“Fierce Blossoms,” as could be guessed from its content, had a much higher importance for the female lead than any of Taeha’s previous works.
It was almost on par with the role of the male lead, which Taeha was playing.
Of course, among Taeha’s works, Your Brilliant Sparkle was also a piece where the female lead’s importance was not low.
However, no matter how true that was, the influence of ‘the person who remembers the regressor’ could never be higher than that of the ‘Infinite Regressor’ himself.
It was unavoidable due to the work’s concept.
On the other hand, in the case of Fierce Blossoms, the female lead’s importance was so high that it couldn’t be said the scale tipped in any one direction.
In some ways, Han Seung-hye, who participates in the war disguised as a man, could be said to receive more attention than Kim Seong-wol.
The one saving grace, separate from the role’s weight, was that the range of choices for the actress this time had broadened.
The most decisive factor influencing this was undoubtedly age.
Due to the specific setting of college students, it was difficult to set the age too high for Your Brilliant Sparkle.
But for Fierce Blossoms, it was possible to set the age a bit higher.
Not just mid-to-late twenties, but even early thirties were somewhat feasible.
Since Taeha was now approaching his late twenties, it wasn’t bad from a visual perspective either.
‘And honestly, an actress’s popularity inevitably peaks around this age anyway.’
Frankly, during the casting for the female lead of Your Brilliant Sparkle, it wasn’t easy to find a peer actress who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Taeha.
The decisive factor was Taeha rising to top-tier actor status at such a young age.
Realistically, if it hadn’t been for Shin So-hee, the gap in popularity between the male and female leads would have been huge.
Thinking back, Shin So-hee getting cast was truly a stroke of immense luck.
Anyway, with Fierce Blossoms, there was no need to worry about such issues.
But if you asked if that made the casting easy, it did not.
Human greed knows no bounds.
As the range of choices widened, the conditions became more demanding.
They now had to think of an actress with top-tier domestic popularity as a baseline, who could handle romance well, look naturally good in male disguise, and perform action scenes without awkwardness.
Not only that, but they also had to consider her visual chemistry with Taeha to some extent.
After much deliberation and selection, the name written at the very top of the casting list was ‘Song Ji-eun.’
And seeing this name written down, a thought occurred to him.
‘Did I get too greedy?’
It was inevitable.
Song Ji-eun was a star among stars, the top priority for female lead roles in one-top productions even back when Taeha was a rookie.
Moreover, unlike Taeha, her international recognition was extremely high.
Just the fact that a film starring Song Ji-eun last year was invited to the Cannes Film Festival spoke volumes.
Her acting skills were excellent, of course, and her popularity was global.
If a rumor spread that Song Ji-eun was interested in a drama with a certain concept, production companies would rush to start planning that very drama.
Simply as an actress, she was fundamentally on a higher tier than Taeha, and even Han Yun-seong, Lee Seok-hyun, and Kang Sojeong had to take a step back.
If one had to compare, she was on a similar level to Seon Min-gi, who had turned Hollywood upside down, but in that case, it was actually Song Ji-eun who had to yield a step.
After all, Seon Min-gi had the experience of starring in not one, but two works nominated for the Academy Awards, not just invited.
And one of those works had actually won.
No matter how highly regarded the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards are in their respective fields, this was an achievement that couldn’t be ignored.
Anyway, setting all that aside, Song Ji-eun’s status was absolutely not something to be taken lightly.
For that reason, even Taeha found it difficult to easily promise Song Ji-eun’s casting.
Come to think of it, Taeha had never cast an actress of Song Ji-eun’s caliber before.
Naturally, he couldn’t help but wonder if casting Song Ji-eun was realistically possible.
However, that didn’t mean Taeha gave up on casting her.
With the thought that he might as well give it a shot since the opportunity had arisen, he attempted the casting.
And he didn’t hold high expectations.
He was prepared to accept it even if the casting result wasn’t favorable.
After all, there were quite a few actresses suitable for the female lead of Fierce Blossoms even if it wasn’t Song Ji-eun.
In fact, that’s why he felt at ease.
That’s what he thought, but…
“The top priority for the female lead casting has expressed a positive intention to appear in Fierce Blossoms.”
That was the news he received from Mr. Han.
Mr. Han also seemed somewhat flushed, perhaps not expecting things to turn out this way.
If they could confirm Song Ji-eun’s casting like this, the potential for Fierce Blossoms‘ success would skyrocket.
Just the fact that Song Ji-eun was attached would eliminate any worry about the drama not breaking even.
Perhaps it might even break even through overseas rights sales alone, even before the drama aired.
Despite being a historical drama famously requiring a high production budget.
That’s how significant Song Ji-eun’s casting would be.
It wasn’t for nothing that production companies carefully watched what kind of drama concepts interested Song Ji-eun and planned accordingly.
Of course, that didn’t mean Song Ji-eun’s casting was confirmed yet.
Mr. Han continued, his face still showing signs of excitement.
