Chapter 34: Six Letters
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Six Letters
“He’s a famous professional makeup artist from Hollywood. It was incredibly difficult to bring him here.”
The moment PD Jang Hyun-soo saw me, his mouth started itching to brag, and he began spilling the details.
“I was really lucky. I never thought I’d actually be able to recruit this person.”
“If you hadn’t been able to…”
“Then you’d have to… dye it, right?”
Actually, he said that temporary hair painting itself wasn't difficult.
“But it’s hard to properly implement a color that doesn’t look jarring on screen and perfectly matches my vision. If it’s not going to be perfect, it’s better to just dye it.”
PD Jang led me to the makeup expert who was waiting for me and introduced us.
I was instantly overwhelmed by the first impression.
‘Can I win?’
If I hadn't been told he was a makeup expert, I would have thought he was a UFC heavyweight fighter.
A physique that looked well over two meters tall, muscles rippling under a shirt that looked ready to burst, and a sleek, polished skinhead…
‘Wow, I’d love to go a round with him in the ring under free rules.’
Seeing a protein sandbag that looked like it would be even more satisfying to hit than my younger brother, a competitive spirit stirred within me involuntarily.
“Dwayne Jo, please meet her. This is the rookie actress I mentioned, Lee Yu-jin.”
Even his name sounded solid.
The gaze he fixed on me while crossing his arms had a sheen like special alloy steel.
“I’m Lee Yu-jin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“…”
I cautiously offered a handshake, but there was no reaction.
Since this was the first time in this life I’d encountered someone with such a reaction upon meeting, I was flustered.
How was I supposed to respond to this?
“You are… truly beautiful.”
“…Pardon?”
The voice that finally dropped was completely at odds with an appearance that looked like it could fold my brother in half.
It was so lithe, soft, and sweet that I felt like closing my eyes just to hear it again.
Dwayne Jo politely extended his two massive hands and carefully took mine.
It was a cautious touch, as if he were cradling something precious, but strangely, I didn't feel the usual nausea I got from other men.
It was a first.
Feeling this kind of comfort from a man.
It was almost like a mother… Gah, what on earth am I thinking?
“It is a sincere honor to be able to add my humble, rough touch to such radiant beauty.”
It was cheesy, so incredibly cheesy. But it wasn't burdensome.
Why? Who is this man? Is this what it means to be a professional?
“Then, our little actor, will you permit me to examine the roots of your hair?”
“Ah… Ye-yes, go ahead.”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Dwayne Jo spent a while delicately examining my hair, lifting it here and there.
“I will begin formulating the paint immediately. Please change into your costume and wait.”
“I’m counting on you, Dwayne Jo.”
The massive figure disappeared into the workspace.
Only then did I let out a bated breath and ask PD Jang.
“He speaks Korean very well.”
“He’s Korean-American. He’s a renowned expert in the makeup world. It just so happened he was coming to Korea for a memorial service, so I asked him as a special favor, and it worked out.”
Writer Jung Yoon-ah lightly clapped her hands from the side in admiration.
“This is the first time I’ve seen it. A man whose eyes don’t waver even after seeing our darling.”
“He was actually extremely shaken. Not in a romantic sense, of course, but in the artistic sense of an artist admiring a masterpiece.”
“He’s one of our kind, then.”
“Exactly.”
*
I finished changing into my costume and completed the temporary hair painting.
Throughout the process, Dwayne Jo’s attitude and gaze reflected in the mirror were consistently serious and cautious.
Just as PD Jang said, he was like an artist dealing with a work of art, which made me feel embarrassed, awkward, humiliated, honored, and… well, everything in between.
“It is finished. It was an honor to be entrusted with this. I want to scold my past self from a few days ago for hesitating over whether to accept this due to my schedule. I almost missed the chance to awaken a sealed elf with my own hands.”
“…”
Again! Why is it that I’m always the one who has to shoulder the embarrassment?
“How is it?”
“…It’s a bit unfamiliar.”
I stared intently into the mirror.
“You have been sealing yourself away for a long time. I understand the awkwardness. But now, you must accept it. The destiny bestowed upon your face.”
I barely suppressed the urge to scream.
Regardless, a version of myself I hadn't seen in a very long time was in the mirror.
I had been dyeing my hair since elementary school because the other kids' hair-pulling attacks were annoying, and at some point, I had come to consider black hair as the true appearance of this body.
But the woman looking back at me from the mirror had a naturalness that came from completely shedding the fake.
“Darling, let’s take a selfie. I won’t leak it anywhere; I’ll keep it all to myself. Okay?”
Writer Jung Yoon-ah’s voice sounded slightly choked up for some reason, so I gave a light nod.
