If S#87 showcased Yeong-wol’s unparalleled strength,  
S#88 was the highlight where her true identity was revealed.  

‘Would this count as a red pill moment?’  

As Ha-eun prepared to film S#88, the most troubling part was understanding Yeong-wol’s emotions after her secret as a woman was finally exposed.  
This scene prominently displayed the unique traits of her "disguised as a man" character.  

Like countless other female characters disguised as men, Yeong-wol was flustered when her identity was uncovered.  
Despite her injuries, she desperately tried to hide her femininity.  

‘The mask.’  

To Yeong-wol, her male guise was the mask that had allowed her to stay by Lee Hyun’s side.  
Even though it was too late, she turned away from Lee Hyun to hide her exposed upper body.  

Only as Yeong-wol, the bodyguard, could she remain near Lee Hyun.  
She had to wear that mask of lies, from start to finish, to be with him.  

However, now that the mask had been removed,  
now that her true identity had been revealed,  

Yeong-wol subconsciously knew she could no longer hide her secret.  
She could no longer stay by Lee Hyun’s side.  

**“Punish this woman who dared deceive Your Highness….”**  

Engulfed in deep sorrow, she accepted the punishment for deceiving Lee Hyun all this time.  
Her outward appearance was frailer than ever before.  

Ha-eun understood why someone as strong as Yeong-wol would become so weak over something as simple as her identity being exposed.  
No, she had known it all along.  

‘Of course, she’s afraid.’  

In her past life, Ha-eun had also crafted a false image to gain affection.  
She knew all too well the terror of having her frail, true self exposed by an unintentional mistake.  

The vanishing of the affection earned through a lie.  
The abandonment and rejection that filled the void of what she had once desperately sought.  

Strictly speaking, Yeong-wol had not yet been abandoned or rejected.  
But she firmly believed she would soon be cast away by Lee Hyun.  

Ha-eun, who had experienced that searing pain countless times in her past life, thought Yeong-wol’s feelings must be the same.  
She believed Yeong-wol’s expression could be mirrored in the dark reflection she once saw in a hospital window.  

A pitiful figure with not even a grain of hope left.  
Quietly, Yeong-wol waited for Lee Hyun’s judgment.  

-*Swish.*  

Instead of cold words, warm fingers slid between her scarred fingers.  
Following this was a voice, calm and gentle, entirely devoid of anger.  

**“They’re so small.”**  

When Yeong-wol turned her gaze, almost instinctively, she was met with a serene expression.  
There wasn’t even a trace of betrayal in Lee Hyun’s face.  

She couldn’t help but be flustered.  
She couldn’t help but feel confused.  

She was a criminal who had deceived the Crown Prince.  
Punishment and judgment were all she deserved.  

Mercy and kindness were impossible.  
They shouldn’t exist.  

Yet—  

**“Thank you for coming back.”**  

His eyes.  
His expression.  
His voice.  

And lastly, the warmth of the hand that enveloped hers.  

**“And from now on… don’t leave again. That’s an order.”**  

It was nothing but warmth.  

What could she say?  
What could she possibly say?  

A scene she had never even dreamed of.  
A scene she wasn’t even allowed to dream of.  

It was impossible to believe that such a dreamlike moment was reality.  

**“I am a sinner… for deceiving Your Highness.”**  
**“And you are the benefactor who saved my life.”**  
**“I only wanted to stay by your side. It was my selfish desire.”**  
**“It’s because of that selfish desire that I’m still alive.”**  
**“I feared the oppression my father would face, so I couldn’t trust you and fled!”**  
**“That was my failing, not yours.”**  

**“How could I blame you?”**  
The quiet voice that followed completely shattered Yeong-wol.  

Her head lowered.  
Her shoulders began to shake.  
Her voice, slowly trembling, became tinged with tears.  

**“You must not, Your Highness. You cannot embrace a sinful woman like me….”**  

Her guilt toward Lee Hyun made her speak words that went against her heart.  
But the response that came from his still-gentle voice was—  

**“If I cannot embrace the woman I love, how could I ever embrace my people?”**  

It was what Yeong-wol had always longed to hear.  

**“I cherish you, Wol-ah.”**  

The sincerity in his voice made her breath stop for a moment.  
At the same time, her heartbeat quickened.  

Cautiously, she raised her gaze, which had been trembling.  
Finally, at the very end, she managed to ask:  

**“Since… when…?”**  
**“Since the moment you saved me once again. Or perhaps, even from that day in the forest.”**  

Strictly speaking, Lee Hyun realized his feelings for Yeong-wol as love only after her identity was revealed.  
However, his affection for her had been there for a long time.  

**“Please, grant me the request to keep you by my side.”**  

Yeong-wol’s unintentional confession was returned in a form she had never dared imagine.  

What she saw was a faint smile.  
Lee Hyun’s warm touch remained as gentle as ever.  

At that moment, Ha-eun, too, made an expression she had never once shown.  
An expression she had never been able to make.  

‘…Amazing.’  
‘This will definitely boost the ratings.’  
‘This scene will make the headlines for sure.’  

Her gaze, filled with emotions welling up from deep within.  
Eyes glistening with tears, yet not sorrowful.  
Lips trembling, unable to easily form any words.  

All of it reflected Yeong-wol’s true feelings for the first time.  
The love she had hidden and suppressed for so long.  

Something Yeong-wol believed could never come true.  

But, in the end—  

**“Please… be my husband.”**  
**“Gladly.”**  

Her plea was answered.  

