Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Translator: Penny
Chapter 55
A tense confrontation with no room for retreat.
Cold and sharp gazes that conveyed no affection whatsoever.
'They're going in strong from the start.'
'Doesn't seem shy at all.'
It was clear that this was their first time exchanging lines, but it was anything but ordinary.
In particular, the power struggle between Queen Yoon and Yeongwol felt even more intense than expected.
"You speak as if you'd give Your Highness your liver and gallbladder if the Crown Prince asked."
"If this humble body can be of service to Your Highness, why would I not offer it?"
Those who sought to keep Crown Prince Lee Hyun in check, and those who sought to protect him.
At the same time, people who were hostile to each other.
The two, who were the same age both in the drama's setting and in real life, clashed head-on, making it feel all the more realistic.
A collision of all-out effort where neither side could be said to have the upper hand or be at a disadvantage.
In other words, Ha-eun's acting and Da-yeon's acting blended harmoniously.
If one side stood out unilaterally, the tension of the scene would inevitably drop.
'Both of them have completely different images.'
This was the first time Ha-eun was playing a role with a sharp image like Yeongwol.
This was also the first time Da-yeon was playing a villainous role like Queen Yoon.
Both of them were unfamiliar in many ways.
No, they were new.
Nevertheless, there wasn't even a speck of awkwardness or unnaturalness, allowing those who watched their acting to immerse themselves even more deeply.
Above all, that novelty was exactly what director Jin Gyu-seong was aiming for.
"All three of you were great. It was a performance that made me look forward to the filming day."
Jin Gyu-seong's unreserved praise for [S#13. Three-Person Confrontation in the Crown Prince's Palace] that had just finished was evident.
The second script reading scene that began next was an overall scene where the leads, supporting actors, and extras worked together.
After that, they spent quite a long time matching the actors' chemistry, harmoniously refining things like the tone, intensity, and intonation of each role's voice.
The staff's minds were increasingly filled with good omens as they watched this scene, which was progressing smoothly without any particular hitches.
'This time might really be different.'
'I hope we can finally have a company dinner without worrying this time.'
It had already been three years since the KBC drama department's slump began.
They were tired of the bitterness they tasted when dramas they had put their heart and soul into failed.
So, this time, they hoped to taste the sweetness of success rather than the bitterness of failure.
And they believed that the outstanding performances they were witnessing now were enough to bring that sweetness.
After reading the script for quite a long time, without anyone noticing how time was passing, the flow of time, which had been forgotten, was noticed.
And so, as a dark night sky fell, late at night.
"Okay, let's do just one more scene and finish."
Jin Gyu-seong's words that he would conclude the script reading with one of the highlights of Moonlight Pierced by Clouds were conveyed to everyone.
It was only natural that they would be curious about what scene it was.
"[S#47. Injured Yeongwol]. Please start as soon as you're ready."
S#47. Injured Yeongwol.
The scene that Ha-eun had told Yoo Sung-jae was her favorite a few hours ago.
At the same time, it was the scene that made her want to play Yeongwol.
It was also this scene that made Ha-eun interested in cross-dressing acting.
It wasn't a scene that revealed a confrontation with an antagonistic figure like Queen Yoon.
Nor was it a scene that revealed charisma as a military officer.
'The scene where Yeongwol reveals her feminine side for the first time.'
A complex scene where the cross-dressing Yeongwol reveals her feminine side for the first time.
It was more subtle and emotional, and the gap between man and woman was expressed through the single character of Yeongwol.
For Ha-eun, this gap between man and woman was an act she could do more confidently than anyone else.
She believed that no one could follow Ha-eun when it came to acting that crossed between the two genders.
After all, no one in this world could have experienced the same thing as Ha-eun.
Ha-eun was the only person in this world who had experienced both the lives of men and women.
"Ha-eun, are you ready?"
"...Yes."
And so, Yoo Sung-jae, having confirmed that Ha-eun was ready, slowly cleared his throat.
