Chapter 159

The special awards-show stage, the flagship model deal with a major conglomerate, and now the top spot on the music charts too — the "Joo Sae-i boom" had hit its absolute peak at the most perfect timing imaginable.

The moment Love Life Record's episode 1 began airing, real-time comments poured in across every community site out there.

On screen, under a flood of sunlight, in a crisp school uniform, the female lead Ji Hyo-rim walked to school.

She wasn't the actress who'd walked the red carpet in sub-zero cold just days before, nor the woman gazing at the mountain god with sorrowful eyes in the music video.

There was only a high school girl, striding up to two childhood friends with a haughty air before breaking into a headlock with a face as clean and bright as anything.

Episode 1's pacing had all the snap and speed that the Love…