Chapter: 29
The great actor, Park Seon-woong.
Three blockbuster films that attracted tens of millions of viewers.
On top of that, he was the lead in a daily soap that once captivated an entire era.
He shot two dramas that hit a staggering 40% viewership ratings—talk about a box office magician!
There’s a saying that goes “a guaranteed watch,” and for Seon-woong, failure was a foreign concept.
It wasn’t just his acting skills.
His keen eye for scripts.
And especially his remarkable talent for spotting people.
When it came to filming dramas or movies, he would personally recommend actors to directors for the roles.
“Just look at that kid, Joo Su-yeon.”
Now, this Park Seon-woong saw Joo Su-yeon as a somewhat unique child.
She was seven years old.
At an age where she should still be in kindergarten, she had this oddly quiet demeanor about her.
Typically, child actors tend to be more mature than their peers.
After all, they have to memorize lines and act, and they experience the adult world much earlier in life.
His son, Park Jung-woo, also exhibited such traits.
He was more grown-up than the kids his age, with impressive abilities to boot.
“So, I was a bit worried.”
Perhaps it was approaching adolescence.
His son appeared increasingly aware of how he differed from those around him.
A classic case of being haughty, really.
He just tended not to show it much because he didn’t talk excessively.
Even in the recent making-of clips for The Sun Hidden by the Moon, his attitude was evident.
So every time Seon-woong said something, it was tough for him to find the time to speak up since he was busy as a beehive.
His wife, meanwhile, adored their son so much that she seldom said anything negative.
“But…”
Who would have thought that a child could properly dismantle the egotistical stance of his superb son?
Thus, despite his busy schedule, he willingly accepted the invitation to the event organized by Yoon Jong-hyuk today.
“I hear Jung-woo is feeling quite frustrated.”
“Hmm.”
Seon-woong nodded at Jong-hyuk’s words.
Just look at him now, hovering around Seoyeon and clearly anxious about her.
Seoyeon, on the other hand, seemed to be feeling quite uncomfortable.
Though her expression didn’t wholly show it.
“In Jung-woo’s position, it must feel like winning and running away.”
In the first and second episodes, there were no scenes where Seoyeon performed head-to-head against Jung-woo in acting.
That would be that one scene from the audition, where she played two roles.
Aside from that one moment.
And that moment appeared in the third episode.
The last scene where the young Lee Hye-wol bids farewell to Yoon Seo-il.
“I’d say so. Oh, let’s head over. It’s almost time.”
Jong-hyuk said this as he headed toward the area where Sua and Seoyeon were.
Today featured the third episode of The Sun Hidden by the Moon.
It was something Jong-hyuk was quite eager to see, after all.
*
“Let’s get started.”
At KMB’s Drama Department, everyone’s face tensed at Director Ha Tae-oh’s words.
Episode 3 of The Sun Hidden by the Moon.
This was the episode they felt most confident about.
Therefore, it absolutely could not fail.
It was the episode hinting at the growth of young Lee Hye-wol.
If there’s no positive reaction here, the likelihood of a drastic drop in ratings for episode 4 was high.
‘The short length of the child actor segment was also due to that.’
This applied across all media.
When the environment suddenly changes, or the lead is replaced.
When age is suddenly hiked, it inevitably leads to viewers dropping off.
To retain those viewers, they needed to build anticipation for episode 4 with episode 3.
Failure to do so would surely adversely affect episode 4’s performance.
“You all know it can’t just be decent or just okay.”
This was a crucial segment that absolutely must go viral.
And with their rival, MDC’s Action King, taking a dip today,
for The Sun Hidden by the Moon to achieve a certain level of viewership was imperative.
“Fortunately, the current reception seems to be quite good.”
The real-time ratings were still stable.
In fact, they were even remarkably excellent.
That must be because of the significant impact of the second episode on audiences.
Some staff members were also monitoring not just the ratings, but community reactions too.
These days, the internet’s feedback was vital.
With drama communities and social media starting to gain importance,
buzz here had to generate significant reactions out there.
As if reflecting that sentiment, as episode 3 kicked off, the social media posts began coming in thick and fast.
– Episode 3 has started!
– I feel like episode 2 was the peak.
– Is today the last time we see the child actors??
– Isn’t the atmosphere pretty good since last episode?
– Jo Young-bin carried it all!
For now, feedback was decent.
The reactions on the drama bulletin board set up in the broadcasting company were still favorable.
– Ugh, why the cancer??
– What’s Yoon Seo-il doing??
– What exactly can a kid do here??
– Wow, still, the Warrior protecting Princess Yeonhwa is mega cool; shouldn’t he be the male lead?
– How much of an age gap is there between him and Princess Yeonhwa?
– That’s the charm of it…
– I agree, I agree!
There were mixed reviews.
Princess Yeonhwa exited the palace, crossing paths with young Yoon Seo-il.
And Yoon Seo-il was shown struggling with indecision throughout.
Realistically, there wasn’t much a child like Yoon Seo-il could accomplish.
The palace was already firmly occupied by Prince Jo Young.
Yoon Seo-il’s father had even warned him to stay quiet in this matter.
“Don’t go outside.”
With such words weighing heavily, Yoon Seo-il was plagued with doubt.
Whether to escort Princess Yeonhwa, or, as his father advised, remain watchfully silent.
The one to break Yoon Seo-il from this mental turmoil was always the attendant who followed him around.
“Sir, are you really going to let this end like this?”
The attendant’s earnest words, which often resulted in Yoon Seo-il getting roasted, were impactful.
That statement made the young Yoon Seo-il disobey his father’s order for the first time.
The day Princess Yeonhwa was leaving for exile.
