The Chaebol Family’s Youngest Daughter Doesn’t Hide Her Acting Skills - Chapter 14
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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 14
Dojehyeon was tired of the entertainment industry.
No, to be precise, he was tired of enduring the expectations people placed on him.
He had talent overflowing. He achieved a solid filmography while receiving the highest pay among child actors, but somewhere in his heart felt empty.
When he was exhausted by those who approached him only looking at his fame, he received the script for 【Your Blue Name】.
The male protagonist Yu Hajin. A character who receives all the expectations of the village elders in the countryside, but whose heart is always empty.
The burden, the deficiency, the strangely annoying appearance, the weakness of being tired of the village but unable to think of leaving.
The elements that made up Yu Hajin were exactly like himself, unable to leave the entertainment industry.
‘I think I know why you sent me the script asking me to check it out.’
Jehyeon could understand why Writer Choi insisted on him even through four auditions.
The only actor who could portray Yu Hajin richly was undoubtedly Dojehyeon.
While preparing for the audition, he dug deep into the character settings and emotional lines for a long time.
Unlike Yu Hajin, who was kind on the outside but found people’s love bothersome, Yeon Doyeon was prickly on the outside but actually wanted to be loved by anyone.
Young Yu Hajin realizes through such Doyeon that love and attention aren’t necessarily useless things.
After harboring feelings of wanting to give and receive love with Doyeon, who was indifferent but didn’t push him away, Hajin grows greatly emotionally.
Suddenly, Dojehyeon thought he envied Yu Hajin.
‘If someone like Yeon Doyeon would appear for me too…’
It didn’t matter who it was, but if a moment came when he wanted to receive interest and love from someone.
Would this entertainment industry be a little less tedious? Could he grow more?
If he couldn’t find such a person in reality, he wanted to become Yu Hajin himself and experience Yeon Doyeon.
The reason he didn’t like Ju Sae-i, who landed the role of Yeon Doyeon through connections without any effort, was all because of that.
But why did the image of Doyeon he had drawn in his mind while analyzing the script with Ju Sae-i several times seem to overlap?
‘…It must be my imagination.’
Anyway, once the reading started, he would naturally lose interest in Ju Sae-i, so it was fine.
“Now that introductions are done, let’s start reading Episode 1 today!”
When Director Woo Byeong-hwa’s instruction fell, the actors opened the scripts placed at their seats.
Meanwhile, Ju Sae-i kept rustling beside him. She moved busily and then pulled out a thick bundle of papers from her bag.
There wasn’t a single thing about her that wasn’t annoying.
‘What is she trying to do when the reading is starting?’
Dojehyeon, who turned his head to give her a hint, froze in place.
What Ju Sae-i had taken out was a script book covered with sticky notes. It was full of tiny handwriting everywhere.
***
Ju Sae-i had been waiting for this moment.
To be able to show Yeon Doyeon according to her interpretation in front of the seniors and production team!
Just imagining it made her heart race, so she had analyzed the script whenever she had spare time.
‘First opening~’
Bringing out the script book that had become thick from all her efforts for the first time on set made her confidence soar.
She could feel Dojehyeon staring intently at her from beside, but Sae-i didn’t mind.
After taking several deep breaths, the signal to start was given. Whoo, Sae-i closed her eyes and let out a shallow sigh.
‘…Let’s think of Yeon Doyeon.’
The beginning of Episode 1 was centered on the narration of elementary student Yeon Doyeon’s child actor and Park Yeon-hui, who played the grown-up Yeon Doyeon.
Before her turn came, Sae-i recalled the Yeon Doyeon she had grasped so far.
A seventeen-year-old who was picky but had a gentle side when you looked closely, like a cat.
A child who desperately cherished each glance her mother occasionally threw her way, because her brother, three years older, monopolized their mother’s attention.
A genius whose academic talent should have been revealed long ago but was buried because of this.
A fragile teenager who always told her friends everywhere that she wished her brother would disappear, but never thought her brother, who got into Daehan University, the country’s top prestigious university, would actually die…
‘…This should be enough.’
Yeon Doyeon’s characteristics fit together like puzzle pieces inside Sae-i.
Just then, it was time for seventeen-year-old Doyeon to appear.
Sae-i closed the script she had spread out. She clenched her fists tightly with her eyes closed to clear her mind. Opening her eyes again, she, who had become Yeon Doyeon, opened her mouth.
