Mirror of Fate

Chapter 15 - From Idol to Actor

Milo:

Sitting in the conference room at Haneul Tower, flipping through the thick script of The Emperor's Sword, I could barely wrap my head around everything the director, Han Dong-hyuk, had just thrown at us. The story was huge—set in a fictionalized version of Joseon Korea, with all the political drama, love triangles, and betrayals you'd expect from a historical epic. It was intense, with the Emperor, his top general, and a new concubine caught up in this whirlwind of power, love, and deception.

General Choi Ji-hoon, the guy I'd be playing, was basically the Emperor's right-hand man. A badass warrior who was all about loyalty and duty, but then he falls for someone he absolutely shouldn't—Lady Han Seol-ah, the Emperor's new concubine. And yeah, that's where everything goes sideways for him. The whole show was about loyalty, love, betrayal, and the cost of power. The Emperor is ruthless, but when he brings Lady Han into the palace, things get complicated. Not just for him, but for General Choi too. The two guys end up in this love triangle, with the Queen—who's also plotting in the background—ready to bring it all down.

Reading through it, I could already tell this was the kind of role that would push me—emotionally, physically, everything. This wasn't just another job, it was a chance to step out of the K-pop bubble and show that I could actually act. It wasn't just about cool fight scenes (though there were plenty), but also about hitting those deep, emotional moments that could really break a character or make the audience root for him.

The table read went smoothly. The main cast was there, scripts in hand, getting into the flow of things. Kim Hyun-jin, who was playing the Emperor, was super chill, even though he's been in the game forever. The guy just oozed confidence. Watching him was intimidating but in a good way. He was exactly the kind of actor I wanted to learn from.

Seo Ji-eun, playing Queen Min Seo-yun, was as graceful as you'd expect—her lines were delivered perfectly, and you could feel the tension she'd bring to the role. Then there was Shin Eun-ha, who was playing Lady Han. She was new but intense. You could tell she wasn't going to fade into the background at all.

Dong-hyuk, the director, only stopped us every now and then to give us some pointers, but he seemed happy overall. By the time we finished, I was feeling pretty good about it all. Until the director brought up the one thing I'd been dreading: changing my look for the role.

General Choi was supposed to look intense and brooding, and apparently, my signature bleached-blond hair wasn't cutting it. They wanted me to dye it dark and grow it out longer too—throw in some extensions for that full-on warrior vibe. The thing is, this wasn't how they described the character in the concept I'd been given. General Choi was supposed to be clean-cut, but now they wanted me looking like I'd just stepped out of a battlefield, all rugged and rough around the edges.

Honestly, it threw me off. I'd spent so long with this look, the blond hair was practically part of my identity at this point. Changing it felt weird, but I knew it was part of the job. To really nail this role, I'd have to leave behind everything I was comfortable with.

Before I could dwell on it too much, Seo Ji-eun walked up, all smiles, holding out her script. "Milo, I'm such a big fan!" she said, her voice so genuine it caught me off guard. "Could you sign this for me? I'm so excited we'll be working together."

I blinked, processing her words. Ji-eun, the star of the show, wanted my autograph? It didn't make any sense. If anything, I should've been the one asking her for an autograph. She was leagues ahead of me and way older. Still, I wasn't about to say no. I took the script and signed it, trying to keep it cool. "Thanks, Ji-eun-ssi. I'm really looking forward to this."

Before I could think too much about how surreal the whole thing was, someone else cleared their throat. I looked up to see two women approaching. The first one introduced herself as Kim Nara, one of the producers, and the second was Lim Seon-mi, the 1st Assistant Director. They had my schedule for horse training.

"Horse training?" I asked, a little surprised.

Nara nodded, serious. "Time is money, Milo. We need to get you ready as soon as possible. You'll start in two days."

Seon-mi handed me a folder with all the details, her tone brisk. "You'll be training with Orla O'Connell. She's new to the team but highly recommended."

The second I heard the name Orla, my heart skipped a beat.

It couldn't be her, right? I hadn't even asked for her last name on the plane, and yet... O'Connell? That was not what I expected. Could it really be the same Orla?