Chapter: 49
The Sun Hidden by the Moon.
Ten years ago, it broke through a 40% viewership rating, causing a tremendous stir.
That year, it seemed like every award went to the cast of The Sun Hidden by the Moon.
But that was all in the past—ten long years ago.
Now, it was just a drama remembered only by those chasing after nostalgic feelings.
However.
“….”
Kang Se-hyun, who played Alex in the play Under Sneetch, couldn’t believe the situation unfolding before him.
“Wow, check this out. This is insane, right?”
“Joo Su-yeon? Did she just mention ‘Eyes Closed’?”
“Is this for real?”
All the actors and staff were buzzing around him.
But of course, Kang Se-hyun couldn’t hear a word they were saying.
He was blankly staring at his phone’s screen, watching the variety show play out.
“Seo-il, you’ve really grown up unrecognizably.”
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
A young man who had grown up so much.
And a girl who had blossomed beautifully.
The gray nostalgia of the past was now vividly colored and came to life.
It was hard to believe the backdrop was just a shoddily made paper set.
“Shall we take a walk after a long time? Seo-il.”
“Of course, your Highness.”
“Hmm, you can call me Hye-wol now, it’s okay.”
“Pardon? What are you talking about?”
“Seo-il, that kind of statement hurts my feelings. We’re close, aren’t we?”
With a soft smile, Lee Hye-wol flashed a grin that made anyone sigh in admiration.
The fleeting glimpses of casually dressed high school students around didn’t bother him in the slightest.
Likely, everyone watching this broadcast felt the same way.
Park Jung-woo.
A natural-born acting genius who had inherited his father’s talent from childhood.
During filming, the number of NGs he produced was virtually zero. His acting skills were well-established.
Aura.
He was born with the spark that attracts attention, destined to become a star.
So, it made sense that he could grab everyone’s gaze just like that.
But.
“Joo Su-yeon.”
Kang Se-hyun’s attention was caught by none other than Joo Su-yeon.
The child actor making a dramatic return after ten years.
Her narrative had struck everyone’s hearts, and what about her acting?
It was absolutely on par with Park Jung-woo.
In fact, she was even better in this setting.
It felt more like watching a theater performance than a drama.
Truly, Su-yeon’s movements were much closer to theater than television drama.
Therefore, her performance was natural.
Had it been anyone but Park Jung-woo, they would have struggled to keep up with her acting.
‘Is it really this good?’
They were essentially recreating scenes from the drama on stage in the auditorium.
The failure of ‘Looking Back on the Past’ could be attributed to their obsession with ‘drama acting’.
Recreating iconic drama scenes in school was just dull.
The actors’ skills.
The filming methods.
All were worlds apart from an actual drama set.
Joo Su-yeon understood that.
And so, she shifted it to a play.
“And those surrounding students, too.”
The theater club of Yeonhwa High School was quite skilled.
They had enough talent to earn such accolades.
However, the skills paled in comparison to the direction of a drama replay, and they were hardly noticeable.
Yet, as Su-yeon effortlessly guided the play, the students’ movements naturally adapted.
One actor carries the play.
Even with Park Jung-woo’s support, the lack of realism was striking.
“This is crazy.”
Everyone resonated with the words of a fellow actor watching the variety.
The high school students in the auditorium, who had initially worn bored expressions, were now fully immersed in the performance.
Hypnotized until the reenactment of Episode 8 came to a close.
“Se-hyun.”
“…Yeah.”
A fellow actor beside him spoke.
“Isn’t this a big deal for us?”
“…”
Tickets were limited, so the play wouldn’t flop.
Surely not.
But.
‘The specter of the past…’
It was clear that all the attention that Under Sneetch ought to have had was taken away by Eyes Closed.
For Kang Se-hyun who was on the rise, this felt like a horrific nightmare.
A strange anxiety tightened around his throat.
*
“…Seo-hee?”
Jo Seo-hee’s manager, Shin Yoo-kyung, watched Seo-hee stare intently at her smartphone with a rigid expression.
