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Chapter 374: Evolution (2)

The role of the eldest, Jung-Hwa, was played by Yang Yi-Ji. It seemed like she had undergone special training from her mother, Lee Tae-Yeon, for three days as her lines aimed at Miso were laced with sharp thorns.

Her emotions were clearly conveyed and her diction was flawless. It was a performance that far exceeded what one would expect from a child actor.

At that moment, Miso also showed an equally surprising performance. Her expression was icy cold as she clearly recited her lines.

『When the flower of Gyerim blooms fully, the other two flowers will lose their light forever... Is it because of that prophecy that you\'re trying to kill me?』

Her acting restrained anger, but beneath it simmered emotions like a volcanic eruption.

Yang Yi-Ji stammered as she was taken aback by how much Miso\'s performance had changed in just three days.

『Princess Yu-Hwa... that\'s not what I meant...』

Miso took a step forward.

『Go ahead. Dare put your hands on my people and I\'ll be watching you with my eyes blazing!』

Yang Yi-Ji\'s steady acting began to falter as she was overwhelmed by Miso\'s intense performance. The fierce hostility in Miso\'s delivery made it difficult for Yang Yi-Ji to face her head-on.

Miso continued to press Yang Yi-Ji even further with her small frame projecting so much power that her voice echoed throughout the audition room with each line.

At that moment, Yang Yi-Ji unconsciously stepped back two paces. Yang Yi-Ji quickly regained her composure and stopped, but it was too late to reverse what had already happened.

After confronting Yang Yi-Ji, Miso turned her gaze to Jin Gong-Ju this time.

Miso\'s eyes were filled with the same fury she had felt toward her enemies, just like Princess Yu-Hwa who had nearly died the night before.

It was then that Jin Gong-Ju, mesmerized by Miso\'s acting, missed her cue to speak.

Oh Bok-Hee who was sitting in the judge\'s seat didn\'t miss the moment. Only when Oh Bok-Hee made a disappointed expression did Jin Gong-Ju snap back to her senses.

Determined not to be outdone, Jin Gong-Ju gathered herself and resumed acting. Her performance had improved significantly from three days earlier, likely due to her immense effort.

However, Miso erased Jin Gong-Ju\'s performance at once with just a cold smirk.

Miso slowly walked toward Jin Gong-Ju with a cold expression. When they were so close their noses almost touched, Miso began to harshly confront her.

『I saw with my own eyes someone dressed in my palace\'s attire enter your palace injured. And they never came out again.』

『T-that\'s...』

『The one who targeted Princess Jung-Hwa and the one who framed me—it was all you, wasn\'t it?』

Miso\'s expression as she faced Jin Gong-Ju was as cold as ice. She was radiating the majesty of a queen no one could dare to challenge.

At that moment, Oh Bok-Hee called out.

-Cut! Good work, everyone!

It was clear that Oh Bok-Hee saw no point in continuing the audition further.

At the same time, Jin Gong-Ju and Yang Yi-Ji, overwhelmed by Miso\'s intense acting, collapsed onto the floor.

\'It\'s over,\' I thought.

Even though the audition had ended, Miso continued to glare down at the two who had fallen with her gaze sharp and piercing.

Seeing this, Oh Bok-Hee called out again with a louder voice this time.

-Miso, stop! It\'s over!

Miso flinched and finally stopped upon hearing Oh Bok-Hee\'s booming voice. Simultaneously, tears began streaming down Miso\'s face. She had been so deeply immersed in the role that she struggled to snap out of it.

The hatred and anger Miso had directed toward her scene partners had been so intense that it left them shaken, but the emotional aftermath was just as powerful.

"Yoo-Jin, let\'s go in now," I said.

"Okay!"

There was no need to see any more. Even without further watching, it was clear that Oh Bok-Hee wouldn\'t change her mind no matter what other performances she saw.

The level of acting Miso had shown just now was something neither Yang Yi-Ji nor Jin Gong-Ju could match.

Now, Miso needed to be consoled.

Just as I was about to get out of the car, my phone rang.

[Caller ID: Oh Bok-Hee]

It was as if she had read my mind. I ended the video call with Jung Sang-Bong and answered Oh Bok-Hee\'s call.

-Mr. Jung, where are you?

"I\'m in the MBS\' parking lot right now."

-Is that so? Then come to the audition room on the seventh floor immediately.

"Okay, I\'ll bring Yoo-Jin with me."

After ending the call, Yoo-Jin and I headed straight to the seventh floor audition room of MBS.

***

We walked into the front door to the audition room on the seventh floor of MBS.

By this time, Miso had barely managed to escape the character\'s hold and was sobbing in Jung Sang-Bong\'s arms on stage.

Yoo-Jin called out to her, "Miso!"

Miso spotted us and ran toward us across the stage. "Mom! Uncle Yoon-Ho!"

