Chapter 92: Youth Romance Drama (3)
Chapter 92: Youth Romance Drama (3)
Jo Ha-rin was a girl who had just graduated from high school and come up from the provinces—the countryside, to be exact.
She was a country bumpkin who had moved to Seoul alone, ignoring her parents' pleas for her to go to college.
Of course, she hadn't come to Seoul without a plan.
Unlike her parents, who wanted her to have an ordinary job, there was something she had wanted to be since she was a child.
And she hadn't come to Seoul completely unprepared, either.
"Produce Star 200..."
Jo Ha-rin muttered to herself, letting out a nervous sigh.
It was a massive audition program featuring 200 idol hopefuls.
There were thousands of applicants.
Some had even come from overseas, not just Korea.
Jo Ha-rin had proudly made it through the preliminary rounds where thousands had applied, earning her right to appear on the official broadcast.
"Yeah, I can definitely do this."
The way she nodded to herself looked almost a bit silly.
However, her innocent, bright eyes were enough to trigger a protective instinct in anyone.
Jo Ha-rin nodded as she looked at the photos saved on her slightly outdated phone.
But that only lasted a moment.
"Wait."
Jo Ha-rin's eyes trembled as she looked at the photos.
Her escape from reality had finally reached its limit.
"Where am I?"
To a girl from the countryside, Seoul was far too complicated.
This was two hours before the filming of Produce Star 200 was set to begin.
These were the words Jo Ha-rin muttered to herself in the middle of Gangnam Boulevard.
As Jo Ha-rin appeared, comments from viewers watching the broadcast in real-time began to pop up.
First of all, the character design was solid.
A girl who came to the city because she admired idols.
It was a common trope, but surprisingly, it was one that always worked.
Currently, Jo Ha-rin was wearing large, thick-rimmed glasses.
Her hair was tied back simply in a single ponytail.
Because her clothes were baggy, her dorky appearance was emphasized.
For viewers who already knew Seo-yeon's true beauty, this transformation felt almost awkward.
"What do I do!"
The scene shifted briefly to cover other characters' stories before returning to Jo Ha-rin's part.
The first episode of Dream Future mostly focused on introducing the main characters.
Among them, the time allotted to Jo Ha-rin was a mere ten minutes.
There weren't many scenes she could show.
In fact, there wasn't much time left until the episode ended.
Her individual screen time was now five minutes at most.
Still, there was a scene at the end where everyone appeared together, so it might be a bit longer.
But.
Due to her character setting, Jo Ha-rin was bound to have many "antis."
First of all, many people disliked bubbly characters, and as someone from the countryside, she was frustrating in many ways.
Furthermore, because her tacky makeup left a bad impression, negative comments were appearing in the real-time chat.
"Are you okay?"
Someone called out to Jo Ha-rin as she was running around, unable to find the filming location.
It was Kim Si-hwan.
He asked cautiously, seeing the desperate look on Jo Ha-rin's face.
"Ye-Yes?"
Jo Ha-rin looked up at Kim Si-hwan with a flustered expression.
To her, coming from the countryside, he was so handsome it was shocking, and she couldn't even speak properly.
"Ah, th-th-this. I'm trying to go here."
Still, it was the first kindness she had received since coming to Seoul.
When she pointed out the location with a trembling voice, Kim Si-hwan's eyes widened slightly.
"Ah, I happen to be going there too."
"Pardon?"
"Shall we go together?"
At his words and bright smile, Jo Ha-rin was about to nod but then slowly shook her head.
She felt it would be asking too much.
"That... I'd feel too bad."
"No, let's go together."
"?"
Kim Si-hwan, who had answered so kindly with a smile, was surprisingly pushy.
He tossed a motorcycle helmet to Jo Ha-rin.
"Get on the back."
"Wait, just a second."
"Let's go!"
"..."
Faced with his headstrong behavior, Jo Ha-rin was forced onto his motorcycle and sped toward the filming location.
It happened in an instant.
Since it was her first time on a motorcycle, Jo Ha-rin felt like her head was spinning.
"Now we're rivals at the audition."
Kim Si-hwan said as they arrived at the set.
Then, he prepared to leave immediately.
As if his business was done.
It was only natural.
Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan had only just met today.
Normally, Jo Ha-rin would have given him a deep bow and said goodbye.
But.
