Da-yeon was frustrated to the point of bursting at Ha-eun’s obliviousness regarding her celebrity status.

‘…So this is what they meant when they said you’d never be free once you started listening.’

Gradually, Ha-eun began to realize why Min Da-yeon had chased away the kids who came to find her.

Regardless of Min Da-yeon’s intentions, one thing remained unchanged: she had helped Ha-eun.

Afterward, for a while, Ha-eun silently gazed at Min Da-yeon, pondering if this was what they called a tsundere moment.

As if sensing this thought, Min Da-yeon spoke up sharply once again.

“What are you staring at, you fool?”

There was not even a trace of sweetness in that remark, though it was as if she was a pufferfish all puffed up with spikes.

Yet, this situation where she found herself saved unilaterally by Min Da-yeon was fresh and amusing for Ha-eun.

“No, it’s just that you really are a senior. I learned a lot.”

She let out a genuine laugh rather than feigning one and expressed her relief that Min Da-yeon was there.

At this, Min Da-yeon’s ears instantly turned red.

“You, that term ‘senior’… were you trying to tease me?”

When the question emerged, half in doubt and half in certainty, Ha-eun averted her gaze and chose to remain silent.

As a result, even if Min Da-yeon’s suspicion transformed into certainty, she merely shot a fierce glare in Ha-eun’s direction.

“Alright, alright. You both must be hungry, so let’s drink something first.”

That moment was swiftly silenced by Kim Jin-soo, Min Da-yeon’s manager, who returned to their table with strawberry lattes and mango-flavored aides.

Afterward, Ha-eun finally asked Min Da-yeon the question she had been most eager to know.

“How was Episode 2 of ‘You Who Came From the Stars’?”

“It was fun… it wasn’t unwatchable or anything.”

To be honest, Ha-eun was not particularly concerned about Min Da-yeon’s evaluation.

No matter how harsh Min Da-yeon’s critique was, it wouldn’t change the fact that it had been Ha-eun’s best.

However, the most significant scene that Ha-eun had given her all to featured in Episode 5, which would air the following Wednesday, coincidentally her birthday.

Since it was winter break anyway, she thought of spending a slightly more unique birthday.

Thus, she opened her mouth.

“Can you let me stay over next Wednesday, Da-yeon?”

“What… what did you say?!”

“Why are you so surprised? You stayed over last time, didn’t you?”

“That, well, that’s true… but. Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s something I’ve really wanted to try; sleeping over at a friend’s house.”

Ha-eun requested a day of Min Da-yeon for her 12th birthday.

Of course, she did not get an immediate affirmative response, but she also never heard a no in return.

As time flowed and finally came the day Episode 5 of “You Who Came From the Stars” aired.

Coincidentally, it was the day of Ha-eun’s 12th birthday.

-Ding dong~.

Ha-eun’s index finger could press down not on her own doorbell, but on Min Da-yeon’s.

*

“Shuran! The 5th episode is about to start, but what are you doing in your room—”

“I can’t watch it.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“It ended with the soldiers chasing them in Episode 4. If anything happens to even one of them, I’ll really lose it, sis.”

“Come on, they’re the leads. There’s no way they’ll die, right? They’ll likely escape just in time.”

“I wish that were the case… but I’ve got a bad feeling.”

Then, Shuran’s sister, Li Wei, heard her gloomy voice whispering that if anything happened to one of the two leads, she would blow up the UBS broadcasting forum.

Up until that moment, Li Wei thought Shuran was just talking.

The many people who had just barely caught whispers similar to what Li Wei had just heard had also regarded what their daughter, sister, or friend had said as just idle chatter without deeper implications.

While it cannot be denied that “You Who Came From the Stars” was enjoying explosive popularity,

No matter how one considered it, it was still a fictional story, with fictional characters.

Who could really take it that seriously? They were listening with half an ear and letting it go through the other.