Chapter 39

39. Hello

I heard a huge budget was invested.

While some dramas made it impossible to figure out where the production costs went, the King's Path was different.

From the beginning, it captivated viewers with its stunning visuals.

Heeju, who works as an assistant screenwriter, couldn't take her eyes off the TV.

"Wow, look at the visuals. They're amazing. Are they really going to maintain this quality until the last episode?"

In response to Heeju's mutter, another assistant screenwriter with dark circles under her eyes, who was watching TV with her, said,

"It's Director Lee Honggyun. By the way, when will your niece appear? I can't wait to see her. Bapbuya~!"

"It hasn't even been 5 minutes since it started. She hasn't even been born yet."

The palace intrigue scenes, boasting overwhelming visuals, came to an end.

A young screenwriter, who was secretly watching TV while tapping on her laptop, opened her mouth in amazement.

"Wow, Director Lee Honggyun is adapting to the times and trying a fusion approach. He's really impressive for his age. A psycho prince who kills all his siblings. It's really shocking."

Heeju agreed.

"Exactly. While the story of brothers killing each other for power is common, the characters here are subtly modern. It's amazing that a director who has achieved so much continues to challenge himself like this."

On TV, actor Hwang Dong-sik was holding a baby and attempting to escape from the palace.

With Hwang Dong-sik's intense performance, Heeju and the assistant screenwriters were captivated by the drama.

The chase scene continued.

It was clear a lot of effort had been put into it.

It was thrilling.

And a little while later, all the situations were resolved, and time passed in the drama.

"He acts so well."

Heeju genuinely admired Dong-sik's performance, which ranged from one extreme to another.

Right at that moment.

A small baby dressed in old hemp clothes appeared, calling out to his father with a bright face.

Startled.

The assistant screenwriters, who had been busy typing while alternating between their laptops and the TV, stopped typing as if on cue.

In the sudden silence, a scene was broadcast where Dukgu waddled over and hugged his father Daegil.

The baby's smiling face was shown in a close-up again.

The assistant screenwriters jumped up from their seats and ran to the TV.

"What do we do~! This kid, how can he be so cute! He's so adorable!"

"Why is your niece so beautiful!? She's even prettier than Bapbuya!"

"Even dressed so shabbily, this kid is destined to be a king~!"

Heeju tried to calm the assistant screenwriters.

"Shh~ Everyone, sit down. Quickly! What if the screenwriter comes out?"

As the saying goes, if you talk about a tiger, it will appear.

Bam!

The door inside the screenwriter's office was roughly opened, and a middle-aged woman appeared.

"Heeju! Why is your niece so beautiful! Bring her to the office once!"

It seemed the main screenwriter was also watching the drama alone in her room.

Jeongtae's mother was sitting on the sofa, watching the drama.

Seeing Siwoo's beautiful, smiling face on TV, Jeongtae's mother felt a mix of emotions.

While she was displeased that Siwoo was outpacing Jeongtae, she also had a glimmer of hope that she might benefit if Siwoo did well in the future.

"Well, it's appropriate. He's only 3 years old, so he can only do such simple lines."

Jeongtae's mother was muttering to herself, even though no one was listening.

She picked up the coffee she had left on the living room table and took a sip.

She felt a bit more relaxed.

"Hmm, Jeongtae has improved, but he hasn't received any acting offers... Siwoo is appearing in this grand drama as the young Song Jun-young... "

Her envy returned.

Jeongtae's mother took another sip of coffee.

The scene in the drama changed.

Daegil was leaving to go hunting and was entrusting Dukgu to a neighbor.

"Kids say those things all the time. It's not even a line. If Jeongtae had done it... sigh..."

...Let's just drink coffee.

Jeongtae's mother gulped down the almost cold coffee like water.

At that moment.

In the drama, Dukgu made a cute sound with his sparkling eyes.

"Puuuuuup-!"

Was this a line, or an ad-lib?

Coffee spewed out onto the living room carpet like a fountain.

Jeongtae's mother clutched her head.

"Ah! How much did this carpet cost-!"

In the room, Jiyun, who was doing her cram school homework, was taking a break and watching the first episode of The King's Path on her tablet.

Jiyun giggled as she watched Siwoo enthusiastically eating chicken soup.

At that moment, a flurry of messages from her friends arrived.

- Jiyun! Your brother's friend is so cute!

- Is this the friend of your brother Jihoo? So he's 3 years old?

- Jiyun, can we play with your brother and this kid once?

"Everyone was watching. I did a good job promoting it."

Jiyun's fingers moved like lightning.

- Really cute, right? He's even cuter in person!

Immediate replies came back.

- Then show us

- Show us too

- As soon as possible

Jiyun laughed.

"Sure, sure. I understand that you want to see him, but it's been a long time since I've seen him myself..."

Jiyun's words trailed off.

And the noisy group chat suddenly fell silent.

In the drama, Siwoo was eating chicken soup and dozing off.

Jiyun brought her hands to her face, looking dazed.

"..."

