In that world, special effects in dramas are not created using computer graphics. Instead, actors who have awakened certain skills perform them physically.

The movements demonstrated by Seo Jung-woo were undoubtedly impressive and flashy.

However, they were high-difficulty maneuvers that even an ordinary person wearing wires would struggle to replicate.

The director snapped out of his daze and turned to the cinematographer, asking quietly,

“Did you get that?”

“The camera was on, so I did record it, but… are you planning to use this footage in the drama?”

“We can’t use it as it is in next week’s episode. But we can include it in the behind-the-scenes footage after the drama ends.”

“Are you confident you’ll get permission to use it?”

“That’s the problem. Why is that guy a cop when he has talent like this? He should be working with us.”

“Judging by the news, his talent for catching criminals is just as extraordinary.”

“Ah. That’s true.”

After the filming ended, the director smiled broadly and greeted Seo Jung-woo.

“Thank you so much for your help today.”

Seo Jung-woo hadn’t really helped much. Even the advice he gave for the fight scene was ultimately unusable because the actors couldn’t follow it.

“If we ever need help again, I’ll give you a call. Please make a cameo next time.”

“I’m a government employee.”

The male lead, Kang Seo-jun, also approached and said,

“You’d probably make a lot more money if you quit being a public servant and joined us.”

“Being a detective suits me.”

Kwon Byeong-cheol offered another perspective.

“You’d definitely make it big if you went into martial arts competitions. I knew from the news that your skills were amazing, but your strength and movements… Wow. I still get chills.”

“I don’t really like hitting people.”

He preferred just shooting them cleanly.

One by one, the cast members came to say a few words, but Lee Seon-hwa didn’t approach.

Seo Jung-woo turned to look at her.

She glared at his face, then abruptly turned away.

Seo Jung-woo chuckled.

‘She’s pretending to sulk, just like before.’

After finishing the police station scene, the film crew moved to the next location.

Lee Seon-hwa filmed until late at night and returned home.

She grumbled in the elevator.

“What the hell? They all became friends so fast. How long have they even known each other?”

But that wasn’t what really bothered her.

“And yet, he’s only cold to me. Why is he like that just to me? Is he doing a bad-boy act or what?”

The elevator doors opened. She was about to unlock her front door when she stopped.

“Huh?”

There was a scratch mark on the door.

And the shape of the scratch looked eerily similar to the one someone had made on her car last night.

Her face turned pale.

‘A stalker?’

This building had tight security. Yet, an intruder had managed to scratch her door.

Fear crept in. She didn’t want to go inside.

Her hands trembled slightly as she took out her phone. She hesitated before dialing 112.

She had reported a stalker before and had them arrested. Since it was a case of a top star being stalked, it had made big news.

But because of that, she lost a role in a drama where negotiations had been going smoothly, as the role was handed to a rival actress.

Her situation was different now since she was already filming as the lead, but the memory made her hesitate.

‘I don’t want to be in the news for something like this again. Should I just call my manager and handle it quietly? No… That’s dangerous.’

Not long ago, an actress she knew had gone through something similar. She had tried to have her manager handle the issue quietly, but things went terribly wrong—her manager ended up getting stabbed by the stalker.

It hadn’t even been that long since that happened. Asking her manager to take care of it didn’t feel right.

But she couldn’t just stand outside forever. And she was too scared to go inside.

The elevator was still on her floor. She hurriedly pressed the open button repeatedly. The doors opened, and she rushed inside, frantically pressing the close button. As soon as the doors shut, she pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator moved. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew.”

Suddenly, the elevator stopped on a lower floor. Her heart jumped.

The doors opened, and a woman from the floor below entered.

“Oh my, Miss Lee Seon-hwa. Are you going somewhere?”

A middle-aged woman from the lower floor stepped inside. They greeted each other whenever they crossed paths.

Hiding her pounding heart with her acting skills, she replied with her usual aloofness,

“Just stepping out to meet someone for a bit.”

‘She’s not a bad person, but she has a loose tongue.’

She didn’t want to mention the stalker to someone like her.

After reaching the first-floor lobby, she turned on her smartphone again in sight of the security guard. She started dialing 112.