Tears welled up in Miso\'s eyes as she ran.

I worried Miso might trip over the hem of the hanbok she was wearing. Sure enough, Miso stepped on the edge of her hanbok.

The moment Miso stumbled, I quickly rushed onto the stage and caught her in my arms. Jung Sang-Bong was right behind her and reacted quickly, but I was just a bit faster.

Held tightly in my arms, Miso burst into tears. "Uncle Yoon-Ho! Waaah!"

Yoo-Jin also climbed onto the stage and started crying too as she asked, "Miso, what\'s wrong? Why are you crying?"

Still in my arms, Miso reached out toward Yoo-Jin this time. "Mom!"

Yoo-Jin embraced Miso and gently soothed her.

Meanwhile, Oh Bok-Hee announced to Yang Yi-Ji and Jin Gong-Ju that the roles had been decided.

"Yi-Ji, you\'re confirmed for Princess Jung-Hwa. Gong-Ju, you\'ll be Princess Do-Hwa. Let\'s meet at the production presentation, okay?"

Yang Yi-Ji nodded without protest as she understood that her skills couldn\'t measure up to Miso\'s.

That\'s when Lee Tae-Yeon, seated in the audience, suddenly stood up.

Lee Tae-Yeon glared at Yoo-Jin, Miso, and me. Her eyes blazed with anger over her daughter\'s defeat.

"Team Lead Kim, bring Yi-Ji here."

"Yes, ma\'am."

Kim Jun, the talent agent from TK Entertainment, escorted Yang Yi-Ji down.

As soon as her daughter came down, Lee Tae-Yeon grabbed her hand and stormed out of the audition room.

Jin Gong-Ju also left with the nanny who had accompanied her.

Only then did Oh Bok-Hee approach me. "Mr. Jung... what on earth did you do to Miso?"

There was only one answer I could give.

"Ms. Choi Ji-Yung gave her a one-point lesson."

"No matter how much of a one-point lesson it was, Miso\'s acting was..."

"Isn\'t this what you wanted?"

Oh Bok-Hee nodded. "Yes, it is... but I still can\'t wrap my head around it."

We couldn\'t even ask Miso because she was still crying. Hence, there was only one way to satisfy her curiosity.

"Actually, I don\'t know all the details either. You should ask Ms. Choi Ji-Yung yourself."

"Could you call her for me?"

When I made the call, Choi Ji-Yung picked up almost immediately.

-Mr. Jung~?

"Ms. Choi, this is PD Oh Bok-Hee. You\'re on speakerphone, by the way."

-Ah, yes. It\'s been a while, Mrs. Oh.

"Miso\'s audition just ended, and I have some questions."

-What\'s the result?

"You already know, don\'t you..."

-So she passed.

"Yes, but I\'m curious and also a bit concerned."

Oh Bok-Hee was worried that Miso\'s powerful performance might have been a fluke. She was unsure if Miso could deliver that same level of intensity again when the shoot began.

Choi Ji-Yung burst into laughter.

-Don\'t worry. That was already the third time Miso\'s performed that way.

Choi Ji-Yung then began to explain what had happened during training.

***

Choi Ji-Yung said she gave Miso only one specific scenario: she asked her to close her eyes and imagine that her mom and Uncle Yoon-Ho were gone.

She told Miso to imagine that she was left alone in this world and she told her to open her eyes.

Then, she told Miso to think that the person she saw in front of her was the one who had killed us.

Choi Ji-Yung explained that she instructed Miso to express exactly how that felt without holding anything back. The only reminder was to never forget that Miso\'s character was still a princess.

The reason Yoo-Jin and I couldn\'t be present at the audition was to avoid breaking Miso\'s immersion in the scene.

At that moment, Han Woo-Ju chimed in through the speakerphone with a concerned voice. "You had a child actor perform that kind of scenario...?"

Choi Ji-Yung quietly responded.

-Miso isn\'t just any child actor. She\'s a genius.

"But still. How could you...?"

-Miss Han, should we really limit what an actor can do beforehand? Directors have their domain, and actors have theirs.

Choi Ji-Yung was directly quoting what Lee Ji-Yeon had once said.

Oh Bok-Hee\'s eyes sparkled upon hearing Choi Ji-Yung\'s words. "Ms. Choi."

-Yes, Mrs. Oh?

"The role of the second empress, Princess Yu-Hwa\'s mother, is still open in Hwaranjeon. Would you be interested in the part?"

Choi Ji-Yung was silent for a moment before she asked.

-You know how the media and the public stir up controversy every time I\'m cast, right?

Once a top-tier actress, Choi Ji-Yung had made a comeback after publicly revealing her past in a press conference. However, drama forums would explode with negative comments whenever she was cast in a new role.

Nonetheless, Oh Bok-Hee didn\'t blink an eye.

