A Thirst Lodged in the Throat (4)
The core tension in Haegeuk revolves around two main elements.
One is the plague ravaging the Grand Army, and the other is the lust for the throne.
These two are distinct yet intricately linked, influencing each other in profound ways.
The desire for power, born from a will to survive, eventually degenerates into pure greed, laced with murderous intent toward his elder brother, injecting fresh tension into the drama.
And the birth of the royal grandson four years later serves as a pivotal turning point, heightening the story's atmosphere once more.
The scene where he steals a glimpse of the baby royal grandson could mark the true beginning of Jeongnan.
Jang Seung-won, having finished setting up the cameras, was poring over the script as if trying to bore holes through it.
The end of Jeongnan... and the drama's conclusion. It's the first impression that pierces right through the central theme.
He recalled what Jeong Seo-hoon had said.
He wanted a unified emotional thread in how the character treated his newborn nephew and his deposed nephew.
The more he read the script, the clearer that idea painted a vivid inspiration in his mind.
That's a brilliant interpretation. This Grand Prince was meant for Jeong Seo-hoon from the start. He'd make a great director someday too.
The joke that this was Kim Sang-hee's tribute to Jeong Seo-hoon wasn't far off.
Jeong Seo-hoon was quite late.
Twenty minutes had already passed, but he still hadn't shown up.
Yet Jang Seung-won waited patiently without unnecessary worry.
He must be deeply immersing himself in the emotions ahead of the rehearsal.
"PD-nim."
Jeong Seo-hoon finally arrived, and Jang Seung-won greeted him with a slightly surprised smile.
"You've even got the full costume on? You didn't have to go that far."
"This isn't just a camera test—it's a rehearsal. I wanted to do it as properly as possible."
"Then you should've called me at least. Doing this all by yourself... Anyway, great attitude, Seo-hoon. Let's give it a go."
He was only in the official robes, without full makeup.
Even so, an aura transcending the era emanated from him.
Jang Seung-won sat in front of the camera, manipulating the panel to bring up the background on the LED wall.
The Grand Prince standing before the massive LED wall over eight meters tall came rushing mercilessly toward him through the camera lens, the vivid backdrop alive behind him.
Jang Seung-won widened his pupils at the viewfinder.
Through the earpiece, the Grand Prince's voice, captured by the boom mic, flowed in solemnly.
"—Her Highness the Crown Princess has borne a healthy royal grandson. Truly, the royal house's future shines bright."
The Grand Prince lifted his bowed head to gaze this way.
It was as if sliding fusuma doors were closing slowly from both sides right before his eyes.
That brief moment as the gap narrowed felt eternally long, like eons.
He wouldn't miss the fleeting chance, capturing his rival—the royal grandson—in his eyes with raw murderous intent.
Jang Seung-won felt his breath stiffen.
In that instant, he became the nursemaid the Grand Prince glared at, and the camera transformed into the object of his hatred, the royal grandson.
He even forgot to call "cut."
Jang Seung-won lost himself completely, utterly captivated by the living, breathing Grand Prince in the viewfinder.
The Grand Prince approached slowly.
The thought that this action wasn't in the script didn't even cross Jang Seung-won's mind; he was utterly swept into the drama's rhythm.
When the Grand Prince's eyes alone filled his vision, vast and vivid, Jang Seung-won shuddered, his teeth chattering.
"It's over. You need to call cut, right?"
"Ah..."
Snap—he was forcibly yanked back to reality, and Jang Seung-won looked up at Jeong Seo-hoon with dazed eyes.
Blinking for a moment, Jang Seung-won suddenly burst into laughter.
"Whoa... I nearly passed out there. I got way too immersed without realizing it."
"How was it?"
"I had no idea what you were dissatisfied with before, but now I get it. This is what you were aiming for."
He'd thought there was nothing left to add.
But it was simply that his own perspective had been lower than this young actor's.
