Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: If I Can't Escape... Then Rather...
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“Good work.”
“You all did great.”
With their farewells, the crew wrapped up filming and began cleaning up.
Amid them, the moment the final scene ended, I was helping Elizabeth, who had collapsed onto the floor, to her feet.
“Are you okay?”
“Ha… haha… Sorry… My legs just gave out on me…”
Elizabeth had given her all in sincere, passionate acting throughout today's shoot.
In response to her effort, I'd thrown myself fully into the filming as well, allowing us to progress faster than expected.
A workload that should have taken a comfortable three days had been completed in just one.
The schedule had gone even more smoothly than hoped.
But now that this intense, all-out shoot was over, Elizabeth was struggling just to stand, clearly exhausted from the strain.
Her steps faltered as if dizzy,
her breathing ragged.
Her face flushed red,
her entire body drenched in sweat like she'd been caught in a downpour.
Anyone might think she'd run a marathon instead of acting, but honestly, her state made perfect sense right now.
If I didn't have this naturally ironclad stamina, I'd be wiped out too…
The scenes were mostly just the two of us, so the other actors barely appeared.
Of course, the camera crew had worked just as hard, but naturally, the ones pushed hardest were us two.
It was only natural to be physically drained.
She'd even stepped away several times during the shoot, calling it “nature’s call” just to catch her breath.
“Take it easy. Acting matters, but your health matters more.”
“Haha… I'm fine… This much is… Thanks for worrying.”
Even as she forced a smile, her legs still trembled.
I helped her to a chair, then turned to grab her a bottle of water.
That was when.
“Mommy!”
“Huh? Seon-hwa?”
Our Seon-hwa came rushing into the set.
With a hefty shoot schedule today, I'd told her to go straight home with manager Yu A-ram after school.
Surprised she was here, but happy to see my daughter sooner,
I scooped up the child who ran straight into my arms.
“That's my girl. Couldn't wait to see Mommy, so you came all the way here…?”
That was when
I finally noticed Seon-hwa's expression.
So different from usual—an indescribable unease on her face that left me momentarily flustered.
“What's… what's wrong, Seon-hwa? Did something happen?”
“Um… well, you see… I mean…”
Something was clearly off, but she seemed hesitant to say it.
Then,
“Soo-jeong, take a look at this first.”
My manager Yu A-ram, who'd been watching from behind, approached cautiously with a worried look, holding out her phone.
What caught my eye next was the article.
It read:
- Start Kingdom PD Mazuseok arrested on charges of match-fixing in audition shows and bribery.
So it finally broke.
The embargo lifted, and the full flood of articles poured out.
It happened exactly one month after the Child Star finale.
As pre-arranged, mentions of Child Star were minimized.
Sure, some online raised suspicions about Child Star, but most countered with examples of Seon-hwa and Han-sol's song.
Their performance was undeniably overwhelming to anyone who heard it.
But…
“I was playing with unnie Han-sol earlier and saw this. She started crying and suddenly ran off somewhere.”
“Ah…”
Seon-hwa's worried words.
I understood the situation and frowned deeply.
This isn't good… Not at all…
People often make a mistake.
They think it's easy to deceive children.
That these young minds can't grasp the ways of the world anyway.
But contrary to that delusion,
children actually know everything.
Whether something is good or bad.
Whether their parents did right or wrong.
They just don't know how to express it.
In truth, they understand every situation fully,
pondering it even more deeply than adults, and keeping it locked in their hearts.
To the point it shapes their entire personality and mindset.
And right now,
one young girl here
named Seo Han-sol
had grasped the full picture of everything unfolding.
“What… what the hell is this? Why would you do something so pointless?!”
“…”
The white-haired old man before her remained silent.
The chairman of SG Group,
and Han-sol's grandfather.
Chairman Seo Tae-hyun.
Seeing his rigidly frozen expression, Han-sol shouted in fury.
“I thought it was weird… There were tons of people better than me, so why did I pass and they fail? I didn't want to believe it! I thought you wouldn't stoop to meddling even in this! But you!”
“…”
The chairman stayed silent despite his granddaughter's outburst.
Gasping for breath, Han-sol spoke in a heavier tone.
“…Are you having fun?… Toying with people's faces…”
“…”
“Right… I'm just… a doll anyway. One you can play with however you want… Only moving as you desire…”
“…”
“…Sorry. This doll talked too much. Goodbye, Chairman.”
With those final words laced in deep resignation, Han-sol left the room.
Immediately after,
“…Haa…”
A heavy sigh escaped the chairman, who had remained silent to the end.
A sigh weighted with utterly complex emotions.
Right after leaving the chairman's office,
Han-sol headed straight out of the building.
“Don't follow me.”
“Ha… But miss…”
“Want me to make you strip that uniform? Get lost. Now.”
“…”
After angrily dismissing even her bodyguards, Han-sol walked the streets alone.
As she wandered aimlessly,
her face twisted with tangled emotions.
Sadness, disappointment, despair.
At this moment, almost no one online was cursing her.
Child Star, essentially a pilot program in this scandal, got minimal coverage, with most backlash aimed at the hit Start Kingdom and other full-length shows and those involved.
Plus, the official statement claimed irregularities only in Child Star's preliminaries, so public suspicion toward Han-sol was virtually nonexistent.
However,
separate from dodging public outrage,
a massive wound had torn open in Han-sol's heart.
It was all… fake… Even this… I didn't achieve it on my own…
Attention focused on the finals, and even now amid the uproar, her finals song drew rave reviews.
An undeniable triumph that shattered suspicions outright.
But for Han-sol personally, the part she valued most
wasn't the finals, but the preliminaries.
She knew it herself.
The finals had been easy with Chae Seon-hwa's help.
She had her own skill to harmonize with Seon-hwa, but purely on her own power, the preliminaries carried more weight.
And now…
The fact that manipulation tainted even those preliminaries she'd poured her soul into,
struck Han-sol's heart with immense shock…
an emotion one could call utter despair.
I thought I'd finally broken free… That for the first time, I'd accomplished something alone…
A life lived only on predetermined paths.
Nothing but a puppet dancing in others' hands.
At some point, Han-sol had come to loathe it,
starting to struggle desperately to escape.
In that process, she found her own dream,
and through supreme effort, believed she'd finally sprouted it with her own power alone.
But in truth, even this had been mere play within her grandfather's palm.
Ultimately, she still hadn't escaped
being his doll.
I hate it now… This life… A fake, fabricated life… I can't take it anymore…
A sensation like being trapped in an inescapable cage.
Feeling tears about to spill from that horrific despair,
Han-sol just kept walking with her head down.
Then.
-VROOOOM!!!
“Ah…”
The blaring noise in her ears.
Only then did she realize her foot had stepped into the road,
and in her sight, a car barreled toward her.
A metal beast charging with blinding lights.
Yet Han-sol didn't move back.
If I can't escape… then rather…
The thought flashed in her mind.
At the same time, a hollow smile crept unknowingly onto Han-sol's lips.
Then.
“Huh!?”
A hand grabbed her body, pulling her.
Warm, yet irresistibly strong, it yanked her small frame back to the sidewalk.
“Are you okay?”
The familiar voice that followed.
Turning her head, there she was.
“…Soo-jeong… Auntie?”