“Brother is so lucky. I could never get that kind of attention even if I died.”
A clear yet somewhat blunt tone.
Even though she didn’t speak loudly, her voice filled the reading room, making the behind-the-scenes production team staff check on Sae-i.
“Hey, team leader. She’s delivering lines without looking at the script right now, right?”
“No missed stage directions either. Hey, we brought in a pretty good kid.”
Writer Choi Gi-jeong’s dialogue tended to have quite long breathing patterns.
So at the first reading where the script wasn’t fully memorized, most actors couldn’t take their eyes off the script.
“The chemistry with Dojehyeon looks good too. Hey, doesn’t this look like video material? An incredibly talented new child actor discovered by Choi Gi-jeong.”
While the behind-the-scenes production team unanimously nodded at the team leader’s words, Doyeon’s reading continued.
“Brother doesn’t know because he gets to enjoy everything. Look at me, when I got a perfect score without even going to academy last time, do you know what mom said?”
“…What did she say?”
“She told me not to tell brother. Said it would stress him out. But now that he got into university, it should be okay to tell him, right?”
The one who had been taking care of Doyeon all this time instead of their mother who favored one child was Yeon Do-hun, her brother.
He was also the one to whom Doyeon always vented her complaints about their mother.
“…I see. Doyeon is admirable.”
“That’s it? I’m good at studying. I’m good even without going to expensive academies like brother, even without pouring money into it! But why only you, brother…!”
“Doyeon, I’m a bit tired right now…”
All her friends fought and argued with their brothers, but Doyeon couldn’t understand her brother who only accepted her.
“Ah, this is really annoying! At least get angry or something!”
Doyeon only realized after her brother died that her always obedient and kind brother’s heart was actually rotting away.
“I’m going out to meet friends, so tell mom that if she asks. Though she probably won’t even look for me anyway.”
Doyeon, who had been glaring at her brother looking at her sadly, turned around sharply.
“Doyeon, eat your meals properly. Be careful of cars, be careful of people…”
“Ah, come on! How many times do I have to tell you I can take care of myself?”
Even when she snapped at him, her brother only looked at Doyeon with gentle eyes.
“I was always sorry. I should have taken better care of you.”
“Ugh, so cringey… Are you acting like this because you’re going to the dorm? It’s not like we’re parting forever…”
Without realizing that her brother’s farewell was his last words, Doyeon put on her shoes carelessly and left the house without a word.
Young Yeon Doyeon’s first scene ended like that.
“…”
The reading room fell into silence for a moment. Yeon Do-hun, who was supposed to continue the scene with a monologue after Doyeon left the house, didn’t deliver his lines.
“…She totally got overshadowed by a complete rookie.”
The assistant director muttered briefly.
It was the moment Ju Sae-i’s presence was imprinted on the 【Your Blue Name】 team.
***
The first script reading of 【Your Blue Name】 came to an end.
Writer Choi Gi-jeong wanted to give brief comments on today’s reading.
“‘Your Blue Name,’ you see. Among all the works I’ve written, this one required the most child acting skills. Youth is infinitely light, but our protagonists’ stories aren’t entirely light.”
Writer Choi, holding the microphone, smiled brightly.
“We needed convincing child acting, so for Hajin, I asked our Jehyeon, who had played child roles in my works twice before. Does it suit him well?”
“He was Hajin himself!”
A supporting actor from Choi Gi-jeong’s team took charge of the reaction.
“And Doyeon, Doyeon… I had many worries from the casting stage. That’s when our Sae-i appeared.”
She looked quietly toward where Ju Sae-i and Dojehyeon were sitting and smiled.
“Sae-i, this is your first time filming, so you could be nervous, but you did really well with nothing to give feedback on.”
“…!”
“I’m grateful to both of you. For showing me my Hajin and Doyeon.”
Writer Choi Gi-jeong openly pointed out the two and expressed her gratitude. It was an exceptional occurrence.
“Now, let’s give them a round of applause! For our child actors!”
Amid the pouring applause, Ju Sae-i sneakily glanced at Dojehyeon. Their eyes met immediately, as if he had been watching her all along.
“Wh-what are you looking at…!”
Despite pretending to be calm, his body was stiffly frozen, and his gaze noticeably conscious of Ju Sae-i.
‘…Why is he acting like that?’
Gone was his cold indifference from before—Dojehyeon was acting like a machine broken from overheating.
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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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