Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Devouring Our Daughter!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Then, we'll proceed in order thirty minutes from now.”
“Please change into your costumes in the changing room over there.”
The audition was unfolding a bit differently than expected.
Rather than acting with professional actors, the guardians would be partnering with the children—a somewhat unusual method. Surprisingly, the mothers here didn't seem to mind.
“Well... it should still be more comfortable acting with me than a stranger, right? We've practiced roughly at home anyway.”
“Perfect. Just do it like we practiced before coming.”
“Ji-soo, remember what we did at home with Mommy? Just do exactly that.”
Most of the kids had rehearsed their lines with their moms to prepare for the audition.
Even if the children attended acting academies, the mothers figured it would feel less intimidating for the kids to perform in front of Mom rather than a complete stranger.
Meanwhile, upon hearing this, our Seon-hwa looked up at my face, her distinctive golden eyes sparkling as she asked,
“Mommy, so does that mean Seon-hwa gets to act with Mommy here?”
“That's right. Just like we did at home... no, even better. Mommy will give it her all too.”
“Okay! Got it. Seon-hwa's first scene partner is Mommy... hehe...”
Seon-hwa mumbled something barely audible at the end before gripping my hand tightly.
Seeing her slightly trembling hand—tense despite herself—and her flushed cheeks, I gently stroked her head to help her relax a little, then glanced around at the others.
Moms hurriedly skimming scripts or running lines.
It looked like things were proceeding smoothly despite the mishap, but as I watched, I thought quietly to myself,
'They must be in quite a rush to pull a desperate move like this.'
And so the auditions began.
A child dressed in a pre-prepared hanbok as the 'princess,' paired with the child's mom, hastily changed into hanbok for the drama's lead role of the 'Queen Consort.'
Glancing sneakily at her daughter, the mom held the script in hand and spoke in a highly tense voice.
“Um... um... Wh-what... what is it, Princess?”
“Uh... Mommy... Ah, no, Your Majesty. I have a question... I do.”
“Ahem. What... is it?”
The mom stumbled from the start, and perhaps influenced by that, the child fumbled along too.
They seemed to have memorized the lines somehow, but with the mom wobbling right away, the daughter got rattled just as badly—it was plain to see.
“...Haa. Sorry. We'll stop here.”
In the end, unable to endure the awkwardness and cringe, they gave up midway.
As they retreated with flushed faces, the other moms didn't say it outright but snickered inwardly.
'Tsk tsk... that's why you should've practiced properly at home.'
'Seriously, coming here to be an actor mom and that's all you've got?'
One by one, the moms stepped forward, convinced they wouldn't flop like that.
However.
Contrary to their thoughts, they weren't faring much better.
“Wh-what do you mean by that!”
“Uh... well...”
“What... what are you doing! Say your line already!”
The acting proved tougher than expected, making the kids awkward too.
I let out a small sigh watching moms who couldn't even memorize their lines, let alone control their emotions.
As someone whose body had honed acting skills over twenty years in my past life, I knew the production team's choice was an unavoidable bad hand.
Child actors' performances are heavily influenced by the adult partner's acting.
Kids haven't yet built their own presence and easily get swept up in the surrounding atmosphere.
The stronger the partner's immersion, the easier it is for them to get pulled in—and vice versa, if the partner is awkward, so is the kid.
In other words, unless the mom leads exceptionally well, the child naturally follows suit.
In that regard, having the scheduled actors partner would have been better for the kids' immersion, but most moms didn't realize this.
Plus, in this script, the child princess's role wasn't meant to shine on her own—it was a device to elevate the partner actor.
In industry terms, the child princess was there to be deliciously devoured by the Queen Consort.
The devoured side needed some skill too, but ultimately, it only worked if the devourer excelled.
No—honestly, if the devourer did well, it actually made it easier for the one being devoured.
And for that reason, I needed to devour my daughter with all my might right now.
To lay the foundation for this child to become a world star surpassing even my past life!
And as a bonus, to witness my ultimate bias shining once more with my own eyes!
With that resolve, channeling the full force of my twenty years as an actress from my past life, I committed to devouring my daughter thoroughly.
Right after donning the hanbok, I began seizing the emotions.
I'd memorized the script long ago.
All that remained was aligning the role with my inner imagery.
The drama I'd binge-watched beforehand. Tears of the Queen Consort.
Its protagonist.
The woman Yoo-hwa, who rose from slave to Queen Consort.
With a familiarity like breathing.
I gathered every scrap of info on her in my mind, forging a single image.
Regret, remorse, longing.
A woman who clawed her way alone to the heights, now seated there.
The moment I held that image in my heart.
“Come forth, Princess.”
I became Joseon's Queen Consort Yoo-hwa.
“!...Gulp... Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
Our 'princess' swallowed dryly, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.
I gave her a calm smile.
Then we slowly advanced.
“Mm...”
“...This is worse than I thought.”
The auditions dragged on in awkward vibes.
The absence of the lead actress—who should have been carrying the scenes—became more glaring as time passed.
This audition script was a brief scene from the latter half of Tears of the Queen Consort.
