NOVEL FROG Chapter 51
What kind of character is Hong Jeong-hee?
Honestly, she was someone that Seo-yeon couldn’t understand.
A person driven to extreme affection for others.
In her past life, she couldn’t comprehend emotions, never having harbored any affection.
In this life, she only received proper love, unaware of a twisted kind of love.
The kind of affection she held for others was too far removed for Seo-yeon to grasp why Hong Jeong-hee was so obsessed with Baesung-hak.
She supplemented this understanding through Pyo Ji-woo’s acting.
The emotions she held for Min Se-ho,
So intense that when he betrayed her, she even felt murderous rage.
Just like watching an old black-and-white TV.
As if watching a silent film.
Seo-yeon scrutinized each aspect.
Even though she couldn’t completely understand, there were things she could recognize.
Affection.
Once you hold onto it, they say it’s not easy to let go even if you want to.
Suddenly.
Seo-yeon recalled her past life.
Thinking back, her parents were the same way.
Twisted and demanding.
Even in their anguish, they never let her go.
Obsession.
From parents to lovers.
Seo-yeon gazed at it every now and then, moving her body, her mouth,
Her face.
“You’re so greedy.”
In a discussion for character interpretation, Sim Cheong-seok said that.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect human.”
Thus, the interpretation of a character differs from person to person.
“Your role is ultimately that of a flawed human.”
A person ruined by craving the affection of others.
“Hence, the acting of proper affection is off the mark from the start.”
So when you act, the audience will be fooled.
Sim Cheong-seok said this, and Seo-yeon knew it as well.
She expresses the intensity of the human called Hong Jeong-hee.
Inferiority, despair, jealousy, obsession, affection.
Listing out those complex emotions, assigning them their order.
And the primary emotion Seo-yeon placed in the forefront was:
「…If it’s wrong, it should be corrected.」
Obsession.
「Think about it. When did you start behaving differently? When, what did you do?」
Under the dim lighting, Hong Jeong-hee’s monologue began.
With movements that creaked like a jointed doll.
「February 22 for the fan meeting. The event in Gwangju on the 27th. No one contacted me during the March practice.」
Her hunched back, long black hair flowing down to cover her face.
Through those strands of hair, her eyes moved towards the audience.
「In April, I visited the facility for volunteer work.」
Red eyes.
Eyes that blended every emotion into one.
Even though she couldn’t see properly, her pupils shone clearer than anything else to the audience.
Without a single breath exchanged.
The estrangement towards Hong Jeong-hee, who knew Baesung-hak’s schedule from start to finish, became vividly apparent to the audience.
That eerie obsession was clearly established before them.
‘Why is she going that far?’
Everyone probably thought the same.
The answer was simple.
Her obsession with Baesung-hak was what moved her.
Slowly.
With a dragging gait.
Duk, duk.
Hong Jeong-hee’s feet moved across the stage.
「I have to find it.」
Tilting her head towards the audience, as if searching for someone.
「For sure.」
Those who locked eyes with Hong Jeong-hee were frozen, unable to open their mouths.
In that moment, Hong Jeong-hee’s body swirled away from the audience.
As the tension that weighed down the surroundings dispersed for a moment.
Her body whirled around, rushing in an instant toward the audience.
“!!”
In that moment, the audience flinched, startled.
As if Hong Jeong-hee was charging at them.
No, it felt as if her face was right up next to theirs.
But Hong Jeong-hee’s feet never left the stage.
At the edge.
「It’s you.」
Balancing precariously on the edge of the stage, Hong Jeong-hee looked at the audience as she spoke.
「Yes, it was you.」
As the lights gradually grew dimmer.
「It was you, Song Min-seo.」
The view completely darkened.
Only then could the audience finally exhale in relief.
Shuddering at the suffocating presence of Hong Jeong-hee.
‘She utilized the stage a hundred percent.’
Director Bae Jin-hwan felt a twitch in his hands.
He was jotting everything down one by one.
He felt a joy-filled smile forming unconsciously on his lips.
‘This can’t be the end, right? Joo Seo-yeon.’
He wanted to see it.
Her next performance, quickly.
Perhaps, it wouldn’t just be Bae Jin-hwan feeling that way.
Hong Jeong-hee’s role was ultimately the villain.
The antagonist in the play.
That antagonist was captivating the entire play.
‘But this isn’t good for the play.’
If the lead doesn’t feel like a lead, the impression of the play fades.
What would the people who saw this play say?
‘The villain was amazing. The play? It was just okay.’
This is undoubtedly how it would go.
Both as an actor and for the play, this is not good.
‘Truly.’
What should be done?
Will it end like this with Joo Seo-yeon leading the play?
