Chapter 57
The main character, Cha Seungjae, along with Gu Bonjik, who played the Left State Councillor, Yoon Hwaseon, who played the Queen, and Park Junsang, who played the new historian, would have their costumes and makeup checked separately on another day.
Therefore, once Gil Boyoung, Moon Hyunbin, and Han Hyejoo finished their fittings, today’s costume and makeup checks would be completely finished.
The costume and makeup teams hurried to change the three actors into their costumes so they could finish the checks before the reading.
While Gil Boyoung and Moon Hyunbin were changing, Ma Sanghee busily went around greeting the directing and production teams and handing out the drinks she had brought.
“Hello.
I’m Ma Sanghee, the manager of Moon Hyunbin and Gil Boyoung.
Please take good care of our Hyunbin and Boyoung from now on, and if there’s anything you need, please contact me.
Thank you.”
The first person to finish changing was Moon Hyunbin, who played the Crown Prince.
**“Bravo!
As expected, when someone has such perfect proportions, anything looks good on them.
How does a hanbok have such a fit?
Is this some kind of magic?”**
Script supervisor Hwang Hyunhee, who was standing a little distance away, couldn’t stop praising Moon Hyunbin as he came out wearing the Crown Prince’s symbol, the four-clawed dragon robe.
“These shoes seem a little small…”
“Huh?
Really?
Are they very small?”
“Not that much…”
When Moon Hyunbin slightly frowned as if the shoes were uncomfortable, the costume team leader nodded as if she understood and made a note of it.
After finishing his costume check, Moon Hyunbin left.
A short while later, Gil Boyoung came out after changing her clothes and approached the costume team leader with Ma Sanghee supporting her.
At that moment, everyone’s eyes in the room turned toward Gil Boyoung.
Wearing a pure white jeogori beneath a beautiful jade-colored dangui, Boyoung looked incredibly elegant and dignified.
“Boyoung, how does it feel?
Is anything uncomfortable?”
“I’m not sure.
Everything else is fine, but I think the skirt is a little too long.”
Gil Boyoung lifted the long skirt with her hand as she answered the costume team leader.
“That can’t really be helped.
It needs to drag a little to look elegant.
But Team Leader Jung, isn’t that hair ornament a little too flashy for this outfit?”
The costume team leader and the hair and makeup team leader gathered around Gil Boyoung and continued discussing various things.
I was setting out drinks and simple snacks on the table for the actors and staff to have during the reading.
But when I saw Gil Boyoung looking so graceful and dignified, as if she had just time-slipped from the royal court of the Joseon Dynasty, I found myself staring blankly at her.
That was when it happened.
**“You’re completely mesmerized.
Completely mesmerized.”**
Han Hyejoo, who had changed her clothes without me noticing, was suddenly standing there and looking at me with a pout.
Wearing an outfit embroidered with a magnificent phoenix in golden thread, Han Hyejoo looked the very definition of splendor and arrogance.
“Who’s mesmerized…?
Ahem…”
Feeling slightly embarrassed, I pretended to be calm and quickly finished arranging the drinks and snacks on the table.
“You must be thrilled that Boyoung Unnie became the Crown Princess.
Hmph.
When I became Consort Seo, even the congratulatory text you sent me was all a lie.”
If Gil Boyoung looked like someone from the Joseon Dynasty who had time-slipped into the modern era, then Han Hyejoo looked exactly like the kind of person the modern-day Han Hyejoo would become if she traveled back to the Joseon Dynasty.
I could understand why Director Park Junbeom had chosen Han Hyejoo rather than Gil Boyoung to play Consort Seo.
Just as I was thinking that, Han Hyejoo followed closely behind me as I worked and spoke.
**“You really only like her as a fan, right?
You don’t like Boyoung Unnie as a woman, do you?”**
“That’s not it.”
I answered casually.
“Really?”
At Han Hyejoo’s probing question, I eventually stopped what I was doing and turned toward her.
Han Hyejoo stared quietly at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?
What answer do you want?”
“The truth.”
Ha.
The truth?
What is this, some movie line?
I let out a short sigh at Han Hyejoo before continuing.
“Even if there were some other truth, would I have any obligation to answer you?”
Han Hyejoo lowered the corners of her eyes as if my somewhat cold tone had hurt her.
Then she suddenly became irritated and furrowed her brows.
“Fine!
How petty.”
She turned her head away with a sharp motion.
Ha.
What a temper…
I found her behavior ridiculous.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but smile because Han Hyejoo’s thoughts were so simple that I could read them immediately.
That was when it happened.
“So the two of you were together.”
Gil Boyoung, who had finished her costume check and was on her way to the changing room, noticed Han Hyejoo and me and approached us.
She was smiling, but there was a strange sense of wariness in her eyes.
Han Hyejoo spoke first.
“Ah, Boyoung Unnie.
I heard that you were cast as the Crown Princess in this production.
Congratulations.”
“Thank you.
And congratulations to you too for becoming Consort Seo.”
The two exchanged calm congratulations.
Yet somehow, I felt every nerve in my body become tense as I listened to their conversation.
“Noona, are you all finished?
You heard that Section TV is coming to film today, right?”
“Yeah.
I was told.
But we’re not doing the interview anyway…”
“Exactly.
It would be nice if you could appear on the broadcast while we’re at it.
People still don’t know that you’re making your comeback.”