The protagonist, who entered the palace from lowly origins and clawed her way to Queen Consort through endless intrigue, reminisces about her free past in response to the curious young princess's words.
The child actress as princess was merely a supporting trigger for the Queen Consort's emotions in this scene.
With the scene inherently led by the Queen Consort, any awkwardness from her actor doomed the whole thing.
“Haa... That's why I opposed this.”
“We still have to do it. Watch closely and pick the best one.”
Lee Dong-cheol PD replied with a wry smile to Seo Ji-tae PD's words.
Painful as it was to watch the bad acting, if this got them a casting without complaints, fine by him.
Unlike Seo Ji-tae, who could focus solely on the drama as a PD, he was a section chief sensitive to adult circumstances.
And one more thing.
Separate from the fiasco unfolding, he was waiting.
For what kind of acting 'that person' would show.
With a touch of anticipation.
And, slim chance though it was, if—just if—her level met his standards...
“Number 17, child actress Chae Seon-hwa, please come forward.”
“Yes.”
“!...”
The mother-daughter pair stepped forward at the call.
Dong-cheol couldn't help feeling inwardly shocked at the sight.
The woman advancing step by step without a script in hand.
The girl following behind.
This was just a bare studio, no special set.
Yet,
From their every footfall, every gesture, profound dignity emanated—suddenly it felt like the inner courtyard of a real Joseon palace.
'Not even started, and already this much...'
She'd exuded an extraordinary aura from her looks alone.
Someone who naturally drew eyes could often reshape the entire atmosphere with their acting.
Even so, before uttering a line, achieving this with mere movement left Dong-cheol deeply impressed.
'Every motion so poised. Like a veteran with nearly twenty years—no tension at all. Where did someone like her come from...'
And then.
“Ahem... alright then. Please begin.”
“...”
Seo PD made the request, equally stunned.
She nodded slightly instead of replying.
The care to preserve her emotional line felt like the gravitas of a seasoned pro.
And then.
“What is it, Princess?”
A short line, spoken facing forward without turning.
No direction for the motion in the script,
yet everyone here felt it utterly natural.
At that moment, silence fell over the once-murmuring studio.
The atmosphere fully captured from that one line.
Before their eyes.
Stood the Queen Consort.
“Your Majesty, I have something I'm curious about.”
“What is it?”
A strict yet softly affectionate voice.
The princess took the Queen Consort's hand, her face brimming with pure curiosity as she asked,
“Your Majesty, what is the world beyond the palace walls like?”
“Why... do you ask such a thing?”
An unexpected question.
A shadow fell over the Queen Consort's face.
For her, born of lowly status, tales of the outside were unwelcome in themselves.
Remnants of a past she wished to erase.
Yet.
“I heard the court ladies say the palace is a prison. That it's suffocating inside, unlike the outside.”
“!”
The words pierced the Queen Consort's heart.
Like a dagger.
Deep enough to chill her chest.
“Is it true? Then am I living in a prison right now?”
“...A prison.”
Not displeasure at the word, but a genuine question laced with doubt.
At her daughter's innocent query, a smile touched the Queen Consort's lips.
Yes.
It was a prison.
The place she'd reached drenched in blood.
The pinnacle for a woman called Queen Consort,
nothing but a gorgeously ornate prison.
A bird that once soared free in the skies.
Now caged in a golden birdcage.
That was her now,
a wretched reward for her bloodstained hands.
“You... Majesty?”
“...”
The mother's unforeseen reaction.
The princess showed confusion and doubt.
And then.
Gazing at her daughter clutching her hand with tiny, reed-like fingers, the Queen Consort smiled.
A single tear tracing her eye.
Yearning deeply for that past when, lowly though she was, she had wings called freedom.
Thus, wordlessly.
She drew the princess into an embrace.
“!”
“Gasp!”
Seo PD's voice pierced their ears.
Only then did the studio's people snap back to reality.
From the junior writer and camera team to the assistant staff, and the kids and moms vying for the 'princess' spot.
Their gazes fixed on the woman—still the Queen Consort—catching her breath a bit roughly,
and the girl Chae Seon-hwa wiping her tears.
'Wh-what was that...'
'No way she's an actress?'
'Impossible, I've seen tons of dramas—no one like her...'
The lingering aftertaste refused to fade.
And in their hearts, a uniform sense of emptiness welled up.
'The mom was great, but... that kid nailed it too.'
'Not a single line flubbed, totally natural. Like a real drama scene.'
If only the mom had shone alone, but the daughter matched the vibe flawlessly.
Could their own child have done the same?
No—likely crushed by that 'Queen Consort's' presence, speechless.
They didn't want to admit it, but having tried themselves, they knew it wasn't easy.
Not without grumbling, but unable to voice it, they conceded inwardly.
Todays audition winner was that girl.
Chae Seon-hwa.
Meanwhile.
One more person watching it all.
Lee Dong-cheol PD unconsciously clenched his fist.
Not at the daughter wiping tears with a handkerchief,
but at the mom, still immersed.
'This... we have to snag her!'