A hunting cat.
Or perhaps, an eagle.
When Yoo Seong-jae first caught sight of Ha-eun’s sharp eyes, those were the images that ca to mind.
Of course, this impression was purely about her appearance. He didn’t think of Ha-eun herself as soone inherently fierce.
Her calm tone conveyed a composed and asured atmosphere,
with a layer of caution underlying her every move.
Despite his frequent attempts to strike up conversations,
Ha-eun didn’t push him away. She chose her words carefully,
making it easy for him to close the distance between them.
However, there was a particular mont from the past.
When Ha-eun’s blade—ant for an imaginary boar—barely missed Seong-jae’s robe.
The emotions radiating from her sharp gaze in that instant were far removed from anything resembling affection.
Romance... is it even possible?
This doubt lingered in Yoo Seong-jae’s mind.
As the male lead in The Moonlight Split by Clouds, a historical romance drama,
he couldn’t help but wonder if the genre’s core elent would co through.
He found it hard to imagine soone with Ha-eun’s piercing deanor portraying love.
It was an unnecessary concern.
Having a sharp appearance and performing as a character in love were, ultimately, two separate matters.
"From now on, I’ll only go out with you."
"M-? Just the two of us?"
"Yes, just the two of us. The others only nag endlessly."
The playful exchange during their outing seed lighthearted enough,
but Yeong-wol’s feelings betrayed none of that lightness.
The joy of being able to go on another outing with Lee Hyun filled her heart.
But so did sadness.
Yeong-wol, the bodyguard, could accompany Lee Hyun freely.
But Yeong-wol, the woman, was never granted that privilege.
"What has you so deep in thought? Do you hate following around as I enjoy my leisure every day?"
"…So, you’re aware of how much you enjoy your outings."
There was no self-awareness, however,
of how much his actions pained her.
The words she swallowed down left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Her heart still wavered.
The man she served as Crown Prince felt less like her superior and more like a man she admired.
Tap, tap.
"A bodyguard shouldn’t walk around with leaves on their shoulders."
Even the light brush of his hand as he removed the stray leaf startled her.
Her unspoken feelings, the ones she’d given up on expressing,
still weighed heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Her piercing gaze and sharp features remained.
Yet, the emotions layered over them—the feelings directed at Lee Hyun—
softened her in a way that made her appear less a warrior and more a woman.
In the past, Lee Hyun had only shown her the affection of a ruler toward a loyal subject.
But what Yeong-wol truly desired now was the affection between a man and a woman.
However, her belief that staying as his bodyguard was the best way to serve him held her back.
"…The sun is setting. You should return to the Eastern Palace."
Suppressing her desire to spend more ti with him,
she forced herself to walk behind him, not beside him.
When Lee Hyun began walking ahead,
only then did Yeong-wol allow herself to look at him.
The unspoken emotions in her gaze were filled with nothing but yearning.
Cut.
The scene played out exactly as Jin Gyu-seong had imagined when reviewing the script,
so there was no need for an NG call.
"Compared to the first episode, she’s definitely softened up."
Shooting the scenes in chronological order offered a unique advantage—
it allowed the gradual evolution of the characters’ relationships and emotions to naturally unfold.
The initial dynamic between Lee Hyun and Yeong-wol was far from romantic.
But over ti, their reasons for valuing each other shifted.
"Once this airs, Seong-jae is probably going to get so flak."
"If this were a man-to-man relationship, no one would care. But with a woman, it feels like flirting."
"Unintentional flirting tends to co across even worse. It can’t be helped."
Capturing the emotional distance between Lee Hyun and Yeong-wol was crucial.
Scenes like S#51, where Yeong-wol’s feelings don’t reach Lee Hyun,
would make their eventual connection all the more poignant.
The next scene, S#52, was equally pivotal in setting up their eventual union.
Unlike the tranquil tone of S#51, however, S#52 was far darker.
"We need to rehearse the slapping scene. Da-yeon, let’s get ready."
