What might Princess Yeon-hwa have thought as she stood with her back to the sun?
Seo-yeon had to ponder over that for several days.
An actor must be able to grasp their character.
Method acting, which immerses oneself in emotions, ultimately stems from that understanding.
"Usually, in such cases, it's easier to think from the character's perspective, right?"
When she asked Yoon Jong-hyuk, who was resting in his makeup as Grand Prince Jo Young, that was how he answered.
"Well, it's a bit of a cliché, but that's the simplest method. Or there's the method of projecting your own experiences... but that would be difficult for you since you're still young, Seo-yeon."
In truth, there is no right answer in acting.
Yoon Jong-hyuk said so while stroking Seo-yeon's head.
It seemed he found it endearing that a young child actor was trying to interpret the character in her own way.
"It is not good to put too much of your own thoughts into the character."
And when she cautiously asked actress Jung Eun-sun, she gave that answer.
"What is written in the script. The explanations and settings regarding the character. They are detailed there. Trying to do more than that is usually greed. Besides, The Moon That Hid the Sun is a work with an original novel."
In the case of works with an original, the fans of the work inevitably become more critical of the interpretation of the characters.
If too much subjectivity from the actor or director is inserted, the character becomes entirely different.
That is certainly not the result the fans would want.
However, the drama's viewership will consist of more people who haven't read the original.
The original work is mostly the correct answer, but one cannot be certain that it is never wrong.
The reactions of the novel's readership and the viewership can differ.
'Of course, there's a whole truckload of dramas that got cursed at for adapting the novel too much.'
Seo-yeon thought so and nodded her head.
Even though actress Jung Eun-sun specializes in method acting, she said so.
Perhaps because Seo-yeon was a child actor, going beyond that might indeed be greed.
'I don't know.'
In the first place, Seo-yeon had never properly learned acting.
So she had no choice but to ask around and figure it out through trial and error herself.
Just as Yoon Jong-hyuk had said, she tried thinking from the character's perspective.
She tried to become Princess Yeon-hwa and recall a similar experience.
But, funny enough, she had none.
Even projecting her past life, her past where she couldn't properly understand emotions was of no help.
Because Joo Seo-yeon was so young, there was nothing she could properly call an experience.
So Seo-yeon read the original novel.
She wanted to know what Princess Yeon-hwa felt.
She read the script countless times.
Expressed emotions in various ways.
Practice.
And practice.
She had no choice but to act it out herself to find out what the correct answer was.
That was extremely difficult.
For the young Seo-yeon.
For a child who didn't know emotions, it might have been cruel.
But.
"Seo-il."
Standing with her back to the sun, Princess Yeon-hwa was the moon.
"I believed you would come here."
Princess Yeon-hwa, Lee Hye-wol, said so.
Wearing a sorrowful smile, unlike her furious appearance toward Grand Prince Jo Young.
It was an emotion too difficult for the young Yoon Seo-il.
Perhaps even Lee Hye-wol herself did not know.
Anger.
Resentment.
Those emotions were directed not only at Grand Prince Jo Young, but also at herself.
"Why."
Towards such a Lee Hye-wol, Yoon Seo-il spoke.
"Why must Your Highness leave? Isn't this wrong?"
Yoon Seo-il said so, and his lips parted.
He had many things he wanted to say.
"Just why!"
However, the young Yoon Seo-il could not spit out those emotions and thoughts.
Because he was still a child.
The fact that he was the son of the Great Scholar of Sungkyunkwan was laughably...
Seo-il's thoughts and emotions could not form into words.
"Do not leave, Your Highness. You must not go. Please, do not leave me behind."
In the end, what spilled from Seo-il's mouth, unable to find the right words, was merely the pleading typical of a young child.
He knew it was obviously not allowed.
Even so, the young Yoon Seo-il said it.
Not to leave.
Just that.
"Seo-yeon, are you really okay?"
That sight overlapped with Soo-ah's words.
Soo-ah, who had asked several times if she was really okay.
And Young-bin's face looking at her with worried eyes came to mind.
Yoon Jong-hyuk had said.
If you want to know the character's feelings, finding it in your past experiences is also a method.
Fortunately.
Coincidentally, Seo-yeon was in a similar situation to Princess Yeon-hwa.
"You can continue acting while doing child actor work. An opportunity like this has come, right?"
PD Ha Tae-oh wanted to persuade Seo-yeon.
Asking how about trying a little more.
Clearly, the lifespan of child actors is short and it could be difficult, but that's not the case for everyone.
He asked if it wasn't a waste.
He pressed her, asking if she would really let go of what others dream of having in their hands.
Just one work.
Merely one drama.
That was all Seo-yeon had done.
With that alone, she gained a reputation that was almost more than she deserved.
She might not be this lucky next time.
That must be why PD Ha Tae-oh was saying this.
Of course, Seo-yeon knew that too.
"Seo-il."
Princess Yeon-hwa exhaled.
Lee Hye-wol closed her eyes.
Joo Seo-yeon closed her eyes.
To Seo-yeon, emotions were a pretty aquarium.
A small fish tank that wanted to resemble the ocean.
"We are still young, and"
To Seo-yeon, emotions were the sun reflected on the water's surface.
Something dazzlingly bright but unknowable.
"There is much we do not know, and"
The sun reflected on the water certainly looked exactly like the real thing, but was infinitely different.
It wasn't warm, and if the surface rippled, it would simply scatter.
"There will surely be many things we cannot do."
