Who was Hong Jeong-hee?
Honestly, to Sooyeon, she was an incomprehensible person.
A human driven to extremes by affection for others.
In her past life, she hadn’t understood emotion and had never cherished anyone.
In this life, she only knew “correct” love and had no understanding of twisted affections.
This concept of love felt so distant to Sooyeon that she couldn’t grasp why Hong Jeong-hee so obsessively clung to Baesung-hak.
Through the performance of Ji-woo Pyo, she managed to bridge this gap. The emotion that Jeong-hee had felt for Min Se-ho — an emotion so fierce that it turned to murderous intent when he betrayed her — was vividly portrayed.
It was akin to watching an old black-and-white television. Like viewing a silent film.
Sooyeon carefully examined each detail. Even though it all seemed foreign, it started to become clear.
Affection. Once you feel it, they say, it’s not so easily let go.
Suddenly, Sooyeon was reminded of her past life. She realized her own parents had been like this.
Contorted, pushing, suffering — yet they had never let go of her.
Obsession. From parents, from lovers. Sooyeon observed these things time and again, moving her body, lips, and face in response.
“You’re too greedy,” Cheong-seok Sim said during their discussion on character interpretation.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect human.”
So, the interpretation of characters varies from person to person. “The role you’ve taken on is, ultimately, a flawed human being,” he continued.
A human who had craved others’ affection so intensely that she fell apart.
“So, the concept of portraying a correct affection doesn’t fit here.”
“And when you act, the audience is bound to fall for it.” Sim Cheong-seok said this, and Sooyeon knew it was true.
She depicted the intensity of Hong Jeong-hee’s character — inferiority, despair, jealousy, obsession, affection — all mixed emotions, arranged in careful succession.
And the emotion Sooyeon placed first?
“…If it’s wrong, we need to fix it,” she said firmly.
Obsession.
“Think about it. When did you start to change, Brother? When did it happen, where did you go when? What did you do?”
Under the dimming lights, Hong Jeong-hee’s monologue began — jerky movements like a broken toy doll.
With a bent back, her long black hair covered and framed her face, and through the strands, her gaze darted toward the audience.
“On April 2nd, a charity event… the facility visit,” she said in a strained voice. Her red eyes — filled with varied emotions — though partially obscured, were strikingly clear to the audience.
Without a whisper of breath to disturb the silence, the audience felt the strangeness of Hong Jeong-hee’s thorough knowledge of Baesung-hak’s schedule. Her bizarre obsession was now unmistakably defined.
“Why go this far?” Most people must have thought.
It was simple. Her obsession with Baesung-hak was what moved her.
Slowly, dragging her feet.
Thud, thud.
Moving across the stage, Hong Jeong-hee’s steps resonated.
“I need to find you,” she said, occasionally tilting her head toward the audience as if looking for someone.
“Definitely,” she emphasized.
Audience members who caught her gaze froze, unable to mutter a word as she turned away.
Just when the tension had slightly eased, Hong Jeong-hee sharply turned around and abruptly raced toward the audience.
“!”
The audience jumped in surprise. It was as if Hong Jeong-hee was charging directly at them. No, it felt like her face was right in front of them.
But her steps stayed firmly on the stage, at the edge where her feet barely touched.
“Is that you?”
She stared at the audience, teetering on the edge of the stage.
“Yes, it’s you.”
As the lighting grew dimmer.
“It’s you, Song Min-seo.”
Finally, the stage went dark, and only then did the audience breathe a sigh of relief, trembling under the suffocating presence of Hong Jeong-hee.
‘Definitely taking full advantage of the stage.’ Director Bae Jin-hwan’s hand itched to take notes on every detail.
As he smoothed his lips, he found himself unknowingly smiling in delight.
‘This isn’t the end, is it, Sooyeon Joo?’
He yearned to see her next performance as soon as possible.
This sentiment surely wasn’t limited to just Bae Jin-hwan.
Hong Jeong-hee’s role was the villain, the antagonist of the play. And yet, that villain dominated the play.
‘But it’s not good for the play.’
If the protagonist doesn’t standout, the impression of the play is blurred. What would people say after watching today’s performance?
“The villain was amazing, but the play was just okay.”
That was exactly how it would turn out. And neither the actor nor the play itself benefited from it.
‘So…’
What to do?
