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In the capital city, the warehouse of the esteemed Kim family, renowned for their wealth, held a commoner bound and beaten, carelessly thrown aside.

Dressed in a white hemp robe stained with blood, his disheveled hair indicated a brutal beating; his body hung limply.

Yet, those eyes—those eyes shone quietly, even in the darkness.

His name was Moon Chang-won.

Once a butcher working on the outskirts of the capital city, he was captured and beaten for nearly killing a servant of the noble house after a dispute.

With dawn, he would be delivered to the authorities and face imprisonment.

However, despite the facts, Chang-won gradually regained his senses in the bleak warehouse.

A chill ran through him, and he began to move his hands, rubbing the ropes binding him against the corner of a wooden crate on the floor.

As he stealthily sought an opportunity to escape from the warehouse in the dead of night…

Creeeak—

The tightly shut door of the warehouse creaked open, ushering in not only the moonlight but an additional light source.

The source was a candle.

A naive young lady had come, relying on a single candle, all the way to this back corner of the warehouse.

“Ah, so my father did trap you here.”

“…What is going on?”

At that moment, Moon Chang-won, who thought she was a mere warehouse keeper, could only be astonished.

It was hardly surprising, for the third daughter of the noble family, whom they cherished dearly, had entered this place.

“I feel sorry for you, so I came to offer some kindness.”

With a confident tone, the lady stepped closer to Chang-won.

As the moonlight streamed in from the window, it illuminated the face of the famed Lady Soo-yeon.

Flawless skin and sharp features; though her eyes might give a slightly harsh impression, her overall figure transformed it into beauty, making Chang-won instantly understand why she was so famous in the capital.

“…Kindness?”

“Right, did our servant not do wrong first? My father is simply too much.”

As she spoke, she got even closer to Chang-won and began to untie his ropes.

“Oh, it seems the ropes frayed, making it easy to untie.”

As she spoke and glanced at him, Chang-won subtly averted his gaze, for she had unintentionally damaged the rope while trying to cut it.

“Do you think you can stand?”

“Yes.”

“Then get up.”

Chang-won forced himself to rise, his body aching from the beating.

Lady Soo-yeon looked at him with a touch of sympathy before turning her back and heading outside.

“I’ll guide you, so follow me.”

With that, she led the way, and he trailed behind her.

Leading Chang-won along a narrow path circling the dimly lit yard of the noble house, Lady Soo-yeon quietly continued speaking to him.

“Since this is a secret, stay hidden.”

“Hidden, you say…?”

“Whether in the mountains or at a friend’s house, stay hidden until my father calms down.”

Lady Soo-yeon believed her father was unjustly provoking the commoner, hence her words. She thought he would quickly calm down, as he was usually kind to her.

“When the time is right, come back and apologize quietly.”

She added this for the sake of the injured servant who had been beaten, thinking about how he could recover with proper treatment.

“Seeing you regret it, I might consider taking you on as a servant.”

“A servant, you say?”

“Isn’t that better than being a butcher? If my father chooses not to accept you, I’ll take you in myself.”

After walking a few more steps, she smirked and continued.

“What do you think? Isn’t my broad-mindedness impressive?”

With an exaggerated air, Lady Soo-yeon led the way, but when she didn’t hear a response from behind, she felt puzzled.

Had he managed to escape?

But he didn’t seem to be making a fuss.

Nonetheless, she wanted to hear at least a word of thanks, so she turned around.

To her surprise, she found Chang-won squatting down, inspecting the ground.

“Why are you sitting there? Is something dropped?”

What could be on the ground that would make him ignore her?

Feeling slightly insulted, Lady Soo-yeon’s expression turned sour as she walked closer to Chang-won.

Then she recognized what he had picked up.

“What is it that you’ve found? Just a rolling stone.”

What Chang-won had picked up was an ordinary stone, quite large, indeed, and hard to hold properly with one hand.

“Oh, this caught my eye.”

“How peculiar.”

Watching him easily hold such a stone with one hand, Lady Soo-yeon was slightly impressed but quickly turned to face forward again.

“However, you don’t have time to pick up things like that. Hurry and escape…”

To waste precious moments of escape on trivialities—she couldn’t help but think of him as a commoner.

While Lady Soo-yeon was still speaking, unexpectedly—

Thud!

“What…!?”

With a dull thud she had never felt before, her body lurched forward.

Thud.

She fell helplessly onto the dirty ground and couldn’t understand the situation.

“Uh?”

Her head suddenly felt heavy, and a sticky liquid trickled down her face.

“Uh… uh.”

She was bewildered by the unforeseen event and struggled to turn her neck to see the source of the impact.

In the shadows stood Chang-won, his form obscured by darkness.

“Why…?”

Only then did Lady Soo-yeon comprehend the situation, regarding Chang-won with blurred vision.

Why was he… what had she done wrong?

It was a disastrous outcome after trying to be kind.

Yet, upon seeing her, Chang-won quietly lowered his head.

