In *Moonlight Drawn by Clouds*, the female lead, "Yeongwol," serves as the Crown Prince's bodyguard. She is a secretive protector of the male lead, "Crown Prince Lee Hyun."
Ordinarily, a woman like Yeongwol could not have beco a royal bodyguard. However, with her expert disguise as a man and her exceptional sword skills, no one suspected she was a woman.
This is why Ha-eun believed she needed to master swordsmanship if she wanted to be cast as Yeongwol. Although the swordsmanship required was for filming, rather than actual combat, both types demanded skill with a blade.
Ha-eun had mimicked Kim Kyu-tae's movents, hoping that by emulating his textbook-perfect form, she could deliver an impressive, "visually pleasing" sword performance.
However, from Kim Kyu-tae’s perspective…
‘…I’ve seen this sowhere before.’
Ha-eun’s swordsmanship seed closer to another style than his own.
Considering this was her first sword performance, she displayed remarkable talent. Most actors he’d taught struggled even to hold the right stance at first.
Her facial expressions, as if she were Yeongwol co to life, were flawless. Without any dialogue, she conveyed urgency, hostility, and murderous intent through her expressions alone.
But the feeling of familiarity in Ha-eun’s swordsmanship nagged at him. He spent a long ti trying to recall where he’d seen such swordplay.
‘Dad, can you teach this?’
‘Sorry, son. Not even I can make waves appear from my sword.’
Finally, he recalled an ani his young son had recently asked to learn from, a Japanese animation featuring a sword technique called “Water Breathing,” which traced ellipses with the blade, just like Ha-eun’s movents.
After Ha-eun’s flawless first performance, as she glanced over at Kim Kyu-tae, awaiting his feedback, he spoke:
“It’s true that the sword techniques in *Demon Slayer* look cool, but period drama swordplay is different. Let’s start from the basics.”
He made it clear that ani sword techniques were not the sa as real-life swordsmanship. Almost imdiately, Ha-eun’s face turned beet red.
Her ears burned so much that she could barely focus on the period swordsmanship lecture Kim Kyu-tae began. She couldn’t retain a single word.
***
After her first swordsmanship class, which had started with excitent and ended in embarrassnt…
“So, off to action school again today?”
“…Yes.”
Determined to overco the sha of her first class, Ha-eun asked Joo Jung-yoon to take her to Kim Kyu-tae’s action school almost daily. After all, she’d been training for twelve years now and couldn’t just stop.
For Kim Kyu-tae, however, it was a bit of a hassle. He had other actors to teach, and working seven days a week was a nightmare.
He understood Ha-eun’s desire to secure the role of Yeongwol through relentless sword training. After all, youthful passion often burned the brightest.
“Um, Ha-eun, as much as I admire your enthusiasm, having lessons every day might be a bit much.”
“Well… could I at least use the training grounds?”
“Huh? You’d really be okay with just using the grounds?”
“Yes.”
They reached an agreent that worked well for both. Ha-eun got her training space, and Kim Kyu-tae could point her out as a model for other stunt actors.
So, Ha-eun’s training resud, but sothing else made her schedule even more intense.
“Just one more ti, Ha-eun.”
“…Are you going to take responsibility if I lose my voice?”
“Of course, just one more ti.”
Thanks to accepting Double Lee's offer to feature in their song, she found herself spending hours in their studio. While being in the studio itself wasn’t too exhausting…
“Could you sing this part a bit lower than the chorus, but in your chest voice?”
“Didn’t you just ask to sing it in a higher falsetto?”
“Well, after listening again, it feels like the chest voice carries more emotion.”
Ha-eun had to constantly adjust her tone to et Double Lee’s ever-changing requests, which would shift every few minutes.
“This part needs to blend with our voices, so could you sing it a bit louder?”
“Can’t you just increase my volu?”
“No, you can’t say that. If the harmony is off, it’ll sound awful.”
Their exacting feedback drained her energy. The attention to detail far exceeded her regular singing lessons.
