I’m an Unknown Actress, But Everyone Knows Me - Chapter 308
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 308
“Come to think of it, what do you know. In Manchuria too, it was just completed. It was delayed because they built it together with the hospital.”
“Well. There couldn’t be a school like this one!”
Along with laughter filled with pride, the screen had already changed to a vast plain.
This place with blue skies spreading out was Manchuria. A camera stood on a tripod.
People gathered together with the school as the background. It was to take a commemorative photo before the carpenters left for Korea.
“Teacher! You must come quickly!”
“Ready! Taking the picture! Taking it!”
Huijae and Taejin stood in the center. The camera captured their brightly smiling faces as the shutter sound rang out.
Click-!
It was truly a cheerful sound.
“How do I look today? I spent a long time thinking about this skirt…”
Huijae, wearing a skirt embroidered with flowers, asked Taejin. Taejin smiled and answered.
“It suits you very well.”
“Right? This isn’t just any photo. It will be featured in newspapers too, so I can’t just appear carelessly.”
In Manchurian newspapers, and in Korean newspapers. Articles about this wonderful school would be published. And someone would carefully cut out and keep those newspapers.
Taejin understood Huijae, who had dressed up carefully with this in mind. Even knowing this, he just smiled.
“But it seemed like you closed your eyes just now.”
“What? Me? Is that really true?”
“Yes. I saw you blink at the click sound.”
So this much mischief should be okay. Taejin playfully shrugged his shoulders.
As Huijae despaired that she might appear in the newspaper with her eyes closed, children came running to her.
“Tea-cher-!”
“Let’s play now!”
The children who ran over holding paper airplanes hugged Huijae tightly. The hem of Huijae’s skirt with hibiscus flowers fluttered.
“I wrote the teacher’s name on the airplane too. This one really flies far. When you fold the corners properly, it’s amazing. I’ll give this one to you, teacher!”
Huijae, holding the brightly smiling children in her arms, said.
“What about homework? Did you finish it all?”
“…”
The children pretended not to hear. Huijae stretched the cheek of the child in her arms sideways.
“Now we even have a school! You should work harder on your homework! So when will you get 100 points on dictation!”
“Teacher is angry!”
“Let’s run away!”
Huijae’s face was bright as she ran around trying to catch the children who were laughing and running away. It was a bright smile as if she had found her stolen girlhood again.
“You like the teacher, don’t you.”
One remaining child pulled at Taejin’s shirt hem and asked. Huijae was already running far away.
Instead of turning his gaze to the child asking him, Taejin continued to look at her.
“But why don’t you tell her you like her?”
Taejin chuckled and lifted that child onto his shoulders with a “heave-ho.”
“I have to do what I need to do.”
“Will you tell her today?”
“No. I have to go to the hospital and organize the list of medical supplies that came in this time. This works out well. Since you seem to have already done your homework, help me out.”
“Ugh. That’s boring.”
Behind Taejin, Huijae was squealing and shouting with the children. A paper airplane with ‘Yeonhuijae’ written on it flew with the favorable wind.
As the child had said, it flew well under the blue sky. Seeing this, Huijae smiled brightly.
Huijae’s eyes were filled with the sky. A familiar longing briefly passed by.
* * *
Several seasons passed.
The summer when I met you, the autumn when I loved you, the winter when you left, the spring when we met again.
The summer when I met you, the autumn when I loved you, the winter when I had to leave you, the spring when we met again.
On a day when Korea was clear, Manchuria was cloudy. On days when Korea was cloudy, heavy rain fell in Manchuria. And on some other day, snow fell in Korea while meteor showers poured down in Manchuria.
Still, we’re under the same sky.
Just that alone created the habit of constantly looking up at the sky.
The two people thought of one hometown.
Since the compass held in our hearts points in the same direction, we won’t lose our way.
The seasons flowed again to the summer when I met you.
It was a series of days when the sky was particularly blue.
* * *
Taeseok looked at the sea spread wide under the blue sky. The waves sparkled in the sunlight.
He smiled alone while breathing in the salty sea scent deep into his lungs.
“Nothing has changed…”
The pier was still exactly as it was back then. It was the same as during his boyhood when Taeseok had run around tirelessly.
Taeseok, wearing a fine suit with his hands clasped behind his back, silently watched people coming and going in this place. When he turned his head, he could now see the school located on the mountainside.
It was the place he had once talked about with Huijae.
“But- if many new shops are built here and many new people come…”
The young man habitually thought of the girl.
“わけがあるんだ。(There’s a reason.)”
Huijae. You know what. Now it’s really become as you said. This place now has many new shops and many new people come.
“Because there are many people like you here. まいにち, um… people faithful to each day.”
But it’s not because there are many people like me.
It’s because you were there beside me back then.
He could see an airplane crossing the sky in the distance. Taeseok gazed at it quietly. Taeseok’s eyes were filled with the sky. Familiar longing lingered.
Just as waves never cease, just as the sea never dries up.
Taeseok’s love was just like that too.
Splash-.
