Chapter 88

Ha Eun I hope you can join too.

Until a few days ago, my intention to cast Ha Eun was limited to this extent.

Strictly speaking, everyone in class 2, including the class president Gong Hye-yeon, knew very well that Ha Eun was an outstanding actor.

In fact, she was the first person recommended as a candidate for the female lead in the fall festival performance [Shall We Fall Together?].

However, the overall atmosphere of [Shall We Fall Together?] is quite heavy.

This means that if Ha Eun were to take on the role of the female lead “Empress Aria.”

“To be honest, I feel like she’ll overshadow everyone else.”

“Hmm….”

The characters other than Empress Aria could potentially become colorless and flavorless.

It seemed that not only Gong Hye-yeon herself but also other friends would be helplessly swept away by Ha Eun’s acting.

This was clearly a problem, considering that the scoring for the ‘Cooperation & Harmony’ section among the performance evaluation criteria was quite high.

Moreover, since Empress Aria would have to perform a kiss scene with the male lead “Knight Kyle” in the final ending scene.

“Having her do that to someone who’s dating might be… a bit…”

It was difficult to ask Ha Eun, who was rumored to be in a blossoming romance, to take the role of Empress Aria.

Even if Ha Eun participated in [Shall We Fall Together?], I only planned to cast her in another role, not Empress Aria.

However.

“Beloved, Wol-ah.”

In the highlight of episode 9 of [The Moonlight that Parts the Clouds], the kiss scene between Lee Hyun and Yeom Wol.

More precisely, the tear that flowed down Yeom Wol’s left cheek at the instant the kiss began.

“Let’s just ask Ha Eun.”

“What if the others’ acting looks like bad acting because of that?”

“We’ll just have to keep practicing. It’s too much of a waste to give up Ha Eun just for that.”

“That’s… true.”

In the end, it was decided to cast Ha Eun in the role of Empress Aria.

I judged that the positive impact of Ha Eun’s impactful performance would outweigh any points deducted due to the disparity in acting levels between Ha Eun and the other kids.

Regardless, the important thing was that [Shall We Fall Together?] left a strong impression.

I believed that presenting a performance that was undeniably first place was the top priority.

So on Monday morning, I approached Ha Eun and begged her with a sincerity I’d never shown before.

I whispered to her the secrets of the fall festival at Narae High School, doing my best to persuade her.

“Even film directors and casting directors are secretly coming to watch the performance. Don’t you think it would be good for you to leave a good impression on them?”

“Hmm….”

“If you do the role of Empress Aria, it’s guaranteed we’ll be first. So please, just this once, help us out!”

Ha Eun, who seemed somewhat shaken by Gong Hye-yeon’s persuasion.

After contemplating in silence for a while, she finally opened her mouth.

“Is it really possible to go to Japan if we win first place in the festival?”

She started to inquire about the first-place prize of a trip to Japan.

“I confirmed directly with the homeroom teacher. The class that wins first place in the festival definitely gets to go on a trip to Japan.”

“Then, did you ask where in Japan we’d be going?”

“Tokyo. They said they would conduct a separate survey later to decide on the tourist course.”

Following this was yet another silence.

Then, about ten seconds later, Ha Eun spoke again.

“I want to go to Disneyland. What do you think the others would think?”

She expressed her desire for Disneyland to be included in the tourist course among various attractions in Tokyo.

This was the only condition she presented for taking on the role of Empress Aria.

Eventually, the response from Gong Hye-yeon was filled with confidence that the other friends would also want to go to Disneyland.

Thus, after confirming Ha Eun in the role of Empress Aria, I promptly invited her to the [Shall We Fall Together?] chat room.

The moment Ha Eun’s name appeared on the cast list of [Shall We Fall Together?], Gong Hye-yeon’s quick footsteps headed toward the faculty room.

Watching Gong Hye-yeon dash off in a hurry, I couldn’t help but worry for her, thinking she would fall and hurt herself.

However, since I had just been reading the script of [Shall We Fall Together?] handed over by Gong Hye-yeon, I…

-Slurp.

I reopened the script I had put aside and began reading once more.

In any case, performing something like a musical with Ha Eun’s classmates wasn’t a bad thing for her.

