YDCFGD 14

Chapter 14

Do Jehyun was sick of the entertainment industry.

No—more precisely, he was tired of enduring the expectations people placed on him.

He had talent overflowing. He had earned the highest pay among child actors and built a solid filmography, yet somewhere in his heart, he felt empty.

Just when he had grown exhausted of people who approached him only for his fame, he received the script for Your Blue Name.

The male lead, Yoo Hajin.

A boy who grew up in the countryside, bearing the expectations of the village elders, yet always feeling hollow inside.

Pressure. Deficiency. A strangely irritating side. Being tired of his hometown but too weak to leave.

All those elements that made up Yoo Hajin were exactly like himself—unable to leave the entertainment world.

So that’s why she insisted I check it myself.

Jehyun finally understood why Writer Choi had stubbornly insisted on him, even holding four auditions.

Without exaggeration, the only actor who could fully portray Yoo Hajin was Do Jehyun.

While preparing for the audition, he thoroughly analyzed the character’s background and emotions.

Unlike Hajin, who looked gentle but was secretly annoyed by people’s affection, Yeon Doyeon appeared prickly but desperately wanted to be loved.

Through Doyeon, young Hajin realized that love and attention were not useless things.

After developing a desire to exchange affection with Doyeon—who was indifferent but never pushed him away—Hajin grew greatly on an emotional level.

Suddenly, Jehyun found himself envying Yoo Hajin.

If only someone like Yeon Doyeon would appear in my life…

Anyone would do.

If he, too, could experience a moment where someone cared about and loved him…

Maybe this industry would feel less tedious.

Maybe he could grow even more.

If he couldn’t find such a person in reality, he wanted to become Yoo Hajin himself and experience Doyeon through acting.

That was why he disliked Joo Saei, who had landed the role of Yeon Doyeon through connections without any effort.

But then…

Why did the Doyeon he had imagined while analyzing the script overlap with Joo Saei?

…It must be my imagination.

Once the reading started, he would naturally lose interest in her anyway.

“It looks like everyone’s introduced themselves, so let’s start reading Episode 1!”

At Director Woo Byeonghwa’s signal, the actors opened their scripts.

Meanwhile, Joo Saei kept rustling beside him. She moved restlessly, then pulled out a thick bundle of papers from her bag.

Everything about her was irritating.

It’s the reading. What on earth is she doing?

When Jehyun turned to glare at her—

He froze.

What Saei had taken out was a script covered in sticky notes, filled with tiny handwritten memos.

Joo Saei had been waiting for this moment.

To show her own interpretation of Yeon Doyeon in front of senior actors and the production team!

Just thinking about it made her heart race.

She had analyzed the script whenever she had free time.

My first debut~

Placing her thickened script on the table for the first time boosted her confidence.

She could feel Jehyun staring at her, but she ignored it.

After taking several deep breaths, the signal to begin came.

Hoo.

Saei closed her eyes and let out a light sigh.

…Think about Yeon Doyeon.

The beginning of Episode 1 focused on narration by Doyeon’s child actor and Park Yeonhee, who played the adult Doyeon.

Before her turn came, Saei recalled everything she had learned about Doyeon.

A picky yet gentle, cat-like seventeen-year-old.

A girl who desperately longed for every bit of attention from her mother, who favored her older brother.

A gifted student whose academic talent had been buried because of that.

Someone who often told friends she wished her brother would disappear, yet never imagined he would die after getting into Korea’s top university, Daehan University.

A fragile teenager.

…This is enough.

The pieces of Doyeon’s personality fit together inside her like a puzzle.

It was time for seventeen-year-old Doyeon’s scene.

Saei closed her script.

She clenched her fist, eyes closed, then opened them again—now fully becoming Yeon Doyeon.

“Must be nice for you. I’ll never get that kind of attention, no matter what.”

Her voice was clear, yet oddly curt.

Though she didn’t speak loudly, her voice filled the reading room.

The behind-the-scenes staff glanced at her.

“Hey, isn’t she saying her lines without looking?”
“She’s not missing any cues either. Wow, we found a good one.”

Writer Choi’s lines were often long.

So during first readings, most actors couldn’t take their eyes off their scripts.

“She works well with Do Jehyun too. This’ll look great on screen.”
“Choi Gijeong really found an insanely talented rookie.”

As the staff nodded in agreement, Doyeon’s reading continued.

“You wouldn’t know. You have everything. I got a hundred on a test without going to cram school, you know what Mom said?”
“…What did she say?”
“She told me not to tell you. Said it’d stress you out. But now you got into college, so I can tell you, right?”

The one who had always taken care of Doyeon instead of their biased mother was her brother, Yeon Dohun.

He was the one who listened to her complaints.

“…I see. You did well, Doyeon.”
“That’s it? I’m good at studying! I don’t need expensive academies like you! I don’t need money! Then why is it only you…!”
“Doyeon, I’m kind of tired right now…”

She couldn’t understand her brother, who only accepted her instead of fighting back.

“I’m so annoyed! Can’t you get angry for once?!”

Only after his death did she realize that his gentle heart had been rotting inside.

“I’m going out to see my friends. If Mom asks, just say that. Not that she’d look for me anyway.”

She glared at her brother’s sorrowful gaze, then turned away.

“Eat well. Be careful of cars. Be careful of people…”
“Ugh, stop! How many times do I have to say I can take care of myself?!”

Even when snapped at, her brother only looked at her kindly.

“I’m always sorry. I should’ve taken better care of you.”
“Ugh, that’s so cringey… Are you doing this because you’re going to the dorm? It’s not like we’re separating forever…”

Without realizing those words were his last, Doyeon slipped on her shoes and left without replying.

That was the end of young Doyeon’s first scene.

“……”

Silence filled the room.

Yeon Dohun’s actor, who was supposed to continue with a monologue, couldn’t speak.

“…She totally stole the scene. From a complete newbie.”

The assistant director muttered.

That was the moment Joo Saei’s presence became firmly engraved in the team’s minds.

The first script reading of Your Blue Name ended.

Writer Choi Gijeong gave brief feedback.

“This drama requires more from its child actors than anything I’ve written before. Youth looks light, but our leads’ stories aren’t.”

She smiled while holding the mic.

“I needed convincing performances. That’s why I asked Jehyun, who’s done my child roles twice before. Didn’t he fit perfectly?”
“He was Hajin himself!”

A supporting actor chimed in.

“And Doyeon… I was worried during casting. Then Saei appeared.”

She looked at Saei and Jehyun and smiled.

“Even though it’s her first shoot, she’s amazing. I don’t even need to give feedback.”
“…!”
“Thank you, both of you. For showing me my Hajin and my Doyeon.”

Publicly thanking actors like this was rare.

“Alright, let’s give them a round of applause! For our child actors!”

As applause poured out, Saei sneaked a glance at Jehyun.

He was already looking at her, and their eyes met.

“W-What are you staring at…?!”

He pretended to be calm, but his stiff body and obvious awareness of her betrayed him.

…What’s wrong with him?

Not long ago, he had coldly ignored her.

Now, he was acting like an overheated, malfunctioning machine.