Chapter 28: Little Starlight (1)
Chapter 28: Little Starlight (1)
In my past life, The Moon That Hides the Sun was a hit in every sense of the word.
It had a solid story based on a novel. A fictional historical drama directed by a young, talented director and featuring a cast of veteran actors.
Because of that, the pressure I felt when I took over the role originally meant for Jo Seo-hee was immense.
Please, let it be at least as successful as it was in my past life!
I had been desperate enough to pray for that much.
I couldn't be the reason a hit drama, which had once surpassed a 40% viewership rating, ended up a failure. That was why I worked harder on this project than any other.
Let’s just do as well as Jo Seo-hee did.
That was my initial mindset.
But even in the case of Jo Seo-hee, her screen time in the past life had been drastically cut, reducing the childhood arc to just two episodes. There was no guarantee the same wouldn't happen to me.
So, I worked hard.
I poured everything I currently had into it.
To the very limit, every last drop.
"Seo-yeon!"
The first episode of The Moon That Hides the Sun finally aired.
I had already seen it once at the preview screening, but watching it on TV felt different.
But did it go well? What if the public's reaction differed from the screening?
Just as those worries began to cloud my mind, Mom spoke up with a bright smile.
"Director Gong Jeong-tae just called. He said the ratings were over 25%!!"
25%? Really?
As I looked at Mom in shock, she pulled my head into a tight embrace against her chest.
I—I can't... breathe...
Fortunately, Mom couldn't hold me for long.
"Honey, you're going to kill the kid! Let her go."
Dad, who had been watching, pulled Mom away. He was practically my savior.
"But still!"
Mom then grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth, looking even more excited than I was. It was rare to see her this worked up, even for the original Seo-yeon.
"What are we going to do? I heard it’s the highest premiere rating for any drama aired this year! Our Seo-yeon is already a big star, isn't she?"
"N-n-no way."
My words came out stuttered because I was being rattled like a maraca.
Please, stop.
Dad seemed to think it was better not to interfere further and simply shrugged. I really wished he wouldn't give up and would help me instead.
But 25%...
I remembered the ratings for Taesumdal from my past life because they had been all over the news. Since I could recall memories with eerie clarity when I focused, finding the premiere rating wasn't difficult.
Originally, the first episode of Taesumdal starring Jo Seo-hee had a 17% rating.
However, the version starring me had hit 25%—a full eight percent higher.
When I realized that, a fluttering sensation of "I did it" filled my chest. It was the feeling of having achieved something with my own hands for the first time in my life.
"Hm?"
Mom looked at my face and gave a soft smile.
"Our daughter must be happy too. Look at that smile."
A smile?
I pressed my chubby cheeks with both hands.
She was right; I was smiling.
Well, I suppose this is normal.
It’s only natural to smile without even realizing it when something good happens.
I closed my eyes. I felt like I was walking on air.
It feels good.
It was a first for me. An achievement earned through my own efforts. A feeling I had never experienced once in my past life.
That thrill made my heart pound.
I’m glad I became an actress.
With that simple thought, I leaned back into Mom’s arms.
*
The impact of a drama was incomparable to that of a commercial.
Only one episode had aired, yet I could feel the number of people recognizing me increasing significantly. More importantly, news articles were starting to pour out in earnest.
<KMB’s Ambitious New Drama ‘The Moon That Hides the Sun’ Surpasses 25% in Premiere!>
<First Round Between MDC’s ‘Action King’ and KMB’s ‘Taesumdal’ Ends in Victory for Taesumdal>
<‘Action King’ in Crisis After Premiere. ‘We Will Show You Our True Strength in the Next Episode.’>
There were so many articles I couldn't even check them all.
Occasionally, articles specifically about me caught my eye. Some mentioned that my stable acting in the first episode was impressive, while others questioned how I had transitioned so quickly from commercials to a drama.
As a result, the interest directed toward me had grown to an unprecedented level.
"Seo-yeon, I'm looking forward to the second episode too!"
"Have you finished filming up to episode three? What happens next?"
Even at the kindergarten, my name was everywhere. Even the teachers, who usually kept their distance, approached me with interest.
"Ju Seo-yeon, just you wait. I'll be appearing in a drama soon too."
At the kindergarten, Lee Ji-yeon spoke with fierce determination.
"That's fine, but maybe switch agencies first?"
"I'm going to do that even if you don't tell me to."
I heard later from Mom that Ji-yeon’s mother, Hong Jin-hee, had looked into 'Eunha Entertainment' from various angles. She eventually discovered their true nature and took Ji-yeon out of the agency.
She should have gone to the agency I recommended.
Unfortunately, it seemed she didn't fully trust my recommendation yet and was looking elsewhere. Well, nothing I could do about that. There were several other managements with good prospects, so I planned to recommend those instead.
"Ju Seo-yeon."
Ji-yeon studied my face for a moment. Then, she spoke with a rare hesitation.
"I heard from my mom that you..."
She trailed off, acting indecisive. This was something the usually confident Lee Ji-yeon would never do.
Seeing her like this, I guessed what she was trying to ask. There was only one thing that would make the ever-bold Lee Ji-yeon hesitate like this.
"That's right."
"...Huh?"
"It's exactly what you're thinking."
At my words, Lee Ji-yeon’s eyes widened, and then her face crumpled into a scowl. It was clear that, as a child, she didn't approve of my choice.
