NoveLight ™
Jo Ha-rin was a girl from the countryside, freshly graduated from high school. Ignoring her parents' wishes for her to go to college, she had ventured to Seoul on her own, a rural girl in the big city.
But it wasn’t that she had come to Seoul without a plan. Unlike her parents, who wanted her to have a normal job, Jo Ha-rin had always harbored a dream since she was a child.
And she hadn’t come to Seoul without a strategy.
"Produce Star 200..."
Jo Ha-rin muttered to herself, releasing a tense sigh.
It was a large-scale audition program with 200 aspiring idols participating. Thousands of applicants had applied—not just from Korea but from overseas as well.
Jo Ha-rin had proudly passed the preliminary round, which had seen thousands of applicants, and earned the right to participate in the main broadcast.
"Yes, I can definitely do this."
She nodded repeatedly, almost looking a bit foolish. But her round, bright eyes, full of determination, evoked a protective instinct.
Jo Ha-rin looked at the photos stored on her slightly outdated phone, nodding again. But only for a moment.
"But..."
Her eyes started to tremble as she stared at the photos. Her attempt to escape reality had reached its limit.
"Where am I?"
For a girl from the countryside, Seoul was overwhelming. This was her whispered question as she stood in the middle of Gangnam Boulevard, with only two hours left until the Produce Star 200 shoot began.
As Jo Ha-rin appeared on screen, the chat of viewers watching the live broadcast started to fill with comments. The character’s design was unremarkable—a country girl who came to Seoul dreaming of becoming an idol. It was a common setup, but one that often resonated well.
Jo Ha-rin currently wore large, horn-rimmed glasses. Her hair was simply tied back in a single ponytail.
Her clothes were baggy, emphasizing her awkwardness. For viewers who were familiar with Seoyeon’s appearance, this transformation felt oddly out of place.
"What do I do!"
After a brief transition to another character’s story, the drama returned to Jo Ha-rin’s part. The first episode of Dream Future primarily introduced the main characters. Jo Ha-rin was only given about ten minutes of screen time.
There weren’t many scenes she could showcase. And with the drama nearing its end, the remaining time was limited.
Each character was given, at most, five minutes.
Though there was a final scene where all the characters appeared together, which could extend her time a bit.
However...
Jo Ha-rin’s character was bound to attract critics. Many people disliked overly bubbly characters, and a country girl coming to the big city had its own frustrating elements.
Moreover, her rustic appearance didn’t leave a good impression, so the live chat was filling up with negative comments.
"Are you okay?"
Someone called out to Jo Ha-rin as she ran around, lost and unable to find the filming location.
It was Kim Si-hwan.
He carefully asked, seeing the panic on Jo Ha-rin’s face.
"Huh? What?"
Jo Ha-rin looked up at Kim Si-hwan with a startled expression. To her, a girl from the countryside, he was shockingly handsome, leaving her almost speechless.
"Oh, um, I’m trying to get to this place."
This was her first time receiving kindness in Seoul. Her voice trembled as she explained the location, and Kim Si-hwan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Oh, I happen to be heading there too." "What?" "Shall we go together?"
He smiled warmly as he spoke, and Jo Ha-rin nodded slightly before quickly shaking her head. No matter how desperate she was, she couldn’t impose on him like that.
"I’m really sorry, but..." "No, let’s go together." "...?"
Kim Si-hwan, who had answered kindly with a smile, turned out to be unexpectedly insistent. He tossed a motorcycle helmet to Jo Ha-rin.
"Get on." "Wait, hold on." "Let’s go!" "..."
With his insistence, Jo Ha-rin was forced onto his motorcycle, and they sped off to the filming location. It all happened in a flash. Riding a motorcycle for the first time left Jo Ha-rin dizzy.
"We’re rivals now at the audition."
Kim Si-hwan said this as they arrived at the filming location. He was about to walk away as if their interaction had ended. It made sense.
After all, Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan had just met for the first time that day. Normally, Jo Ha-rin would have simply bowed and parted ways.
However...
On impulse, Jo Ha-rin reached out and tugged at his sleeve as he turned away.
