Leaving Kim Woo-jin in charge of the keyring matter, I drove myself to the action school for the first time in a while.
Aside from going to the gym, I hadn’t done any other exercise, and learning action at the action school for drama shoots was all I had.
So, this was the only place I could go to exercise.
{Oh, is this a training institution for nurturing martial artists?}
It’s not exactly for nurturing martial artists, but a place to practice acting with the body.
We also practice flying with ropes attached to our bodies.
“Oh, who do we have here? Our Crown Prince!”
“I’m not the Crown Prince…”
“Just kidding, just kidding. Having a hard time these days?”
The hyung I had become close with, seeing him every day during the months I attended the action school, helped me again today.
“Oh, your form hasn’t died.”
“Is it okay?”
“Doesn’t look like you’ve been slacking off on practice?”
It felt good that my body wasn’t heavy, even though it was my first time moving in a while.
Did I gain more muscle?
“Hyung, do you have a bow here? Korean traditional bow.”
{Jaga, are you trying to test your newly acquired power?}
“We do. We have bows and crossbows. Want to try? Did you get a role like that?”
I picked up the bow the hyung brought and tried to draw the string.
My arms trembled.
{… You did meet a thought entity and take its spiritual power, right?}
“Hehe. This isn’t easy. It’s hard to draw even with gym muscles.”
That’s strange.
I was supposed to have been given the power of a divine archer.
I quietly returned the drawn string to its original position.
“By the way…”
The hyung hesitated before speaking.
“That sword you have. The shining sword. Can I take a look? It looked really amazing on TV.”
It’s treated like a magic wand even here.
{Ordinary humans can’t recognize the spiritual power contained in this sword, so they just find the light shining from it amazing.}
I pretended to take the Four Evil Beheading Sword from the dressing room and showed it to the hyung.
“Wow, that’s awesome. I can’t touch something so precious carelessly, so let me see your stance when you swing it. You still remember what you learned before, right?”
“Of course, I remember.”
I showed the hyung the swordsmanship I had learned from him while preparing for the drama, one by one. I had practiced these moves a lot here for months.
Downward strike, horizontal slash, diagonal cut.
The movements were simple, but they required a lot of strength from the whole body because the footwork and overall form had to be maintained.
“What, did you practice more? Are you really going into a historical drama? Your form has gotten better.”
“It has?”
“The movements are clean. Did your overall strength improve? So, what project are you going into?”
Even I felt that swinging the sword wasn’t difficult.
It was a big improvement compared to when I was gripping the sword with both hands and swinging it wildly at the shadows in Shinpungnu.
I held the sword in one hand and recreated the continuous sword-swinging motion I had shown in my previous work.
I didn’t feel any pain in my grip like before, nor did I lose strength in the arm swinging the sword.
“Wow, look at those clean movements. I filmed it. I’ll send it to you.”
Both the bow and the sword are used with the hands, so why is it only effective when swinging the sword?
* * *
Did you give me power limited to the Sacred object?
You should have explained it to me.
From Monday morning, portal sites were noisy with articles of the same content.
[Japanese Emperor Invites Lee Young to Birthday Banquet]
The content was that Lee Young was invited to the Japanese Emperor’s birthday banquet to perform a congratulatory performance.
The request was conveyed directly by the Japanese ambassador to the Prime Minister and passed on to the President.
[Lee Young’s Visit to Japan to Strengthen Friendship Between Korea and Japan]
The President positively accepted Japan’s proposal.
He said that it was not common for an entertainer to participate in another country’s king’s birthday with the President, and it was an honor.
Of course, some of the aides expressed negative opinions that the appearance was not good. But the President was firm.
“We’ve performed in North Korea before, so what’s the problem?”
Contrary to the President’s thoughts, public opinion said it was a problem.
Japan destroyed the Korean Empire, and now a descendant of the Royal Family is going to the enemy’s birthday party to dance and sing?
– Even I, who didn’t participate in the independence movement, am experiencing PTSD.
– Not just a party invitation, but a performance?
– Not just any country… this isn’t right.
– A descendant of the Royal Family was attacked and their manager died, and in the meantime, a performance at the enemy’s birthday party, lol.
– If you’re going to do this, at least treat the Royal Family well.
– Give them Gyeongbokgung Palace at least.
– This should never be allowed.
– What is the government thinking accepting this?
– Can’t the agency stop it?
They’ll have to do as they’re told anyway, right? Lee Young’s agency is too small to stop it, unless it’s a big agency.
– Seriously, is this a country?
Public opinion was boiling again.
Moreover, this kind of material was something the media liked to cover.
Every article posted on portal sites dealt with the descendant of the Royal Family attending and performing at the Japanese Emperor’s birthday.
Some portal sites even started a pros and cons vote.
Current affairs debate programs were the same.
“What’s the problem? Song Yiyoung is a singer and actor. She’s performed in Japan before, and the dramas and movies she’s appeared in are also exported. Can’t we see it as an extension of that?”
“What do you mean, Song Yiyoung? Please use a title.”
“A title? Because she’s Royal Family, should we call her Her Highness Song Yiyoung?”
“Both of you, calm down, and we’ll decide on the title as Ms. Song Yiyoung.”
The moderator organized the titles.
“If Ms. Song Yiyoung is a descendant of the Royal Family, she shouldn’t refuse this kind of diplomatic invitation.”
“What have we ever done for Ms. Song Yiyoung because she’s a descendant of the Royal Family? The person who was vehemently opposed to giving special treatment shouldn’t change their words!”
