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I hope Haeun can join us too.

Just a few days ago, my intention to cast Haeun was limited to this level.

To be precise, everyone in Class 2, including the class president, Gong Hayeon, knew that Haeun was an outstanding actress.

In fact, Haeun was the first person recommended as a candidate for the female lead in the upcoming fall festival performance, <Shall We Fall Together?>.

However, the overall atmosphere of <Shall We Fall Together?> was a serious one.

This meant that if Haeun were to take the role of the female lead, “Empress Aria”—

“Honestly, I feel like she’d overshadow everyone.”

“Um….”

The other characters aside from Empress Aria could easily become colorless and tasteless.

It seemed that not only Gong Hayeon but also the other friends would be powerless against Haeun’s acting.

Given that the scoring for the “Cooperation & Harmony” category in performance evaluations was quite high, this was definitely a concern.

Moreover, since Empress Aria had to perform a kissing scene with the male lead, “Knight Kyle,” in the final ending scene—

“It’s kinda… awkward to ask someone who’s got a boyfriend to do that.”

It felt tough to ask Haeun, who was rumored to be in a fresh romance, to take on the role of Empress Aria.

Even if Haeun were to participate in <Shall We Fall Together?>, I was thinking of casting her in a different role.

However—

“Dear Moon, I adore you.”

In Episode 9 of <Moonlight Through the Clouds>, the highlight was the kiss scene between Lee Hyun and Yeongwol.

More accurately, it was the tear that flowed down Yeongwol’s left cheek right at the start of the kiss scene.

“Let’s just ask Haeun.”

“What if the other girls’ acting looks like bad acting next to her?”

“We’ll just have to keep practicing, right? It’s too wasteful to give up on Haeun for something like that.”

“That’s… true.”

In the end, I decided to cast Haeun as Empress Aria.

I judged that the positive impact of Haeun’s powerful performance would outweigh any score deductions from the acting level disparities between her and the other kids.

In any case, the important thing was that <Shall We Fall Together?> leaves a strong impression.

I thought it was a priority to showcase a performance that was undeniably number one.

So I approached Haeun that Monday morning, with a voice more earnest than ever.

I even whispered the secret of the fall festival at Narae High School while trying my best to persuade Haeun.

“Directors and casting directors secretly come to watch the performances. If you leave a good impression on them, wouldn’t it be beneficial for you?”

“Uh-huh….”

“If you play Empress Aria, we’re guaranteed to be number one. So, just help us out this one time!”

Haeun, who seemed slightly swayed by Gong Hayeon’s persuasion, hesitated in silence for a moment.

Then, after contemplating, she finally opened her mouth.

“If we get first place at the festival, can we go on a school trip to Japan?”

She began to inquire about the Japan trip, which was a first-place benefit for the fall festival.

“I confirmed it directly with the homeroom teacher. The class that gets first place in the festival is definitely going to Japan.”

“So, did you ask where in Japan we’re going?”

“Tokyo. They said they’ll conduct a separate survey later for the sightseeing itinerary.”

Another silence followed.

Then, about 10 seconds later, Haeun spoke up again.

“I want to go to Disneyland. What do you think the other kids will say?”

She expressed that she wished Disneyland would be included in the sightseeing itinerary.

This was the only condition Haeun proposed for taking on the role of Empress Aria.

In return, Gong Hayeon reassured her with confidence, saying the other friends would also want to go to Disneyland.

Thus, after confirming Haeun as Empress Aria, I swiftly invited her to the <Shall We Fall Together?> chat room.

Right after, Haeun’s name appeared on the cast list for <Shall We Fall Together?>, as Gong Hayeon hurriedly rushed to the faculty office.

Seeing Gong Hayeon running like that made Haeun worry for a moment, thinking she might fall and get hurt.

However, as she had just been reading the script for <Shall We Fall Together?> handed to her by Gong Hayeon, she—

-Flip.

She opened the script she had briefly set aside and started reading again.

In any case, putting on a musical performance with Haeun’s classmates wasn’t really a bad thing for her.

With her increasingly busy schedule, the time she could spend at school was gradually decreasing.

