Chapter 144

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on March 7, 2025

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Ha Eun, playing Kim Jeong-hyun, is the only granddaughter of one of the most prestigious families in all of Joseon.

She is a beautiful girl cherished by everyone in Hanseong.

Promised to marry Crown Prince Hwang Tae-seong, the legitimate son of the wealthiest Hwang family in Joseon.

Literally, her life was without any setbacks.

A life where only smooth sailing lay before her, with no thorny paths anywhere.

Is that why?

“The value more precious than life… I still don’t quite understand it.”

She couldn’t understand at first why Kim Jeong-hyun chose the thorny path of becoming a righteous army soldier.

No one would understand her choice to prioritize the freedom of her country over her own happiness, a dangerous path that could lead to death.

It might be a natural thing to not understand at all.

Ha Eun once had no life of her own.

“Knowing it would be hard.”

It was hard to empathize with Kim Jeong-hyun’s choice to voluntarily give up a life where happiness was guaranteed.

Either way, life was something that Ha Eun couldn’t trade for anything.

However, she truly longed for that sense of freedom.

The strong will to walk the path that only she chose was something she admired.

-Creeeak.

‘Ah… Hello, Writer.’

‘Ah, Ha Eun. I’ve been waiting for you. Come on in.’

She even approached Hong Su-eun, the writer of [The Sunshine], trying to understand Kim Jeong-hyun.

Ha Eun wanted to portray the person she once admired more sincerely.

Thus, she asked Hong Su-eun about the gray areas she couldn’t understand, inquiring many times.

They talked late into the evening to understand Kim Jeong-hyun’s thoughts and values.

And finally, once she was able to look at the changing Joseon with the same gaze as Kim Jeong-hyun.

“You could just say I misunderstood. Tell me I confused you with someone else.”

“I’m sorry.”

The choice to hold the hand of a man who genuinely admires her.

The choice to live a happy life with an old friend was gone.

Through the conversations with Hong Su-eun, Ha Eun gained a new sense of mission.

As she gradually began to feel the profound weight of a foreign feeling she had never experienced before, she started to understand Kim Jeong-hyun’s choices.

“Then, the shoulder wound and the letters from the righteous army… was all because I’m a righteous army soldier.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m weak.”

She couldn’t turn a blind eye to the new things she learned.

The words she shared with Hwang Tae-seong, along with a bitter smile, represented Kim Jeong-hyun’s feelings.

The reason Kim Jeong-hyun once read Western books and learned the alphabet was out of curiosity about the unknown.

She was curious about what the world outside the tiled house that treasured her was like.

However, the ‘world’ Kim Jeong-hyun learned about anew was.

“I’m afraid of dying too. But if I close my eyes and choose to live for myself, it feels like I’d have to keep living like a lord. Even if I live, it wouldn’t feel like living.”

It was a sight too dangerous to turn away from.

It was as if the phrase “a candle in the wind” had been translated into reality, subjected to countless great powers from all directions.

“I didn’t want to be a coward.”

In the end, Kim Jeong-hyun took steps toward the freedom of Joseon instead of her own happy life.

She bowed her head, apologizing to the man who was once a slave and desperately begged him to help, instead of commanding him to do so.

“If I walk with you, I would surely be happy. We could go flower viewing in spring and have lovely children.”

A moment ago, the ring case that Hwang Tae-seong had dropped on the ground was now held in Kim Jeong-hyun’s hand.

However, instead of opening the ring case, she ultimately returned it to Hwang Tae-seong.

“But I’ve come too far to return to you. I’m sorry.”

Hwang Tae-seong’s face noticeably darkened.

Even so, his steps slowly moved closer.

Just then, when Kim Jeong-hyun’s shadow was about to completely leave Hwang Tae-seong, snap.

Hwang Tae-seong’s outstretched hand finally grabbed Kim Jeong-hyun’s wrist.

“Could you at least stop for a moment? At least allow me to get closer.”

From the familiar face in front of her, she felt a longing for Kim Jeong-hyun.

She also felt the aching desire of Hwang Tae-seong, who wanted to never let go of Kim Jeong-hyun, no matter the situation.

