Chapter 50

The protagonist of the moonlight that cuts through the clouds, “Yeom Wol,” is the bodyguard of the male lead “Prince Lee Hyun.”

Originally, it wouldn’t have been possible for Yeom Wol, who is a woman, to become a bodyguard, but she managed to disguise herself as a man with excellent cross-dressing skills, and her swordplay was outstanding, so no one suspected she was a woman.

Therefore, Ha Eun, who wanted to be cast as Yeom Wol, thought she also needed to have exceptional swordplay skills. While it was shooting swordplay rather than real combat, both required proficiency in handling a sword.

Following the appearance of Kim Gyu-tae was a continuation of that line of thought. If she could imitate Kim Gyu-tae’s exemplary style, she believed she could deliver a captivating swordplay performance.

However, in reality, to Kim Gyu-tae…

‘…Where have I seen this before?’

Ha Eun’s swordplay seemed closer to a different type of swordplay than Kim Gyu-tae’s. Of course, considering this was her first swordplay performance, she was quite talented. Other actors Kim Gyu-tae had taught often struggled even at the stage of maintaining their postures.

Indeed, her expression acting, which made her look like the Yeom Wol from the script, was flawless. She conveyed urgency, killing intent, and hostility purely through her expressions without any dialogue.

However, the déjà vu she felt from Ha Eun’s swordplay kept bothering her. She spent a long time trying to recall where she had seen that swordplay before.

‘Hey, Dad. Can’t you teach me stuff like this?’

‘Sorry, son. No matter how much of a dad I am, I can’t make waves erupt from a sword.’

Only after remembering a particular Japanese anime that Kim Gyu-tae’s young son had asked about could she slap her knee in realization. The sword’s trajectory resembling an oval shape was exactly like the water breathing technique her son had shown her.

So, after her first swordplay performance ended smoothly without significant mistakes, she glanced over at Kim Gyu-tae, expecting feedback on her swordplay performance. Kim Gyu-tae replied…

“While the swordplay in ‘Demon Slayer’ is indeed cool, it’s different from historical drama swordplay. Let’s start with the basics step by step.”

He clearly stated that the swordplay in anime and reality was different. At nearly the same moment, Ha Eun’s face turned red rapidly. As her ears started to burn, she found it hard to understand the lecture on historical drama swordplay that Kim Gyu-tae began.

She couldn’t comprehend a single word.

***

The first swordplay class, which began joyfully but ended with a desire to run away, led to…

“So, are we going to action school today as well?”

“…Yes.”

Having managed to erase the embarrassing memory from the first day’s class, Ha Eun asked Ju Jung-yun to take her almost every day to Kim Gyu-tae’s action school. After all, she couldn’t just quit the sport she had been practicing for 12 years now.

Of course, it was troublesome for Kim Gyu-tae. He had a few other actors to teach besides Ha Eun, and coming to work every day felt like a nightmare for any employee.

Kim Gyu-tae could fully understand Ha Eun’s desire to be cast as Yeom Wol and dedicate herself to swordplay practice every day. Typically, everyone burns with passion when they’re young.

“Um, Ha Eun. No matter how you look at it, daily classes might be a bit tough.”

“Hmm… Then, could you at least let me use the gym?”

“Really? Just letting you use the gym is fine?”

“Yes.”

The agreement they reached was beneficial for both Kim Gyu-tae and Ha Eun. Ha Eun was happy to exercise, and Kim Gyu-tae liked that he could show Ha Eun to other stunt actors as someone to learn from.

Thus, the exercise time that had briefly left Ha Eun’s routine returned to it. However, a decisive factor that tightened Ha Eun’s schedule further was…

“Let’s try just one more time, Ha Eun.”

“…If my voice goes hoarse, will you take responsibility?”

“Yeah. I’ll take responsibility, so let’s just do it one more time.”

Thanks to the featuring proposal she had ultimately accepted, she had to stay at Daulby’s studio for several more hours than usual. To be precise, staying at the studio for long wasn’t so hard, but…

“Um, this time, can you sing just a bit lower than the first chorus, in your true voice?”

“But earlier, you said to sing higher with falsetto.”

“Oh, that… As I listened, I thought the true voice sounded more emotional.”

According to Daulby’s requirements, which fluctuated every five minutes or even down to one minute, Ha Eun had to switch her vocal tones.

“For this part, your voice and the uncles’ voices need to overlap, so let’s sing just a bit louder.”

“Isn’t it just a matter of increasing my voice volume?”

“Shh, don’t say that carelessly. If the harmony breaks even slightly, it becomes unbearable to listen to.”

Her physical stamina was drained as she had to directly accept the opinions of people who never let any detail slide when it came to music.

