The villagers gathered outside for lunch.
People sat together in groups.
Laughing loudly.
Passing food around.
Children running everywhere.
Then suddenly—
BOOOOOOM.
Thunder cracked across the sky.
Everyone froze.
The wind became violent instantly.
Rain poured down heavily within seconds.
"AISH!"
"GET INSIDE!"
The storm exploded across the village.
Chairs flew.
Bowls rolled away.
The rain hit so hard it almost hurt.
Within minutes—
The roads started flooding.
Se-Jun got stuck under a tree while trying to help move tables.
A villager shouted at him—
"Il-sung! Come here!"
The man grabbed Se-Jun's arm and dragged him toward his house.
But the second Se-Jun stepped inside—
He froze.
Rainwater was leaking everywhere.
Buckets overflowed.
The floor was soaked.
The man looked embarrassed.
"…The roof is old."
Se-Jun immediately shook his head.
"No. Bring your family."
"Huh?"
"Come stay at my place until the rain stops."
The family stared at him.
"…Really?"
"Hurry," Se-Jun said firmly.
Soon—
More villagers started arriving, too.
One woman cried while holding blankets.
"The water came into our house!"
"It's okay," Se-Jun assured quickly."There's space inside."
People squeezed together everywhere.
Wet clothes.
Crying children.
Old women are praying dramatically.
One man suddenly asked seriously—
"Il-sung… can you stop the rain?"
Se-Jun stared at him.
"…What am I supposed to do?" he asked."I'm not Superman."
Another woman smacked the man's arm immediately.
"It's NATURAL DISASTER, you idiot!"
Se-Jun shook his head tiredly.
Then finally—
After nearly an hour—
The rain slowly stopped.
Everyone stepped outside carefully.
And froze.
The farms were ruined.
Vegetables destroyed.
Rice fields are flooded.
Broken wood floating everywhere.
Gyu-seok looked devastated.
"…Oh God…"
Then suddenly—
A woman screamed.
"MY COW!"
Everyone turned.
Her cow was trapped in deep mud near the flooded field.
The poor animal cried loudly while struggling.
"Maaaaaa—!"
Without hesitation—
Se-Jun grabbed a rope.
Hyuk quickly looked at him.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'll tie the rope around it," Se-Jun said immediately."When I signal—pull."
Hyuk nodded seriously.
Se-Jun stepped directly into the mud.
And immediately sank knee-deep.
"…AH. THIS IS TERRIBLE."
But he kept moving.
Slowly—
Carefully—
He reached the frightened cow.
"It's okay…" he whispered while patting its neck gently."Don't panic."
The cow screamed dramatically anyway.
Se-Jun tied the rope tightly around its body.
Then struggled back toward everyone.
"MUD SHOULD NOT BE THIS STRONG!" he shouted while nearly falling.
Finally—
He reached them.
"PULL!"
All the villagers grabbed the rope together.
"ONE—TWO—PULL!"
The rope tightened.
The cow cried loudly.
The mud resisted like it had personal hatred.
"AHHHH—PULL HARDER!" Se-Jun yelled.
Everyone strained together.
The woman cried while praying desperately.
Then suddenly—
SCHLOP!
The cow came free from the mud.
Everyone fell backward instantly.
The cow escaped safely.
Cheers exploded everywhere.
The woman burst into tears and grabbed Se-Jun's muddy hands.
"God sent you to us!"
Se-Jun froze slightly.
Then slowly smiled despite being completely soaked in mud.
The next morning, the village slowly returned to life.
The floodwater had gone down.
People cleaned mud from the roads.Broken fences were repaired.Children ran around again like yesterday's disaster never happened.
Then—
A large repair van stopped near the village entrance.
Hye-jin immediately waved both hands.
"Here! HERE!"
Several workers stepped out carrying tools and supplies.
Hyuk frowned slightly.
"Who are they?"
Se-Jun adjusted the boxes in his arms and answered casually,
"They came to repair the damage from yesterday."
One older woman looked worried instantly.
"…But this will cost a lot…"
Before anyone else could speak—
"We'll handle it," Se-Jun said quickly.
Hye-jin looked at him sideways.
WE?
Soon, the workers spread through the village.
Some repaired roofs.
Others repainted damaged walls.
A few helped fix broken farm fences.
Meanwhile—
One worker walked into the field carrying a large tank.
An old farmer stared suspiciously.
"What's that?"
The worker smiled proudly.
"Natural vitamin solution for the plants."
