Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: A Mother's Heart?
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“Cut!”
The director's declaration signaling the end of the shoot washed over Park Chan-su, who had played the Captain of the Inner Guard, like a wave of relief as tension drained from his entire body.
'Finally over. Now I can get some rest...'
He had about an hour before his next scene.
To perform normally, he needed to shake off as much fatigue as possible by then.
With the drama's air date fast approaching, the schedule had grown brutally tight.
Rest when you could, or your body wouldn't hold up. Chan-su leaned back in his chair, catching his breath.
Then.
“?”
Two people appeared before him.
One was Chae Soo-jeong, whom he'd grown relatively familiar with from acting alongside her.
And the other was that girl who always struck him as so tiny whenever he saw her...
“Here, go on and give it to him. Seon-hwa.”
“Mm...”
The little girl hesitated briefly at her mother's words.
Chae Seon-hwa.
She carefully extended what she held in her delicate, childlike hands toward Chan-su.
“G-Good work... Please take this.”
“...Ah, th-thanks.”
A single bottle of a drink from the little kid.
His mind a bit foggy from exhaustion, he found her adorable and stared blankly for a moment before snapping to and hurriedly expressing his gratitude.
Seon-hwa, looking shy about it, quickly ducked behind Soo-jeong.
Her puppy-like cuteness melted away the fatigue weighing on his heart from back-to-back shoots. Chan-su smiled lightly and took a sip from the bottle.
“Whew... You're working hard too, little miss. Isn't waiting around boring?”
“...”
At his question, she silently shook her head, then buried her face in her mother's waist.
Soo-jeong gently stroked her daughter's head, a calm smile on her lips.
“She still gets shy around people. She should be getting used to it by now...”
“Haha, all kids are like that.”
Whenever there was a break during filming, Soo-jeong and Seon-hwa would go around handing out drinks and snacks to everyone.
It was a simple gesture, but amplified by a child's innate charm, it provided tremendous healing to the cast and crew.
Like coming home bone-tired from work and having your daughter shyly run to the door with a snack.
A perfect example of why people turn into doting dads.
As Chan-su resolved to have a daughter someday after marriage, a sudden question popped into his mind.
“By the way... are you okay, Soo-jeong? You must be exhausted, but you're barely resting.”
“I'm fine. As an actress, this is just par for the course.”
“R-Really...?”
For a split second, 'Do you have to be a superhuman to be an actor?' nearly escaped his lips, but he swallowed it back.
And not without reason—Seon-hwa, the child actress, barely shot for an hour a day, spending the rest napping or scribbling kindergarten homework aside from tagging along with her mom.
But Soo-jeong's schedule was murderously intense, even by current standards.
'Even a supporting role like me is wearing down, but is her body made of steel?'
As the lead and true protagonist of the show, she handled far more footage than a supporting actor like him.
Her role demanded 1.5 times more than even her fellow leads, Tae-young and Yu-ra.
The night before last, she'd pulled an all-nighter without proper rest, yet showed no signs of strain.
Even squeezing in moments like this to look after others made Chan-su wonder if she'd been injected with super soldier serum...
But glancing at little Seon-hwa beside her, a different thought occurred to him.
'Mothers are strong... Is that really it? Come to think of it, my own mom never showed fatigue raising me, my brother, and sister...'
Mothers always showed strength before their children.
They knew their kids would waver if they saw weakness.
And Soo-jeong... though a rookie, was undeniably the lead actress and 'true protagonist' of this drama.
In a sense, like a mother to everyone here.
'She's enduring... because she's the lead... because she's a mother.'
She was human; of course she felt the strain.
Yet she hid it for the sake of everyone present—for her responsibility as the lead.
And she truly was a mother to one child.
Her actual age might be younger than Chan-su's,
but the depth of her sense of duty...
Was the heart of a mother.
Something an unmarried guy like him couldn't presume to imagine.
'Damn. Why am I getting emotional all of a sudden...'
His own faraway mother sprang to mind, and to steady his surging emotions, he took another swig from the bottle.
The lightly refreshing drink.
But now it tasted strangely heavy.
'Maybe I should head home for once...'
*
In the grueling barrage of shoots, the team was starting to wear down.
Thankfully, the end was in sight, so they pushed on, but outside of acting, people grew quieter by the day.
Unlike them,
honestly, despite having the most footage of anyone, I wasn't particularly tired.
Maybe from the enthusiasm of landing the lead role, or my consistent workouts... those helped, but it wasn't just that.
In my past life, I'd juggled similar hectic schedules without issue, but never felt this unfatigued.
Fatigue existed, sure, but I was still in normal condition range.
'Is this another TS effect? Or just genetics?'
I hadn't morphed into a new body; it was more like possession.
Thinking back, my past-life Seon-hwa handled killer schedules without a hint of tiredness.
Full day of lives one day, all-nighter shoot next, and she'd bounce back annoyingly energetic.
In her birth mom's body, matching that iron constitution made sense.
'Whatever, good is good. No need to overthink it.'
The key was leveraging this overflowing stamina well.
I gave my all to the shoots and decided to win over everyone here.
More precisely, have my daughter do it.
'Most here will become entertainment giants later. Building goodwill now will help when my girl debuts.'
Lee Dong-cheol PD and Ha Yu-ra went without saying,
even Park Chan-su, squatting over there now, would later dominate music charts with hits.
Yoon Tae-young would pivot to acting, winning top awards and thriving.
Many staff here would leverage Dong-cheol's success to claim their own spots.
Since this whole endeavor started to smooth Seon-hwa's path, I couldn't miss networking opportunities.
Small kindnesses mean the most when you're exhausted.
So I deliberately had my daughter join me in handing out drinks and snacks, building favor.
Hoping these connections would aid her idol debut later.
“Whew... Done.”
“Good work, everyone.”
After the endless marathon shoot, the call signaling wrap echoed in my ears.
I stood, preparing to head out.
“Finally the weekend. Any big plans?”
“Uh... think I'll visit my parents' home.”
“Oh? What a coincidence. Me too...”
“You guys too? It's been ages since I saw Mom...”
Not even a holiday, yet the set buzzed with people heading home.
Puzzled but holding my daughter's hand tight, I headed to the changing room.
*
Oh Young-ae delivered her familiar opening with gusto.
As a reviewer, streamer—no, a drama superfan—she awaited the new show's premiere with genuine excitement.
"As a diehard 'Tears of the Queen Consort' fan, I'm thrilled. With Ha Yu-ra leading and Lee Dong-cheol PD directing, I boldly predict at least solid mid-tier ratings."
Mixed with anticipation, faint worries, and thick fan devotion.
Thus, the premiere of The Queen Dowager, Sovereign of Deception began.