Chapter 49: Rising Star (4)
Chapter 49: Rising Star (4)
Three hours before the reenactment of Episode 8 of The Moon That Hides the Sun.
It was the moment Park Jung-woo had arrived and the staff were in the middle of filming.
"Ju Seo-yeon."
Lee Ji-yeon held out a hanbok toward Seo-yeon.
It was the Princess Yeonhwa costume the staff had given her that morning.
"Put it on."
Seo-yeon looked at the hanbok with a troubled expression.
Her hesitation stemmed from a complex web of reasons.
The dangerous incidents she had faced back in middle school when she was known as Princess Yeonhwa. The fact that this role had been given to Lee Ji-yeon, not her. The worry that she might somehow ruin the play.
All these thoughts made Seo-yeon waver.
"Ji-yeon, I—"
"I know what you’re thinking."
Ji-yeon cut her off.
They had been together for ten years. In the past, it had been difficult to read the thoughts behind that expressionless face, but not anymore. While there were still moments of mystery, in a situation like this, Seo-yeon was an open book.
"You probably have a dozen reasons. Above all, you think this is too good an opportunity for me to give up."
It was a chance to film with Park Jung-woo, a young actor bordering on superstardom. Any actor their age would have their eyes lit up, desperate to grab such an opportunity by any means necessary.
Low viewership ratings? Park Jung-woo had enough name value to compensate for that. Even if the variety show itself didn't blow up, the internet articles alone would give her recognition a massive boost.
Ji-yeon knew. She knew it all.
"I know you’re trying to achieve something with this play."
Seo-yeon clearly had a plan. However, Ji-yeon didn't like the idea of Seo-yeon’s first stage back being a mundane school play.
The first stage after a comeback. To Ji-yeon, it felt like Seo-yeon was throwing away a one-time-only "premium" chance.
"You said you were going to be a top actor."
Ji-yeon thought to herself: If a mundane stage isn't good enough, then we just have to make it special.
This variety show was the perfect opportunity for that.
"This is a chance. You know it too."
From the very beginning—from the moment she was offered the role of Princess Yeonhwa—Ji-yeon had envisioned this scenario over and over.
Princess Yeonhwa belonged to Seo-yeon.
A long time ago, when she first saw her on TV—when she witnessed that starlight—her heart had never wavered.
"..."
Seo-yeon looked at Ji-yeon. Quietly. Calmly.
After a moment of silence, Seo-yeon slowly nodded.
"Alright."
She had made her decision. Ji-yeon was right. Seo-yeon had joined Close Your Eyes as a stepping stone for her next move. But there was no reason not to make that stepping stone even more extraordinary.
To hesitate further would be an insult to Ji-yeon, who was giving up her own opportunity for her.
"I'll do it."
With Seo-yeon’s firm answer, the transformation began. A makeup artist Ji-yeon had personally called in and her manager stepped in to help. Everything proceeded with clockwork efficiency, thanks to Ji-yeon’s meticulous preparations.
The makeup artist. The manager to help with the costume.
Seo-yeon surrendered herself to their hands and began her transformation.
Princess Yeonhwa, Lee Hye-wol.
To become her again after ten years.
"Alright, arms up, please."
She stepped into the layered mujigi skirt. She donned the jeogori.
"Seo-yeon, lift your chin."
Her long black hair was tied back. She looked into the mirror as delicate touches of makeup were applied.
The Princess Yeonhwa in the mirror.
A beautiful, grown-up version of the young Lee Hye-wol reflected back at her.
"Ms. Lee Ji-yeon? What is this about...?"
Just then, PD Jung Min-jae, whom Ji-yeon had summoned, arrived. He walked in with a sour expression, only to freeze like a statue.
Lee Ji-yeon?
He rubbed his eyes. He had looked at photos of Ji-yeon countless times before this shoot.
But who was this woman standing before him?
Black hair, eyes that tilted up elegantly. A graceful posture and a serene aura. She was, quite literally, the incarnation of Princess Yeonhwa.
She looked exactly like what one would imagine the young Lee Hye-wol from ten years ago would look like all grown up...
"Huh?"
PD Jung Min-jae hurriedly pulled out his phone and searched for the child actress who played Princess Yeonhwa ten years ago.
Ju Seo-yeon. Yes, that was definitely the name.
And when the photos appeared...
"Wh-wha? Huh? Wait, wait a minute. Ms. Ji-yeon? No, you’re not Ms. Ji-yeon, are you?"
In his confusion, Jung Min-jae didn't even notice that Ji-yeon was standing right next to 'Princess Yeonhwa.' He knew someone else was there, but his eyes were locked onto Seo-yeon’s face.
"Yes, PD-nim."
Seo-yeon smiled calmly.
"I am Ju Seo-yeon."
Thud.
The moment he heard that name, Jung Min-jae dropped his smartphone on the floor.
*
For a moment, the people in the auditorium couldn't understand what was happening.
At first, they thought it was just acting. Song Yong-ho, the high school streamer who was filming the scene with his phone zoomed in, felt the same way.
Initially, it felt like a typical play. Well, more like a play than a drama. But there wasn't much to see. It was especially boring at first because the story focused mostly on the students.
Sure enough, the chat reflected Song Yong-ho’s thoughts. Of course, a variety show being watched live without any editing was bound to feel that way.
The atmosphere shifted the moment Park Jung-woo appeared. When he stepped out in his hanbok, a scream-like roar filled the auditorium.
With Park Jung-woo’s entrance, the chat began to scroll rapidly. The viewer count, which had been hovering around 200, jumped to 500.
Song Yong-ho smiled happily and turned his gaze back to the variety show being filmed.