Even though the kiss scene at the end of <Shall We Fall Together?> kept weighing on her mind.

It was also true that if she performed the kiss scene vividly, they would surely get good scores, so she decided to give it a try for now.

After all, it wasn’t like they were actually going to kiss.

However, since this would be her first time acting and singing in a different location for a different purpose, she felt the need to prepare various things for Haeun’s first musical.

That was why, after that day, she spent quite some time looking for videos related to <Shall We Fall Together?>.

“With your sword, cut off my neck, raise it high to the sky, and become the hero of all. That’s… the only way for you to live.”

“It feels a bit different from dramas.”

In <Shall We Fall Together?>, the protagonist Empress Aria was a puppet tyrant.

Having committed all sorts of corruption while hiding in the shadow of Empress Aria, she soon became the enemy and foe of all her subjects.

Kyle, her knight, was the only one who knew the truth that Empress Aria was merely being manipulated.

The empress, though subconsciously relying on Kyle, was desperately trying to hold onto her crumbling mind, but—

Once the furious citizens sparked a rebellion, she completely fell apart.

Insults and murderous intentions towards Empress Aria poured in from all sides.

By that time, the nobles had all fled.

Alone in the empty imperial palace with hardly any remaining servants, Empress Aria lost all hope upon hearing the approaching footsteps of the citizens.

In her first and last moment of being supported, she told Kyle to kill her and become everyone’s hero.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had an emotional aftermath from acting. I hope I’m okay….”

Most of the emotions I need to portray this time were of a negative feeling.

The lyrics assigned for Empress Aria’s song were also far from positive.

Though I was confident—

It had been quite some time since I acted someone as bleak as Empress Aria.

“…I should keep it a bit toned down during practice.”

I felt that it would be difficult if Haeun displayed her maximum capabilities right from practice.

There was surely a need to match the emotional intensity with her classmates who would share the same scenes.

So, on the day of the first practice for <Shall We Fall Together?>, while memorizing Empress Aria’s lines.

“I received confirmation for the Sears ad schedule. It’s tomorrow at 4 PM.”

As usual, the news about the ad schedule that I had momentarily forgotten came from Jujeong-yoon, who dropped Haeun off in her van.

*

At an advertising studio located in the outskirts.

In just 30 minutes, the shoot for Sears’ new bed ad would begin there.

“It’s been a while since I filmed with someone like her.”

“18? What do you mean kid? By 18, you’re all grown up.”

“But her personality might still be childish. I just hope she won’t get too irritable….”

Various discussions about Haeun, who became the new advertising model for Sears, were taking place.

Regardless of that, today was the first time the advertising team would meet Haeun in person.

Perhaps for that reason, they anticipated that Haeun’s rising star would have turned her into a bit of an arrogant personality.

Strictly speaking, the images of Haeun seen in the media were far from arrogance.

“But I guess it’s just image management. I won’t fall for it.”

Those who had gotten burned a few times by models whose real self differed from the camera had somewhat prepared themselves mentally.

After all, it’s often easy for ‘young celebrities’ like Haeun, who have found success from a young age, to develop undesirable mindsets.

Finally, after 10 minutes, Haeun, having completed all her makeup, made her appearance.

“Hello, I’m Lee Haeun.”

She was blessed with a stunning appearance.

Her calm voice matched beautifully with her casual outfit that radiated autumn vibes.

But above anything else—

She had a demeanor that was so much more “noble” than they had anticipated.

“…Is she really 18?”

The assumptions that Haeun, still a high school student, would show childlike traits were completely debunked.

To exaggerate just a little, it felt as if a queen had appeared.

Adding to this first impression was Haeun’s uniquely sharp gaze, resulting in an excessively cautious atmosphere.

It felt like there was an aura that one couldn’t touch, and even as the shoot began, the atmosphere was very quiet.

Then, about 10 minutes later.

Once the advertising director, Bae Hoyun, confirmed the very first take of the shoot, he couldn’t help but release a sigh.

“Whoa….”

There, on the monitor was a ‘precious’ being smiling languidly.

Just a slight tilt of her head and captivating gaze invoked feelings of a social class disparity that didn’t even exist.