However, ultimately, Kim Jeong-hyun understood better than anyone that they could not be together.

“Please. Don’t move any farther away from here.”

She couldn’t respond to the slightly trembling voice of her long-time friend.

The guilt and remorse she felt toward Hwang Tae-seong weighed heavily on Kim Jeong-hyun’s lips.

Thus, the earnest gaze of Hwang Tae-seong, who was trying to hold onto Kim Jeong-hyun no matter what, was caught on screen. Cut.

The filming of the scene where Kim Jeong-hyun and Hwang Tae-seong’s relationship gradually approached its last turning point ended.

Not long after, the lighting and cameras at the filming site began to be organized.

The emotions that had been carefully built by Kim Jeong-hyun were slowly fading away.

“Good work~.”

As Baek Jin-hyeok, who had been desperately looking at Ha Eun until just before, said this, he stepped closer.

What followed was a discussion about the first episode of [The Sunshine], which was about to air.

“I hope our drama does well. Right?”

“Ah, yes. It will definitely do well.”

“Oh, such confidence~.”

Soon after, a steaming cup of coffee was handed to Baek Jin-hyeok.

Ha Eun slightly bowed her head and said, “Thank you,” before taking a sip and feeling warmth spread.

Thus, after chatting with Baek Jin-hyeok about [The Sunshine] episode one for a bit.

She only rose once the coordinator for Baek Jin-hyeok called him and turned toward Ju Jung-yun.

Finally, she arrived at Ju Jung-yun’s black van.

Thanks to the heater being turned up to the maximum in advance, warm air surrounded Ha Eun as soon as she opened the car door.

“Uh? What’s this coffee for?”

“Oh, Jin-hyeok gave it to me.”

“Hmm, I bought cocoa. What should I do?”

“…I’d like to drink cocoa too.”

***

[The Sunshine] was a drama that drew interest with the so-called “luxurious casting” even before airing.

The two leads, Baek Tae-hoon and Ha Eun, along with most of the supporting actors, were all well-known names.

Guaranteed acting skills from the cast.

And, the screenplay from a famous drama writer who had already created several hits.

These two aspects made people anticipate the first episode of [The Sunshine].

However, due to the interest surrounding the roles Baek Tae-hoon and Ha Eun played in their previous works,

– Will Lee Ha-eun dance with a sword again this time?

– Baek Tae-hoon’s wrist will be cut again, haha.

– It seems like Lee Ha-eun will be slicing Japanese soldiers with a sword while Baek Tae-hoon plays the surprised role beside her.

– Please refrain from spoilers;;

– Oh, I watched the drama.

Preconceptions about the new characters Park Ju-ho and Kim Jeong-hyun slowly began to form.

In particular, it was expected that Kim Jeong-hyun, with the setting of a noble lady, would have a similar personality to Yeom Wol from [Cloud Cutting Moonlight].

However, once the teaser for [The Sunshine] was released.

Furthermore, after several still cuts were unveiled for the drama’s promotion.

– The atmosphere is intense.

– What’s with Lee Ha-eun’s hanbok fit?

– Is that Lee Ha-eun falling from the roof?

– Why is the male lead pointing a gun at the female lead?! Haha.

The misunderstandings and preconceived notions that had been built up began to lose their power.

News spread that the two lead actors were portraying roles in [The Sunshine] quite differently from the characters they played in their previous projects.

As time passed and flowed.

Finally, episode one of [The Sunshine] began to air.

The first scene unfolded at a remote port in Joseon.

Specifically, it was the figure of Baek Tae-hoon who had just disembarked from a steamboat.

“Hoo.”

With a face that seemed to harbor a mix of emotions, Baek Tae-hoon merely set his steps towards the land of Joseon.

No lines were spoken.

Yet, at some point, another sound of footsteps could be heard.

“Hah… Hah…”

A figure of a young boy raced past Baek Tae-hoon, as if it were an illusion, running somewhere fast.

In less than a few seconds, the timeline and background began to slowly change.

“P-Please save me, Miss! If this goes on, I will really die!!”