This scene marked a turning point, signaling a crisis for both Lee Hyun and Yeong-wol.
"Try angling it slightly downward and grazing her cheek this ti."
Whoosh!
"That swing was too abrupt. Make the motion smoother."
It was Da-yeon’s first ti playing a villain like Queen Yoon.
Despite nurous rehearsals, her slap ca off awkward and unconvincing.
"Da-yeon, just slap for real," Ha-eun suggested.
"What if I leave a mark?"
"…Were you planning to hit that hard?"
"That’s not what I ant!"
Eventually, they agreed to try it for real.
Smack!
"Well… it definitely looks better when it’s real. Are you sure you’re okay?"
"Yes, I’m fine."
Even after the real slap, Da-yeon’s expression didn’t improve.
This puzzled Ha-eun.
Given Da-yeon’s history of teasing her, Ha-eun had assud Da-yeon would feel at least a little satisfaction.
…Why does she look even more upset?
Regardless of Da-yeon’s feelings, Ha-eun wasn’t going to offer her cheek indefinitely.
She had only suggested the real slap to speed up the filming process.
The filming location for S#52 was a short distance away.
After the brief relocation, shooting began.
"3, 2, 1… Action!"
As soon as Jin Gyu-seong’s call for action echoed, the sound of footsteps filled the set.
It didn’t take long for Lee Hyun and Yeong-wol to be surrounded by royal guards sent by an unknown figure.
It was no surprise that Yeong-wol’s eyes sharpened at the sight.
But there was sothing strange about this situation.
“We’ve been ordered to take this individual.”
“Who dares to give such an order—?!”
“It is His Majesty’s command. Please comply.”
Their target wasn’t Crown Prince Lee Hyun but a re bodyguard, Yeong-wol, acting under direct royal command.
Yeong-wol had no choice but to leave Lee Hyun’s side, surrounded by the royal guards.
In Joseon, no one could defy a royal decree.
The destination of Yeong-wol’s reluctant march was none other than Gyotaejeon, the Queen’s residence.
This ant that the one who summoned her wasn’t the King but the Queen herself.
“Show respect. Her Majesty the Queen is present.”
Yeong-wol imdiately sensed that sothing was gravely wrong.
Even so, she had no choice but to kneel under the oppressive grip of the guards flanking her.
“Did you enjoy your outing with the Crown Prince?”
A cold gaze.
A chilling voice.
It was painfully clear that the Queen’s intentions weren’t benevolent.
But the chasm between their statuses—the Queen and a re bodyguard—was vast, like heaven and earth.
For now, all Yeong-wol could do was keep her mouth shut.
Anything she said or did could be deed treasonous.
The only thing that forced Yeong-wol to open her mouth was—
“Kim Yeon, eldest daughter of Kim Ho-jin, the Minister of Public Works. Does that na sound familiar?”
It was a na Yeong-wol had abandoned long ago.
A na no one should ever know.
“…I do not know it.”
“Ha… You don’t know it?”
“Yes.”
Yeong-wol’s voice was dry and detached, as always.
In contrast, Queen Yoon’s tone began to tremble with rising intensity.
“Where do you get the audacity to lie…? Know your place!”
Smack!
The Queen’s hand struck Yeong-wol’s cheek with a sharp sound.
Grabbing Yeong-wol’s chin roughly, she forced the bodyguard to face her.
“Fine. If you don’t know, allow to enlighten you.”
The Queen’s delicate, uncalloused hand dragged Yeong-wol closer.
“What do you think His Majesty will decree if he learns that a traitor who abandoned her family and hid her identity wields a sword by the Crown Prince’s side?”
“…I truly do not know this na.”
“Try saying that again in front of your father. Let’s see if your father isn’t also labeled a traitor who conspired to assassinate the Crown Prince and thrown into the sa cell as you.”
The Queen’s rciless words pierced Yeong-wol.
The title of “Queen” alone carried enough weight to make every word she uttered possible.
“…What is your reason for doing this?”
