It was back when *Don’t Stop People: My Love From the Stars Special* was still in the planning stages.
“Wait… Gun-yeol, who did you just finish talking to?”
Hearing the unexpected name over the phone, PD Choi Soo-hyuk jolted upright in surprise.
“Ha… Ha-eun, as in Lee Ha-eun? The one who played young Han Yoo-hwa in *My Love From the Stars*?”
[Who else would it be? So, is this going to work or not?]
“Of course, it will! Definitely!”
Gun-yeol ended the call, casually mentioning that PD Choi owed him for making things easier and that he could repay the favor with a *Don’t Stop People: Lee Gun-yeol Special* someday.
“Wait… it’s really Lee Ha-eun? Seriously?”
For PD Choi, who had been struggling to finalize the guest lineup for the *My Love From the Stars* special, this was unexpected, wonderful news—so much so that he kept letting out breaths of disbelief.
He hadn’t even known that Gun-yeol and Ha-eun knew each other, let alone that Gun-yeol would personally suggest she appear on the show.
Regardless of the process, though, Ha-eun was a star whose presence was impossible to ignore. No PD in their right mind would refuse such a popular celebrity whose fame spanned both online and offline.
In the following days, they held countless meetings, day and night, to create a plot and missions that would suit Ha-eun. Finally, when they ran out of ideas, they set up a meeting with her to confirm her appearance.
Still, Choi Soo-hyuk couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned. After all, it was Ha-eun’s first time on a variety show, and she was only twelve. Regardless of her impressive acting skills and popularity, her age meant certain physical limitations were unavoidable.
Although PD Choi’s missions included considerations for Ha-eun, he couldn’t make things too easy for her without compromising the show’s entertainment value.
So, a few of the missions required some light physical activity. Nothing risky, of course…
‘...Just don’t let it turn into a children’s playtime.’
Ha-eun needed to participate just enough to prevent the show from feeling childish. As long as she put in a little effort, veteran entertainers like Sung Yoo-seok would carry the rest.
No one on the production team expected Ha-eun to have the smooth charisma of Yoo-seok, the playful antics of Yoon Si-hyuk, or the all-around problem-solving skills of Jeon Dong-guk.
All they wanted was for the audience to experience young Han Yoo-hwa’s charm on-screen one more time. That was all PD Choi hoped for from Ha-eun.
So, when the opening scene began…
“I’m very much alive, sir. Could it be that you had a bad dream last night?”
…and Ha-eun delivered her witty ad-lib, PD Choi couldn’t help but sigh in relief. If she could keep this up, he had no more demands.
When Ha-eun surprised everyone by choosing Jeon Dong-guk’s seemingly bland dish in the first mission, and later on the bus spoke naturally without any hint of nervousness, he found himself feeling immensely grateful for Gun-yeol’s help in bringing her onboard.
‘One of these days, we really need to do a Gun-yeol Special.’
Ha-eun was currently everything he’d hoped for.
However, not long after, as the second mission, *Petal Toss for a Fake Park Do-jun*, began…
“Just a reminder, everyone: the closer you get to Ha-eun’s shoe landing spot, the more points you’ll earn. This isn’t about throwing it the farthest.”
“PD-nim, should I just throw it any which way?”
“Oh, yes. It doesn’t matter where Ha-eun’s shoe lands.”
Then, with assistance from Gun-yeol, Ha-eun lifted her pink hanbok enough to expose her knees and, balancing on one foot, swung her leg with all her might—
Her dainty shoe soared high into the sky, beyond the field of vision. This, too, was not in any of PD Choi’s planned scenarios.
A full five seconds passed before Ha-eun’s shoe began its descent, landing over thirty meters away.
‘...Is she shot-putting?’
Forgetting that it was their turn to throw, the rest of the cast simply stared at the distant shoe, dumbfounded.
Originally, the mission was designed with the concept that the “real” Park Do-jun, whose heart aligned with Han Yoo-hwa’s, would throw his shoe a similar distance. It was meant to be a simple game without pressuring Ha-eun to throw hers far.
“Uh… should we decide the throwing order?”
“Yoo-seok oppa, does the order even matter?”
“Wasn’t this supposed to be about accuracy, not distance…?”
