Chapter 89
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Unfilmed Scene
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*Seriously? You’re changing the scene just because I put my all into the death scene?* Seojun wanted to ask, but after hearing what Producer Choi Minsung and Writer So Eunjin said next, he found himself nodding.
“Everyone is completely immersed in your portrayal of Grand Prince Seongnyeong. They’re saying they don’t want to see the death scene, that it would be too sad. If the staff feels this way, imagine how the viewers who are currently engrossed in the drama will feel. If we air the scene of you dying, it might cause an uproar.”
“But it’s just a death scene, isn’t it?”
“It would be different if it were any other actor. But this is the acting of ‘Actor Lee Seojun.’”
“Are you worried about the Werther effect?”
At An Daho’s question, Seojun tilted his head, and Producer Choi Minsung and Writer So Eunjin nodded.
“We’re not concerned about copycat suicides. We’re just worried that the people who’ve been enjoying the show will be too shocked. Even though they’re probably bracing themselves for it.”
“What’s the Werther effect?”
An Daho explained it to Seojun.
It was a story about how after the protagonist of a certain novel committed suicide, readers of the novel attempted to do the same. It wasn't just fictional characters; people also mimicked the deaths of celebrities. The story was so unimaginable that Seojun was left dumbfounded.
Writer So Eunjin said.
“It’s not that serious. As long as the footage from the last shoot doesn’t get out, that is. Your acting was fine, Seojun, but Jongho’s performance was so realistic that it made the scene seem even more dangerous.”
As Writer So Eunjin said, Seojun’s acting had been fine. After all, the camera couldn't capture his dropping body temperature or the scent of the skeleton mouse. The problem began when Kim Jongho's pained expression, which had been mere acting, suddenly turned real.
“When that expression was combined with Seojun’s acting, the synergy was just too powerful.”
Watching the footage again, Producer Choi and Writer So rubbed their arms, goosebumps rising at the sight of Kim Jongho’s frantic expression and Seojun’s limp form. An Daho and Seo Eunchan, who had rushed over in surprise upon hearing that Seojun’s scene was being deleted, watched the clip Producer Choi showed them. With the producer and writer's consent, they immediately collected the footage and destroyed it.
“If your mom and dad had seen that, I’d be dead already.”
Years later, sharing a drink with his adult nephew, Lee Seojun, his uncle, Seo Eunchan, would confess his true feelings. Seojun would just laugh, saying, “That’s how it was back then,” as he recalled his younger self, who always poured his entire being into every performance.
Seojun realized that acting that was *too* real wasn't necessarily a good thing. No matter how incredible the performance, it had to remain acting.
Acting that people could laugh, enjoy, and talk about. Acting that, even if sad, allowed people to think, ‘That’s just a performance.’
The reason people could enjoy thrillers or horror movies was because they knew it wasn't real.
Where was the line between acting that felt real and acting that could still be called acting? Everyone praised Seojun for his skills, but he still had much to learn.
“Will it be okay to change it?”
At the producer and writer’s cautious question, Seojun nodded emphatically.
“Yes! It’s fine!”
Seojun hoped the people watching the drama wouldn't be sad. Even though the story was tragic, he hoped they would only be a little bit sad.
And so, the final scene of Seojun’s first drama, *Naeuiwon*, was erased.
***
On Wednesday, the 13th episode of *Naeuiwon* aired.
“Forgive my presumption, Your Majesty…”
Royal Physician Yang Hongdal prostrated himself. Those words—*forgive my presumption*—weighed heavily on King Taejong’s heart.
He had never heard a more dreadful sound. His hand, gripping the armrest so tightly it seemed it would break, trembled.
“...It is smallpox.”
Smallpox!
At Royal Physician Yang Hongdal’s words, King Taejong and the Queen were rendered speechless. They could only stare blankly at the back of the prostrated physician’s head.
“Smallpox? Smallpox!?”
For several days, Grand Prince Seongnyeong had been running a fever and his breathing had grown ragged. He would sometimes whine about being too tired to sleep.
The royal physicians had said it was a common cold. Something that would heal with medicine and rest!
But now they were saying it was smallpox?
“The treatment… Physician, what is the treatment…?”
The Queen finally managed to compose herself and ask. Yang Hongdal pressed his head even lower to the floor. The heavy silence that followed left the King and Queen in a daze.
