Taeha wasn’t particularly surprised when his name was called among the formidable nominees for the Best Actor (Male) award in the TV category.
After all, Taeha knew he was a strong contender for this award.
That was why he could calmly walk up to the podium and deliver his acceptance speech.
As planned, his speech was short, containing words of gratitude and a message of encouragement for the youth.
It was a small consideration for someone receiving an award for the first time at this ceremony.
After all, Taeha had already said everything he wanted to say at this same event last year.
Amid the applause, Taeha finished accepting the Best Actor (Male) award, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘Simply receiving this award means I’ve been recognized for growing more than before.’
Previously, Taeha had received the Best New Actor (Male) award in the Film category and the Best Screenplay award in the TV category at the Baek-am Art Awards.
From that perspective, receiving the Best Actor (Male) award, even if it was in the TV category,
was essentially an acknowledgment that Taeha had made significant growth in his acting.
For an actor, there was no greater honor imaginable.
But Taeha’s awards didn’t end there.
His name was called once more among the nominees for Best Screenplay in the TV category.
‘Ah…’
Taeha was slightly surprised by this fact but quickly understood the reason.
After all, among today’s Screenplay nominees, the one who had left the biggest mark as a writer was clearly Taeha.
This was evident just by looking at the nominees: Lee Hyun-seung and Park Hee-jeong of Fight School.
The two of them also stood up to give Taeha a round of applause, their expressions showing complete acceptance of the results.
After exchanging grateful handshakes with them, Taeha headed to the podium once more.
He delivered an even shorter acceptance speech than before.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to receive the Screenplay award two years in a row, so I’m truly happy.
I’ll take this as a sign to keep striving and work even harder. Thank you.”
With that, Taeha returned to his seat, and soon after, another piece of good news was announced.
Im Kyung-ho, who had directed the set of Your Brilliant Sparkle, received the Best Director award in the TV category.
This was a remarkable achievement following Han Woo-ri and the Best New Actor (Male) award, and Han Seul-gi receiving the Best Actress (Female) award before Taeha claimed the first honor of the year.
Of course, this wasn’t included in Taeha’s personal awards.
But since the actors and staff who had worked hard together on Your Brilliant Sparkle and Fight School were receiving awards, he couldn’t help but be happy.
In fact, he felt even happier than when he received an award himself.
However, too many awards were being distributed to Your Brilliant Sparkle and Fight School,
making it difficult to be confident about winning the Grand Prize and Best Picture.
‘The fact that the TV category Art Award went to a different work is proof of that.’
Just as Taeha was lowering his expectations.
The winner of the Best Picture award was finally announced.
“The winner of the TV Drama Best Picture award is… Your Brilliant Sparkle, directed by Im Kyung-ho and written by Kang Tae-ha!”
Your Brilliant Sparkle receiving the Best Picture award.
It was something he never expected.
That’s why this time, even Taeha couldn’t hide his expression and was visibly surprised.
Even Im Kyung-ho seemed shocked, his face completely frozen on camera.
But thanks to the host Seo Jeong-yeop’s remarks, they couldn’t stay that way for long.
“Director Im Kyung-ho, Writer Kang Tae-ha. I understand you’re surprised, but one of you needs to come up to the podium quickly.”
With Seo Jeong-yeop’s characteristic witty hosting, Im Kyung-ho finally went up to the podium as the representative and delivered his acceptance speech.
“Last year and this year, so many great works were loved by viewers that I never thought we’d receive the Best Picture award. I’m amazed.”
Indeed, what Im Kyung-ho said was true.
Your Brilliant Sparkle, whose highest viewership rating remained at 19.2% without ever reaching the 20% mark, didn’t have very favorable odds at this year’s Baek-am Art Awards.
It wasn’t as tough as last time when High Level recorded a peak of 26.3%,
but excellent works had still received a lot of love last year and this year.
Even Fight School, which boasted a peak rating of 20.6%, was a work no less impressive than Your Brilliant Sparkle.
But the judges of the Baek-am Art Awards seemed to have rated Your Brilliant Sparkle‘s artistic value even higher.
From a certain perspective, Fight School could be said to have had bad luck with the matchups.
While Taeha was thinking, Im Kyung-ho continued his acceptance speech.
“And I’m happy. That Your Brilliant Sparkle has received this recognition among such excellent works. Everyone, actors and staff, you’ve worked so hard, and thank you once again. I especially want to dedicate this honor to Taeha, our main writer and the true protagonist of our work. Please write a romantic comedy next time instead of a historical drama, Taeha. Thank you!”
Im Kyung-ho’s acceptance speech, which even ended with a touch of wit, was met with a round of applause.
Naturally, the camera turned to Taeha’s face.
It was a camera move intended to capture Taeha’s flustered expression.
But Taeha wasn’t flustered. Instead, he winked at the camera, expressing his joy at winning the Best Picture award.
In truth, this reaction was to be expected from Taeha.
He had often heard similar remarks before, so Im Kyung-ho’s comment wasn’t all that surprising.
That’s how Taeha was able to maintain his composure, and this image left a deep impression on viewers watching the Baek-am Art Awards live.
They once again felt the ease of a top-tier actor from Taeha.
But that ease didn’t last long.
“The winner of the TV category Grand Prize is… Your Brilliant Sparkle, directed by Im Kyung-ho and written by Kang Tae-ha!”
Because his name was called once more.
The Grand Prize.