As if responding to the letter Taeseok was sending in his heart, the waves sparkled. The longed-for sound of organ playing softly filled the air. Familiar music.
It was ‘Huijae.’
The poor boy didn’t become a great young man when he held the Garand rifle.
It was from when he held the hand of the girl who had approached first from beyond the wall.
So all of this is a story created by the great Yeonhuijae.
Huijae wasn’t a flower that bloomed beyond the wall. She wasn’t just a woman who was merely beautiful.
A person who makes joy bloom in the desolate hearts of countless people. My truly wonderful and beautiful first love, who ultimately makes her own will blossom.
Hoooo-.
A ship’s horn sounded. A ship that would soon dock was coming in.
“Boss-!”
Someone called him from far away. Taeseok turned toward the direction of the voice.
“A letter came from Manchuria-.”
At those words, Taeseok smiled brightly like a boy.
The profile of the young man running with the blue seaside behind him sparkled in the sunlight.
It resembled his boyhood when he ran around the pier.
With the sound of splashing waves and the longed-for organ music mixed together, the young man moved forward.
Sparkling ripples spread on both sides of the young man running forward.
That’s when it happened.
From over there,
eyes,
met.
“…”
It was a lady holding a white letter in her hand. Time seemed to have stopped. The wind blew at just the right moment.
The gesture of tucking her flowing long hair behind her ear, the fluttering hem of her skirt… and the light travel bag placed at her feet.
Only then did Taeseok finally realize.
It’s Huijae.
Huijae has returned.
Clang-. Clang-. Clang-.
Bell sounds echoed from the port.
Taeseok silently looked at her. She too looked at Taeseok who carried the sea on his shoulders.
The sound of waves from beyond embraced the two of them.
There were countless things he wanted to say. How have you been, were you not hurt, did you perhaps… want to come see me a little sooner.
Taeseok conveyed one carefully chosen phrase from all those words. His voice was trembling.
“Hello.”
It wasn’t a greeting to the girl inside the wall, but a first greeting to the lady who had returned to her hometown that had become vast and splendid. It was a greeting of love melted with desperate longing.
The sparkling seaside he had always wanted to bring her to someday.
Huijae had finally come here.
Without anyone bringing her, with her own steps, heading toward the direction pointed by the compass she carried in her heart.
She had finally returned home.
“…Hello.”
Huijae smiled brightly just like back then. A sweet sea breeze blew from somewhere. The sound of cicadas could be heard.
A smile also appeared on Taeseok’s profile bathed in sunlight.
Above it, letters announcing farewell were inscribed.
<Thank you for loving
The Great Garland all this time>
Beautiful music spread far and wide. It was the finale.
* * *
Final episode viewership rating: 44.7%.
The last flame of terrestrial broadcasting.
A masterpiece for the ages.
The final national drama.
No work could ever surpass this viewership rating again after that.
Evaluated as perfectly capturing KBC’s zeitgeist.
Never once lost the number one viewership rating during its broadcast period.
A drama that comes to mind again every winter.
Put ‘Huijae’ on the music charts every November.
The novel published afterward held the bestseller position for 82 weeks.
Critics unanimously gave it perfect scores.
Always included in lists when surveying life dramas.
Never forgotten and eternally discussed.
Ji Haebeom’s career-defining role.
Eun Baekhap’s rediscovery and representative work.
Instantly raised Shin Seojin’s recognition.
Myeong Jeha’s first drama debut work.
The opportunity for Han Yeoreum to properly make her mark with a wide range of audiences from teens to those in their 60s. The birth of the modifier ‘trustworthy Han Yeoreum’. With just 4 episodes, she gained mass appeal, topped the Gallup poll for preferred actresses in their 20s, made people suffer from Yeonhuijae syndrome in another sense, and carved the three letters ‘Yeonhuijae’ into the public’s hearts. Covered the intense shaman image and gave her the title of the nation’s first love.
Finally, <The Great Garland> ended with long-lasting tears and applause from viewers.
And at the same time.
Insane popularity began.
All the cast members’ status changed instantly.
As if they had risen to unreachable heights.
* * *
Success.
No other words came to mind besides that.
<The Great Garland> wrap party. The staff jumped for joy saying it was finally over.
Right now when applause and cheers filled with elation could be heard.
I couldn’t do anything. I felt like I was floating.
Actually, I didn’t want to be a child actor. I wanted to be Yeonhuijae longer. Four episodes weren’t enough. I thirsted for this good work. I wanted to do better. So I wanted to make everything mine.
I looked at Eun Baekhap who was staring at the TV from across the room.
‘I want to do much better… than now.’
If I go higher, once I rise that high, then…
Could I become the lead role?
Then, my eyes met with Eun Baekhap’s. Eun Baekhap, who had been staring at me for a moment, tilted her head very slightly to the side once, so subtly that you wouldn’t notice unless you were watching with interest.
I felt like she had seen through my heart.
Her attitude seemed to say, go ahead and try if you can.
My heart burned with fire.
* * *
“Crazy…”
Aetami shed tears continuously. It really ended well.
