Chapter 32: The Happiness the PD Never Permitted
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: The Happiness the PD Never Permitted
'PD Jang, that cold-blooded man.'
'Is he really going to keep that face hidden until the very end?'
'I know that’s the original setting, but with a face like that, shouldn't he persuade the writer to change the script?'
This was the shared sentiment among everyone who didn't know the true circumstances behind Yeon Si-ho’s character design. They all believed that Lee Yu-jin’s face would remain hidden until the finale.
Jang Hyun-soo kindly retracted the extended prop hairpin to its original size before handing it back.
"You remember, right? This is basically just an extended antenna, so it won't actually fly properly. Just focus on striking a cool pose. We’ll handle the arrow with CG in post-production."
"I remember."
"Alright, let’s go again."
The prop assistant rushed over, looking almost apologetic as they offered a new cotton veil.
"One moment, let me fix this first."
Requesting a brief pause, Lee Yu-jin took the hairpin in her mouth.
Reaching back with both hands, she gathered her long hair and deftly twisted it into a bun.
The prop assistant froze mid-motion, veil still extended, and the onlookers watching from a distance stood rigid, as if cast under a spell by her graceful silhouette.
From afar, Jang Ji-hye muttered under her breath.
"Geez, Yu-jin is out there enchanting people again."
Of course, Ji-hye knew Yu-jin had no such intention.
Lee Yu-seok, who was busy 'recording' his older sister with a telephoto camera, clicked the shutter repeatedly as he chimed in.
"Ji-hye Nuna, it’s not like my sister is doing it on purpose. She was probably a national hero in her past life to be born with a face like that. What can she do?"
"Honestly, I agree. If Yu-jin tried to live a normal life, she’d have a really hard time."
"Exactly. Look at her now. Home, school, the set. She only moves between these three places, so isn't it much more peaceful?"
Yu-jin finished putting on the veil and completed her preparations for the next shot.
The way she casually brushed aside a stray lock of hair, and even the indifferent, almost bored look in her eyes, pulled people’s gazes toward her with magnetic force.
Jang Ji-hye looked around.
The men—whether actors or staff, young or old—were all half-dazed.
'I mean, even that top star Kim Ho-jin couldn't help himself and charged in, only to end up in the abyss alone.'
For now, the fortress of being a minor strictly shielded her, but the moment she turned twenty, how much of a struggle would those around her make her life?
The mere thought made Ji-hye laugh, feel envious, and pity her all at once.
She had understood since their first meeting why Yu-jin had no friends other than herself.
"Still, even if it's just for one day, I'd love to live as Yu-jin."
*
The hairpin Yeon Si-ho always wore served as a versatile weapon.
It could be a dagger to slit an enemy's throat, or a sharp arrowhead to pierce a deserter's backplate.
[S#13 Imperial Palace West Gate, Lake Road]
[Ominous signs of a sorcerous rift appear in the air. Yeon Si-ho, on patrol, draws her bow and waits.
Invaders emerge through a barrier passage that bypassed the defensive spells. Yeon Si-ho counterattacks by firing a sorcerous arrow.]
The enemies coming through the sorcerous passage were currently being filmed elsewhere.
Yu-jin only needed to film the part where she coolly fired an arrow to stop them.
「It’ll be hard to make it fly even a short distance anyway, so just focus on looking cool.」
Recalling Jang Hyun-soo’s words, Yu-jin pulled out the hairpin and extended it.
It looked like a thin arrow shaft with the head and fletching removed.
It was shaped like a needle that had been scaled up to be long and thick.
Naturally, it should have been difficult to even fire it using the bowstring's recoil.
'In the heat of battle, you'd pick up arrows with broken tails and shoot or throw them anyway.'
Furthermore, she was standing tall and alone, with no enemies to distract her.
There was no reason she couldn't fire it.
Yu-jin nocked the prop hairpin like an arrow and drew the string taut.
Jang Hyun-soo’s advice echoed in her ears like a nagging voice.
「Just focus on the pose! The pose!」
But what kind of "cool pose" involves looking great only for the arrow to spin and drop right in front of your feet?
Yu-jin aimed at the wooden target with total sincerity.
'That guy is the musketeer from back then. That guy is the musketeer from back then...'
Aiming the slender tip of the hairpin at the target, Yu-jin released the string, flicking her fingers instantaneously.
The long hairpin traced a fast arc through the air and struck the target dead center.
Unfortunately, it failed to penetrate; the tip of the hairpin snapped, and it clattered to the ground.
Even after firing, Yu-jin maintained her posture, holding the bow steady for a moment.
Her eyes behind the veil didn't look at the fallen hairpin, but instead arrogantly tracked the mark left on the target.
"..."
"..."
Silence fell over the set.
Everyone stood with their mouths agape, struggling to process what had just happened.
"Cuuuuuuuut! Cut! Cut!"
Jang Hyun-soo shouted the cut with more passion than ever before, running toward her with a flushed face, huffing and puffing.