“I guess I have no choice but to report it to the police…”

As soon as she said "police," Seo Jung-woo’s face popped into her mind.

“Oh! Right!”

She also recalled what the director had said earlier.

– "He’s not just good; he’s the best detective out there."

“If I ask Detective Seo Jung-woo for help, could he catch that stalker quietly?”

She thought back to the high-level moves he had demonstrated during filming.

‘That was really incredible.’

She erased 112 from the dial screen.

“If I ask him, he wouldn’t refuse… Wait. I don’t have his number.”

She didn’t know Seo Jung-woo’s phone number.

“What kind of guy doesn’t even ask for my number? I would’ve given it to him if he had asked.”

Standing in the first-floor lobby, she tried to recall any relevant conversations. Then she remembered what the director and Seo Jung-woo had talked about.

– "Thank you for your help today. If we need anything in the future, I’ll call you. Please make a cameo next time."

– "I’m a government employee."

“He definitely said they’d call him!”

She immediately dialed the director.

– “Hello?”

“Director, it’s me.”

– “What now? If you’re unhappy with a scene, we don’t have time for reshoots, so just let it go.”

“It’s not about the filming. I just wanted to ask for Detective Seo Jung-woo’s phone number.”

– “Why do you need Detective Seo’s number? Wait… no way.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that, okay?”

– “Then why are you asking for a guy’s number?”

Growing impatient, Lee Seon-hwa’s voice naturally rose.

“Because I need to ask him about catching criminals! If I wanted his number for that, I would’ve asked earlier!”

– “Oh? Oh. Got it. I’ll text it to you right away.”

Seo Jung-woo was lying on his sofa, watching ‘The Princess’s Rehabilitation’ from episode one.

“Whoever invented the VOD system deserves an award. This is so convenient.”

For about 1,000 won per episode, he could order reruns and watch them on TV instantly. Public broadcasts even offered them for free after a few weeks.

Seo Sora returned home after finishing her evening radio show. The first thing she saw was Seo Jung-woo lounging comfortably on the sofa, watching TV.

“This is the brother I know. Lounging around on the sofa every weekend. So familiar. But today isn’t even the weekend!”

On weekdays, Seo Sora usually claimed that sofa first and never gave it up. In those cases, Seo Jung-woo had to watch TV from the living room floor.

However, these days, she had radio broadcasting schedules almost every day. Because of that, she often came home later than Seo Jung-woo. Naturally, on such days, he took the sofa first.

Seo Jung-woo spoke.

“Hey. If you have any snacks in your bag, take some out.”

“Like I’d have any! Eat what’s in the pantry!”

“I already finished them.”

“You pig!”

“Should we order jokbal?”

“With what money?”

“Here. Card.”

Seo Jung-woo casually tossed his wallet.

Seo Sora swiftly caught it mid-air.

“Yes, sir! The young lady shall place the order immediately. I didn’t even get to eat dinner today, so this works out well.”

Only then did Seo Jung-woo turn his head.

“Why didn’t you eat dinner? Don’t you have money? I thought the radio station split half of the appearance fee with you on the spot? The rest gets settled later.”

Seo Sora scrolled through her smartphone’s contacts, searching for the number of their go-to jokbal place.

“Turns out the station doesn’t hand over the payment in an envelope on the spot. They wire it to the company later. And today, the broadcast schedule was at an awkward time, so I couldn’t eat.”

After ordering the jokbal, Seo Sora asked,

“Is ‘The Princess’s Redemption’ fun?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

Unlike the action-packed dramas from the other world, this one had a refreshing approach to storytelling.

Seo Sora, watching TV alongside him, commented,

“Lee Seon-hwa’s acting is amazing.”

“She’s always been top-tier in acting.”

“Right? With that beauty and that acting skill, there’s no way she wouldn’t be at the top anywhere.”

That was what frustrated Seo Jung-woo.

‘In that other world, beauty and acting skills alone aren’t enough to reach the top.’

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“Is today’s schedule also radio?”

“Of course.”

“Aren’t you doing any TV appearances?”

“We’re not a choir; we can’t just stand still and sing. We need choreography, but we don’t have one yet. Our boss is great at singing, but when it comes to dancing, he’s completely useless. What if we end up doing only radio until the end? Oppa, don’t you have any ideas?”

