Become a Star

The full moon was exceptionally bright in Red Enemy; Lee Hoo went to look for Yoon Hwa-Eun in the middle of the night because he was longing to see her. They were shooting the scene where Lee Hoo was sitting on top of a wall that was neither high nor low, while looking down at Yoon Hwa-Eun. After finding out how they felt about each other, they kissed each other on the lips. The pair of lovers were just starting their relationship; they looked like flowers against the backdrop of the full moon. For the first time in Lee Hoo’s life, he learned that the word ‘fragrant’ could be used to describe a person.

On his way back, Lee Hoo felt happiness for the first time, after finding out what love was. After the director slammed the clapperboard, even though Lee Hoo had disappeared and Woo-Jin was back normal again, the lingering feeling still remained in his heart.

So this is love.

People had been talking about their love story for hundreds of years. Even though it was pure nonsense, the feelings Lee Hoo had were real, and that was enough. Lee Hoo had loved Yoon Hwa-Eun with all his might, so there was no reason for him to feel regretful.

As soon as Woo-Jin decided not to have any lingering feelings and regrets, the cool night breeze blew away the feelings that had been accumulating in Woo-Jin’s heart without a trace.

“Looking at you now, I feel at peace.”

“You’re lying.”

“It’s belated but I apologize for bothering you in the past. Love doesn’t justify everything, but I’m sorry.” And I also apologize for the terrible things I’ve done to you in my past life. Woo-Jin expressed the apology he couldn’t say to Lee So-Hyun directly in his heart.

The first person his soul had ever loved; the person he loved the most throughout his past life as he struggled to receive her love. Currently, she was Lee So-Hyun. Woo-Jin had realized it at some point. While Woo-Jin was acting as Prince Myeong-Hwan, his emotions from back then resurfaced. After reflecting on his other past lives, his soul called out to him and told him that all these women shared the same soul.

‘The only soul I’ve ever loved and wanted to be loved by was you, Lee So-Hyun.’ He was always the one who desperately clung onto her, and she was always the one who ended their relationship. I don’t know if our relationship was an ill-fated one or if we’re destined to never be together, but our love story never had a happy ending. This time around, Woo-Jin decided to accept their breakup without trying to fight against fate.

Even though he had been a huge nuisance to her throughout his past lives and had done several terrible deeds, he had also made a lot of sacrifices as well. Looking back, it seemed like nothing much had changed throughout the reincarnations, but there were some things that had changed and evolved gradually.

Throughout his life, he repented and devoted himself to doing his best to make up for all the terrible things he had done to her. On the other hand, she tried to dominate him with the arrogance that people on the receiving end of love usually had. He didn’t always meet her in each reincarnation, but whenever he did, his lingering affection and love for her gradually became weaker. Meanwhile, he could feel that her obsession with him and possessiveness were getting stronger. He began questioning if his existence had an adverse impact on her soul. It was enough reason for him to end their relationship.

“When I see you now, my heart no longer flutters.” Woo-Jin placed his hand over his chest and told her the truth.

“I know it’s all a lie! You sang all those songs on The King of the Masked Singers because you couldn’t forget about me.”

“What?” After hearing what Lee So-Hyun said, Woo-Jin recalled the lyrics of the songs he had sung on The King of the Masked Singers. He was shocked when he realized all the songs contained the painful emotions that resulted from the inability to forget about a former lover. Woo-Jin wanted to ask Lee So-Hyun how she managed to interpret it in that manner, but she was faster.

“I know how you feel. That’s why I’m trying to be nice to you because I feel guilty towards you. How could you reject my kind intentions like that?”

“Am I not allowed to reject you?” It was so absurd that Woo-Jin asked in agitation.

“You made me like this. I know that nobody else loves me as much as you do. How could you think of abandoning me?”

“How am I abandoning you? Besides, you already have a boyfriend.”

“Shall I break up with him and get back together with you?” After hearing her say that so casually, Woo-Jin gradually became more cool-headed. Lee So-Hyun was different from how she was like when he met her in his previous lives.

“There’s no need for you to do that. It seems like things between us are really over now. And I think you’ve misunderstood. The songs I sang on The King of the Masked Singers were selected by my vocal coach. I didn’t pick them!”