An actor is an actor for a reason.
That was his thought. Just by appearing, Jung-woo made the boundary between 'student' and 'actor' starkly clear.
The scenes Park Jung-woo acted in were worth watching. But that was it. People didn't watch variety shows just to see an actor give a solo performance, did they?
Just as everyone was losing interest, a crowd of students rushed out. They seemed to be portraying a 'marketplace,' each adding their own ad-libs as they pretended to sell goods.
Amidst them, Park Jung-woo walked quietly.
It’s almost over.
About two-thirds of the segment had passed. As Song Yong-ho watched the slowly dwindling viewer count with a pained expression...
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
Park Jung-woo’s pace quickened.
Was this acting? If so, it was incredibly realistic. Park Jung-woo walked as if possessed, chasing after someone.
And at the end of his gaze stood a woman hidden under a long jang-ot.
Princess Yeonhwa. Everyone thought so.
But.
「Seo-il.」
When that clear, refreshing voice rang through the speakers via the microphone, Song Yong-ho felt goosebumps erupt on his skin.
The girl slowly lowered the jang-ot covering her head and smiled softly.
Song Yong-ho didn't even have the presence of mind to look at the chat, which was now filled with question marks.
"Holy..."
He had been sucked into the play that quickly.
Isn't she... Ju Seo-yeon from Class 4?
Was she in the theater club?
No, more importantly...
The Moon That Hides the Sun was a very unfamiliar drama to the students. It had aired ten years ago, when they were only seven years old. No matter how famous a drama was, or how much of a sensation the child actor had been, it was hard to remember the name.
However, there were those who did remember.
"Was Seo-yeon that Ju Seo-yeon?"
"I mean, I thought they looked alike, but..."
"Wait. It's not confirmed yet."
The teachers. They remembered the young Princess Yeonhwa vividly, even after ten years. But they had never imagined that the pretty student in their school was the actress Ju Seo-yeon.
There was nothing like that in her student records??
Seo-yeon had stopped acting before entering elementary school. Naturally, there was no mention of it.
But their doubts were cleared by Park Jung-woo’s reaction.
His frozen posture was proof that the girl before him was indeed that 'child actress Ju Seo-yeon.'
"..."
Park Jung-woo stood paralyzed, eyes wide. He slowly approached Seo-yeon, seemingly forgetting to even breathe. His stunned, speechless state felt incredibly authentic.
In Park Jung-woo’s memory, she was a small child. But the girl before him was a beautifully grown woman.
With mischievous red eyes and a softly curved smile, her expression was even warmer and more dazzling than in the past.
「Seo-il?」
He couldn't even act.
"You—you!!"
When he grabbed Seo-yeon’s arm and spoke in a flustered voice, a look of confusion entered her eyes.
"Your lines... they're wrong."
"Right now—no, is that what matters? You’re really Ju Seo-yeon. You’re Ju Seo-yeon, right...?"
Why are you here? No, where did Lee Ji-yeon go, and why is the real Princess Yeonhwa here?
Park Jung-woo gripped Seo-yeon’s arms, almost blurting out those questions.
"...Ah."
Only then did he realize that the auditorium had become deathly silent.
How must he look right now? Park Jung-woo squeezed his eyes shut.
*
I was a bit surprised. I didn't expect Park Jung-woo to suddenly grab my arm and shake me.
Was there a scene like this?
I thought about it, but of course, there wasn't.
"We'll take a short break and then continue!"
As filming paused momentarily, the cameras focused on me and Park Jung-woo. It seemed they intended to capture all of this on film.
With that thought, I opened my mouth.
"I guess I caused an NG."
"You..."
Park Jung-woo clutched his head. He felt a throbbing headache. The fatigue he had been feeling until a moment ago seemed to have vanished instantly.
"...Why on earth are you here?"
"Because this is the high school I attend, obviously."
"Ha, this is unbelievable."
His heart was still racing from the shock. He glanced at me for a moment before quickly turning his head away. It seemed he found it difficult to look at me properly. It was awkward, or rather, the whole situation felt strange in many ways.
"...Are you... making a comeback?"
Park Jung-woo’s quiet voice was picked up by the cameras. Naturally, the eyes of everyone in the auditorium—the students acting, the teachers watching—were all focused on the two of us.
I felt it. This was the moment.
"Yes."
"Do you have a project? If not, I can—"
"I already have one. It's a play."
"A play?"
That was completely unexpected for Park Jung-woo. Why would Seo-yeon choose a play for her comeback?
"What's the title?"
"It's..."
My lips moved. And the words were clearly etched into everyone’s ears—the title of the comeback project for Ju Seo-yeon, the girl who had taken the nation by storm as Princess Yeonhwa ten years ago.
"But right now, this performance is more important, isn't it?"
The eyes of the students in the auditorium gathered on me. I looked at them for a moment, then turned my gaze back to Jung-woo.
And then, the atmosphere shifted.
My relatively calm aura transformed into the mischievous Lee Hye-wol. Yet, she remained dignified and elegant.
The image of Princess Yeonhwa.
Forgetting that this was just a variety show, everyone watched, completely immersed in the drama.
「Seo-il.」
Princess Yeonhwa, Lee Hye-wol.
The reunion scene with the grown-up Yoon Seo-il.
The masterpiece scene that fans of The Moon That Hides the Sun had dreamed of for ten years—the young Lee Hye-wol and Yoon Seo-il grown up and filming together.
「Have you waited long?」
At her words, Jung-woo let out a short laugh.
「Yes, Your Highness.」
And so, the reenactment of Episode 8, beginning after ten years, brought about a massive wave of impact.
<Child Star Ju Seo-yeon Returns After 10 Years>
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