She wanted to say something but couldn't.

It was just... so adorable.

One minute later.

As soon as the scene changed, the group chat exploded with messages about Siwoo.

Similar scenes were unfolding among the many female students across the country who were watching the first episode of The King's Path to see Song Jun-young.

* * *

The day after the broadcast.

The first episode of The King's Path, which was planned to be a meeting between the production team of the hit drama The Great General and Asia's hottest star Song Jun-young, quickly spread overseas through the internet.

In China.

In Japan.

In other Asian countries.

Even among Korean drama fans in Europe and America.

Siwoo was at the center of the buzz.

Not only the existing historical drama fans but also the young fans, both domestic and international, who were drawn by Song Jun-young, were thoroughly impressed by Siwoo.

A few days later, at Siwoo's house.

Siwoo was sitting with his mother, rewatching the first episode of The King's Path on VOD.

It was already his fourth viewing.

'Mom really likes it. She watched the scary wife about 10 times.'

Especially, Hyunju liked the scene where Siwoo falls asleep while eating and the final scene with the water skimming stones.

Originally, the river scene was in the early part, but it was changed to a water skimming stone scene due to an ad-lib and moved to the end of the first episode by Director Lee Honggyun's decision.

Siwoo turned his gaze back to the TV.

The ending scene was just starting.

It was the scene where Siwoo, who failed to skip the stone, was on the verge of tears.

A heartwarming scene that dropped a cuteness bomb on viewers both domestically and internationally, but Siwoo subtly avoided it.

He was too embarrassed.

In this work, he tried to approach facial expressions and voice tone more seriously.

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, but seeing himself on TV, about to cry, was a bit embarrassing.

'Maybe it's because I still lack the depth as an actor. I need to improve more.'

After Dong-sik comforted Siwoo, who was about to cry, he began to teach him how to throw stones.

Plop, plop.

Siwoo also liked this scene.

It felt like a warm chemistry between father and son.

Now, the first episode was coming to an end.

Siwoo, waddling to the river, threw a stone by himself without Dong-sik's help.

The stone flew and landed on the water.

The scene ended with water droplets splashing, and the music became more cheerful as the seasons changed.

Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!

A stone, thrown by someone from somewhere, skimmed the water at high speed.

A young boy was seen throwing a stone by the river.

"Abji~!"

A handsome boy turned to Dong-sik with a wide smile.

It was Seung-hyun, the young actor who received a text from his manager to practice water skimming and confidently learned how to make dumplings from his mother.

"Wow, it's over. The first episode had an incredibly high rating. It went well. Siwoo, you really worked hard."

Hyunju, who seemed to be moved every time she watched it, had a touched expression.

'No, compared to the hard work he does at kindergarten, this is just play.'

Siwoo followed Hyunju, clapping and smiling.

Clap, clap!

It felt like they had completed a task.

At that moment, Hyunju's phone rang.

"Yes. Hello. Ah, yes. Hello."

After the broadcast of The King's Path, she had been receiving many calls from relatives she didn't even know.

The impact was clearly different from when she starred in the romantic comedy My Scary Wife.

"Yes, thank you. I'll take good care of the child. Please come in."

After hanging up, Hyunju sat on the sofa with a tired look.

Her phone was also flooded with messages.

"Our Siwoo... is exploding in popularity."

This morning, his followers on Insa (a social media platform) broke the 1 million mark.

She thought it was an impossible number, but once the wind started, it happened in no time.

There were also many comments in foreign languages over the past few days.

Hyunju opened the Insa app and checked the messages.

- This is Kids Kingdom, a children's clothing company. The reason I'm contacting you is...

- This is Inglera, a stroller brand. I usually follow Insa...

- I'm a drama casting director...

- I have a proposal for your child to be a model for baby snacks...

- I'm a fan! I want to send a gift...

"Ah... This is getting too big..."

Just a moment ago, she was feeling good after watching the drama, but now stress was overwhelming her.

It was becoming too much to send polite rejection messages one by one.

"Hmm, Siwoo, I'm going to the bathroom."

Her stomach felt a bit uncomfortable from the stress.

"Bathroom~?"

"Yes. I'll be right back. Play with Boksil and Nero in front of the bathroom."

"Okay~ Mom, bye~ Do your business well~"

"No, no. I'm not doing my business~"

While Hyunju was in the bathroom, Siwoo, unsure what to do, found Nero's fishing toy.

He decided to play with the kids for a bit.

As Siwoo waved the fishing toy, Nero and Boksil ran over.

It was originally a cat toy, but Boksil had learned to play from Nero and enjoyed it quite a bit.

"Let's play~"

Whoosh!

Just as Boksil and Nero were about to play, Hyunju's phone rang again.

Sighing deeply, Siwoo, thinking it was someone else, picked up the phone from the sofa instead of the fishing toy.

"Uh?"

The caller was Jeongtae's mother.

Siwoo glanced at the bathroom and, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, brought his finger to the phone's screen.

Swipe.

And he answered the call himself.

"Hello~?"

Oh.