Chapter 1061.1: Needing Miso (4)

In Lee Sa-Yeon's private room at Guro Hope Hospital, Episode 16 of Land of Happiness had just begun playing on the television mounted on the wall.

As soon as the opening theme ended, the scene shifted to the hospital room where Yoon Kkot-Nim had been admitted. The first thing shown was Lee Sol-Ji, a young leukemia patient with an IV in her arm, making the older patients smile as she wandered around the ward acting cute.

Clutching a Full Moon Bread one of the elderly patients had given her, Lee Sol-Ji ran over to Yoon Kkot-Nim.

『Kkot-Nim, let's eat this together!』

Without even turning her head, Yoon Kkot-Nim replied.

『No!』

『Aww, come on. Let's eat it. You need to eat a lot so you'll get better faster.』

Yoon Kkot-Nim only grew more irritated, insisting she didn't want it. In the end, Lee Sol-Ji tore the bread in half and gently held out a piece to her.

『Then just have a little. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Seong-Jin's grandma gave this to me...』

That was when Yoon Kkot-Nim suddenly lashed out in frustration and swatted her hand away.

『I said I don't want it!』

The next instant, without even looking, Yoon Kkot-Nim's swinging hand sent the large Full Moon Bread flying through the air.

Thud.

The bread landed on the floor. Yoon Kkot-Nim blinked in shock, as she had never meant for that to happen.

After freezing for a moment, Lee Sol-Ji forced an awkward smile, picked up the bread from the floor, and brushed the dust off.

『It hasn't been three seconds yet, so it's still okay to eat! It's fine! The three-second rule!』

Lee Sol-Ji smiled brightly, believing that food dropped on the floor was still safe as long as you picked it up within three seconds. But instead of calming down, Yoon Kkot-Nim shouted even louder.

『Hey! Are you a beggar? Why would you pick something up off the floor? Throw it away!』

Despite the harsh words, Yoon Kkot-Nim's face was filled with concern she couldn't hide. She was worried that if Lee Sol-Ji, a leukemia patient, ate food covered in dust, she might get even sicker.

Despite Yoon Kkot-Nim's outburst, Lee Sol-Ji didn't get angry. Instead, she apologized.

『I'm sorry. But... this might be the last Full Moon Bread I'll ever get to eat. How... how could I throw it away?』

Those words from a child living on borrowed time made Yoon Kkot-Nim's heart seem to sink.

『Ah...』

『I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to upset you. I won't bother you anymore.』

Lee Sol-Ji lowered her shoulders and turned away. At that moment, Yoon Kkot-Nim caught her by the arm and spoke in a trembling voice.

Grab.

『Sol-Ji... I'm sorry. Don't go. I... I was wrong. Let's share the bread together.』

Lee Sol-Ji stared at her in surprise.

『Really?』

『Yeah. I want to eat it too now.』

『Okay!』

Beaming, Lee Sol-Ji tore off the clean part of the bread and offered it to Yoon Kkot-Nim.

『Kkot-Nim, you eat this part. This side didn't touch the floor, so it's okay.』

That was when Yoon Kkot-Nim practically snatched the smaller piece with less cream—the one that had gotten dusty—from Lee Sol-Ji's hand.

『I'm eating this one! You eat the clean piece!』

Yoon Kkot-Nim looked at Lee Sol-Ji with concern before taking a big bite of the bread she was holding with both hands.

Chew, chew.

Yoon Kkot-Nim looked as though she were eating the most delicious food in the world. At that moment, Lee Sol-Ji grinned as she took a bite of her own Full Moon Bread.

The round little faces of the two girls lit up with bright smiles, just like the Full Moon Bread they were sharing.

***

Yoon Kkot-Nim had shut herself off from the world after losing her parents, being separated from her family, and becoming disabled from the waist down. Lee Sol-Ji, meanwhile, was a terminal leukemia patient who remained cheerful and innocent despite her limited time left.

More than half of Episode 16 was filled with the two girls laughing and relying on each other. Then, just before the episode ended, the two of them lined up their wheelchairs in the hospital corridor for a race.

『Ready... Go!』

Yoon Kkot-Nim's wheelchair shot forward. However, Lee Sol-Ji's wheelchair never moved. She clutched her chest as she began gasping for breath.

『Sol-Ji!』

The episode ended with Yoon Kkot-Nim desperately wheeling back toward her, screaming her name.

[To be continued...]

The ending credits rolled as the screen faded out. Since this was the first episode after the social media hate campaign had disappeared, I checked the drama's viewer message board to see how people were reacting.

[Land of Happiness Viewer Board]

-Kkot-Nim smiled for the first time... Ah, my heart. Why does this feel so sweet and painful at the same time?

-Watching Kkot-Nim open up because of Sol-Ji's happy virus made me cry. Seeing her smile like this makes you realize how much pain she'd been hiding all along.

-Now I want to eat Full Moon Bread too.

-Do they still sell that bread these days?

-Yep, they do.

-Anyway, Writer Lee Ji-Yeon really knows how to end an episode on a cliffhanger. How am I supposed to wait until tomorrow?

-Guys... does Sol-Ji die?

-This drama's based on a true story, right? What happens to Sol-Ji?

