Chapter 43: Clashing Ambitions

Without even trying to hold back, Kim Jung-woo burst out in anger.

“What’s wrong with my acting?”

“Do you really not know? Or are you asking me even though you do?”

Oh my. Poor thing. Jo Jang-hee, who had been exaggeratingly muttering while covering her mouth, smacked her lips as if disappointed. From that long smile, Kim Jin felt a chill run down his spine.

“Should I have brought the kid next door instead? Ah, but she’s a girl, so I couldn’t?”

Girl? Who is she talking about? Kim Jin racked his brain, trying to remember. Jo Jang-hee smiled at Kim Jung-woo, who was silent as if he was thinking the same thing.

“Curious who I’m talking about?”

“…..”

“Im Bada. She’s good at acting. So, if I had brought her instead of you, wouldn’t the drama have been much better?”

He agreed with that. But to this remark.

‘…His pride must be completely wounded.’

As expected, Kim Jung-woo was trembling all over, consumed by anger.

The reason Kim Jung-woo didn’t immediately flip the desk, despite his face being flushed red, was probably because Jo Jang-hee was his senior.

In the end, he was measuring where to lie down before stretching his legs.

Kim Jin wasn’t particularly interested in whether the two fought or not, but the mention of Im Bada’s name was quite surprising.

Did the two have any connection?

As all sorts of random thoughts swirled in his head, he couldn’t focus on the work he was supposed to be doing.

Jo Jang-hee’s eyes, full of laughter, now turned to Kim Jin.

“Well, it’s not my fault if this drama fails.”

Kim Jin’s cheek twitched at the word “fails.”

“It’s a disastrous casting choice by our Kim Jin director. Isn’t that right?”

She clapped her hands, saying she felt sorry for the director, and then got up when the hair team called her.

“I’ll be going now.”

Clenching his fists tightly, Kim Jin was filled with rising anger. He could endure any insult, but the hypothesis that his work would “fail” infuriated him.

“Jin, it’s okay. You don’t have to listen to such words. I believe this project will be a success. Huh?”

“……”

“Oh, or there’s other news, do you want to hear it? Jo Jang-hee couldn’t say it because she was here.”

If it was bad news again, he was going to shut his mouth. Kim Jin gestured with his eyes to tell him quickly.

“Well, I have a close staff member on the <YoungYoung> drama. That staff member told me that the lead actress and Im Bada aren’t close?”

“The lead actress, Ryu Byeol?”

“Yeah, yeah! They said the two were friends from the university theater club, but it seems they weren’t really close.”

So, in fact, they’re not close but pretending to be, is that what he’s saying?

Surprised by the unexpected fact, Kim Jin suddenly smirked as a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.

“We could break a story with that, couldn’t we?”

“About them not being close?”

“Yeah, then the drama would take a hit.”

Why hadn’t he thought of this?

“When are you going to break it?”

“When they’re suspected.”

“Suspected?”

“Wouldn’t it be good to aim for when there’s a scene in the drama’s behind-the-scenes where their relationship looks a bit strangely uncomfortable?”

The interest in <YoungYoung> would definitely drop. That’s what Kim Jinwoo was aiming for.

★★★

<YoungYoung> Episode 1, Mungyeong filming location.

Braiding her hair to one side and changing into a hanbok made her feel like she had time-warped to the Joseon Dynasty.

And she heard that Im Hoon filmed at the Crown Prince’s palace yesterday. The scene where Crown Prince Lee Young hears about Kim So- hyun’s (Kim So-hyun’s father) house the day before Kim So-hyun is appointed Crown Princess.

Yeon-woo had to act confused upon hearing this news. That was the key.

“Ah….”

[21:01:23]

As she could see from the time display in front of her, she was dizzy from the time travel headache, a buff effect. But if this was a trial, then it was a trial.

‘I can endure it.’

As she put the pill given to her by Manager Min Seo-eun in her mouth to suppress the headache, her ear itched at the same time.

“Ah, my ear itches.”

Someone must be talking behind my back, my ear is itching so much. There are few people who would badmouth me.

“Why does your ear itch?”

“Huh?”

Han Da-young, the child actress playing Yeon-woo, was standing there. She smiled at the child, who was tilting her head back to look up at her.

‘I hadn’t thought about how we look alike.’

Wearing a hanbok, she had the feeling of a baby cat.

“Hello. Actress Han Da-young.”

“Hello!”

Han Da-young greeted her energetically.

“How do you feel about being on set?”

“It’s okay.”