Seo Jung-woo thought about the dances performed by singers in the other world.

‘It’s impossible for someone from this world to perform the flashy dances of skill-awakened performers.’

Seo Sora couldn’t spin three times in mid-air, nor could she blink a few meters away in an instant.

‘If I find a simple dance meant for regular people…’

While actors needed skills that reduced production costs for action scenes to land lead roles, singers could succeed with just a great voice. Not all singers were skill-awakened. There were plenty of dances performed by those without abilities.

“There is something.”

“Really?”

“It’s a simple dance, though. Not as flashy as recent girl group choreographies. But it’s easy to learn since the moves are so basic.”

Non-awakened dancers in this world had much more elaborate moves.

Seo Sora became excited.

“We’re not in a position to be picky right now! It hasn’t been publicly released anywhere, right?”

“This dance has never been seen on this Earth.”

“If you had something like this, you should’ve said so earlier!”

“You’re too loud.”

Seo Sora immediately backed down.

“The young lady momentarily lost her senses.”

“Well, tomorrow’s a holiday, so I’ll show you then.”

“No! I’ll call the girls right now, so teach us tonight! Let’s at least get on TV! Also, let’s put the jokbal expense under business costs!”

“Do whatever you want.”

Just as he said that, Seo Jung-woo’s phone rang. He checked the caller. It was an unknown number.

As a detective, ignoring an unknown number could mean missing an important call. He answered.

“Hello?”

— Detective Seo Jung-woo?

The moment he heard the voice, he knew who it was.

It was a voice he often heard in the other world and one that was currently playing from the TV.

“Lee Seon-hwa?”

— Yes, it’s me, Seon-hwa.

Beside him, Seo Sora’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?! Lee Seon-hwa? The same Lee Seon-hwa from that drama?”

Lee Seon-hwa slightly frowned at the female voice coming from the phone.

‘What? Is he married? Or does he have a girlfriend?’

“You seem to be with someone. Am I interrupting?”

— That? It’s my younger sister. We were watching ‘The Princess’s Redemption’ together, and she freaked out when she heard your name.

“Ah, I see.”

She took a small breath before speaking again.

“I have a request.”

— I already turned down the drama offer.

“It’s not that.”

Her voice grew tense.

“Could you come over right now?”

Seo Jung-woo’s expression stiffened slightly.

‘That nervous voice…?’

“What’s wrong?”

— There’s a stalker. I think they’ve come all the way to my front door.

“If you’re inside, lock the door. If you’re outside, move to a place with other people.”

— I’m in the first-floor lobby. I can see the security guards in front of me, but I can’t bring myself to explain the situation to them… I’m sorry. If a police car comes, it’ll cause a big commotion. I want this handled quietly.

Seo Jung-woo thought of the Lee Seon-hwa from the other world.

‘I can’t just ignore this, especially when it’s her.’

“Send me your address via text. I’ll be right there.”

Seo Jung-woo got up from the sofa.

Seo Sora asked in disbelief.

“Oppa, were you just talking to Lee Seon-hwa? The one on TV right now?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you even know a top star like her?”

“I don’t, really. That’s why she called me first.”

As soon as Seo Jung-woo left the house, Seo Sora immediately posted in the group chat.

— OMG!

Yoon Nana responded instantly.

— What?

— Guess who my brother just went to meet?

— Who?

— Lee Seon-hwa.

— THE actress Lee Seon-hwa?

— Yup!

After a ten-second pause, Yoon Nana’s next message appeared.

— Did she seduce your brother?

— As if! My brother wouldn’t dare. That’s ridiculous.

— But he went to meet her?

— My brother is the best at catching criminals. I only heard bits of the conversation, but since he told her to move to a populated area, it sounds like she needed a detective. That’s why she called him.

A smiling emoji popped up.

The conversation was about to end, but then the twins joined in.

— Looks like Detective Seo is dating a celebrity!

— Let’s celebrate!

Yoon Nana immediately responded.

— Go to sleep!!!

Seo Sora added another message.

— We ordered jokbal, but my brother left. Nana, want to come over?

Seo Sora and Yoon Nana lived in the same neighborhood.

— On my way. Tell me everything when I get there.