"I\'m Oh Bok-Hee. If the acting\'s good, I\'ll handle the rest."

-Well then... How could I refuse? It\'s possible to say no to a project picked by Mr. Jung and directed by Mrs. Oh.

The second empress, Princess Yu-Hwa\'s mother, was a character full of humanity. She was flawed, emotional, and sometimes caused trouble for her daughter. It was the kind of role that required significant acting skills to pull off.

Han Woo-Ju agreed with Oh Bok-Hee\'s choice.

With that, Choi Ji-Yung was cast as the second empress.

After ending the call with Oh Bok-Hee, Choi Ji-Yung addressed me.

-Mr. Jung.

"Yes, Ms. Choi Ji-Yung?"

-Miso is probably feeling overwhelmed. Please take good care of her.

Choi Ji-Yung was asking me to help manage Miso\'s emotional recovery after being so deeply immersed in her role.

"Don\'t worry. Yoo-Jin is already comforting her."

-Don\'t leave it all to Miss Yoo-Jin. You\'ll need to make an effort too. Miso was just as terrified of you disappearing as she was of losing her mother.

"I understand. I\'ll make sure of it."

-Good. Let her rest well today and please bring her back tomorrow or the day after.

Choi Ji-Yung reassured me she would help Miso process the remaining emotions before ending the call.

Now that Oh Bok-Hee realized Miso\'s stellar performance wasn\'t a one-off thing, she gave Miso a thumbs up. "Miso, great job. Your acting has really improved."

Miso slowly nodded in Yoo-Jin\'s arms. Her eyes were still filled with tears, indicating she hadn\'t fully escaped from the deep emotional state.

At times like this, it was a talent agent\'s job to lift the actor\'s spirits.

I gave a bright smile and scooped Miso into my arms. "Miso, how about we go have some gamjatang with me today?"

I suggested going to the same gamjatang place we had gone to the day I saved Miso after traveling back in time.

At that moment, a small smile appeared on Miso\'s face. "And noodles...?"

"Of course, we\'ll get all the noodles you want."

Miso sniffled and held up two fingers. "Two... servings!"

Having defeated all her strong competitors and secured the role of the child version of Princess Yu-Hwa, Miso had one request as her reward: gamjatang.

\'Then of course I\'ll get her as much gamjatang as she wants,\' I remarked inwardly.

"Okay! Today\'s the day we get everything Miso wants!"

A shy smile began to spread across Miso\'s tear-streaked face.

***

The day after Miso\'s final audition, I went to work and gathered Team Jung to share the news that Miso had been cast as the lead.

The team members were unsurprised, saying they knew it would happen and hadn\'t been worried at all.

However, there was an issue over the weekend. I had been so busy that I wasn\'t able to attend Cherry Blossom\'s comeback stage.

"Are the girls upset?" I asked.

Do Ran-Hee nodded. "Yes, especially Sae-Ri. She\'s really upset."

Cherry Blossom\'s comeback song, \'My First Love Story,\' took first place yesterday.

"Were there any run-ins with Cha Do-Hee?"

"No. There were no issues thanks to the entire Singer Division 2 following them around. Plus, Sae-Ri\'s grandparents being there definitely helped a lot."

"That\'s a relief."

Girlfriends7 had won third place upon debuting. Hearing that there had been no conflict between one of their members, Cha Do-Hee, and Sae-Ri was reassuring.

Still, I couldn\'t just let things slide like nothing happened.

"We\'ll have to properly plan Sae-Ri\'s birthday party next week. Let\'s all work on the event."

Sae-Ri\'s birthday was on October 30. That would be the perfect time to give her a gift and formally apologize.

As we were wrapping up the meeting, my phone rang.

[Caller ID: Jo Min-Sung]

\'Just as expected.\'

"Who\'s calling?"

"It\'s Mr. Jo Min-Sung."

"Mr. Jung, do you think he\'s calling to join our team?"

The eyes of every team member lit up with anticipation.

"Well, we\'ll find out soon enough."

Jo Min-Sung had followed my advice and met directly with Vice Chairman Lee Tae-Jun to secure a renewal of his contract.

His new contract included 15 billion won per year, a custom-tuned car, and tickets to international motor shows.

Lee Tae-Jun also extended Jo Min-Sung\'s contract for five years as an apology for the mess caused by the new director.

When I picked up the phone, Jo Min-Sung spoke with a satisfied voice.

-Mr. Jung, I think it\'s time we had a serious talk about our relationship.

I couldn\'t help but smile.

If Jo Min-Sung wanted to talk, it could only mean he was thinking about switching management teams.

"Of course."

-Are you free right now? I\'m at the company. How about we meet in the meeting room on the seventh floor?"

"Yes, sir."

The seventh-floor meeting room was reserved for executives.

Ready to bring Hoop Entertainment\'s top star Jo Min-Sung into my team, I headed to the seventh floor.