"Ah, it's a shame. If we'd kept that momentum and rehearsed the scene where he kills the deposed nephew at the end, we could've felt the unity from start to finish even more vividly. But no partner actor right now."
"Isn't there a stand-in?"
"A stand-in? Who?"
Jang Seung-won glanced around, wondering if someone was watching.
But the studio held only the two of them.
A bit dumbfounded, Jang Seung-won pointed at himself with a finger.
"You don't mean me?"
"How about experiencing the Grand Prince directly from your nephew's viewpoint, PD-nim?"
"Well, uh... But I'm a director, not an actor..."
Hesitating briefly, Jang Seung-won soon grinned brightly and jumped to his feet.
"Alright, what the hell—let's do it. It'll be a unique experience."
Rolling up his sleeves, Jang Seung-won set the recording reservation and stepped forward.
"This is embarrassing. I'm a total newbie, trying to match timing alone with a promising acting genius..."
"Just follow my lead. It won't be hard."
"That sounded just like a director. You planning to star and direct someday?"
"That'd be fun."
Jang Seung-won understood why actresses lost their minds over him.
From the eyes to the voice, the trustworthy aura—it all pulled people in relentlessly.
"Nephew."
The pleasant, soft timbre suddenly shifted to the Grand Prince's deep, gravelly tone.
A voice layered with decades of ruin and greed instantly altered the air.
The beautiful mountain backdrop on the LED wall enveloped his consciousness suffocatingly.
"How could you reject this uncle's gift so coldly?"
For some reason, his peripheral vision blurred.
Yet the Grand Prince at the center of his sight burned clearly into his retina.
Was that suffocating breathlessness an illusion?
"I heard you refused the tonic I prescribed. So I've come myself."
Suddenly, two hands reached out and gripped his throat.
Where had such brute strength hidden in those slender, unmanly fingers?
"Don't worry. It won't hurt much. Curse me, resent the late king who died too soon. Your brother won't blame such a small act of filial impiety."
It was just a mock strangling—no blood flow was actually blocked.
But his brain, fooled by the hyper-real threat, mistook it for real strangulation and teetered on the edge of panic.
The power-hungry murderer's eyes, filled with pity for the young nephew, were right before him.
Seeing his reflection in the killer's cornea, Jang Seung-won widened his eyes.
The neurotic 40-something PD was gone; inside writhed a young king desperate not to die.
What... am I seeing right now?
The hands tightened further. Breathing grew harder.
No—his brain was deluding itself, crumbling from within.
"I'll send you to your father's side so you're not lonely. How could I let the precious nephew I carried on my back meet his end at the hands of lowly scum? This uncle will personally see you off."
Jang Seung-won's body slumped slowly.
What awaited next—fainting or actual strangulation?
The studio scenery had already vanished from his mind.
Hallucinations of a young king strangled to death in exile at Yeongwol danced before his eyes.
"Farewell, Your Majesty."
His eyes closed, vision fading.
The Grand Prince's final expression seemed faintly smiling, or perhaps tearful.
His chest burned hot with resentment too deep even for resignation.
Was this the tragic final agony of the unjustly assassinated young king?
"Cut. PD-nim."
In an instant, all sensations vanished like a lie.
Jang Seung-won sprang up involuntarily, clutching his throat. No trace remained of the brutal grip on his carotid.
"You were great. Made it easier for me to immerse too. You're the one who should be acting, PD-nim."
"Uh, uh... Ahh..."
Jang Seung-won stammered, unable to articulate properly.
He looked around in a trance.
Whirring cameras, the massive LED wall, the drama's centerpiece in Grand Prince garb.
Everything was the perfect studio set, unchanged.
"What... was that just now?"
"What do you mean?"
"This might sound stupid, but... I really felt like the young king being murdered."
Jang Seung-won scanned about with haunted eyes, then met Jeong Seo-hoon's gaze.
"That immersion... what was it? My head's still fuzzy, like I dreamed it."
Jeong Seo-hoon smiled faintly.