Naturally, Woo-Jin had selected a few songs as well, but he didn’t want to cause any more misunderstandings.

“Is this you taking revenge on me because of what I did to you?” Lee So-Hyun still seemed to think Woo-Jin was lying. She firmly believed she could capture Woo-Jin’s heart whenever she wanted to.

Woo-Jin was getting exasperated because of her incredibly ridiculous attitude.

“Yeah, you’re a bitch all right.”

“...!”

“...”

Woo-Jin thought of Yoon Hwa-Eun as he looked at Lee So-Hyun, and subconsciously muttered those words. While his soul’s taste in women was as unchanging as a pine tree, she was also very consistent and persistent. She was so similar to Yoon Hwa-Eun that the word ‘bitch’ came out of his mouth before he realised it.

Woo-Jin became flustered as he saw how shocked Lee So-Hyun was. Hyun-Min was the only person there with a sound mind; he tried his best to hold back his laughter and dragged Woo-Jin out of there as it was time for class. As they headed towards the door of the emergency exit, Hyun-Min patted Woo-Jin on the back and told him he had done a good job.

“Good job. Even though if you said that to her, you were still being nice.”

“I mean, I still have an image to maintain after all… Hang on, what I just said to you…eugh!” Woo-Jin was about to apologize to Lee So-Hyun but Hyun-Min covered his mouth. As Woo-Jin was being dragged away, A cold breeze blew between Woo-Jin and Lee So-Hyun. She had lost her mind.

Woo-Jin wanted to sever ties with Lee So-Hyun perfectly; not like this. He had never had a beautiful farewell with her throughout all his different lives, and it seemed nothing would change this time as well.

***

Surprisingly, nothing happened. The world didn’t change just because Woo-Jin cursed at his first love. The only thing that changed was the way they looked at each other. To be precise, Chae Woo-Jin had been blinded by his emotions for Lee So-Hyun for quite some time. It was as if he was under a spell. The opportunity presented itself and the spell had simply been broken as a result. Hence, the world hadn’t changed – it was still as beautiful as ever. It showed that parting ways with someone wasn't something that didn’t need a meaning attached to it.

“Did you think that you got robbed because you’re weak? No. It’s because you have no ambition. When a powerful person doesn’t know how to utilize their power, they will constantly be robbed of their possessions!”

“What have I been robbed of? Why do you think my ambitions are small?” Prince Myeong-Hwan also had big dreams. He wanted to create beautiful works of art and music that would go down in history. However, Queen Moon-Jin did not understand, nor did she want to understand those dreams of his.

“Your milksopism! That is what’s making you a loser!” Hwang Yi-Young was yelling as she hit against the floor of the daecheong maru [1]. Woo-Jin ended up rolling on the floor laughing.

“I can’t get into the mood at all because of you!”

Hwang Yi-Young’s version of Queen Moon-Jin was brutal, but she lacked charisma. It was also very similar to a model-actress’ rendition of Queen Moon-Jin in the past, which had been severely criticized. Woo-Jin teased her as he asked why out of all the different version, she had to use the criticized rendition as her inspiration.

“Did you think I copied her because I wanted to? People who are terrible at acting are more or less the same.” Hwang Yi-Young said that she was Queen Moon-Jin at heart but her body could only act as a Sanggung, before putting the script to one side. Just then, she saw someone entering the anchae [2] where Woo-Jin rested while waiting for his turn. Even though she wasn’t wearing a gache [3] and a dangui [4], Oh Ha-Na was well-dressed and she looked like Queen Yoon. Thus, Woo-Jin deliberately greeted Oh Ha-Na politely.

“Should I not be here?” Oh Ha-Na pouted and pretended to sulk. She sat at the end of the dancheong maru. Hwang Yi-Young quietly backed away when she appeared. Woo-Jin sat cross-legged on the floor.

“I was thinking about it while waiting for the shoot to begin, but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t understand Yoon Hwa-Eun, so I came to look for you.”

“What do you mean?” Although Oh Ha-Na spoke casually to Woo-Jin, Woo-Jin treated her with respect, as if she was Queen Yoon. It was uncertain if Oh Ha-Na liked it or not, but she looked at him before shifting her gaze to the garden, which could be seen from the daecheong.

