Chapter 122
Chapter 122
The Imperial Seal (4)
‘That can’t be true.’
But the doubt that had taken root in her heart grew larger.
For a while now, the director had been dropping hints to the viewers, showing Seong Hyeon-woo’s face, which would brighten upon seeing Lee Seo-eun, only to turn chillingly cold the moment she looked away.
The same went for Lee Seo-eun. The Emperor and Seong Hyeon-woo acted as if they knew each other well, despite it supposedly being their first meeting, and both kept asking if she remembered her childhood.
“So, you still haven’t found it?”
“No, it seems she has no memory of it at all.”
Then came a secret conversation between the Emperor and Seong Hyeon-woo, fanning the flames of the viewers’ suspicion.
“Where could my dear brother have hidden it so carefully?”
But the look in Seong Hyeon-woo’s eyes as he watched the Emperor’s back was strange. His sharp gaze held a deep-seated hatred.
“Hyeon-woo.”
“Yes.”
When the Emperor turned to face him, Seong Hyeon-woo’s lips curved into a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Surely you haven’t actually fallen in love with that child, Seo-eun?”
Seong Hyeon-woo didn’t answer, merely letting out a small smirk. The Emperor narrowed his eyes, observing him. It was impossible to read his thoughts. Just like his own.
“Then again, that’s not like you.”
“…”
“You are like me.”
The Emperor was born the eldest son, but he was an illegitimate child from the previous Emperor’s affair. In that sense, Seong Hyeon-woo was similar to him. His position as an illegitimate son, his quiet, patient nature, waiting for an opportunity… perhaps, he thought, Seong Hyeon-woo resembled him more than his own son, Lee Kang.
Seong Hyeon-woo did not avoid the Emperor’s eyes as a hand was placed on his shoulder.
“I will be sure to bring you the Imperial Seal.”
“You’d better. That girl, Seo-eun, has been getting on my nerves lately.”
The media digging into the corruption of the Emperor and Lee Kang, the growing controversy over his legitimacy—to quell all of it, he needed the real Imperial Seal.
The real seal had a secret mechanism that only members of the imperial family could unlock. The current Emperor’s was a replica. The previous Emperor had intended to abdicate the throne to Lee Seo-eun’s father in the first place.
“Find it quickly. I must make my own moves.”
With those words, the Emperor turned away again. Seong Hyeon-woo gave a short bow to his back and left the Emperor’s office.
‘She’s in danger.’
This was a man who had killed his own half-brother to protect his position. Would he hesitate to do the same to his niece? Seong Hyeon-woo clenched his fists.
Before leaving, he turned to look back at the Emperor’s office.
[You’d better.]
‘He suspects me.’
Seong Hyeon-woo turned away again, his expression turning cold.
A brief flashback. Seong Hyeon-woo was, in fact, digging into the Emperor and Lee Kang’s corruption and stirring up the controversy over legitimacy to dethrone them. He had been the one to first propose the marriage talks with Lee Seo-eun to get closer to the Emperor and gather more information.
What he wanted was for Lee Seo-eun to become the Empress, to repay the kindness he had received from her as a child.
But someone had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the Emperor and Seong Hyeon-woo. It was Lee Seo-eun. Having heard that Seong Hyeon-woo was visiting the Emperor, Court Lady Choi had cleverly planted a listening device.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“…I heard.”
“Heard what?”
“You and my uncle… talking.”
Finally, Lee Seo-eun, who had been denying it to herself, exploded.
“Did you approach me on purpose?”
“…”
“Is that what this is?”
“Yes, it is.”
Unable to lie to Lee Seo-eun, Seong Hyeon-woo closed his eyes and bowed his head. Lee Seo-eun stared at him, letting out a hollow laugh of disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Just a moment, Seo-eun.”
“Why? Why did you do it?”
“That’s…!”
It was difficult to explain. The truth is, I owe my life to you and your father, and I wanted to give you what you desire. But the Emperor is a dangerous man. So he had hidden it. He couldn’t tell her the truth, for fear of putting her in danger.