Taejin remained an incomparable second male lead, making viewers’ worries seem pointless. Taeseok’s love was consistent from beginning to end.
And most of all.
“Huijae…”
Even Huijae made her think it was good to have loved her.
Was it because she increasingly overlapped with the young Huijae toward the latter half? Everyone recalled the moment they first fell in love.
As if it was forever unforgotten and embedded in their hearts.
It was a perfect ending.
“Huijaeee!”
Aetami picked up her phone while crying loudly. Everyone seemed too busy crying during the ending to think straight.
-Are you crazy, you psychopath, are you insane ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Congratulations Fitzgerald, if you work hard you might resemble An Junmyeong a little. Congratulations Pearl Buck, you received the Nobel Junmyeong Prize. Congratulations Tolstoy, you’re not as good as Junmyeong but 1% similar. Congratulations Jane Austen, I heard you changed your name to Junmyeong Austen
Holy shit lol but yeah, it should be called the Nobel Meditation Prize
-Sorry for cursing at you all this time, Seokhwan. You were right… All those days I doubted you, but fuck, please don’t go ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Just try a little more ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Over twenty Fire Boards had exploded. It meant there were over 100,000 comments.
All the issue boards and best boards of various communities were talking about <The Great Garland>.
[Drama TALK/ Watching The Great Garland felt like riding a roller coaster the whole time]
No fucking way!!! Uh fuck…? No fucking wayㅠㅠㅠㅠ Uh fuck…!!! Infinite loop
-Anonymous 1: This is so true ㅠㅠㅠ For real, while watching the drama I kept thinking “how are they gonna handle this?” and then they’d magically resolve it somehow, then I’d think “how are they gonna handle this?” and they’d magically resolve it again lololol
ㄴAnonymous 2: This is the first drama that’s been this mentally insane… seriously…
-Anonymous 3: I’m moved to tears that they made everyone a great character with persistence until the end
ㄴAnonymous 8: For real, made it all the way to the end without losing a single one
-Anonymous 9: I’m sad that there weren’t enough lovey-dovey scenes between Taeseok and Hee-jae..ㅠ but even if there had been more romantic scenes, I don’t think I would’ve felt at ease, so I’m satisfied
-Anonymous 11: I don’t think I’ll ever forget this director’s name. When I hear news about their next work, I’ll rush over like a dog lol
Aetami put in her earphones while shedding tears. She wanted to immerse herself more in the lingering emotions just as they were.
As if everyone had the same thought, the ‘Huijae’ music video was filled with tearful comments.
-The viewers are sending off the final episode maturely without crying, really admirable
Dude, what the fuck are you talking about, you’re crying like crazy, you’re Jaseok-hwan, aren’t you
You look like a real troublemaker, must be Seokhwan. Sit down, let’s have a talk.
-Hee-jae nooooo ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ ahhhhhhh Hee-jae ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Anyone who came here crying like hell after watching the final episode?
-Seok-hwan, please send some money for mental hospital treatment fees. My finances haven’t been good because of you all this time, please…
Me me me, damn it!!! I have to get the most
Everyone please wait your turn, I’m first
Holding her aching head from crying too much, Aetami scrolled down. Had there been a work with such a passionate response in her drama fan life?
Looking back, there definitely hadn’t been.
[HOT/ (Major Spoiler) Current status of The Great Garland couple fight.jpg]
(Screenshot of child actors’ first meeting and last meeting.jpg)
Victory of the Giyeon couple
-I’m a Kang Kyungseop male lead supporter but I actually welcome this kind of ending
Me too lol Taejin was so Taejin-like until the very end
-lololololololol I’m crying but laughing my ass off at the same time…
-I who supported Giyeon from beginning to end am the winner v^___^v hehehehe ah this is hilarious
-Hey congratulations to the Gitaeseogi couple!!!fucking send me the wedding invitation
-There’s… a reason for Baker…
-Welcome to Mental Illness World Welcome to Mental Illness World
It’s so unfair, this wasn’t my choice.. I opened my eyes and found myself in a mental hospital world… it’s unfair, so unfair
Anyone who knows this song needs to get a health checkup
-But seriously the real male lead was Taejin, I won’t accept any objections
You’re still in denial lol if they showed his face for so damn long at the ending then he’s obviously the male lead
Aetami smiled quietly. Her cheeks with tear stains lifted into a bright smile.
“So this reaction is everything…”
Right now, none of the actors from 【The Great Garland】 had confirmed next projects. Only Han Yeoreum alone had multiple next projects lined up.
Riding popularity is all about timing.
Thanks to Eun Baekhap showing young Huijae’s appearance once again, viewers must be looking for somewhere to pour out their boiling affection.
Among the articles pouring out right now, what stood out particularly was the photo combining the first meeting from their child actor days with the final scene.
Every notable article was using that photo. So people could recall young Huijae once more.
“This reaction will all become our Yeoreum’s…”
She could be certain that an immeasurable trickle-down effect would occur.
“Then now is the opportunity.”
Aetami opened her laptop.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————