"Wait, Yu-jin? How did you just do that? That’s a hollow shaft with no head, no fletching, nothing. It shouldn't even be able to fly!"
No matter how carefully one shot it, the hairpin should have naturally plummeted right in front of her. Yet, Yu-jin had fired it accurately and hit the target.
"I flicked my fingers to add spin before releasing the string."
"What? Spin...?"
"I thought if I gave it a rotation like a bullet, it might fly straight. It worked when I tried it."
"No, I mean... even if you tried it because you thought it would work, there’s a limit to what a person can accept..."
Hwang Tae-jin, the martial arts director who had come running over, was also in a state of panic, unable to comprehend the scene.
The original plan was this:
The hairpin would fall awkwardly in front of her, and they would only capture Yu-jin’s cool release. Then, the arrow would be added in post-production via CG.
As a martial arts director, he found the sight even more impossible to believe.
"Director Hwang, if we brought in a national archer, could they replicate this?"
"It... should be possible."
"Oh, really?"
"But they’d need at least a few hours of training and retakes. To succeed in not just making it fly, but hitting the target accurately? Definitely not in a single day..."
Jang Hyun-soo made a solemn declaration.
"Yu-jin, as of today, you are banned from contacting the Archery Association."
"Pardon? I don't know anyone there to begin with."
"Anyway, while we're filming, please maintain an iron wall against every sports association out there. At this rate, the Jincheon National Training Center is really going to steal you away."
Regardless, the scene dedicated solely to Yu-jin was wrapped up.
Jang Hyun-soo returned to his seat and reviewed the rough-cut monitoring screen.
Yeon Si-ho, the bodyguard warrior, glares at the enemy and pulls out her hairpin, extending it.
Her loose hair flutters softly in a slight breeze.
The bow, held with a stable grip, bends tautly, and the hairpin flies like a bolt, propelled by the string's recoil.
After firing, Yeon Si-ho calmly keeps her eyes on the enemy, tosses the bow aside, and draws her Haeju Sword to take a stance. The scene ends there.
Jang Hyun-soo muttered with a refreshed expression.
"I can already hear them wailing, asking why I put a veil on her even in such an important scene. Now that I've built it up this much, everyone will probably give up hope of Yeon Si-ho ever taking off the veil, right?"
The anger toward the PD would likely return as a backlash proportional to the size of their resignation.
Jang Hyun-soo licked his dry lips in involuntary excitement and gulped down some bottled water.
"I'm going to finish filming everything before summer vacation starts, no matter what."
*
Fans' interest in the drama Hwan's Torch—the show that sent top star Kim Ho-jin to rock bottom—was growing by the day.
└ So who's the rookie that ruined Kim Ho-jin?
└ Why are there no proper photos of her face?
└ I'll lick the bowl clean, just give us some content already!
└ There's a lack of content... we're all going to starve to death at this rate...
└ If you gave us the content of Kim Ho-jin's downfall, you should have prepared the next hit of dopamine too!!!
└ So is she pretty?
└ Even if she's a minor, seeing how Kim Ho-jin pathetically hit on her until the end, can't you tell?
└ Maybe Kim Ho-jin realized he had a unique preference he didn't know about...
The rookie actress was shrouded in complete mystery.
Aside from the fact that she was a minor and a few photos of her wearing a mask, nothing was known.
The modern public is a breed whose patience to wait until a broadcast has been surgically removed since birth.
To provide dopamine for these poor souls, brave individuals armed with telephoto cameras besieged the filming set every day, engaging in a silent war of attrition.
"Wow, that missed?"
"Damn it, I should have just pressed the shutter instead of trying to focus. She's out of the frame already."
"Do you think she can see us all here?"
"She's probably just bored of standing still. She's a high schooler, after all."
They had been twisting their bodies for days, but they repeatedly failed to get a decent shot.
"Today is different! Today's the day!"
"Stationary acting? Just consider yourself caught."
Dozens of telephoto cameras remained hidden, aiming at Yu-jin in the distance.
Having learned their lesson the hard way, the photographers gave up on facial close-ups and aimed for full-body shots to increase their success rate.
Just then, a strong gust of wind blew, and the veil flew off.
Everyone pressed their shutters like madmen, as if trying to break them, at the sight of her pale side profile.
"Holy crap, jackpot! Jackpot!"
"Did you get it? Did you get it?"
"Damn it, if only she was facing this way a bit more, I could've gotten a profile shot. These are all just side-of-the-face shots."
Because the angle was off from the start, they ended up with shots of the side of Yu-jin's head.
A side profile where only her eye was barely visible.
However, even this was a harvest so moving it could bring one to tears.
"Wow, look how pale her face is. That jawline is insane. How is it so slim?"
"Looking at how her neck and face have the same skin tone, did she apply foundation that far down, or is her skin just like that?"
"Look at her hand here. The skin tone is exactly the same as her face and neck."
"Ugh, I should have gotten a straight-on face shot. I failed."