“Actress Song Ji-eun says she would like to meet the writer in person before confirming the casting.”
Upon hearing this, Taeha thought.
‘Why would Song Ji-eun want to see me… More than that, would she even know who I am?’
***
Meanwhile.
Song Ji-eun’s study.
Contrary to Taeha’s thoughts, Song Ji-eun, of course, knew of Taeha’s existence.
As a fellow actress, it wouldn’t make sense not to know him.
Even if his popularity was somewhat lower than hers, Taeha was also a top-tier actor in South Korea.
Achieving record-breaking ratings with every appearance and surpassing ten million moviegoers.
Moreover, Taeha not only wrote works himself but had a track record of consecutive successes with them.
Song Ji-eun couldn’t help but be aware of Taeha.
Not just aware, but she was paying very close attention to him.
Song Ji-eun, who had received the Fierce Blossoms script from her agency, touched the spot where Taeha’s name was written with trembling hands.
‘Really… a casting offer came to me?’
As if she couldn’t believe it, she repeated the same action for a while before finally starting to read the Fierce Blossoms script.
As she began reading, the strangely tense expression on Song Ji-eun’s face faded, and she regained her composure.
Even, with eyes as sharp as a predator spotting its prey, she meticulously examined the Fierce Blossoms script.
After finishing the entire first act script, a deep sigh, “Hoo-ah,” escaped Song Ji-eun’s lips.
And a bright smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
‘As expected…’
Nodding in satisfaction, Song Ji-eun immediately opened the script for the second act.
The Fierce Blossoms script that arrived for Song Ji-eun contained up to six acts in total.
And Song Ji-eun read all six acts in one sitting right there.
In her elegant and quiet study, after finishing the entire Fierce Blossoms script, Song Ji-eun finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“As expected, our Taeha’s script… is the best!”
As one might guess by now, Song Ji-eun wasn’t just paying attention to Taeha.
Surprisingly, Song Ji-eun’s hidden identity was none other than being a ‘Taecho’—a fan of Kang Tae-ha.
An actress invited to the Cannes Film Festival being a Taecho?
It wasn’t something easily believable.
But Song Ji-eun was indeed a Taecho.
Song Ji-eun first learned about Taeha during The Scattered People.
But at that time, Taeha was just one of many actors beginning to build recognition for Song Ji-eun.
It was natural for Song Ji-eun, who was already starring in female-led one-top productions and enjoying peak popularity.
However, her perception changed after seeing Taeha in Killer x Killer.
He began to be seen not just as one of many actors building recognition, but as an actor with noticeable talent.
That’s how impressive Taeha’s acting in Killer x Killer was.
To share equal screen presence with Lee Seok-hyun, a top-tier Korean actor, and not be overshadowed.
Back then, Lee Seok-hyun was an actor on a similar level as herself in Song Ji-eun’s eyes.
Even now, it didn’t feel like he was that far behind.
Yet a mere rookie actor was at this level?
Song Ji-eun couldn’t help but feel a fresh shock, and from then on, she kept a close watch on Taeha.
And when she heard through Virus that Taeha was also debuting as a drama writer, she felt a shock beyond mere freshness.
Although she debuted at a young age, Song Ji-eun had never once thought she could write a drama herself.
The very idea of an actor being a writer was shocking to her.
Thus, Taeha settled in Song Ji-eun’s heart as a larger presence than she had thought.
And through Your Brilliant Sparkle and Fight School, that presence grew larger and larger.
She gradually began to feel more than just professional respect for a colleague in the same industry due to Taeha’s versatility.
Decisively, after listening to Rebel Anthem, which topped the music charts,
“Kang Tae-ha is a genius!”
Song Ji-eun couldn’t help but shout this out without realizing it.
After that, watching the prequel We’re Getting Closer be released and dominate the music charts once again, she immediately joined Taecho.
Meaning, Song Ji-eun was a relatively new Taecho, having become a fan not long ago.
But precisely because of that, she was a Taecho whose fan passion burned hotter than anyone’s.
‘And I was planning to somehow create a connection with Taeha soon. Like requesting a cameo in his next project or something.’
Having been a fairly deep fan of an idol group before her debut, Song Ji-eun had recently come to realize that her professional position as a globally popular actress wasn’t very suitable for being a fan.
Especially the fact that she could never attend offline events like fan meetings for the rest of her life was too painful.
So, she thought of creating a connection as an actress, but…
‘For the casting offer to come to me first! And as the female lead!’
Naturally, Song Ji-eun was positive about appearing in Fierce Blossoms.
The only thing worrying her was an uncomfortable truth known to anyone who has been a fan.
It was the fact that when a fan actually meets and becomes close to the celebrity they like, the illusion can shatter, leading to disappointment.
This was precisely why Song Ji-eun decided to meet Taeha in person before confirming the casting.
If she felt even the slightest hint of potential disappointment,
‘I’ll just decline the role. It would be much better to cheer for Taeha from afar.’
Indeed, the outcome of the casting still remained to be seen.