“You were too beautiful just now.”

As he said that, he grasped her chin and lifted it.

Just when their faces were inches apart, it seemed the moonlight regained strength, allowing Chang-won’s face to finally be seen by the clarity of her eyes.

Amidst his disheveled hair, those crazed eyes shone.

“I couldn’t help it.”

“W-Why…?”

After that, Chang-won’s hand shot up again.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed in the dark.

Thud! Thud!

Every time the sound rang out, Lady Soo-yeon’s body trembled.

But as the beats continued, her movements gradually slowed.

Thud!!

Then, she lay limply.

“Thank you for freeing me, my lady.”

In the darkness, as the moon hid behind a cloud, Chang-won’s voice rang out.

It was an utterly flat tone.

Dragging sounds accompanied him as he vanished into the thickets.

***

“Okay, that’s a wrap! Great job!”

Filming was complete!

“Kim Soo-hyun, are you alright?”

“Did I do well?”

Though his hanbok was dirty from falling, that was hardly what mattered.

What truly counted was the outcome!

There was absolutely no room for NG (no-good); just the thought of retaking the props and redoing the scene was enough to leave him gasping.

“You did incredibly well. You really are tough in practice.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it was good enough that we don’t need a second take.”

“Nice…!”

Hearing that made him involuntarily clench his fist.

He had truly poured his heart and soul into that performance.

Though he managed to immerse himself in Lady Soo-yeon’s character during the historical drama, being hit by a stone at the end was quite taxing.

Still, given he received the OK sign immediately, it seemed the practice wasn’t in vain.

“First, wipe yourself off.”

“Oh right.”

He touched the damp red dye dripping down his face.

What was this called? He didn’t know the name, but it truly resembled blood.

With that, he jumped up and vigorously wiped his face with the towel handed to him by a staff member.

Afterward, he wrapped himself in a thick blanket they provided, as he had rolled around on the cold, dirty ground, and returned to the filming location where he spotted the director and Moon Chang-sik hard at work monitoring.

“Kim Soo-hyun, come see the footage. It turned out really well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, the atmosphere is fantastic.”

Is it really that good?

He thought to himself, mistrusting whether the director was exaggerating and quietly joined him to observe the scene captured on camera.

“Oh…”

As expected, the scene was indeed remarkable, causing an involuntary gasp to escape.

“Did it really come out well?”

“Right? It’s good enough to use as is.”

Seeing the satisfied expression on the director’s face finally put him at ease.

Looks like there was no need for another take.

As he steadied himself with relief, he caught a glimpse of Moon Chang-sik beside him.

He had been quite fierce during the performance, yet now he seemed rather pitiful.

Well, he hadn’t even removed his makeup from the beating he had received.

“Are you not cold?”

“Me?”

Despite wearing a hanbok, he was freezing, yet Moon Chang-sik looked relatively fine in his hemp clothing.

“I endure during filming.”

“Ah….”

Reflecting on the obviousness of that answer made him realize he had worried for no reason.

Who was worrying about whom, really?

“Still, it’s too much to kill off Lady Soo-yeon so mercilessly. Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

“Well, it’s part of the role. It’s not like I wanted to do it.”

But he had performed so well… was that how great actors were?

“Both of you take it easy now. We’re wrapping up.”

At that moment, the director, having overheard their conversation, issued a dismissal.

…Perhaps he found their chatting distracting while monitoring.

“Understood.”

“Yes, sir.”

Given how late it was, both he and Moon Chang-sik nodded and stepped back.

As they headed toward the changing room to change clothes…

“Can we take a photo this time?”

Moon Chang-sik asked as they walked.

“A photo?”

“Yes, we’ve gone through so much to get our makeup on.”

“Oh…”

That was true.

Both he and Moon Chang-sik were indeed covered in fake blood right now.

This photo would certainly turn out unique.

“Sure. Let’s take a photo. Oh, but first…”

Originally, he intended to change clothes and greet people, but since they were going to take photos anyway…

He briefly asked for Moon Chang-sik’s understanding and dashed over to one side of the filming location.

“Um…”

“What’s up?”

There, he found Lee Won-ho, the veteran actor who had given him advice before.

He had forgotten his name, but he had asked a staff member before the shoot to find out.

“How did I do?”

He wanted to ask.

Thanks to him, it felt like he could showcase all his abilities without burden.

Lee smiled broadly at that question.

“You did great! I’m looking forward to your future.”

That praise from someone older felt oddly gratifying.

“Um… would you like to take a photo with me?”

He thought he hadn’t changed clothes yet…

At his cautious suggestion, Lee Won-ho chuckled and nodded.

“It may be inappropriate for me to mingle with the youngsters… but I’d like to take one.”

“Ahaha… then let’s hurry.”

In the dimly set historical drama studio,

he, Moon Chang-sik, and Lee Won-ho gathered for a photo together.

Today’s events would likely remain in their memories for quite some time.

 

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