I tried to ease the strange chill between Gil Boyoung and Han Hyejoo by throwing out various topics.
Then it happened.
Han Hyejoo spoke to Gil Boyoung in her characteristically drawn-out tone.
“But Unnie, actually, I was a little surprised when I heard you had been cast as the Crown Princess.”
Ah.
Why is she talking like that again…
I instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Han Hyejoo continued when Gil Boyoung looked at her as if asking what she meant.
“No…
Even if you were desperate for a role, I never thought you would so readily accept a role in a movie where you failed the audition.
Especially when the role you got is even less important than the role you auditioned for.
If it were me, I don’t think I could do it, even if it hurt my pride.”
At Han Hyejoo’s provocative words, Ma Sanghee immediately stepped forward as if she was about to demand why Han Hyejoo was saying such things.
I quickly grabbed Ma Sanghee’s arm and stopped her.
There were too many people watching right now.
I shook my head, telling her that this wasn’t the time to step in.
Understanding what I meant, Ma Sanghee forced herself to calm down and stepped back.
This was an industry where smoke rose even when there was no fire.
A single word could create all kinds of speculation and rumors.
There was no reason to create the impression that two actresses were already fighting for dominance before the movie had even started filming.
Despite Han Hyejoo’s provocation, Gil Boyoung remained unusually calm.
There wasn’t even the slightest sign of her being shaken.
**“Thank you for worrying about me, but I don’t know…
Maybe it’s because I don’t think the Crown Princess role is inferior to Consort Seo.
I’m simply happy that I was cast in a better role than the one I auditioned for.”**
At Gil Boyoung’s calm attitude from beginning to end, Han Hyejoo unconsciously clenched her molars.
“Ah…
Really?
Then that’s good…”
Gil Boyoung stared at Han Hyejoo.
There was a clear determination in her eyes.
It was as if she had decided that she would no longer be shaken by such childish provocations.
Just as their gazes became strangely sharp toward each other, someone called out.
“Hyejoo.
If you’ve finished changing, come over here.”
It was the costume team leader calling her.
Only then did Han Hyejoo finally take her eyes off Gil Boyoung and turn away.
Then, as if taking out her frustration on the man who appeared to be her manager and was carrying her belongings, she said,
“Oppa, what are you doing?
Hold my skirt.
It’s dragging.”
As if he were accustomed to situations like this, the manager quickly lifted Han Hyejoo’s hanbok skirt so that it wouldn’t drag and headed toward the costume team leader.
Gil Boyoung watched Han Hyejoo with a deep gaze.
“Let’s go too, Boyoung.”
At Ma Sanghee’s words, Gil Boyoung glanced at me for a moment before moving toward the changing room.
Watching Gil Boyoung’s back, I unconsciously swallowed hard.
Ha.
Is this what it feels like to have all your energy drained?
More importantly, they’re not going to act like this every time they meet on set, are they?
That would be a disaster…
My eyelids felt as heavy as lead.
More than twenty actors were packed around the long table set up in the center of the studio.
Behind them sat an even larger number of producers and staff.
After a brief introduction, the actual script reading began.
The actors each looked down at the scripts spread across the table and slowly immersed themselves in their respective characters.
Sometimes they delivered their lines seriously.
Other times, they nodded as they deepened their understanding of their characters.
Then the reading reached a scene where Gil Boyoung and Han Hyejoo had a conversation.
Perhaps it was because everyone was curious and excited to compare the performances of the two actresses who had both started as child actors.
The attention of everyone gathered there seemed more focused than ever.
“Gwiin, stop right there.”
At Gil Boyoung’s firm yet restrained words, the atmosphere inside the studio changed instantly.
“Stop?
Ha.
What have I done that you’re telling me to stop?”
**“Please stop influencing His Majesty any further.
I’m asking you…”**
Her voice was filled with gentleness as she desperately suppressed her anger.
“Ha.
You want me to stop influencing him?
Do you truly believe I have been influencing His Majesty?
No.
The ones influencing His Majesty are the Crown Prince and the Left State Councillor!”
“Gwiin!”
“You told me to stop?
If you truly want me to stop, then Crown Princess, why don’t you stop me yourself?”
“Do you think I can’t?”
“I am different from the Queen.”
“Hohoho.
Really?
Then why don’t you try it?!”
For a moment, it felt as though sparks were flying from the gazes the two women exchanged.
Perhaps it was because of what had happened during the costume check earlier.
Even though I knew they were only acting, their sharp gazes toward each other somehow made me nervous.
And so, the scene where the pride and lives of Gil Boyoung and Han Hyejoo collided came to an end.
As for Gil Boyoung’s acting, there was no need to say anything.
But since this was the first time I had actually seen Han Hyejoo act, I was slightly surprised by how good her performance was.
Then why did I remember Han Hyejoo from before my regression as an actress who had little interest in acting and mainly appeared in commercials?
While I was lost in thought, Cha Seungjun, sitting beside me, lightly tapped me and gestured with his eyes for me to come outside.
Come to think of it, Production Manager Choi Sunhwa, Kim G i nam, and Moon Changsu had already gone outside and were no longer in their seats.
Trying not to disturb the reading as much as possible, I quietly followed Cha Seungjun out of the studio.
A group of unfamiliar people carrying cameras was waiting at the entrance.
It was the Section TV team that had come to film today.
