Chapter 102
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: An Inspired Performance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After that, whenever the Welton family had time, they gathered in the living room to watch Naeuiwon.
They sobbed their hearts out during episode 14 when Grand Prince Seongnyeong died, and they were stunned by the appearance of a child who looked exactly like him. In the final episode, they shed tears at Heo Yuseon’s desperate cry for him to return.
“Dad! Jun is an amazing actor! Right?”
“He is. The actor who played Heo Yuseon was great too.”
“It was so sad. If it weren’t for his illness, Seongnyeong would have become king…”
“I know. If only his illness had been magically cured, he would have been king…!”
Wiping her tears, Laura, who had been sharing her thoughts after listening to her parents and Grace, suddenly froze.
A lost tail. A king. An illness. Magic!
“This is it!”
“What is?”
“I’ve got it! The male lead’s past!”
Laura Welton sprinted to her room faster than ever before and turned on her laptop. She opened the file she hadn’t touched in weeks and began to write. Laura Welton’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the laptop screen.
“The male lead’s tail was severed in battle, and only a witch can create a new one.”
Laura Welton thought of Charlie, the werewolf without a tail, and Seojun on stage, more majestic than anyone she had ever seen. She merged the two werewolves into one. Goosebumps covered her entire body, and with episodes bubbling up inside her, she couldn’t stop her hands.
“I’ll just write down the main plot for now. I can edit later!”
Hearing Laura cackle as she furiously typed on her keyboard, Grace and her parents quietly closed the door.
“I’ve never seen Laura so happy.”
“Is she thinking of becoming a writer?”
“Maybe so. Grace, want to go buy some tarts? Sweets are the best when you’re using your brain.”
“Okay!”
* * *
Taylor, the writing teacher at Laura Welton’s high school, worried that he might have made a mistake, seeing as Laura hadn’t brought him a single page since their conversation weeks ago.
“But she seemed so talented…”
He had simply told her the short story was interesting, but Laura Welton had real talent. It was easy to read, and while the character settings were unusual, they had a surprising sense of realism, as if she had experienced them herself.
He had made the suggestion because it was a shame for it to remain just a short story, but every time he saw her in passing, her face was clouded with worry, making him wonder if he had done the wrong thing.
“If she just brought me a little something, I could tell her whether she should continue or not… but she never shows up outside of class…”
“Mr. Taylor!”
Just as a worried Taylor was lost in thought, Laura Welton appeared before him with a bright expression, holding a laptop. Seeing her radiant face, Taylor let out a sigh of relief.
“I just wrote a rough draft, but could you please take a look?”
“Of course.”
Laura Welton handed Taylor a USB drive.
“I’ll keep writing over here!”
“Go ahead.”
Taylor turned on his laptop and plugged in the USB drive Laura had given him. There was one file named ‘Untitled.’ Glancing at Laura, who was now fiercely focused on her writing, Taylor opened the file.
The male lead, once the leader of a werewolf pack, loses his tail in an enemy attack. For werewolves, the tail was a crucial part that enabled their transformation.
A colleague who helped him escape gives him a legendary detector and tells him to find a witch, saying that only a witch can recreate his tail.
Only one witch remains in the human world. Neither the female lead herself nor those around her knew.
The male lead appears in the city, following the detector. After helping the lost female lead, he finds himself increasingly drawn to her, even though she isn't the one the detector is pointing to.
“...This is good.”
As he read Laura Welton’s novel, Taylor found himself unconsciously recalling the phone numbers of publishing house employees he knew.
* * *
As the end of the year approached, various broadcasting stations were busy preparing for their awards ceremonies.
From the Drama Awards and Entertainment Awards to the Music Festivals, the programs that marked the end of each year were beginning their preparations, and reporters were busy predicting nominees and winners.
Among the various broadcasters, the one generating the most buzz was, of course, KBC, which had achieved a 40% viewership rating with Naeuiwon.
[KBC. Who are the Drama Awards Nominees?]
[A Look at the KBC Broadcasting Station’s Award Categories.]
[Drama Awards, Best New Actor. What Qualifies as a Newcomer?]
[Multiple Awards Possible? Or Impossible?]
-He only had a cameo, so is the Best New Actor award out of the question?
-But his role in Re-Investigation was too short. With a role like Naeuiwon, shouldn’t he be eligible for Best New Actor?