Without thinking, Jo Ha-rin approached him as he turned away and tugged on his sleeve.
"Um."
"Yes?"
"Why... why did you help me today?"
Jo Ha-rin was genuinely curious.
To him, it might have been a small act of kindness, but to Jo Ha-rin, it was the first kindness she had received in Seoul.
He was the first person to reach out to her when she felt like she had been dropped into a strange, alien world.
At Jo Ha-rin's words, Kim Si-hwan gave a short laugh.
"Well, I felt like it would bring me good luck."
"Pardon?"
"It was just a feeling."
He simply answered like that.
It was a silly answer, but Jo Ha-rin watched Kim Si-hwan's back as he walked away.
Beneath her glasses, Jo Ha-rin's eyes shone clearly.
Her lips were slightly parted.
Her flushed cheeks and trembling eyes were noticeable.
"I... see."
"Yeah, that's how it is."
At Kim Si-hwan's nonchalant reply, Jo Ha-rin smiled.
Kim Si-hwan acted indifferent, but Jo Ha-rin knew.
She knew he was just making an excuse.
That there was no specific reason for helping her.
Kim Si-hwan had helped her simply because she looked like she was in trouble.
What other reason could there be?
Pure kindness.
So, his clumsy excuse made her laugh.
At that clear, bright smile—
The viewers momentarily forgot to type in the chat as they watched Jo Ha-rin.
There were no other lines.
But it felt as if Jo Ha-rin's emotions were being transmitted right through the screen.
The moment of falling in love.
Or rather, she made them feel the exact moment someone first develops feelings for another, without a single line of dialogue.
'The moment of falling in love.'
The relationship between Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan begins with a meeting that could have been a bit awkward.
In other words, Jo Ha-rin's unrequited love is a dynamic created by her falling for Kim Si-hwan at first sight after he helps her.
Therefore.
If that scene looked ridiculous or failed to resonate with the audience, it would just feel "absurd."
And the drama's rating would plummet.
Director Kim Pil-seok had said:
"Isn't the narrative logic a bit lacking here?"
"Can't people just fall in love at first sight?"
The camera director had replied to Kim Pil-seok's concern, but Kim Pil-seok shook his head.
"Because it's a creative work."
That was exactly why it needed more narrative logic.
Certainly, even more ridiculous things happen in the real world, but because it was a story, it needed that plausibility even more.
Narrative logic.
The law required for a fictional story.
"Seo-yeon. I'll do my best with the directing, but the acting is crucial here."
"Yes."
"The conversation between Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan is only a few lines in the script, and the screen time is less than two minutes."
In that time, she had to show the viewers Jo Ha-rin's heart—the plausibility of her falling for Kim Si-hwan.
She had to make the change in her heart visible, beyond just following the script.
"Can you do it? If not, I'll talk to Writer Im."
At Director Kim Pil-seok's words, Seo-yeon shook her head.
"I'll try it first."
"Hmm."
To be honest, Im Jin-ha's script was cheesy.
But it wasn't a script that lacked flavor.
A hit work.
It's not much, but one doesn't get a career like that for no reason.
"Alright."
It was Kim Pil-seok's nature to trust an actor if they said they could do it.
And he was curious to see what this young actress would show him.
And so.
After several NGs, Seo-yeon succeeded in filming the scene.
It was probably the shoot with the most NGs in her life.
To that extent, this performance was foreign to Seo-yeon.
She was mimicking an unfamiliar emotion.
Affection.
Love.
If asked if she had ever felt such emotions for another person...
She wasn't sure.
After all, friendship and liking someone fell into that territory.
However, looking at movies and related media, it seemed different from those.
Love was a very intense emotion.
And the moment of falling into it was an even more special occasion.
Because she didn't know it.
Because she wasn't ready yet.
Seo-yeon couldn't fully immerse herself in it.
Therefore.
"Sometimes, imagining it can be more wonderful," the actress Jung Eun-seon had said.
"The vague longing for love that you mentioned, Seo-yeon. Just creating the beautiful form of love you imagine can sometimes be better than the real thing."
It happens sometimes, they say.
Cases where a writer or actor who specialized in romance suddenly finds themselves unable to express those emotions properly.
After tasting the bitterness of love, they ironically become unable to portray it in acting or writing.
"That's how it is."
Jung Eun-seon had smiled at the young Seo-yeon.