Not even a few seconds later.
"I wondered where the injured person had gone in such a hurry. So you were hiding in a place like this."
Finally, the last script reading began with the voice of Crown Prince Lee Hyun, who began to recite the lines in the script.
"...Your Highness?"
"Who else but me would search the palace for you in the middle of the night?"
An attack by assassins targeting the time when Lee Hyun was returning from his secret excursion.
Yeongwol, who single-handedly blocked such a sudden attack, ended up getting cut in the waist.
Fortunately, it wasn't a major injury, but the bandages on her upper body, which had been wrapped to hide her gender, were stained with blood.
The events leading up to the scene were that she was trying to change the bandages in a small warehouse in the Crown Prince's palace.
The main content of begins after Lee Hyun, who was looking for the suddenly disappeared Yeongwol, finally learns that Yeongwol is in the warehouse.
"Open the door. I need to see with my own eyes that your injury isn't serious."
Lee Hyun tries to examine Yeongwol's injury himself because of his worry and guilt towards Yeongwol.
And Yeongwol begs Lee Hyun not to come into the warehouse.
From Yeongwol's point of view, this was a natural request.
That's because Yeongwol was currently half-unwrapping the bandages that had been wrapped around her upper body.
If Lee Hyun were to come into the warehouse, he would surely realize that Yeongwol was a woman.
Yeongwol wanted to stay by Lee Hyun's side, so she had to prevent Lee Hyun from entering the warehouse at all costs.
"No, Your Highness. You must not see me in this state."
"It's an injury you sustained trying to protect me. Why would you try to hide such an unsightly injury?"
"Please, Your Highness. Please grant me this one request."
Uneven breathing.
A trembling voice.
It was an emotional side of Yeongwol that Lee Hyun had never encountered before.
At the same time, it was the first time Yeongwol was showing a vulnerable side.
A scene where Yeongwol as a man gradually disappears, and Yeongwol as a woman fills the empty space.
Any actress would have awkwardly acted out this process of change.
'...It's natural.'
'Is it really acting?'
'You wouldn't even be able to learn that kind of acting anywhere.'
Only one person, Ha-eun.
She was able to act without any awkwardness at all.
"...Are you truly alright?"
"Yes, Your Highness. It is absolutely nothing for you to worry about."
Lee Hyun, who ultimately failed to enter the warehouse where Yeongwol was, leaned against the warehouse door and slumped down.
The story of how Lee Hyun had thought of Yeongwol as a person until now began after that.
"When I was five years old, I saw my wet nurse die vomiting blood."
Assassination attempts against Lee Hyun had been going on for quite some time.
He had managed to survive by chance after chance, but the assassination attempts that had not stopped even then eventually.
"I was afraid of facing those lifeless eyes again, so I couldn't keep anyone by my side. Really, I couldn't have anyone...by my side."
Made Lee Hyun volunteer to be a loner.
Made him unable to rely on anyone in the vast palace.
However, after meeting Yeongwol for the first time a few years ago.
After Yeongwol finally volunteered to be Lee Hyun's bodyguard.
"After meeting you, I was able to not lose anyone for the first time. For the first time, I had someone I could call my own."
He no longer had to endure loneliness.
He no longer had to coldly reject those who approached him.
"So, never again."
However, Yeongwol, who was stabbed by an assassin's sword instead of Crown Prince Lee Hyun a few hours ago.
More precisely, that nightmarish sight of Yeongwol's black clothes gradually turning red.
"Don't make me afraid. ...That is an order."
Reminded him once again that even the strong Yeongwol could leave Lee Hyun's side.
Made him feel the fear that five-year-old Lee Hyun had felt once again.
For Yeongwol beyond the warehouse door, Lee Hyun's voice was something she couldn't bear to ignore.
At the same time, it was a voice that made her realize that Lee Hyun regarded Yeongwol as the most precious person.
And, only then.
