I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 162

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 162

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Please get on.”

 

Myeongdo and Seoryeong stepped onto a small ferry boat. This was Hyeounji, where the twilight demon resided. As fear grew, darkness devoured the village.

 

“You, stay still! This isn’t going to sink because of you, is it?”

 

Seoryeong grabbed Myeongdo’s outstretched hand and widened her eyes in fear at the small ferry boat. Myeongdo smiled softly and held onto the wobbling Seoryeong.

 

“That couldn’t possibly happen.”

 

What Seoryeong chose was to brightly illuminate the village even at night. All of Seoryeong’s fortune was spent on buying bright lanterns and setting off fireworks.

 

Myeongdo remembered Seoryeong’s words about spending all her wealth before dying someday, and he hardened at that decision. Because he realized that death was approaching right before their eyes.

 

Are you ultimately trying to keep the promise you made to die?

 

“You need to do it properly. Do it right!”

 

“Even without your rushing, I can row an oar well enough.”

 

“I don’t want to fall into the water!”

 

“I don’t particularly want to fall into the water either, so you don’t need to worry.”

 

Then, seeing Myeongdo’s expression, Seoryeong shrugged her shoulders. Then she answered that she could earn back this much money quickly later. She also got annoyed, asking what he took her for.

 

It was the first promise Seoryeong had ever made in her life. Her attitude seemed to suggest there would be a next time, and Myeongdo’s face brightened. Like a lantern in the middle of the night.

 

“Even though it’s night, it’s as bright as day.”

 

“Of course. Look how much I spent.”

 

Seoryeong and Myeongdo gazed at the lanterns that filled the sky above and fell into thought for a moment.

 

The end was approaching. Soon they would have to meet Yeomga. At the final moment, Seoryeong made up her mind. As Myeongdo had said several times, there were ways to punish Yeomga other than death.

 

Taking away her divine power and then imprisoning her. There existed an option where Seoryeong could barely keep her life.

 

“What do you want to do later?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“When everything is over, I mean. I’m asking what you want to do.”

 

“Well. I just hope the country becomes peaceful for now.”

 

Seoryeong turned her head to scold him, asking what kind of answer that was. Then Myeongdo’s gaze came straight toward her.

 

As if his eyes had been directed only toward Seoryeong from the very beginning.

 

“How much do you think I spent for that peace? Don’t say such boring things and just look at the lanterns! Such an event won’t happen twice in this rural village.”

 

Seoryeong turned her head away, grumbling for no reason. That’s when it happened. A strong wind blew and the ferry boat creaked for a moment.

 

“Ahhh…! Really row the oar properly!”

 

“Boats can sway for a moment.”

 

“You think I don’t know that? This is a very small boat! If it were a big boat, I wouldn’t be this anxious.”

 

Myeongdo laughed seeing Seoryeong trembling while still talking big. The wind rose again.

 

“Oh…! My string! My good fortune string!”

 

Because of that, the string tied to Seoryeong’s wrist came undone and flew far away. Just as Seoryeong was about to cry seeing the good fortune string floating away on the water.

 

Splash, something was thrown onto the calm water surface.

 

Myeongdo swam toward it. The splashing sound occurred several times. Seoryeong quietly watched Myeongdo’s back as he cut through the darkness. Myeongdo returned to the ferry boat with the string that had fallen in the water in his hand.

 

“It got a bit wet, but… I’ll tie it back on for you.”

 

Afraid the boat might tilt if he climbed back up, Myeongdo couldn’t even get on the same boat and was still submerged in the water. Seoryeong looked down at Myeongdo like that.

 

A night when the moonlight was broken. The lanterns of two people who couldn’t even write their wishes before releasing them beautifully decorated the sky, and it was a moment when one side of their hearts became bright.

 

“Why are you doing that?”

 

“…”

 

“Ah, if you don’t like it touching you because it’s wet, I can hold it separately for a while until it dries…”

 

“Your wound hasn’t completely healed yet.”

 

Seoryeong’s hand slowly approached Myeongdo’s hand as he held out the dripping string. Their fingertips overlapped. It seemed like she was trying to take back the string, or maybe trying to hold onto Myeongdo.

 

“They said you shouldn’t go in the water.”

 

On the day Prince Seonghui’s soldiers conducted their search, Myeongdo faced several well-trained men with just one sword to shake them off. The wound from being cut by the sword still hadn’t healed. Soon the affected area that touched water would become infected.

 

There was no way Myeongdo, being a warrior, didn’t know this fact. He was a man who had been closer to swords than anyone.

 

“Yes. I know that much too.”

 

“Who asked you to retrieve my good fortune string?”

 

Seoryeong spoke with a trembling voice. At the fingertips still holding the good fortune string, Myeongdo’s fingers were precariously touching.

 

Myeongdo looked at Seoryeong. His gaze contained affection.

