Cheongsang Arts Awards (3)
The television category awards opened with the Directing Award.
As expected, it went to Go Dongbin, the man who had shouldered the entire filming of both Fly High and Welcome to Cafe Violet.
Next came the Supporting Actor awards.
One each for male and female, and both of them came from Fly High.
At the sound of his own name, Baek Junyeong rose from his seat with a dazed expression. Only after Kang Haneul gave him a solid shove between the shoulder blades did he finally make it up onto the stage.
Trophy in hand from the host, he stepped to the microphone at center stage to deliver his acceptance speech.
“Uh… it doesn’t quite feel real yet.”
Baek Junyeong offered a bitter smile.
Ordinarily this award belonged to true actors who had given everything beside the leads for an entire year. It was never meant for someone like him—an entertainment executive who had nothing to do with acting.
Still.
If the person who had given him the chance to receive it ever heard that thought, he would have shaken his head at once.
People recognized the CEO’s hard work and gave him the award, and he’s being falsely modest again.
That was exactly how the bastard would put it, shameless as ever.
…He knew.
An acceptance speech that amounted to “sorry for stealing this award” would sound terrible to anyone listening. So Baek Junyeong decided to speak purely from the heart.
“First of all, I want to thank Writer 927 for giving me the chance to be part of an incredible drama like Fly High.”
In the end, joining Fly High had been an enormous gain for Baek Junyeong—but the road there had been anything but smooth.
Composing the OST, building and drilling the choreography, even acting for the first time in his life. Anyone could see he had been running himself ragged, body and mind both pushed to the limit. And some damn someone had stood right beside him the whole time, cracking the whip.
Yet working on Fly High with that damn someone had brought Baek Junyeong back to his original passion for the first time in years.
Every time a song came together he had cheered inside. Watching the dances and music he had created melt perfectly into the story made every moment of filming pure joy. He had even been grateful beyond words that the flash mob—something that dragged up old memories—had been written into a scene of the drama.
So.
“I know you’re watching this broadcast right now. You worked me hard and ran me into the ground, but every single moment we worked together was an honor. Call me anytime you need me, Writer 927.”
Baek Junyeong poured genuine gratitude into the words for Writer 927.
Meanwhile, watching the speech on television, Seo Eunwoo let out a short snort of laughter.
What’s gotten into him, saying something that nice?
Just then CEO Baek Junyeong brought the microphone back to his lips and steadied his breathing. This, it seemed, would be the final line of his speech.
“And visit JYB one more time before you leave, you damn bastard!”
…?
At the raw frustration in Baek Junyeong’s voice, Seo Eunwoo could only tilt his head in confusion.
“W-wait a second! I’m not finished yet!”
His sudden outburst sent the security guards scrambling; they hauled him off the stage at once.
Hmm…
Scratch that earlier compliment.
The Female Supporting Actress Award went to I Dahye for her role as Ha Jiwon, the rival of the protagonist Bomi in Fly High.
Having just finished a congratulatory performance, Dahye had changed into her dress at breakneck speed and now stepped onto the stage with confident strides.
Unlike Baek Junyeong, she had prepared an acceptance speech just in case, so she could face the microphone with a relatively easy heart.
“First, I want to thank Soyoung for helping me so much on set. But the truth is, I was really jealous of her—of her acting, her singing, her dancing, all of it.”
In that instant the camera cut from Dahye standing center stage to Seol Soyoung. Hearing Dahye’s private feelings laid bare, Soyoung wore a small, knowing smile for some reason.
“When I think about it, the character of Ha Jiwon is a lot like me. Someone who takes the jealousy and inferiority she feels toward the protagonist and turns it into fuel to grow…”
As she continued her speech, Dahye recalled the version of herself who had once been trapped by that inferiority.
And.
That person had clearly told her this…
“I also realized while filming Fly High that sometimes inferiority can become good energy for me. Thank you so much for the Supporting Actress Award, and I’ll keep working hard from here on!”