"Um." "Yes?" "Why did you help me today?"
Jo Ha-rin was genuinely curious. For him, it was just a small act of kindness, but for her, it was the first kindness she had received since coming to Seoul.
He was the first person to reach out a hand to her in a world that felt completely foreign.
Kim Si-hwan chuckled softly at Jo Ha-rin’s question.
"Because I thought I’d get lucky." "What?" "I just had that feeling."
He answered simply. It was a silly answer, but Jo Ha-rin watched as he walked away with a smile. Beneath her glasses, Jo Ha-rin’s eyes sparkled.
Her lips parted slightly, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes trembled.
"I see." "Yeah, that’s all there is to it."
As Kim Si-hwan casually responded, Jo Ha-rin smiled. Even though he was pretending to be nonchalant, Jo Ha-rin knew.
She knew that he was just making excuses. There was no real reason for him helping her.
Kim Si-hwan had simply seen her struggling and decided to help. There was no deeper reason. It was pure kindness.
And that awkward excuse made her smile.
At that smile...
The viewers momentarily forgot to type in the chat as they watched Jo Ha-rin. There were no further lines.
But it felt as if Jo Ha-rin’s emotions were being conveyed directly through the screen.
The moment of falling in love.
Or the moment of feeling attraction for the first time, all without a single line of dialogue.
‘The moment of falling in love.’
The relationship between Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan begins with a somewhat clumsy encounter. Jo Ha-rin’s unrequited love is sparked by her instant attraction to Kim Si-hwan, who helped her.
So...
If that scene appeared awkward or didn’t resonate with the audience, it would come across as simply absurd.
And the drama’s ratings would plummet as a result.
Director Kim Pil-seok had said,
“No matter what, isn’t this lacking in plausibility?” “People can fall in love at first sight, can’t they?”
The camera director had responded to Kim Pil-seok’s comment, but Kim Pil-seok shook his head.
“It’s a work of fiction.”
That’s why it needed more plausibility. In reality, stranger things might happen, but in fiction, it required more believability.
Plausibility.
A necessary rule for fictional stories.
“Seoyeon, I’ll try my best to direct this well, but the acting is crucial.” “Yes.” “The dialogue between Jo Ha-rin and Kim Si-hwan is just a few lines, and the screen time is under two minutes.”
Within that short time, Seoyeon needed to convey Jo Ha-rin’s feelings and make the audience believe in her growing attraction to Kim Si-hwan. It wasn’t just about following the script; it was about visibly portraying that change of heart.
“Can you do it? If not, I’ll talk to Writer Im about revising the script.”
Seoyeon shook her head at Director Kim Pil-seok’s suggestion.
“I’ll give it a try.” “Hmm.”
Honestly, Im Jin-ha’s script was a bit childish. But it wasn’t without its charm.
With one hit under his belt, it was clear that his career wasn’t undeserved.
“Alright.”
Director Kim Pil-seok’s approach was to trust the actor if they believed they could handle it. Plus, he was curious to see what this young actress would bring to the table.
Thus...
Seoyeon managed to complete the scene after several takes, probably the most takes she’d ever needed in her life. That’s how unfamiliar this type of acting was to her.
Emotions she wasn’t used to portraying.
Affection.
Love.
When asked if she had ever harbored such feelings for someone, she wasn’t sure.
Friendship and affection fell under the same category. But when she watched movies and related media, love seemed different.
Love was a very intense emotion.
And the moment of falling in love was a particularly special one.
Not knowing it, not being ready for it...
Seoyeon couldn’t immerse herself in it. So...
“Sometimes, imagining it can be even more beautiful.”
Actress Jung Eun-sun had said.
“Seoyeon, your vague longing for love. Just shaping it into the beautiful form you imagine might be even better than the real thing.”
There were instances when writers or actors who specialized in romance eventually found themselves unable to express those feelings accurately.
After experiencing the bitterness of love, they could no longer convey it through their performances or writing.
“That’s how it is.”
Actress Jung Eun-sun smiled at the young Seoyeon.
“Someday, Seoyeon, you might have a wonderful love. But save those feelings for when the time comes.”