“Why would Yoon Hwa-Eun abandon Prince Myeong-Hwan?” When Oh Ha-Na acted as Yoon Hwa-Eun, that was the thing that didn’t make the most sense to her. Even though their encounter was premeditated, the feelings she had expressed in her diary were real. Yoon Hwa-Eun had truly loved the prince and had never gotten rid of her lingering feelings for him till the very end. Yoon Hwa-Eun had abandoned the person she loved and became the queen. Oh Ha-Na could not relate to her at all.

“I have a lot on my mind. I know that even when you look at it from the perspective of a modern person and evaluate it objectively, her decision was still very cold and political in nature. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the prince was not qualified enough.” Oh Ha-Na said that Yoon Hwa-Eun would have chosen Prince Myeong-Hwan if she loved him that much and their love was mutual and that Oh Ha-Na couldn’t immerse herself into her role as Queen Yoon at all.

“Why did you say she abandoned him?” This conversation topic was more interesting than the sloppy practice of lines with Hwang Yi-Young, so Woo-Jin moved closer and asked.

“If she didn’t choose him, isn’t that the same as abandoning him?”

“Yoon Hwa-Eun never abandoned the prince. Perhaps this is your misunderstanding.”

“If she married someone else, that means that she had abandoned him.”

“She didn’t just choose one person. She had both.” 21 year old Oh Ha-Na tilted her head to one side; she didn’t understand Woo-Jin’s words. Since she hasn’t experienced what it was like to be in a relationship, she was still clueless about the complicated feelings and compromises between men and women.

“Yoon Hwa-Eun knew; she knew that even if she became the queen, Prince Myeong-Hwan would have never been able to let her go. If she had chosen the prince, all she could get was his love. However, by becoming the queen, she would gain power and honor. She had made the best choice in which she wouldn’t lose anything.”

“However, Prince Myeong-Hwan is still a prince! Even if she couldn’t become the queen, she would be able to attain enough power as the prince’s wife. And if the prince didn’t die during the coup, she would have become queen. Regardless, she would have still gotten what she wanted, no?”

From what she learned in history, Oh Ha-Na felt that Yoon Hwa-Eun’s decision was so stupid that it was difficult for her to control her emotions. However, her criticism came after knowing what happened in the end. It was similar to Yoon Hwa-Eun’s decision to fall for the prince because she knew that he was the poor painter.

“Maybe she knew.”

“Knew what?”

“That the prince had absolutely no interest in the throne at all.” That was the biggest reason why Queen Moon-Jin and Yoon Hwa-Eun were vexed to begin with, the difference being that the former had no choice, while the latter had another option.

“Even if they couldn’t be together, Yoon Hwa-Eun was confident that he would love her forever, so is there a reason for her to marry the prince?”

“What about the heart?”

“That’s why she didn’t abandon him. She simply gained one more.”

“Noo… I hate it more now!”

Oh Ha-Na rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling very appalled. Perhaps, the reason why she wanted to play Seol Ha instead of Yoon Hwa-Eun was because she couldn’t comprehend Queen Yoo’s emotions. It was solely up to Oh Ha-Na to act out these complicated hidden feelings. However, as an actor, Woo-Jin wanted her to know that Queen Yoon was a very charismatic character. There wasn’t any character in Red Enemy who was as complicated as Queen Yoon.

1. A cool wooden-floor style hall in a Korean traditional house. It was devised to help Koreans survive frigid winters and to block the sunlight during summer. ☜

2. A space designated for ladies. Outsiders cannot enter without permission. [/ref[ and her eyes widened. Woo-Jin followed her gaze and saw Oh Ha-Na. He slowly got up from his chair.

“Oppa~! What’s so funny? I could hear you laughing all the way from the other side of the wall.”

“What brings you here, Your Majesty?” Oh Ha-Na had never once came to the hanok [ref] Korean traditional house ☜

3. Traditional Korean wig worn by women ☜

4. A type of upper garment for women in hanbok. It was worn for ceremonial occasions during the Joseon Dynasty. ☜