Bae Jin-hwan watched Act 3 flow along with such thoughts.
The story of the two men and women getting intricately entangled.
The main story between Baesung-hak and Song Min-seo unfolds.
In the midst of it, someone silently passes by without a single line.
Hong Jeong-hee.
Each time, people held their breath, watching the situation.
Fearful of what Hong Jeong-hee might do.
And then, Act 4.
The moment Hong Jeong-hee stepped forward and clashed with Baesung-hak.
Joo Seo-yeon and Sim Cheong-seok.
The moment Sim Cheong-seok and Joo Seo-yeon’s acting collided head-on.
「Are you insane?!」
Baesung-hak’s shout split the stage.
His performance, which had been mild while with Song Min-seo, changed.
Sharp emotions suddenly flew and struck.
Those who have a grasp of acting recalled the performance of Baesung-hak when he met Hong Jeong-hee earlier.
In that moment, his acting had transformed.
‘Is this true skill?’
‘It’s about adjusting the tone depending on the actor.’
He glanced at Sim Cheong-seok with newfound appreciation.
But Sim Cheong-seok didn’t care about that at all.
‘Joo Seo-yeon.’
Beneath his face that couldn’t be seen outside the stage.
A fierce smile appeared.
‘There’s no way I will lose to a rookie who has just taken their first step.’
It felt as if that sentiment radiated from his smile.
Idol Baesung-hak.
By nature, a role that didn’t suit him.
But.
His atmosphere changed drastically.
From that innocent-looking idol actor, Baesung-hak.
「Hong Jeong-hee. Were you ever in doubt? Is it the same you who always cheered for my performances, why!?」
Baesung-hak felt a strange unease after safely finishing the performance.
Song Min-seo wasn’t visible, even though they had agreed to meet after the stage.
Suddenly, he recalled.
That Hong Jeong-hee hadn’t appeared during today’s performance.
A woman who has always followed his performances.
A precious fan, but recently he felt a strange tension from her.
As he recalled this, he rushed to find Song Min-seo and Hong Jeong-hee.
And he made it just in the nick of time.
「Why to Min-seo?!」
「Min-seo?!」
A low chuckle escaped.
His eyes sparkled as they focused on Baesung-hak.
「Since when did you become so close, oppa?」
Her voice was eerily calm.
Void of highs and lows.
It felt as if emotions had been exiled, it was chillingly serene.
The fierce emotions Hong Jeong-hee previously displayed were perfectly concealed behind that voice.
That was it.
「You’ve never treated me like that.」
Gradually intensifying.
Grabbing his collar,
She pressed him against the wall.
「You’ve never treated me like that!!」
With a scream-like shout, the hand gripping Baesung-hak’s collar trembled uncontrollably.
「What’s wrong with me? I liked you long before.」
Teardrops began falling.
It was frustrating. What was it that made her feel insufficient?
No, she knew.
She wasn’t able to provide solace to Baesung-hak.
In the end, Hong Jeong-hee was a fan.
Song Min-seo, unable to hear his voice, wasn’t a fan at all.
Just an ordinary man who approached him.
Wasn’t that the difference?
No, it wasn’t just that.
Hong Jeong-hee was breathless, unable to continue speaking.
「You’re not insufficient.」
Covering her tremors, Baesung-hak spoke.
「You have always been an overqualified fan to me.」
So,
「Please, don’t commit any more wrongs. I beg you, Jeong-hee.」
His voice held a desperate plea.
At those words, Hong Jeong-hee stared blankly at him.
For the first time, the idol she adored directed a request toward her.
She merely stared in a daze.
All the audience collectively held their breath.
And among those sitting in the audience was a woman who sat quietly.
‘…This is wrong.’
Jo Seo-hee bit her thumbnail.
‘What are you doing right now?’
The gaze of Jo Seo-hee wasn’t directed at Joo Seo-yeon.
But rather at the actress playing ‘Song Min-seo’, Lee Hye-jin.
She distinctly remembered it being written in the pamphlet.
Before watching this play, Jo Seo-hee had skimmed through the general plot and reviews.
She even checked the video.
Surely, she predicted it would change significantly from the existing play.
What if Joo Seo-yeon intervened?
So she immediately realized the mistake.
At this point in the scene, Song Min-seo should have interjected between them.
However, right now Song Min-seo was frozen, unable to step into their acting.
‘Is she trying to ruin the play?’
Joo Seo-yeon.
Not the bright starlight she once saw but her presence cast darkness, gripping Jo Seo-hee’s heart with chill.
‘If I were there.’
It hurt knowing she had never experienced the theater.
But the frozen Song Min-seo remained still.
If this just drags on a bit longer, the audience will feel the oddity.
The ‘mistake’ made by the actor.