It might have been a casual remark. But to Seoyeon, it was deeply resonant.
‘Imitation of emotions.’
It was a process Seoyeon had become very familiar with.
So she knew how someone in love would act, how they would smile. But there was a part of her that wasn’t satisfied with just that.
“Now, contestant number 178, Jo Ha-rin, right?”
Jo Ha-rin stood on stage, facing the five judges in the preliminary round of the Produce Star 200 audition.
Thanks to Kim Si-hwan’s help, she had arrived on time for her performance.
“I heard you came up from the countryside. That must have been a tough decision.” “Yes.”
Jo Ha-rin smiled as she responded to the judge.
“A little bit.” “I see.”
The judge, who had a stern expression, said.
“Well then, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Although the judges were smiling, their demeanor suggested they weren’t expecting much. Clips of other idol contestants flashed by, including the four main characters who had already appeared, such as Song So-ha and Park Min-yul.
Finally, Kim Si-hwan’s gaze lingered on Jo Ha-rin as she took hold of the microphone.
Before dancing, she needed to be evaluated on her singing.
The chat picked up speed as viewers, who had already heard Seoyeon sing in the variety show, expressed their concerns.
She wasn’t bad.
That was the general opinion, but in a drama, an awkwardly competent performance could be even harder to listen to.
However...
This wasn’t Seoyeon standing on stage.
It was Jo Ha-rin.
A girl who had just fallen in love.
‘I don’t know what that feeling is, but...’
She had experienced it through many media.
Sometimes it appeared in terrible forms, but that emotion was mostly portrayed as beautiful.
It was something that made her long to experience it herself one day.
Seoyeon’s singing lacked emotion, which made it feel awkward to everyone.
Especially Han Da-young, the wizard she had met through Ji-yeon.
“Putting emotion into your voice is a natural thing.”
Han Da-young had told Seoyeon that she was too self-conscious about it.
“You’re not a robot, right, Seoyeon? People naturally express emotions when they speak, without thinking about it. It’s the same with singing.”
Seoyeon thought she was past this, but apparently not.
It wasn’t just about speaking; it was about singing.
“Singing is just an extension of speaking. If you try too hard to put emotion into it, you’ll miss out on a lot.”
Just like Seoyeon’s singing now.
Han Da-young had done her best to help Seoyeon understand how to sing naturally.
‘The emotion Jo Ha-rin felt.’
It wasn’t replaced with a specific form.
Seoyeon simply sketched out that form vaguely.
Not through method acting, but through emotional imitation.
She painted a picture in her mind, adding her imagination.
And her longing.
The chat displayed reactions of confusion.
A delicate voice spread across the stage.
The judges, who had been somewhat indifferent, widened their eyes as they focused on Jo Ha-rin.
The viewers watching the broadcast were also captivated.
It was a love song.
The song Jo Ha-rin sang on stage was a gentle ballad.
A soft, clear voice.
While it lacked technical skill, her voice was enchanting.
Jo Ha-rin’s eyes softened, and she wore a pure, clear smile as she sang.
A girl in love.
It was as if she were portraying that very moment, singing lightly to the rhythm, like a flower blooming.
Radiant and beautiful emotions spread beyond the screen.
The expressions on the judges’ faces, and finally, the faces of Kim Si-hwan and Song So-ha, were shown.
From Song So-ha’s perspective as the lead female character, it hinted at the arrival of a strong rival.
At the same time, this scene had not originally been emphasized in the script.
In the original script, Jo Ha-rin was supposed to sing awkwardly and pass the audition by relying on her dancing skills.
However, Director Kim Pil-seok had made some adjustments.
Of course, he had consulted with the writer first.
This resulted in the current scene.
A highlight for Jo Ha-rin, which came about two-thirds into the first episode.
And this choice...
["Dream Future is not just a comedy—It starts strong with 15% viewership!"]
["Is her awkward singing acting? Ju Seoyeon's surprising charm"]
["Peak viewership hits 21%! Signs of a Dream Future hit"]
...sparked an explosive reaction.
Tyfc
tftc