-Hmm. The awards Seojun could potentially receive are Top Excellence, Excellence, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Child Actor.
=What about the Grand Prize?
-Seojun did great, but… Heo Yuseon…
-Right. Lee Jiseok carried episode 14 and the finale.
-Looks like Naeuiwon has taken over KBC.
The internet was abuzz with speculation about whether Lee Seojun would win an award. Even though it had been months since Naeuiwon ended, the emotions people felt while watching the drama were still vivid.
-Even if he wins, he should probably only get one so other actors have a chance.
-But he acted so well, just one award seems like too little.
-You can only win Best New Actor once.
-But Lee Seojun was more than good enough to win Best New Actor.
-There’s also the Best Child Actor award…
-KBC must have a lot to think about.
Just as the public suspected, KBC, tasked with deciding the nominees and winners, was also deep in thought.
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’ve decided everything else… Lee Seojun is the problem.”
“Hmm. He’s only had one cameo. Does that qualify him for Best New Actor?”
Everyone sighed. There were too many awards to give to Lee Seojun, the actor who had moved viewers to tears.
* * *
“Seojun. Do you want to do a special performance for the Drama Awards?”
“A special performance?”
Seojun, who was reading a script, tilted his head at An Daho’s words.
“KBC asked if you would do a special performance for them.”
“A special performance? Do I sing a song?”
“No. They were wondering if you could do the performance you did at the Halloween festival.”
Seojun blinked. After an edited version was uploaded to the fan cafe, other people started compiling and editing personally shot videos from N-tube. Seojun had also seen the comments everyone left, saying the video quality was a shame.
“Hmm. It’s pretty short. Is that okay?”
“They said they’d be happy as long as you show up.”
No matter how short, viewership would skyrocket. Seojun nodded at An Daho’s words.
“I’ll do it. Everyone said they wanted to see it in better quality.”
“Alright. I’ll let the station know.”
“But, Daho-hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I wear a different outfit for it?”
Seojun chuckled.
[Actor Lee Seojun to Appear in Special Performance!]
[What Kind of Stage Will Lee Seojun Show Us! A Song, or a Dance!]
-I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lee Seojun dance.
-He’s probably good. They say he’s athletic. He sings well, so he can’t be rhythm-deaf.
-I want that. The Halloween performance! The video is so shaky. And the quality is terrible!
-Ah. It would be great if they filmed it like the N-tube edit.
=That composition was the best. You could see everything well.
As the day of the Drama Awards ceremony drew closer, more and more outfits were sent to Seojun.
The brand of the suit he wore to the WTV Film Festival two years ago, Aressi, had shown remarkable growth since then, resulting in even more clothing offers for Seojun.
Of course, since this was a domestic awards ceremony, there were more Korean brands than international ones.
From brands he’d never seen before to those belonging to famous designers, Seojun stared at the boxes of clothes piled up in a corner of the Cocoa Entertainment practice room with a weary expression.
“There are so many.”
“Definitely more than for the film festival.”
“Do I have to try all of these on?”
After a moment of thought, An Daho shook his head in response to Seojun’s question.
“Let’s just pick a few that you like from this pile, try those on, and then decide.”
“That’s a relief.”
Relieved, Seojun began opening boxes, revealing suits of various designs. He would look at an outfit, put it back in the box, open another, and put it back. After repeating this process for a while, one box caught his eye.
“It’s from Aressi.”
“So it is. They sent one even though it’s a domestic awards ceremony. Do you like it? Want to wear that one?”
“Let me look a little more.”
He put it on the list of candidates for now. After diligently looking through the clothes, Seojun opened the last box.
“Wow.”
Seojun gasped in admiration as he took out the suit. On the pitch-black suit, the girin embroidery from the official robes he wore in Naeuiwon was stitched with thread so dark it was barely visible.
Of course, the design of the girin embroidery was simple, but it was instantly recognizable.
An Daho was also impressed by the suit. From a distance, it looked like a plain suit, but up close, the girin embroidery was visible.
“The meaning is great, too.”
As this was an awards ceremony for his role in Naeuiwon, this special suit was perfect in Seojun’s eyes.
“I’ll wear this one!”
“Alright. Let’s have you try it on and check the size. See if it needs any alterations.”
As An Daho was inspecting the suit, Seojun called out to him. There was another outfit in the box.
“Daho-hyung! There’s a dragon version too.”
“The dragon… that’s the pattern on the king’s robes, right?”
