[Korean Showbiz] The Rice Cake Shop Owner's Daughter

A note before we start: A reading guide with potential dealbreakers. I really dislike the trigger-warning culture on Green Site, but people keep asking in the comments, so I’ve decided to list them upfront. 1. Zhang Yuanying will have a romance storyline. 2. BTS will appear, but there will be no romance storyline involving them. 3. Any K-pop figures may appear in various ways. Use your own discretion. If you don’t like it, just scroll on by. There’s no need to tell me, “There’s xxx, I’m out.” 4. K-pop artists who will absolutely never appear on their own in a positive light include: 1) Misogynists 2) People who spit anywhere 3) To be determined 5. Friendly discussion of the plot is welcome, but no unsolicited know-it-alls telling me how I should write. - For the story after Produce 48, please see my new book, “[Korean Showbiz] The Rice Cake Shop’s Daughter: Starting from 48.” Original blurb As a public SM trainee, as an independent trainee, and as an IZ*ONE member, Go Yunju. Go Yunju, the rice cake shop’s daughter, raised with hardship by her single mother. She studied at school during the day, took the subway to the agency to practice after class, came home in the early hours to do her homework, then helped her mother thread rice cakes onto skewers. Her mother hung her freshly washed school uniform in the window, the one place it wouldn’t pick up the smell of cooking oil and sauce. She was a flower blooming in a ruined alley. A few Polaroids hung on the wall of the rice cake shop, each marked with a year. In 2014, a steaming bowl of rice cake soup sat on a cramped table. Lami, Haeun, Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck, and Go Yunju crowded around it, grinning foolishly at the camera, still looking like children. In 2017, Baekhyun held up a rice cake skewer and gave the camera a thumbs-up. Go Yunju had her head bowed and wasn’t looking at the camera. In 2018, twelve pretty girls made IZ*ONE’s signature hand gesture. At the very center, Go Yunju smiled with her eyes curved into crescents. Beneath the table, Zhang Yuanying held her left hand tightly. [Please note] 1. Girls’ love content ahead. 2. The supporting characters listed are those currently planned to have mutual romantic feelings with the female lead. Characters not listed may still have a romance storyline. 3. I felt emo after reminiscing late at night and wanted to write this. Think of it as an amateur tribute to SM Rookies and my youth... 4. I really love our Rookies and the female lead. If you don’t like them or think they’re out of character, that’s because my writing isn’t good enough, so please don’t yell at them TT. If you really need to yell at someone, yell at me instead (though preferably don’t yell at me either...). Theme: Having a dream is the first step to making it come true.