Free Web Novel‘Anyway, I’m not filming until the latter half of <Top Class>...!’
That was one of the advantages of being a supporting actress. While <Top Class> was airing at its peak, Gi Juye planned to reap the benefits and stamp her face everywhere.
‘When the buzz is at its highest, it’s easiest to talk about the next project!’
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Gi Juye’s heart, waiting for the call to end, was filled with excitement.
When the call wrapped up with a suitably polite closing, Gi Juye stepped closer and greeted her warmly.
“Hello, senior-. I’m really, really happy we’re filming together again today.”
“Yeah. Juye, you’re energetic today as well.”
“But, um, I kind of—just a tiiiiny bit—heard what you were talking about on the phone, senior. Are you maybe discussing your next project?”
“Ah. Not quite at the discussion stage. It’s just that the director is doing really well these days.... Haha.”
At that answer, Gi Juye smiled.
‘If it’s a project this person is attached to....’
The lead actors would probably be at least ten years older than Gi Juye.
‘Even if it’s not a lead role...!’
Gi Juye was smart. She knew that if she went head-to-head with Han Yeoreum in acting right now, she would lose one hundred percent of the time. So what was the remaining option?
“Ah, actually, they’re probably looking for someone around your age for the female lead’s childhood role.”
It was a character with an insane amount of narrative weight.
“Pure, delicate, first love.”
* * *
Ding-. Ding-.
「Hidden Mission: Your name has been mentioned more than 1,000 times within 60 minutes」
The basics of a famous actor! Your name is spreading far and wide.
「Hidden Mission: Over 100 solo articles have been published within 60 minutes」
You have succeeded in both hidden missions, creating synergy.
[Skill increases]
The One and Only Protagonist D+ >>> C
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[A sip of butter beer that makes foreign languages flow naturally]
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I stared at the beautifully lit status window.
‘Who... am I?’
Every time I refreshed, my follower count kept rising—the heroine of this year’s most anticipated drama, someone who had successfully renewed two brand model contracts in a row, who was constantly receiving CF offers and interview requests. A true rising star. Han Yeoreum....
‘This is basically foreshadowing a global actor....’
English, Japanese, Chinese. A beautiful actress, Han Yeoreum, skilled in multiple languages.
I forcefully ignored the slightly outrageous Lucky Point price and focused on image training—myself walking foreign red carpets. Mm, good.
‘I hope Episode 7 airs soon.’
Once Episode 2 aired, no one felt tired or worn out. The atmosphere on set was nothing short of a festival.
“Oh? Who’s this...? Isn’t this the ace director of <Strange Tales>, which blew up in just two episodes?”
“Oh? Who’s this...? Isn’t this the lighting director of <Strange Tales>, the one who made fans’ hearts flutter by using light perfectly in every scene?”
Even while organizing filming routes, the staff were buzzing with excitement. I, too, was drunk on <Strange Tales>.
‘Especially today’s shoot!’
What we were filming now was one of the few deeply emotional romance scenes in <Strange Tales>, a scene that was absolutely carried by Kwon Junhyeok’s physical presence and my acting.
‘It’s the ending scene of Episode 2. Just that brief moment already has drama fans looping it endlessly, calling it the best pairing.’
Once from the physical contrast, once from the acting, and once more from the editing that wrung out every ounce of emotion.
‘Anyone can tell it’s going to be a legendary scene....’
The scene we were about to shoot was the moment when Seoryeong first showed her weakness to Myungdo.
“Alright, let’s just go as we practiced!”
It was the moment everyone had been waiting for.
* * *
“Ready—.”
At the ace director’s signal, the water truck began spraying rain.
Under the darkened sky, the sound of rain lashed down fiercely.
Seoryeong moved first, her footsteps urgent. She hurriedly ducked beneath a massive tree, where a narrow hollow was visible between the deeply rooted old trunk.
“Please hide. I’ll draw their attention.”
As Seoryeong hesitated, Myungdo tried to leave her side. He intended to face Seonghwi’s soldiers alone.
It was absurd. The wounds he /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ had suffered during the child-ghost talisman incident not long ago had not yet healed.
“...No, it’s okay.”
As if steeling herself, Seoryeong grabbed Myungdo’s sleeve and squeezed herself in. The two of them barely managed to hide beneath the old tree, pressed tightly together.
“There are footprints! This way!”
The soldiers’ footsteps sounded perilously close above them. Beneath their feet, the soil was crushed, producing an unpleasant noise. Seoryeong, almost held in Myungdo’s arms, was breathing unevenly.
As if this cramped space held some terrible memory.
“Are you all right?”
When Myungdo asked in a lowered voice, Seoryeong quietly closed her eyes. She looked like someone desperately trying to forget something, her expression pained.
Where had her usual arrogance gone? She looked unbearably pitiful.
“Why is it that... nothing ever goes right....”
Seoryeong spoke through clenched eyes. Rain did not reach inside the old tree. And yet, the reason her face was soaked again was because she was crying.
“Is Jeongan punishing me...?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“She died because of me. If I had gone to kill Yeomga earlier... Jeongan wouldn’t have gone so meaninglessly. It’s my fault.... She must hate me....”
Seoryeong’s voice trembled. Her grip tightened on the hem of Myungdo’s robe.
“If Jeongan hadn’t picked me up back then... she would have lived much longer. She wouldn’t have died in such pain and hardship... Right now, she must be blaming me.... Her soul might still be wandering, unable to move on....”