He sprayed carefully across the damaged crops.
"No chemicals," he explained."Only natural ingredients."
The farmer nodded slowly, as if he was hearing about advanced science from NASA.
Nearby—
Gyu-seok walked over and patted Se-Jun's shoulder warmly.
"Thank you for helping our village."
Before Se-Jun could answer—
Hye-jin immediately raised her hand.
"I paid for fifty percent, too, by the way."
Her mother walked past casually.
"We don't care, honey."
Hye-jin stared at her in betrayal.
"…Wow."
Meanwhile—
Se-Jun spent the entire day helping the villagers.
He carried supplies.
Moved boxes.
Helped repair walls.
And secretly bought medicine and school supplies for the children.
The kids immediately surrounded him again.
"IL-SUNG HYUNG!"
"LOOK AT MY NEW NOTEBOOK!"
"I GOT STICKERS!"
One little boy hugged Se-Jun's leg dramatically.
"You're cooler than Superman."
Se-Jun laughed awkwardly.
"Don't say things like that."
By evening—
The workers finally packed up and left.
Se-Jun bowed politely to them.
"Thank you."
As the van drove away, Hye-jin walked beside him quietly.
"You know…" she started carefully,"…you didn't have to pay the full amount."
Se-Jun smiled faintly.
"It's technically your money anyway."
Hye-jin laughed softly.
But then—
Se-Jun's smile slowly faded.
"I feel guilty, Hye-jin."
She looked at him quietly.
"If I stay here too long…"He sighed softly,"…I don't think I can keep pretending anymore."
For once—
There was no joke in his voice.
Hye-jin looked down briefly before answering.
"Just stay two more days."
She looked at him again.
"After that, I won't bother you anymore."A small pause."I promise."
Se-Jun stared at her for a second.
Then smiled weakly.
"…Don't change your number after this."
Hye-jin blinked slightly.
Before she could answer—
Se-Jun waved casually toward someone nearby.
Rowoon walked over with sunglasses resting on his head.
He looked between them suspiciously.
"Did your shaman tell you there's a ghost following me, too?"
Hye-jin crossed her arms immediately.
"Tomorrow at ten o'clock, you'll receive your script."
Rowoon sighed dramatically.
"Hye-jin—"
But she already walked away toward the house.
Leaving him standing there like a rejected second lead actor.
Hye-jin opened her bedroom door and switched on the light.
Then immediately jumped.
"JESUS CHRIST—!"
Seul-gi sat motionless in complete darkness on the bed like a horror movie ghost.
"…You almost killed me!"
Seul-gi narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Okay," she said seriously."Tell me the ex-boyfriend story."
Hye-jin immediately walked toward her laptop.
"Are you insane?"
"COME ON," Seul-gi whined dramatically."How did you meet him? Did you dump him? Did he cheat?"
Hye-jin scoffed softly while opening her laptop.
"It wasn't dramatic."
"Liar."
Hye-jin sighed.
"When I first joined SPS…" she started quietly,"…he was filming his second drama."
Seul-gi immediately leaned closer with full attention.
"We kept meeting because I worked in production."
Click. Click.
Hye-jin continued typing while speaking calmly.
"Then we got closer."
Pause.
"We dated for five years."
Seul-gi gasped dramatically.
"FIVE?!"
Hye-jin nodded once.
"But when I met his parents…"
Her fingers slowed slightly above the keyboard.
"…they were insanely rich."
She laughed quietly without humor.
"And they looked at me like I was dirt."
Seul-gi's expression softened slightly.
"I thought it wouldn't work," Hye-jin admitted."So I ended things."
"What about Rowoon?"
"He didn't listen to my side," she answered simply."So we broke up."
Silence.
Then—
Seul-gi suddenly clapped once.
"WOW. Rich celebrity guy meets hardworking girl."She pointed dramatically."That's literally a drama plot."
Hye-jin rolled her eyes.
"Please leave."
Seul-gi ignored her completely.
"So after the breakup…"she grinned,"…you only started seeing each other again now?"
Hye-jin nodded slowly.
Seul-gi immediately smiled brightly.
"It's okay."
"Hm?"
"You'll eventually meet some poor guy," Seul-gi declared proudly."And live happily ever after."
Hye-jin burst into laughter.
"Goodnight, Seul-gi."
Seul-gi waved dramatically while walking toward the door.
"Goodnight, emotionally unavailable writer-nim."
SLAM.
The door closed.