“I mean, well…it’s not that I’m blameless, but that’s all?” Woo-Jin asked if that really was something to cry over. The movie's runtime had increased with the addition of the scene with Seol Ha. It would only be confirmed after the final edit, but at the very least, it wasn’t the case where they were removing one of Oh Ha-Na’s scenes or reducing the number of her scenes. Woo-Jin didn’t think it was a matter that warranted such a strong, negative response or something to feel indignant about.

“Oh Ha-Na is known for being greedy when it comes to her roles. Still, I’m guessing that she might have originally wanted to play Seol Ha and not Queen Yoon,” Kang Ho-Soo said.

“Has Oh Ha-Na not looked in the mirror?” Woo-Jin reacted very naturally. Oh Ha-Na’s age and appearance didn’t match Seol Ha at all. Putting her acting skills aside, as someone who was barely an adult, her youthful face wasn’t a good fit for the role because Seol Ha was a character that had gone through all kinds of turmoils and hardships in life. Director Yoon Seon had even said that he absolutely wouldn’t have cast Chae Woo-Jin two years ago, so it was evident that age was an essential factor to consider when casting actors for a role.

“She even specifically learned how to dance and tried her best, but I guess her agency said it was absolutely impossible, so she had no choice but to audition for Queen Yoon’s part. Nonetheless, it seems like it won’t be easy for her to let it go. She’s confident of her own abilities and believes she can do a good job. Perhaps because people around her kept shooting her down, she finds it even more unfair,” Kang Ho-Soo said.

The more competitive a person was, they tended to struggle more from letting go of their unfulfilled dreams. Under such circumstances, it was understandable for her to feel upset and resentful. She had already cried a lot before going to the studio, but receiving the second blow from Woo-Jin while not having full control over her emotions might have made her rather upset.

“Should I make a formal apology to her?” Woo-Jin asked. It didn’t seem like a matter of Woo-Jin apologizing to her, but taking a step back for the sake of ensuring the production’s smooth progress wasn’t a bad move. There was a stereotype about child actors being firm and confident, but Oh Ha-Na didn’t seem to fit the stereotype, so Woo-Jin was surprised.

“There’s no need for an apology! Director Yoon Seon had also said that even though both Queen Yoon and Seol Ha were important figures to Prince Myeong-Hwan, Red Enemy is a movie that focuses mainly on Prince Myeong-Hwan,” Kang Ho-Soo replied firmly. In other words, regardless of who the female lead was, Prince Myeong-Hwan was the one and only main character of the movie. Hence, they only gave names for the roles during the auditions without explicitly stating who the female lead was.

“So what I’m trying to say is that there’s no need to argue about who the non-existent female lead is. Furthermore, if you apologize to Queen Yoon, how would Seol Ha feel?” Kang Ho-Soo continued. Naturally, there were bound to be some conflicts between the actresses, but it was their problem, not Woo-Jin’s. Right now, he wasn’t in a position to take care of them or pay attention to their feelings. Woo-Jin himself wasn’t aware of his own status — at this point, he was no longer regarded as a rookie.

“I really have to be careful with my words.” He didn’t know that a casual conversation to which he didn’t give much thought would create such a problem. In conclusion, it felt like he got caught talking behind someone else’s back, which left a bad taste in his mouth.

“This was a good experience for you. Still, it was a neutral and cautious response. Thanks to that, we’ve also received confirmation from Director Yoon that this movie focuses entirely on Chae Woo-Jin. So things turned out pretty well.” This time around, Kang Ho-Soo seemed to be rather pleased with the outcome, remarking, ‘All’s well that ends well.’

Just then, Kang Ho-Soo got Woo-Jin’s attention once again as though he had just thought of something. “Woo-Jin, don’t be fooled by the tears and think that she has a tender heart. Oh Ha-Na has ten years of experience. You have to bear in mind that regardless of how young she is, she’s not an ordinary person. She has survived in this industry for ten years and is a successful actress.”

For a child to survive in the jungle, they would have no choice but to make a weapon that suited them. For Oh Ha-Na, it seemed to be tears.

***

April 1st.

Before they knew it, it was the first day of production for Red Enemy. Today’s shoot was about one winter day in the year Prince Myeong-Hwan turned 18. The king only had daughters back then. But, even at the age of 32, ministers started appealing to the king to appoint Prince Myeong-Hwan as the crown prince.

