Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Translator: Penny
Chapter 53
“Ha-eun is the best, as expected.”
It was two days after the Yeongwol audition.
In a large conference room at the KBC drama station, the casting meeting for was underway.
The topic of the meeting was, of course, the lead role of Yeongwol.
There is no casting meeting more important than the one to decide the lead role.
Therefore, in most cases, the meeting tends to last quite a while.
They had to alternate between discussion and debate to find the actor who best suited the lead role.
However, this time was an exception.
The staff who had been at the Yeongwol audition two days prior already knew who the owner of the Yeongwol role was.
“To be honest, if you only look at the masks, there were actors who were almost on par, but…”
“There wasn’t a single actor who was on par in swordplay. It was so realistic that it gave me the chills.”
Her gaze, expression, and gestures—everything suited Yeongwol.
It was, in a word, an impeccable performance.
However, there were also points added in areas other than the perfection of Ha-eun’s performance.
“I honestly didn’t know she would even go to action school for an audition, not an actual shoot.”
“And that was from the moment they started looking for an actor for the role of Yeongwol. It’s not common to see an actor showing that much enthusiasm.”
“It’s not just enthusiasm. When I saw her going to the stuntmen and greeting them one by one, I knew she was the one.”
Behavior far from arrogance.
Considering that stars of Ha-eun’s age tend to live in their own little world, full of ‘self-love.’
The mature attitude Ha-eun showed at the audition was definitely a plus.
After that, no one came out against casting Ha-eun as Yeongwol.
Thus, after Ha-eun was finally decided as the actor to play Yeongwol.
“About our audition video. How about using it as a promotional teaser?”
One of the staff members suggested using Ha-eun’s audition video, which had impressed everyone who saw it, as a teaser for the drama.
“Well, it would be a waste to just throw that video away.”
“I think it would be a big hit if we released about two minutes of unedited footage.”
A video where acting like you’re trying to kill and acting like you’re really trying to live coexist.
This was possible thanks to Ha-eun’s outstanding performance, as well as the passionate performances of the stuntmen who received Ha-eun’s acting.
However, only one person among those sitting in the conference room.
Jin Gyu-seong, the director of Moonlight Pierced by Clouds.
“…I’m a little worried.”
He differed in attitude from the other staff members, who were blinded by the promotional effect that would be created by the audition video.
“Let’s try filming first. I don’t think it’ll be too late to decide then if a similar scene is chosen.”
The performance Ha-eun showed at the audition was, after all, an impromptu performance.
The distance of the steps, the direction of the gaze, and the order and type of swordsmanship were not specified in advance.
The only things that were decided were the lines and the atmosphere.
Of course, the swordplay scene that Ha-eun would film later would be based on the swordplay scene from the audition.
However, it seemed impossible to perfectly recreate the scene from the audition in the actual filming.
Because the sword Ha-eun used at the audition.
'I, I’m sorry, Director. Actually, a few swords were missing, so I brought a few more from the prop warehouse….'
It wasn’t a sword that had been prepared in advance for the Yeongwol audition.
It wasn’t even a sword prepared for the filming of Moonlight Pierced by Clouds.
It differed in material and weight from the light swords that had been pre-selected to be considerate of the actresses’ wrists.
It wasn’t as sharp as a real sword, but it had been worn down from being used for quite some time, so it was somewhat sharp.
It was still unclear why such an old sword was in the drama station’s prop warehouse.
But, more than anything else.
‘…Don’t people usually ask for a different sword if it’s too heavy?’
The biggest problem was that she had performed swordplay with that heavy sword.
The Yeongwol audition was, after all, an audition that Jin Gyu-seong had stubbornly pushed for.
In other words, if something unexpected happened at the audition, Jin Gyu-seong would ultimately be responsible for it.
The worst of these was when actors were actually injured.
The reason they had prepared light swords that even actresses could easily lift was to consider the risk of injury to the actors.
However, not only was a sword heavy enough to strain the wrist in Ha-eun’s hand.
The sharp blade narrowly missed the stunt actors several times?
No matter how much no one was hurt as a result.
This was the kind of thing that should never be overlooked.
If an actual injury had occurred and an article related to the injury had been published, the entire drama shoot would have been canceled.
Therefore, it was only natural that Jin Gyu-seong would take ‘appropriate measures.’
At the same time, he was going to be extremely careful to prevent this from happening again during the actual filming.
The postponement of the idea to turn Ha-eun’s audition video into a promotional teaser was an extension of that.
“Still, if it’s Ha-eun, I’m sure she won’t show that kind of acting during the actual filming. Let’s just skip the teaser video for now.”
Thus, the agenda regarding the promotional teaser was put on hold to be discussed later.
Soon, the casting meeting for another role that had not yet been decided, ‘Queen Yoon,’ began.
However, unlike the role of Yeongwol, where the candidate group had been narrowed down to only Ha-eun.
In the case of the role of Queen Yoon, there were several actors in the candidate group.