"Rumor on set is that she's so beautiful you can't even speak when you see her from the front. I'm curious."
The cameramen, who had become friendly after days of stakeouts, congratulated each other and withdrew.
Though they didn't get a front-facing shot, they managed to get a full-body shot with her side profile.
Moreover, she seemed to be filming an archery scene, as her costume and pose were incredibly cool.
After returning home and performing meticulous Photoshop touch-ups, they finally threw their harvest to the starving fans waiting for bait.
[Here, this is what I got after 6 days of stakeouts]
<Photo> <Photo> <Photo> <Photo>
└ Do you really think this can satisfy our hunger? (Saving the photos anyway)
└ Why no front shot why no front shot why no front shot... (Saving the photos anyway)
└ I analyzed this seriously, and the skin tone from her face to her neck, wrist, and hand all match. But that's a skin tone you can't get as a Korean.
└ I guess the rumor about her being a mixed-race actress is true. Suddenly I'm losing interest. Still, Korean men should meet Korean women.
└└ Who said she'd meet you? LOL
└└ The audacity;;;
└ No, but how tall is she? And why is her face so small?
└ I know that bow. Based on that, if you calculate her height... (omitted)... she's probably between 172-174cm and estimated to be at least a 9-head proportion.
There was a brief period of chaos due to the hunger for content regarding the rookie who ruined Kim Ho-jin.
However, the ghosts of the community, having been fed sufficient bait, analyzed everything like gentlemen.
The idea that the internet public is ignorant, violent, and vulnerable to agitation and fabrication was an old story to them.
└ So is she pretty?
└ Can't tell just from the side profile.
└ Still, looking at the jawline and neckline, she's basically a beauty.
└ Guess Kim Ho-jin didn't have a weird fetish after all.
└ If she's a minor, is she a senior in high school?
└ Can't tell that either.
└ Seeing how hard Kim Ho-jin hit on her, she's probably a senior. He only had to wait a few months for her to become an adult.
└ Then we just have to wait a few months too.
The act of being relaxed gentlemen didn't last long. Someone suddenly dropped a massive bomb.
[Do you guys even know what's happening on set?]
[First of all, the veil coming off was an NG caused by strong winds. But the writer on set saw that and tried to modify the script to keep the veil off.
However, the PD said absolutely not and fought with the writer, and the atmosphere on set is completely trashed.]
└ ?????
└ Sounds like a troll. Admin, do your job.
└ No, no, looking at the photos he used for verification, he seems to be an actual staff member.
└ (OP) The PD and writer are at each other's throats right now, it's a mess, but they barely reconciled. Originally, Yeon Si-ho is a character who never takes off her veil/mask and never reveals her face.
└ No, what the hell, does that make sense? Why hide a face like that?
└ Who is it? Who's the one burying a rookie's future with such shitty power-tripping? Tell us now.
└ Who else could it be? The PD.
└ Not the writer? Isn't a drama all about the script?
└ Even so, they're just an ATM for stage directions and dialogue. The true ruler of the set is the PD. If you disagree, you're a writer.
*
"Is this okay, Dad?"
When Jang Ji-hye held up her phone to show him, Jang Hyun-soo checked the content and nodded with a satisfied grin.
"Got it. I'll post more then."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm counting on you, sweetie."
At her father's request, Jang Ji-hye was working hard at agitation and fabrication.
Various details were mixed in, but the goal of the propaganda was ultimately one thing.
To firmly drill into the minds of the cyber-ghosts—who were acting all dignified while actually being excited over a few side profile shots—that there would be no face reveal until the very end.
Since Yu-jin had maintained strict security, Ji-hye also believed that the mask would never come off.
That was why she couldn't understand why her father was going out of his way to throw gunpowder onto the fire like this.
"Dad, why are you going this far? Oh! Is it because you're worried they'll expect a face reveal and then have a fit later when they realize it's not happening?"
"It's just... everyone seems so happy."
"...?"
"Wicked as it is, they're happy over just a few photos where her side profile barely shows. I really don't like that."
"...Dad?"
"As a PD, I haven't permitted the viewers that kind of happiness yet."
Just then, the container door swung open violently without a knock, and Writer Jung Yoon-ah stepped in with her laptop open.
"PD-nim! This post by 'Staff A' or whatever... you're the one who posted this pretending to be anonymous, right?"
"Damn, caught so soon."
Jang Ji-hye, sensing trouble, tried to sneak out.
'Oh, what do I do? Are the PD and the writer really going to have a UFC match? Right! I should go get Yu-jin! They both dote on her, so...'
"I mean! Seriously! Why are you doing this fun stuff all by yourself, PD-nim!"
"Sorry, I beat you to it this time. I felt like if I lost to you again like last time, I'd start smoking again."
"I've told you several times, PD-nim, your tone just screams 'old man PD trying to go viral'! You shouldn't be doing this!"
Jang Ji-hye covered her ears and ran away.