"Hmph, whatever."
I chuckled at her grumbling. I figured this was a fairly mild reaction.
"Oh, Lee Ji-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to go to a voice acting academy with me?"
"...What?"
Ji-yeon looked at me with bewildered eyes. Her face practically screamed, I'm an actress, why would I go to a voice acting academy?
She really didn't get it.
In this industry, the more skills a celebrity has, the better. It wasn't much different for actors. It was highly likely to help, especially with vocalization. Later on, there were many cases where actors did dubbing work.
Though most of them got criticized for it.
But what if you showed off great skills in that situation? It would be an opportunity to leave a fantastic impression on the public.
...Of course, wanting to go to the voice acting academy was also partly for my own selfish reasons.
"Hmph, fine. I guess I will."
Ji-yeon looked displeased, but she didn't reject my offer.
In the past, Lee Ji-yeon had appeared as a child voice actress in a certain children's animation and faced heavy criticism. She probably retired because of that shock. Otherwise, there was no way she wouldn't have debuted as an actress later.
I wonder what she ended up doing after that.
Ji-yeon was a talented kid. Even if she wasn't a "born actress," she had plenty of charm and talent. Her acting was decent, and her pronunciation and vocalization were good enough.
I think she'd be good at voice acting.
I nodded to myself while staring at Ji-yeon.
And while I would eventually find out what Lee Ji-yeon did in my past life in a very unexpected place... that was a story for a bit later.
*
A few days had passed since the first episode aired.
Interest in The Moon That Hides the Sun was stronger than ever. Today was the day the second episode—the one that had left such a strong impression in the teaser and the preview—would air.
"Now is not the time to be complacent. MDC’s Action King is also doing quite well."
Ha Tae-oh reminded the staff several times, telling them it was too early to celebrate. Since the time slots and episode counts overlapped, the two dramas were currently locked in a rival dynamic.
In fact, when broadcast times overlap like this, the impact is visible in real-time.
"We won in the beginning, but it seems the Action King team is feeling quite confident today."
Tension flowed through KMB’s drama department.
The premiere rating for Action King was 16%. While there was a significant gap with Taesumdal, it was a rating that could never be underestimated.
"But we're confident in episode two as well, aren't we?"
"Right, right."
"It's actually better that we're going head-to-head. Those guys are just unlucky."
They talked big, but the tension was real. No matter how confident they were, there was always the possibility of an upset.
"...Episode two of The Moon That Hides the Sun. It’s about to start."
At Ha Tae-oh’s somber words, someone swallowed hard.
And so, episode two began.
"Our current rating is around 15%."
Action King was likely at a similar level. In fact, it looked slightly higher by a narrow margin.
The beginning of Taesumdal episode two isn't much different from episode one.
It was the story of the young Princess Yeonhwa and the young Yoon Seo-il becoming intertwined. Amidst that lighthearted atmosphere, the mood shifts completely when 'Grand Prince Jo Young' makes his move.
"Ah! She stripped!"
"...Excuse me?"
"Why would they put such a daring exposure scene in episode two? Good grief."
At that moment, an actress in Action King performed a daring scene with significant exposure. It wasn't just the exposure; the directing and acting were also impressive enough to make everyone's eyes widen.
No wonder they were confident.
Ha Tae-oh grit his teeth. He could feel the ratings fluctuating without even checking.
Actor Yoon Jong-hyuk. And Seo-yeon. I'm counting on you.
While Action King was showing off flashy action, Grand Prince Jo Young, who would flip the atmosphere of Taesumdal, began to move.
His relentless footsteps echoed through the palace. Amidst a coup shrouded in madness, Grand Prince Jo Young and Princess Yeonhwa finally met.
The scene that had been praised by everyone in the teaser and the preview.
The drama surged forward like a tidal wave as the scene where Seo-yeon lifted her head to glare at Grand Prince Jo Young played out. Even though they had seen it multiple times during filming and editing, it was a video they couldn't tear their eyes away from.
As the drama came to a close...
"Director!"
The staff member checking the ratings shouted. It seemed the ratings for episode two had been confirmed.
Did they win? Or did they somehow lose?
"It's 23%."
"What?"
23% was lower than the first episode. As Ha Tae-oh looked at him in shock, the staff member suddenly grinned.
"I mean Action King."
Wait, was he joking right now?
Ha Tae-oh’s eyes narrowed fiercely. Even if he wasn't the type to throw his weight around, this was crossing the line. Just as he was about to call him out and give him a piece of his mind...
"It's 29%."
"What?"
"The ratings for episode two were recorded at 29%. And the peak rating hit 34%."
The rising anger vanished like a sandcastle in the tide.
An average rating of 29% and a peak of 34%. There was no need to ask when that peak occurred.
Grand Prince Jo Young and Princess Yeonhwa. The moment Yoon Jong-hyuk and Seo-yeon’s acting collided.
A peak rating of 34%?
That was a number usually reserved for the finale of a drama. No matter how much effort they had poured into Taesumdal, it was excessively high. It was almost unheard of to hit a 34% peak in just the second episode. Even if you searched through every drama from the three major networks over the last few years, you could count such instances on one hand.
It was then.
Vrrr, vrrrrr!
Ha Tae-oh’s phone rang, and the caller ID appeared on the screen.
KMB Drama Bureau Chief, Hwang Jung-soo.
He was calling for Ha Tae-oh with desperate urgency.