Chapter 31

In my past life, acting was something I had to do.

For the people who first brought the existence of ‘me’ into the world.

It was something I had to do for those who said that simply not abandoning me was fulfilling a parent’s duty.

Nonetheless, the relief I felt subconsciously came from the fact that they smiled.

For the first time, they smiled at me, despite always showing me cold or contemptuous gazes.

Of course, now that so many things have changed, I know that everything from start to finish was wrong.

I also know that those smiles back then were not the smiles I desired.

However, the memories of desperately wanting to be loved while forcing myself to act despite my aching body still remain vivid.

Even though I unconsciously knew that what they gave me was not love, I can’t forget the foolish hope that one day I would surely be truly loved.

In the end, I began acting once again, even as I dug up those bitter memories that would do me no good.

“…The winner of the Best New Actress Award at the 8th Korean Film Awards is─Congratulations! It’s Lee Ha-eun!”

Not long after that, even after I finally became loved by many people through my acting, just as I wished in my past life.

I continued to learn acting, even while being with the kids who dislike me due to the sense of inadequacy and immaturity that still lingered.

For me now, acting is something I want to keep doing by any means necessary.

At the same time, I must keep reminding my past self that acted solely for others.

Since the day I began to be called to learn from someone else, I have continuously worked towards more ideal acting.

So, at this moment, when I have poured all my efforts into the shoot of the scene where young Han Yu-hwa makes her final appearance.

“Ha Yoon-seong sunbae, was I… okay?”

I felt that it was alright to indulge in the greed that I had never shown before.

Unlike those people back then, I hoped that not a single person in front of me was smiling, as that landscape was the one I envisioned.

“Well, Ha-eun, don’t you know best whether you were okay or not?”

The answer that finally came back from Ha Yoon-seong, who had been gazing down at me gently, was fortunately an indication that my efforts had borne fruit.

It was a hunch of Ha Yoon-seong that Yu Seong-a would probably say the same thing as him.

“I don’t know what kind of assignment Seong-a gave you, but after seeing your acting, she’ll probably want to pass you even if she wanted to fail you.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

It was after that that I began walking alongside Ha Yoon-seong to check the final footage.

However, I couldn’t shake off the stains and dirt that had gotten on my costume during the previous scene where I had to fall.

“…I’m sorry. You told me not to fall.”

As soon as I confirmed that there were no issues with the final footage, I headed straight to the costume staff, bowing my head and waist in apology.

Almost simultaneously, I saw the staff hurriedly saying it was unnecessary for me to apologize.

“I just meant for you to be a little careful. If you fall before filming, it will delay the shoot because you’ll have to change your costume.”

Then, they added that my previous acting had indeed been impressive.

After slowly expressing my gratitude for the compliment, I headed to the costume room to change back into my original clothes.

Afterward, I met Ju Jung-yun, who had been waiting in the car with the heater on.

Unlike the past days when I kept reading the script while heading home, today, I reclined my seat all the way back and relaxed.

“Jung-yun unni, I’ll sleep for a bit… please wake me up when we arrive.”

Shortly after, I closed my eyes without resisting the wave of sleep that washed over me like a tsunami.

Today marked the first time I had to act so hard that the stamina I had been building up finally ran out.

Because of that, the aftereffects of acting lingered for two to three times longer than usual, but it seemed that we had already filmed almost all the scenes I needed to shoot as young Han Yu-hwa.

Thus, I felt lighter in spirit than ever before.

***

“How should I handle this…”

It was about two weeks before the first episode of “You, Who Came from the Stars” aired.

As he reviewed the filming footage again ahead of the meeting to be held a few minutes later, PD Hwang Min-soo’s heart began to waver once more.

Strictly speaking, there were no issues with the footage itself.

Not a single scene seemed awkward or necessary for reshooting.

However, because it was a perfect footage, PD Hwang Min-soo found himself deeply pondering how best to utilize such perfect footage.

Among the many concerns occupying PD Hwang Min-soo’s mind, the one occupying the most space was the teaser for the drama.

How to conceptualize the teaser video, akin to a movie trailer, was the biggest dilemma.

Regardless of the situation, “You, Who Came from the Stars” was a drama that UBS had put significant effort into.

As a follow-up to the recently concluded drama “The Heirs,” which had recorded quite high viewer ratings, the higher-ups were also paying attention to “You, Who Came from the Stars.”

Therefore, the teaser for “You, Who Came from the Stars” needed to not only amplify viewer anticipation.

It also had to captivate the hearts of the network’s executives.

“What does Director Song think?”

“I don’t think any direction looks particularly lacking… but if we want to create a twist, Option B seems best.”

“Well, no one would think that little Han Yu-hwa would die like that hundreds of years ago. If we want to maximize Ha-eun’s ‘that acting,’ I think Option B may be better.”

As time passed, even after the meeting began, discussions about the drama teaser continued.

Thus, the final form of the teaser was quite different from what had originally been envisioned.

However, it remained unchanged that the focus would be on the two leading actors, Ha Yoon-seong and Yu Seong-a.

The fact that “You, Who Came from the Stars” had become a hot topic even before airing was rooted in the two immensely famous actors starring in the same drama.

Strictly speaking, the name of Ha-eun, cast as young Han Yu-hwa, did appear in articles.

However, it hadn’t drawn as much attention compared to the names of the two leading actors.

Nevertheless, just moments ago, the scene of Ha-eun that PD Hwang Min-soo had reviewed was certainly eye-catching enough to attract attention.

Thus, it was decided to use one of the hidden cards that the production team had secretly tucked away for “You, Who Came from the Stars” in this teaser video.

“People are saying kids are scary these days, but for some reason, Ha-eun feels several steps beyond that.”

“On the contrary, that’s a relief. From our perspective, there’s no downside, is there?”

“Well, that’s true.”

At this point, before “You, Who Came from the Stars” had even started airing, Ha-eun was still in a position of receiving only a small amount of attention as a little support character who added minor topics to the performances of the two top stars, Ha Yoon-seong and Yu Seong-a.

Just like countless child actors in many dramas before, it was believed that no matter how good she was, Ha-eun wouldn’t play a significant role between two top stars.

Most importantly, people seem to have some conviction that if a character is the protagonist, they will never die or succumb to any crisis.

If Ha-eun, who had not received much spotlight, were to burst that narrow conviction with her remarkable acting that was anything but childlike.

“It seems another star will soon be born.”

“Seems also true.”

Surely, the ripple effects of such an event could not be underestimated.

Of course, it was realistically difficult to include everything in a one-minute teaser video; it had to only give an implication of something unusual that would happen.

Regardless, a teaser video is just a teaser video.

What’s truly important is the main body of the drama.

Thus, the first episode would lay the groundwork for success centered on the already noteworthy performances of Ha Yoon-seong and Yu Seong-a.

Then, from the second episode, as Ha-eun’s brilliant acting gradually started to attract attention once again.

“No matter what happens, no matter what sounds you hear, never look back and go ahead.”

In the fifth episode, where the past arc would finally come to a climax with Ha-eun’s pitiful acting.

“Do you know, uncle? I’m going to be a star. A star that no one can ignore, a high, high star that everyone must look up to.”

If we could show another side of Ha-eun that could be believed even by young Yu Seong-a.

Then, ‘…it would be strange if it didn’t succeed.’

The narrative that had been slowly building between the two main characters would come bursting forth all at once, giving viewers yet another reason to watch “You, Who Came from the Stars.”

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