“Was I vehemently opposed?”
“In the last debate, you said that it was a privilege for a descendant of the Royal Family to appear in a tourism promotion video, even though she’s not a very popular idol-turned-actress!”
“Both of you, please only discuss the matter of the Emperor’s invitation this time.”
“No, what do you mean, Emperor? Emperor.”
One debater questioned the moderator’s remarks.
“Is there something wrong with what I said?”
“You call the Queen of England Queen Elizabeth, but why do you call the Japanese king Emperor? If it’s the king of another country, you should give him the appropriate honorifics.”
“Calling him Emperor is enough, what more do you want? You don’t even give our country’s Royal Family descendant the basic title of Song Yiyoung, but you’re upset about the Emperor? What country are you from?”
“What? Are you dividing sides now?”
Broadcasting companies created debate programs with panelists who could raise viewership through controversy like this.
The panelists raised their voices and fought more and more.
And articles related to this were posted as popular posts on every community.
[Song Yiyoung’s Attendance at the Emperor’s Birthday Banquet is for the National Interest]
When an article was released in the name of the President’s spokesperson, the situation became even more heated.
– So, we’re being told to shut up and do as we’re told?
– Is this a country?
– What does Lee Young say?
– Will there be disadvantages if I don’t go there?
– A national petition has been uploaded, sign it now.
L They don’t respond to those these days.
The CEO, the company’s PR team, and even Yoon Dae-han from the Cultural Heritage Administration gathered and racked their brains, but they didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not like she hasn’t gone to Japan to perform before… what reason can we give to refuse?”
“But if she goes, Lee Young will be criticized by people.”
A PR team employee expressed frustration.
“We never asked for Royal Family treatment, so why are they doing this in Japan?”
“Have you ever seen a country around us do anything to make our country better?”
“Aren’t they doing this on purpose to create conflict?”
“If there’s no particular reason to refuse, shouldn’t we go? The President said it was good too.”
“Ugh.”
The CEO sighed deeply at my words.
It seemed like there was no choice.
There was no justification to refuse.
Then, Kim Woo-jin, who had been quietly listening, stepped forward and opened his mouth.
“What if we change the game?”
Everyone’s eyes were on Kim Woo-jin.
* * *
Yoon Dae-han was not in a good mood.
The country was weak, so it couldn’t even get back the artifacts held in foreign museums.
But they were going to call the Royal Family’s bloodline to the Emperor’s birthday banquet and make them sing?
No, they weren’t aiming for the bloodline.
They were clearly aiming for the Four Evil Beheading Sword.
They were probably going to take the initiative and demand an exhibition.
After that, they would naturally replace it or take it away.
“Hello.”
Seeing Song Yiyoung greeting him brightly today, he clenched his fist.
He needed a sure-fire way to solve everything.
That’s why Kim Woo-jin’s words were tempting.
“What do you mean by changing the game?”
Yoon Dae-han urgently asked Kim Woo-jin. Kim Woo-jin continued.
“There are two methods. One is for domestic use, and the other is for overseas use.”
“Did you come up with the plan yourself?”
“Yes, the overseas one has been discussed to some extent with the HC Group.”
“Okay. Let’s hear what it is.”
“The Imperial Family Association, a group of Royal Family descendants, is trying to publicize the fact that the Royal Family of the Korean Empire participated in the independence movement. So, they will want to add their voice to this matter.
They will never agree to go to Japan. They don’t have political influence, but they will have the effect of attracting more public opinion by putting in a word to related organizations.”
“So, the domestic one is to attract the Confucian scholars, including the Imperial Family Association?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Persuading them will be key.”
I knew that the Imperial Family Association had helped my maternal grandmother.
But I was worried that if I was constantly mentioned as representing the Royal Family, those people would be uncomfortable.
“What about the overseas one?”
“To have other countries where the monarchy is maintained invite Ms. Song Yiyoung as a Royal Family member. They can’t force a Royal Family member from another country to perform. In the end, Japan won’t be able to maintain the same attitude as now.
And the President will prefer to be invited as a state guest rather than to a birthday party. We will get an invitation from a foreign royal family.”
“With money, right?”
The CEO didn’t seem to like Kim Woo-jin’s method.
“It’s common for companies that import and export to invest and form technical alliances to maintain relationships with foreign governments. You can think of it as a normal business that can be carried out as an extension of that.”
“Depending on the current government’s tendencies, it will be important which country invited her. And if an invitation comes, they might just say it’s good and go. Lee Young might just be a background character and get criticized.”
The CEO seemed burdened by the HC Group getting involved in this matter.
But I wanted to give Kim Woo-jin’s family a chance.
You said you had to get rid of that karma.
“Everyone, including the fans, dislikes it, so if there’s a way to avoid it, I’d like to do that.”
Kim Woo-jin’s face brightened at my words.
But if we followed Kim Woo-jin’s plan, I would have to go abroad with the President, which was also a burden in its own way.
“But will people like it if I receive such an invitation and go?”
“Yeah, Lee Young. That’s what I’m saying.”
The CEO slammed the table with his palm and said.
“I heard there’s an eldest grandson among the Royal Family descendants. But if people say, ‘Why is it you, who isn’t even the eldest grandson, going?’ public opinion might turn upside down.”
“More than that…”
Yoon Dae-han, who had been listening, opened his mouth.
“Japan, and other countries overseas, are likely to demand an exhibition of the Four Evil Beheading Sword. But due to the nature of the Sacred object, overseas exhibitions are impossible. This could be a solution or a headache.”