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Chapter 22
On the set of <Your Blue Name>.
“This is really unsettling.”
Director Woo Byunghwa frowned slightly as he glanced at Joo Sae‑yi, who was preparing for the next scene.
Joo Sae‑yi, the rookie who had snagged the difficult child role of Yeon Do‑yeon with just one audition.
When Woo Byunghwa first saw her acting, he was certainly satisfied.
He had already seen dozens of portrayals of Yeon Do‑yeon, but no actor had made the character feel as alive as Joo Sae‑yi did.
So it made sense that his closest aide, writer Choi Gijeong, praised her acting.
When even Byeon Seojun, whom he had intended to focus on and nurture for the work, began praising her performance, Woo Byunghwa felt a sense of crisis.
After watching Joo Sae‑yi through several shoots, he thought…
“She’s way too similar to Sim Ju‑yeon.”
Sim Ju‑yeon, the actress who played the female lead in <Trap Marriage>, the work that made Woo Byunghwa a famous director.
She was also full of talent, and her overflowing talent drew people around her.
Woo Byunghwa had taken up directing because of the thrill of discovering geniuses.
Sim Ju‑yeon had been a once‑in‑a‑lifetime genius in his directing career.
He tried to discover and nurture her, but…
—New Leading Actress S Causes Controversy Online Over ‘Abuse’… Next Work in Doubt
He failed spectacularly. Sim Ju‑yeon’s arrogant abuses were repeatedly exposed and widely spread.
She had to step back behind the camera under the onslaught of media and public scrutiny. The work that had been offered to her also fell through.
After experiencing this failure, Woo Byunghwa developed a firm belief.
If you pamper a genius too much, they’ll inevitably become arrogant.
Sim Ju‑yeon hadn’t been rude from the start. It was only because everyone praised her as a genius that her ego grew.
“Yeon Do‑yeon must have acted the same way at first.”
Even with senior actor Byeon Seojun, who had a music career and was far ahead in the industry, she didn’t act overly familiar. And with Daeje Hyun, a peer with a noticeable difference in experience, she wasn’t hesitant either.
He recalled how Sim Ju‑yeon had lightly brushed off senior colleagues on set in the past.
From Joo Sae‑yi’s behavior, Woo Byunghwa considered two possibilities.
One: Joo Sae‑yi could become an arrogant genius like Sim Ju‑yeon.
The other…
“Maybe she’s completely gentle.”
However, Woo Byunghwa leaned toward the first. She seemed capable of taking care of her own position, not entirely meek.
Even her friendship with Seong Hyesim suggested she had intentions of building connections.
She was like that even now.
“Sae‑yi, when I watch you act, it really feels like I’m watching Yeon Do‑yeon.”
“…Noisy.”
Woo Byunghwa brushed off the filming assistant’s praise of Joo Sae‑yi and quietly observed her.
Sae‑yi bowed politely to everyone she met, lowering her head smoothly. When standing, she bent at a full 90 degrees at the waist.
Oddly enough, this made Woo Byunghwa frown.
Before becoming arrogant, the first Sim Ju‑yeon he had discovered also fooled everyone with such polite behavior.
Human desire has no end. Once someone glimpses the top, they naturally step over others to reach it. That nature had caused Sim Ju‑yeon to fall.
Her acting was good, yes, very good.
“But what if she grabs my attention and then collapses like Sim Ju‑yeon?”
Everyone on set treated the polite Sae‑yi warmly, but Woo Byunghwa felt burdened for this reason.
Sighing deeply, he called her for the next scene.
“Let’s get ready to shoot Yeon Do‑yeon.”
“Yes!”
Sae‑yi clasped her hands and ran to the set as if waiting for the command.
Her sparkling eyes, even before filming, proved that her eagerness to work was genuine.
“Yeon Do‑yeon… that kid always keeps her eyes wide open like a fish…”
Sae‑yi’s gaze was different from Sim Ju‑yeon in her rookie days, who relied solely on talent and seemed unmotivated.
“Interesting.”
Sae‑yi genuinely seemed to enjoy acting. Like a child at the playground.
Woo Byunghwa closed his eyes for a moment.
He thought that perhaps he had deliberately compared her to Sim Ju‑yeon because he was trapped by his bias toward geniuses.
If a genius truly loved acting, they would be grateful for every opportunity. Just like Joo Sae‑yi in front of him.
“Ugh…”
Still, he had been hurt too many times by Sim Ju‑yeon to trust a new actor fully.
If those sparkling eyes changed like Sim Ju‑yeon’s, it would be a heavy blow. Imagining Joo Sae‑yi turning like Sim Ju‑yeon, Woo Byunghwa cautiously rubbed his chin.
Some time later.
After finishing the day’s shoot, Director Woo Byunghwa could not hide his admiration.
“What is this kid even doing?”
It made sense for Daeje Hyun, who had acting experience, but what about Joo Sae‑yi?
What on earth had she been doing to look better on camera than adult actors at her age?
Woo Byunghwa did not lower his guard toward Sae‑yi. Small mistakes are easy to spot, after all.
“Maybe she received systematic training from somewhere like the National Intelligence Service?”
Otherwise, today’s performance couldn’t be explained.
He hadn’t expected her to handle the shoot so smoothly. Even the best newcomers would normally produce a few NGs (mistakes) during filming.
Of course, she was still a rookie. No matter how well she analyzed the character or practiced acting, her practical experience was limited.
Rookies often reveal their inexperience in static scenes. Sim Ju‑yeon had been the same.
In scenes with a lot of movement, mistakes are hard to notice, but in still poses, inexperience shows.
It can be seen in how they hold their neck or move their eyes.
Even though still scenes seem easy to act, they’re actually tricky.
“Experienced actors sometimes prefer to perform intense scenes instead.”
Yet…
“She’s lying there and somehow knows how to express sunlight without being taught?”
A scene where the young Yeon Do‑yeon and Yoo Hajin lie on a bench in the sun and talk.
Sae‑yi’s acting on the bench went beyond just squinting from brightness. She naturally blinked against the sunlight but peeked at Hajin whenever she could.
Even her uncurled eyelashes fluttered in the sunlight in close-up.
The warmth of her skin, the beads of sweat on her forehead—nothing in the scene was untouched by her acting.
This was…
“She’s acting a pleasant summer, and she’s just a kid.”
Moreover, she could grasp the director’s intention behind the scene.
The scene where Yeon Do‑yeon fully opens her heart to Hajin. The first take was a test, so there was no specific guidance on how to lie.
Sae‑yi initially placed her legs neatly. As she spoke with Hajin, she gradually shifted them toward him.
It is said that people point their feet toward someone they like and feel open toward.
Most wouldn’t be able to apply that naturally in a scene…
Bzz, bzz.
Twice, notifications went off from a phone kept in his pocket.
[How was today’s shoot? I was curious about the set image with Doyeon and Hajin but didn’t get to check.]
[The young Doyeon, did she adapt well to the set? I was too busy finishing the script to pay attention.]
It was a message from writer Choi Gijeong.
Director Woo Byunghwa forced a bitter smile at Choi’s concern for Sae‑yi.
“You should worry about someone who needs worrying.”
There was still a high chance that Sae‑yi could turn out like Sim Ju‑yeon. But regarding acting, there was no need to worry about her skill.
[What’s there to worry about? She’s devouring everything…]
[Still, I’ll keep watching. I’ll keep observing.]
“We’ll see if her passion disappears soon.”
Woo Byunghwa decided to continue watching Joo Sae‑yi’s path. That way, he might be able to prevent another genius from turning into a Sim Ju‑yeon.