A chilling silence fell over the palace. King Taejong scolded Prince Yangnyeong for frolicking about while his brother was sick, and he couldn't bring himself to eat a single spoonful of rice.
Queen Wongyeong visited a temple with Grand Prince Hyoryeong to pray to Buddha and offered rites to the gods of heaven and earth.
The brilliant Grand Prince Chungnyeong, along with the physicians, researched Grand Prince Seongnyeong’s illness.
In an age before advanced medicine, everyone did their best. They sought gods they weren't even sure existed and searched for miracle cures rumored to be panaceas.
While the treatment methods were incomprehensible, the viewers understood the hearts of the characters through their expressions and actions.
Among them, Heo Yuseon was the busiest. The ailing Grand Prince Seongnyeong, considerate of his family, did not ask for them. Heo Yuseon, with whom he had opened his heart, was the only one he could be childish with.
The mature Grand Prince would act a little spoiled with Heo Yuseon, only to apologize afterward.
“I’m sorry.”
“It is nothing, Your Highness. It is alright.”
“Physician Heo. Thank you so much.”
“It is truly, truly nothing.”
Heo Yuseon smiled, hiding his reddened eyes. There was no time to cry. He cared for the Grand Prince, administered his herbal medicine, and, whenever he had a spare moment, researched the disease in a space provided by Grand Prince Chungnyeong.
But despite everyone’s efforts, Grand Prince Seongnyeong’s condition worsened.
The preview for the next episode aired.
Snow was falling.
[Naeuiwon Episode 13, Viewership Rating 37%!]
[KBC Thursday 10 PM, The Day is Coming!]
[The State of Medicine in the Joseon Dynasty!]
[Let's Learn About Smallpox!]
[Fortune Tellers, Shamans, Rites. They Prayed to the Gods to Cure Illness.]
- The prince is dying, so why are they performing rites?
= That was the treatment back then. They believed that if you held a rite on an auspicious day chosen by a fortune teller, the moved gods would cure the disease.
- Wow, is he really going to die?
- Honestly, a lot of things in this fusion historical drama bother me, but I can't bring myself to judge the death of Grand Prince Seongnyeong.
- One side is praying to the gods, the other is researching. The contrast makes it more impactful. Seeing them do anything for their family… they’re no different from us.
- My parents prayed at a temple too because of my illness.
= Are you okay now?
= Yep, much better.
“Seojun, you’re not sick, are you?”
“Nope! I’m super healthy, Teacher!”
Thursday was a weekday, and on weekdays, he had to go to school. Seojun answered his friends and teachers cheerfully when they asked about his health. They all returned to their business with looks of relief.
“Stay strong, Seojun.”
Having already witnessed similar situations several times, Seojun’s young friends offered their comfort. He chuckled and took his seat.
And then, the day finally arrived.
[The Day Has Finally Come. That Day in History is Here!]
[KBC’s Naeuiwon! Will They Make a Decision!]
[Fusion Historical Dramas, Stories from History, How Much is Permissible?]
[Please Let Our Grand Prince Live Happily!]
- For me, Naeuiwon ended yesterday. Ha. Ha. Ha.
- I’m a history major so I’m not a fan of fusion historical dramas, but I sincerely hope Grand Prince Seongnyeong lives!
- Can’t they just say he ran away somewhere?! Send him away to recuperate!
- Damn smallpox! I don’t care if it ruins history, just please save him!
Despite their words, as 10 PM approached, everyone turned on their televisions to KBC.
The commercials, sold at a high price, ran for a long time, but no one complained. As usual, they looked like a collection of ads from the top ten companies in the country.
- He's going to die anyway, but at least he's alive a little longer while the commercials are on.
- T_T The commercials are so sad.
- I wish the commercials would end quickly, no, I wish they wouldn't end.ㅠ
Contrary to everyone’s wishes, the commercials seemed to end early today. Or rather, they were the same length as always, but it felt that way to everyone.
When the commercials ended and the deep, resonant drumbeat—which sounded particularly sorrowful today—began, everyone watching television fell silent.
*Naeuiwon* had begun.
Grand Prince Seongnyeong, covered in rashes, let out shallow breaths. The physicians of the Naeuiwon, their mouths covered with white cloths, could be seen moving diligently.
Among them, Heo Yuseon moved the most frantically. Following the orders of his master, Yang Hongdal, he brewed medicine, wiped the Grand Prince’s sweat, and massaged his limbs.