“Yes!”
An Daho burst out laughing. He could feel the designer’s wish for Grand Prince Seongnyeong to become king, even if only at the awards ceremony. The designer was probably a huge fan of Naeuiwon.
* * *
December 31st, the day of the awards ceremony, arrived.
Seojun arrived at the KBC Hall, where the ceremony would be held, earlier than everyone else for his special performance rehearsal. His parents were scheduled to come later with Uncle Chan.
Seojun looked at the fully prepared stage. The stage at KBC Hall was larger than the one at the Halloween festival.
“I’m going to go from here to here.”
At Seojun’s words, the production team and cameramen marked the blocking in their notes. They followed the small child around, planning his movements and the camera composition. One of the cameramen asked a question.
“What about the speed?”
“Uh, about this fast?”
Seojun ran across the stage. It was about the same speed as when he transformed into a wolf in the fog. The cameramen, who were gauging the speed while filming, nodded.
“During the actual performance, he’ll be running on all fours, so we’ll have to lower the camera.”
“Where do you stand when you’re on two feet?”
“Around here.”
Seojun explained his vision exactly as he had planned it. Then, at the production team’s request, he ran across the stage on two feet just as he would during the performance, but without the billowing smoke.
Seojun moved in a zigzag pattern from the end of the stage, slowed his pace in the middle, stood still at the very front for a moment, and then ran towards the back of the stage.
The cameramen following him with their cameras all nodded.
“Thank you, Actor Lee Seojun.”
“It’s nothing. Please film it well.”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
We don’t want to get cursed out either. They all swallowed their last words.
When articles about Seojun’s special performance came out, people overwhelmingly nominated the ‘werewolf transformation’ as the most likely candidate, over a song or a dance.
-I was about to die of frustration watching only the personally shot videos on N-tube.
-KBC, you better film this well!
-If the camerawork is trash, I’m blowing up your website.
Many other comments like these were posted on the KBC website. It seemed like the homepage was going to crash even before Seojun’s performance aired.
After exchanging goodbyes with the filming crew, Seojun headed to the waiting room KBC had prepared for him.
Knock, knock.
Seojun, who was spending time with An Daho in the waiting room wearing comfortable clothes, looked towards the door at the sound of knocking.
“Hey, Seojun.”
It was Jiseok-hyung. Seojun beamed and welcomed Lee Jiseok, whom he hadn't seen in months.
“Hyung! You’re here early!”
“I wanted to walk in with you. This is the first awards ceremony we’re attending together.”
“Move it, punk.”
“Seojun, hi!”
It wasn't just Jiseok-hyung; Uncle Jongho and Dohun-hyung were there too. They all looked ready to walk the red carpet, dressed in sharp suits with neatly styled hair and makeup.
Seojun looked above Park Dohun’s head with a proud expression. When he had met Dohun-hyung a few days after the Naeuiwon finale, there was no longer any pattern floating above his head. Even now, months later, it was still clear.
‘He should be fine now.’
His mind wasn't exceptionally strong, but it seemed to have become firm enough to escape the influence of the ability. Seojun smiled brightly and greeted the three of them.
“Was the Halloween festival fun?”
“Yes, it was amazing!”
“Everything you do causes an uproar.”
“Have you decided on your next project?”
“Not yet. What about you, Uncle Jongho?”
“I’m thinking of doing a modern drama this time.”
At those words, Lee Jiseok mouthed something. A gangster? Kim Jongho smacked Lee Jiseok on the back. Ouch! Park Dohun and Seojun burst out laughing at Lee Jiseok’s dramatic reaction.
“Seojun. It’s time to get changed.”
“Okay.”
An Daho said, checking the time. Seojun changed in a corner of the waiting room, and when he came out, a waiting stylist did his makeup and hair. Since he was still a child, it didn't take long.
The three actors, who were watching from behind the stylist and An Daho as they checked for any wrinkles, stared at Seojun’s outfit in surprise.
“This is amazing. Up close, you can see it’s embroidered.”
“A dragon. Is that a dragon?”
“Like the one on the royal dragon robe?”
Seojun nodded and said.
“The place that sent this outfit sent a girin one and a dragon one, and I decided to wear the one with the dragon.”
“Wow. I didn't know you were so ambitious, Seojun. Planning to play a king next?”
Lee Jiseok’s joke made Seojun and the adults burst into laughter.