Jun asked. The reason he acted that way. The reason for connecting a few loose stage directions in that way.
Explaining that reason shouldn’t have been too difficult. When reading this script, the director’s words from the interview he conducted in Busan last time came to mind. At that time, the director said something like this: When he met his first love, he was afraid of the speed at which he fell for her without reservation.
Jihoon might not have expected Jun’s answer. Jun continued, urging gently for the next words, as if he didn’t lose his focus even with Jun’s teasing question.
It was a sensation where the fluttering in my chest was simultaneously accelerated.
“Perhaps it was a coincidence, but even in a relatively short specified acting script, the pace felt tangible. So, I took a moment to stop and think. Since the first meeting, Jun might have been perplexed by the unfamiliar emotions surging uncontrollably. So, it’s about Haru’s feelings.”
Although Jihoon was looking at me, thinking that Jun might have a malfunction somewhere, my heart was pounding so crazily that it seemed like it wasn’t Jun but me.
“So, maybe that’s why, I naturally thought about putting the moments when Jun, in the midst of the confusion he felt at each moment, subtly revealed those emotions when facing the unfamiliar emotions Haru felt. Whether it was blushing at first sight of Haru or taking a small deep breath before opening the water cap, all those were intentional.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
In such an atmosphere, one might have been able to express some confidence, but Jihoon’s tone remained consistently calm.
“I don’t think I was like that back then.”
While pretending to speak to Jihoon, Jun lowered his playful gaze toward me.
“But if I had been told to express those emotions through actions back then, I probably would have. Definitely the same way Jihoon did. Blushing alone, trying to calm down this unreasonable emotion by taking a small deep breath, and when nothing worked, just drinking cold water in an attempt to wash away these feelings.”
I wanted to see what expression Jun was making right now. But I hesitated. Whether to look at Jun or not. My eyes were as shaky as my heart.
“Because it was the first love.”
The wavering stopped as if the gravity had momentarily disappeared.
“I wondered whether to entrust myself to this emotion or desperately try to escape it, feeling that I couldn’t control that emotion anyway, while continuing to foolishly worry until Haru showed the courage in her small body.”
Suddenly, I was in the memories of that day nine years ago. In that faint memory. I looked at Jun, who was confused by the hot emotions he didn’t know about, with my own hot emotions that I didn’t know.
Your attempts to hide your feelings with the blunt words you threw at me back then. Yet, you listened attentively, not missing a single word of what I said.
Then, suddenly, a shy smile appeared under the slightly damp fringe, which had formed into a few strands due to sweat.
At that moment, in my eyes, which reflected only me, I wondered if you were anticipating the fact that your first love was about to begin.
Back when those pure gazes met. As the clear image of Jun from that distant and pure time slowly became clearer, the face of the Jun sitting next to me now overlapped with the clear face of Jun in my memories.
Nothing had changed. Neither the first emotions I felt for you back then nor any strong tremors you might have felt towards me. Back then and now, you remained unchanged.
Suddenly, that face turned towards me. The smiling eyes were affectionate, not knowing what I was thinking right now. It was fortunate that this wasn’t a conference room. Because overwhelmed by the lump of emotions filling my chest, I might have blurted out words that I would regret for years.
Jun laughed and then turned his gaze back to Jihoon.
“In that regard, thank you. Jihoon. Thanks to you, it felt like I briefly met the twenty-year-old Jun and Haru.”
As if a overwhelming energy surged, Jihoon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, nodding slightly, expressing continuous gratitude for Jun’s comment.
The feeling of meeting the protagonist in the script as if I had met them in person. Perhaps it wasn’t the best compliment one could receive on a casting audition site.
“Of course, that’s a personal impression. As a director…”
My hand, which was organizing the profile pictures, paused.
“Thank you as well. For accurately uncovering the points I intentionally kept hidden and portraying them through acting. No, Jihoon, were you nervous? Your face turned pale in an instant, making me feel guilty.”
Jun might not have seen it yet, but my face, sitting next to Jun, probably wasn’t any different.
Carrying the compliments received today, Jihoon left the audition venue.
Before grabbing the next profile picture, I held a pen and started scribbling next to Jihoon’s profile picture. The characters I had wanted to write for a long time.
And then, at that moment, Jun lifted his head, and looking at the writing I had done, he read it down. He looked at me.
…But why is his expression like that? What’s making him so displeased?
With a puzzled expression, Jun stared intently at me.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