He ran to find her, as she departed with her retinue and the nanny who had been caring for her since childhood.
– Are we finally leaving?
– Phew, I was about to lose my cool.
– Still, the acting is really impressive!
– This episode has more scenes from Yoon Seo-il.
– Show me Princess Yeonhwa!
– Where’s Princess Yeonhwa?
The pace of posts on social media began to quicken.
As young Yoon Seo-il moved, the drama approached its climax.
The music grew increasingly tense, zooming in on Yoon Seo-il’s eager face.
An emotional performance that transcended age.
Park Jung-woo, who usually displayed outstanding talent, was even more remarkable now.
As the boy stumbled and rolled while racing ahead without holding back, viewers couldn’t help but be engrossed.
“Whoa, Seoyeon is great, but…”
“Is this what a well-trained young actor looks like?”
Even the staff members who had seen this scene several times left their mouths agape.
It wasn’t just emotional acting; the natural movements, the athletic prowess.
It felt so seamless one could almost forget about the acting aspect entirely.
It was reminiscent of watching seasoned adult actors.
As young Yoon Seo-il dashed forward, the ratings began to surge.
Ha Tae-oh hurriedly asked,
“What are the current ratings at?”
“30% at the moment. No updates yet.”
Thirty percent isn’t a small figure.
In fact, it was considered a resounding success.
However, it felt ambiguous when reflecting on the previous episode’s climb to 29%.
They certainly had to surpass episode 2’s peak rating.
Desperately, Ha Tae-oh wished for this.
Episode 3 featured the last appearance of young Lee Hye-wol.
He had already watched that scene countless times.
He felt confident.
But, well, who knew how the public would react?
Amidst the keen anticipation of everyone,
The Sun Hidden by the Moon, episode 3, raced towards its climax.
*
“Your Highness.”
Panting, Yoon Seo-il exclaimed.
Princess Yeonhwa had already departed.
Everyone said it was too late even if he chased after her.
Yoon Seo-il felt regret.
If only he had decided a bit faster.
He lamented his own foolishness.
What was so frightening?
What was so terrifying that he held his breath and hid away?
“Your Highness!!”
He runs, and runs again.
He has no clue where Princess Yeonhwa, who has already left, is.
Yet, Yoon Seo-il continues to run aimlessly.
Perhaps, perhaps, he only ran with that single intention in mind.
High hilltops.
A view where the palace was visible all at once.
And there, stood Princess Yeonhwa.
She gazed at the palace below, standing against the sun.
“Wow.”
Moments like these left viewers marveling at Princess Yeonhwa’s portrayal.
An almost scene out of a painting.
Even though only her back was visible, her complex emotions felt palpable.
Among those watchers was Han Sun-ah, quietly holding her breath.
By now, her own emotions had built up so much that she eagerly tapped away on her phone.
– Princess Yeonhwa! 😭😭😭 So pitiful! 😭😭😭
Echoing Han Sun-ah’s sentiment, similar reactions flooded social media.
And then,
“Hey, Young-bin, look; Seoyeon finally showed up!”
With friends gathered together, Young-bin Joo watched his daughter’s performance.
Unlike Sua or Seoyeon, who had already viewed the footage, this was Young-bin’s first glimpse of that scene.
But he had seen that back before.
Just not long ago, when they discussed matters about the future.
“Are you really sure about this? It’s not just because of your mom, right?”
The Sun Hidden by the Moon.
As it garnered attention, Seoyeon decided to act swiftly.
She’d already received numerous offers for commercials.
And through Gong Jeong-tae and PD Ha Tae-oh, others had come with drama proposals.
And even variety shows.
If Seoyeon set her mind to it, she could undoubtedly ride that wave toward greater heights.
“No, this is my decision.”
Seoyeon thought.
She reflected.
In fact, she had a longing to do even more.
Should she find various aspects to improve upon gradually?
Such thoughts crossed her mind.
“This feels right.”
Seoyeon gazed at her hands.
Her hands, once wounded during the last shoot, thankfully healed without a scar.
But that injury had awakened a sense of vigilance within her.
For her, emotions were alien, fear-laden enigmas.
Yet, the greatest strength she possessed was in her emotional acting.
Especially method acting.
But, ultimately, method acting was merely a subset of acting.
That alone should never become an all-encompassing path.
Seoyeon recognized her shortcomings.
Both technically and emotionally.
Surely, she would grow more in body and soul down the road.
And perhaps that same emotion would expand with her.
Truthfully, Seoyeon lacked confidence in reining in that emotion.
That was likely due to the dissonance left behind by the memories of her past life.
She needed time to fully embrace those remnants.
“It’s alright.”
Seoyeon said this while smiling at Young-bin and Sua.
“Really.”
There were so many things she wished to learn.
She yearned to study acting.
She wanted to attend a voice acting academy and learn proper vocal techniques.
If the time allowed, she’d love to sing too.
She wanted to try everything she missed due to her emotional inadequacies in her past life.
She longed to be an actor.
And also a VTuber.
“After all, I’ll return again.”
In the end, it was a dream driven by her covetous nature.
Thus, Seoyeon looked ahead.
Amid the actors, wrapped in Sua’s embrace,
She observed herself reflected in the colossal TV screen, completely different from her own home.
The back of Princess Yeonhwa.
Shattering the aquarium, she dove into a sea of emotions.
The emotional Joo Seoyeon gazed upon her own image.
「…You’ve come.」
With Seoyeon and Princess Yeonhwa Lee Hye-wol’s teary voices resonating,
「Seo-il.」
Princess Yeonhwa slowly turned her body.
With a sorrowful smile on her lips.
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