Author Lim Jin-ha reduced Joo Ha-rin’s role.
Seoyeon did not know exactly why.
Drama writers probably have many reasons for reducing a character’s role.
Considering Park Jung-woo’s reaction, it seemed this wasn’t something that happened often.
“But…”
Seoyeon didn’t dwell too much on the reduction of Joo Ha-rin’s role.
After all, this role was meant to offset Cha Sooah’s image.
Thus, she thought the current situation was sufficient. Although there were moments when Cha Sooah’s image overlapped with Joo Ha-rin’s performance, it wasn’t a problem, and it actually made her smile sometimes.
“Seoyeon.”
“Yes?”
It was about this time that Cha Na-hee, who played Song So-ha, approached her.
“Am I not a good enough actress?”
“…”
“The role has been reduced, hasn’t it?”
Cha Na-hee continued. She seemed to think that her diminished role and reduced presence were due to ‘Song So-ha’ not being able to stand out against Joo Ha-rin.
No.
It appeared to have been due to the author’s different intentions.
Although Seoyeon wanted to explain this to her, she couldn’t find the words. Her role had indeed expanded, so she couldn’t easily dismiss Cha Na-hee’s concerns. Saying so might sound dismissive, like an empty attempt to comfort her.
“But, could you help me a bit? I’ll do my best until the drama ends.”
Cha Na-hee was an idol after all. It wasn’t common for idols to take their acting seriously considering they had their main careers to focus on.
“Yes, I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Thank you!!”
She was so earnest. Though Seoyeon knew Cha Na-hee to be older than herself, it wasn’t easy for her to bow her head and ask for help like this.
– Song So-ha, is she really the female lead?
– Her presence is nearly nonexistent, lol. She only shows up when she sings.
– Why doesn’t she just let Joo Ha-rin take the leading role?
– The director and screenwriter obviously have no talent, alright, alright.
However, no matter how much Seoyeon helped Cha Na-hee with her acting, her skills wouldn’t immediately improve. She had already been trained properly by competent instructors, so her acting wouldn’t suddenly get better dramatically.
But as Seoyeon observed Cha Na-hee, many thoughts came to her mind. She reflected and realized something.
“I must’ve wanted to avoid portraying Joo Ha-rin’s affection.”
Portraying love for someone else – it wasn’t something Seoyeon was confident about.
She wasn’t very eager to do something she wasn’t confident about, although as an actress, she hadn’t thought that she would pick and choose roles.
Seoyeon had pride as an actress.
And she realized that thinking it was fine if her role shrank was, in fact, a way of looking down on Cha Na-hee.
“I really want to see you act properly, Seoyeon. Like in the first episode.”
Cha Na-hee smiled as she said this, even though online criticism toward her continued. She was strong.
Seoyeon didn’t know much about Cha Na-hee. She knew Cha Na-hee was from a girl group that would soon disband, and that Cha Na-hee had been the group’s mainstay as the eldest.
Cha Na-hee was the last member of her group to continue activities. She began to understand why.
“…If the opportunity arises.”
At this response, Cha Na-hee smiled, and continued:
“This scene on stage is really important, right?”
Suddenly, Joo Ha-rin’s role became more prominent.
Director Kim Pil-seok informed Seoyeon:
“Park Min-yul’s story-line is ending, and Joo Ha-rin will replace him. Up until now, she hasn’t had much presence.”
Which meant, for the past six episodes, Joo Ha-rin’s presence has been minimal, and she had to compensate for that presence all within this one episode.
“Um, a slightly difficult request, but…”
Min Se-hee said this while bowing her head. And thus, filming began. Seoyeon looked up at Ma Yeon-woo on the stage.
Top idol.
Just as she aspired to be a great actress, a top actress, perhaps he was already at the top of his field as an idol.
Thus, Seoyeon wasn’t worried about his performance.
“Emotions…”
Seoyeon took a deep breath. It had been a while since she deliberately engaged with the character’s emotions.
Method acting. Something she had intentionally distanced herself from for a while.
Method acting was just one technique—it wasn’t particularly special. Though it could induce a stronger sense of immersion, it wasn’t always necessary. Too much immersion could be overly dramatic.
And thus, she had refrained from using this technique that made her recover emotionally slower.
But…
“Not now.”
For others, maybe it wasn’t so special, but for Seoyeon, it was somewhat unique. This was the first time she had ever acted. This was a performance that truly highlighted her emotions.
She submitted to the surging emotions and flowed with the rhythm around her as the stage performance was about to begin, and this would be Joo Ha-rin’s acting debut.
She could feel Cha Na-hee watching her from below the stage. Seoyeon smiled back at her, like smiling at the audience below.
“Joo Ha-rin’s feelings toward Park Min-yul are still just curiosity.”
Strange and awkward… but a cool thrill spreading through the chest and warming up – this was definitely the emotion.
“Interestingly enough…”
Though Lim Jin-ha had reduced Joo Ha-rin’s role, it somehow helped. Until now, Joo Ha-rin had no significant presence or storyline with Park Min-yul.
So, they had to build their relationship now. Seoyeon needed to convey Joo Ha-rin’s pleasant yet strange feelings toward Park Min-yul to the viewers. Therefore, Seoyeon could empathize with Joo Ha-rin’s emotions, since affection for someone else was naturally foreign and awkward for Seoyeon.
And now, Seoyeon would perform this strangeness.
This was the story, and this was the most brilliant emotion Joo Ha-rin needed to show. So loveable that anyone could fall for it, such a charming performance.
What a heroine should be.
