LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 91
Joo Ha-rin is a girl who just graduated from high school and moved to Seoul from the countryside.
Ignoring her parents’ advice to attend college, she rode solo into the big city like a fish out of water.
Of course, she didn’t come to Seoul on a whim.
While her parents wanted her to have a normal job, Joo Ha-rin had a dream she clung to since childhood.
And she didn’t come to Seoul unprepared either.
“Produce Star 200….”
Joo Ha-rin muttered, letting out a tense sigh.
A massive audition program with 200 idol hopefuls.
Thousands applied.
Some even came from overseas!
Joo Ha-rin proudly passed through the preliminary rounds filled with those thousands and earned her ticket to the main broadcast.
“Yeah, I can definitely do this!”
The way she nodded was almost adorably clueless.
Yet, her sparkling eyes were bound to inspire a protective instinct.
Gazing at photos saved on her slightly outdated cellphone, Joo Ha-rin nodded again.
But suddenly…
“Wait a minute.”
Her eyes trembled as she stared at the pictures.
The escape from reality was hitting its limits.
“Where am I?”
For a girl from the countryside, Seoul felt overwhelmingly complicated.
That was her thought, murmuring in the heart of Gangnam just two hours before the filming of Produce Star 200.
– Wow, the girl is kind of clueless.
– Looks like she’s got that ‘cancer role’ vibe.
– Who styled her? Is that legit??
– Probably styled her all rustic since she’s a country girl.
As Joo Ha-rin made her entrance, the chat of viewers watching live started flooding the screen.
Her character design was unremarkable.
Just another girl who idolized idols and moved to the city.
That setup might be common, but surprisingly, it worked!
Currently, Joo Ha-rin was sporting oversized horn-rimmed glasses.
Her hair simply tied back in one ponytail.
With her baggy clothes, her clumsy look was emphasized.
Viewers who were already familiar with Seo-yeon’s appearance found her styled look awkward.
“What should I do?!”
The scene shifted briefly, covering other characters, before returning to Joo Ha-rin’s part.
The first episode of Dream Future mainly introduced the leading characters.
Joo Ha-rin was given a mere 10 minutes.
Not much time to show what she could do.
In fact, there was hardly any time left until the drama ended!
The personal time left was a maximum of 5 minutes.
However, there would be a scene at the very end where everyone would appear together, so it might get extended.
But…
– Oh my, what a dated character!
– LOL, totally that cringe character from 10 years ago!
Given her character setup, Joo Ha-rin was bound to attract a fair share of haters.
Many didn’t like her bouncy personality; besides, her rustic vibes from the countryside made her frustrating in many ways.
To top it off, her awkward styling didn’t help, resulting in a wave of negativity in the live chat.
“Are you okay?”
Someone called out to Joo Ha-rin, who was running around like a headless chicken, unable to locate the filming set.
Kim Si-hwan.
He took a careful look at her flustered face and asked gently.
“Y-Yes?”
Joo Ha-rin looked up at Kim Si-hwan with surprise.
To a girl from the countryside, he was drop-dead gorgeous, leaving her speechless.
“Ah, um, I’m trying to get there.”
This was her first taste of kindness since arriving in Seoul.
As she told him the location with a trembling voice, Kim Si-hwan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, I’m headed there too.”
“Huh?”
“Shall we go together?”
He said with a bright smile, making Joo Ha-rin nod slowly, then shaking her head.
I mean, that felt a bit too much!
“I’m really sorry about that.”
“No, let’s go together!”
“?”
Kim Si-hwan, still smiling sweetly, was surprisingly insistent.
He casually tossed a motorcycle helmet to Joo Ha-rin.
“Hop on!”
“Wait, just a minute!”
“Let’s go!”
“….”
Caught up in his assertive ways, Joo Ha-rin found herself riding his motorcycle to the filming set.
It was literally in the blink of an eye.
On her first ride on a motorcycle, she felt dizzy.
“Now we’re rivals at the audition.”
Upon arriving at the filming set, Kim Si-hwan remarked.
Then he seemed ready to take off, as if the matter was settled.
Which was understandable; after all, Joo Ha-rin and he were meeting for the first time today.
