Hobbyist VTuber

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To sum it up, it was a meeting where both sides gained a lot.

Both Ha-eun and Hong Soo-eun had something they wanted to gain from each other.

However, what they gained from each other was not of the same kind.

Let’s start with what Ha-eun gained: a deeper understanding of the person named Kim Jung-hyun.

And…

“If given the chance, I would love to meet the writer again.”

A declaration of her intent to participate in [Goblin].

After all, it was impossible for Hong Soo-eun not to feel a little flustered by Ha-eun’s remark about meeting again after filming [The Sunshine], which was currently underway.

This was because Hong Soo-eun’s [Goblin] was an incomplete drama with not even a finished script.

Neither the cast nor the shooting schedule had been set, much less the broadcasting station to propose the script to.

Expressing the intention to participate based solely on the reason that she liked the script was an unusual situation in many ways.

Nevertheless, Hong Soo-eun responded with an “I understand” instead of a “thank you” because of a vague impression that Ha-eun could likely pull off the role of “Baek Seol-hwa” in [Goblin] quite well.

This impression was based on things Hong Soo-eun had gathered from her conversation with Ha-eun.

In the conversation that continued late into the evening, while Ha-eun gained certain things, Hong Soo-eun gained quite different insights.

‘…If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have called her a bit earlier.’

In any case, it was an undeniable fact that Ha-eun wanted to meet Hong Soo-eun due to her doubts about Kim Jung-hyun.

This was something that Hong Soo-eun was well aware of.

However, during the ongoing conversation with Ha-eun…

“So, what does Park Joo-ho mean to Kim Jung-hyun? Is it also because Kim Jung-hyun cannot let go of Park Joo-ho?”

Realizing that the level of doubt Ha-eun held was higher than Hong Soo-eun had thought.

And also realizing that the result of Ha-eun’s deeper understanding of Kim Jung-hyun was not just for personal doubt resolution.

‘I thought it was just simple curiosity.’

Ultimately, Hong Soo-eun found herself needing to revise her overall thoughts on the actress ‘Lee Ha-eun.’

No longer could she describe Ha-eun merely as an “actress with outstanding acting skills.”

To be precise, it’s not particularly unusual for an actor to have curiosity about their role.

Having curiosity about their role is part of the process of understanding that role.

Naturally, there is a difference in the naturalness of acting between understanding the role and not.

After all, reciting lines from a script is distinctly different from acting out those lines.

Of course, it’s true that up until now, there wasn’t any noticeable awkwardness in Ha-eun’s acting.

Yet, it didn’t mean Ha-eun understood perfectly the intentions and thoughts of Hong Soo-eun that birthed the character of Kim Jung-hyun.

This was something Ha-eun had subconsciously sensed as well.

The reason why Ha-eun walked to Hong Soo-eun’s house was also because she had realized the existence of the gray area she still did not understand.

However, since the range and extent of what Ha-eun considered a gray area were far beyond Hong Soo-eun’s expectations…

“Well then, in the end, it’s about responsibility. Ultimately, Kim Jung-hyun is the only one who can change Park Joo-ho’s heart.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

After Ha-eun had answered all the questions she had prepared, she appeared to understand Kim Jung-hyun as well as Hong Soo-eun did.

Actually, perhaps even better than Hong Soo-eun did.

Thus, after realizing that Ha-eun was a very different actress from those she had seen before…

“When Ha-eun acts as Baek Seol-hwa, if Baek Seol-hwa learns about her true relationship with the Goblin, how do you think she would act?”

Conversely, it became increasingly common for Hong Soo-eun to ask questions of Ha-eun.

In stark contrast to when she had answered Ha-eun’s questions about Kim Jung-hyun, Hong Soo-eun now sought to provide information about Baek Seol-hwa and hear Ha-eun’s opinion.

This was also due to Ha-eun remarkably predicting Baek Seol-hwa’s situation and future.

The story that had existed only in Hong Soo-eun’s mind flowed out similarly from Ha-eun’s lips.

“Um… I think, no matter what happens, she wouldn’t be able to give up on the Goblin. Even if she realizes there’s no way, she would keep struggling… I think.”

Just having read the incomplete script once was enough for her to deeply empathize with the character of Baek Seol-hwa.

At the same time, she exhibited a high level of understanding of the character just like when she was explained about Kim Jung-hyun by Hong Soo-eun.

“The Goblin values Baek Seol-hwa as much as she values him. She probably will never give up.”

Most decisively, it felt natural.

By adding Ha-eun’s story to the still incomplete script, the flow became noticeably smoother.

In the end, Hong Soo-eun asked Ha-eun to respond not as “a high school student like Baek Seol-hwa” but “as Baek Seol-hwa.”

Though she didn’t explicitly ask for thoughts or lines that Baek Seol-hwa would say, it was undeniable that Ha-eun’s advice carried significant weight.

Thus, the meeting only ended after the sun had completely set.

However, perhaps because she had subconsciously acknowledged that Ha-eun possessed an excellent understanding of Baek Seol-hwa.

“Well, I don’t know which winter we’ll be filming, but it’s certain that we will be filming in winter. Just keep that in mind for now.”

“Yes, I will definitely keep my schedule open.”

“Ahaha. There’s no need to clear your schedule, just keep in touch with me.”