“Oh, you’re more like a senior than I am.”

“Of course. I’ve been acting since I was five years old!”

“Wow! Da-young is a senior!”

“Ahem!”

She almost laughed as she watched Han Da-young strike a rather mature pose. She quickly let out an exclamation of admiration, and Han Da-young’s shoulders suddenly drooped sadly.

“You know.”

“Yeah?”

“…The teacher who touched my head earlier said that.”

What did she hear that made the child’s voice sound troubled? At such a young age.

“I heard that you’re good at acting….”

“Me?”

Han Da-young’s small face nodded up and down.

“I hope I’m not causing you any trouble….”

“Hey, what are you talking about.”

“I’m….”

The child hesitated slightly and opened her small mouth.

“So, I’m a little… not confident.”

Sadness was clearly written on the child’s face as she spoke clearly. I stared at the emotions that couldn’t be hidden for a moment, then bent my knees to match the child’s eye level.

‘The way she looks at me is like a cat.’

Looking into those eyes, I let out a deep sigh. Before she said she wasn’t confident, the part about doing as she was told bothered me.

“Why aren’t you confident?”

“My dad coaches my acting….”

Dad coaches her acting?

“I don’t think I saw your father at the script reading.”

“My mom came instead because my dad didn’t want to come then!”

“He didn’t want to come?”

“Yes! My dad doesn’t like script reading sets!”

…This was hard to ask. There must be something else going on.

I lightly poked Han Da-young’s soft cheek.

“What do you think of your own acting, Da-young?”

“…Um, I don’t really know. A doll?”

“A doll?”

“I just feel like I’m doing what my parents tell me to do like a doll. My mom said that as soon as I started talking, I would watch dramas and copy the facial expressions. So she said I have talent!”

Talent….

“But if I act like a doll, I cause trouble.”

I quietly stroked the child’s cheek. There’s nothing more dangerous than parents deciding their child’s fate.

‘If I were to think of someone from this….’

The words she had said at the <Heejae> play after-party, that she hadn’t started acting because she liked it, flashed through my mind.

“Do you like acting?”

“…Why do I like acting?”

“……”

“I just want to develop my talent and become a great person like my dad said! How can I like acting?”

It seemed that her parents hadn’t taught her how to like acting.

“Even if you like acting….”

“My dad said I don’t need to like acting.”

“…Huh?”

What does that mean?

“He said that if you start doing something you like, you’re bound to be disappointed…. He said I should just think of it as making money.”

There’s nothing she can’t say to her. Isn’t she telling her too much about reality?

“…But it’s okay!”

“It’s okay?”

“I’m still young. Won’t there be a time when I really want to act someday?”

“I like how cheerful you are.”

When I clenched my fist and shook it, the child clenched her fist and shook it in the same way.

“Hehe.”

I had seen these kinds of child actors often. There were few children who came because they wanted to act. Most of them were the desires of parents who wanted to make their children celebrities.

That’s why child actors were so competitive. Like a social phenomenon, parents forced and pushed their children even more.

Later, they would even scold their children on set without hesitation. Even though there were many eyes watching.

In her previous life, Han Da-young had been a popular child actor for a while before disappearing. Later, she showed her face on YouTube and announced that she was doing well.

At that time, she said that she had become an actress because of her parents’ coercion. But she said that she still had a dream of becoming an actress.

‘She was a valuable talent.’

“Da-young!”

The sound of someone calling the child from afar.

“Dad! Dad!”

As the child waved her hand and called out, a man presumed to be her father ran over and bowed deeply to me.

“…Oh, hello.”

“Hello.”

“Da-young is very cute.”

“Thank you.”

He didn’t seem to dislike me. But he seemed to be strangely uncomfortable, as if he was wary of the actor himself.

As they were sizing each other up, the child jumped in without noticing and grabbed her father’s leg.

“My dad is handsome, right!”

“Yeah, he’s good-looking. Da-young must be happy?”

“Right! My dad used to be an actor! So….”

Actor? The father’s expression twisted for a moment. It felt like I had glimpsed something I shouldn’t have. I felt like I should leave.

I quietly got up from my seat and brushed the dirt off my hanbok.

“Have you been on anything? I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere.”

“I was on a drama called Atonement.”

He was on that drama <Atonement: Scent of a Woman> that Senior Tae Jin-hwa was on?

‘I don’t remember what he was on.’

As the father and I were just smiling in an awkward atmosphere, Han Da-young jumped in without a clue.

“My dad! He’s a good actor, but he only played small roles, so you probably don’t remember him!”