Due to her increasingly busy schedule lately, the time she could spend at school was gradually decreasing.

While the kiss scene in the ending of [Shall We Fall Together?] still lingered on her mind, it was also true that if she performed the scene vividly, she would likely receive good scores, so she decided to give it a try.

After all, it wouldn’t be a real kiss.

However, since it was her first time acting while singing in a different location for a different purpose, she felt a need to prepare for her first musical.

Since that day, she found herself only searching for videos related to [Shall We Fall Together?].

“Cut off my neck with your sword, lift it high into the sky, and become the hero of all. That is… the only way for you to live.”

“It’s a bit different from drama.”

The female lead of [Shall We Fall Together?], Empress Aria, is a puppet tyrant.

Having committed all sorts of corruption while hiding in the shadows of Empress Aria, she soon became an enemy and foe of all her subjects.

Only her knight Kyle knew the truth that Empress Aria was merely being controlled.

Empress Aria, unconsciously relying on Kyle, was barely holding on to her decaying mental state, but after a rebellion incited by an enraged populace, she completely collapsed.

This was due to the barrage of insults and murderous intents directed at Empress Aria from all sides.

The nobles had already fled.

Left alone in the nearly empty imperial palace, where even the servants were scarce, Empress Aria lost all hope with the approaching footsteps of the citizens.

She tells Kyle, the only one who had been on her side for the first and last time, to kill her and become everyone’s hero.

“It’s been a while since I’ve performed with aftereffects. I wonder if I’ll be okay…”

The emotions I needed to convey this time were mostly of a negative nature.

The lyrics of the song assigned to Empress Aria were also far from positive.

Of course, she had confidence.

However, since it had been quite a while since she had acted as a dark character like Empress Aria.

“…I should keep it a bit softer during practice.”

If she showed her maximum potential during practice, it seemed she would have various struggles.

There was undoubtedly a need to match the emotional depth with the other classmates who would appear in the same scene with Ha Eun.

Thus, on a day when she was memorizing Empress Aria’s lines for the first rehearsal of [Shall We Fall Together?].

“The Sears advertising schedule has been confirmed. It’s tomorrow at 4 PM.”

As usual, Ju Jung-yun, who had taken Ha Eun into her van, informed her of the advertising schedule that she had forgotten about for a while.

***

At an advertising studio in the outskirts.

In just 30 minutes, the shoot for Sears’ new bed commercial was set to begin there.

“It’s been a while since I’ve filmed with the kid.”

“She’s not a kid at 18. At 18, you’re all grown up.”

“Her personality is still that of a kid. I just hope she doesn’t get too moody…”

There were various discussions going on about Ha Eun, who had become the new advertising model for Sears.

Regardless, today was the first day the advertising team was actually meeting Ha Eun.

Perhaps for this reason, they expected Ha Eun’s personality, which was currently on the rise, to be arrogant.

To be precise, the image of Ha Eun portrayed in the media had been far from arrogance.

‘It’s obvious she’s managing her image. It wouldn’t be the first time I got fooled.’

Those who had been burned a few times by models who looked different in front of the camera than in real life had prepared themselves to some extent.

This was only natural, as young celebrities like Ha Eun could easily develop an undesirable mindset due to their early success.

Finally, ten minutes later, after all the makeup was finished, Ha Eun made her appearance.

“Hello. I’m Lee Ha-eun.”

With her stunning looks.

A calm voice.

A casual outfit brimming with autumn vibes.

However, more than anything.

She exuded an aura that was several times more “noble” than what they had known.

‘…Is she really 18?’

Predictions that Ha Eun, still a high school student, would show signs of youthfulness were thoroughly negated.

To exaggerate a bit, it felt as if a queen had appeared.

The combination of this first impression with Ha Eun’s characteristic sharp eyes resulted in an excessively cautious atmosphere.

The filming location remained very quiet, as though they shouldn’t touch anything, until the moment filming began.

Then, about ten minutes later, at the moment when the advertising director Bae Ho-yeon confirmed the first take.

“Whoa…”

A breath escaped involuntarily as he gazed at the “precious” figure smiling languidly on the monitor.

The slightly tilted head and enchanting gaze made the gap in status feel palpable.

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