Jeongan still lived inside Seoryeong’s heart. Her guilt toward her was vivid.
She should have died earlier. Why did she keep finding life with Jeongan so enjoyable? Why did she take for granted the seasons she would share with her.... Why was she so afraid of death that she couldn’t go to meet Yeomga, and ended up killing her instead?
“I didn’t even say goodbye to Jeongan.... I couldn’t even pray for her peace....”
Crunch, crunch.... It felt as if the sound of fingernails scraping echoed in her ears.
That was when it happened. A large hand slowly came up to Seoryeong’s cheek. Myungdo’s rain-soaked hand gently wiped away her tears.
“Then why do you feel Jeongan’s presence through your divine power?”
“I don’t know.... It just feels that way....”
Seoryeong slowly opened her eyes. In the dim space, she could see Myungdo holding her close.
“If Jeongan has not yet left, then it is not because she resents you, but....”
Myungdo’s quiet voice seemed to fill the hollow interior of the old tree.
“...because she is worried about you. I am certain.”
Seoryeong listened to his words, silently shedding tears. On her face, made even paler by the rain, hot tears had no chance to fall before being wiped away by that large hand.
“I may not have divine power, but I have good instincts. My instincts say so.” frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
With a solemn gaze, Myungdo spoke as if making a vow.
“Have you ever seen me speak falsehoods in front of you? My words are true.”
Inside the narrow, suffocating tree trunk, with the sound of rain flowing endlessly outside, Seoryeong was finally able to steady her ragged breathing. She smiled innocently.
“How dare you speak of instincts to a shaman. How rude....”
As she said that, the guilt she felt toward Jeongan had already lightened on her face.
“Okay!”
The ace director, who had been completely immersed, shouted “Okay!” with a choked expression. The staff watching the two of them covered their mouths with one hand.
“It’s already a fucking legendary scene....”
“Don’t ruin my emotions with that trashy way of talking....”
The ace director looked at Yeoreum, standing in the rain beyond the monitor.
‘That scene comes to mind....’
The famous scene from <No Interest Whatsoever>, where Yeondu cried bitterly in the rain, surfaced in his thoughts.
Every actor has something called a ‘personal color.’
Actors who strangely suit impoverished roles, actors who must always play chaebol characters, actors who fail at every rom-com but excel in genre works—each had clothes that fit them best.
‘As for Yeoreum....’
Han Yeoreum’s personal color was water.
The moment transparent water streamed across her clear face and fell, it made the viewer’s chest ache deeply.
In that fleeting instant when the heart tightened further, Han Yeoreum knew how to create it.
‘If there’s a third rain scene, it’ll really explode.’
Once in <No Interest Whatsoever>.
Once in <Strange Tales>.
And once more in the next project.
As the ace director mentally counted Yeoreum’s rain scenes, his prediction was closer to certainty than speculation.
The same scene had to be reshot multiple times from different angles. Still holding onto the emotion, Yeoreum repeated the same lines, soaked in rain.
‘But somehow, it feels even more pitiful....’
With the same dialogue, but a composition that showed Yeoreum’s face more clearly, the ache in his chest grew sharper.
The ace director watched the close-up of Yeoreum on the monitor.
There are what people call the three elements of an actor: blood, sweat, and tears. Han Yeoreum seemed to be in charge of tears.
When tears mingled with falling rainwater, the gaze was instantly captured.
Everyone poured their energy into the remaining shoot, anticipating Episode 3 of <Strange Tales>. And they, too, felt some kind of ‘instinct’ Myungdo had spoken of.
The belief that the ratings would reach double digits.
* * *
“Alright, then this really is the end.”
This was the drama division of KBC. The bureau chief and PDs stared at the beam projector with solemn expressions. Fatigue was etched on every face.
“For this anniversary special drama....”
An unspoken tension filled the conference room.
“We’ll go with this proposal.”
On the document the bureau chief pointed to, something was written in large font.
KBC 50th Anniversary Special Project Drama
The Great Garland
“Yes. I agree as well. Since it’s based on a classic masterpiece, I think the response will be good.”
“Doesn’t this show the spirit of KBC perfectly? A post–Korean War setting is great.”
The 50th anniversary. It had to be a meaningful work. Especially since it would inevitably be compared to SBC, which had recently produced its own anniversary special drama with <Top Class>. freewebnovel.cσ๓
This wasn’t just a drama for ratings. It had to properly showcase KBC’s sense of the times—its discussion of ‘the value of public broadcasting.’
“Who should we cast as Gi Taeseok?”
“The writer put Ji Haebeom as first choice.”
“Ah, Ji Haebeom would be great! And what about Yeon Huijae?”
“I think Eun Baekhap would be good. The two of them had great reactions at the Ruel Mint Carpet two-shot last time.”
As opinions flew back and forth, the casting director, unusually silent, seemed deep in thought.
“What about the child actor?”
To legitimize Gi Taeseok’s desire to rise from poverty to wealth for the woman he loved, the role had to inspire an instinctive urge to protect her just at a glance.
A pure and spirited girl. Someone you couldn’t help but fall in love with. Yeon Huijae—the one who had promised a future together while standing in the rain.
Even during the war, when praying to God, Taeseok had begged that if God truly existed, He would spare Huijae’s life instead of his own.
“The child role....”
At the casting director’s question, they began naming actors one by one. But none of them felt quite right.
Then, someone broke the silence.
“What about Han Yeoreum? She’s hot these days because of <Strange Tales>.”
At the name Han Yeoreum, the director paused.