A few days ago, the prince had at least managed to open his eyes slightly, but now there was no sign of even that. His condition was critical.
*Your Highness. Your Highness.*
Heo Yuseon couldn't even speak; his eyes alone conveyed his desperate heart.
In a world where he had no one to grow attached to, this was the first child to whom he had opened his heart. Though he was the son of a concubine, he dared to think of the child as family.
Seongnyeong, who shared his yakgwa sweets with him. Seongnyeong, who shot his bow so magnificently. Seongnyeong, who laughed while playing pranks. And the unforgettable Grand Prince from their first meeting.
*Where has that spirited boy gone, Your Highness?*
At the sight of the Grand Prince only managing to let out shallow, ragged breaths, Heo Yuseon could do nothing but clench his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
The camera pulled back, revealing Grand Prince Chungnyeong watching Seongnyeong’s residence from a distance.
*Jong, my Jong.* Beneath the feet of Chungnyeong, who was praying silently, a pile of papers from his research with the physicians lay scattered like snow.
Among the physicians rushing back and forth, one figure moved with the most urgency.
It was Heo Yuseon, who had been tending to Seongnyeong morning and night and researching with Grand Prince Chungnyeong in his spare time.
*Neither I, a grand prince, nor he, a physician, nor all these papers could save my brother.* The image of his dying brother flashed in his mind, and Grand Prince Chungnyeong shed tears.
The scene weighed heavily on the viewers.
- Park Dohun's tears ㅜ His acting has improved.
- Ahh! This! I think it's that time, isn't it?!
Everyone watched the television with bated breath. The world was so quiet, it felt as if every person in the Republic of Korea was watching *Naeuiwon*.
Over the image of Grand Prince Seongnyeong’s shallow breathing, Heo Yuseon was seen running somewhere.
He threw off the white cloth hindering his movements and ran with all his might to bring the parents to the child who wanted to see them one last time.
*‘You should get some exercise, Physician Heo.’*
The image of a brightly smiling Grand Prince Seongnyeong came to mind. *You were right. I should have exercised as you said, Your Highness.*
Ignoring the pain in his lungs, Heo Yuseon kept running until he reached a spot where the Head Eunuch stood, already sensing the Grand Prince’s end.
Recognizing Heo Yuseon, who had been following the Grand Prince day and night, forgoing any sort of shift rotation, the Head Eunuch opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Your Majesty. Physician Heo…”
Before he could finish, the doors burst open, and King Taejong and the Queen appeared. The expressions of the two, who had foreseen the death of their youngest son, tore at the viewers’ hearts.
A furrowed brow, a lip bitten so hard it must have hurt, trembling eyes. Every aspect of their performance was deeply impressive.
- Wow, Kim Jongho and Lee Jihye are no joke.
- I told you I'm fine with them changing history!?
“Let’s go!”
King Taejong and the Queen moved their feet quickly. Toward the place where their young son was waiting for them.
It was a place they hadn't been able to go, opposed by their subjects for fear that the smallpox might spread. But now, no one dared to say a word about the unseemly haste of the two sovereigns.
Heo Yuseon followed behind them. The court ladies and guards also moved in silence.
He was Grand Prince Seongnyeong, the one who had brought laughter to the palace. There was not a single person who wasn't saddened.
When King Taejong and the Queen set foot in the Grand Prince’s residence, even the subjects beside them couldn't bring themselves to stop them.
The doors to Grand Prince Seongnyeong’s residence, which had been firmly shut since the outbreak, were thrown wide open.
In Heo Yuseon’s line of sight, the backs of King Taejong and the Queen disappeared into the Grand Prince’s quarters.
The wooden doors closed with a heavy thud.
It was winter. A cold wind blew, and fluffy snowflakes began to fall.
“Jong!”
At the sound of the King and Queen’s heart-wrenching cries, Heo Yuseon, who had been looking toward the doors of the residence, dropped to his knees in the dirt and bowed his head.
*Ah.*
“Jong! No! Jong!”
Heo Yuseon’s prostrated back trembled. A wave of despair and frustration washed over him, and he couldn't even let out a sob.
*Ah.*
The master who had arrived in winter had departed in winter.
[4th day of the 2nd month, 18th year of King Taejong's reign (1418). Grand Prince Seongnyeong, Lee Jong, passes away.]
Until next time.
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