In the wake of the new year, some officials pressured the king to wait to have a baby boy as his successor, while the others objected to it, arguing that it was too early because the king was too young. Both sides kept arguing based on their own interests. As a result, the royal court was in an uproar. The king didn’t step out of his residence under the pretext of being ill, and it went on for three days. Eventually, Prince Myeong-Hwan knelt and groveled for forgiveness in front of the king’s residence.

It was warm on the day of the shoot, but the scene was set in December, in the middle of the raging cold spells. It was also a freezing day on the actual day of the incident. While Prince Myeong-Hwan was groveling on his knees, he was cursing at the old fogeys for appealing and petitioning to the king in the middle of winter instead of spring, thereby making him suffer in the cold. It was only natural for him to feel that way because after Prince Myeong-Hwan was done groveling outside, his entire body was frozen solid, such that he had frostbites all over his fingers and toes. It was so severe that he almost had to get them amputated, but he managed to overcome the crisis safely. If Prince Myeong-Hwan had lost just one finger back then, his life might have been a little easier after that. Hence, overcoming the crisis “safely” wasn’t exactly a fortunate thing.

“Please don’t use the hairspray.” Woo-Jin stopped the makeup artist from spraying it onto his hair as she wanted to tidy up his stray hair while adjusting his topknot. He wanted to let his hair flow down naturally after undoing his topknot when he was groveling for forgiveness. This was to avoid his hair from looking unkempt like the characters in other historical films and dramas from using hairspray to tidy up stray hair. In any case, his hairstyle wasn’t the same, so they couldn’t claim that it was an accurate representation. But when Prince Myeong-Hwan loosened his topknot back then, his hair fluttered beautifully.

Prince Myeong-Hwan had lovely hair because he used to wash it every day with calamus water and apply camellia oil to his hair before combing it carefully with a fine-toothed bamboo comb. When he removed his samo[1] and manggeon[2] before loosening his topknot, his hair didn’t remain clumped up like a rice cake.

After getting ready, Woo-Jin went to the area where the director and production crew were waiting. As Woo-Jin heard the director yell, ‘Ready, action!’ he slowly opened his eyes. This time around, Woo-Jin created a brand new Prince Myeong-Hwan for Red Enemy that was different from the Prince Myeong-Hwan of his past life, just like how he created a brand new Louie when he was shooting City of Shadows. The person who used to be Prince Myeong-Hwan in his past life would be portraying his former self. Hence, even Chae Woo-Jin himself didn’t know how the new Prince Myeong-Hwan would react.

~

A quiet commotion ensued when Prince Myeong-Hwan entered the palace accompanied by only one eunuch. The footsteps of the court ladies that passed by were quicker and different than usual. Just as he was about to get to the Daejeon[3], a Jimil Sanggung[4] of Jagyeongjeon[5] appeared before him. Perhaps, she had run over; he could see a cloud of condensation as she exhaled.

“Your Highness, you must have forgotten your way because it has been a while since you have visited the palace. The way to Jagyeongjeon is here.” She greeted Prince Myeong-Hwan and bowed, blocking the way to the Daejeon and pointed in the direction where she came from. As she bowed, her eyes trembled violently when she saw what Dong-Ho was holding in his hand. He was standing right behind the prince. She immediately recognized what the round and long thing wrapped with a white cotton cloth was.

“Your Highness came just in time. The queen dowager said that you appeared in her dream last night and said mournfully that it is because she longs to see you. If she had known that the dream allowed her to see you in person like this….” Prince Myeong-Hwan didn’t wait to listen to the remainder of the Sanggung’s words and just walked past her. She was startled, but as soon as she tried to follow behind him, the prince warned her in a low voice.

“I will meet with His Majesty first. I will pay the queen dowager a visit afterward, so be quiet.”

Prince Myeong-Hwan arrived in front of the Daejeon without any hesitation. He looked around the palace that was shrouded in silence. Since he had asked for an audience with the king in advance, there wasn’t any issue. However, even though they were aware of his visit, no instructions were given from the Daejeon. Prince Myeong-Hwan didn’t call out to the people guarding in front of the Daejeon or the court ladies either.

He looked at the snow falling from the sky and painted a picture in his mind. His eyes and mind were his brushes. Step by step, the surrounding landscape turned into an ink painting. Naturally, unnecessary things in the background were erased. He stood alone in the empty space and forgot about the time as he felt the blank, ink-painted snow touching against his skin. For a split second, a smile appeared on his lips. His cold and frozen eyes warmed up for the first time since entering the palace.

