[The Heirs surpassed 30% viewership in just its second episode. <Inside Me> Kim Do-hyun defeated.]
[<Inside Me> Kim Do-hyun interview: “Please continue to love our drama.”]
[Behind-the-scenes footage of <The Heirs> released. The unstoppable popularity of ‘Assassin Girl.’]
[<The Heirs> Kim Siyeon’s past making waves: ‘She grew up well.’]
Thankfully, <The Heirs> had a smooth start in its first week.
According to Kang Shin-yul, if the beginning is this strong, there’s nothing to worry about moving forward.
Although the final episodes still need to be filmed, the script suggests the ending will wrap up in a fun way.
More than that, it’s now natural for videos from my childhood to resurface whenever the drama trends.
Because of that, I occasionally watch the “garter belt” clip or the kidnapping scene footage.
For some reason, seeing myself from back then made me feel weird.
I thought I was fine at the time, but I was surprisingly short for an assassin.
Is this why people talk about “cringe-worthy pasts”?
And since I was small, my action skills back then were clearly lacking.
Still, with my current physique, I think I could show about 47% of my prime ability.
Oddly enough, I’ve been craving action filming more than these romantic dramas.
“Si… Siyeon! Our Siyeon is doing so well!”
“…Mom. You know this is your fourth rewatch already, right?”
“Still, how could I not watch your first drama! You look so pretty, my girl!”
Mom even printed out the rerun schedule and would turn on the TV every time.
Sure, my performance was flawless, but her enthusiasm was… Mom was so transparent.
Definitely not spy material.
“I’m heading out for a bit.”
“Huh? Do you have plans with Chae-young or Ji-young since it’s the weekend?”
“Nope. Meeting someone else. I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright! Be safe!”
Leaving my mom glued to the TV, I stepped out.
Today, I had somewhere to be, so I postponed hanging out with Chae-young and Ji-young.
Pulling my cap low, I boarded the bus.
Ding-dong—I arrived at an apartment and pressed the doorbell.
It was Dong-soo’s house. Though it was my first visit, I knew the location from before.
“Who… Oh, oh!”
“Hello. I’m Kim Siyeon, a friend of Dong-soo. Is he home?”
“Oh, uh, yes… Wait, what?”
The woman who answered the door was tall and slender.
Not his mom—probably Dong-soo’s sister.
She stared at me in shock and asked,
“Aren’t you… that actress from the drama…?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“And you’re friends with Dong-soo?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
She seemed to recognize me and covered her mouth in disbelief.
“…That pig.”
Mumbling under her breath, she slammed the door and went inside.
A moment later, screams erupted from within the house—squeals like a pig being slaughtered.
“Huff… huff…”
Soon, Dong-soo’s sister came back, breathing heavily.
“I took care of Dong-soo. He won’t bother you again, so don’t worry. I’m really sorry if he caused you any trouble.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t he blackmail you with weird videos or something? That pig’s always hacking on his computer, watching creepy anime, and… I’m so sorry if you suffered because of him!”
“No, no. That’s not it. I really just had something to discuss…”
“…What?”
Suddenly, Dong-soo burst out of the room, stomping heavily.
He looked utterly disheveled, like he had taken quite the beating.
“I told you it’s not like that! We’re just friends!”
Was Dong-soo always this articulate?
He yelled at his sister without stuttering like he usually did.
“I thought you did something horrible to your classmate because you’re always doing weird stuff on your computer!”
“I didn’t! Ugh, just go away already!”
Dong-soo shoved his sister back into her room.
Then, I was finally able to enter Dong-soo’s house.
“Ah, S-Siyeon. Sorry… That i-idiot isn’t in his right mind…”
“…It’s fine. You two seem pretty close as siblings.”
Is this what sibling relationships are supposed to be like?
Anyway, I entered Dong-soo’s room and got straight to the point.
“So, what brings you all the way here? I didn’t think you’d actually come to my house… I’ve been taking care of everything you assigned me.”
I had tasked Dong-soo with various jobs, like infiltrating fan clubs and investigating people in my circle.
He had excellent computer skills and always delivered on what I asked.
As an informant, he was reliable.
But this time, I hadn’t asked him to do anything.
“This—this was your doing, wasn’t it?”
I held up my phone and showed him a leaked video from the final script reading.
It was footage of me crying as I held water for Yuna.
“W-What?”
Dong-soo’s face instantly showed panic—he was trying to figure out how I knew.
So, it was him.
There was no reason for the filming crew to leak this.
And it definitely wasn’t something I’d asked for.
“H-How did you find out? I thought I was discreet.”
“Because you’re the only one who would do something like this. Why did you do it when I didn’t even ask for it?”
The only people I had talked to about Yoo Ina were Chae-young and Ji-young.
But neither of them had the capability to get this footage.
Meanwhile, Dong-soo could’ve overheard and stolen it from nearby.
“Well, it’s just that… I thought that Yoo Ina actress was bullying you. So I hacked into the SAS server, found the video, and thought this would… expose her.”
“Hm.”
So he managed to extract footage from a broadcasting company without getting caught.