“Ji-woo has the most experience in historical dramas, after all—”
“Still, Yoon-hee’s pronunciation is—”
The opinions among the staff were not easily narrowed down.
The casting meeting for the role of Queen Yoon continued for quite some time.
It was ten minutes later that the name of an actor that Jin Gyu-seong had personally had in mind was brought up.
“More than anything else, Da-yeon seemed to give the performance that best matched Ha-eun’s acting. What do you guys think?”
Min Da-yeon.
An actress who had made a name for herself since she was a child actor.
Because she had been the standard for child acting in the past, her acting skills were no less than those of other actors.
Her appearance was also that of a full-fledged actress.
It’s just that she had appeared in so many works since she was a child.
‘Isn’t there anything particularly new about her now?’
There was a tendency for viewers to accept her as just the actress Min Da-yeon, not the role Da-yeon was playing.
Whatever role Da-yeon played, this role seemed like that role, and that role seemed like this role.
An actor whose so-called ‘image consumption’ had ended.
However, Da-yeon’s performance, which Jin Gyu-seong had encountered at the Queen Yoon audition in the past.
‘…It was definitely fiercer than what was written in the script.’
It felt like a performance that assumed Ha-eun would play the role of Yeongwol.
The performances of the other actors, excluding Da-yeon, were performances that utilized the high status of Queen Yoon as the queen.
It was a performance that suppressed Yeongwol through the difference in status that Yeongwol, a mere Byeolgam, could not dare to covet.
However, Da-yeon was different.
It was as if she knew in advance that Ha-eun’s Yeongwol could not be suppressed by the difference in status.
“If another actor had been cast in the role of Yeongwol instead of Ha-eun, I would have thought about it a little more.”
“Are you saying that Da-yeon gave a performance tailored to Ha-eun?”
“That’s what I feel, at least.”
A sharper and colder gaze.
A voice filled with serious vigilance instead of the composure that came from the difference in status.
Decisively, a fierce spirit that seemed to assume a head-on collision with Ha-eun.
“To be honest, I think the other actors would be completely eaten up by Ha-eun.”
It made Jin Gyu-seong consider Da-yeon to be an actor suitable for the role of Queen Yoon.
More precisely, she was the only Queen Yoon who could stand up to Ha-eun’s Yeongwol.
“Certainly, if you think about acting that can stand up to Ha-eun…”
As such, Da-yeon’s presence was gradually increasing.
After watching the audition recording video for the role of Queen Yoon together on the monitor in the conference room.
“…I think it’s been decided.”
No one could be found anywhere who opposed Da-yeon.
As Jin Gyu-seong said, the only performance that could stand up to Ha-eun’s performance was Da-yeon’s performance.
“The shoot is from 3 PM?”
“Yes. So, I think I’ll have to leave early during the fifth period break.”
The faculty office of Narae Arts High School.
To be exact, a small conference room inside the faculty office.
Currently, Lee Ha-eun was discussing her changed schedule with her homeroom teacher.
The reason was that just yesterday, Ha-eun had received the news that she had been finally cast as Yeongwol.
“Okay. I’ll tell the other teachers, so Ha-eun, you can just leave early when it’s time.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Teacher.”
Narae Arts High School had always been considerate of the attendance of celebrity students, so this time, there were no particular issues.
Nevertheless, what kept bothering Ha-eun’s homeroom teacher about Ha-eun’s early dismissal was.
'Um, Teacher. The shoot is from 3 PM, so—'
Da-yeon, who was in the class right next to Ha-eun, had also told her homeroom teacher the same thing as Ha-eun.
However, she didn’t just say the same thing, but also spoke to Ha-eun’s homeroom teacher.
‘Please keep it a secret from Lee Ha-eun. I’m begging you.’
She asked him to keep it a secret from Ha-eun that Da-yeon was leaving early at the same time as Ha-eun.
Ha-eun’s homeroom teacher, who already knew that Ha-eun and Da-yeon had been together for quite some time, couldn’t help but be puzzled.
Well, one way or another.
He was somewhat certain that the two actors attending Narae Arts High School would be appearing in the same work.
“I wonder if you’d tell me what the exact work is if I asked?”
“Teacher Park, these days, social media is so good that rumors spread in an instant. It’s not too late to ask when the article comes out later.”
He was curious about and looking forward to Ha-eun and Da-yeon’s first joint appearance.
No matter what anyone said, the two of them were the most famous and outstanding actors at Narae Arts High School.
‘I guess it’ll be a role where they’re on good terms?’
While Ha-eun’s homeroom teacher was guessing the relationship between the two roles that Ha-eun and Da-yeon would each play in a positive direction.
In fact, Ha-eun and Da-yeon were.
“Hey, Lee Ha-eun.”
“?”
“Um, well, um… If I slap you, will you get angry?”
They were having a conversation that was a little far from the conversations that people who were on good terms would have.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny