Chapter 23: Preparing for Broadcast (3)
Chapter 23: Preparing for Broadcast (3)
The actor Kang Seong-chan was highly popular, known for his solid acting skills and his clean-cut, handsome face.
He had been the top priority for casting in The Moon That Hides the Sun, and true to his reputation, his involvement had generated a massive amount of buzz.
And what about the actress Ha Ye-seo?
With her innocent looks and a recent romance film that drew seven million viewers, she was arguably one of the hottest actresses at the moment.
There were whispers that her acting skills were slightly lacking compared to her fame, but even so, she only paled in comparison to veteran "method" actors; her skills weren't poor enough to actually cause a stir.
Then there were the two supporting actors.
Han Tae-won and Shin Yeon-mi were also familiar faces, appearing as staples across various media. In particular, Shin Yeon-mi played a significant role in the drama as Princess Yeonhwa’s nanny.
Naturally, the child actor squeezed between them stood out even more.
To be honest, from the reporters' perspective, it was a rather baffling casting choice.
"If they were going to cast a child, I naturally thought it would be Park Jung-woo, Park Sun-woong’s son."
"He’s the kid who became a hot topic in the making-of film, right?"
"He did get some attention, but... an audition and an actual drama are two different things, aren't they?"
"That’s true. Hmm, I’m not sure. But her visuals are certainly..."
"She definitely has the look. Honestly, in terms of pure appearance, she’s far and away the best among the child actors I’ve seen lately."
As veteran entertainment reporters, they were well-versed in the backgrounds of the actors. They knew enough to recite everything about the child who had recently trended because of a making-of film.
"Recite what? She’s only ever properly appeared in one CF. I heard she just filmed another one, so her entire career consists of exactly two commercials."
"Right. But still, the acting she showed in the audition was pretty decent."
"Is an audition the same as a real drama?"
"Well, I suppose that’s true."
Reporter Lee Byeong-hun nodded absentmindedly as he listened to his colleagues' conversation.
Just by counting where the cameras were pointed, one could see the difference in the level of attention.
Wait, if I think about it that way, is she actually getting a lot of attention?
At the photo zone, the lead pair—Kang Seong-chan and Ha Ye-seo—were giving their greetings.
Standing a little distance away, next to the supporting actors, was Ju Seo-yeon.
Since she played the childhood version of Princess Yeonhwa, she stood somewhere between the leads and the supporting cast.
Honestly, considering her lack of name recognition, it wouldn't have been strange if Seo-yeon received no attention at all. However, surprisingly, the cameras of both the audience and the reporters occasionally flashed toward her.
There were likely others who shared the same thought as Lee Byeong-hun.
Director Gong Jeong-tae isn't a fool.
Common sense dictated that if a child actor were to be featured, Park Jung-woo—the son of the great actor Park Sun-woong—would have been much easier to market. The fact that the director chose this girl instead meant there was something special about her.
Alright.
Having reached that conclusion, Lee Byeong-hun pointed his camera toward Seo-yeon, following the gut instinct he had honed over ten years as a reporter.
*
Thank goodness.
Seo-yeon was inwardly relieved that not many cameras were pointed her way. Or rather, she was glad the reporters weren't aggressively approaching her.
If there had been absolutely no reaction, she might have felt a bit complicated, but that wasn't the case either. It was more of an ambiguous response.
It was at a level where Seo-yeon couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
"Seo-yeon, it’s good to smile a little for the people~."
"Okay."
At the suggestion of Shin Yeon-mi, who played the nanny, Seo-yeon gave a small nod. This was a photo zone, after all; standing there with a stiff expression would be dull.
Anyway, all the attention is on the leads.
With that thought, Seo-yeon gave a bright smile and waved her hand. Putting on a fake smile was, after all, one of her greatest specialties.
"Oh, she smiled."
"I thought she was frozen from nerves... but seeing her like that, she looks exactly like she did in the commercial."
As soon as Seo-yeon smiled, more people began to show interest. Her presence had been minimal when her face was expressionless, but the moment she smiled, she had a way of brightening up her surroundings.
As I thought, that kid...
Seeing this, the lead of Taesumdal, Kang Seong-chan, fell into thought while maintaining his own smiling face.
In truth, Kang Seong-chan hadn't met Seo-yeon many times. Their filming schedules didn't overlap, so he had only seen her a few times during introductions. He had simply thought it would be nice if the child actor did a decent job, since she would only appear until Episode 3.
That was, until two days ago.
If it hadn't been for the footage Director Gong Jeong-tae showed him.
"What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
"...Wow."
"The atmosphere will be even better once the music is added."
"I see. But even without music, you added some effects, right? To her eyes or something."
"We did some editing... but not to the eyes. Incredible, isn't it?"
Not the eyes?
Kang Seong-chan replayed the video. He was looking at a version of the footage that had undergone initial editing. Most of the work, aside from the music, was complete. He had assumed some natural-looking CG had been applied.
It looked good when I saw Episode 1, too.
When Kang Seong-chan first checked the first episode of Taesumdal, his impression was that it had "turned out much better than expected." He felt that not many viewers would drop the show after the first episode.
But the feeling he got after watching Episode 2 was pure astonishment.
Compared to the unedited footage, there are definitely parts where her acting is lacking.
He heard she had never properly studied acting. If that was the case, she could honestly be called a genius. Since those shortcomings were hidden by the editing, her performance was near-perfect for a child actor.