“Ah….”

So he was an extra. I understood the father’s feelings because I had also played small roles in my previous life.

‘That’s why he was so sensitive to the word actor.’

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember well.”

“It’s okay. I only played a very small role, so you couldn’t have known.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The father knelt on one knee and stared at Han Da-young’s hand.

“Da-young, the script?”

An overbearing voice fell on Han Da-young.

“I’ve memorized all the lines.”

“I told you, you have to look at the script and not wander around the set. I’ve told you every time.”

“Dad….”

“I can’t let you off just because you’re whining.”

Han Da-young quickly teared up and cowered.

I would understand if he was scolding her for her safety. But he was scolding her just for not looking at the script.

“Da-young’s father. I wanted to talk to you.”

“…..Yes?”

I smiled brighter on purpose at the father, who was making a sorry face.

“Our child needs to be like Im Bada.”

He was projecting his desires onto his child. Not lending his child’s dream, but aiming to achieve his own dream.

‘…It’s complicated.’

If Da-young is 10 years old, then she’s all grown up, right? You can say that. No. There aren’t any sane people even when they become adults. “We’re starting filming! Child actress Han Da-young!”

A staff member called out, saying they were filming the child’s part first. I took a breath as I watched the father and Han Da-young, who quickly greeted me and disappeared.

“Hoo.”

…Why do I have such a bad feeling?

“Bada! Bada!”

“Oh, Seo-eun unnie!”

“What are you doing here alone? I’ve been looking for you for a while. Did something happen?”

I shook my head, saying no, to Manager Min Seo-eun, who ran to me belatedly.

“Nothing happened. But unnie, do you know who Han Da-young’s father is?”

“Child actress? Father?”

“Yeah. He said he was an actor who appeared in Atonement for a while.”

But when I searched for Han Da-young on the portal site, I couldn’t find the existence of her father anywhere.

“There are so many actors who are produced in a year. It’s hard to remember them all. If they appeared in an old drama, there aren’t many people who would remember them.”

……I guess so.”

This is reality.

‘…Sadly.’

The past that I couldn’t avoid. Maybe I’ll experience it again now.

“Are you going to watch the filming?”

“I have to go see it. I need to know how Da-young is acting so we can work together.”

Even if she’s a child actress who only appears for a short time, it wasn’t bad to find out because she had something.

“…In some ways, you’re the scariest.”

“Unnie….”

Saying such disappointing things. I hit Manager Min Seo-eun’s side and walked forward.

I stood under the eaves of the hanok and watched the child’s acting. Sometimes, if actors watch too openly, the child actor gets nervous and can’t perform well.

But at the end of my vision, I caught sight of a familiar face.

“Director.”

“Oh, Byeol.”

“I’m here-.”

Why did Ryu Byeol come here? She doesn’t have filming today, does she?

“Quiet! Quiet!”

The atmosphere, which had been briefly chaotic due to her appearance, became quiet again at Yeom Hae-jin’s words.

Scenes with child actors especially required concentration. Children were like ticking time bombs.

“Make a sad expression while looking at the camera. Da-young.”

“……Yes!”

The child swallowed nervously, as if she was nervous.

Under the warm sunlight, the camera turned on and young Yeon-woo slowly opened her eyes.

Just in time, young Lee Young witnesses young Kim So-hyun smiling. Since he had never smiled at her before, young Yeon-woo reveals complex and subtle emotions.

‘How is she going to express these subtle emotions?’

Han Da-young, who had caught the emotions, slowly lowered her gaze and made a face as if she was about to cry.

At that moment.

“…Ah.”

The emotions that seemed about to explode suddenly became refined. As if she was watching and taking cues without immersing herself in the character.

Then she finished acting without any lines. She seemed to hesitate for a moment in the middle, but still, this was pretty good acting. Was she going to pass it like this?

“Cut! Da-young, that was good! Let’s keep going like this!”

“……Yes!”

Yeom Hae-jin seemed to like it too, and was about to move on to the next shot.

“Director, can we shoot it again?”

The child’s father jumped in. This was not a common occurrence. No, it didn’t exist. To shoot a scene again that had ended with the director’s authority? Was he making any sense?

‘He said he was an extra.’

He should know how the set works, right?

“…Father, you want to shoot it again?”

“Our child can’t shoot the first take well. When I looked at the screen, her acting wasn’t very noticeable.”

“So.”

Yeom Hae-jin said emphatically, putting her hands on her hips.

“Are you asking me to reshoot it now?”