Yeongwol, who realized why she wanted to stay by Lee Hyun's side,
"...Yes, Your Highness."
After forcibly suppressing the feelings she could never convey at any other time, she barely answered in a voice mixed with a trace of moisture.
Her expression was also darker than ever before.
And so, S#47 Injured Yeongwol, which was completely finished with Yeongwol's expression, which was a mixture of various emotions, as the last scene.
Jin Gyu-seong, who had been silently watching Ha-eun and Yoo Sung-jae's acting until now, finally opened his tightly closed mouth.
"It was perfect."
He gave Ha-eun and Yoo Sung-jae a short but accurate review.
It was right after that that the heavy atmosphere that no one could break began to slowly break.
The ensuing buzz was entirely made up of everyone's reviews of Ha-eun and Yoo Sung-jae's acting.
Da-yeon was the only one who was still silent in the midst of the commotion, which was a mixture of amazement and anticipation.
However, even Da-yeon had no choice but to open her mouth after facing Ha-eun, who had already approached her.
That's because Ha-eun's expression right now was.
"...Why didn't you tell me?"
It was an expression that only revealed her disappointment towards Da-yeon.
Her usual composure was nowhere to be found.
"It's not like I have to get your permission to apply for a role I want to play."
"Still...you could have at least told me. I told you everything."
And then, Ha-eun asked if she wanted to slap her face that much.
However, it wasn't that she applied for the role of Queen Yoon because she wanted to slap Ha-eun's face.
It was to resolve the 'strange feeling' that Da-yeon had felt when she faced Ha-eun surrounded by her classmates in the past that she had applied for the role of Queen Yoon.
"...Let's pretend we don't know each other until the end of this filming."
She declared that she would distance herself from Ha-eun for the time being.
That's because if she stuck with Ha-eun as usual, she wouldn't be able to immerse herself in the role of Queen Yoon, who had to torment Ha-eun's Yeongwol.
Ha-eun and Da-yeon, who can freely control her emotions, are different.
Therefore, she believed that it was necessary to keep her emotions in check even in her daily life in order to give a more perfect performance as Queen Yoon.
'If I don't do this, I'll never be able to handle that bitch.'
Ha-eun's acting that she had once looked down on, once been embarrassed by, once wanted to possess, and once resented.
That's why she never intended to face Ha-eun's acting with a half-hearted determination.
And so, she finally started distancing herself from Ha-eun.
However, there was one problem that Da-yeon had not taken into account.
'...I'm bored.'
That was that she didn't have any friends other than Ha-eun.
Was it because she was exuding the sharp atmosphere of Queen Yoon for the filming of Moonlight Pierced by Clouds?
No one at Narae Arts High School dared to talk to Da-yeon.
To fill the growing void of Ha-eun, Da-yeon chose her cell phone.
More precisely, internet broadcasting clips with a somewhat familiar name that had started this Tuesday.
"Do I have a boyfriend? Ah, of course I do☆"
Gasp
Me
Dia, my horns hurt Dia, my horns hurt Dia, my horns hurt Dia, my horns hurt Dia, my horns hurt Dia, my horns hurt
Rock
Me
Do you want to perform at a dome concert too? Do you want to perform at a dome concert too? Do you want to perform at a dome concert too? Do you want to perform at a dome concert too? Do you want to perform at a dome concert too? Do you want to perform at a dome concert too?
"Why are you so surprised? I think there are at least 3,000 of my boyfriends in this room right now."
What
Extreme
My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt My horns don't hurt
Rock
Extreme
I hope my first child is a daughter (This message has been deleted)
When did I escape being single?
'...It's kind of fun.'
At first, it was a broadcast that she started watching because she thought she had heard the name somewhere.
But now, she was watching it because of the lively, bouncy voice and the atmosphere of the chat window that changed every few seconds.
Of course, she only watched it when no one was around.
It was because she still didn't have the confidence to explain it without any embarrassment if her classmates asked what it was.
📝 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