“Let’s end it here.”
“Seo-eun.”
Seong Hyeon-woo gently took Lee Seo-eun’s wrist with both hands. His voice trembled as he pleaded.
“Do you really not remember?”
What on earth was in her lost memories? What did he plan to do with it? Furious, Lee Seo-eun shook off his hands and stormed away.
“Cut! Okay!”
Lee Seo-eun, trembling with betrayal, and Seong Hyeon-woo, desperately trying to hold on. The staff, sensing the birth of a masterpiece, cheered. With a lavish production budget, the atmosphere on set couldn’t have been better.
But Yu Yeon-seo stood blankly, lost in other thoughts.
‘Is that why my brother didn’t tell me either?’
Yu Eun-ho had said that even while investigating with Baek Seo-jun, he hadn’t told Yu Yeon-seo, the witness to the incident, about it because he had planned to tell him after everything was resolved.
He had been careful, worried that trying to recover memories lost in the car accident would cause him to have a panic attack at the mere mention of Lee Hui-seo’s name, bringing on another round of psychological trauma.
The Seong Hyeon-woo he interpreted in ‘The Imperial Seal’ was similar. I don’t mind suffering, as long as Lee Seo-eun can inherit the throne without knowing anything.
“Yeon-seo, aren’t you coming to check the monitor?”
“Ah, right.”
Still, I would have preferred to be told sooner… Yu Yeon-seo shook his head vigorously and walked over to the monitor.
As the filming of ‘The Imperial Seal’ was heading toward its climax, the production team prepared to wrap up before sunset.
“Let’s call it an early day.”
“Great work, everyone!”
This was all possible because it was a semi-pre-produced drama. As the staff bustled about, cleaning up, Shin Ye-won raised her hand high.
“Anyone here who doesn’t have to rush home? Why don’t we watch the drama together?”
“Should we?”
The actors waved their hands in agreement. When news spread that Yu Yeon-seo had been attending every shoot, even on his days off, to keep up with the flow, a few other actors had joined in. And with a top star like Shin Ye-won being so approachable, the atmosphere among the cast was excellent.
“I was thinking of heading home…”
“Hey, the male lead can’t just ditch us.”
The actress playing Court Lady Choi jeered. Others joined in. Yu Yeon-seo sighed inwardly and followed them.
“But is there a place big enough for all of us?”
“I’ve already arranged everything.”
Shin Ye-won said triumphantly. So this was a calculated move… Yu Yeon-seo, who had been planning to slip away, abandoned the thought. Out of respect for her effort, he should stay until the end.
The cast and crew of ‘The Imperial Seal’ headed to a nearby barbecue restaurant.
“What were our ratings for the first episode? They’ll go up, right?”
“They went all out with the date scene today.”
As people settled into their seats, they started making light bets. The unspoken confidence was that with Shin Ye-won and Yu Yeon-seo together, there was no way the ratings wouldn’t rise.
“Oh! It’s starting!”
The actress playing Court Lady Choi exclaimed. On the large screen Shin Ye-won had prepared, the long commercials ended, and the opening for ‘The Imperial Seal’ began.
It was the opening sequence that people had raved about right after the first episode aired. Gyeongbok Palace, magnificently restored with CG, Lee Seo-eun walking confidently through colorful fabrics fluttering in the wind, and her meeting with Seong Hyeon-woo, who wore a traditional robe over his suit.
(You want to go to the sea this time?)
The end of the second episode had featured the daisy field scene. After the drama aired, the public’s reaction was explosive, and one online community forum reportedly crashed due to the sheer volume of traffic.
The third episode they were now watching continued the sweet, heart-fluttering date between Lee Seo-eun and Seong Hyeon-woo. At a glance, it looked like a video pictorial of Shin Ye-won and Yu Yeon-seo.
One of the staff members remarked, “Wow, was the meat always this sweet?” causing those around him to chuckle softly.
(Huh?!)