If it were the usual Joo Ha-rin, she would have bowed politely and parted ways with him.
But suddenly, Joo Ha-rin approached him and tugged at his shirt.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“Why did you help me today?”
She genuinely wondered.
To him, it was just a little kindness, but to Joo Ha-rin, it was the first kindness she’d experienced in Seoul.
He was the very first person to reach out to her in this strange world.
At her question, Kim Si-hwan chuckled.
“Well, I just had a feeling it would bring me good luck.”
“Huh?”
“Just had that vibe.”
He simply replied.
It was a silly answer, but as Joo Ha-rin looked at him walking away, her eyes sparkled beneath her glasses.
Her lips slightly parted.
Her flushed cheeks, and her nervous eyes stood out.
“I see.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
At Kim Si-hwan’s casual reply, Joo Ha-rin smiled.
He answered nonchalantly, but she knew.
That he was just making excuses.
There was no particular reason for his help.
Kim Si-hwan only helped because he found her troubled.
What other reasons could there be?
It was pure kindness.
So, it made her laugh at his clumsy excuse.
That innocent smile of hers.
– Aw!
– Wow!
The viewers forgot to type in the chat for a moment as they watched Joo Ha-rin.
No other dialogue filled the chat.
Yet, it felt as if Joo Ha-rin’s emotions transcended the screen.
The moment of falling in love.
Or the first spark of affection, conveyed without a single line of dialogue.
‘The moment of falling in love.’
The bond between Joo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan begins with a somewhat clumsy encounter.
To put it simply, Joo Ha-rin’s crush was born when she became enchanted by Kim Si-hwan, who helped her.
So, if that scene seemed silly or didn’t resonate with the viewers, it might just come off as sheer ‘absurdity’.
And thus, the drama’s rating would plummet.
Director Kim Pil-seok remarked.
“Still, doesn’t it feel a bit lacking in plausibility?”
“Isn’t it normal for someone to fall in love at first sight?”
The camera director replied to Kim Pil-seok’s comment, but he shook his head.
“Because it’s fiction.”
It needed to be more plausible.
Undoubtedly, the real world has many absurdities, but in creative works, the need for plausibility is heightened.
Plausibility.
The required laws of a fictional story.
“Seo-yeon, I can direct it well, but acting is also crucial.”
“Sure.”
“The dialogue between Joo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan will only be a few lines, with less than 2 minutes of screen time.”
During that time, they needed to convey Joo Ha-rin’s feelings and the plausibility of Kim Si-hwan’s attraction.
Not just the script, but they had to visibly represent that change of heart.
“Can you do it? Or should I talk to writer Im?”
At that, Seo-yeon shook her head.
“I’ll give it a shot first.”
“Hmm.”
To be honest, Im Jin-ha’s script was juvenile.
However, it wasn’t exactly a tasteless script either.
One hit piece, there must be reasons it hit; it’s not so casual after all.
“Got it.”
If the actor could do it, Kim Pil-seok’s character was to trust them.
He was also curious to see what this young actress would showcase.
And so, Seo-yeon shot several takes while succeeding in recording this scene.
This must be the most NGs (no good takes) she’s ever had in her life.
That’s how foreign this act was to her, and it required emulating unfamiliar emotions.
Affection.
Love.
Anyone ask if she had never harbored such feelings for someone else?
She’d be uncertain.
Well, friendship or fondness fits those realms too.
However, after watching many films or related video media, it felt quite different.
Love is an extremely hot emotion.
The moment one falls into it is all the more special.
Because she didn’t know yet.
Still not prepared.
Seo-yeon could not immerse herself in it.
So…
“Sometimes, imagining can be more beautiful.”
Actress Jeong Eun-seon said.
“That hazy longing you talked about for love. Merely painting your version of that beautiful form might even be better than reality.”
There are times like that.
When a writer or actor who originally wrote romance suddenly finds themselves unable to express that feeling correctly.
Ever since tasting the bittersweet flavor of love, they became unable to convey it in performance or writing.
“Just like that.”
Jeong Eun-seon smiled as she looked at young Seo-yeon.
“One day, Seo-yeon might also experience great love. Save those emotions for that time.”
It might have seemed like a trivial remark.