Would Joo Soo-yeon’s play truly end like this?
Watching the third act unfold, Bae Jin-hwan observed the increasingly intertwined story of the two protagonists — Baesung-hak and Song Min-seo.
And then, in between their dialogues, there was someone who passed by silently — Hong Jeong-hee.
Each time, the audience held their breath, fearing what Hong Jeong-hee might do.
Then came the fourth act.
Hong Jeong-hee stepped forward, clashing directly with Baesung-hak.
Here, Joo Sooyeon and Sim Cheong-seok faced each other.
“Are you in your right mind?!”
Baesung-hak’s cry split the stage. His previous mild performance alongside Song Min-seo had transformed; sharp emotions suddenly took hold.
Those who understood acting were reminded of his previous interaction with Hong Jeong-hee.
In that instant, his acting had shifted.
‘Is this his true skill?’
‘Is he adjusting his tone according to the actor he’s with?’
People suddenly viewed Sim Cheong-sek in a new light. But Sim Cheong-sek didn’t care about any of that.
‘Joo Sooyeon.’
Beneath the unseen face of Sim Cheong-sek, off-stage, a fierce smile emerged.
‘I don’t intend to lose to a newcomer who has only just taken her first steps.’
That feeling seemed to radiate from his smile.
Baesung-hak, an idol. A role that didn’t initially fit him. But his aura changed completely.
From the innocent idol image of Baesung-hak…
“Hong Jeong-hee. Until now, I wondered. How could it be you? You, who always supported my performances, why!”
‘Baesung-hak feels an unsettling unease after finishing the performance without incident.’
‘He doesn’t see Song Min-seo, who was supposed to meet him after the performance ended.’
Suddenly, he remembers.
That Hong Jeong-hee wasn’t present today.
The woman who always followed his performances—recently, she had exuded a strange tension. He was just sensing her deep animosity toward Song Min-seo when he rushed off to find both women.
And, barely in time, he intervened.
“Why to Min-seo…!”
“Min-seo?”
A low, scornful laugh emerged. Glittering eyes turned toward Baesung-hak.
“When did we become so familiar, Brother?”
Her voice was eerily calm.
Without variation.
An emotionless, spine-chilling tone.
The intense feelings Hong Jeong-hee had displayed so far seemed completely hidden in this voice. This was…
“You never did that with me, did you?”
It gradually grew more passionate.
Grasping his collar.
Pushing him against the wall.
“You never did that with me!!”
Her scream sounded more like a cry, and the trembling hands gripping his collar betrayed her emotional turmoil.
“What am I lacking? I’ve liked you so much longer…”
Tears fell drop by drop.
She was infuriated. By what was she lacking?
No, she understood.
She hadn’t been there to console Baesung-hak.
After all, Hong Jeong-hee was nothing more than a fan. Song Min-seo, who couldn’t hear his voice, was not a fan.
He was just an ordinary man who came close in a regular way.
Or was there more to it?
Breathing heavily, Hong Jeong-hee struggled to continue speaking.
“You’re not lacking…”
Covering the trembling, Baesung-hak continued.
“You’ve always been an incredible fan to me.”
So…
“Please, don’t make any more mistakes. I ask you, Jeong-hee.”
The desperate tone in his voice lingered. Staring at him blankly, Hong Jeong-hee understood for the first time this request directed at her.
Just blankly…
The entire audience watched this scene in awe.
And there, sitting quietly among the audience, was a woman.
“…It’s wrong.”
Seohui Jo bit her thumbnail.
“What are you doing right now?”
Seohui Jo’s gaze wasn’t directed at Sooyeon Jo but rather at the actress behind her playing ‘Song Min-seo’ — Lee Hye-jin.
She clearly remembered seeing her name on the brochure.
Already before seeing this play, Seohui Jo had skimmed through the general plotline and reviews. She examined videos as well, expecting some changes from the original play.
With Sooyeon Jo being involved…
She had instantly detected the flaw.
Song Min-seo absolutely should have intervened at this moment between the two.
But now, Song Min-seo stood frozen, unable to intervene in the intense scene.
‘Are you ruining the play?’
Sooyeon Jo’s presence felt nothing like the bright star Seohui Jo had seen before. It was one shrouded in dark clouds.
‘If I were in her position…’
Seohui Jo regretted not having experience in theater herself. But Song Min-seo, frozen in place, made no move.