 

“Are you worried about me?”

 

“…What worry, it’s just that it would be troublesome if you got sick.”

 

“Is that so.”

 

Myeongdo smiled brightly. It was a smile as if he understood all of Seoryeong’s heart. The lantern light descended as if warmly caressing Myeongdo’s face.

 

“I did it without knowing, so please forgive me this once.”

 

“…”

 

“Because I know it’s something you cherish.”

 

Myeongdo slowly took Seoryeong’s hand that was touching his fingertips. His large hand enveloped her small hand as if embracing it. As if that alone was satisfying.

 

“…”

 

Silence fell over the filming set. Jjang Director, holding the megaphone, should have called cut, but couldn’t.

 

“It’s too… beautiful a story…”

 

Because he was crying. The staff members were also covering their mouths with both hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kwon Junhyeok’s blinking status window shone under the lanterns.

 

At this moment, he wasn’t Kwon Junhyeok but Myeongdo. A man who would throw himself into cold water without hesitation for the woman in his heart, even if the affected area became infected and he suffered from fever.

 

A beautiful scene was captured forever within Dokgo Min’s frame. And the office worker who witnessed all of this thought once again.

 

That he did well to come.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“This is crazy.”

 

This was Daily Media located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. All the reporters were looking at their laptop screens and shaking their heads.

 

“They’re all really crazy…”

 

The reporters were all spaced out.

 

 

 

[TVM, final episode at movie theaters? Horror to hit this summer coming]

 

[ heading straight to ten million like this… ‘Shortest period to 7 million’]

 

 

 

The movies JC ENM invested in and the dramas they produced devoured this year. Promotional videos were released almost daily.

 

“That ticketing was yesterday, right?”

 

“Don’t even mention it. My friends are begging me to sell them invitation tickets, saying they’ll pay extra.”

 

“But watching it at the movie theater will probably be incredible. Right?”

 

The ticketing for final episode was really fierce. More so than stage greetings with top-tier actors.

 

Reporter Wi from Drama Duck B, who had to watch the final episode in real time and film reaction videos, looked at the screen with dead fish eyes.

 

‘Damn… I should have gone…’

 

Aetami ultimately succeeded. It was the result of hiring twelve mercenaries. Reporter Wi swallowed his tears for a moment.

 

“Han Yeoreum is really doing well. It feels like yesterday when she came for an interview photo shoot last year, wow.”

 

“I heard she’s being considered for ?”

 

“If Jegal Rok pushes for her, she’ll probably become Eun Baekhap’s child role. I mean, right? There’s no rising star like her these days.”

 

Someone interjected, saying “Hey, that’s not right.”

 

“If Gi Juye comes charging in with Chinese money backing her, that’ll be dangerous.”

 

“Ah, right… Her Chinese fandom was pretty strong, wasn’t it? I heard quite a bit of Chinese investment went into too. For overseas distribution rights.”

 

The conversation had somehow circled back around to Do Gyeoul.

 

“But when all is said and done, it’s Do Gyeoul. You know Netflix Japan? has been holding the #1 spot there this whole time.”

 

“So when they enter the Korean market later, Netflix will probably contact Do Gyeoul first, right?”

 

“Probably? And I heard she’s looking at various scripts, wanting to do a historical drama. She’s really rowing hard while the tide’s coming in.”

 

With various works exploding in popularity after so long, the entertainment reporters were absolutely thrilled. Whatever they wrote, public interest was guaranteed to follow.

 

“So, how should we handle this?”

 

They were currently ranking ‘Stars to Look Forward to in the Second Half.’ The Daily Media reporters who had been discussing female celebrities finally settled on their rankings.

 

Joint 1st place: Do Gyeoul, Han Yeoreum

 

Han Yeoreum, who had been listed at the bottom, had shot up the rankings. It was a terrifyingly fast rise.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

And then, the final filming day for dawned.

 

Yeoreum felt as if she had been dreaming, as if every moment had been flowing backwards. She had to laugh right after crying, had to want to be close after maintaining distance.

 

“Wow! We all worked so hard! Right!”

 

Jjang Director also seemed bittersweet as he shouted loudly. He couldn’t hide the bright smile on his face. was an unprecedented drama. It was rewriting every record in cable drama history.

 

“Hurry up and film! Today we’re all drinking like crazy!”

 

The staff members laughed loudly too. The generous atmosphere unique to successful sets was in the air. The magic hour just before sunset. They had to capture the scene during that time.

 

“Since it’s the last day, I’ll film something extra special for you.”

 

The Lighting Director, who had approached my side, extended his fist. I politely bumped fists with him. He was a director who had worked with us on too.

 

“We had a conversation among ourselves.”

 

“Huh? What conversation?”

 

“About which agency we thought Yeoreum would join back then.”