The moment Dahye’s sincere speech ended, a wave of applause filled the hall.
It was a very different reaction from the one Baek Junyeong had received when security dragged him off after his outburst.
Finished, Dahye gave a shallow bow and left the stage. On her way back to her assigned seat she naturally locked eyes with Seol Soyoung, who was still clapping for her.
Dahye slowly moved her lips, sending a silent message.
Looking forward to your speech.
The noise inside the venue was far too loud for the words to carry, yet Soyoung could roughly read them from the shape of Dahye’s mouth.
After the Supporting Actor awards came the Screenplay Award.
This time there was no need to listen to the nominees or even the host’s lines.
Everyone already seated in the hall—and every viewer watching the Cheongsang Arts Awards at home—knew exactly who would take it.
The monstrous rookie writer who had, in a single year, created not one but two dramas the likes of which the industry had never seen.
At the presenter’s call, Na Yeongjin rose from the round table and walked toward the stage.
Receiving the trophy meant for Writer 927, Na Yeongjin stepped up to the center-stage microphone.
“I’m PD Na Yeongjin, overall production lead for both Welcome to Cafe Violet and Fly High. I know you’re all deeply disappointed that I’m not Writer 927. Please hold the curses aimed at me for just a moment.”
With that light joke he hurriedly pulled something from his jacket—a single sheet of paper covered in black handwriting.
“This is Writer 927’s acceptance speech. I asked him for it just in case, and I’m glad I get to use it.”
Na Yeongjin cleared his throat once and began to read the words on the page.
Everyone seated in the hall immediately straightened at the mention of Writer 927’s speech. They expected something extraordinary—something as remarkable as the stories he wrote.
What they heard, however, was ordinary.
Roughly: he was surprised that the dramas he had conceived had drawn so much attention; he was grateful to the viewers who had loved them so much. Studio NMIX had worked incredibly hard all year, and he was thankful to JYB as well for helping with the filming of Fly High.
And finally…
Writer 927 expressed deep gratitude to Seol Soyoung. Thanks to her, he said, he had been able to create good work; he was grateful that she had thrown herself so completely into his scripts.
Yet listening to that speech, Seol Soyoung somehow let out a soft laugh.
…So very like him.
People who did not know him well would think the speech ordinary. Soyoung knew better.
For him, that much sincerity was already quite a lot.
But still.
If she herself ever stood at that center-stage microphone holding an award…
Just as Dahye had said she was looking forward to it, everyone else—and that person as well—would find her speech anything but ordinary.
The Contribution Award went to Welcome to Cafe Violet; the Popularity Award went to Fly High.
All that remained now were the Best Acting Awards for the television category and the grand prize itself.
The Male Best Acting Award held no surprises whatsoever.
Namgung Hwan, who had shared the screen with Seol Soyoung in Welcome to Cafe Violet, took it home.
The Female Best Acting Award, in its own way, held no surprises either.
The youngest actress in the history of the Cheongsang Arts Awards to receive Best Actress.
Amid a storm of applause, Seol Soyoung walked toward the stage.
Receiving the Best Actress trophy from the host, she moved slowly to the center of the stage.
Click. Click.
One step, then another.
Each time the sound of her heels rang through the hall, the applause gradually quieted.
At last Seol Soyoung stood alone at center stage.
For her, this year had been nothing but extraordinary.
She had suddenly become the lead of a drama called Welcome to Cafe Violet, and in the process she had found confidence in herself.
Through Fly High she had improved the dancing she had never been sure of, and she had met a wonderful friend who shone brighter than anyone on stage.
She had come to understand her mother’s heart, and after her mother’s successful surgery they could keep walking forward together.
And with everyone’s recognition, she had received Best Actress from the very start of her career.
…Yes.
Every one of these extraordinary things had been possible only because of you.
Seol Soyoung looked once into the camera.
It felt as though her eyes met those of someone watching the broadcast right now.
In the silence that had settled over the hall, she slowly opened her mouth.