"That's exactly what the other partners say too."
"...!"
Jang Seung-won's breath caught briefly, then he broke into a relieved smile.
"Yeah, I'm saying the same thing. Probably felt the same as they did."
Not giving Jeong Seo-hoon a chance to reply, Jang Seung-won pressed on.
"When Han Seo-hee suddenly shone in her camera test during casting... was it like this? Haha, feels like I snapped out of narcolepsy."
"See? You've got acting talent, PD-nim. Why not try it starting now?"
"Nah, no way. It's not my empathy—it's your lead. Mistaking good partnering for my dance skills would just embarrass me in society."
"I'll go change then."
"Sure. I'll sort the footage in the meantime. Let's monitor together."
"Yes. Be right back."
As Jeong Seo-hoon went to change, Jang Seung-won quickly organized the sequences from the five cameras.
He tilted his head, biting his lip thoughtfully.
What really was that? Exactly...
Jeong Seo-hoon returned quickly.
Just shedding the historical robes for casual wear turned his walk into a photoshoot stride.
"Check this scene."
Jang Seung-won pointed at the close-up of the Grand Prince's face, sighing in admiration.
"I saw those eyes right in my face, not at this 45-degree angle. We need to insert a shot later where you stare straight into the lens. Viewers should see exactly what I did."
"I thought your natural collapse here was more striking too, PD-nim."
"I didn't do it consciously—still don't know why. Felt like my throat was really being strangled. Anyway, weird."
The monitoring session was all praise.
After thirty minutes pinpointing strengths and features, Jang Seung-won shrugged.
"Still a ways to go, but if you perform like this in the finale shoot, it'll be perfect. Nothing left for me to tweak."
"Really?"
"Hmm, but you still seem unsatisfied. Is something lacking?"
"No. I'm completely happy with that take."
"Then why? That look in your eyes right now."
Jang Seung-won pointed at the close-up of the Grand Prince's murder-filled gaze.
"Wasn't this what you desperately wanted?"
For an instant, Jeong Seo-hoon felt a sharp stab, as if punched in the solar plexus.
Is this not what you so desperately desired?
The eerily matching words nearly made his consciousness slip.
"Seo-hoon? You look suddenly exhausted. Too much emotional strain? Can't have that. I'll reshuffle the schedule—rest fully tomorrow, no studio."
"...I'm fine."
"I'm not. If the main engine fails, how's the voyage continue? Captain's orders—rest tomorrow. Even the owner obeys the captain aboard."
Jang Seung-won began packing gear haphazardly, while Jeong Seo-hoon watched silently.
The PD said the Grand Prince acting was great.
But he had no idea how much harder it was to act the unbroken everyday life.
***
Bzzz. Zing. Zing. Bzzz. Zing. Zing.
Yoo Jeong-ah frowned even in her half-sleep at the irregular, unfamiliar phone vibration.
But realizing what that specific pattern meant, her eyes snapped open.
She had to play it natural.
"Hello?"
—...
"Who's this? Calling so suddenly in the dead of night... Oh, isn't this Seo-hoon's number?"
—Just wrapped night shoot and heading out from Paju.
"Ended late. Isn't PD Jang pushing the schedule too hard? You okay stamina-wise?"
Already out of bed, Yoo Jeong-ah silently opened her closet, swiftly picking clothes.
—If you're free, want to grab a drink now?
"Now? Isn't it too late...?"
Her quick hands snatched beige shorts and an off-shoulder blouse, tossing them on the bed. Today's picks.
Now for shoes...
"But your voice sounds off. Not tired—more like you're hurting somewhere?"
—Got too immersed practicing the role. Heart's a bit heavy.
"Oh dear. I know that feeling. Can't be helped then. Got it. But come pick me up?"
—Will do.
"I'm home. Sending address."
Hanging up hurriedly, Yoo Jeong-ah froze at the living room view.
Traces of the wild party with actress friends two days ago lingered intact.
"Shit. Guess I have to head out."