The degree of feedback was on a completely different level than during her singing class. Of course, it made sense to pour more effort when working on a track for an actual album.

However, no matter how much she understood…

– Beep.

“Ha Eun, when you sing the last line, try to feel like you’re cutting it short.”

– Beep.

“Hmm… This time, can you sing with the feeling of your voice slowly fading away?”

– Beep.

“Just now was great, Ha Eun. Let’s keep that intensity but raise the pitch slightly.”

– Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep…

She couldn’t understand why they needed to re-record the same part 20 times in a row. To Ha Eun, all 20 recordings sounded the same; what was so different about them?

“…This is child abuse.”

“An 18-year-old is not a child. And saying that now is useless.”

“Right, those kinds of things are supposed to be said before signing the contract.”

With this kind of compatible synergy, Ha Eun ended up closing her mouth. Once she decided to go through with it, it was better not to leave any regrets.

Ha Eun would be featuring in a total of three tracks, including the title song “Tunnel,” in Daulby’s new album consisting of 13 songs. Typically, only up to two tracks would feature the same artist, so Ha Eun’s case was quite unusual.

“Your voice is exceptional, Ha Eun. So, what I’m saying is, just one more song─”

“That kind of talk is meant to be done before signing the contract, as someone once said.”

“Tsk.”

Creating a new case with Ha Eun brought far more benefits than disadvantages. After all, her voice perfectly matched Daulby’s songs.

The serious and grave expressions on Lee Geon-yeol and Lee Jun’s faces revealed that the problem lay beyond just the features.

“Umm, Ha Eun. Do you really have to participate under a stage name?”

“Yes.”

“Rather than a stage name, how about using just your initials? It might be beneficial for you since people can infer that you’re the one featuring in the songs to a certain extent─”

– Tension.

“…If you don’t like it, then there’s nothing we can do. Yeah, there’s nothing we can do.”

Thus began the discussion about Ha Eun’s stage name. Since her voice was the best fit for Daulby’s unique sensibility and atmosphere, it was only right that the name should also be special.

However, Ha Eun, the owner of the voice, didn’t particularly care about any name.

“How important is an image for a singer?”

“For a singer with just a stage name, an image?”

“There’s an image in a name too. If a singer’s name is ‘Tone-Deaf,’ would people want to listen to that singer’s songs?”

‘…They might listen to it at least once.’

The people responsible for featuring Ha Eun began discussing her stage name with expressions more serious than ever. However, not long after that, the volume of their voices began to rise for some reason.

“My stage name is something I’ll decide. So, both of you stop.”

Ha Eun, thinking that it was pointless to let emotions be hurt over something like this, forced the discussion about her stage name to end.

“Do you have a name in mind already?”

“…Pinocchio. I’ll go with Pinocchio.”

Pinocchio, the representative character that comes to mind when one thinks of lying. Ha Eun thought it suited her well since she dreamed of being the best liar in the world.

“Will it be in English or Korean?”

“If it’s in English, it’s too long, so I’ll go with Korean.”

“Okay.”

Thus, the phrase “feat. 피노키오” was attached to every song Ha Eun featured in.

As time passed and the day of the new album release finally arrived, Ha Eun found herself…

[ I’m disappointed, Ha Eun. You should be with the uncles on days like today, not other days. ]

“It’s really an important promise. Still, I’ll definitely drop by the studio tomorrow.”

She stood in front of an MCN office rather than Daulby’s studio. The long-awaited meeting with the members of the Fantasia project was scheduled for today.

After soothing the disappointed voices on her phone as best as she could, she took a deep breath.

Ha Eun moved towards the most tense yet exciting meeting of her 18 years of life.

The first person she encountered was Jee Hye-min, who was also the project leader of Fantasia.

“Ah, welcome, Ha Eun!”

With a slightly excited face.

In sharp contrast, dressed in a neat suit.

Moreover, the impressive contours of her chest still commanded attention, once again catching Ha Eun’s gaze.

The news that the other members of Fantasia were already there reached Ha Eun afterward.

“They’ve all been waiting for you, so let’s go introduce ourselves!”

Jee Hye-min added that the other members already knew about Ha Eun’s true identity.

Although Ha Eun became even more nervous, after walking through the lengthy corridor, she finally arrived at the room where the other members were.

-Creak.

And just like that, the opaque glass door opened with Jee Hye-min’s unhesitating gesture.

As expected, faced with the crowd of eyes directed at her, Ha Eun…

-Bowed.

Unintentionally bent down and greeted them politely.

At that moment, the women on the other side felt more like celebrities than any celebrity could ever feel.

Of course, the women who received Ha Eun’s polite greeting felt quite burdened.

‘…Aren’t we the ones supposed to be greeting her?’

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