The focus of the drama soon shifted from Baek Tae-hoon to the child actor playing his young self.

That is, to Kim Min-seong, who plays the young Park Ju-ho.

What followed was Kim Min-seong’s desperate cries.

“Miss! Please!!”

The Kim Min-seong who had just passed through Baek Tae-hoon was now wailing in front of a certain tiled house.

Before him stood two slaves being brutally whipped.

– What acting for a child actor!

– So that kid is supposed to be Baek Tae-hoon when he was young?

– The acting level of kids these days is insane.

Afterwards, scenes continued to unfold that conveyed just how bleak Park Ju-ho’s childhood had been.

The scene of him ultimately fainting after failing to save his parents from the harsh whipping.

The scene of him sneaking away at night to plead for help from a foreign missionary.

“Please, please save me, lady. If I go back to that house, I will die…!”

These performances by Kim Min-seong added a serious weight to [The Sunshine] as a whole.

Thanks to this, opinions that it felt childish or cliché began to vanish.

Subsequently, scenes far removed from comedy continued to unfold and unfold.

-Step, step.

To escape from Joseon, which had taken away his parents and home, Kim Min-seong’s figure headed towards a distant port, again overlapping with Baek Tae-hoon’s form.

The image of the young Kim Jeong-hyun, watching the young Park Ju-ho struggle to escape from a distance, began to gradually overlay with Ha Eun’s form.

And soon, once again, the figure of Kim Min-seong passed by Baek Tae-hoon.

Yet, Baek Tae-hoon’s steps were heading in the opposite direction from Kim Min-seong.

After a short while, the reunion scene between Park Ju-ho and Kim Jeong-hyun unfolded in the middle of a street in Hanseong.

“Have we met somewhere?”

“Well…”

There was a puzzlement in Kim Jeong-hyun’s gaze as she subtly looked up at Park Ju-ho.

In Park Ju-ho’s gaze, looking down at Kim Jeong-hyun coldly, there was repressed anger and sorrow.

It was a suffocating first encounter.

The true identity was reunion, yet the scenery was vastly different from the typical image of a reunion.

Thus, one of the two main characters walked past the other without recognizing them.

While the other deliberately chose not to acknowledge the familiarity.

-Step, step.

With no further conversation, they walked past each other towards their respective destinations.

What followed was a scene focused on Kim Jeong-hyun, not Park Ju-ho.

“Oh, miss. If the lord finds out you are reading books of the Westerners, you will receive a serious reprimand!”

“Is there a difference between learning for a foreigner and learning for a Joseon person? If a person seeks knowledge, why should there be such a fuss?”

In the vast tiled house, Kim Jeong-hyun displayed gentle eyes and radiant beauty.

From head to toe, she perfectly embodied the three-character title of ‘lady.’

So, the contrasting images of the two protagonists captivated people’s eyes.

It can’t be denied that there was a sense of discomfort at any moment in episode one.

Some time later, after the final scene of episode one had ended. More precisely, it was about one or two hours after the preview for episode two aired.

[Baek Tae-hoon and Lee Ha-eun ‘The Sunshine’ stunning acting clash from the very first episode!]

[The slave and the lady that captivated late winter!]

[‘The Sunshine’ begins with 11.7 percent ratings, revealing an overwhelming start!]

Despite being a cable drama, it was revealed by various internet articles that it had garnered immense attention.

Without being extravagant or noisy, it gained a reputation simply for its acting prowess.

Thus, as [The Sunshine] began with unusual signs,

Ha Eun, who had showcased her existence distinctly with a very different type of performance from Baek Tae-hoon, was now.

“Hello, I am Lee Yeo-seo portraying the character of Lee Ha-eun.”

She was greeting with a calm voice at a gathering with the cast and staff of [The Veterans].

Since she began to attract attention once again following [Cloud Cutting Moonlight], all eyes were on her.

However, the characters of Kim Jeong-hyun from [The Sunshine] and Lee Yeo-seo from [The Veterans] couldn’t have been more different in nature.

‘The poker face is certainly advantageous.’