It was just as I had expected. Partly because of Episode 16 itself, but also because the malicious commenters were gone, viewers had finally started warming up to Yoon Kkot-Nim. Now there was nothing left to worry about.

Starting with Episode 17 tomorrow, Yoon Kkot-Nim would no longer be an irritating, constantly complaining character. She would become someone everyone loved.

Then I noticed another thread beneath the discussion. It was about Miso's announcement that she would be suspending her activities.

[Is Jung Miso Really Retiring?]

(Comments)

-Is Miso seriously retiring?

-Not retiring. But according to the agency's official statement, she's suspending everything except the drama. No variety shows or other appearances for now.

-The You & Me fan club is in total chaos. Their fan meeting got canceled, and everyone's crying.

-LT Cinema also posted a notice saying Miso won't be doing theater greeting events for the time being.

-Seriously, I want every one of those hate commenters dragged in and questioned. What the hell is wrong with them?

-At least the agency moved fast. Every single hate commenter posted an apology and disappeared.

-They'd better hide. If anything happens to Miso, people are going to show up with pitchforks.

-I can't lose Miso.

-Me neither.

...

There was an old saying: You don't realize someone's value until they're gone. Just like that proverb, the moment Miso announced she was stepping away from her activities, both her fans and the general public suddenly realized how much they wanted her back.

And it wasn't just her fans. The major corporations using Miso as their advertising model were reacting the same way.

Buzz.

Kk Talk messages from the companies Miso endorsed kept pouring in one after another.

[Park Moon-Soo, PR Director at LZ: Chief Jung, are you really pulling Miso from all promotional schedules? Pick up the phone!]

[Park Han-Sool, President of Yoojung Industries: Chief Jung. Miso isn't really retiring, is she? We already agreed she'd do the advertising campaign for our next product!]

[Diane, Director at AKN Earphones: Hey, Mr. Jung. What's this about Miso suspending her activities? What happens to the promotion schedule for the new product we're collaborating on? That's still on track, right?]

'So you've all finally figured it out, haven't you?'

I had already given a rough explanation of what had happened to the five companies that unfailingly stood by my side no matter what—LM Clothing, Yetterang, Daechon Inc., Jinseong Inc., and LT Entertainment.

However, I hadn't told the other major corporations a thing. They had been ready to bow to Assemblyman Park Sang-Gon's pressure and side with TK Entertainment over Hoop Entertainment.

So I intended to use this incident to send them a message as well. If Hoop's stars disappeared, they should better start looking for alternatives. Yet even they were desperately clinging to Miso.

I held up my phone so everyone could see the flood of messages. "Looks like they've finally realized just how much they need Miso."

Park Sang-Gyu nodded and showed me his phone. "Yeah. Half the entertainment section on the portal is filled with articles worrying about Miso suspending her activities."

Just as he said, the entertainment news was flooded with headlines about Miso stepping away from work. At this rate, I could start giving TK Entertainment exactly what it deserved.

Just then, Yoo-Jin spoke cautiously. "Oppa... why don't we just hold a press conference and tell everyone TK Entertainment was behind this?"

As she had promised Miso, Yoo-Jin was willing to forgive the people who had personally apologized. Nevertheless, she had no intention of forgiving TK Entertainment.

The problem was that if Yoo-Jin stepped forward herself, things could easily backfire. Without solid legal evidence, holding a press conference could leave her facing a defamation lawsuit instead.

I answered, "If you say it yourself, the impact would be huge. But if you hold a press conference without evidence, it'll become a much bigger problem."

"Didn't Doo-Oh dig everything up?"

"He did, but it isn't legally admissible. And even if everything we say is true, we could still be punished for defamation."

"The law really works like that?"

"Unfortunately, it does."

Still, Yoo-Jin refused to back down. "I don't care. They hurt my Miso. I'm not going to stay quiet just because I'm afraid of getting punished."

At that moment, Miso shook her head vigorously. "No! I don't want Mommy to get hurt!"

Seeing my chance, I stood beside Miso and echoed her words. "Me neither. I don't want Yoo-Jin getting hurt."

Miso slapped my hand in a high-five before turning back to Yoo-Jin. "See, Mommy? Uncle Yoon-Ho doesn't want that either."

"So you two are on the same team now?"

"Yep! Uncle Yoon-Ho and I are on the same team."

"Hmph. Mommy's disappointed."

"Even so, I don't want Mommy getting hurt."

At Miso's words, Yoo-Jin pouted before looking at me. "So what am I supposed to do? Just sit here?"

"That's right. Sit tight. I've already figured out how we're going to make TK Entertainment pay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll hit TK Entertainment harder than they ever hit us. So you just keep your mouth shut like Sleeping Beauty."

Only then did Yoo-Jin finally relax. "Okay. Then I'll stay out of it."

Just then, Miso tugged on my sleeve from the hospital bed. "Uncle Yoon-Ho, then what should I do?"

I smiled warmly at the little girl staring up at me with sparkling eyes. "Miso just has to be Sleeping Beauty until tomorrow. Leave everything else to your uncle."

"So I just go sleep again?"

"That's right."

"Okay!"

Miso hurriedly climbed back into bed, pulled the blanket all the way up to her chin, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Zzz... I'm sleeping."

Everyone burst into quiet laughter as they watched her. Just then, my phone buzzed again.

(1871)