 

Ah, right. I didn’t have an agency back then. Even though only a year has passed, maybe because I’ve been living so busily, my memory is hazy.

 

“So which one did you bet on, Director? Bon Actors? Jeongdam? LM?”

 

“None of those three.”

 

“Then where?”

 

The Lighting Director smiled while watching the rails being set up.

 

“Just. I said you’d go somewhere really good. Though I didn’t know JC would create a whole label to bring you in.”

 

The busy filming set. Thinking that I had to say goodbye to this place now made me feel bittersweet somehow. I remembered the final filming day of .

 

Running down mountain paths in layers of hanbok under the blazing midsummer sun, reading lines again in a daze, waiting for the meal truck, getting bitten by mosquitoes and bugs. Living as Seoryeong.

 

Now it was all ending.

 

“But nobody disagreed with what I said. We all knew it deep down. That Yeoreum would do well.”

 

“Ah, are you trying to make me cry before filming? If you do this, I’ll really cry.”

 

“I’m not telling you to cry. Just saying that’s what we thought.”

 

The Lighting Director nodded matter-of-factly. I could see the staff members who had been moving busily doing their final checks.

 

“Director-!”

 

“Oh! Coming!”

 

Just then, someone called for the Lighting Director. He patted my shoulder and headed toward the bright lights.

 

“Thank you for being Seoryeong. It’s been so long since… I worked on a project that made all the hard work worthwhile. Yeah, thanks to you. Yeoreum, your next project will do well too.”

 

It was obvious he’d been debating whether to say those words for a very long time. There were letters smudged on the director’s palm as he walked toward the lights.

 

“Your cheat sheet is way too obvious.”

 

This makes it even harder to say goodbye…

 

“Yeoreum! Let’s do the blocking rehearsal once more!”

 

“Yes! Coming!”

 

Still, it was time to finish things with Seoryeong. Let’s go meet Huijae.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was beautiful. There were no other words that came to mind to describe it. Since it was the final filming day, Geum Bitkang had graciously come out.

 

‘The making-of cameras are rolling too, and I should at least attend the annoying wrap party.’

 

The time when the riverside was being dyed in sweet orange light. It was the scene where Seoryeong and Myeongdo embrace. Perhaps because it was the final filming day, everyone was putting in extra effort. They laid rail after rail, even brought in drones to film overhead shots, really going all out.

 

Geum Bitkang had been present at countless such sets, so she should be used to it, even sick of it by now.

 

“Cut!”

 

The sound of the slate clapping.

 

“Everyone, great work!”

 

Starting with the Director’s words, everyone hugged each other, exchanged formal pleasantries about working hard, and shouted in the emotion that all the grueling schedule was finally over.

 

“Yeoreum! Hey, you’re crying the moment you heard ‘cut’?”

 

“Sniff… What should I do… I don’t want it to end…”

 

The lead actors holding bouquets were in tears, desperately not wanting to part with their characters. These were all moments Geum Bitkang had experienced before. Nothing particularly noteworthy.

 

Kwon Junhyeok and Han Yeoreum were sobbing. Geum Bitkang briefly recalled the past. Herself, unable to accept partings, caressing scripts alone even after filming ended.

 

“Professor!”

 

Han Yeoreum, who spotted Geum Bitkang while crying, came running over. Geum Bitkang unconsciously took an awkward stance, neither pushing away nor fully accepting Han Yeoreum’s approach.

 

From within the tight embrace, she could feel a heartbeat.

 

“Let’s meet again next time. Then… *sob* From the script reading, you’ll have no choice but to say I did well… *sniff*”

 

“What next time.”

 

“There are still so many projects I want to create with you, Professor.”

 

August. 100% humidity. Temperature well over 30 degrees, weather that made you sweat just standing still.

 

This impudent student who embraced me with her warm 36.5-degree body temperature kept demanding a next time while crying. Because of Han Yeoreum embracing me with her back to the river, the wide riverside came into Geum Bitkang’s view.

 

“Fine, now let go.”

 

“Really?”

 

The sunlight melted and sparkled. An unbearable brightness approached Geum Bitkang’s eyes.

 

“I said let go.”

 

Maybe she had actually wanted someone to hold onto her like this. Geum Bitkang smiled gently while acting annoyed.

 

“But I want to hold on just a little longer… Honestly, you don’t want to part with me either, Professor… *sniff*… I know everything…”

 

Would Han Yeoreum, who was struggling to part with her first 16-episode series, be like this for her next project too? Even after getting used to leading roles and having moderate success guaranteed?

 

Geum Bitkang decided to postpone retirement for a while, if only out of curiosity about how her student would change. She looked forward to the day when Han Yeoreum, who grew day by day, would surpass her.

 

It was an emotion she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

 

In the hot, humid air with the sound of cicadas and Seoryeong crying. On the golden, sparkling riverside on one of Han Yeoreum’s days, finally finished filming.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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