Now, Seo-yeon could walk on the water's surface.
She could look up at the real sun, not the one reflected on the water.
There were many things she wanted to do.
Unfortunately, she was not a very talented person.
She couldn't grasp many things at once.
Remembering her past life.
She felt the gap between her mind and body growing wider.
Surely, it would get even worse once she hit puberty.
"But."
Lee Hye-wol smiled.
Perhaps Seo-yeon and Princess Yeon-hwa were different.
Princess Yeon-hwa, who was driven out against her will.
Seo-yeon, who was leaving of her own accord, couldn't be the same.
"Because we are still young, we have time to learn many things, and"
Reading the book, Seo-yeon was able to understand Princess Yeon-hwa's feelings, even if just a little.
Anger, resentment.
She buried them deep in her heart the moment she left.
The young Lee Hye-wol had a strong heart.
Definitely stronger than Seo-yeon.
"There will be opportunities to do many things."
So even if the situations were different, she would definitely say this.
"Because we are still young."
She hadn't given up.
That she would definitely return.
It was something she could say because she had made up her mind to return.
Like herself, Seo-yeon.
So now, right at this moment.
Seo-yeon could act.
She could become the young Lee Hye-wol.
She could wet her body in the sea, and look into that deep ocean.
Not the false emotions reflected on the surface.
But the deep emotions submerged beneath the surface.
The real acting.
"So I promise you."
Lee Hye-wol's voice trembled.
The sun she turned her back to.
Becoming the moon that hid the sun.
"Definitely,"
Towards Yoon Seo-il, and towards herself, Lee Hye-wol spoke.
"I will definitely return."
Princess Yeon-hwa's lips formed a smile, trembling slightly.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Lee Hye-wol clutched her chest and breathed out.
"No matter what happens, I will surely return."
And, she smiled at Yoon Seo-il, who was staring blankly at her.
"Please don't forget and wait for me."
One step, and then another.
Under the sky dyed red by the sunset, Lee Hye-wol reached out her hand to Yoon Seo-il, who stood speechless.
"Will you promise me?"
The hand that signified a promise.
"That you won't forget."
The young Yoon Seo-il.
And the young Park Jung-woo came to his senses belatedly.
'It's... completely different from the audition.'
It was the first time.
That he had lost his mind watching a fellow child actor's performance.
Forgetting even his lines, staring blankly at the other person's face.
So, Park Jung-woo.
The only thing the young Yoon Seo-il could say was one thing.
"Yes, definitely."
Just saying that, he hooked his finger against Princess Yeon-hwa's pinky.
A promise, so very childlike.
And.
The screen pulls away at once, showing the two of them.
The palace visible below the hill.
The somber face of Queen Dowager Eun-hye.
Finally, the appearance of Grand Prince Jo Young sitting on the throne.
Like that.
Episode 3 of The Moon That Hid the Sun ended.
***
"PD Ha..."
KMB Drama Department.
After Episode 3 of The Moon That Hid the Sun ended, a quiet silence fell.
No one dared to ask how the result was.
They had temporarily turned their eyes away, afraid of the posts going up on the community forums.
"...It's a hit."
Only then did everyone's gaze move.
The face of the staff member trying to hold back a smile.
The freshly calculated viewership ratings were in front of him.
It was only Episode 3.
They had definitely hoped for a hit.
"Oh my god."
Ha Tae-oh rubbed his eyes.
Because there, viewership ratings that couldn't possibly come out in Episode 3 were displayed.
***
"Oh..."
Yoon Jong-hyuk, who had already seen the footage once, admired it anew.
He recalled how Seo-yeon had been depressed for a while after filming this.
It was acting that immersed in emotions to that extent.
The only kind of acting Seo-yeon could do right now.
It was a scene where she exerted it to her limits.
Seeing that, Soo-ah sniffled and wiped her tears.
"Our daughter worked hard."
Her final acting of her child actor days.
Thinking like that, tears inexplicably fell from Soo-ah's eyes.
Seo-yeon smiled brightly at Soo-ah.
"It's okay."
She was truly okay.
Because she had already thought about what she was going to do.
'First, I need to attend a voice acting academy, and I should find an acting academy too.'
Of course, Seo-yeon didn't know.
How the acting academy would accept Seo-yeon, let alone the voice acting academy.
She had some regrets, but there was much more to look forward to.
"Sunbaenim."
Yoon Jong-hyuk, who was watching Seo-yeon from a little distance away, spoke.
"Which side are you on, Sunbaenim? The side that thinks it's a waste? Or the side that thinks it's the right thing."
"Well."
Park Sun-woong looked back and forth between Seo-yeon and her mother, Soo-ah, before muttering.
Popularity is originally like an ember.
Because one never knows when it will go out, if one doesn't constantly pay attention to keep it from extinguishing, it will die out quickly.
So most people run with all their might when the embers flare up.
Until even the ashes burn, leaving only pitch-black residues.
"Honestly, it would be a lie to say it's not a waste."
It was an opportunity everyone wished to grasp.
How many people could let go of it so easily?
Of course, he knew the two had their own circumstances regarding Seo-yeon.
Because that sharp-witted child wouldn't have made such a choice blindly.
Probably, she made this decision because she truly had no other choice.
But humans can't easily let go of what they've gained.
So Park Sun-woong said.
"But occasionally, there are those whom even time cannot fade."
Starlight, not an ember.
One that does not go out, and can always shine in its place.
"I think that child is probably of that sort."
And the world calls such people this.
Stars.