At that moment.
「Song Min-seo!!」
The restrained voice cutting through the stage was Hong Jeong-hee’s shout.
「You, you’re feeling smug just because you won? Why do you look at me with those eyes!!」
Jo Seo-hee felt it.
‘A line that wasn’t in the script.’
Ad-lib.
Song Min-seo was originally set to be ‘deaf’.
So naturally, she wouldn’t hear Hong Jeong-hee’s shout now.
Yet the audience failed to recognize that in the moment.
Even if they did, it would likely sound like Hong Jeong-hee’s last gasp.
But Jo Seo-hee knew.
This was not directed at Song Min-seo but rather a shout toward actress Lee Hye-jin.
At the same time, Hong Jeong-hee’s weakened presence diminished swiftly.
「Min-seo, are you alright?」
And in alignment with that, Baesung-hak’s gaze shifted towards Song Min-seo.
Adding gestures, he belatedly made the audience realize she was deaf.
In one natural flow, the once-dormant presence of Song Min-seo suddenly revived.
His gaze forcibly drew the audience’s attention towards her.
「I… I’m okay.」
Lee Hye-jin, as Song Min-seo, managed to utter her lines.
For a moment, her vocalization faltered and her voice trembled, yet given the situation, it felt as if it were all part of the act.
She adeptly disguised her flustered emotions.
Lee Hye-jin was also an actress.
Obviously, she knew that and had to rectify this blunder.
Steadying herself.
Taking a deep breath.
「Jeong-hee.」
There were many lines waiting to follow.
However, Lee Hye-jin felt she couldn’t let it drag on here.
「I’m sorry.」
Gently, Song Min-seo embraced the tearful Hong Jeong-hee.
While comforting her, she softly said,
「I’m really sorry.」
Symbolizing forgiveness toward Hong Jeong-hee, who had yelled at her with violence and blame.
Song Min-seo quietly embraced Hong Jeong-hee to convey that.
Huh.
The tears that had been falling dripped sorrowfully.
Along with the heartbreaking cries of Hong Jeong-hee.
Act 4 was completely concluded.
And that was.
The last appearance of Hong Jeong-hee within the play.
*
“Wow, so this is what a play is. I’ve never seen it before, but this is no joke?”
“This has a different script from the one I saw before. But this is fine too.”
“Really? But the male actor was super handsome. Isn’t he really an idol?”
Then at last, [Close Your Eyes] was fully wrapped up with Act 6.
As the audience exited, chatting among themselves.
The topic most frequently raised from their lips was.
“Wasn’t the one who played Hong Jeong-hee that Princess Yeonhwa?”
“She didn’t seem that way at all. Honestly, I was so scared I almost left in the middle.”
“Oh, really. But in the end, I felt a bit sorry for her.”
That was exactly Joo Seo-yeon in the role of Hong Jeong-hee.
Her portrayal of Hong Jeong-hee was groundbreaking.
The performance that had frozen the audience in an instant still vividly remained in their minds when they closed their eyes.
“Phew.”
The same went for director Bae Jin-hwan and producer Cha Dong-jin.
The two were just immersed in the lingering effects of the play, exhaling heavily.
“…How was it?”
The first to speak was producer Cha Dong-jin.
His voice held a strange anticipation.
Bae Jin-hwan empathized with his expectations.
“I reflected on it.”
“Reflected?”
Bae Jin-hwan nodded.
“Yes, after ten years away. The image of Princess Yeonhwa is strong; I thought it could be a bit risky.”
He recalled Seo-yeon walking on stage, gazing toward the audience.
In truth, Hong Jeong-hee isn’t a character that strong.
She’s the main antagonist, but rather than intensity, she’s an ‘unpleasant’ character.
“This was good too. It was a new interpretation.”
“The final line in Act 4 was different, right?”
“Yes.”
After saying that, the two slowly nodded.
“Isn’t that what you think too?”
“Of course.”
At seventeen, in her youth.
Initially, it stuck out to him, but now he said with no concern.
“Let’s do it.”
This was the moment when their villain for the upcoming film, The Chaser, was decided.
However.
There was one unexpected issue.
“…What? Joo Seo-yeon doesn’t have an agency right now?”
“?”
As they were about to deliver the script to Seo-yeon and make contact, both faced an unforeseen problem.
The despair of realizing they actually had no means to contact her.
In that moment of distress as Bae Jin-hwan and Cha Dong-jin rubbed their heads together.
At that time, the one in question, Joo Seo-yeon, was.
“……”
After the play, at the after-party.
Two figures had chased after her to the scene.
“……Ha.”
“Pfft.”
Park Jung-woo and Jo Seo-hee.
The two were caught in a turf war, trying to gauge the situation.