If that gaze could have physically harmed her phone, there would be no trace left of it.
“Ha.”
On a typical day, Seo-hee would be lounging in the van, but today her face was alive with excitement.
And rightfully so.
The variety show playing on her phone.
She obviously couldn’t watch it live.
She hadn’t even cared to.
But she had finally caught word of the “buzz” and checked it late.
“Looks like she’s here.”
Park Jung-woo, he was whatever to her.
A guy she’d run into multiple times already.
In the past, she might have felt overshadowed, but not anymore.
Once known as the princess from a daily drama, that title was now history.
Seo-hee, the actress.
Standing proudly under her own name, her status was just as solid as Park Jung-woo’s.
While she still held the intention to outshine him one day when filming together, today was special.
“Joo Su-yeon.”
The girl who had handed him defeat.
She was back and shining.
With all eyes on her, recreating the notorious Episode 8 that had sparked controversy a decade ago.
‘She’s improved so much, so much!’
Technically, acting-wise.
In the past, Su-yeon was Princess Yeonhwa incarnate.
That was simply because of her unique acting prowess.
Seo-yeon’s skills, unseen on screen back then, had surely been amateurish.
But now, what about now?
“Ticket sales for the play went well, right?”
“Hmm? Oh, of course! Naturally!”
Her agency staff had all rallied together to get tickets.
For this level of hype surrounding Eyes Closed, the excitement was off the charts.
Not that she looked down on theater, but it was rare for it to garner attention like this.
Some people were even taking their first steps into theater because of this play.
Because of that, there were murmurs about existing theater fans struggling to get tickets.
One actor’s influence.
The theater industry was buzzing to catch this wave.
There was a palpable zeal to expand the theater scene just a little through this opportunity.
“So, how many scripts did you get submitted to you?”
“Hmm, well? Quite a lot, actually.”
“Let me take a look through them.”
The Eyes Closed play she booked.
Seo-hee definitely wanted to see Su-yeon’s performance.
The acting she saw in the variety must have surpassed even that.
With a sharp smile, Seo-hee thought:
“What if she came back just as before? I might have been disappointed.”
“This is amazing.”
“I can’t take my eyes off it.”
Fulfilling her desire to witness Su-yeon’s acting, after rewinding through the performance multiple times, she slowly turned off her smartphone.
“I don’t think I’ll get any breaks for filming.”
Of course, she planned to watch until the end of Eyes Closed.
Seo-hee gazed out of the van’s window at the tall buildings.
Advertisements featuring her face.
Several others caught her eye as well.
“If it were that guy, he’d be sticking his face in there in no time.”
Just thinking that made Seo-hee feel genuinely happy.
Her reunion with Joo Su-yeon was on the horizon.
*
“Alright, we’ve decided to change our venue!”
“What? Are you serious? Can we even do that?”
“It’s the higher-ups’ decision. They say the impact this time is something else entirely.”
They claimed an enormous number of people were taking their first plunge into theater through Eyes Closed.
As proof of that, last week’s ticket sales had sold out in just a few minutes.
Though it was announced as 30 minutes, it had actually been even faster.
Tickets for a play hadn’t sold out this quickly ever before.
This time, the audience was predominantly female.
But it was different now.
An even split between genders.
And a wide age range.
Of course, most of the audience had flocked in due to Su-yeon’s hype, but even if they captured a few from this group, it would still be a huge win.
Just giving them a taste of theater’s fun would be more than worth it.
“They say a second round of ticket sales is coming soon. The venue will be the Jongno Grand Theater, which was initially set aside for Under Sneetch.”
“Pardon?”
At Jo Do-yul‘s words, Shim Cheong-seok momentarily thought he misheard him.
“Did you say Under Sneetch?”
“Yes, you know, right? Ah, of course, it’s not like they’re using an exceptionally small venue. It’ll probably be a bit smaller than this one, but based on the timing and location, they seem to have convinced themselves that it’s the right theater for Under Sneetch.”