“Go ahead, Writer-nim.”
*
Only PD Jang Hyun-soo and Writer Jung Yoon-ah knew that Lee Yu-jin was originally silver-haired.
The other actors and staff only knew that Lee Yu-jin was using temporary dye to fit the setting.
Unlike usual, there were very few staff members, and the only actors present were Yoon Se-rang and Kang Seok-won.
“I don’t know what kind of eccentricity PD Jang is trying to pull this time with all this suspicious behavior. Don’t you agree, Seok-won?”
“I… I’m not really sure.”
“Are you prepared to kill Yu-jin?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve worked hard to get into character.”
“Please kill her gently so it doesn’t hurt. She is my cherished handmaiden warrior, after all.”
“Yes, Sunbae-nim. I’ll stab her gently.”
While Yoon Se-rang and Kang Seok-won, who had become quite close, were exchanging light jokes and waiting.
A presence like a gentle breeze softly enveloped the two.
Drawn by a subtle scent that seemed to spread through the air, the two turned their heads and froze.
Walking soundlessly, Lee Yu-jin approached, dressed in brilliant court attire.
As if her long, shimmering silver hair were sucking up all the oxygen, it became difficult to breathe.
The two leads thought:
That appearance was simply cheating.
“Hello, Yoon Se-rang Sunbae-nim. Kang Seok-won Sunbae-nim.”
“Uh, yeah… the dye job turned out well. You’re pretty.”
“The makeup artist was truly skilled.”
Yoon Se-rang suddenly realized something.
‘Come to think of it, this girl…’
She seemed to ignore compliments about being pretty to an unusual degree.
It wasn't that she was so used to hearing them that she let them slide; it was as if she specifically switched off that part of her hearing.
Just like now.
“…”
Kang Seok-won couldn't say a word.
His mouth wouldn't open, and he couldn't take his eyes off her.
It was too natural.
The soft silver hair matched her fair skin and her eyes—which held a strangely blue tint—perfectly.
As if this were her original appearance, rather than a dye job.
Kang Seok-won managed to open his mouth.
“Yu-jin, uh, um. You’re incredibly pret—”
“I’m counting on you again today, Kang Seok-won Sunbae-nim.”
Both leads felt that Lee Yu-jin had intentionally cut him off.
Kang Seok-won thought she still had trauma from Kim Ho-jin.
Yoon Se-rang felt more certain about her assumption that Yu-jin was consciously blocking out compliments about her beauty.
PD Jang Hyun-soo clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
“Alright, actors. I’ll give you your acting directions now.”
*
The lines were very few.
Especially considering the effort the PD and writer had put in.
[S??? Sword Spirit Yeon Si-ho’s Exit Scene]
[Prince On Ji-wook, having revealed his true intentions, stands with a blood-stained sword before Yeon Si-ho, who has exhausted her strength fending off all the assassins alone.
On Ji-wook: You… you are not human. A human could never do this.
Yeon Si-ho looks back at the Princess expressionlessly and, drawing even the strength used to maintain her human form, returns to her original form as a sword spirit.
After a final struggle resulting in mutual destruction with On Ji-wook, Yeon Si-ho speaks calmly to the wailing Princess.]
“Cut, let’s go again.”
Unlike her usual self, Lee Yu-jin was making an unusually high number of NGs.
“Let’s go one more time.”
The action scene itself was perfect.
“That was good. But I think it can be better. Let’s try again.”
Perhaps it wasn't an NG, but rather the PD’s greed for a better shot.
Lee Yu-jin hadn't even uttered her final line yet. PD Jang had cut it before then.
However, despite the filming dragging on, the atmosphere wasn't hostile.
Rather, everyone—the few staff members present—was watching seriously and calmly, as if quietly cheering on a young bird breaking out of its shell.
Among them was Dwayne Jo, standing with his arms crossed in his tight short-sleeved shirt.
“Yu-jin, it’s a bit difficult, isn't it? You’re tired, right?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I know it’s hard. But what can I do when I’m so greedy? I feel like if we go just a little further, just a tiny bit more, we can pull out the most ideal result. How can I resist that? Don’t you agree?”
“You’re right.”
PD Jang didn't look at Lee Yu-jin directly.
He continued to look only at the monitor, explaining as if making eye contact with her through the screen.
“It keeps getting better. But how should I put it… it’s like something is suppressing your heart, Yu-jin. I’m curious what that is. Do you know?”
“…”
“Is there something? An inhibitor that prevents you from letting your emotions explode?”
“…There’s nothing like that.”
Jang Hyun-soo spoke while still looking at Yeon Si-ho on the monitor with an indifferent face.