"Someday, you might experience a wonderful love too, Seo-yeon. But save that emotion for that time."
They might have been trivial words.
But they resonated deeply with Seo-yeon.
'Emotional mimicry.'
It was an act Seo-yeon was very familiar with.
So, she knew what kind of actions someone in love takes and what kind of smile they wear.
But she wasn't satisfied with just that.
"Ah, so you're contestant number 178, Jo Ha-rin, right?"
Jo Ha-rin stood on stage, facing five judges.
The preliminary audition for Produce Star 200.
A stage she was able to reach in time thanks to Kim Si-hwan's help.
"I heard you came up from the countryside. That must have been a difficult decision."
"Yes."
Jo Ha-rin smiled as she answered the judge.
"A little bit."
"I see."
A man with a fierce impression, playing the role of a judge, spoke.
"Well then, let's see what you've got."
The judges all had smiles on their faces, but their attitude suggested they didn't expect much.
Scenes of other idols were interspersed.
Among them, the four main characters who had already appeared, including Song So-ha and Park Min-yul, were shown.
Finally, as Kim Si-hwan watched Jo Ha-rin...
Jo Ha-rin gripped the microphone.
Before dancing, they needed to judge her singing first.
The chat from viewers who had already heard Seo-yeon's singing through variety shows sped up.
She wasn't terrible.
That was the consensus, but in a drama like this, being mediocre was actually harder to listen to.
However.
The person here wasn't Seo-yeon.
It was Jo Ha-rin.
A girl who had just fallen in love.
'I don't know what kind of emotion that is.'
But she had felt it through various media.
Sometimes it appeared in a terrible form.
But mostly, that emotion was incredibly beautiful.
It was something that made one harbor a longing to experience it someday.
Seo-yeon's singing usually lacked emotion.
That was why everyone said it felt awkward.
In particular, the wizard Han Da-young, whom she had met through Ji-yeon's introduction, had said:
"Infusing emotion is a natural thing."
She said Seo-yeon was being too conscious of it.
"After all, you're not a robot, are you, Seo-yeon? When people speak, emotion is naturally infused even if they don't realize it. It's the same with singing."
Being conscious of the emotion in one's words.
She thought she wasn't doing that anymore, but apparently, she was wrong.
Because it had taken the form of a "song" rather than just simple speech.
"A song is ultimately an extension of speech. If you consciously try to put emotion into it, you'll miss a lot of things."
Just like Seo-yeon's singing now.
Han Da-young had done her best to teach Seo-yeon.
How to sing naturally.
'The emotion Jo Ha-rin felt.'
She didn't replace it with any other form.
Seo-yeon simply drew that form vaguely in her mind.
Not method acting, but something closer to emotional mimicry.
She drew the scenery she saw and added her imagination to it.
And then she added her longing.
A bewildered reaction appeared in the chat window.
A delicate voice spread across the stage.
The judges, who had been somewhat indifferent, widened their eyes and focused on Jo Ha-rin.
The viewers watching the broadcast were the same.
It was a love song.
The song Jo Ha-rin was singing on stage was a comfortable ballad.
A thin, beautiful voice.
She certainly lacked technique, but first of all, her voice was good.
There stood Jo Ha-rin, her eyes curving softly as she gave a pure smile.
A girl in love.
As if to express that, Jo Ha-rin sang while lightly riding the rhythm, looking like a flower in bloom.
Radiant.
The beautiful emotion spread beyond the screen.
The faces of the judges watching her, and finally, the faces of Kim Si-hwan and Song So-ha were shown.
From the perspective of Song So-ha, the female lead, it was a scene foreshadowing the appearance of a powerful rival.
At the same time, it was a scene that hadn't been emphasized this much in the original script.
In the original script, Jo Ha-rin was supposed to sing awkwardly and barely pass through her dancing.
However.
Kim Pil-seok had adapted it slightly.
After meeting with the writer, of course.
That was the scene playing now.
Jo Ha-rin's highlight, appearing about two-thirds of the way through the first episode.
And.
His choice...
[Not just a simple comedy drama! <Dream Future> off to a solid start with 15% viewership!!]
[Was the awkward singing just acting? Ju Seo-yeon's unexpected charm]
[Peak viewership hits 21%! Signs of a massive hit for <Dream Future>]
...brought about an explosive reaction.