The recording studio was silent, save for the gentle hum of the equipment. The lights were warm, almost too perfect—casting a soft glow on the man seated across the leather chair. Jin Woo Sung, the world's richest and most beloved actor, sat with the stillness of someone who carried centuries of stories in his eyes.
Across from him, Kim Min-ho adjusted his notebook, though the questions he had prepared now felt hollow in the presence of this man.
"Hello, I'm Kim Min-ho," he began with a gentle smile. "I warmly welcome you to this podcast. Today is special—a heartfelt conversation with the most renowned name in the world right now."
He paused, measuring his next words carefully.
"Everyone today knows you as the world's richest and most handsome actor. I want our listeners to know that Jin Woo Sung has been declared not just the most charming man alive, but also the only actor whose every film and song has been a blockbuster. Not a single flop in your career."
Jin Woo Sung offered a soft smile, calm and distant.
Min-ho leaned in, voice tender. "But tell me honestly... despite all the fame and fortune, are you truly happy? Or has all this brought unexpected emptiness?"
Jin Woo Sung looked down for a moment, fingers interlaced, before lifting his gaze. "Money and fame… they don't bring happiness. If anything, they take more than they give. The more I gained, the more I felt something missing. Some days, I don't even know what I'm searching for anymore."
His voice was calm, but the ache behind it echoed in the studio.
Min-ho hesitated, unsure if he was stepping too far. "If you don't mind... may I ask about your family?"
Woo Sung's smile turned faint. "There's no one. I'm alone."
A beat of silence followed. Min-ho tried to mask his surprise. "Do you… have a girlfriend?"
"No," Jin Woo Sung said simply.
"I hope I'm not crossing any lines. It's just… you're such a mystery to the world."
Woo Sung nodded gently. "No, it's fine."
"I'm sorry, truly," Min-ho said quickly. "I didn't mean to intrude."
"You're not," Woo Sung replied. "You're just being human."
---
Elsewhere in Seoul, the atmosphere was far more intense. Inside one of the city's top hospitals, Dr. Kim Daa Lee leaned over a patient in the operating theater. Only in her early thirties, she had already become a legend—brilliant, decisive, and respected. Her hands moved with precision as she performed a high-risk heart surgery.
When the final stitch was made and the patient wheeled out, Dr. Lee removed her gloves and mask. "The surgery was a success," she announced. "He's out of danger."
The patient's family wept with relief. Gratitude filled the air. Daa Lee simply nodded and walked away. She never lingered for praise.
But as she reached the lobby, her phone buzzed. A call from the hospital director.
Minutes later, she stood in his office. "Why did you call me so urgently?" she asked, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.
The director looked at her seriously. "Do you know the actor Jin Woo Sung?"
"Yes," she replied. "Of course. Who doesn't? He's a top-tier actor."
The director handed her a folder. "He recently came for a full body check-up. The report just came in. We found something concerning."
Opening the file, Daa Lee's eyes quickly scanned the pages. Her expression tightened.
"There's a hole in his heart," she said quietly. "This… this is serious."
---
Back in the studio, Min-ho was still speaking to Woo Sung. The conversation had drifted into deeper waters.
"Most of your songs," Min-ho said softly, "they carry so much sadness. Why is that?"
Jin Woo Sung looked up, eyes distant again. "Because the sadness is real. It's not just art. It's something that lives inside me… and when I sing, it finds its way out. That sorrow becomes music."
Min-ho nodded slowly. "Do you miss your family?"
Woo Sung stared at nothing in particular. "There's no one left in this world for me."
"Then who is your family now?" Min-ho asked gently.
There was a long pause. Then, Woo Sung turned his gaze toward Min-ho, eyes soft, almost vulnerable.
"You," he said quietly. "You're my family now. As long as you're here, I feel less alone."
Min-ho felt his chest tighten—he couldn't tell if it was sympathy, sadness, or something else beginning to bloom.
---
At that exact moment, in her car parked outside the hospital, Dr. Daa Lee sat still, the folder resting on her lap. She looked out the window, her thoughts circling the name on the report.
Jin Woo Sung.
A man the world worshipped.
A man with a broken heart—both literally and perhaps, emotionally.
And for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she felt a pull toward him. Not as a doctor… but as something more.