(Watch out…!)
As their date continued, a scene played out where Seong Hyeon-woo subdued a person lunging at Lee Seo-eun.
(Wow, have you learned martial arts or something?)
(I learned a little a long time ago.)
It wasn’t just a fan service scene; it was a teaser for the action sequence they were filming tomorrow. A cliché was coming up where Lee Seo-eun gets kidnapped by the Emperor’s men, and Seong Hyeon-woo rescues her. In the first place, writer Min Ju-gyeong had considered Yu Yeon-seo for the male lead because she was captivated by his action scenes in ‘White Tiger’ and ‘Dreaming.’
“But did you really learn something?”
Shin Ye-won remembered how Yu Yeon-seo had performed that scene in one take without a stunt double. Even to her untrained eye, his movements looked like those of a real expert.
“Since he’s from a rich family, maybe he learned self-defense? To prepare for kidnappings?”
The actor playing Lee Kang chimed in.
“Well, something like that.”
“Oh…”
Giving a vague answer, Yu Yeon-seo observed himself on the screen. It had come out quite convincingly. But…
‘Should I call this a relief…?’
While everyone else was screaming and enjoying the scene, Yu Yeon-seo himself was not satisfied with his performance. The fact that he couldn’t fully immerse himself because of the hallucinations was bothering him.
“Wow!”
“That’s so heart-fluttering.”
“If I tried to say that, it would sound so cringey.”
Writer Min Ju-gyeong’s carefully crafted lines, and Seong Hyeon-woo delivering them so naturally. Gasps of admiration erupted from all around. Everyone was a bit tipsy, making their reactions more exaggerated. Tired of the atmosphere, Yu Yeon-seo stepped outside for a moment.
“Young Master.”
Just then, Im Seung-hyeon was getting out of the car.
“Did you bring it?”
“…Here it is.”
“Good work.”
Yu Yeon-seo took the file he was offered. It contained the financial records of the household staff at the time, investigated with Park Jeong-ho, the secretary his grandmother had assigned. Judging by its thickness, there was a lot of information. Perhaps he should call Yu Eun-ho and Baek Seo-jun soon to analyze it together…
“Sir… may I ask you one question?”
Im Seung-hyeon had always been the type to silently do as he was told. Well, he had worked hard, so there was no reason not to answer a single question. Yu Yeon-seo nodded.
“If you find the culprit, what do you plan to do?”
When Im Seung-hyeon first became Yu Yeon-seo’s secretary, he had been instructed to only do as he was told and never to question his employer’s intentions. So, he had kept his mouth shut, even when curious.
But ever since he saw that scene with Yu Eun-ho, he had begun to wonder if simply following orders was the right thing to do.
[Secretary Park.]
So he sought advice from someone else.
[I’ve served the Director for quite some time, but there are things I regret.]
Park Geum-ju, lost in despair after Lee Hui-seo’s death. He hadn’t noticed because she never showed it. When he finally sensed a slight change, he should have taken her to the hospital immediately.
But he had dithered at Park Geum-ju’s command not to worry, and time had slipped by. In that time, the emotional rift between Park Geum-ju and Yu Yeon-seo had deepened.
Park Jeong-ho had advised that, depending on the situation, interference was sometimes necessary.
“Well…”
He hadn’t thought about that. Caught off guard, Yu Yeon-seo stared blankly at the sky.
The reason for finding the culprit? Just… because the original owner of this body asked for help. It felt like the right thing to do. But he hadn’t thought specifically about what he would do after finding them.
“I’m not sure myself.”
Juseong was one of South Korea’s leading conglomerates; they could probably handle a judge. The culprit might rot in prison for the rest of their life. There were many people who would be enraged by Lee Hui-seo’s death. His father would take care of it.
‘…But will I really be satisfied with that?’
Yu Yeon-seo furrowed his brow slightly. The memory synchronization was now just over 50%, halfway through the process of the two egos merging. Because of that, he couldn’t even properly grasp his own emotions.