Even though it was only for a moment, this chilly place turned into a beautiful picture, allowing his mind to become calm and relaxed. However, his purity that found comfort in the inanimate painting was shattered by the appearance of a Sangsun[6] that penetrated through the ink painting, tearing it.

“Your Highness, you came all the way here, but you cannot seek an audience with His Majesty as he is taking a nap.”

“It does not matter if I do not see His Majesty.”

“I am sorry?”

As soon as the cunning Sangsun noticed what Dong-Ho was holding in his hand, he pretended to be surprised. However, Prince Myeong-Hwan ignored him and shifted his gaze towards the Daejeon before yelling out loud.

“Lee Hoo[7], the sinner has come to confess his sins to you, Your Majesty, and is here to seek punishment.”

Prince Myeong-Hwan turned around and looked at Dong-Ho behind him, signaling him with his eyes. After hesitating, Dong-Ho eventually placed the straw mat on the cold ground. It was so silent that one could hear the sound of snow piling up on the ground. The sound of the straw mat touching the ground resonated particularly loudly.

Prince Myeong-Hwan took off his official’s uniform and samo before giving them to Dong-Ho. He glanced briefly at the embroidered giraffe on the breastplate of his uniform. Today was a day where the meaning of the breastplate was exceptionally heavy. He purposely wore an unlined undergarment made of cotton and even removed his manggeon and loosened his topknot. He sat on top of the straw mat and first bowed respectfully to the king. Dong-Ho took a step back as he held onto Prince Myeong-Hwan’s clothes. The Sangsun pretended to be surprised by the current situation and acted flustered. Soon, he disappeared quietly into the Daejeon.

“Your Majesty is still well and healthy. I do not know why they came up with such an inauspicious petition. I am dull and foolish. How dare I bring this matter up to you? Please forgive those who momentarily made a foolish judgment for the sake of our country and punish the sinful Myeong-Hwan instead.” He emphasized the name ‘Myeong-Hwan’ that was given to him by his father and confessed his sins out loud.

The petition to appoint him as the crown prince had evidently been started by the queen dowager and her family, so Prince Myeong-Hwan wasn’t held accountable for their sins. He was also well aware that they were the fences that protected him. Nonetheless, if he stayed still and did nothing, he could truly become the crown prince. Judging from their power and actions, there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish. Even though their proposition to appoint Prince Myeong-Hwan as the crown prince didn’t go as planned, it was a serious claim judging from the state the king was in.

Even though the queen had a stillbirth, the main thing was that the queen had gotten pregnant several times before, and his concubines had given birth to daughters. This meant that the king could have a baby boy at any time.

“Father had me when he was 38. Your Majesty is much healthier and filled with vitality than him. Your Majesty should not be worried about your successor!”

When King Gyeong-Jo had his son at the age of 38, there wasn’t any rule forcing him to step down from the throne. The only person who had to die was none other than Lee Hoo himself. Prince Myeong-Hwan had to kneel and grovel for forgiveness because he felt it was too much for the people who insisted on getting him appointed as the crown prince.

“I, your subject’s existence blinds the eyes of your loyal subjects, and it makes Your Majesty feel concerned. Please sentence me to death for my sins of disrupting the foundation of the country and causing them to put pressure on you for having a successor!” He emphasized the word ‘subject’ instead of referring to himself as the king’s younger brother and told the king out loud to kill him.

After he was done speaking, gasps could be heard everywhere. At this moment, in the quiet palace, the people that needed to be careful with their words and actions let their guard down and expressed their emotions. The sounds of footsteps running in a jiffy were probably servants running to inform their masters. The palace only had one master, but the court ladies served many masters.

Lee Hoo was very cynical because of the bitter reality. He was born in the palace, but he left at a young age, so he never adapted to this underhanded world. The Daejeon was still as quiet as before. The king still hadn’t passed down any commands. Finally, Lee Hoo sat up straight and looked at the Daejeon in front of him. It was a race against time from now on.

1. Silk hat worn by government officials and bureaucrats. ☜

2. A type of netting headband made of woven horsehair, worn around the forehead to keep the hair tidy when worn in a topknot. ☜

3. The Great Hall, where the king resides. ☜

4. They were court ladies responsible for attending to the king, queen, queen dowager, and royal concubines. ☜

5. One of the royal residing quarters where the queen dowager resides. ☜

6. A eunuch in charge of meals in the palace. ☜

7. Prince Myeong-Hwan’s other name. ☜