Of course, since they were working on a song for an album, the extra care made sense. Still, there was a limit.
- Beep.
“Now, Ha-eun, try cutting off the last note a bit shorter.”
- Beep.
“Hmm… Could you sing it with a fading effect this ti?”
- Beep.
“That was amazing, Ha-eun! Now, just increase the pitch slightly with that sa strength.”
- Beep, beep, beep…
She couldn’t understand why they made her record the sa part twenty tis. To her, every recording sounded exactly the sa. What could possibly be different?
“This feels like child abuse.”
“You’re eighteen, not a child. And there’s no backing out now.”
“Yeah, if you had concerns, you should have said them before signing the contract.”
Seeing Lee Gun-yeol and Lee Joon in perfect agreent left Ha-eun speechless. Besides, once she’d decided to do sothing, she preferred to give it her all.
Ha-eun ended up featuring on three of the thirteen songs in Double Lee’s new album, including the title track, “Tunnel.” Normally, a featured singer would only appear on two songs, so her case was unusual.
“Your voice is exceptional, Ha-eun. So, what if you did just one more song—”
“I believe soone said that these things should be discussed *before* signing the contract.”
“Tch.”
The benefits of having soone like Ha-eun as a featured artist far outweighed any drawbacks. Her voice perfectly complented Double Lee’s music.
However, the real issue arose with her decision to use a pseudonym.
“So, Ha-eun, do you really need to use an alias?”
“Yes.”
“What about using just your initials? That way, people might guess it’s you, which could be good for you too—”
- Glare.
“…If you insist, then… we’ll respect your choice…”
They reluctantly dropped the topic, and discussion turned to what her alias should be. With her unique voice that matched Double Lee’s style, her na had to stand out.
While Ha-eun herself wasn’t picky about the na…
“Image is everything for an artist.”
“For an anonymous artist?”
“Yes, even a na has an image. Who’d want to listen to a singer called ‘Tone-Deaf’?”
‘…I think people might give it a listen, just out of curiosity.’
The two n finally began to seriously discuss her stage na, only for their voices to start rising as they debated.
“I’ll choose my own na, thank you. Now, stop it.”
Seeing no reason to let things get heated over this, Ha-eun took control of the conversation.
“Did you have a na in mind?”
“…Pinocchio. I’ll go with Pinocchio.”
Pinocchio, the classic symbol of a liar, seed fitting for Ha-eun, who aspired to be the world’s greatest liar.
“Korean or English?”
“Korean. English would be too long.”
Thus, “feat. 피노키오 (Pinocchio)” was added to every track Ha-eun featured on. Finally, the day of the album release arrived.
[ Ha-eun, you should be here with us on a day like today. ]
“I have an important appointnt, but I promise to drop by tomorrow.”
She stood outside an MCN building, not Double Lee’s studio, awaiting the long-anticipated eting with the other Fantasia mbers.
After reassuring the disappointed voices over the phone…
“Phew…”
Taking a deep breath, Ha-eun headed inside for the eting she was both nervous and excited for.
The first person she t was Ji Hye-min, the project manager of Fantasia.
“Ah, welco, Ha-eun!”
Hye-min’s expression was lively, in contrast with her formal attire.
But Ha-eun’s gaze was drawn once again to the remarkable, conspicuous presence on Hye-min’s chest. She was inford that the other Fantasia mbers were already waiting.
“They’re all waiting for you, so let’s go say hello!”
It was also ntioned that the others already knew her identity.
This revelation made Ha-eun even more nervous. After walking down a long corridor, they finally reached the room where the other mbers waited.
- Squeak.
As Hye-min confidently opened the frosted glass door, Ha-eun found herself under the gaze of the others.
- Bow.
Without thinking, she respectfully bowed. At that mont, the won beyond the door seed more like celebrities than any she’d t before.
Of course, the won, caught off guard by her polite gesture, thought:
‘…Shouldn’t we be the ones bowing to her?’
Ha-eun’s courtesy made them feel slightly embarrassed.
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