Even though posting it online was unnecessary, his skills were undeniably impressive.
I understood how hard it was to pull something like that off.
“From now on, don’t do things I didn’t ask for—especially things like this.”
“O-Okay… I’m sorry.”
I could understand collecting information here and there, but drawing attention this way wasn’t good.
Sure, I could’ve ignored Yuna—she was definitely a nuisance.
But for some reason, I felt compelled to clean up this mess.
It wasn’t because I wanted to improve my relationship with her.
And Yuna certainly wouldn’t try to get closer to me, either.
This was enough.
I received a few more updates from Dong-soo before heading home.
“What? Oh, come on.”
“It looks like the filming will be delayed for a while.”
“Sigh…”
Director Bong Jun-young rubbed his face in frustration.
The child actress cast as the young female lead in the upcoming movie couldn’t shoot due to an injury.
The film he was starting was Heart of the Hero, an action movie.
The story followed a girl abandoned in the slums who joins a mysterious organization to seek revenge.
“How bad is it?”
“She fractured her shinbone. It’ll take months to heal…”
The movie’s opening focused on the girl being abandoned in the slums.
Her growth in the organization was a critical part of the story, and all those scenes belonged to the child actress.
The role also required her to perform intense action sequences.
“What do we do now…”
Finding a child actress who fit the role had already been difficult.
The girl needed to handle action scenes and have a fierce, determined expression.
Starting the search all over again felt overwhelming.
“Should we just start filming the other scenes for now?”
“Do you think the child actress will recover by then? Even if we film the rest, her leg won’t fully heal. And even if it does, how can we expect her to perform intense action scenes right after? She’s still growing.”
“Then we’ll need to find a new child actress…”
“Sigh… I told her to take it easy during practice.”
She was such a passionate child actor.
She must’ve injured herself while pushing too hard during action practice.
She likely wanted to do her best, so I couldn’t blame her.
“Hahaha! This is gold!”
At that moment, one of the junior crew members burst out laughing while staring at a computer screen in the corner.
The assistant director shot him a glare, yelling, “Hey! Can’t you read the room? What are you doing laughing at a time like this?”
“S-Sorry!”
“It’s fine. No need to take it out on him. What were you watching?”
“Oh, it’s an old Garterbelt video…”
“…Kang Po-dong’s Garterbelt? Isn’t that outdated?”
“No, not that one. It’s an old Assassin Girl clip. You know, the one starring the actress from The Heirs that’s trending now.”
“…Assassin Girl?”
The name piqued Bong Jun-young’s interest, and he got up to check the screen.
On it, a young girl was pulling off incredible stunts.
“…She’s in The Heirs now? Isn’t that a teen romance drama or something?”
Bong Jun-young had heard of The Heirs.
He was acquainted with writer Kang Eung-sook, but he’d been too busy with movie production to watch the show.
He hadn’t caught wind of the buzz surrounding Kim Siyeon either.
“This clip is from seven years ago. She’s in middle school now.”
The crew member played a clip from The Heirs, where the same girl was now a high school-aged actor.
Her performance as a villain was flawless, with a depth and maturity unthinkable for her age.
Bong Jun-young’s expression turned serious.
“…Can we get her for this movie?”
“What?”
“If she was that good as a child, she’s bound to have a natural talent for action.”
“But is she skilled enough for immediate shooting? That Assassin Girl clip was when she was seven. Has she kept up her training since then?”
“Call her in. Let’s at least see what she can do.”
While the assistant director raised valid concerns, Bong Jun-young couldn’t shake the feeling he’d found something extraordinary.
Siyeon’s acting, her gestures, her movements—they intertwined with the story in his head, blossoming like a vivid dream.
“She’s available, and her agency says she’s confident in action sequences.”
“Perfect. Set up a meeting immediately.”
“Our action scenes are intense, though…”
“Contact some stunt actors, too. Even if she can’t manage the full choreography, I want to get a sense of her capabilities.”
On the day of the meeting with Siyeon:
“…Si-
yeon, our film doesn’t involve simple action scenes. They’re quite challenging, and we struggled to find someone for the role last time. You’ll need to deliver a high level of performance in a short period. Are you up for it?”
“Yes, I’ve been wanting to try action scenes.”
“Since you’re confident, could you demonstrate? We’ll pair you with professional stunt actors. Follow the script and show us the strongest action performance you can manage without holding back.”
“Understood.”
Siyeon accepted the script. The action sequences were roughly outlined in text.
‘Finally. The Heirs was so boring. They’re telling me to show my full potential, huh?’
Siyeon was determined to secure this role.
She liked Bong Jun-young’s directness and appreciated the challenge.
She knew this movie would likely feature gritty, intense content, just like her Nameless days.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“When you’re ready, step in. Our stunt actors are professionals, so don’t hold back.”
“Got it.”
A grin spread across Siyeon’s face.
If they were pros, that was even better.
This time, there were no restrictions—she could unleash her full potential.
Whoosh!
In a split second, Siyeon’s figure vanished from sight.
“?!?”
“Ugh! What the—”
The room was filled with gasps and stunned silence as she displayed her prowess.