“Wait, how is that even possible?”
Jo Do-yul shrugged at Shim Cheong-seok‘s words.
This was also a first for him.
A rather unprecedented case.
Perhaps it was because Under Sneetch was set to release a few weeks later than Eyes Closed.
“Wow, is this what it’s like to be a star? Now I can’t even mock them anymore.”
“But hey, where did Su-yeon go? I heard she was out today?”
Shim Cheong-seok glanced over where Jo Do-yul had pointed.
“I don’t know for sure, but I heard a friendly guest has come to see her.”
“A friendly guest?”
Given the importance of this event, they had to be cautious about Su-yeon’s safety.
Since reporters swarmed the theater’s vicinity.
“Well, she should be fine. That kid has more strength than I do.”
“Excuse me? What kind of nonsense is that…?”
“I’m serious, I mean it.”
Shim Cheong-seok recalled the playful arm wrestling session he’d had with Su-yeon just a little while ago.
Even thinking back to it now made his arm hurt.
“Like wrestling with a gorilla.”
“Anyway.”
Shim Cheong-seok thought.
He had expected to see the drawing power of an actor at this event.
But…
“She really perpetually exceeds expectations, doesn’t she?”
Even Shim Cheong-seok couldn’t have predicted this level of outcome.
*
“Was there a specific reason you suddenly decided to make a comeback?”
A neatly dressed woman, in a suit, asked as she looked over at the girl seated across from her.
With long black hair and reddish-brown eyes.
It was none other than Joo Su-yeon, who had been making waves recently.
She was conducting an interview with a woman, an extraordinary situation as Su-yeon had previously turned down all interview requests.
“I’ve been thinking about it continuously. It’s just that I couldn’t find the right role.”
“A role prepared specifically for a comeback, right?”
“Exactly.”
“So, was this variety show something you had prepared in advance?”
At the woman’s question, Su-yeon shook her head.
“That was my friend’s help. Originally, Princess Yeonhwa was meant for her.”
“So, she conceded her role to you, huh?”
“Yes.”
“That must have been a tough choice, but it seems you have a great friend. That actress surely…”
“Lee Ji-yeon. She’s been on cable lately…”
Typically, internet journalists tend to write articles arbitrarily.
Yet, Su-yeon had faith in the woman before her.
And for good reason.
“I’m sure many fans have been eagerly awaiting your return. Would you like to leave a message for them now?”
The woman said with a smile.
Seeing her smile, Su-yeon returned a grin.
“Yes.”
Su-yeon replied as she unfolded a white cloth in her hands.
It was something the woman had just handed her.
A somewhat worn white garment.
Old but well-kept.
“…During that time.”
The clothing still bore the not-so-familiar name ‘Joo Su-yeon’ on it.
It felt nostalgic.
Her very first autograph.
As unlikely as it seemed, to see this again.
“Thank you for waiting for me.”
Her first fan.
Hearing that, the short-haired woman dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Han Sun-ah.
Now all grown up and working as a journalist, she was meeting Su-yeon.
“I’ll write you a fantastic article.”
“Thank you. I’m counting on you.”
At Su-yeon‘s words of trust, Han Sun-ah nodded.
She’d kept the outfit she had given to Su-yeon with great care.
It had been a treasure that had supported her through tough times.
“Ah.”
Just then, Su-yeon seemed to recall something and asked.
“Would you mind telling me the title of the article?”
“Of course.”
Sun-ah revealed the title she had thought about for years, eagerly awaiting Su-yeon’s comeback.
“Rising Star.”
A term describing stars on the rise, ones about to shine.
A tribute Sun-ah had long prepared for the star she had waited for.
<Rising Star, Joo Su-yeon. She’s Back!>
As Sun-ah’s article topped entertainment news, receiving the most comments and feedback.
Two weeks pass.
“Alright, please line up, everyone!”
“No scalping allowed! You must present your ID for verification!”
The play Eyes Closed made its premiere under everyone’s watchful eyes.
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