Peninsula: I can steal the luck of disgraced celebrities

November in Seoul, KBS Annex.

Bae Suzy stood at the end of the seventh-floor corridor, clutching the script for "Dream High" in her hand, the cover already slightly wrinkled from her caresses.

She only debuted as a member of the group miss A in July, and acting is a first for her.

She read those lines from the script countless times in front of the mirror in her dorm room last night, until her roommate banged on the wall in protest before she finally turned off the lights.

As she pushed the door open, she smelled the resinous scent of waxed wooden floors mixed with the warm, cozy smell of old curtains after they had been sun-dried. She stepped in with her right foot first, then almost tripped over the threshold with her left.

"careful."

A hand steadily supported her elbow.

She looked up and met a pair of clear, bright eyes.

Lin Chih-hsun was wearing a plain gray sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a gray water stain on his forearm that he didn't know when it happened.

The guy who climbs over walls?!

How did he end up in this film crew?

Isn't this drama just a way for KeyFast Entertainment and JYP Entertainment to promote their own newcomers?

Bae Suzy was surprised, but she didn't say it.

After regaining her balance, she quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, senior."

"Hello."

Lin Zhixun released his grip, nodded, and turned to continue moving the stack of prop boxes.

Suzy stood there stunned for a moment.

"No need for self-introductions, then some small talk, or asking her name?"

"What a strange person."

"However... he's a rather handsome weirdo."

Suzy spent the entire morning observing Lim Ji-hoon.

She sat on a folding chair in the corner of the rehearsal room, pretending to memorize her lines, while her peripheral vision followed the figure in the gray hoodie flying around the room.

He helped the props team move the entire drum set from the first floor to the third floor, with the drummer chasing after them shouting, "Ji-hoon, don't carry that by yourself!"

He was helping the costume team push a mobile clothes rack when the rack's wheels got stuck in the floor seam. Before the floor assistant could even react, he was already fixing the wheels.

The sound director complained about a buzzing sound from the monitor speakers. Lin Chih-hsun went over, squatted in front of the amplifier cabinet, and fiddled with it for ten minutes. He unplugged a faulty signal cable, and the buzzing sound disappeared.

He was so busy that he didn't seem like an actor; he seemed more like a staff member.

Suzy bit open the packaging of her bibimbap chopsticks.

Watching Lin Zhixun finally pick up his already cold lunchbox, sit on the speaker in the corner of the rehearsal room, script spread on his lap, shoveling rice into his mouth while writing in the margins.

It was completely different from what she had previously thought.

Previously, when Lin Zhixun was rumored to be dating Han Ga-in and Park Min-young, she thought he was a handsome, womanizing scumbag.

"A newcomer?" A voice suddenly came from the left.

Ham Eun-jung moved next to her at some point.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a carton of banana milk with a straw already inserted.

Suzy nodded.

Eun-jung followed her gaze and glanced in Lim Ji-hoon's direction.

Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice:

"Don't you also think he's different from the other guy? I saw those trending topics before, and I also thought he must be a playboy."

She spoke frankly, without scrutinizing or testing her.

Suzy found herself actually relieved.

"Maybe it's because—" Suzy carefully chose her words, "the trending topics won't feature someone helping another person push a clothes hanger."

"Yes," Ham Eun-jung slapped her thigh, "seeing is believing."

Suzy gave a soft "hmm" but didn't reply.

Eun-jung finished her banana milk, sucking the straw all the way down with a gurgling sound, then crushed the carton and tossed it into the trash can.

It didn't go in.

She got up again, went over to pick it up, and threw it away again. When she came back, she casually pushed her script half an inch toward Suzy.

"I marked your blocking positions on that page for our scene together."

After saying that, he added another sentence.

"Don't be nervous. I was even more nervous than you during my first time filming. If anyone on set gives you a hard time, just come to me. I may not have learned many other skills in T-ara, but I'm very good at protecting my own."

Bae Suzy was somewhat surprised.

This senior colleague, whom I'm meeting for the first time, is helping me so much.

She stood up and gave a very proper bow.

"Thank you, senior."

"It's nothing," Ham Eun-jung waved her hand, indicating that she didn't care.

In the afternoon script reading session, all the lead actors sat together for the first time.

Director Lee Eung-bok sat at one end of the long table, and screenwriter Park Hye-ryun sat to his left, each with a cup of Americano coffee in front of them that had long since lost its heat.

Bae Suzy sat at the back of the long table, her hands flat on the script, her fingertips pressing the cover slightly as if afraid it would be blown away by the wind.

Her gaze swept across both sides of the long table.

Lim Ji-hoon, Ok Taecyeon, Ham Eun-jung, Lee Ji-eun...

They were all her seniors.

When will she be able to be respectfully addressed as "senior" by her juniors?

After everyone had arrived, director Li Yingfu stood up and said:

"Since this is the first time we've met, let me introduce myself. I'm Li Yingfu, the director of this play."

His gaze swept across every face on the long table from left to right, lingering a little longer on the faces of the new actors who had risen from idol status.

"Dream High tells the story of a group of young people pursuing their musical dreams."

"Among those present are actors, singers, and idols."

"But I don't care about your background. Once you're in this rehearsal room, you're a student of Qilin Arts High School."

"I hope that over the next three months, you will forget who you were originally and only remember the character you are playing."

Bae Suzy unconsciously gripped the corner of the script.

Forget who you were, I don't understand.

She glanced down at her slightly trembling fingertips and thought:

Are there geniuses who are so nervous in the rehearsal room that they almost trip over, and who have never won first place in anything they do?

After director Li Yingfu finished speaking, he sat down and gestured for everyone to begin introducing themselves.

Ham Eun-jung was the first to stand up.

"My name is Ham Eun-jung, and I'm a member of T-ara. I acted in a few dramas when I was little, and I think my acting skills are passable."

Next up is Lin Chih-hsun.

"Lim Ji-hoon plays Song Sam-dong in the drama. As for the dramas he has acted in before, you should all know them, after all, Han Ga-in and Park Min-young's scandals caused quite a stir."

"I hope we can work together to finish filming this drama smoothly and avoid any major incidents."

After speaking, he nodded slightly and sat down again.

Everyone laughed when they heard Lin Zhixun's words.

Screenwriter Park Hye-ryun joked:

"That won't do. If this show flops, we'll need you to create some big incident to salvage the ratings."

"Yes," Director Lee Eung-bok chimed in with a smile, "You have no idea how envious I am of Lee Hyung-min's luck."

"Perhaps we could create some rumors about Ji-hoon and Suzy," Bae Yong-joon suggested.

As the originator of the Korean Wave, Bae Yong-joon knows best how to become popular.

"Then you'll handle the operation and make sure you get the hang of it," Park Jin-young set the tone.

As the founder of JYP Entertainment, Park Jin-young certainly didn't want his company's rising star, Bae Suzy, to get into trouble right after her debut.

"No problem," Bae Yong-joon assured him.

In just a few words, the fates of Lim Ji-hoon and Bae Suzy were decided.

No one asked for their opinions.