More than anything, it’s her eyes.
If no CG had been applied, it was even more mysterious. Was it because of the light from the silk lanterns? They seemed to glow. The reason Seo-yeon’s emotions stood out so vividly was in those eyes. Even without deep emotional immersion, the atmosphere changed drastically because of the shifts in her gaze.
And then there’s Episode 3.
If Episode 2 had left him astonished, Episode 3 left him feeling pressured. If he wasn't careful and his acting ended up being compared to a child's, it would be incredibly embarrassing. Wasn't he supposed to be a skilled actor himself? He never imagined a day would come in his career where his acting would be compared to a child's.
"This is getting a bit pressuring, haha!"
"Oh, come on. I know your skills, Seong-chan. You’ll obviously do even better."
"Haha..."
Director Gong Jeong-tae had said that with a smirk. It wasn't just a simple compliment. It was a warning: You need to pull off scenes at least this good in the main story.
Anyway, that had happened two days ago.
Kang Seong-chan was certain this drama would be a success. And for it to do even better, he decided it was best to push the spotlight toward the person who would generate the most buzz in the beginning.
This event was exactly the place for that.
Usually, a drama’s reputation is decided within the first three episodes. The production team of Taesumdal was confident they could capture every viewer who tuned in during those three episodes.
She looks a bit bored because there’s not much interest right now...
Kang Seong-chan glanced at Seo-yeon. Since the reporters' attention was focused on him, Seo-yeon looked somewhat idle.
A senior should help out in times like this.
With that thought, he gave Seo-yeon a light wink.
Ugh...
Seo-yeon flinched in surprise. Wait, why is he winking at me?
Even though she was in a girl's body, she still had the memories of her past life. If he had done that to her past self, she would have just thought, What’s wrong with him? and moved on. But now, she felt a strange sense of rejection. No, maybe it wasn't about her past life... was it because of the age gap? Anyway, she wasn't sure.
"Ahem, thank you all for showing so much interest."
During the brief interview session, many questions were directed at Kang Seong-chan and Ha Ye-seo. Holding the microphone and looking at the reporters and gathered fans, Kang Seong-chan realized it was time.
"To share some surprise news today, there will be a pre-screening for Taesumdal one month before the broadcast. We’ll be showing up to Episode 2, and we plan to greet you all again there with the rest of the cast."
A pre-screening?
The reporters and the crowd had assumed everything would end with this teaser event. They hadn't expected a separate pre-screening to be prepared. It was rare to hold consecutive offline events like this before a drama started, so it was quite surprising.
"For the record, I’ve seen it in advance... and I was very shocked. You can truly look forward to it."
According to the drama's previews, the child actors would be featured up until Episode 3. Despite that, Kang Seong-chan’s words drew everyone's attention. Especially toward Seo-yeon.
Oh.
She felt the reporters' gazes shift toward her all at once. Not yet used to such intense scrutiny, Seo-yeon’s smiling face froze. She was confident in her facial acting, but she was vulnerable to unexpected situations.
"Especially Ju Seo-yeon, who is here today. You’d better take plenty of photos of her now."
As Kang Seong-chan continued, a cold sweat broke out on Seo-yeon’s forehead.
"Because you might regret it later."
It was a confident statement from a respected actor. This time, he even gave Seo-yeon a thumbs-up. In response to his words and actions, Seo-yeon raised her own thumb with a trembling hand. She tried to keep smiling, but she wasn't sure if she was doing it right. Regardless, she knew she’d be criticized if she didn't react to her senior’s comment, so she tried her best.
He really didn't need to go that far...
Doesn't everyone need time to prepare?
The moment Kang Seong-chan finished speaking, she felt the eyes of the reporters and the public bore into her. Their gazes were filled with doubt, as if asking if his words were true or false. Some reporters were already busy snapping photos.
In that moment, Seo-yeon felt the weight of "pressure" more clearly than ever before.
*
Fortunately—if you could call it that—I wasn't called for anything else after the teaser event ended. Producer Ha Tae-oh said this was enough. He mentioned that the real articles would start appearing after the pre-screening.
"Ugh, uuuugh."
Pressure. Well, it was something I had to go through eventually, but it was much heavier than I thought. It made me realize all over again how amazing actors—and VTubers—were for standing confidently in front of so many viewers.
Wait, are VTubers and actors a bit different?
Anyway, I realized that human attention could be this burdensome. Since it was such an unfamiliar feeling to me, I felt like rolling around on the floor in distress.
"What are you doing, Ju Seo-yeon?"
"...Can't you tell by looking?"
"Just so you know, you’re not planning on slacking off just because you’re playing the Mirror, right?"
"I’ll do my best."
"You’d better."
Lee Ji-yeon said, crossing her arms. We were currently practicing for the Arong Darong Kindergarten talent show.
"Oh my."
By the way, the practice wasn't happening at the kindergarten. It was a place where Lee Ji-yeon could practice comfortably. In other words, I was currently at Lee Ji-yeon’s house.
"Our Ji-yeon seems to really like Seo-yeon. I never imagined things would turn out like this~."
"A-ahahaha. I-I suppose so."
My mom replied awkwardly to Hong Jin-hee’s bright remark.
I knew it, but still.
I looked at my mom with a pitying gaze. My mom, Sua, had very poor communication skills. Looking back, she didn't even have many friends she kept in touch with.
Good luck, Mom!
I wanted to do something, but there was nothing I could do. This situation required the help of an adult—my mother.