“Wow…”
Watching this, Cha Na-hee opened her mouth in awe, watching Seoyeon dance radiantly on stage while smiling brightly.
It felt like watching a real idol.
It didn’t stop there. As a newly debuted idol, all of those feelings came through her actions naturally.
Of course, Seoyeon is an actress, so there would be aspects that would seem amateurish compared to a real idol, but she transformed those through acting.
And Ma Yeon-woo naturally covered up those minor imperfections. He was professional, after all.
Thus, the performance was perfect. It felt like watching a real show.
By leveraging her strengths and covering her weaknesses, Seoyeon seemed so bright. Cha Na-hee could not take her eyes off her.
Almost as if she was in a real concert hall. The cheers of many audiences echoed in her ears, much like the applause she experienced.
The song ended, and only when Seoyeon did a high-five with Ma Yeon-woo did Cha Na-hee realize it was all acting.
Likely, she wasn’t the only one to have felt that way. And as Cha Na-hee had predicted:
[<Dream Future> viewership recovers at 15%!]
[<The Chaser> hype boosts rebound success of <Dream Future>]
The articles began to flood in.
*
“Did you watch <Dream Future> yesterday?”
“I thought it was too childish and didn’t watch it, but yesterday it was surprisingly fun.”
“Didn’t the actress in the 7th episode also appear in <The Chaser> as a murderer?”
“Really? They feel totally different though, right?”
“Of course! I was shocked too!”
As of the 7th episode, people began discussing <Dream Future>. Previously, it was viewed as a unique drama due to its internet broadcasting and simultaneous airing.
“Joo Ha-rin looked so pretty.”
“I’ve been impressed even in <The Chaser>.”
“Why didn’t they give her more screen time until now? Maybe they had big plans?”
“Unlikely.”
Casual conversations about the drama were frequent.
In both movies and dramas, Seoyeon’s name was increasingly mentioned.
– Haha, the <Dream Future> writer was replaced.
– ??Really??
– I heard the new writer started from Episode 7; the previous writer quit due to conflicts.
– They say the same writer reduced Joo Ha-rin’s role?
– Haha, it’s like they wanted the show to fail.
Online discussions were swirling about writer Lim Jin-ha. Perhaps a crew member had leaked some information. Or…
“Hmph.”
Han Sun-ah smirked while typing the latest article for KMB. It was an article exclusively covering Lim Jin-ha.
Entitled something like [Controversy Around Dramatists’ Overbearing Attitudes and Audience Responsibility].
Something along those lines.
“Ah, is this too provocative?”
Regretfully, she rewrote the article, still not intending to let go easily.
With all this, Episode 7 ended and led into Episode 8. Top Ten entry of Joo Ha-rin and the encounter with Song So-ha.
“Did they rise again? By how much?”
“17%! That’s 2% higher!”
“Wow, is this crazy? We might get a drama over 20% soon?”
Amidst the declining trend of dramas’ ratings, one that reached 20% recently stood as nearly a hit.
[<The Chaser> Breaks 8 Million! Will it reach 10 million?]
[<Dream Future>‘s Upward Surge in Viewership! Approaching 20%]
Following <Dream Future>‘s Episodes 9 and 10, Song So-ha discovers her feelings for the male lead, Kim Si-hwan, and Joo Ha-rin encounters Park Min-yul by chance.
– This is driving me insane
– Song So-ha’s acting skills have risen dramatically recently?
– Song So-ha, not Cha Na-hee?
– That’s the same thing, though. She became a “housewife” for a reason.
– I’ve seen photos of Cha Na-hee with Joo Seo-yeon on Instagram lately.
– Are they close?
Cha Na-hee put her best effort forward. As the female lead, Song So-ha, she was slowly appealing her presence to the public.
– Joo Ha-rin and Park Min-yul are making it really thrilling.
– Honestly, the romance line is so frustrating ㅠ
– That’s what’s good about it, drama amateurs.
– It’s unlikely to last through the end.
– Frankly, immediately dumping Kim Si-hwan for Park Min-yul would make her look like a gold-digger.
– Yeah, that’s right.
Discussions about <Dream Future> were flourishing on forums. Viewership continued to rise, and YouTube views also increased.
[Ramiel’s Broadcast]
“I recently watched a movie, <The Chaser>.”
“Ah, so you all know about it, right? It was fun, wasn’t it.”
“I saw that <Dream Future> was trending because of the same actor, so I watched it recently, and I was amazed.”
“I couldn’t even tell they were the same person; their performances were entirely different.”
“…Honestly, I think they’re really talented.”
“Oh, me? You think you’ve heard my voice somewhere before? That’s probably a mistake.”
“Ahem, anyway, <The Chaser> and <Dream Future>. Recommended by Ramiel!”
The show’s popularity was heightened through various internet broadcasts. While there were those who hadn’t seen <Dream Future>, nearly no one hadn’t seen one of these two shows.
“These days, Joo Seo-yeon is appearing a lot.”
“I first saw her on a variety show; she was very cheerful.”
“But isn’t she a bit intimidating because of Cha Soo-ah’s image? It’s as if she will show up with an axe.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
So, being a supporting role in both projects, mentions of Seoyeon only increased.
[<Dream Future> Soundtrack Release Takes Over Melon Charts!]
The drama’s OSTs gradually appeared on music sites, showcasing their presence.
[<The Chaser> Hits 10 Million!]
As <The Chaser> hit 10 million, around this time,
“Yes, hello, Director Bae Jin-hwan. …Me?”
Seoyeon received a phone call.