Just like how Baek Tae-hoon once thought of Ha-eun as the right fit for Kim Jung-hyun, the current Hong Soo-eun had started to see Ha-eun as the right fit for Baek Seol-hwa.

Without much weight to it, and as if it were just casual conversation, she disclosed that she was considering casting Ha-eun as Baek Seol-hwa.

It was after that that she contacted the director Kwon Jae-hyeop for [The Sunshine], expressing her desire to see Ha-eun’s next shoot.

Due to Hong Soo-eun’s busy schedule, they had been providing feedback through separately delivered footage until now.

“I feel like I need to see it with my own eyes at least once. There are things I want to confirm personally.”

[Oh, it seems you had quite an interesting conversation with Ha-eun.]

“Young people really have a lot of passion. Their perspective on storytelling was refreshing.”

She could hardly contain her curiosity about how Ha-eun’s acting, which is based on a deeper understanding of Kim Jung-hyun, would transform.

She wanted to experience Ha-eun’s changed acting more vividly and from a closer viewpoint.

As time passed and flowed.

On the day of the filming of [The Sunshine], Hong Soo-eun, who appeared on set after quite a while,

“I am no longer a slave to your family. And I am certainly not a Joseon person!”

“So, I’m asking you. As a person to person. Please help me just this once.”

Gave an inward applause at the noble demeanor of Kim Jung-hyun, which was not at all overshadowed by Baek Tae-hoon’s impassioned performance.

She could see more clearly than anyone what new things had been infused into Kim Jung-hyun’s calm demeanor.

*

The first shoot after meeting Hong Soo-eun was a meaningful shoot for Ha-eun too.

Because the gradual transition of the character Kim Jung-hyun into a more multi-dimensional figure was ultimately connected to the overall flow of [The Sunshine].

“Convincing acting. Understandable acting….”

Until now, Kim Jung-hyun’s attempts to learn the new language of the alphabet, with any means possible, had been purely personal desires.

It was simply because it was new that he found it fun, and because it was unfamiliar that he held interest.

The act of secretly visiting the home of the missionary “Hansen Arnold,” who had settled near Hanseong instead of remaining in the vast tiled house, was also due to his academic enthusiasm.

Learning the alphabet from Hansen, an American, and hearing stories about foreign powers was enjoyable.

In this way, it was hard to find anything beyond personal desires in everything Kim Jung-hyun had said and done until now.

However, after uncovering hidden truths through his continued meetings with Hansen, someone who genuinely cared for Joseon…

“Then, laying down railroads in Hanseong and installing shining pillars is just….”

“They’re making it so that we have to rely on other countries, under the pretense of delivering new things.”

“Ultimately, are they planning to completely swallow Joseon and this land?”

“Perhaps.”

He could no longer afford to focus on personal matters.

The reasons for wanting to move out of the vast tiled house necessarily had to change from before.

‘Don’t act like you’re being forced to follow a greater cause.’

Ultimately, what Ha-eun must portray is the appearance of Kim Jung-hyun fully realizing why Kim Ja-gyeom had referred to Joseon as a precarious nation in the past.

Therefore, she sought a meeting with Park Joo-ho to ask for his advice, a man who until now had merely served as an American person in the form of a Joseon citizen.

Current Park Joo-ho was someone with a certain degree of connection to the U.S. military stationed in Joseon.

In other words, it meant that he was almost the only person among Kim Jung-hyun’s acquaintances with diplomatic power.

“I need your help.”

Since her return to Joseon, it was her first time meeting Park Joo-ho with a clear purpose.

Nevertheless, the answer she received from Park Joo-ho was distinctly cold.

“Keep on studying as you have been. Leave hunting as just a hobby.”

“Did my will sound so light to you?”

“Do you think the words of a lady who has been held tightly within her home all her life would hold weight?”

After that, he maintained a stubborn attitude for quite some time.

No matter what Kim Jung-hyun said or requested, it all seemed to Park Joo-ho nothing more than the whim of a rich young lady.

The memory of his parents being treated as lowly and beaten to death solely because they were slaves remained forever etched in his mind.

To him, this nation of Joseon was one that could perish without mattering.

Thus even more…

“Come closer and grasp my hand. And, I hope you won’t think of it lightly when asking for help.”

“…You’re being shameless. Have you already forgotten what your grandfather did?”

“Everything that lies before you is my sincerity, not your grandfather’s. Is it truly impossible for us to look each other in the eye?”

As Kim Jung-hyun approached Park Joo-ho, who was about to turn his back, he wished that the country of Joseon would completely disappear alongside him.

He wished for ‘the lady’ who kept making him hesitate and awakening feelings of attachment to be erased from Park Joo-ho’s life.

From Kim Jung-hyun’s perspective, such a wish regarding Park Joo-ho should never come true.

Thus, in the end, within Ha-eun’s gradually rising clear gaze toward Park Joo-ho.

“The matters concerning Joseon, do my feelings of guilt truly hold any significance….”

Both the guilt of a rich young lady and the earnestness of a Joseon citizen intersected within Ha-eun.

Confronted with Ha-eun’s guilt and earnestness, Baek Tae-hoon was compelled to respond as Park Joo-ho.

In that moment, he had become entirely Kim Jung-hyun down to his bones.

From the white fingers that hesitantly grasped Park Joo-ho’s collar to the small lips that trembled slightly yet remained sealed until he spoke.