This time, even Taeha couldn’t yield the acceptance speech solely to Im Kyung-ho.
Not only Taeha and Im Kyung-ho, but all the actors and staff who participated in the production of Your Brilliant Sparkle went up on stage to share the joy of winning the Grand Prize.
And finally, the microphone was handed to Taeha.
“Thank you… truly.”
Taeha choked up, suppressing the surge of emotion as he expressed his gratitude.
And he couldn’t say anything more.
Because he never thought they would win the Grand Prize like this.
But that short, impactful sentence contained Taeha’s sincerity,
and everyone present and watching at home received it.
***
In conclusion, this year’s Baek-am Art Awards became a celebration for Taeha.
After all, Your Brilliant Sparkle and Fight School swept a total of seven categories.
As expected, articles related to this poured out after the Baek-am Art Awards ended.
[Baek-am Has Recognized Him! Kang Tae-ha Sweeps Trophies in 7 Categories…]
[4 Individual Awards! The Reason Kang Tae-ha Keeps Achieving Success!]
[Your Brilliant Sparkle, Fight School… Kang Tae-ha Ascends as the Brightest Star of Last Year!]
As a result, expectations for Byeonghwa naturally rose as well.
[Writer and Actor Kang Tae-ha’s Unprecedented Moves! Now It’s Byeonghwa‘s Turn!]
[Kang Tae-ha Wins 7 Categories at Baek-am Art Awards! When Is His Next Project?]
[Will He Succeed Again? Viewers Eagerly Await Kang Tae-ha’s Return…]
This was an unexpected effect for Taeha.
But even in this situation, the most important thing was to safely finish the remaining filming of Byeonghwa.
Now, only the filming of episodes 23 and 24 remained.
First, episode 23 leaps forward in time, covering the period after the Imjin War and the Jeongyu War have all ended.
Late at night, Gwon Yul, looking somewhat drained, is busily writing something on a report.
As he’s in the middle of writing, two people appear, making their presence known.
It’s Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye.
“What brings you here this late?”
As Gwon Yul puts down his brush and asks, Kim Seong-wol speaks.
“We’ve come to say our goodbyes.”
“…Goodbyes? We’ve only just ended the war and are catching our breath. Where are you planning to go?”
“The war may be over, but the suffering of the people because of it hasn’t disappeared. We two now plan to leave this place and help them.”
Gwon Yul is surprised by their determination to help the people but hides it as he replies.
“There is plenty of work awaiting your help at the court as well.”
But Kim Seong-wol firmly shakes his head.
“Everyone has their rightful place. The affairs of the court don’t suit either of us.”
“Didn’t you two perform more brilliantly than anyone in the war?”
“We were simply trying to survive as ordinary people. So please, allow us to return to where we truly belong.”
Gwon Yul looks down at the report he had been writing, his eyes trembling.
The report lists the achievements of Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye in detail.
Gwon Yul had been using his last strength to write this report so that the two could receive rewards from the court.
But Gwon Yul, who had served the court as Commander-in-Chief after the Imjin War, thinks for a moment and then makes up his mind.
“Very well. You two have always made the right decisions.”
“General…”
“Go. I trust that your purpose lies wherever you are.”
Thus, Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye leave the center of Joseon and blend into the lives of the people.
After finishing their reconstruction work, the two finally hold their wedding ceremony.
Episode 24 progresses from the perspective of a brother and sister.
The protagonist is the older brother, whose outstanding beauty makes him the center of attention in the village,
and his younger sister, who has beauty to match but knows nothing but hunting.
“Brother! Are you going to keep this up?”
“Keep what up?”
“Are you going to keep flirting with the village girls instead of going hunting?”
“With you here who loves hunting so much, what need do I have to help?”
“Ugh, seriously.”
The two couldn’t be more mismatched.
Just then, news reaches them.
They hear that the adults, who had gone to trade with the neighboring village, have been stranded due to a tiger attack.
Among those adults are the brother and sister’s parents.
Realizing the severity of the situation, the two act as if they’d never fought and each sling a bow over their shoulders.
They face the tiger in the mountains.
They use various traps to immobilize the tiger and fire arrows, but it’s not enough.
Just as the siblings are about to fall into danger,
whoosh!
A black figure swiftly saves the two.
And the owner of that black figure reveals themselves.
It’s Han Seung-hye.
“Who in the world do these kids take after to be so reckless?”
“Mother!”
Sighing in relief, the siblings embrace Han Seung-hye.
But the tiger seizes the opportunity and charges.
However,
thwip— thud!
An arrow strikes the tiger perfectly between the eyes.
Surprisingly, the one who shot the arrow is Kim Seong-wol, who had been hiding in a tree.
“Who do they take after. They take after you.”
“Father!”
This time, the siblings embrace Kim Seong-wol.
That’s right.
The siblings were the children of Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye.
“Let’s go.”
Leaving the tiger’s corpse behind, Kim Seong-wol and Han Seung-hye begin to descend the mountain with the siblings.
“Father. Please tell us the story of how you met Mother today.”
“Oh. It’s a long story. Well, it happened like this…”
“You’re actually going to tell them that?”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed? I’m just wondering if it’s right for the kids to hear about you pestering me.”
“Pestering you? You were the one who liked me but pretended not to and acted all cold.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Of course not! It’s all lies!”
“Ha ha ha.”
As the sun sets, the journey of Byeonghwa finally comes to an end.