Soon, the audience would notice this mistake.
Then came the voice — Hong Jeong-hee’s shout cutting through the stage, holding back.
“Song Min-seo!!”
“You, you’re being arrogant now, aren’t you? What’s with the way you’re looking at me?!”
Seohui Jo realized something.
‘Not a standard line from the script.’
It was an improvisation (ad-lib). Song Min-seo was meant to be ‘deaf,’ so there was no way she could hear Hong Jeong-hee’s shout now.
But the audience didn’t notice it instantly. Even if they did, they likely interpreted it as Hong Jeong-hee’s last desperate cry.
Seohui Jo knew. This was not directed at Song Min-seo but at the actress, Lee Hye-jin.
Simultaneously, Hong Jeong-hee’s presence weakened significantly.
“Are you alright, Min-seo?”
Accordingly, Baesung-hak’s gaze turned toward Song Min-seo, adding sign language to remind the audience she was deaf.
This smoothly revived Song Min-seo’s presence and forcibly redirected the audience’s attention toward her.
“I… I’m fine.”
Lee Hye-jin, playing Song Min-seo, barely managed to deliver the line. Though her vocalization faltered slightly and her voice trembled, it fit perfectly within the situation, passing off as part of the act.
The startled emotion of Song Min-seo masked the flaw. Lee Hye-jin was, after all, an actress.
She knew this and had to make up for it. Composing herself…
Taking a deep breath.
“Jeong-hee.”
There were many lines she could have continued with, but Lee Hye-jin realized she couldn’t extend the conversation here.
“Sorry.”
Carefully, Song Min-seo embraced Hong Jeong-hee, who was shedding tears. She wrapped her arms around her gently.
“Really, I’m sorry.”
Forgiveness for Hong Jeong-hee, who had lashed out violently against her. Song Min-seo quietly demonstrated this by simply hugging her.
“…”
Tears silently dripped down. Alongside Hong Jeong-hee’s tragic crying, the fourth act concluded.
And with it, Hong Jeong-hee’s final appearance in the play ended.
***
“Wow, this is what theater is like. Incredible, it’s my first time seeing one.”
“This is slightly different from what I saw before, but it was still great.”
“Right? Also, the male actor — he’s really handsome! Is he really an idol?”
The audience chatter continued as they departed.
And the topic that came up most?
“The actress playing Hong Jeong-hee — isn’t she Princess Yeon-hwa?”
“I didn’t feel that at all. Honestly, she scared me so much that I almost left halfway.”
“Yeah, really. But she was kinda pitiful by the end.”
It was none other than Sooyeon Jo’s portrayal of Hong Jeong-hee. Her performance was so striking that it made her audience freeze momentarily, lingering vividly in their minds even with eyes closed.
“Phew…”
Director Bae Jin-hwan and producer Cha Dong-jin were similarly lost in the play’s afterglow, sighing deeply.
“…How was it?”
The first voice belonged to producer Cha Dong-jin, filled with an anticipatory hope.
Director Bae Jin-hwan nodded in agreement with his expectations.
“Made me reflect.”
“Reflect?”
“Yes, I thought it was risky, considering her image as Princess Yeon-hwa after her comeback in ten years.”
Visions of Sooyeon walking the stage, looking out at the audience, came to mind. Hong Jeong-hee was not originally this intense a character.
Though a main antagonist, she was more ‘repugnant’ than ‘strongly emotional.’
“This was also good, a fresh take.”
“The final lines in Act 4 were also different, right?”
“Yes.”
After exchanging these thoughts, both slowly nodded.
“You’re thinking the same as me, right?”
“Of course.”
Being only seventeen years old was concerning at first, but that no longer mattered.
“Let’s try.”
This was the moment they were deciding on the antagonist role for their upcoming film, “The Chaser.”
However.
An unforeseen problem emerged.
“…What? Joo Sooyeon isn’t affiliated with any agency?”
“?
Just as they were about to send the script to Sooyeon and contact her…
They encountered a problem they hadn’t anticipated.
There was no way to reach out to her.
Meanwhile, Joo Sooyeon was at the post-play gathering.
Parked between two figures who had followed her there…
“…Hmph.”
“Hmph.”
Pak Jung-woo and Seohui Jo. Sooyeon was nervously caught between them.
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