“There is an enemy before you trying to harm your most precious master. But do you know what emotion comes before hatred? It’s the worry for your master, who will be left all alone forever once you are sucked back into the sword.”
“…”
“You’re young, so you might not understand yet, but sometimes I feel like if I were to die suddenly, I wouldn't be able to close my eyes because I’d be so worried about how our Ji-hye would live on. That’s the kind of emotion it is…”
“Can I rest for a moment? I’d like to focus alone for a bit.”
“As much as you need.”
Lee Yu-jin went back to her folding chair.
She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a relic-like hairpin, clutching it in her hand.
Everyone watched with bated breath as she sat with her eyes closed in deep thought.
Lee Yu-jin removed the prop hairpin she was wearing.
Her long silver hair cascaded down.
With her eyes still closed, her two white hands expertly twisted and coiled her hair, and she took the old hairpin she had been holding in her mouth and slid it in to secure it.
Lee Yu-jin suddenly opened her eyes.
Just as she was about to put the cotton veil back on and remove the hairpin.
“Let’s go with that.”
“PD-nim?”
“It’s fine, let’s go with that.”
“But the prop is different…”
“The viewers will voluntarily come up with all sorts of reasons for the foreshadowing themselves, so let’s just go. We’re people who sell imagination, aren't we?”
The eyes behind the veil smiled.
Lee Yu-jin stood in her place again.
Kang Seok-won, dressed as Prince On, took a deep breath and gripped his sword hilt.
It might have been an illusion, but Lee Yu-jin’s aura had changed.
“Ready, cue!”
The two ran toward each other.
Every time their swords clashed, their wrists stung.
Kang Seok-won sublimated that pain into an expression of rage.
He swung his sword at the enemy blocking the fulfillment of his lifelong ambition.
At that moment, the veil fell off earlier than the original timing.
Kang Seok-won turned even his fluster at the missed timing into fighting spirit and channeled it into his sword.
The sword pierced Lee Yu-jin’s abdomen.
He felt the tip of the sword clearly hit the protector worn under her clothes, and the blade slid back into the hilt.
As if the sword had truly dug into her stomach.
No blood flowed.
It wasn't that the blood pack hadn't burst, but because she was a sword spirit. There was no way she would bleed from being stabbed.
Even in her final moment, her eyes were calm, hazy, and emotionless.
Her gaze, which felt especially blue today, and her white face were breathtakingly beautiful.
Prince On, intoxicated with victory, suddenly looked down at the sword that had pierced his own stomach.
Seeing the prop blood dripping from the burst blood pack, Kang Seok-won showed a distorted smile.
“I was… just one step away…”
The two collapsed at the same time.
*
As she closed her eyes, an insane drowsiness washed over Lee Yu-jin. A desire for sleep so strong she felt she might just pass out.
The shouts of the battlefield echoed like hallucinations.
The unforgettable scent of the sea from the deck of a Panokseon seemed to brush past her nose.
A sharp pain enveloped her abdomen as if she’d been stabbed.
From somewhere, she heard her brother’s tearful voice.
「Help us here! His stomach is torn open! His guts, his guts! Waaaaah!」
「There’s no hope. Leave him.」
‘Ah, so damn noisy. I’m dying of sleepiness here.’
Lee Yu-jin groped through her memories, wondering, ‘What was I doing?’ and then remembered.
‘Ah, right. I was acting.’
She had to finish it.
Otherwise, she’d have to do it all over again from the beginning, which would be exhausting.
Lee Yu-jin desperately forced her eyelids, which felt like they weighed a ton, to open.
The world’s most beautiful princess was weeping silently, her eyes brimming with tears.
In a voice that sounded truly exhausted rather than just acting, she barely squeezed out her final line.
“I’m going to sleep… just for a bit…”
The soul of the sword closed its eyes.
The princess burst into tears.
*
“Cuuuuuuut!”
Jang Hyun-soo grinned as he watched Yoon Se-rang sobbing silently over Lee Yu-jin’s face, who looked truly asleep.
“Good, the most important stone has been acquired.”
The gauntlet that could rule the viewers' emotions was nearing completion.
How could he not be happy?
But something was strange.
Even though it had been a long time since he called cut, Lee Yu-jin didn't move a muscle.
“PD-nim! Yu-jin really fell asleep!”
“What? Not fainted?”
“No, she’s asleep. Her breathing is stable.”
Yoon Se-rang, who had wiped away her tears and returned to normal as if she’d never been wailing, shook Lee Yu-jin’s shoulder.
“Yu-jin, Lee Yu-jin? Wake up. It’s time to go home.”