“Ha-eun, you planned this with Dong-guk hyung, didn’t you!”
“I knew something was fishy ever since she picked Dong-guk’s meal…”
PD Choi hadn’t anticipated any complaints from the adult cast, let alone from everyone except Yoo-seok and Dong-guk, who had the best athletic skills.
However, the dice—or rather, Han Yoo-hwa’s shoe—had already been cast.
“Hey! You stepped over the line, Si-hyuk!”
The second mission commenced in a far more chaotic manner than PD Choi had anticipated. Meanwhile, Ha-eun, the one who started it all, sat calmly on a small chair, watching the others’ desperate attempts to fling their shoes as far as possible.
“Uh, PD Soo-hyuk… should we consider a retake?”
“...Let’s just see how this goes. It could be a fun twist.”
The eventual victor of the shoe-toss was, predictably, Jeon Dong-guk, the cast member with the best physical skills.
After another hint for the final mission was distributed based on Dong-guk’s win, the cast boarded the bus once more.
“So, Ha-eun, just curious… are you in the athletics club at school?”
The cast began discussing her impressive kicking skills.
“Wait, Geun-seok, do elementary schools even have athletic clubs these days?”
“Oh? They don’t? We had them in my day.”
“Well, your day was back in national school.”
Amid the banter, most of the conversation centered around Ha-eun.
Naturally, it made sense for the discussion to focus on the guest. But then, during the third mission, *Protect Han Yoo-hwa Dodgeball*…
“What the heck! She dodges every throw! How are we supposed to protect her if she doesn’t need protecting?”
“Se-young, maybe you’re just a terrible shot.”
“Fine, then you try throwing!”
“It’s not that hard. Just watch. Fake, then… throw hard!”
“Oh wow, she actually caught it.”
“See, what did I tell you?”
The scene captured by the cameras was completely different from PD Choi’s original scenario, as the assistant PD anxiously whispered.
“P-PD Soo-hyuk… is this really okay?”
“Well, it’s not bad, is it?”
“I mean… I guess not, but…”
PD Choi’s mind was too busy adjusting the editing plan to reassure the assistant.
Regardless, Ha-eun was dazzling. Her performance was captivating, albeit for reasons different from her role in *My Love From the Stars*.
And as long as the ratings were high, PD Choi couldn’t complain. There was nothing dire enough to halt the shoot.
With the recording proceeding smoothly, it was finally time for the final mission.
“Ms. Bo-ram, are Ha-eun’s tags in place?”
“Yes, she’s on her way to the final location with Writer Kim Hyun-jin.”
“Alright. Please let Writer Kim know to update me upon arrival.”
Shortly after, word came that Ha-eun had arrived at the final location. PD Choi then allowed the cast members to exit the bus one by one and announced the day’s final mission.
“Currently, Han Yoo-hwa is hiding somewhere in this traditional village, trying to evade the fake Park Do-jun. The first person to find her and reach the final podium with her will win today’s game.”
After scattering the members throughout the village, he gave the writers a cue to reveal the identity of the fake Park Do-jun.
“The fake Park Do-jun’s final objective is to remove Han Yoo-hwa’s tag before she escapes in the UFO. But remind him—no physical contact with Ha-eun.”
The members’ faces grew tense as they absorbed their instructions.
But in contrast, Ha-eun, with her usual calm expression, hid quietly in the vast traditional village with her assigned VJ.
“We still have three minutes before filming starts. Would you mind taking a picture with me?”
Ha-eun stood next to the friendly VJ, making a peace sign as they prepared to take the photo. At that moment, her only concern was which cast member would find her first.
‘It’s probably going to be Dong-guk, right?’
She hadn’t considered what to do if that cast member happened to be the fake Park Do-jun. She didn’t even know who the fake Park Do-jun was.
knew was that the fake Park Do-jun would attempt to remove her tag.
Still, with six out of the seven members being the “real” Park Do-jun, she didn’t think the fake one would be the first to find her.
And yet, exactly twenty minutes later…
A figure, gasping for breath, finally found her, focusing intensely not on her, but solely on her tag.
‘…They say even the smallest chance can be enough.’
Ha-eun realized, perhaps a little too late, that one should never disregard even the slimmest of odds.