But to Seo-yeon, it resonated deeply.
‘The emulation of emotions.’
It had become a very familiar act for Seo-yeon.
Therefore, she was well aware of how a person in love behaves and what smile they wear.
Yet she was not satisfied with merely that.
“Ah, so you’re number 178, Joo Ha-rin, right?”
In front of five judges, Joo Ha-rin stood on stage.
It was her audition for Produce Star 200.
Thanks to Kim Si-hwan’s help, she arrived on time.
“I heard you came from the countryside; it must have been a tough decision.”
“Yes.”
Joo Ha-rin replied with a smile to the judge’s comment.
“A bit.”
“I see.”
The fierce-looking judge remarked.
“Well, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Though the judges were smiling, it was evident from their demeanor they didn’t expect much.
Images of other idols flashed by.
Among them, the already-introduced Song So-ha, Park Min-yul, and the four main casts appeared.
Finally, Kim Si-hwan looked at Joo Ha-rin as she took the mic.
Before dancing, she needed to sing for the judges.
– Oh, wait!
– Seo-yeon, hold back on the singing!
Viewers who had heard Seo-yeon sing through variety shows began typing rapidly in the chat.
She wasn’t bad.
That was the consensus.
However, when this became a drama, awkwardness sometimes made it harder to listen to even the decent performances.
But…
The one on stage was not Seo-yeon.
It was Joo Ha-rin.
A girl who just fell in love.
‘I don’t know what that feeling is, but I’ve felt it.’
Sometimes appearing horrid, but generally, that feeling was exquisitely beautiful.
It left one with a longing to experience it someday.
Seo-yeon’s singing carried no feelings.
Hence, it felt even more awkward, as everyone said.
Especially, the witch Han Da-young, whom she met through Lee Ji-yeon, said.
“Conveying emotions is natural.”
Seo-yeon was overly conscious of her performance.
“Well, Seo-yeon, you’re not a robot, right? People naturally infuse emotions into their speech without much thought. Singing works similarly.”
Being aware of the emotions behind words.
She thought she had moved past that, but it seemed not.
Not just mere words, but it had taken the form of ‘song’.
“Singing is simply an extension of speaking. If you consciously pack in emotions, you’ll miss so much.”
Just like how Seo-yeon’s singing felt now.
Han Da-young aimed to convey that to Seo-yeon.
A naturally expressive way to sing.
‘The feelings Joo Ha-rin experienced.’
Those did not need to be substituted in any form.
Seo-yeon merely painted them abstractly.
Rather than a method, it bordered on emotional mimicry.
Illustrating discernible landscapes while having Seo-yeon’s imagination added to it.
– Huh?
A wave of bewildered reactions flowed through the chat.
The delicate voice filled the stage.
Judges who had been somewhat apathetic suddenly opened their eyes wide as they focused on Joo Ha-rin.
Similarly, viewers watching from at home mirrored that astonishment.
It was a love song!
The song Joo Ha-rin sang on stage was a soothing ballad.
Her slender vocals.
She might have lacked technical skills, but there was beauty in her voice.
With gentle eyes sparkling, Joo Ha-rin sang, embodying the essence of a girl in love.
She swayed lightly to the rhythm, her charm blooming like a flower.
Bright and beautiful emotions spread from the screen.
The judges’ expressions, especially those of Kim Si-hwan and Song So-ha, were captured.
From Song So-ha’s standpoint as the heroine, this hinted at a fierce new rival’s arrival.
At the same time, it wasn’t a scene that had been emphasized in the original script.
The initial script was supposed to show Joo Ha-rin struggling to sing or dance just enough to scrape through.
But Kim Pil-seok decided to spice things up a bit.
Of course, after confronting the writer.
And that led to this very moment.
It was Joo Ha-rin’s highlight, occurring two-thirds into the first episode.
And Kim Pil-seok’s choice brought about a significant reaction.
[Dream Future Isn’t Just a Simple Comedy! 15% Viewership—A Decent Start!!]
[Clumsy Singing Challenge? Joo Seo-yeon’s Hidden Talents Unveiled!]
[Viewership Hits 21% in a Flash! Signs of Success for Dream Future!]
An explosive response followed.
Boom!