Yeong-wol no longer denied the Queen’s words.
She instead sought to understand what the Queen wanted from her.
If the Queen’s goal was truly to brand Yeong-wol and her father as traitors,
there was no need for such threats.
“Leave the Crown Prince’s side. Never return to the palace.”
What followed was a narrative of power struggles between Lee Hyun and Queen Yoon,
specifically the Queen’s fears for the safety of the child in her womb.
“If the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, he will undoubtedly eliminate my child. Do you think he will let a threat to his position live?”
“His Highness would never do such a thing.”
“Even if the Crown Prince isn’t that kind of man, the throne is a position that demands such asures.”
But if Yeong-wol left Lee Hyun’s side,
his mind and spirit would begin to crumble.
Eventually, he would fall out of the King’s favor.
“His Majesty will entrust Joseon to , not to a weak man who collapses just because a single bodyguard is gone!”
If this happened, Queen Yoon and her child would be safe.
“For the sake of your aging father, leave. This is the last rcy I can offer.”
The Queen was determined to isolate Lee Hyun, even if it ant forcing Yeong-wol to leave.
She made it clear that her thod was the only way to protect everyone.
“If you disappear, no one will be hard. Truly, no one.”
Her heavy, unyielding gaze.
Her authoritative voice, steeped in the power of her high status.
The cold reality Yeong-wol faced left no room for choice.
“……………………….”
The realization that she had beco Lee Hyun’s greatest vulnerability crushed Yeong-wol.
When Da-yeon saw the profound sorrow in Ha-eun’s eyes as they fild this scene,
sothing clicked.
Throb.
It was then she understood why she had found Ha-eun’s behavior odd when surrounded by classmates in the past.
“Cut! That was excellent!”
Even as the caras and lights were packed up,
even after changing into her usual clothes and stepping into Kim Jin-soo’s white van,
Da-yeon couldn’t shake the image of Ha-eun’s sorrowful eyes from her mind.
For 11 years, Da-yeon had shown nothing but sharpness toward Ha-eun.
Like Queen Yoon, she had played the villain.
‘How did it end up like this?’
At first, it had been a matter of pride.
A competitive drive to surpass Ha-eun’s acting.
She stayed close to Ha-eun to savor the satisfaction of outperforming her.
But as ti passed, Da-yeon began to notice things beyond the competition.
Subconsciously, she feared that Ha-eun, tired of her unfriendly deanor,
would eventually leave her.
She had refused to acknowledge this fear,
choosing to ignore it until she saw Ha-eun chatting comfortably with others.
Throb.
In that mont, she was reminded of her own isolation.
Of how, at six years old, she had driven others away, believing herself special.
Taking on the role of Queen Yoon in the sa drama as Ha-eun had been Da-yeon’s last act of desperation.
She thought competing with Ha-eun on screen would help her forget her loneliness.
It was a grave miscalculation.
The more she played the villain opposite Ha-eun,
the heavier her guilt beca.
It was just acting. There was no need to take it to heart.
But the turmoil inside her only grew.
Tap.
“Da-yeon? Are you okay?! Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“I… I don’t know. Nothing’s wrong….”
Da-yeon finally understood why Ha-eun had stayed by her side all this ti.
It was because Ha-eun was kind.
If Ha-eun ever decided to push her away,
she would have no one left.
Should she apologize before it was too late?
But perhaps it was already too late.
She knew she had to change.
But she had no idea where to begin.
[ekdus7 has donated 100,000 won!]
"I’ve had a friend I’ve bullied since we were kids. I want to apologize, but I’m afraid they won’t forgive . It’s hard enough just to approach them after all this ti apart. But I don’t want to let things end like this. What should I do? It’s so embarrassing to even say that I still want to be friends."
Get to the point.
Why are you confessing here?
This isn’t a school counseling session.
Too long, couldn’t read.
Well, you can’t ignore 100,000 won, lol.
“Um, well…! Let’s discuss this one-on-one─☆”
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