The two locked eyes, their gazes filled only with affection for each other.  
The distance between them, which had narrowed before they realized it, closed further.  

Lee Hyun’s hand gently cradled the back of Yeong-wol’s head.  
They drew closer and closer until—  

-*Tap.*  

When they could come no closer, their eyes slowly closed.  
At the same time, a single warm tear slid down Yeong-wol’s left cheek.  

S#88.  
Reunion.  

A perfect conclusion, befitting its name.  

***

“What do you think, Sung-jae?”
“I think it came out well, especially the emotional arc.”
“What about you, Ha-eun?”
“I… think it turned out well.”

To be honest, the thought of reshooting was overwhelming.
After all, this was Ha-eun’s first time acting in a scene involving physical contact in her 18 years of life.

She had known about the existence of the skinship scene for a long time.
But there was a bigger gap than she had anticipated between knowing it intellectually and actually performing it.

Of course, since it was acting, there wasn’t a pressing need to dwell on it.
Still, the thought of reshooting the scene and repeatedly acting out physical contact was a bit daunting.
Besides, it would be difficult to instantly reignite the emotional intensity Yeong-wol had just displayed.

But, in any case, the shoot had been flawless—
so flawless, in fact, that it seemed doubtful they could replicate it even if they tried.
Even Jin Gyu-seong agreed there wasn’t a problem with the scene.

“Both of you did great today.”

The director announced the end of the day’s shoot for the two lead actors of Moonlit Divide, Yoo Sung-jae and Ha-eun,
as well as the rest of the crew.

However, Sung-jae and a few of the male actors had to stay behind.
The reason being—

“It might be better to practice with the music on full volume. Does anyone have a Bluetooth speaker?”
“Hee-seong went to get one.”

A special promotional dance video for Moonlit Divide was just around the corner.

Since everyone had their own schedules, it made sense to practice while they were all still gathered on set.
After all, it was an effort to ensure the success of Moonlit Divide, so the actors were determined to give it their best.

The dance practice continued for about 30 minutes,
and someone had been quietly watching the entire time.

“Isn’t that Ha-eun over there?”
“Has her manager not arrived? Why hasn’t she gone home yet?”

Before long, urged by the others—who claimed it was his duty as the “older brother” of the group—
Yoo Sung-jae paused the dance practice and approached Ha-eun.
However, before he could ask why she was still on set—

“Can I join?”
“Join the dance video? Or just the practice?”
“Hmm… both?”

Ha-eun had come forward with a request to appear in the dance video.

In her memory, the Moonlit Divide special promotional video had garnered significant buzz.
With over 10 million views, she thought that her inclusion as Yeong-wol could generate even more excitement.

After a moment of deliberation, Sung-jae asked the promotional team staff if Ha-eun could participate.

“Ha-eun can’t join.”

However, Jin Gyu-seong, who happened to overhear the conversation, immediately shut it down.
His reasoning was that participating in the dance video might damage Yeong-wol’s strong and charismatic image, particularly in the early and mid-stages of the drama.

Ha-eun personally didn’t think it would have much of an impact,
but since the director had spoken, she gave up on appearing in the dance video.

Still—

“Then, can I at least join the practice?”
“I won’t stop you from practicing, but… why do you want to?”
“Oh, well… it just looks fun.”

And so, Ha-eun joined the dance practice after all.

‘Who else can say they danced with Yoo Sung-jae?’

Her reasoning was purely personal.

Thus, the dance practice resumed, now with Ha-eun included.
Unlike the male actors who had practiced together several times before, this was Ha-eun’s first time joining. They decided to treat her participation as symbolic rather than serious.

However—

‘Why is she so good?’

Having practiced for the Phantasm Audition promotional video in the past,
and vividly recalling the choreography from Moonlit Divide’s special video in her memories,
Ha-eun blended seamlessly into the group.

“This could go into the behind-the-scenes reel.”

A staff member, impressed by Ha-eun’s flawless dancing, suggested including the footage in the making-of video.
This time, Gyu-seong didn’t have any objections and accepted the suggestion.

A few days later, during a promotional meeting for Moonlit Divide—

“Rather than Sung-jae appearing alone on 2 Days and 3 Nights, wouldn’t it be better for Ha-eun to join as well?”

Several additional ideas for promoting the drama with actress Lee Ha-eun were proposed.
The most popular suggestion involved 2 Days and 3 Nights, one of KBC’s flagship variety shows.

Although its ratings had dipped slightly in recent years,
the show was still a strong platform for achieving their promotional goals.

However, Ha-eun’s status as a minor raised some concerns.
The show had a reputation for being a bit rough, which made Gyu-seong hesitant.

If Ha-eun came across as awkward or inexperienced, it could harm Yeong-wol’s image as well.
Thus, Gyu-seong expressed his concerns about sending Ha-eun to such a variety program.

“What? Director, are you serious? Ha-eun is amazing on variety shows!”
“…What do you mean by that?”

After hearing about Ha-eun’s legendary guest appearance on the popular variety show Don’t Stop People years ago,
or more precisely, after seeing the viral GIF titled Han Yu-hwa teaching wannabe Do-joon’s a lesson with her physique,
Gyu-seong began to reconsider.

“Having both lead actors appear on 2 Days and 3 Nights together… might not be a bad idea.”

Gyu-seong’s stance shifted in favor of Ha-eun joining the show.
The sheer impact and freshness of the viral clip had left quite the impression on him.